The Wheel

76. Veronica

The shot is fired. The bullet goes through my head. I fall on the floor and die. Then I find myself in a cubical room again and think that I will never get out of it. The last thing I remember is a repetition of Ayama's question: "What is your biggest quirk?" I woke up from the nightmare and opened my eyes. Well, I'm lying on the bed in one of the guest rooms in Chris' country house. I take a deep breath and look at the window: it's dusk, about six o'clock in the morning.

For a second I thought that everything that had happened was a dream: the awakening in a dark room, formal clothes, the wheel, Ayama, emoji-timer, David crying, Miguel's past, Ayama again, buffet table, music and...Chris shooting me in the head! I feel that fear again, when the gun was directed at me – is it really in the past now?

"Thank you," I say through tears for being alive, "thank you!"

I also see the pictures of the moment when our tortures had ended: the host of the show Max was talking to us very politely and calmly – unfortunately, I can't remember his face! Perhaps with the help of hypnosis they've erased our memories about Max's appearance and...Sam's! The person who I've been dating for a year is now gone from my life and from my memory forever. I took the phone: nothing's changed since yesterday, in the call log there's only a notification of my mother's call. Stop! All the signs of Sam are gone now: our pictures on the phone, in social networks, and his mobile number. And what about our common familiar people? He was seen in the university, in me posts on Instagram on numerous occasions! Those people from DarkHOLEnet hypnotized everyone who had ever known Sam?

When I got dressed, I found an envelope in the pocket of my jeans: the one we were given yesterday! When I opened it, my jaw dropped: three thousand dollars! For everything we've been through we got so much money? It's crazy!

Kate suddenly went into the room; she was dressed in her usual clothes.

"We need to go," she called me.

I put the envelope in the pocket and went after her.

"How is your head?" I asked. "And what's with the scar on your head?"

"There is an advanced medicine in that DarkSHITnet, since my wound has already healed. Mike is okay, too, by the way."

The guys gathered in the kitchen: almost everyone was sitting at the big table, except for Chris, who was making breakfast and acting like nothing's happened. Asshole!

"Good morning everyone," I said. "You too, Mr. Royce!"

Everyone looked at me: looks like my morning greeting was out of place.

"So, everyone is here," Miguel said calmly. "Seems like we need to discuss something."

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked, surprised. "Did something happen yesterday?"

"What are we talking about?!" I couldn't help screaming. "Seriously? Are you out of your mind?! Do I need to remind you what you did to me yesterday?!"

"You just had a bad dream," Chris said like nothing really happened yesterday.

"That nightmare was real, you sick bastard," Kate replied instead of me. "The cubical room. The wheel. Doesn't ring a bell? And you dirty little secret about you sleeping with your mom? It didn't happen either?!"

Fury burned in Chris' eyes.

"What did you say?!" he asked angrily. "How dare you saying that about me and my mom? You think I'm crazy? Why do you keep quiet, all of you?" he asked the others.

Kate crossed her hands and laughed.

"Not bad, Chris," she applauded the professional actor. "Yeah, our dear highly functioning sociopath with "the happiest and most perfect life" had a typical day yesterday."

"It's true!" Chris yelled. "We had fun, drank a little, and went to bed. Why are you being so rude to me?!"

"You don't have to pretend with us," Mike told him. "We just wanted to discuss that nobody should spread the word about the secrets of the others that we found out yesterday."

"Nothing happened!" the psycho screamed like yesterday.

"Yeap," Miguel said discontentedly. "And Sam didn't go anywhere, and none of us has checks for three thousand dollars."

"Who is Sam?" Chris continued acting. "I don't remember him. Show me! Where is he? Who is that Sam?"

He took out from his pocket an envelope, folded in two.

"Nice joke, Miguel!" he tore the envelope to pieces. "What's the point of your joke, huh?"

Our jaws dropped. Crap! I'd rather he gave this envelope to me! Idiot! However, I have to be thankful for having a large amount of money that will be enough to buy a decent house and do whatever I like for the rest of my life.

"Go away!" he said angrily. "I don't wanna talk to you anymore!"

"Fine," David went toward the exit.

One by one the guys were leaving the house: only Kate and I stayed. Looks like my friend wants to say good bye to this psycho, so I'd better give them some privacy, so I also went toward the door.

"Wait, Veronica," Kate stopped me and took a deep breath. "Well, Chris, I guess we have to break up. We were quite a couple, to be honest."

"We weren't a couple!" he declared.

"At least there is something sincere went out of your mouth," Kate smiled widely and nodded. "Honestly, I liked being your 'lover': I've visited so many restaurants and renewed my wardrobe – so thanks. Did your mother know? Oh no, don't answer; of course she knew – she probably suggested you to 'date' me, so that nobody at the university would ask questions why so 'handsome', 'happy', 'wonderful', 'smart', and the most 'perfect' Mr. Royce is single. I hope your new lover will be pleased with you: you should start looking for her already, or else 'the worst rumors' will start and they will make you less 'perfect'."

Chris was barely holding back the anger. His fists were clenching harder and harder.

"It's enough, Kate," I said.

"No, wait," she swung his index finger in front of me. "Damn you, I won't forget how you were keeping quiet and refused to tell us your 'most terrible and awful' secret that nobody could care less about! I didn't say a word and almost ruined my family! Probably nothing would have been published about them, but it was more important for you to hide your relationship with your mom than destroy people's lives! What DarkHOLEnet had on my parents won't compare to any of our stories, believe me! If at least something about them came out, I would rip your throat out in that room. Anyway, I'm glad we saw your rotten and dead soul. You're just a biological machine that doesn't even have its own opinion! It's hard to imagine what kind of father you are for your son."

Chris hit the table with his fists so hard that they started bleeding.

"Get out of here, stupid slut!" he screamed. "I hope you'll die, good for nothing bitch!"

"Hmm, I'm already dead in some sense, so there is nothing for me to be scared of," she put her hand on my shoulder and headed for the exit. "Bye."

When we came out of the house, the others were waiting for us.