The day put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. And it wasn't even over yet. I found out Zoey, perhaps the most likely to survive out of the players mysteriously died. No explanation from anyone. That was it. Poof. She was just gone.

It didn't make any sense.

She was the most levelheaded person in Serendipity. How someone like her managed to die was beyond me. Or so I thought until Melanie spoke up about the situation. At that point, I knew the bitch had something to do with Zoey's death. That fucking grin on her face at the time said it all.

Defeating her in the game brought me great joy. However, beating her down was something else. Almost euphoric in a sick and twisted way. The girl was lucky that I decided to keep my word about not killing anyone. If I weren't a man of my word, she would've joined the likes of my father in hell.

Besides sticking it to Melanie, the only other solace I got in the aftermath was the fact that I retrieved Elena's necklace. I hadn't the slightest clue as what to do with it though. Returning jewelry to a corpse was pointless. Elena didn't need it. I know I sure as hell didn't.

Well, it was fine since Melanie didn't have it anymore.

When I returned to the lobby, everyone's gazes rested on me for a moment before they lowered them. I expected to get surrounded and showered with praise for beating Melanie. It wasn't a stretch to say that she was the most hated person out of the players — instead, their sights set on perhaps my greatest shame in life, my prosthetic legs. 

I had hoped to keep them a secret to everyone. But, that wasn't possible anymore.

"Well, this is surprising..." The first person that broke the awkward silence in the room was Nicholas. He moved his shades to his forehead and got a better look at my legs.

"This surely explains a few things," Henrika added. Strangely enough, I expected more of a reaction from her.

"Those must of cost a pretty penny," Salomon walked over and tapped his foot against my legs. "Neoframe."

"Neoframe? What's that?" Henrika asked.

"Military grade prosthetics. Not just anyone can get their hands on these." Salomon answered.

"Ambrose must have some friends in high places," Nicholas concluded. His deduction wasn't too far off the mark.

"Hey, hey! My eyes are up here!" I informed everyone. A sharp snap of my fingers gained everyone's attention. "You all about done now? Can we move on?"

"Are you kidding me? Move on? This is incredible," Henrika surprisingly said. Her face beamed with interest as she circled me, admiring the sight of my prosthetics. She didn't understand. There wasn't anything incredible about my prosthetics or how I got them. "There's so much I want to ask you."

"Drop it," I demanded. The moment Henrika looked up and saw my face, the excitement in her eyes vanished, as did her smile. "If it's alright with everyone, I'm exhausted."

I brushed past everyone and left the room, not wanting to stick around long enough for Caius to enter with his usual enthusiasm. At first, I planned to head to my room for the rest of the night. But, another idea crossed my mind when I passed the Infirmary.

I knew the security team brought Melanie there to recover. I didn't plan to give her the satisfaction of that yet. There was so much that I wanted her to answer for. And that time was as good a chance as any. 

I made sure no saw was around before I entered the Infirmary. The second I went in, I spotted Melanie occupying the last medical bed in the farthest corner of the room. No security members or medical personnel in sight. I felt a grin crease on my face.

There she lied, completely defenseless. It was perhaps the most vulnerable I'd ever get the chance to see her. I planned to take full advantage of the situation.

"You still alive?" I wasted no time in calling out to her.

Melanie opened her eyes and turned her head toward me. A scowl spread across her face by the mere sight of me. Oh, how the tables had turned from our first few days in Serendipity.

"What the fuck do you want, Scraggly?" She harshly asked.

 "Answers," I responded and stopped at the foot of her bed. "I want to know what you did to Zoey."

"Fuck off, I'm not in the mood," Melanie dismissed me without hesitation. Often enough her attitude would've annoyed me. However, that was in the past. I was different. That time, I found it rather amusing how that girl could act all tough despite her condition. Well, I intended to change all that.

"You're not in any position to refuse sadly," I shrugged my shoulders and moved to the side of the bed. "All this time you've caused nothing but trouble for everyone here. I'm putting an end to that."

"Oh?" The defiance in Melanie's eyes never flicked, even as I stood over her. "What're you up to?"

