XVI: Fear Rises Lethally
Lola
Exploring the rooms in the mansion with Marina turns into one of the most interesting yet scariest experiences. She has a high kill count compared to Jacelyn when she told us how she boiled 200 bodies alive last challenge. She is on a whole other level. The mansion hallway smells like sulfur, and the dust is so dense that it acts like gray snow, enough to make me sneeze, eyes itch, and cough constantly. Marina is unfazed by the dust. We explore the rooms. The rooms are stuck in anachronistic luxury with thick silver curtains, 1700s dresses, and pictures of oily paintings instead of actual photographs.
"Check out this room and try to find some of the past people here," Marina orders, bored. "I will explore the room next one over."
"Jacelyn told us to stay together," I point out. "You and Jacelyn seem oddly close despite knowing each other for a few rounds, and you are just disobeying her orders now."
"I am just going in the next room. She also said to be fast. Spirits can become hostile to us at any moment."
"Fine."
Marina quickly leaves the room, leaving me in complete darkness. The power and water don't work. This place has been abandoned for a long time. I smile when I think of Ghost Stories when Hajime left Momoko behind in a cemetery. Yep, I can relate to Momoko now. How is the town going to sue a house because it is abandoned? Sue the ghosts? I wander this room, touching everything. I open the vanity drawers. I find some more paintings hidden in the drawer. There is a woman in a pink and white dress. Her blonde hair is put up in a pale floral hat. Blonde curls go down at the front. She has green eyes. She is smiling in the painting. There is also a name written in black ink: Deanna Aldison.
"Mother!" A faint boy echoes behind me, causing me to turn back. No one is there. He must be calling out to his mother. She is not here...it seems.
I turn back and open the closet door. My eyes widen, and my jaw drops in amazement. The white lacey dress is covered in jewels that still shined after many years. I look at the door. Marina is not here. She has very silent footsteps. I have difficulty hearing them even when she is next to me. I smirk. She is not here, so she can't tell me what to do.
I unhook the dress from the hangar. I put it against myself. It fits my height well, but I don't know the size. If I can keep what I stole from the Bully Trials, I will use this dress for my wedding day, maybe for Aaron. We have been together for over a month. Of all my boyfriends, he lasts the longest and keeps going strong. It's like we are made for each other. I unzip and undo the dress as I get together. A silk and a netty texture wraps around my body. It feels tight. Once I am fully set up, I look in the mirror in the bathroom, which looks less pretty and modern than mine. I put a hand on my side, pretending I am a fashion model.
God, I look amazing! I thought. I do some amazing patch-ups by moving the dress around my body to make it look perfect. I should've worn this during that round at the confession stand. I was meant to be in this status.
"Lola?" I hear Marina's voice as I turn around to see her.
"Did you find anything, Marina?" I ask.
She isn't smiling. Her face is flat, and staring daggers into my heart. "No," she answers coldly. Her eyes never move in the slightest. "I'm sure you did."
I nod my head up and down with an excitable smile.
She goes into her pockets and takes out a blaze. She stomps her way towards me. "Marina, what are you doing?" I ask nervously as I back away into the desk.
She grabs me by my throat. I yelp. "I told you not to wear the dresses," she says in distaste.
"Don't kill me over a dress!" I beg her.
Marina chuckles menacingly as she horizontally shows me her knife. "I am not going kill a blight girl over a dress," she tells me. She lifts me up with one arm and swings me over to a wall, harshly pinning me against it. Marina is over six feet, and I am shy away by two inches. We both have similar athletic physiques, yet how is she shoving me against the wall with such force? She aims her knife towards my throat. I beg and scream, and she squeezes my throat tighter. "Shut up," she seethes. "This dress doesn't belong to you anyway."
Her knife sticks into the dress, ripping the threads as she drags it down. I see the jewels attached to the dress falling off with the sound of raining coins. She firmly destroys the dress, making it impossible for a sewer to repair. My mouth quivers, my heart races, and my nerves are colder than winter as I watch the dress fall off my body.
"Oh, you're still wearing your actual clothes," she notes with relief. Marina lets me go, and I drop to the floor.
I look back up and down to her and the dress, baffled. I clench my fists, and my breathing thickens. I am pissed. I glare back at Marina and shout, "That dress looked expensive and beautiful! Why would you ruin such a lascivious dress?! How dare you! I was going to use it for my wedding!"
