Flicker: The Game Of Chance

Chapter 10 | Black Despondency

Neon bright blue lights invade my pupils as I step my foot into the evening bazaar.

It was the first time that I'd ever seen the city ever since my entrapment. I was never even allowed to see sunlight, so such a beautiful sight mesmerised me back then. I was 14, not knowing that out of every single member of the clan I'd killed, the four main families of the clan was still alive. I'd even forgotten about what I'd done, thanks to the previously mentioned PTSD.

Why did my grandmother force me to take part in this killing game? Was my mother also perhaps part of the first killing game? Perhaps she was part of the clan too? Or perhaps she gave birth to me first and then she'd been trapped in the killing game? Perhaps that's why she abandoned me, to save me from her fate? It was possible, that's for sure.

Where was I again?

Oh yes, I'd fallen from the 100 feet tall ladder in the library, huh?

'My head hurts'.

When I woke up, I was in a room filled with void. Nothing but plain, pure darkness, and a chair.

A chair, an anomaly. It just sat there, staring at the wall, endlessly.

I suddenly came back to my senses and rubbed my piercingly painful head. I felt weak and my head had emitted a chilling pain that created a cursing feeling which travelled throughout my entire body, throughout every neurone. I could feel my hand and legs ache in severe intensity as I suddenly got a reminder about the ladder which had fallen on me from a hundred feet above. Where was I? No longer in the library, that was one thing that I could've definitely said.

"You're finally awake", said a voice.

Impulsively, I turned around to see who the voice came from. It was Carlos.

"I carried you here after I found you unconscious in the library... with a damned 100-feet tall ladder laid flat on top of you. What the hell were you thinking?", he'd said in a quiet, intimidating tone. "Carlos, I-", there was a very long moment of silence after I shrieked in despair, feeling severe pain and agony whenever I'd opened my mouth - blood would flow out of my mouth everytime I'd opened it, too.

"So much for being "strong". Take a break, don't stress yourself". I tried to stand up, but I couldn't move.

This time, it wasn't because I'd felt pain, but because I'd been tied up to the wall.

"Carlos, what the hell? Let me out!", a faint whisper of mine escaped. "I'm sorry, Veronica", he replied, "but, you've found the one book which I tried to hide from you. The one book which I didn't want you to see. You also found that piece of paper I'd torn out, didn't you?", he'd asked, staring at me with ferocious eyes the entire time. Unable to speak, I nodded to his question, signaling that the answer was 'yes'.

"I knew you were acting weird ever since the day after Flavia's execution... I knew something was up. But did you really have to do this? You couldn't have trusted me, even though I proved to you that I was on your side?", he'd started to raise his voice just a little.

I mouthed the word 'stop', and Carlos seemed to have understood, but he didn't let me go. "So you're aware now. That you're the granddaughter of the mansion's owner. And you know about Delta, too".

"You... You knew already? Why'd you hide it from us?", another faint whisper of mine had said.

"I needed to know who the actual spy was first -- I needed more proof. Well, I guess that isn't really an available option anymore", he said.

"Besides, you're the granddaughter of the mansion's owner. That's a big deal, you know? I figured you may be a double agent for both her and us, or perhaps even just an agent for her; that's why I tried to get you on my side". He continued, "but either way, once you're fully healed, I'll let you go. But you will NOT tell anyone about this incident, and you will NEVER step a FOOT inside the library again. Do you understand me?".