In the quiet of the night, the sound of Chase's feet against the cold floor fills the air, hoping to escape. He needed to get away from those people because while he might be bad, what he has done would never measure up to their twisted acts.
Chase passes many doors, but none pop out to him. He is looking for a way out of this mansion; a way that he can escape the Game. But he needs to be fast enough to be free from any consequences the Host has in store.
The Host sure is something, he thinks. Whoever he or she is, they know everything. It's almost as if they're watching the Players' every move.
Goosebumps cover Chase's skin. Are they watching him right now? He continues to look for a hint as to how to get out of there.
Everything looks the exact same, unusually so. It's almost like he is seeing the same thing over and over again; as if he was walking in circles. Chase looks at the chandeliers as he tries to find something, anything! The last time he needed a clue, it was in the chandeliers.
But would the Host allow the same hint to be helpful?
It's ridiculous that we're trapped here. It's even worse that Eliza and Vivica are here, too. It's almost as if this Host is trying to torture me!
Chase starts to wonder how they're all related. Sure, the letter said they were all callous and cruel, but why them? There are countless amounts of people in the world that are just like them. Some are even football players like Chase! So, why him? Why Eliza and Vivica? Why Jenna and Otto? Why were they the ones chosen to play the Game? Why does it have to be them? Chase has too many questions and too little answers.
If only there is a way for Chase to just see through everything and get out of there. But the darn Host loves to play tricks, it seems, and unfortunately he is caught in one.
He stops in his tracks when he sees an odd chandelier. It has an extra arm, just like the one from earlier. This time, though, it isn't pointing towards the drawing room. Chase doesn't know what room it's pointing towards. All he knows is that the chandeliers led him to the drawing room the last time.
Chase isn't quite sure if he wants to be put back with the others. It's almost as if the mansion is a dollhouse, and we're the dolls.
He takes a moment to think. What's the worst that could happen if he went in the room? Sure, the others could be there. They could get into a bad argument. But is missing that worth losing a possible clue? Chase decides it isn't. And so, with a deep sigh, he pushes the door open.
When Chase walks inside, a deep sense of wrong comes over him.
In the halls, it felt like a gentle breeze on a warm summer day. He could almost imagine the calming sound of the local river flowing. But in this room, it feels like the raging winds of a hurricane and the giant waves during the storm are pushing against him. It feels horrible. Maybe it's the maroon walls, or maybe it's the odd paintings around the room. Chase doesn't really know.
Chase takes time to walk around the room. He notices the navy couches that remind him of the ocean and the fireplace that lights up the room. It isn't until he stumbles that he notices the hump on the floor. There is something tangled in the velvet navy curtains. The curtains are thick, too thick to see what's under them.
Curious, Chase starts to unravel the hump from the curtains. Pulling back a corner reveals a face; a face that looks a lot like Zuri.
Chase starts to freak out. Zuri is here, wrapped in a curtain. She could have decided she wanted to sleep, though Zuri doesn't seem the type to let down her guard easily. He carefully presses two fingers against Zuri's neck, checking for a pulse.
Nothing.
Chase carefully unwraps the body, having no idea what to do with it. That is, until he sees a knife. He slips it out of her pocket and puts it in his own. He decides to keep searching, hoping to find something interesting.
Chase is in the process of picking up a folded piece of paper when he hears footsteps enter the room.
"What are you doing?" an annoyingly familiar voice asks.
Oh no. Why her?
"The same thing you are; exploring," he replies evenly. If Vivica sees Zuri, she'll think it was him that killed her.
"And how has that been going?" Chase has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Just the sound of her voice makes him want to kill somebody.
"It's none of your business," he moves to go to the other side of the room.
He hopes that she will keep her gaze on him and not notice that there is a dead body caught up in the rich curtains.
It seems that his plan worked and he internally gives a sigh of relief. Turns out though, it was all in vain.