Marina hiccups before finally letting go and bursts out with laughter. "That dress doesn't belong to you, and you have the intelligence of a zombie deer. Did you check for spiders, cockroaches, maggots, or fleas? I could've saved your dumbass right there. You also look like a tarry stool marrying Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo from South Park. Bozhe, khrani yego," (Боже, храни его) she harshly comments.
"What did you say on that last part?" I demand while turning away to look away from her.
"God save him," she says darkly.
"Speak English with me," I also demand.
"Kak naschet togo, chtoby poyti k svoyemu bossu i poluchit' sladkuyu silu, chtoby otdat' mne etot prikaz?" Marina snaps back at me. "Otvali, moy boss mertv. YA glavnyy." (Как насчет того, чтобы пойти к своему боссу и получить сладкую силу, чтобы отдать мне этот приказ? Отвали, мой босс мертв. Я главный.)
I look down at the knife in her hand and back at her. I am starting to get the urge to take her knife and give her twenty-five holes. "Translate that," I threaten.
"Not if you don't treat me respectfully," she says straightforwardly.
I raise my shaking fist up. "Bitch, by the way you're acting, you don't warrant respect!"
Woosh. Marina charges beyond what my vision can see. It's not even a split-second before I am on the wall again. The impact is so fast that there are cracks in the plaster white wall. Her right hand is next to my arm while her left hand is holding her knife against my throat. Her knee is right on my crotch, not caring about my privates down there. Her strength alone from that area is not enough to keep me hoisted like this, but everything seems blurry around me; only she is the focus. She looks at me dreadfully. It feels like something is stopping me from shaking in fear.
"Listen here, bitch," she rasps, "you are not a queen, nor a king, nor a joker, nor an ace. You are just a two-red spade card. Humble yourself with your class. You ignored my warning not to dress in any of their clothing. Speak to me that way or hop into another piece of clothing one more time, I won't hesitate to slice you up worse than shredding those dresses."
"H-How will you cut me as much as that?" I whimper in fear.
"I don't reveal my bounty-hunting secrets," she deadpans. "Are we clear?"
"Y-Yes!" I try to cry.
She immediately drops me. I fall on my knees, dramatically inhaling. The mansion's haunted pressure isn't helping. She stares down at me, not giving a shit. I shakely point towards the photo I found on the desk. "I found a painting of Dreanna Aldison, a resident in this place."
"Better," she says point blank before expecting the photo, turning back and forth before expecting it more.
"She looks like a victim," she opines before putting the photo back, "bol'she zhertva, chem ty." (больше жертва, чем ты.)
I am about to ask what she just said, but I need to watch what I say before she mauls me into pieces like a disturbed bear. I slowly stand back. "Anything else?" She asks me.
I shake my head.
"I found that Geralth Aldison lives in the room next to her. She gives me bad vibes, so we will investigate together."
"Okay."
I try my best to avoid pissing off Marina, obeying her order, and staying silent when I need to be. I went feeling triumph for murdering the demon Ash to a little bitch when a strong-ass human slammed me against the wall with a knife. Nothing important is found on the second floor, just shadows peeking from doorways or crawling on the ceiling. They are quiet. Jacelyn later takes over, and we exorcize together. Marina chants with Tevin's prayer. I stay silent, fearing I will screw up the words, but I silently pray, praying to free the house and get out of this house. When I return to the cave, I hurry over to my friends in fear, with Marina following behind me.
I don't even make it. Dreantula's laughs devilishly, and everything goes dark. In the first part, she sounds like a woman laughing, but a spine-tingling hiss occurs at the hand of each laugh. I feel the elevator pushing up. It goes silent for a moment. Then, like a stage, the lights return, but I am in an elevator with many other players. It is so cramped that it is hot and hard to breathe without breathing on someone else and them getting mad at me.
"Nobody move," Tevin orders.
I'm trying.
"How about don't fart?" Aimst suggests crudely.
Minutes go by in the elevator, which is weird because I usually reach the floor in tall buildings in under two minutes if it isn't packed. There is no sign displaying which floor we are on. There are also no buttons showing the floor. Weird, just weird.
"How far are we going up?" I tease, trying to lighten everyone's spirits, especially after the last round. "To Heaven?"
"We belong in Hell," Jacelyn depressingly answers.
Fuck being light-spirited and polite. I turn to her and growl, "Stop being so pessimistic and negative! Ever since these trials started, you turned so emo. What do you want to do? Meet Ash by doing the same thing she did? Ash is down there for her sin, and I doubt she wants to meet you!"
"Stop yelling!" Aimst shouts. Players groan. Irony– yelling to stop the yelling. Doesn't work.
