Flicker: The Game Of Chance

Chapter 6 | Falseful Testimony

I don't know how long we were sat there for, thinking about what'd just happened. It was well over an hour, that was all I'd known. All of us were so beyond traumatized, beyond astonished that we were unable to move a single muscle. "Flavia... is she doing this to get voted out? Because perhaps she is the clown?", someone said. Kiryomi shook her head, and replied "no, if so, she would've tried to get voted out earlier".

"I guess you're right...", Albert replied.

"If only we could've escaped... the front door is barricaded with some unbreakable metal, same with the windows. The ventilation systems are too small for a human to fit through, as well", muttered Amani. "No! We've already been missing for a week right?! The police should've started looking for us by now! We'll all be fine!", exclaimed Austin, giving everyone just the smallest light of hope.

Eventually, most of us started to leave the area. One by one, the table was empty again, leaving just me and Colleen. Colleen chuckled silently, sighed and looked up at the ceiling with a sad smile. "If only we were storks...".

"...It's a quote from Significant Cigarettes. You've read that story?", I asked her. "Of course. It used to be an all-time favorite to me", Colleen replied, "because... the protagonist reminds me of myself". I leaned in to be able to hear her better, knowing that I was about to hear what happened in Colleen's past.

"You see, just like the protagonist, Lev, I was also forced away from my homeland in search of a better life", she muttered. "Even though he was much older when it happened to him than I was, it was still relatable. My mother died from cancer when I was young. I had a little brother too, you see, and we were already short on cash. My father... being a single father, he was finding it difficult. He was getting minimum wage, too. It was hard for him to take care of us". Colleen's voice was much quieter than usual, and she spoke in a sad tone. "Then, we moved to England in search of a better life... just like Lev did. But that's where things got...".

Colleen took a deep breath and was tearing up a little bit. Despite this, she continued speaking about it. "England... it was a ruthless place. Full of drunkards, junkies. You see, in England, we were unable to afford even a small apartment room, so we were living on the streets. There was a community of us, you see...",

She had to take deep breaths and long pauses in between each sentence. "Some of them in that community... were not so kind. A man... forced my father and brother to drink... alcoholic beverages. They were both in such a state that they couldn't control themselves... they went onto the railway, and...",

She was starting to cry a little now. "Then... that same person who basically killed my family, he... invaded my father's space while it was just me there, then he...".

Colleen broke down, she was unable to speak anymore. Even though I would've liked to understand more about her, I tried my best, with my uncaring attitude, to comfort her. Actually, I guess... after the incident with Flavia was when I started to gain more sympathy than before, even if just a little. "It's okay... you don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it", I said, even though I had a good idea what that man had done. Colleen nodded and smiled; she uttered out a 'thanks' before continuing to cry again. I didn't know what to do in this situation, so I just left her alone. Yet again, I was wandering around aimlessly, looking for nothing in particular.

Chlorine...

I suddenly felt a rising urge to throw up. Looking back, I guess the trauma finally caught up to me. I rushed to the washroom, and it happened. Watching all my comrades fall one by one, it wasn't something you'd see every day. Even as stole cold as I was back then, it was inevitable to feel some despair. After it was done, I walked up to the mirror and looked at myself.