The Well

    I stared up at what seemed to be an endless black hole. I couldn't remember how long we've been trapped here. It couldn't have been more than a few weeks. Every now and then, food and magazines would be lowered down in a bucket. I would try read the date on the magazine, but there was no luck since it was a bit too dark to read them, despite the faint light from the sky. It took me a while to figure out where I was. The wall was rough, wet, slimy and seemed to be circular. The ground was muddy and somewhat wet, which led me to believe we were trapped in well. How the hell did the person get us down here? Without us having one broken bone is beyond me. The one sure thing I do know is what I was doing before I woke up here.

    It was around 9 pm when my best friend, Russell, appeared at my bedroom window, barely hanging on. His face displayed the happiest, mischievous, and drunken smile I have ever seen.
"Wanna cra-- Mind giving me a help?"
I watched as his tanned arms flailed around as he tried to pull himself through the window. After a good laugh, I finally decided to pull him in. He stood up in front of me, towering over me, and gave me a bear hug.

"Now. Back to what I was saying: do you wanna crash a college party?"  

"Seems like you already crashed the party, man. But sure I've got nothing else better to do.”

I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of me going out to a party, so I climbed out the same window Russell came in. The party wasn’t too far from my place, so we got there in less than 10 minutes.

The party had a stench of booze and sweat. The room was lit up with rave lights as people danced to Rihanna's “Work”.  In the far corner was a couple; they looked beyond drunk as they clung to each other “dancing.” Next to me was Dorsey. I haven't seen her in a while and she looked out of place just like me. Russell disappeared with some chick as soon as we walked through the door, leaving me alone. I decided it wouldn't hurt to talk to her. “Hey, long time no see.” She turned to me with a smile. “Oh, hi!” She said. She reminded me of someone I used to know, but I shook the feeling away, blaming it on the shot of Tequila. We talked for a while then decided to leave the party together. We were beyond drunk but still decided to walk each other home. Walking down the street was the last thing I remember before everything went black and I woke up in this well.

    I recognize that Gina and Blake were the couple at the party drunk dancing. Gina looked like she had seen a ghost as she hugged Blake. Blake didn’t look so good either.  I tried to get him to eat something but he said, “The crazy fuck probably poisoned it.” So Dorsey and I ate the food, but saved a little for Blake and Gina in case they change their minds. I guess they'd wait a while after we eat the food to eat some themselves; they probably wanted to see if we’d die from the food. The light above us got brighter; we could actually see each other now, and we looked even worse than I thought. The top of the well opened as a bucket is being lowered down. I thought it was food but instead, it was a letter. Actually a quote: “Our silence is not a weakness, but the beginning of our revenge. Tell me why we want revenge and you all live. You're all responsible”

    We all stared at each other blankly in silence. Gina was the first to speak. “How are we supposed to know why they want revenge?”

“I don’t know, but we’re all connected somehow. We should all start brainstorming,” I said. We started thinking of how we know each other. First, Gina and Blake are couple, obviously. I know Gina and Blake from the party. As for Dorsey, we had a one night stand about a year ago. We started naming our friends and family, and only one name seemed to repetitive: Jessica.

My heart had shattered when my friend, Bailey, told me she saw Miles with some girl named Dorsey during lunch. I approached Dorsey after school, wanting answers.

“Were you with my boyfriend, Miles last night?”

“Miles said you two weren't together, that you were a hit and quit.”

    “We’ve been together for nearly two years!”

    “Not what he told me,Jessica.”

    And with that, she walked off, leaving me stuck in complete confusion. I walked over to my dad’s car and stared off as he drove us home. The car ride was silent and my dad noticed.

    “Is everything alright, sweetie?” I didn’t answer him for a while then everything about my day poured out of my mouth as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

    “Boys are stupid, hun. Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” I tried to believe him, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t. When I finally got home, I laid down and cried, drifting off to sleep.

    My body shook awake as my phone vibrated under me. Bailey was calling.

    “There’s a party tonight. We should go and let off some steam” I agreed to go with her because I could really use a drink, and started to get dressed. An hour later, I was in the car with Bailey heading to the party. When we arrived, the house was dark and flickering lights danced off the walls. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming, but welcoming. After about two cups of beer and four shots of some kind of alcohol, I was ready to go home. I scanned the room and noticed Miles hugged up with some whore. I stumbled over to Blake and asked him for a ride. He told me he didn't care, as long as I can deal with drunk Gina. After 30 minutes of trying to get Gina to leave, we were finally leaving the party. In the car, Gina started to yell at Blake, accusing him of cheating.

    “I'm not stupid; I know you're cheating. Just tell me who!” Blake denied her allegations, but she didn't believe a word. She pushed Blake, making him swerve into the left lane temporarily. I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached for Gina, sitting in between her and Blake on the center console, trying to get her to calm down. She punched and kicked me, and I had enough, I yanked her head down to her lap. For a few seconds, it seemed like she had calmed down until she cursed at me and shoved me into Blake. The tires screeched as glass shattered everywhere and my body seemed to float.

    “That's how we’re all connected? She died last year!” exclaimed Gina.

    “Yeah, babe, she also died because of you.” Gina looked terrified by Blake's words. She fell to the ground, curled up in a ball, and started crying. Blake continued. “You two also have something to do with her. What did you guys do?”

Dorsey answered the question first. “I slept with Miles.” Blake stared at her, confused on what that had to do with anything.

    “Jessica was my ex,” I said. “I cheated on her with Dorsey. She found out the same day she died.” The well was silent as a voice flooded in around us.

    “Jessi was my miracle child. Her mother died two days after she was born. She lost too much blood and we couldn't find a blood donor in time that matched. I raised Jessi as her father and her mother. She was all I had and you all took her away from me. Nothing will settle my heart like you four dying. My little girl will never go off to college, get married, nor have kids. Neither will you four.”

    Once he finished, he put on a gas mask as gas seep down, filling the well. He watched. He watched as we choked and tried to suck up air that was no longer there.