Daisy stepped further into the room, swinging a knife in her hand like she was bored. She walked over to the machine that Damien was hooked up to and said, "Hey there, little bro. How's it going up there?"
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I demanded. "That's your brother up there!"
"Oh, don't worry," Daisy said. "I'm not going to hurt him. In fact, I don't want to hurt him at all. That choice is going to be completely up to you." She pointed the knife at me, smiling. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, which I'll be very happy to answer."
A million thoughts were racing through my mind, but the one thing that never occurred to me in all of this was that Daisy could be the killer. She seemed so sad that her brother was missing, and all this time she had him? I couldn't understand what was happening, but I did have my first question.
"Why?" I asked. "Why would you do all of this?"
Daisy scraped the knife across the machine and the noise made me cringe, like nails on a chalkboard. "That's a bit of an interesting tale, actually. One that I think you'll be very happy to hear and may clear up some confusion."
She turned to face us and smiled wickedly. "Ever since I was a little kid, I was a bit disturbed, so to speak. I got pleasure out of killing things. It started with bugs. God, you should have seem my mother's face the first day I squashed a spider with my very own hands. It was hysterical." A sick laugh escaped her throat. "I enjoyed the feeling of death under my hands. It was fantastic. It made me feel powerful. It later turned to animals. When Damien was around three, my parents decided to get a cat. We had the cat for about a day before it died."
"You killed a cat?" Eden asked.
Daisy shrugged. "That little shit was annoying, let me tell you. She didn't like me very much, either, but all I heard was meow this, meow that. I snapped it's neck after tossing it around the room a few times. Mom and Dad tried to act like it was an accident, like I didn't mean to do it, but deep down I think they always knew. We didn't have a pet for a little while, but we eventually got another one a few years later. It was a ferret, actually. I sorta drowned it in the bathtub."
She said it so casually, and it was then that I realized she was a psychopath. She didn't care about anything. Daisy had no feelings or regard to anyone around her. And that was the deepest kind of sick.
"Killing animals wasn't that fun, though," Daisy said. "I mean, it was, but whatever. A couple years later, I 'accidentally'"--she made sure to use air quotes--"pushed Damien down the stairs. I thought for sure he was dead, but when I realized he wasn't, it was very clear that I could continue to do whatever I wanted to him. Mom and Dad wouldn't stop me."
"Except...they...did," Damien said from the machine.
Daisy laughed. "Oh please, they didn't stop me. They tried to, anyway. They had to admitted here, to the wonderful St. Paul's."
"Why here?" I asked.
"This used to be an emergency room," Daisy went on. "This hospital and St. Mary's were run by the same company, which in theory was good. Only problem was, they didn't take enough precaution when I came here, I sort of attacked a nurse, and they had me restrained. I was admitted to St. Mary's for a few months, but ended up coming back and pretended I was this wonderful, lovely, changed person."
"So what happened to this place?" I asked. "Why's it completely vacant?"
"It may seem like a simple answer, but it's not a difficult question. The truth is, the company didn't have enough resources to keep the hospital open. They originally built this place specifically for people with mental health issues to get psychiatric evaluations in cases of emergency. When they weren't making enough of a profit, things started going to shit, because people were using hospitals closer to their areas. Eventually, this hospital closed down, but another opened up."
"I don't understand," Eden said. "You're telling me that they opened this hospital for mentally ill people to have psychiatric evaluations, who would eventually be sent to St. Mary's? Why not just use St. Mary's?"
"Bigger profit, I guess," Daisy said. "Like I explained, the plan failed, and after about a year or two, they opened up another hospital to move adult patients from St. Mary's into their own place--St. John's."
My brain was having a hard time comprehending everything going on. "Why would they need another hospital after this one failed?"
"This hospital didn't fair, per se," Daisy said. "It was a failed idea. Eventually, St. Mary's was becoming overloaded with patients since it was a long term facility. That's when they decided to open up a new hospital, St. John's a couple hours away from St. Mary's."
"So right now there's two hospitals," I said. "St. Mary's for youth and St. John's for adults."
"Ding ding ding!" Daisy said enthusiastically. "I wasn't a patient at St. John's, but I went to see my doctor as much as possible. Pretending to be healthy and happy and great was the only way I could get them to let me go to college. It was great for a couple years, but then in college I met Ryan."
Of course. Ryan, Noah's brother. The pieces were suddenly falling into place. "But wait, you and Ryan didn't go to the same college. How'd you meet?"
"It was a party," Daisy said. "One of my college friends brought me to this party on a vacation we went on. I met Ryan there. He looked really familiar to me, and we ended up talking, realizing we grew up in the same town. It was like fate brought us together, you know? When he told me about what happened with Noah, I realized I wanted to help him."