There are annoyed whispers in the elevator. Jacelyn doesn't respond and doesn't look at me. Her eyes meet the feet on the floor. "If I go to Hell, I will tell Ash I'm sorry... She will probably be a better partner than you ever did, Lola."
I inhale sharply, hissing but not as terrifying as Dreantula's. I scowl, resisting the urge to start a fight with the dwarf bitch next to me.
"What made your hate for Ash so immense?" Laura asks me. She is looking at me with a gentle and hurt face.
"I don't fucking hate her," I spit. "I fucking loathe her."
"Was it because we targeted Ash so much that she became your punching bag? Was it because she was weak? Was it because she was poor? Was it because she had autism and possible schizophrenia?"
Jacelyn winces at Laura. "How did you know that?" She asks in a panic.
I smirk. Seeing Jacelyn scared makes me feel great now that the pressure is off of me. Target? Maybe. Punching bag? No. Weak? Yes. Poor? Yes. Autism and schizophrenia? I didn't know about that.
Laura explains, "Her brother explained why Ash is so different– eating and working alone. She is not a creep like you think. He also told me that Ash is experiencing hallucinations... He thinks they are from her autism, but he also believes there is possible schizophrenia. They became so much worse when Jace spread that lie around."
"Did Destiny know she had autism?"
"I don't know... Probably not."
Jacelyn mumbles, "I now feel more like shit."
"Me too," Maddie agrees.
"I've been feeling like that for months, Jace," Laura confesses.
"And you never said anything?" Jacelyn retorts.
"Girl," I laugh at Laura, "that makes you more low than you are since you knew about Ash's conditions."
"You shouldn't targeted her in the first place," Tevin exclaims.
"I only knew about this a week before Ash's death," she spits angrily, mad at herself. She slams her hands to the side, keeping them restrained. "I saw him in the hallway, holding a Chromebook. I asked about her and tried to understand her better. I should've told–"
"But autism and schizophrenia don't excuse Ash for being a predator," I point out, "if she was one."
"It was false, Lola," Jacelyn argues, annoyed.
"Doesn't change a damn thing!"
Tevin intervenes, "Knock it off!"
"My God. People like Ash have more of a chance to become a serial killer or a nutcase. With the lie that Jacelyn said, I'm surprised she didn't shoot–"
Aimst interjects, "Cut that out. I met people like her. They are the nicest people ever. Stop with the stereotypes."
"Their minds are so laggy with time, and they are so cut off from the reality that it ain't funny. That might explain why Ash has to leave the room whenever she needs to take a simple exam. She is a retar–"
Jacelyn slaps her hand against my mouth. Hard. It stings like hell. "Enough," she warns lowly.
I'm glad Marina didn't give me a warning that she would cut me up if I disrespect someone else. She is watching from the corner, probably wondering why she hasn't killed me the second time I pissed her off.
"Ash is also smart," Laura adds. "She just needs to take her time."
"Laura, Lola doesn't care," Maddie says.
I try to say something, but Jacelyn's mouth is in the way. "I wish Drea had erased her mouth instead of mine. I wished she erased it forever," Jacelyn grumbles.
That elevator abruptly stops. I hear the gears above malfunctioning loudly. I hang on to Jacelyn for balance. The stop is so strong that it knocks some players off balance. There are a few frustrated moans. I had never experienced an elevator stop working when I was on it before. This is my first experience. I don't want to go through this again with this being busy. Stuck elevator round sounds like a bad torture itself. Heat and a foul smell will make it worse. It's only a matter of time before our body heat spreads throughout the elevator or someone rips a foul-scenting fart.
"Korede wanai." (これではない。) Hidoi presses his head against the temples, trying not to have a mental breakdown. He is next to Laura. His black and school clothes are messed up. He has a slash on his right eye, which is spreading the same black branches as my wounds from Ash. "Not this... Not this..."
"You'll be okay, Hidoi," another male player tries to comfort Hidoi, even wrapping his arm around him. He slaps him away. He doesn't want to be touched right now.
"Watashi wa imōto o yūkai no itazura kara mamorou to shite imashita," (私は妹を誘拐のいたずらから守ろうとしていました。) he whispers with a tear going down his face. "I don't deserve this..."
Laura sympathetically glances over at him. "Are you talking about your sister again?"
Hidoi winces directly at her. "How did you know?"
"I have heard your confession at the stand," she explains, playing with her fingers. "You killed someone because they tried to prank your sister."
