Another undesirable conclusion came at the end of the seventh game. Nicholas Damon got crowned as the victor through disqualification. Wyatt broke the rules of the game and acted against the orders of the Game Moderator, Caius. As punishment, Wyatt faced the ultimate penalty—death.

As cautioned to us on the first day, the doctor got injected with the lethal poison in his bracelet. It was a gruesome sight. Blood poured from the poor man's eyes, nose, ears, and God knows where else.

No matter how many times I saw it, the images remained on a constant loop in my head. The fiery determination in that man's eyes abruptly diminished. 

All the man wanted to do was save his wife. He was willing to risk everything for her. And he did.

Where did that get him though? He risked everything—fought for what he believed in—what he wanted to protect. In the end, he failed. There he lied, in the middle of the game room, drenched in his blood.

A gut-wrenching scene.

The security team rushed into the room with a stretcher. They collected Nicholas and left the room while the other members took care of Wyatt. They put the man in a body bag and carried him out.

“Well shit,” Melanie said as she stepped away from the window with shrugged shoulders. “Doc’s gone now. This place won’t be much fun without him.”

“Enough with the sarcasm,” demanded Henrika as she clenched her hand into a fist. “You don’t give a damn that he’s dead. You never give a damn when any of us dies.”

“That’s ain't true.” Melanie defended. “We’ve been here for quite some time. I think I’m finally starting to feel attached to you all.”

She dramatically placed her hand over her heart. Both her body language and expression were nothing more than mere taunts. Her honeyed words didn’t work for anyone. At that point, everyone knew to ignore her for the most part.

“This is just…so fucked up!” Darius exclaimed. He punched the glass window and grimaced. He retracted his bruised hand and shook it. “Frederick, Elena, Iris, and now Wyatt! We’re not gonna make it! We’re gonna die! We’re all gonna die!”

The poor boy had lost it. He backed away from the window; his hands gripped tightly in his hair.

“Darius, calm down,” Zoey ordered.

“Calm down? Calm down?! How can I calm down?! Another one of us is dead! There are only eight of us left!” He shouted. His brittle and frightened voice echoed throughout the room.

“Might be seven if Shades doesn’t make it,” Melanie added.

“We’re all gonna die here! There’s still another murderer among us! One by one, we’re gonna get killed off!” Darius continued to panic. He moved his hand to his chest as his breathing turned ragged.

When Zoey attempted to approach him; Darius took off out of the room. No one tried to chase after him.

What was the point?

The traumatic events throughout his days trapped in Serendipity took their toll on him. The games, the rules, the voting, the traitors, the murders, the deaths; any ordinary person would’ve broken a long time ago.

But, at that moment, only one person did. From what I could tell, everyone else kept it under control for the most part. But, there wasn’t doubt in my mind that most of them struggled internally.

I know I did.

Although Wyatt appointed himself as the de facto leader of the group, there were times when I saw him as one. He was steadfast and strong, unwavering in his convictions to save his wife.

Sure, the man had his faults. But, who didn’t?

To that man, the end justified the means. Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t in his favor.

“Well, I see no reason to be here anymore,” Melanie headed for the exit without a care in the world. “I’ll see you all tomorrow, if you’re still alive, that is.”

Klara closed her book and led herself out—silent as usual.

No one else tried to leave. We stood there in silence, waiting for Caius to return as he always did after a game. When he did, the man didn’t have his usual zeal and enthusiasm.

“Well, I must say the end of that game was not as satisfactory as I imagined,” Caius complained. “What an unfortunate turn of events.”

“Don’t act as if you care,” demanded Henrika, “Wyatt’s death, Iris’ death, Elena’s death, Frederick’s death, none of them mean anything to you.”

“Your words cut me deeper than any blade could, Henrika.” Caius overdramatically placed his hand over his nonexistent heart. “The lives of the players are precious to me. Whenever any of you die, it wounds me deeply.”

“Your past actions say otherwise.” Salomon pointed out.

“Does anyone not have anything nice to say about me?” The Game Moderator hung his head, dejected.

“Enough with the games,” I stepped forward. “How’s Nicholas doing?”

Caius’ dejectedness immediately disappeared as he lifted his head. Nothing about his eccentric and erratic behavior surprised me anymore.

“The wound Nicholas suffered is not fatal. The scalpel deviated from his chest, barely missing his ribs.” Caius informed, his voice carried much weight and professionalism. “His wounds will be addressed by the medical team in the Infirmary. I advise that they not be interrupted during this time.”

“I have a few questions of my own now,” Zoey joined in on the conversation. “What was the point of this game? What do you plan to do with the remaining organs from the corpse?”

"Especially the heart," added Salomon. "Since it's still untouched, you can send that heart to Wyatt's wife."

"You can at least do that much for him, right?" Henrika asked.

"We know you have the power to do that," I said.

