CH3: LET'S PLAY A GAME.
Dream-Shot
He awoke completely unaware of everything around him. Where he was and who the others in the dim
room were was not something he knew, and as far as the others knew, everything was foreign to them, too.
"What's going on?" Chanyeol rubbed his head and looked around the room. The last they had heard they were
going on a tour by train, and now they had woken up in what looked like a barely lit underground carpark
with no visible exits.
"I don't know." Another man answered. His name was Baekhyun. "But whatever it is, you're the last to wake
up." Chanyeol looked around the room. There were five others in the room with him, each looking equally
as confused.
"What about our train tour?" One man asked, his name was Kai. "Hey whoever put us here! Answer our
questions Goddammit!"
"Be quiet!" Another man - Suho - said. "Whoever brought us here could be hostile. We don't want to upset
them." Kai dropped his brow and sat down on the concrete floor. He knew Suho was right, he just didn't want
him to be.
At that moment at least half a dozen lights flickered on in the concrete building, revealing a large pile of
furniture sitting around 20 metres away from them.
"Woah, who did that?" Chanyeol asked, looking to the others for answers. Baekhyun shrugged and shoved his
hands in his pockets, wandering towards the furniture.
"Beats me. There are no light switches down here, we checked before you woke up." Chanyeol looked around
with slight worry. Something was seriously off about this whole situation. There were a lot of questions he
wanted answers to.
"Hey, there's a note." Baekhyun said aloud as he bent over to pick up the small piece of paper next to the odd
pile of furniture.
"What does it say?" Sehun asked, jogging over to him. Baekhyun began to read aloud;
"The note says; 'Please rearrange the furniture. We are unhappy with it'." He frowned and checked the back of
the note, but that was all it said.
"What the hell?" Sehun asked, snatching the note from Baekhyun. "Gimme that." He scanned it over with his eyes
at least twice, before throwing it to the side. "If they took us here to redecorate their living room then they can
think again. I'm not rearranging ."
"Suit yourself, but I think we should." D.O said with concern. "We're in this creepy room for a reason, maybe if
we do this they'll let us go? Maybe this is a hidden camera show, who knows?" The others nodded in agreement,
but Sehun only scoffed.
"If this is a hidden camera show then I'm not falling victim to someone's joke. I'm just gonna sit here, and not do
anything." He said, crossing his arms.
"Such an entertainer..." Kai rolled his eyes.
"You guys, this isn't the time to be joking around. We may not know each other but that doesn't mean we can't work
together. I say we give it a go." Suho said confidently. He walked over to an old brown couch and lifted one end,
Baekhyun walking over slowly and hesitantly lifting the other. Chanyeol went over to carry a couch with D.O, and
after a small while Kai also joined in. Once they had finished rearranging the furniture, Suho dropped down onto
one of the couches to catch his breath. There was a lot of furniture to move, probably enough for five pieces each
or near it.
"Alright, so now what?" Kai asked. The people who had moved the furniture all sat down around Suho in a small
group.
"I told you guys, there are probably people somewhere laughing at you. This is stupid." Sehun said, still sitting against
a concrete pillar. Suho was about to reply, when all of the lights suddenly flickered out and came back on within a second.
Chanyeol was the first to notice the new addition to the room. In front of their small group was a new message from
whoever had taken them to this place. But it was a message they wish thy had never seen. Written in fresh blood, the
message stated:
'Evaluation:
Suho - 6
D.O - 5
Baekhyun - 5
Chanyeol - 4
Kai - 3
Sehun - 0
Congratulations.'
The men read the message silently before looking at each other in confusion.
"Scores..?" Suho asked. Baekhyun shuddered as the smell of blood penetrated his nostrils.
"This is too creepy. Who's blood did they use to write this?" He asked. Chanyeol suddenly froze stiff, his heart beat
pounding his chest in fear.
"You guys..." He said slowly. "Where's that Sehun guy..?" The others suddenly stiffened as well, feeling shivers tear
at their bodies. As they turned around to look where Sehun had been sitting a few minutes ago, they saw him laying
on the floor with a puddle of blood surrounding him, his head cut clean off and eyes still wide open. His white hair
and porcelain skin were now stained red, and the life force that once powered the young boy was now spreading
over the floor. Baekhyun almost threw up at the sight, and Kai fell back and landed on the seat of his pants.
"W-What the is this place...? What the Hell is going on!?" Chanyeol cried, shaking violently. "They killed him!
They ing killed him and he didn't do anything wrong! He couldn't even defend himself!" D.O was speechless at
the whole situation, tears starting to form in his eyes.
"What kind of game are they playing?" Baekhyun said shakily. "They score us based on a random task and then kill
whoever gets the lowest score? That's ing sick! What do we even get scored on? How come some of us got
lower scores that others if we all helped!?"
"Any one of us could be the next to die..." Kai whimpered. Suho tried taking deep, steadying breaths but they all
came out shaky. A new block of lights flickered on to his left, and he swore he could see something at the end of
them, but wasn't prepared to go in to the darkness to find out. As far as he was concerned, the darkness was the killer.