"He was prank-kidnapping my sister," he says with a little spit.
"That's horrible. The prankster played a stupid game and won a stupid prize. You didn't know about the prank, so you tried to defend her. I think you're right; you don't deserve this."
No one does over the death of one stupid person."
His eyes shake, tearing up. "I just want to go home."
I hear loud clanking noises from below. The floor splits open, and I scream when I begin falling. Other players shriek like a discord choir. Luckily, the ground is only ten feet away. I land with a hard impact. Maddie, Marina, Laura, and Jacelyn land from the same height as many other players. I study my surroundings. It looks like what is inside of a stomach with stage four ulcers. It is pink and has a moist texture. When I tap my foot, the ground feels like liquid but solid. Thank God there is no stomach acid; otherwise, I am done. Jacelyn, Maddie, and Laura scoot closer to Marina. I do too.
Screams from up above pierce my ears. I look up to find three players crashing down, reduced into a flattened blood puddle. Their bodies explode on contact, splattering organs everywhere.
Drea's soft chuckle echoes around me, but I don't see her. The room becomes warped, adding more holes all around us. My friends and I are in a no-hole area and safe. I see a contestant hold his head up in fear. Laura looks over at Hidoi, who is on the other side of the room. He is sitting down, ready to give up. Laura waves to get his attention. "Hidoi, come over here!" She politely orders.
...Is she trying to get a boyfriend?
He gazes at the opening, closing, and moving holes. He stands back up shakingly. He keeps looking down as he tries to avoid the holes, as if he dreads the disco lights. He hops over to them and reaches to my friends unscathed. Jacelyn tries to shake Hidoi's hand, but he recoils his arm away. I smirk. He doesn't know her. Jacelyn looks offended at first but shakes it off. "Welcome to the group," she says with a shrug.
I turn back to look around this stomach interior. Another girl is shaking. Dreantula laughs again but much like a witch. "Why are you scared? There is nothing to be afraid of."
Yeah, they are just holes. Why are you so scared of that? I thought of an agreement.
The girl closes her eyes and tries to ground herself. A man looks down at a hole to see what lurks inside. Another hole opens up just below him. He screams bloody murder as he falls in. The hole closes up, never for him to return.
"Show yourself, Drea!" Jacelyn bravely orders.
"Girl, she is trying to kill us!" I argue with her.
She leans forward to get closer to me and whispers, "She uses fears against you."
Eh, the trials are here to make fear. So obvious, Jacelyn.
I hear a choking hissing sound as a section of the north wall expands a large hole, and here comes Drea. Her dress is short-sleeved, and her hair is put up, almost looking like a succubus prostitute. Multiple insect red eyes spread across her face with a black M on her forehead. Out of the whole councilmen, Drea is most likely to smile the most– sadistically and will not hide to enjoy the pleasure she'll get for rupturing your face.
Jacelyn swallows down her nerves and starts to charge at Dreantula, but Maddie and Laura hold her back. "Jacelyn, no!" Maddie yells. Tevin, Marina, and Hidoi watch her with mixed emotions: confused, poker-faced, and frightened. Drea glances at her, not bothered at all. Her face traces back to the broader audience. She hisses loudly again before leaping up in the air. A hole closes up to a pasty- tumor-like pedestal for her to land on perfectly in the middle of it. Giant ass black spiders with the same eyes as Dreas rise up out of the holes.
"Gobble them up!" Drea harshly orders. I'm surprised that no spider-webs rocket launched from her back, so she could get an aerial view of this fiasco.
A few players start screaming and running around, trying not to be swallowed by the holes or the spiders. The spiders are avoiding me as I shake my head. I inch closer to the group. Someone in that group has immunity and no fear, and Drea loves the most. Laura seems to be one to be a coward all the time, but she is not screaming, just watching this round target specific players. I watch a hungry black spider crawl towards me, hissing like there is no tomorrow.
I look at my friends and point to it. They just shrug. I am getting a little nervous. I have no fear of spiders, but if a giant spider walks to me, I will be scared shitless. I turn back and clench my fists. "Get away from me, you pest!" I yell at it before kicking it in the face. It hisses loudly before backing away. I just watch a middle-aged player's face get chomped off remorselessly. His body flops on the ground as all the spiders return to the holes.
Then summon the eyes. Those eyes vary in color– blue, red, yellow, gray, black, or misty. The edges of the eyes are yellow like a liver issue is going on. The eyes are also bloodshot. I hear a lady player cover her eyes and yell in agitation. "Go away! Go away! Go away!" She screams. Drea gives her a cheeky smile before creating more holes to poop more eyes out.