"Yes, it is possible for me to have that happen." Caius nodded his head. Hope returned to the faces of the other players. However, I didn't get my hopes. I knew better than to expect things from the Game Moderator without there being some strings attached. Unfortunately, that feeling of mine came true as the man continued, "However, you all have a choice that you must make."

"A choice?" Henrika wondered.

"A heart transplant is a difficult task to complete. It would require the full efforts of the medical team. For that to happen, they would need to ignore Nicholas' treatment." Caius revealed.

"Then so be it," Zoey said without hesitation. "You said it yourself that his injury wasn't fatal."

Caius nodded his head. "Indeed, I did. However, it does not mean that he will not die if left untreated for hours."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Then quickly treat him and get the heart later," Henrika demanded.

"That will take some time as well, Henrika. Probably by the time the medical team get finished with Nicholas--"

"The heart will be unusable." Salomon interrupted.

"Therefore, I will give you all the choice to decide what should happen next. Do you want the medical team to treat Nicholas? Or, do you want them to retrieve the heart for Wyatt's wife?"

Everyone kept quiet and pondered over the choices. It wasn't one that we could make without proper consideration. There were various scenarios to factor into the discussion.

As Caius mentioned, Nicholas' injury wasn't fatal. But, if left untreated for several hours, there lied a possibility that he could die. 

Wyatt sacrificed everything for his wife. Even in his death, the possibility to save her remained. But, a heart transplant was a delicate procedure. There was no guarantee that she'd survive the operation or that the heart would suit her. 

I couldn't think of a way to do right by both Wyatt and Nicholas. No matter what choice anyone made, someone had to get the short end of the stick. 

"Time is running out, players," warned Caius. "You must make your choice soon."

"How can you expect us to make this impossible choice?!" Henrika exclaimed.

"Someone will die regardless of what we do," Salomon added. "It's just a matter of who should die. Wyatt's wife or Nicholas?"

"We should pick to save Nicholas," I decided. All eyes focused on me. "I don't know much about Wyatt's wife. But, I don't think she'd be happy to learn about what happened to Wyatt for her to get the heart."

"Because of that, she deserves to die?!" Henrika asked.

I shook my head. "No. But, she must be in a lot of pain every day waiting for that heart to come. We should end her suffering. Nicholas' life is in far more danger than hers."

"Does anyone have any objections to Ambrose's choice?" Caius inquired.

"You're damn right I have objections!" Henrika stated. "No one should have to die! We should be able to save them both!"

"That is impossible," Zoey said. 

"God damn it!" Henrika stormed out of the room.

"Well, if there are no objections. We will treat Nicholas as soon as we can. If there is enough time to retrieve the heart, I will make sure that it gets done." Caius tipped his fedora and left the room.

Afterward, no one muttered a single word. I didn't know about the others, but an unsatisfying, bitter taste of total defeat filled my mouth. I took no part in the game. But, having watched the abrupt, dreadful ending was more than enough to take its toll on me. My split few seconds of playing God didn't help either.

I trudged across the facility and into my room, finding minuscule comfort in the softness of my bed. It was a struggle, but my exhaustion took over and put me into a deep sleep.

I awoke hours later to complete silence.

Something that I wasn’t used to thanks to Iris usually waking me up early in the morning. But, those days were over. Iris was gone, along with the others.

I stayed in bed, refusing to move. All my accumulated stress weighed me down. So much had happened in Serendipity. How had I managed to make it so far without breaking?

My train of thought derailed when the chime of my bell rang throughout my room. Reluctantly, I left my bed and approached the door. When I opened it, Henrika barged her way in.

“Good, you’re awake.” The woman quickly made herself comfortable on my bed.

“Good morning to you too, I guess,” I said.

“Nothing about this is a good morning, Ambrose.” She stated. “I stopped by the Infirmary on my way here, and the medical team has finished treating Nicholas.”

“You want to go pay him a visit?”

“Not yet. He’s still resting.” Henrika shook her head.

“Then why are you here?” I found a seat on a nearby chair.

“Well, for starters, I wanted to see how you were fairing with all this.”

“About as well as you can expect considering the circumstances.” I shrugged my shoulders. They felt heavy. The event of Wyatt’s death burdened me more than I was willing to admit. But, I was adamant not to let it show.

In that situation, I had to stay strong. Not only for me but the others as well. It’d cause more trouble if I panicked and lost my nerve.

“You don’t need to try and put up a front with me. I already know how sensitive you are,” Henrika said with a humorous tone. I couldn’t tell if she was affected at all by the situation.

“Was there something else you wanted?” I folded my arms across my chest.

“What was your relationship with Wyatt? What do you think of him?” She suddenly asked.

A difficult question to answer. At best, I’d say that my relationship with Wyatt was neutral at best. There were times we got along, and times when we didn’t. I respected his conviction.

I didn’t hate the man.

“Our relationship was alright for the most part,” I said.

