House Of the Desperate (COMPLETED)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Over the next three days, the house was almost completely silent with grief over Margaret's death. Of course, there were those who cared little about Margaret's death, especially Ray, who seemed almost pleased about her passing. The contestants who voted for him were extremely frustrated that Ray was still alive while Margaret wasn't - he deserved to die more. However, they kept referring back to Margaret's last words, that she did not care about her death, and the others should not be either. Still, some of the people who voted for Margaret regretted voting for her, thinking "if I had voted for Ray instead of Margaret, she would still be here now". It was a depressing time. However, the contestants were about to get one massive surprise, which would stir things up for the rest of the competition.

After those three days, The Leader spoke to the house, which surprised everybody, as they only spoke to announce a task or the voting day.

"This is The Leader. Would any two housemates go to the task room"?

This caused a stir, as everybody was wondering what they would be doing.

"It's a surprise task", said Ruth, "he's making us do it early so that we starve for longer".

"If it's a task", replied Ray, "I'm up for it". Although Ray now despised half the group because of their votes for him, he knew that he needed to pass the task to earn their respect and to win food for himself.

"There needs to be two", said Lucy, "so who else wants to go in?"

"I'll do it", said Paul, standing up, "I am confident in passing it".

"Are there any objections to Paul going in?" asked Ruth.

Nobody said anything nor put their hand up.

"Then Paul it will be", said Ruth.

Quickly, Ray and Paul entered the task room, completely in the dark about what they were about to endure. When they entered the room, they saw two rowing machines, two funny looking boxes and eight pints of beer. "This is The Leader", said the voice, "Paul and Ray, you have selected yourselves to do this task. As a matter of fact, this is not a task at all - it is something far more important than that. Both of you will compete against each other to win the ultimate prize - life. Whoever wins the race will automatically walk out of this door alive, although you will have to remain in the house". The Leader paused for a moment, to allow Ray and Paul to process the shock.

"Oh my God!" cried Paul.

"However", continued the voice, "by losing the battle, it would mean that you have a one in seven chance of walking out of here alive, as there will be only one place left. As you can see in front of you, there are eight pints of beer. That is your first race. You each must drink four pints of beer each, and then you must figure out a way to open the mind-boggling puzzle cubes, and get the tiny ball out from the centre. Finally, you both must sit on the rowing machines and complete ten miles. There are no time limits, because the first person to pass all three tasks will win the ultimate prize. Remember - I will be watching to make sure there is no cheating. The race starts...now!"

The voice ended, and the race began. Immediately, Ray rushed over to the pints of beer, and downed them.