"Resident Evil is going to sue somebody," Jacelyn teases.
Not going to lie, that's funny. Maddie chuckles while Laura and Marina remain somber. Hidoi and Tevin are confused for a moment, but they smile. "What are we going to do? Stab the hell out of them and watch orange blood spew out?" Maddie suggests.
"That gives me an idea," Jacelyn hums. "Marina?"
"Yes?" Marina casually responds.
"Do you have a weapon?"
Hidoi quails at Marina and asks, "You have a weapon?!"
"She does have one. She nearly cut me up last round," I snitch.
"You probably pissed her off," Maddie defends. Indeed, she is right. I did irk her.
He points to her. "How the hell do you have a weapon?!"
Tevin lowers Hidoi's hands down. "They don't check your pockets before coming here," he explains, taking out his notebook and lighter. He sighs. "I am about to roll up this paper to smoke."
Marina warily looks at Drea as she watches some players go insane with quirky eyes. "I don't need to kill you at all. Your emotions are fulfilling enough," she states with a smirk. Marina gazes back at Jacelyn, unsure of what she is about to do. Jacelyn eagerly stares at her.
"Come on, Marina," Jacelyn urges."Are you crazy?" I ask her.
Jacelyn sharply glances at me and comments, "Drea is more messed up than all of us combined."
"'Drea is more messed up than all of us combined,'" I mock.
She rolls her eyes and gears her head back towards Marina. Marina looks at Drea again, who is distracted. The sound of thunder clapping shakes the entire room. I see players cover their ears and scream. Yeah, it is piercing enough to deafen and ring my poor ears. At least it's not raining. Marina looks back at Jacelyn as she takes out her knife and hesitantly gives it to her. Why is she so hesitant to attack Drea, let alone the entire council? The players and I are being killed here, so why so afraid? They are demons, but so what? Marina is no average human based on how she shoved me against the wall at the mansion.
The eyes sink down, making this slimy sound effect that makes everyone cringe. Hands rise out of the holes, gripping the edges and pulling themselves up. They are doctors. Doctors hold onto vials of liquid, along with a large needle. I gulp and nearly shit my pants. I hate needles. They always make me cry, and I always try to avoid them. A cold metal rod penetrating your skin, along with a substance being pumped into it, is a nerve-wracking thing. I don't know how heroin addicts do it despite not having great sanitation, but they are too stuck on getting high to notice. The doctor closest to me flicks his finger to pop the air bubbles in the syringe. He looks like a normal doctor, but he looks dead tired and deranged. Nausea rises within me as he looks at me.
I inch myself away, getting closer to my group, accidentally bumping into Jacelyn. "Lola, don't," Laura warns. "Don't be scared!"
"She is trying to lure them here," Jacelyn accuses.
"No! I'm not!" I shout back at her. Bitch.
Jacelyn pushes me away, and I fall to the ground. I get back up, but the doctor leaves a little chance of escaping. He launches at me and tackles at me with ease. I grunt on impact. I can see two players being injected with the needle and dying.
"Ma'am, please, cooperate with me. You are lagging behind on your vaccinations," he tells me with the same constant tone as the robots in round two. "You need to treat them." He tries to impale the syringe into my chest, but I use both of my hands to prevent it from going anywhere near it. Nope, not even the three-inch metal needle. Nope.
"I caught up on my vaccines," I spit on him, "despite hating needles. Tell that to the anti-vax."
"Your flu shot has been updated," he informs. He pushes harder. I look up as I keep pushing away to get a glimpse, hoping Maddie, Laura, Jacelyn, Hidoi, Tevin, or Marina to help me. I don't anticipate Marina or Jacelyn to help me because they hate me. Still, Maddie and Laura are on okay terms with me. Laura saved me a few times. Jacelyn is out of view while the group has moved to the wall, away from them. My worry creeps up. Hidoi is about to walk and save me, but Tevin stops him, shaking his head.
"But, she'll die!" Hidoi protests.
Tevin grimaces, "You don't know her, Hidoi. She has done some things, and she is not part of the group at all anymore."
You're not my friend, Tevin. Maddie and Laura are the original friend group. You don't know me either. You are letting Jacelyn manipulate you.