“You did notice him acting strangely yesterday, right?” She continued to drill into me with questions.

I narrowed my eyes and got straight to the point, no longer wanting to beat around the bush.

“Where are you going with this? If there’s something you want to say, then spit it out.” I demanded.

“I spent all night racking my brain around it. But, I think Wyatt had something to do with Iris’ death.” She reluctantly revealed.

I was frozen. My brain needed time to process the cruel information given to me. Out of everyone to suspect as Iris’ murderer, Wyatt was one of the last people on my list. After all, he offered to do Iris’ autopsy. We learned of her cause of death thanks to him.

I’d never understood why someone would go through so much trouble to help others solve a murder, only for them to be the murderers in the end. It just didn’t make any sense. I racked my brain, trying to find a reason, a motive for Wyatt to want to kill Iris.

But, I couldn’t find anything.

“Your face is saying everything. You don’t believe me.” Henrika pointed at me. She frowned.

“I’m just having trouble believing that Wyatt of all people would kill Iris,” I affirmed my reasons. “It was thanks to him that we learned so much about her death.”

“Yeah, I know. But, Wyatt was still acting strange the entire time. Remember when Zoey tried to examine her body?”

“Yeah. He freaked out and tried to keep her away from it.” I recalled. “But, that’s still no reason to suspect him.”

“I didn’t start suspecting him until Wyatt’s game against Nicholas.”

“What tipped you off?”

“The way he used his scalpel to cut into that man’s body,” Henrika began. Her face slowly turned pale as she continued, “they matched the cut on Iris’ body that Wyatt showed us. You know, the one that was different from the others.”

“Really? Are you basing your suspicions on that? There’s no telling if they were the same.”

“My eyes don’t lie, Ambrose. The cuts were similar. Wyatt was the one that killed Iris.” Henrika declared with much certainty. Not a single doubt resonated in her voice. Whenever she spoke like that, I’d find myself being inclined to believe her.

I couldn’t come up with a single reason as to why she’d lie to me in the first place.

I heaved a heavy sigh, knowing that no good would come out of the situation without proof.

“Okay, let’s say that I believe you. Do you have any proof?”

“Not yet.”

“Not yet?!”

“I’m still working on that, okay?!” She snapped at me. When she realized her outburst, she took a deep breath and settled down. “I’m going to collect evidence from Caius.”

“Caius?” I asked.

“Yes,” Henrika stood from my bed and approached the nightstand. She pointed to the list of phone numbers posted on the wall above it. “We can use the phones to contact Caius and ask him to examine the body from yesterday.”

“You think they still have it?” I left my chair and approached Henrika.

“Won’t know until we try.” Henrika picked up the phone and dialed the number for Caius. We anxiously waited for him to answer. Honestly, it was the first time I witnessed the phones being used.

All my anxiety washed away when Caius’ irritably joyous tone came from the other end of the phone.

“Hello, Ambrose! What a surprise, having you call me around this time of day! Or rather, calling me at all!”

“This isn’t Ambrose.” Henrika corrected him.

“Huh? Henrika? What are you doing using Ambrose’s phone?” Caius questioned.

“Never mind that. There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Quite the stern tone you are using,” Caius noted. “I am listening.”

“When Elena was killed, you refused to show any footage of her death until we completed the game, right?” She started.

“Yes, that is correct,” Caius confirmed.

“But with Iris, you have not given us the option to see the footage of her murder as well. Since there was no game to find out who killed her, we’re left in the dark about her murderer.”

“Your point?”

“There should be no reason to hide the footage from us, Caius. We have the right to know who killed Iris.” Henrika’s tone grew fiercer as the exchange between the two continued.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while. Eventually, a playful hum came from Caius as he responded, “Very well, I shall show you the footage. And to be fair, I was not hiding it. None of you requested to see it in the first place.”

Even from the other side of the phone, I sensed Caius putting on his disgusting smile.

“No tricks, Caius. I want the full, unedited footage.” Henrika demanded.

“I would watch my tone if I were you, Henrika. I am only doing this as a courtesy. I do not have to do this for you.” Caius warned.

Almost immediately, the television in my room turned on. Displayed on the screen was the security footage inside of the Infirmary room on the day of Iris’ death. It started at the beginning of the day where the security team placed Iris on the medical bed.

Afterward, Wyatt entered the room and kept watch over her. One by one, other players entered the room to check on Iris. Eventually, the time came when Wyatt removed the glove on Iris’ arm and slit her wrist with his scalpel.

That action alone was more than enough to convince me that he was the murderer. But, it didn’t end there. The footage continued to reveal that he was also the one that removed the poor girl’s eyes.

I saw Wyatt in a whole new light after the footage cut to black. Inexplicable feelings swirled inside of me. Time stood still. Nothing seemed to register around me as the footage of Wyatt killing Iris continued to replay in my mind.

There wasn’t a single doubt left in my mind. Wyatt was a murderer.