"Oh please," I said. "You don't have any good in you."
Daisy laughed. "I didn't want to help him like that. Although, it was pretty easy letting him think I actually gave a crap about his brother. I just wanted to kill. It was like fate brought us together so I could teach him all my ways. It was cute, at least for a little while. I helped him come up with the idea of Fear Games, how to get revenge on his brother's enemies, and I even helped record the voice in the Fear Games house so no one would suspect it was him. It was the perfect plan. I enjoyed knowing the deaths were partially because of me."
"Did Ryan ever figure out that you didn't care about him at all?" I asked.
"Of course he figured it out," Daisy said, rolling her eyes. "He was so dramatic. Told me I couldn't help him with the Fear Games anymore, completely cut me out. But it was my idea. So that's when I started working on some Fear Games of my own."
She walked over to Luke, who was finally starting to wake up. Daisy continued her story anyway. "It wasn't too hard, exactly. I just needed to kill. But the plan had to be elaborate, of course. That's when I realized you were the perfect target."
Me. This was the part all about me. "But why?" I asked. "This clearly isn't because of me being gay. You certainly don't seem like the religious type."
Daisy laughed. "Of course I'm not. What do I look like, a freak?" I opened my mouth to answer her, but kept it closed, figuring my response wouldn't help my case very much. "I started looking into religion, though. I found it interesting just how much people worshiped these Gods that they had no proof of. Nothing but a little faith."
"The notecards," I said. "Damien wasn't looking into religion, you were."
"It made me realize that I wanted that," she went on. "I wanted to be feared the way these gods were. I wanted to send people to hell--the idea sounded so pleasing to me--but since that clearly wasn't possible, I realized I could bring hell here. To you."
"That's what this has all been about?" Eden shouted. "To play God?"
"I've loved every second of this," Daisy said. "Damien's got a few secrets of his own, don't you, little bro? It's a shame you have to be a pawn in the Games, but trust me, it'll all be worth it in the end."
So that was it then. There was no motive. Never had been. Daisy helped Ryan create Fear Games, and when he discovered who she really was, he kicked her out, finishing the Games himself. But Daisy wanted to play God and be powerful, so she finished the Games herself.
There was no motive.
This whole time I'd been looking, but instead, she did it for fun. She did it because she was a sick human being that never got any help. It's likely she never could have gotten help regardless. I'd never been one to believe that people were born inherently evil.
After tonight, I wasn't so sure.
"You sick fucking bitch," I growled.
Daisy smiled. "That's me." She walked back over to Damien and said, "Now is the final Game, one that I'm sure you'll be very interested in. In this Game, you, Josh, have three options. The first option is to save Damien, your best friend since childhood, whom you've loved more than anyone in the world. The second option is to save Luke, an innocent reporter who had no connection to any of this whatsoever, who has still yet to live a full life because he's so young."
"And what's the third?" I asked, but I already knew.
"The third option is that you put yourself in that third machine. Once you do, both Luke and Damien will be freed." She walked over to the door and said, "Before you even think about attacking me to get a key, I don't have one on me. The only way to get them out of the machine is to push those buttons on the wall over there." Daisy pointed to the other side of the room in a dark corner, where I could now see two red bottoms. Each was labeled with a name underneath. "To make this Game even better, you have two minutes to make your decision. Once you do, you'll have exactly three minutes to get out of the building before it explodes."
Daisy walked outside the room, closing the door and locking it behind her. Overhead through some speakers, I heard her say, "The choice is yours."
I turned to my friends who were staring at me in just as much shock as I felt. Two minutes to make my decision.
"Guys..." I said. "I don't know what to do."
Matt said, "I don't know either!"
15 seconds had already passed and I was quickly running out of time. I ran over to the other side of the room to the buttons, staring at them both.
"Hey," Luke said, who appeared to finally be awake. "What's going on?" Where the freaking hell am I?"
"Josh," Eden said, "I can't make this decision for you, but listen to me, okay? No matter what choice you make, it's going to suck."
"Eden's right," Brandon said, trying his best not to cry. "If you don't choose, they both die. If you choose one, one of them dies."
"But if I choose myself..." I started. But could I really hook myself up to that machine and sacrifice myself? I couldn't even begin to imagine what that would feel like.
Only about a minute left. I knew what I had to do. It was the hardest choice I'd ever have to make, but I knew I didn't have another one. I found myself walking over to the third machine, getting ready to put myself inside.
"Josh!" Eden screamed.
My eyes met Damien's. I had no time to waste.
"Josh, don't do this," Damien said through his tears. "Don't die for me, I swear."