Come on, girls, don't let me dieeeeeee. I feel my tears up. This is the worst tug-of-war game ever. My hands are starting to shake, and I feel my energy draining. "If you don't comply, I will get another staff to restrain you," he warns, starting to get irritated. I see the needle getting closer and closer to my chest. I sweat, and chills hit. Don't you dare do it. His hand twitches, moving upwards to my throat. I whimper in fear. I don't scream; all my remaining energy must go towards my strength, not my voice.
"Jacelyn, hurry. We are running out of time," I hear Laura whisper-shout, hoping Jacelyn will hear her. "Don't be afraid. Focus on the anger on her."
"What is she trying to do?" Hidoi asks them. "Trying to kill her?"
"We hope so," Maddie replies.
What is that dwarf-beetle maniac doing? I wish whatever invisible time to run out, so this doctor can jump back into the hole. It looks like Dreantula is having a blast. There is this black-reddish cloud being absorbed into Drea's body. She bares her fangy teeth, dripping clear venom from her mouth.
"Clear focus," Marina adds. "Concentrate."
"Drea isn't attacking directly," Maddie notes.
"Shhhh," Marina shushes her. "Drea might hear you."
I can't. My hands are violently shaking, and my energy is nearly depleted. I see the needle inching closer and closer. The doctor is pushing down harder and harder. "No," I defeatedly utter as I see it near an inch at my throat.
"Good girl," he says without any satisfaction. "All I need you to do is let go, so I can get this medicine in you."
No. No. I try to push back, but I feel the fatigue in my hands. He laughs. "You'll be nice and healthy. By the looks of you, you look rather ill." He sounds very suspicious about that. Blame Ash's slash marks that I no longer look beautiful. She made me look like a blackened nightmare.
Louder than the thunder, louder than the players, louder than the doctor in front of me, an anguished scream erupts– Drea's cry of pure pain. The doctor above me loses his strength all at once. I push him off of me before kicking him in his throat. I cry in relief, but my strength surges again in anger. He topples backward, losing the needle in his hand. I don't let him get up and stomp him in his chest. "Don't." Kick. "Fucking." Stomp. "Do that again." I stomp his throat in. "What you did was illegal rather than actual medical procedure, you batshit crazy doc–"
Drea's hiss interrupts my moment of rage. The room of a different reality doesn't melt away like most of the round; my surroundings turn into ashes in a dark cobblestone room. There is no light, but the mirrors around us have this attractive bluish glow. It feels serene and luring. Dreantula is not done with us yet; this is part two of her hellish rounds– the mirror maze. Knowing this workshop is worse than Swedish horror, whatever lurks with us is here to get us. It can also be in the mirrors. Compared to needles, this may be my least favorite round because the mirrors remind me of my beauty and glistening skin; however, something might come out and steal more of that away from me. I already feel awful and tired. I breathe deeply, restoring as much stamina and strength as possible.
"Thanks for stabbing her, Jace," Laura thanks Jacelyn. I can hear them hug.
"Thanks," Jacelyn says calmly, "but we are not finished yet. We need to get through this round."
"A round of insanity," Maddie adds in.
"Mirrors." "Srorrim."
Skeletons In Our Closet
1. Marina has the highest kill count compared to the rest of the people in the Bully Trials.
2. Как насчет того, чтобы пойти к своему боссу и получить сладкую силу, чтобы отдать мне этот приказ? Отвали, мой босс мертв. Я главный possibly translates into 'How about you go to your boss and get the sweet power to give me this order? Fuck off, my boss is dead. I'm in charge.'
3. больше жертва, чем ты translates into 'more of a victim than you.'
4. The English translation is not directly after what Marina has said because Lola doesn't know what she is saying to translate it properly. Only Kanji and Cyrillic are shown.
5. Hidoi's and Laura's conversation has the gist of what Hidoi was saying in Japanese.
6. If Drea laughs, the round will be deadlier, along with council personnel taking control. Usually, the death toll in those rounds is above ten kills. Jaymie's round has eighteen kills, while Drea's has eleven kills.
7. We know that Lola is a high-end liar. Her Italic answers to Laura's questions are a lie.
8. Laura, Maddie, and Jacelyn are now raised a bit higher than Lola because they know bullying a disabled (mentally or physically) person is just another low. Maddie and Jacelyn didn't know about Ash's condition. If Destiny had known ahead of time, fate might've been different; however, people can be jerks and still bully a mentally ill person. This is why Laura feels more terrible and guilty about it, believing it will change what her friends think about her, but the lie has been out for a week now. Not talking about Lola.
9. Tevin yelling at Lola to cut it out due to her reference to predators angered him from his past.