"Wait..." D.O suddenly said. "There's more to the message." Baekhyun looked up, still shaking.
"I don't care. We're all gonna die here anyway, what's the point in continuing." he replied.
"This is important." D.O said. "It says; 'Such a pity. Maybe if he hadn't have DODGED that last request...'." D.O
looked up slowly before his eyes grew wide. "Watch out!!" He cried, pulling Baekhyun out of the way just as a
large steel pipe fell from the roof, cracking the floor as it hit. Baekhyun stared after the large pipe for a while in
shock, before a low rumble was heard and many others began to fall from different places. The remaining five
began jumping out of the way and doing their best to avoid being crushed by the massive steel supports, until Kai
came to a sudden realization of what the message meant.
"You guys!" He called out. "These bars are gonna keep falling until one of us gets hit! That's what the message was
saying!" Baekhyun rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding a hit and pressed his back flat against a wall.
"Are you sure? That's a risky call to make!" He called back.
"No, I think he's right too!" D.O called over the deafening clanking of metal on concrete. There was a short silence
between them all as they too realized what had to be done.
"I'll do it." Kai said, barely heard over the racket. "Whatever this ed up place is, its only going to end by getting
through this. We can't stay here avoiding these things forever!" he called, louder this time.
"Kai wait!" Suho called. "We need to talk about this!" Kai looked up with a sad smile, taking a step forward into the
rain of falling beams. In an instant his head whipped back and he was slammed to the ground by a heavy steel beam,
breaking a few of his ribs and keeping him pinned to the ground on top of his back. Kai was right in his theory,
however, and the beams instantly stopped falling. Kai coughed up a lump of blood - his ribs had pierced his lungs -
and his face began to pale as his eyelids darkened.
"Kai!" D.O ran over to the injured boy and checked him over, trying to help him.
"Oh !" Baekhyun said shakily, also running over. "It's gonna be ok, hang in there man we'll get you out of here!"
Kai struggled to turn his head to the side and look at D.O and Baekhyun.
"It's ok..." He choked out, more blood spilling from his lips. "I think I can make -" The lights suddenly out
again, leaving the few survivors in darkness. When they came back on, Kai's eyes were glazed and open, his face
pale and lifeless laying in a pool of his own blood. His neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, obviously broken
when the lights went off. Baekhyun's voice shook as he stuttered out a curse, and dropped to his knees in front of
the body. Chanyeol also could no longer stand, and D.O looked like he had been winded.
"What the ..." Suho whispered. "There was no need for him to die! He figured out your puzzle! He suffered
enough from that beam, why kill him!?"
"H-Hyung, look..." Chanyeol said quietly, pointing to a deep carving in the wall. Suho turned to see the new
'Evaluation' that had been left for them.
'Baekhyun - 4
Chanyeol - 3
Suho - 2
D.O - 1
Kai - 10 - 0
Congratulations.'
"If Kai got 10, why did he die!?" Baekhyun cried.
"I think..." D.O said quietly. "That its because he figured out the message meaning. If one of us had have died
he would have still gotten a 10... But instead he chose to sacrifice himself for us which gave him a 0." Chanyeol
had tears welling in his eyes, his hands scrunched in his hair. It was too much for him to handle, all these deaths
in this sick game with scoring that made no sense to them.
"I wanna get the outta here..." He whimpered, shaking his head. As if on cue, another block of lights came
on , creating a clearly lit path to a old fashioned elevator. The remaining men looked at each other uneasily; it
could have been a trap, or another round in the game. Regardless, it was their only way out.
"Do we take Sehun and Kai?" Baekhyun asked quietly. "Their families would-"
"Not want to see them the way they are now." Suho said solemnly. "It could also be hazardous for us if theres
something physical waiting for us up there. We can't afford any burdens. We need to escape here and report it to
the authorities. That's the only way their deaths wont be in vain." The others nodded slowly, broken looks on
their faces as they mentally said goodbye to each of the unfortunate others.
They walked cautiously along the lit pathway towards the elevator, luckily it was just big enough to fit all four
of them. They could hear the sounds of nature outside, and their hopes began to grow as the elevator started
moving upwards.
But all the hope they had was crushed when they saw the thick forest around them - lined with a steel 10-metre
high fence.
"Where... Are we..? How is this possible?" Suho asked.
"How do we get home?" D.O asked in a quiet voice.
"I don't think..." Baekhyun began "They're finished with this sick game just yet."
"Maybe we could climb the fence and-" Chanyeol was interrupted by a low growl from outside the fence. A grey
wolf looked hungrily at the four with blood red eyes a live rabbit struggling in its mouth. With one quick movement,
the wolf snapped the rabbits neck, and all movement ceased from the fluffy rodents body as it fell limp. Chanyeol
swallowed and shook his head, looking all around their 'cage' for anywhere to go. There was nowhere.
"Guys! Come look at this!" Baekhyun called the others over to see a white piece of paper caught in a bush. He
pulled it out and read it aloud.
'Please read the words aloud. Some are unlucky.' Baekhyun turned the sheet of paper over and found a list of 50
words written on the back. He swallowed as he made eye contact with the others. This would be the final round.
