Frightful Flash Fiction

The Game Show

It was a new show. No one really knew what it was going to be about, but they needed contestants. Me and my husband, Thomas, have always loved watching game shows together. This show was being filmed in our area and they were looking for couples so we thought it'd be fun to try and get on the show. And what do you know, about a week passed and I got a call. We made it on the show. We were so happy. Thomas claimed that we were only picked because it would boost ratings if they had a gay couple on their first episode.I didn't care, we made it on the new show, and imagine we win, that'd be great. After a few days, we were getting ready to head to the studio. I drove us down there, and we met the other couples. One of the couples were two college kids, they started dating about 4 months ago. We had another couple there who was our age. They were dating for 3 years and the husband just proposed to his wife a week ago. The last couple, besides us, was an old couple. They were married for 60 years. They were a really sweet couple. I was beginning to think Thomas was right, young, old, black, gay. They really were hitting all the categories. A man dressed in all black led us to the stage. There were eight chairs paired into twos, each pair behind a podium. We took our seats and waited. There was a small audience there, also the two men in all black and a man in sparkly red suit, who we believed to be the host. The host stood behind a podium of his own and began skimming over index cards. He began, "Hello everyone at home, and here in the audience, we're so glad you could join us here for our very new show, Lovers Quarrel. Where going to have one person answer a question by writing it down on a board, then the other person must guess what they wrote. If they fail, both people must complete a challenge that's randomly decided. Everyone understand?" Both us and the audience said we understood and the game started. "First question! Where was your first date?" That was an easy question. Thomas and the others wrote down their answers. Then it was the other person's time to write down the same answer. We went through each one, the older couple went to some fancy restaurant. Thomas and I were also safe. We went bowling, and had ordered chinese for dinner. The black couple were also fine, they went to the movies. The two kids however, weren't. The boy said they went to a game store, and the girl said they hadn't had one. They were asked to choose which finger on their right hand they cared the least about. A weird question, but we thought nothing of it. They both said their little finger. Shortly after answering, the two men in black walked up and without a second thought grabbed their hands and cut off the declared finger. Everyone screamed including me, the two kids were freaking out when we tried to get up and leave two other people dressed in black came out and pointed guns at us. The host began to speak again, "I'm sorry, but you may not leave at this moment, you must wait till the game is over. Onto the next question. Who's more likely to break up with the other?" We were done with this freak show, but we had to keep playing, I answered honestly, we can't afford to get any questions wrong. The old couple was fine again, they both said the wife. They laughed about it afterwards, which was kinda weird seeing the kinda situation we were in. We were also fine, I said Thomas and he agreed. The two kids didn't answer at all, because of that, two of the men grabbed them and dragged them off stage. The black couple also wasn't safe, they started arguing with each other, it seemed innocent at first, but as it kept going, it kept getting more and more personal. The husband hit his wife so hard she fell back, and her head hit the the corner of the kids podium. Her head cracked open and blood was pouring out. The husband started screaming and crying. The host whispered to one of the other guys, and started to talk once more, "I'm sorry, but with your partner out of commission, you can no longer participate." The husband looked at the host, and screamed, "Out of commission!? She's fucking dead! And that's your fault. I'm gonna kill you!" As the husband stood, the guy the host whispered to, shot him in the head. We were all horrified. The audience, however, loved it. They were cheering, and clapping, and laughing. How could they be enjoying this? The host, with a big smile on his face, asked us another question. "Which one deserves to live more?" We hated the question, but answered anyway. Me and Thomas both answered myself. However, the old couple said the other. The host seemed almost moved by this, like he actually cared about them for a second. He turned away, and let the same two men who took the teens take away the old couple. The host turned back to us. "Congratulations, you're the last team left." This screen behind him lit up, showing Team 2 was the winner. "Can we go now, can we leave?" Thomas asked. "Yes, yes, you can go, after one more question for you. Can you tell you're lovely husband what this is?" The screen changed to show Thomas and I's empty bedroom. I was confused at first, but Thomas seemed to be horrified. Soon, Thomas entered the room with another man. They started kissing and undressing each other. I looked at Thomas, and he just stared at me, unable to say anything. "What the hell is this?" I yelled. "Listen, I'm sorry. I was drunk, and I wasn't thinking straight." Thomas responded. "Wasn't thinking straight? Yeah, okay. We've been married for 5 years!" I kept yelling at him. He just looked at me unsure what to say. I was so mad at him, I couldn't believe he cheated on me. One of the men dressed in black walked up to me and gave me a gun. Thomas just continued to look at me, scared. It wasn't easy, but I put a bullet in his head. The host laughed. "Well, who was expecting that? I guess you may leave now." The crowd cheered for me. The host started to speak again. "Oh, it seems they really like you, you might be a fan favorite. Maybe we'll keep you for next episode too. We'll have to change the format, but I think it'll be fine. Welcome to the show."