"I just want to talk," I pulled up a chair and took a seat. "Play nice and answer my questions, everything will end well for you. If not, well, I can't be held responsible for what happens next."

Melanie scoffed at me, "Is that so? Cut the tough guy act. We both know you can't do shit to me in here. You had your chance in the game room, and you wasted it."

"No. It wasn't a waste." I shook my head. "I learned quite a lot. Now, what did you do to Zoey?"

"Not tellin'," Melanie taunted me with that Cheshire smile of hers. Once again, not a single shred of irritation spiked within me. I never expected our encounter to go smoothly. "Know that Cyclops is gone and joined the others in hell. Gimme enough time, and you'll join 'em."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"You'll be in hell a lot sooner than I will," I ensured her, knowing that my words wouldn't reach her. Therefore, I decided to go with plan B. I stood from my seat and gathered some tools from the medical trays nearby, only to return to my chair with them in hand.

"What're you doing?" Melanie asked. Her voice shook for a moment.

"Nothing yet. We're still just talking." I told her as I slowly brandished the scalpel back and forth in front of her face.

"You don't scare me, Scraggly! You can't do shit to me in here! There's a camera!" Melanie smugly pointed out. However, that expression faded when I closed the curtain, obscuring ourselves from the view of the security camera.

"How about now?" I challenged her bravery. Melanie tried to get out of the bed, but I kept her pinned, holding the scalpel inches away from her throat.

"Get the fuck off me! I'll scream!" 

"Go ahead. No one will hear you. Everyone's already off to bed. It's just you and me here," I informed Melanie. "Curtain's blocking us from the camera, so, I can do whatever I want to you, and I won't get penalized."

"So, what? You gonna kill me here? What's the point in that? You won't get what you want." Melanie countered. But, the defiance in her eyes wasn't as strong as before. I felt her body tremble from under me. "Besides, whatever happened to this not being a game about killing others? I thought you were a man of your word."

"I am. I'm not going to kill you. But, I'll make you wish that I did." I warned her. I shed some blood from her neck to prove how serious I was about my promises. A wince crossed her face. But, she didn't move too much, knowing that I could cut deeper into her throat if she did.

"How scary. Never heard that line in a movie before," Melanie continued to taunt me. "Y'know, you and I aren't so different, Scraggly. I may answer your questions if you make sure to answer truthfully from where you are. You may not believe it, but, I liked Cyclops. She was a badass, unlike the others."

I tried not to show it, but the way she mentioned Zoey in past tense that hit it home for me that she was truly dead. Against my better judgment, I eased up and pulled the scalpel away from her neck.

"Must be hard, huh? Watching the others drop dead one after the other so quickly? Makes you wonder how this all could've happened." Melanie grasped her neck and looked down to her bloody palm. A sinister smile etched on her face as she continued, "The answer is simple. They were weak — all of them. It's how life works. The strong live while the weak die."

"Don't try that survival of the fittest bullshit on me. That's not how it works here." I argued.

"So you say, but, there's a reason people like us are still alive. What's wrong with weeding out the weak so that only the strong remain?" She wondered with a cocky tilt of her head.

Even though the girl sprouted such bullshit right in my face, I couldn't get angry at her. It wasn't that I agreed with that philosophy, but I knew it wasn't hers. Something else was at play.

"That's not what you want. You don't give a damn about who's strong or weak. All you care about is getting your money," I reminded Melanie. The little bitch made it no secret about her desires.

"Oh, that's true. But, you people got in my way. So, I knew I had to get rid of you one way or the other." Melanie said. "Since day one, it was easy for me to point out my targets. Dumbass, Funbags, Rainbows, Stains--easy pickings."

"So with them gone, you decided to move on to bigger game?" 

"Exactly. I knew people like you would be difficult to take down, but not impossible. That's what kinda made it fun in a way. Despite how scared you all were, you still looked me in the eye."

"How'd you take down Zoey?" I asked.

