EDEN
Even though Josh warned us weeks ago, seeing Daisy Williamson standing right before us dressed in a beautiful black poofy dress with a golden crown on her head truly surprised me. Our children, who had never seen Daisy before, knew who she was right away. They'd seen plenty of pictures of her in her youth when she tormented Rachel and I. Despite how stunning Daisy looked, she held an axe in her hands, and Harlin and Arya were armed with guns. Audrey, who was standing behind us, also had a gun pointed directly at us.
We were completely trapped.
"So it is you," Rachel said, breaking through the thick silence with her quivering voice. "It's been you since the beginning. Josh was right all along."
Daisy grinned. "Guilty as charged."
"How did you escape the explosion back then?" I asked. "We watched the St. Paul's hospital blow up with you inside of it twenty years ago."
"Don't get too far ahead of yourselves," Daisy said as she stepped forward, swinging the axe around. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, don't worry. But first of all, we have to get a little something out of the way. Someone has to die."
"Why are you doing this?" Rachel asked. "Let our kids go. They don't deserve any of this. This isn't their war to fight. If you want Eden and I, let our kids go free."
Daisy laughed, so deep and evil. "You really think I'm going to let your kids miss out on all of the fun?"
"This isn't fun, you sick bitch," Emerald said, holding on tight to her mother. "You're a monster."
"I'm not a monster. I'm a Queen," Daisy said. "You see, the thing that I always loved about the Fear Games is that it made me feel like a god. I never felt comfortable with regular religion. But when you get to take someone's life, feel their final breath escape their lungs, or smell their blood that you helped spill...it changes you. It makes you feel powerful. It makes you feel like you can take on anyone or anything. Being able to take a life gives you the power of a god—or a King or Queen."
"You're fucking insane," I said, ushering my three kids under my arms, trying to do whatever I could to keep them safe. "Why would you have waited all this time just to attack us again?"
"Like I said," Daisy replied, "you must have patience. We have a couple things we need to get out of the way first. Some sacrifices need to be made. That's part of the Games after all, isn't it?"
"What kind of sacrifices?" Rachel asked.
"I'm so glad you asked!" Daisy said. "Harlin, Arya. Bring in the first victim."
As the two teens walked off into the darkness, my family, friends, and I stood there, and I contemplated making a move to take Daisy down. Realizing that was too risky, I stayed still, holding my kids close while Rachel held hers.
Harlin and Arya dragged in a tied up body, and at first I didn't recognize them because it was so dark. Duct tape was over his mouth and he made several moaning sounds as he tried to escape.
"Oh no," Rachel said. "NO!"
The hostage was her ex-husband Drake.
EMERALD
Seeing my father tied up on the ground with tape over his mouth, I immediately started to cry. The thought of something awful happening to him wasn't okay with me at all. He may not have been the best dad in the world, but he was still my father.
"Don't hurt him!" I cried.
"Oh, really?" Daisy said. "Hmmmmm. I thought you didn't care about your father. After all, you've chosen your mother over him on many different occasions. Especially recently when he tried to get custody over you."
"That doesn't mean I want him to die!" I shouted through my tears.
"Please don't do this, Daisy," Mom said. "I am begging you. My children have been through enough of this, don't you think? Just let him and all our kids go home. You can have me."
"Me too," Eden said.
"Mom, no!" I screamed. "You aren't dying either! No one is dying here tonight, okay?"
Daisy laughed again, like the sick bitch she was. "Are you sure about that, Emerald? What if I just took this axe and did this?"
Before I could even scream out the word no, Daisy swung the axe right at my father, right in the gut. My father jolted in surprise and rolled over, blood dripping out of the open wound in his stomach. Daisy ripped the duct tape off his mouth and my father let out the most horrific groan of agony that I had ever heard as blood dripped out of his mouth.
"Please, please please!" I cried. "Stop it!"
Daisy wasted no amount of time. She swung again, this time aiming for his neck, and I turned away because I heard the crunch as the axe met his body once more. I knew in that moment that he was dead, or close enough to it. I sobbed into my mother's chest, trying to hold back the vomit that was rising up my esophagus.
"Now," Daisy said, "that's all done. But the Games aren't over yet. And this time, we have a little plot twist to go along with it. Isn't that right, son?"
"Son?" Cinder said. "Isn't your son dead?"