It was like a landmine field; some words would get them killed - only they didn't know which ones.
"Who wants to start?" Chanyeol asked nervously. Baekhyun scoffed at the fact that no one would ever want to start.
"I will." Suho said bravely. "I just wanna go home." The others nodded and Baekhyun held the list in the middle of
their circle. Suho began at the top of the list, and the others agreed to read clockwise in the circle - Suho, Chanyeol,
D.O, Baekhyun.
"Yacht."
"Oval."
"Under."
One of the wolves suddenly leapt over the fence and bolted for D.O who had said the last word. He let out a
bloodcurdling scream that begged for his life as he tried to run away from the beast, but tripped on a root as he
reached the tree line. The wolf jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground on his back, and ripped his throat
out using its powerful jaws, blood running through the natural crevasses in the earth. Chanyeol let out a choked sob
as he covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to throw up. Baekhyun however was sobbing, his face contorted in
utter fear and misery.
" that could have been me!" Baekhyun sobbed, tears making his face sticky. "That could be me! I wanna go
home! I don't want to die!" He was beginning to be hysterical.
"That's it now though, right? That's the final round and we can all go?" Suho asked, throwing a rock into the air. It
clanged against the metal fence and Suho cried out in frustration. A blue parrot flew over their heads and landed in
a tree near the remaining three.
"Read the word," It squawked roughly. Suho noticed it had strangely sharp teeth jutting from inside it's beak. "Or
feed the bird." He gulped and shakily took the paper If they didn't read they would get killed by these mutant parrots.
"Maltese." He began.
"Upstairs."
"Shout."
"Taste."
A large crack was heard from the trees behind them, and Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked up to see a thick, tall tree
slowly falling towards them, Suho with his back facing it. Instinct took over and the two who had seen the tree ran
out of the way and dove to the ground for cover. Chanyeol turned back to make sure Suho had escaped too, but
managed to only make eye contact with Suho who was frozen in place out of shock and fear. His eyes were
desperate, fearful - the eyes of someone who knows they are at deaths door. He didn't look away as Suho was
crushed flat under the massive tree trunk, his blood splattering so far as to stain the faces of the two who had
escaped. They shook with fear, tears still running down their eyes. So many people had been freakishly killed in
front of their eyes and either one of them could have been next. As they heard the mutant parrot squawk again,
Chanyeol slowly got up to get the paper from Suho's pale, dead hand that stuck out from under the tree, coated in
blood. Baekhyun got up too and walked over to him, slowly taking the paper from him.
"I'll start this time." He said. "But whoever gets out of here alive from the two of us... If it's you... Promise me you'll
make sure we didn't die in vain. Promise me you'll find out who's behind this and make them suffer." Baekhyun
shook as he spoke. "I don't wanna die useless. Let my death be the last step in the path to victory. I promise I'll do
the same." Chanyeol nodded, suppressing a sob as he heard another squawk. Baekhyun began with the next word
on the list.
"Dinner."
"Imminent."
"Exam."
As if out of nowhere Baekhyun's legs were pulled out from under him as a large bear dug its claws into his
calves. Baekhyun screamed out in pain as he cried tears of hysteria, screaming for Chanyeol to help him and
thrashing about. The bear slashed across Baekhyun's back, leaving deep gashes from its claws. Chanyeol
wanted to look away, but it was as if all the muscles in his body had stiffened up and wouldn't budge.
Baekhyun's scream was cut off like a light as all life faded from his eyes. The bear picked the list up in
its mouth and walked over Baekhyun's lifeless body to leave through the forest.
Chanyeol sat alone and afraid, and suddenly all the sounds around him became much louder. The note
was gone, and he was the last one alive. That could mean one of two things. The first option was that he
was the winner of this twisted game and he could go home. The second option was that he would have to
risk getting the note back from the bear - or be eaten by the mutant parrots. His thoughts were answered when
a helicopter flew over head and dropped a rope ladder down. Chanyeol didn't know who was up there, but
he knew it was better than staying in that hellhole.
When arrived safely at the top, two men stood on either side of the doorway, one holding a green ball, one
holding a blue one.
"Congratulations." One said. "You have made it through our game." Chanyeol stared at both of them incredulously.
These two were responsible for the killings of innocent men.
"As a final test, you must pick a ball from us." The other said cheerfully. "One guarantees your safety, the other
will cause a slow and painful death." Chanyeol swallowed hard and took a step towards the men who stood with
their backs to the door. The helicopter still hovered over the island, and Chanyeol remembered the promise he
had made with Baekhyun before he died.
"I'm tired of your games." He said lowly. "I choose victory!" With that Chanyeol pushed each of the men as hard
as he could to send them falling from the helicopter and landing harshly on the ground below. Chanyeol pulled
the rope ladder back into the helicopter and saw a panel full of buttons and handles. One large button stuck out to
him with the words "Subject shut-down" written on it - and he pressed it down hard.
As the helicopter flew away, Chanyeol heard the pained screams of the men, and a small smile graced his face.
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I think this was because that day I had finished reading a manga called "Doubt" But I'm not sure.
Enjoy, anywho.
My dreams are screwed up.
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