Melanie closed her eyes. A haughty laugh leaked from her mouth. "Poor Cyclops wasn't as alert as she claims to be. The moment she let her guard down, I struck."

"Your answer's too vague. What did you do?" I demanded answers. I had to stop her from repeating the same tactic on the others. I didn't want anyone else to die. Not in that place. 

"Are you having fun, Scraggly? Dominating me? Holding me here against my will with that scalpel? Does it make you feel good inside? Do you feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins?" She reached out and grabbed my arm. She didn't try and break free. Her touch felt oddly gentle. "Makes you want to vent all that built up energy on someone or something. Too bad, even though you have an opportunity to do just that...you won't."

"What makes you say that?"

"The fact that you haven't done it already. You're right at the edge, but hesitate when you need to do what needs to be done. You don't have much of that killer instinct like I do."

"I don't--"

"Can't blame you though. It's not in your DNA."

"What are you talking about?"

Melanie chuckled again and replied, "Did you know that I was born to be a killer? My father was a psychopath, so, it's only natural that his most prominent quality passes over to me."

"That has nothing to do with my question," I stated. She had gone off track. I had to get her attention.

"Oh, it's got everything to do with it. Whatever I did to Cyclops, you can't blame me. Killing's in my DNA. Can't help that. Can't fight biology."

"You could at least try and not look so damn excited about it." I sternly said. The smile on her face sickened me. I figured the bitch was a psychopath long before she revealed that information. But, it was something else actually hearing it from her directly.

"How can I not be? It's not my fault I like killing people. I'm a poor, helpless girl that so happened to acquire horrible genes from my father," Melanie mocked me with a playful tone. "Cyclops just so happened to end up as another unfortunate victim. We both are."

"Like hell you are,"

"You may not realize it yet, but you and I aren't so different. Back when you were strangling me, I saw you smiling. You enjoyed feeling the life leave my body with your own two hands, didn't you?"

I couldn't answer. No, that wasn't right. I didn't want to answer. I knew all too well that Melanie was right. In the most profound, farthest part of my mind, I enjoyed every second of it. However, I didn't like it the way she described. 

It wasn't the fact that I nearly killed her as much as it was that I almost ended the primary source of problems in Serendipity. If Melanie died, I doubted anyone would've been at each other's throats as much if she were around. When I brought her to the brink of death, I felt a wave of peace for a moment.

I wanted her to die. Oh, how I wanted her to die. But, that would've made me the next enemy. The other players would've targeted me. That's not what I wanted. Keeping Melanie alive was a bad choice, but not the worst one perhaps.

"You're no better than me, Scraggly. I know that. You don't smile like that unless you've been through something like that before," Melanie pointed out. My mind immediately brought me back to the past where I killed my father. I was sure back then that I smiled.

Why wouldn't I smile? I put an end to the bastard that put the rest of my family through hell. Who wouldn't smile after doing something like that? 

In the eyes of the others, I'd get called a monster. They wouldn't understand. I didn't care if they did. My past was my business.

"Why lie to yourself? Be whoever you wanna be and do whatever the fuck you want. What's the point in living a life that's a lie?" Melanie continued to spout her nonsense. "In here, I can be what I want; consequences be damned."

"No. There are consequences, no matter where we are. You murdered Zoey, and you'll pay." I said.

"How? You threatened to torture me and haven't done shit," Melanie grazed her cheek against the scalpel, drawing more blood. The crimson liquid trickled down to the corner of her mouth, where she proceeded to ingest it with her tongue gleefully. "If our positions were swapped, you'd be dead already. Y'know why that is? I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want."

I got off the bed and put the scalpel down on the table. 

"That's enough," I said. "I'm more than willing to do the same."

"Actions speak louder than words," Melanie countered.

"I agree," I turned and headed for the exit.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted answers." Melanie said mockingly. The defiance in her eyes returned. Bitch turned the tables on me.

"I got the answers that I needed," Was all I had left to say to her. With that, I moved the curtain out of the way and left the Infirmary. My encounter with her tired me out more than I cared to admit. I went off to my room and spent the rest of the night asleep, dreading the next day.