Ruby Fridays

Chapter 32: Belated Regret

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N O W P L A Y I N G

» [ Belated Regret - Lee Nyeom ] «

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───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────

║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 15 - 2027 ║

║ Friday║ 3rd Midnight of the Games ║

The velvet lights of the room I was in, which was behind the podium stage, cast ominous shadows on the wall as I sit in the corner, waiting. 

The air was still dark and musty, filled with props and costumes hiding sinister secrets, as if like me, it was also waiting for the clock to strike midnight and summon me to do my dare.

I try to calm my nerves, but dread fills my stomach like lead.

I agreed to this dare, this macabre stunt to prove myself just earlier, believing doing a dare was much easier for me to blabber a truth that's part of my past. 

But, now I was starting regret choosing this path 'cause it fucking feels I am trapped, destiny and pride forcing my feet forward even as every cell in my body screams in protest.

 A cold sweat breaks out across my skin and my stomach churns at the thought of what I must do, what profane acts I'll be forced to commit for this so-called malevolent games of this hellish institution. 

I try to tell myself I can back out, walk away from this depravity, but I know that's a lie. 

I'm in far too deep now, my name already entered into their black book of the damned. 

Feeling worse than ever, I had no choice but to sit in the wooden chair, and place my hand on the armrest and take a deep breath. As I raise my mind into the airtight, one thought echoes in my mind —

"How would I know if the pinkie finger I have been dared to chop off is right?" 

Like a ruined river of curiosity, those words came flooding through my lips as I stared at the black robed figure at my side. I asked those, my voice shaking like a bird bathe in cold air.

With it, the hooded figure turned to me silently, its face concealed in darkness as the cold night air was thick with my sinister anticipation begging for its answer, "Patience, young one. The time will come. When another player picks the 'dare' option just as you did, their fate will be sealed as the one whose pinkie finger you shall take."

The voice was deep and gravelly, sending crickets of chills up my system. 

The figure remained cloaked in shadows, its face obscured. I knew not who — or what — hid beneath the dark hood, but eventually, all of the unnecessary queries that clouded my head succumbed to darkness when its gnarled hand emerged from the robe, holding the tip of the gleaming blade of the knife I was holding, "You will feel it in your bones. The finger will call out to be severed. And when the deed is done, the game will progress. Just that simple,"