"Hey, what's up with—"
In a panic, Chase picks up Vivica and presses his lips against hers to buy himself some more time. She kisses him back with the same fiery passion he remembers from that blasted Friday night.
For a moment, he lets himself enjoy it and runs his fingers through her silky blond hair.
This is a mistake, as Vivica pushes him away.
"What is wrong with you?" she practically shouts. "Who does that when someone is—"
Once again, he claims her lips as his own and silently begs that she won't push him away.
It was wishful thinking.
"Back off, you bloody oaf!" She shoves Chase backwards with much more force, causing him to stumble against the very curtains that Zuri is tangled in.
I'm screwed, he thinks miserably.
Vivica walks closer to him and he tries to hide the fact that he's on top of another body.
"Chase, what—" a small gasp escapes her lips and Chase now knows that she sees the body.
"Vivica, I can explain..." Chase holds his palms up in surrender, carefully standing up.
She shakes her head back and forth in disbelief. "Oh, God. Chase Cummingham, you did not!"
"It's not what it looks like!"
Vivica makes a move for the door and Chase panics. Quickly remembering the knife he stole off of Zuri, Chase grabs it and gets a firm hold of the slim woman.
"If you tell the others what you've seen, I'll kill you," he murmurs coldly into her ear, making Vivica go silent.
Then, she gives a blood-curdling scream, just about shattering her captor's eardrums.
Chase shoves his big hand over her loud mouth, muffling the screams. Thinking fast, he uses the knife to slice some strips of fabric off the large curtain, taking great care not to lose his hold on Vivica.
Who would think that Chase would be sleeping with her one week and threatening to kill her the next?
He gags her first before moving on to bind her wrists and ankles. Chase knows that they always find a way to escape in the movies, so he ties her arms and legs together, having her lay on her back like a dead cockroach with her arms and legs in the air.
He looks around the room and sees that there is a decent-sized closet.
Perfect.
He takes down the velvet curtains entirely and spreads one out on the dusty floor of the wardrobe. He smiles with satisfaction when he sees that there are rafts on the ceiling inside.
He picks up Vivica with ease and carries her into the closet, setting her in the center of the curtain. When the woman realizes what he is about to do, she starts to struggle even more against her bonds, but to no avail. Vivica is no match against Chase's strength.
He takes the four corners of the large curtain and ties two of the opposing corners together. Then, taking great care not to make too much noise, he moves a chair into the space to use as a stepstool.
Lifting Vivica up by the ends of the curtain took a little more effort than Chase would have liked, but he managed to lift the edges up to the rafters, triple knotting them to the ceiling.
He quickly places the chair back where it belongs and wraps Zuri's body into a burrito with the other curtain, shoving her inside to the back of the storage room.
Stepping back, Chase admires his work with a small smile. Vivica hangs from the ceiling in the make-shift pouch he's created and he can see it swing a bit as she struggles to free herself from the tight bonds.
"Serves you right," he says with a proud smirk. "Goodbye Vivica .... Enjoy the darkness." And with that, Chase closes the closet door and strides out of the room.
It will be a little while until someone finds Vivica. And by the time they do, he thinks with a smile, I'll be long gone.
"Hey! Chase!" Jenna calls from behind him, "Where are you going?"
Chase stops in his tracks. He barely made it down the hall before someone saw him.
"I was just trying to find an exit, same as you." he responds, turning to face her.
"Oh! You forgot about the chandeliers, silly! This one's pointing towards that room." Jenna points straight at the living room where Chase found Zuri's body, "We can explore it together!"
"I'm fine, really! I already looked in that room; there was nothing."
"Sometimes you just need a pair of fresh eyes!" This girl is relentless. Can't she take a hint?!
Jenna pushes the door open as Chase waits with bated breath. What if he missed something? Then she will know something is up.
"Huh. That's weird." Jenna crosses her arms, never taking her eyes from the windows, "There are curtains on this window but not on this one."
"I guess that is weird. I didn't notice it earlier."