"I'm talking about my other son," Daisy growled. "Harlin."
I pulled my head away from my mother's chest, trying to keep my eyes off my father's dead body lying in a pool of blood on the ground. My eyes met Harlin's and I said, "You're...her son?"
Harlin smirked at us. "Surprise!"
"And he's got a special guest here for us for Kael," Daisy said. "Bring him on out!"
We all watched in horror as Harlin and Arya dragged a new person out to greet us. Just like my dad, this person was tied up with duct tape over their mouth, and I recognized them immediately. It was German!
"No!" Kael said. "How did you...how did you get them?"
"That's not even the best part," Daisy said. "Bring out the other guest, son!"
Another person was dragged out of the darkness to sit before us. This person I knew as an acquaintance, and didn't like them personally—however, that didn't really matter right now. I had a feeling I knew exactly what Daisy was going to make Kael do.
The other person was Brett, Kael's bully.
"Now, Kael," Daisy said, "it's time for you to choose who the next person is to die. Your friend—or should I say, new lover?—or your school bully. You have two minutes to decide."
KAEL
As Daisy ripped the duct tape off both Brett's and German's mouths, I found myself in an impossible decision. Even though Brett had always been a horrible person to me, and German was so sweet, there was no way that I could choose for someone to die.
"I...I can't do it," I said.
"Daisy, stop with these damn Games," Mom said. "Kael is not going to choose someone to die."
"I'm afraid that you're in no position to be telling me what is going to happen here," Daisy said, holding the bloody axe firmly in her hands. "I want Kael to choose, and I want him to choose now."
My stomach was churning and I was trying so hard not to vomit all over the place. Brett was crying, begging Daisy not to kill him, while German was being unbelievably quiet. If I had to choose, I knew exactly who I was going to pick.
"I know who I'm going to pick," I said, closing my eyes and trying to fight back the tears.
"Kael, you don't have to do this," Mom said.
"If he doesn't pick, they both die," Daisy said firmly. "And I'm not fucking around. So choose. Now."
I knew that this decision was damn near impossible. No matter what scenario played out here, I was going to have something heavy on my conscience for the remainder of my life. Either I was going to kill Brett, kill German, or they both died. How was I supposed to actually go through with this?
"Wait," German said softly. "Kael, don't pick Brett to die."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "If I don't pick Brett, that means...I have to pick you."
German nodded slowly while Brett continued to sob uncontrollably. "I know it's going to be a difficult decision, Kael. But I'm ready to do this. I'm ready to be the sacrifice here. This is what my fate was always meant to be."
"But—what about us? I thought we were going to make it through this alive, and that we were going to try to be together?" I found myself sobbing now too, wiping tears away from my face.
"It's okay," German said with a soft gentle smile. "At least I can go out today knowing that you feel the same way that I do about you. But let's admit it—we were never meant to be. It was never meant to be us. It was all coming down to this, and it's time for us to say our goodbyes."
"But...you are my best friend," I said. "First Freddy died, then Harlin and Arya turned out to be killers, and now you? What am I supposed to do when you're gone?"
"You'll find your way. I know you will." Even though it was dark, I could see the tears falling down German's face. "Please just tell my family how much I loved them."
"Oh Go-o-o-o-od, can we stop with the melodrama already?" Daisy said, annoyed. "Just kill someone already!"
I closed my eyes, imagining my first and last kiss I ever had with German earlier this evening, before all hell broke loose. We would never kiss again, never get to see our future together. I wanted to be selfish and spare them so that we could see what tomorrow would bring, but I knew I had to abide by their wishes.
So, taking in a deep breath, I said, "I pick German. Kill them."
I turned away and cried into my mother's chest just like Emerald had with her mom while Daisy took the axe to German. Even though I wasn't watching, the sound of crunching, screaming, and gurgling made me throw up off to the side. I couldn't believe what I had done. I felt instant regret, like I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. I hoped that Brett appreciated me sparing his life.
"Take him away," I heard Daisy say to Harlin and Arya. "Don't let him get away. Not until this is all over."
"So, you've traumatized our children," Rachel said. "What the hell else could you possibly want from us?"
"Now that that's all over, I want you all to listen to my story," Daisy said. "It's time to know exactly what's gone on the last twenty years—and how we ended up here."