Zoe wakes up in a strange room without a clue on how she got there. She and the seven other people are instructed to play a game. A game that will push them all to their limits, that will expose their deepest, darkest secrets. A game meant to kill...
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Chapter One: Chosen
Smoke. Blood. Suffocating smoke clouds in my throat. I taste burning cooper on my tongue. It's all I can feel when I peel my eyes open. But somehow, the taste subsides the second I intake the blinding white lights.
Oval light bulbs with long cords attached hang from the wood ceiling. As my vision adjusts to the harsh brightness, I gain more self awareness. Hard, uncomfortable flooring rests under my head. A slow burning pulse aches in my temples.
And I'm not alone.
I ease into a sitting position. My head feels as if it's going to fall off though, so I brace it as if it's physically possible for it to roll off my neck. The second I feel stable enough, I open my eyes again and glance around the room.
Seven pairs of eyes stare back at me. What surprises me the most is that I recognize all of them.
The eight of us, myself included, sit inside a cramped room - or perhaps it feels cramped due to all of us in it. The walls are made up of darkly painted wooden panels. In the middle is a white coffee table with a booklet facing up. The room is practically bare besides a bookshelf to the right. From my angle, I can see a few items on the shelves.
"What's going on?" I ask, the question slipping from my lips the second I finish looking around.
Adrien rolls her eyes. "When we find out, I'll be the first to let you know."
She doesn't know me personally, but I know quite a bit about her. Everyone does. Adrien's that girl that makes it her business to be known by everybody.
"Ignore her," Jen, someone I consider a friendly face in this room, says. "We all know pretty much the same; we all woke up in here and can't remember much from before that."
"And," James adds, pointing at the book on the table between all of us. "There's that."
"What's in it?" I ask.
Again, Adrien makes her annoyance clear with a scoff. "Can't you read? It literally says not to open until everyone is awake," she snaps. "We were literally were waiting on you."
I apologize, my face heating up.
"So, who's gonna pick it up?" Ximena is the first to ask. She's sitting next to Adrien, as I expected. They've been close friends since middle school, although she's more reserved than Adrien is.
No one moves or speaks. All I know is that I don't want to be the one to read whatever is written in the booklet.
After a few seconds, I see Rodney lean forward and snatch it up. Silently, he opens it and starts reading. During the entire time, my heartbeat pounds in my ear. I don't know how he was so brave to do that. From what I know of him, he's that loner guy that doesn't associate with anybody. So why would he be here?
