A deranged man who likes to call himself the Director kidnaps a teenage boy and girl to be his actors. He expects them to perform the six acts of his play without messing up once, or else harrowing pain awaits them.
🥇1st place / The Cosmic Awards
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"YEAH, I HEARD that," Nathan said. "And guess what else I heard? That next time you can choose where he'll shoot me."
Adelaide's contemplative trance must've shattered, because she looked at Nathan, wide-eyed and slack-mouthed. She shook her head. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry about what happened," she rambled. "I wanted to do you a favor because you're suffering more than me and I just . . ."
"Don't apologize. Forget about it." Nathan flattened a palm against his throat where the Director had gripped, as if checking on it, then walked closer to Adelaide and sat down.
Adelaide shook her head frantically. "I didn't mean to put you in trouble. Like, I hated how he only gave me water because that's so unfair and I thought I'd let you have some. But, uh . . . that didn't end well."
"No shit?" As Nathan adjusted himself against the wall, stretching his spine straight, at least three of his vertebras popped. "I agreed to drink, so it's not your fault. Now please stop talking about it."
Adelaide recoiled slightly, probably still unable to pinpoint the way Nathan's brain functioned. "Alright."
The abrupt silence was the prompt, and Nathan's memory traced back to less than five minutes earlier: Adelaide looking shocked, repeating the Director's words, fiddling with her necklace. He frowned. "Did what the Director say about villains remind you of anything? You looked shocked."
"No . . . No." Adelaide shook her head on top even though the repetition of no should've been enough. "Nothing."
Nathan eyed her suspiciously. "I'm not convinced. Tell me if it reminds you of anything. Maybe we can figure out where these acts are from or something—"
"I said no," Adelaide snapped. "Can you move on? Please."
Slowly tilting his chin away, Nathan hummed quietly and dubiously. Just because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable—otherwise he'd keep pushing. Not right now at least; she didn't seem liable.
"Let's talk about the acts then," Nathan said. "So far, we can tell Dolion's probably married and he's cheating with Luna. But then there's Luna herself." Like a fast reel, all her lines that'd stood out flashed in his head. "I think she's heartbroken. In Act Two, she basically said she's lonely and platonic love isn't what she's looking for."
Adelaide kept her eyes to the floor as she nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Then Dolion came in and she fell for him?"
"Pretty much. But the thing is, she feels she's doing something wrong too. So either she feels like she doesn't deserve love because her man left her, or he died and she feels like falling for another man is cheating?"