In the background, Luke kept screaming something like "what the fuck is going on" but I wasn't paying too much attention. "I have to," I said. I hoisted myself up onto the machine, getting ready to lock myself into place.
Then screamed when I saw Matt push a button.
For a second, everything stopped. I hopped off my machine, watching as Luke's arms began to twist. His screams rang out all through the room, piercing my ear drums.
"Why did you do that?" I just screamed.
"I had to!" Matt said. "I couldn't let you die!"
"Guys," Eden said, "we really don't have much time to worry. We have to get out of this building now before it explodes."
My heart felt heavy knowing Luke was going to die. Damien fell from the machine, landing on the floor, and Brandon, Matt, and I helped him up. Blood was dripping onto the floor from Luke's body being ripped apart. I couldn't watch anymore. The door to the room swung open and my friends and I raced out, carrying Damien along with us.
"Where did we come in at?" I asked.
"This way!" Eden said. "Hurry!"
We trampled through the building, finally reaching the door that we first came in at. For a second, I thought it was going to be locked, but to our surprise, we were able to open it and run out into the parking lot.
"Guys, look!" Matt said, pointing to St. Paul's.
There was Daisy, closing the door of the building, watching us through the glass. She smiled one last time right before an explosion rocked the ground beneath us.
Pieces of the building flew through the air, as well as debris, and we fell to the ground to take cover. Smoke filled the air all around us and I realized I was holding Damien close to me when the explosion stopped.
Looking up, watching the remains continue to burn, I turned to my friends, who were all still alive. That's when I broke. The tears started to fall, and my friends started crying too. Damien grabbed my hand, resting his head on my shoulder and Matt sat right beside me, trembling with fear. Eden and Brandon came closer and we all wrapped our arms around each other, going in for a group hug, despite our sobbing.
Even though Daisy was dead, a thought finally occurred to me that we never found out who her helper was. And that's when I knew the Games were certainly not over.
***
Rachel's POV
One week later...
"And that is why we need to make stronger efforts to end bullying in our schools," I said, smiling at the crowd of middle school kids before me. "Together we can make a difference. Together, we can be the generation that ends bullying once and for all."
The students and teachers clapped for me, and I walked off the stage, making sure to smile and shake hands with everyone I came across. I got many compliments for my Anti-Bullying speech, which I'd been prepping for quite some time.
When it was all over, a girl who looked about twelve came up to me and smiled weakly. She had curly red hair and was wearing a colorful dress.
"Hey there," I said, holding out my hand to shake hers. "Did you like the speech?"
"I did," she said, fiddling with her hands. "I just wanted to talk to you about something, if that's okay."
"Of course," I said kindly. "What's up?"
"Well, everyone here makes fun of me," the girl said. "They think I'm weird because of the clothes I wear. They say it makes me eccentric."
I laughed a little and put my arm around her. "Sometimes the crazy ones are the best people. Here, let me see your phone." I expected her to hesitate, but instead, she handed it right over. I found the contacts and put my number in. "There you go. I'm in there under Rachel. If you ever need to talk to me, I'm here."
The girl smiled at me. "Thanks." She wandered off just as I got a text on my phone.
It's time.
I looked around to make sure that no one was looking, and fled the building as quickly as I could.
***
The drive to St. Paul's took a couple hours, but when I arrived, the sun was already starting to set. The building was marked off with caution tape, which was supposed to prevent people from stepping on the grounds. That certainly wasn't going to stop me.
I reached into my backseat, pulling out my white pants, hoodie, and masquerade mask, getting dressed in the car. Once I was ready to go, I walked over to the building, where the other two Masquerades stood, fully in uniform, masks covering their faces.
I stepped over the debris of the building and stood directly in front of them. "Did you do a good check?"
"Yes," one of them said to me. "Daisy's dead."
My phone rang inside my pocket and I said, "Hang on just a moment" to the Masquerades as I answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Rachel," the disguised voice said. "We need to talk."
"Who's this?" I asked. "What do you want from me? Why do you keep calling?"
"I can help you," the voice said. "I'm from St. John's. I knew Daisy. I can help you with the plan. You just have to trust me."
"Then why can't you speak to me with your normal voice?" I asked. "I know a disguised voice when I heard it.
The Caller was quiet. Instead of answering me, they said, "I'll be around. Don't you worry."
When they hung up, I took off my mask and said, "We may have a problem."
The two Masquerades took off their masks. Haven and Matt frowned at me. It was good to have them both on my side, especially Matt. We needed someone on the inside.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked. "Are the Games over?"
I smiled. "No, Matt. The Games are only beginning."
To Be Continued...
***
It's all come down to this. The final season is coming soon, right here on Wattpad!