“Is this our fate?” Caitlin asked quietly, never specifying who she was talking to. “Is this what will happen to us all?”

This fate. The worst fate of all. Body, mind, and memory alike, completely erased from the face of the world.

Katie was quiet. Quieter than she has ever been. Usually, in moments of silence like this, she was always the one to speak up and loosen the mood with a few untimely jokes. This was the case when she was in the games, and this was the case when she was acting as an assassin. But now, she was silent.

Katie could tell the pain her friend was going through. It was the despair that could break a grown man, much less a young teenage woman like Caitlin. And worse of all, Caitlin refused to give in. If she did what the other students did, if she allowed herself to drift away by the impending, irresistible current of hopelessness, then at least she would have it easier. But Caitlin, oh Caitlin, the strong, determined soul she was, made a stand. And this refusal to surrender was what made things a thousand times worse for her.

Ironically, it was also what made Katie love her so much.

“This is not going to be our end.” She said quietly, suddenly making up her mind. “I’ll go to my armory, grab some firepower, and then go straight to Mr. Isaac’s house. I will literally burn down his house with him and all his creations inside! And even if he survives the flames...” She touched her kitchen knife. “I’ll have some fun with him.”

“Bottom line, he won’t be there for the games tomorrow. His reign of blood...it ends today.”

Before this, Katie actually loved the games. The blood. The pain. The games were a perfect combination of danger and death that turned her on more than anything else. But things have changed. Caitlin was in pain, and if taking out what was entertaining her would make her feel better, then so be it.

Take on a seemingly invincible enemy for love? Crazy, yes, but people have done worse things for love. Plus, no one has ever credited Katie from being rational.

Caitlin gave Katie a small smile.

“That is...sweet of you, Katie, but so what if we kill Mr. Isaac?”

“What?”

“Caitlin and I talked about it.” Zach added. “We don’t think Mr. Isaac is acting alone.”

“Why not?”

Zach and Caitlin exchanged a glance before Caitlin finally let out a sigh and answered.

“What Mr. Isaac did was coordinated. Planned out. Ruthless, yet precise. That requires experience. A lot of experience. He’s well trained in this job.”

“Or maybe he just had a lot of practice.” Katie shrugged, trying to ease her friend’s doubts. “Who knows? Maybe he was the one that took down this school, before he came to ours. That means he’s alone and if we kill him, we end this all...”

“He’s not alone, Katie!” Caitlin suddenly snapped. “Look! Katie, if he is alone without oversight, you’d be dead already! He hates you, Katie! You are a complete disturbance to his games, but because he is restricted to follow a set of rules, he can’t harm you outside of the games! And what’s restricting him with these rules? Whatever people behind him, obviously! For whatever god damn purpose! ”

“If he really wanted to kill you, even if you heal quickly...can you heal when you are completely dead?”

“Oh…” Katie nodded slowly. Caitlin’s deduction was...decent, but at the same time, she was no Sherlock. All her deductions were based on a false set of premise. Mr. Isaac did try to kill her, just a few hours ago, in fact. It wasn’t his restrictions that kept Katie alive, but the sheer fact that she literally couldn’t die.

But Katie’s couldn’t tell Caitlin that. Really...what could she say? Oh, Caitlin, don’t worry! I may be a masochistic immortal maniac with a magical plant inside my body, but I’m still human and I still love you! This will freak Caitlin out so much! Maybe she’ll even leave her because of this!

Katie couldn’t allow that. To keep Caitlin all to herself, she killed an innocent boy for his token. If keeping a secret from Caitlin was what she had to do, then so be it. Nonetheless, now she no longer had the need to take on Mr. Isaac head on.

The drive back to Caitlin’s house was completely silent. Caitlin and Zach were dead quiet, still processing what happened. Katie was the one that drove. She tried to start a few conversations, but ultimately, it was a futile effort.

When they got home, Caitlin locked herself in her room without another word. Neither Zach nor Katie could enter. Just as they were about to leave, Zach turned to Katie. A look of determination on his face.

“You love her, don’t you, Katie?”

Katie looked at Zach like he just asked her what was the answer to ‘one plus one’. “Duh? Of course! I literally made a whole speech about this! I threatened your life in that speech, remember?”

Zach didn't look offended at all. Instead, he nodded. His lips shook briefly, as if he was making a difficult decision.

“Katie,” He sighed. “there are a lot of things I don’t like about you, but even I have to admit you are much more likely to survive this than me.”

“Uh…thanks?”

“That’s why I want to make you a deal.” Zach glanced at Caitlin’s room’s door. “Caitlin. I’ll break up with her tomorrow. She’s yours.”

“Mine?” Katie’s expression changed, not to excitement, but to anger. “Caitlin is not a property to hand around! And...she has always been mine!”

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“Well, my point is, I will no longer be your competition.” The boy said quietly, unfazed by the outburst. “All I ask is one thing.”

“What?”

“You keep her alive.”

Katie nodded slowly. The visit to Gregory High School must’ve hit Zach as hard as Caitlin. He didn't quite let it show, but that was the only reason why he would say something like this. Zach knew his chance of surviving the games was close to none. So, to keep Caitlin alive, he was willing to swallow his pride and make a concession.

“I promise.” Katie said. “I will do everything in my power to protect Caitlin. Well, I was going to do it anyways, but...thanks.” She finished, forcing out a reassuring smile.

Zach nodded before turning and walking out of Caitlin’s house. For a moment, he looked like an elderly man who was at the end of the line. When he first joined the games, he gave Katie a sense of determination. Fearlessness. But now, as his fate became clear, it was obvious he was in for more than what he could handle.

Katie didn't know what to say. In fact, she couldn’t even feel the same horror that Caitlin and Zach felt. Games of pain and torture until complete annihilation? Sounds thrilling! But that didn't make her feel satisfied or elevated. Instead, her heart sank, for the excitement she was sensing from the bottom of her heart only meant one thing.

She was further and further away from what she used to be: a human.

And it terrified her.

Giving Caitlin’s room one last glance, she sighed and left the house.

----------------------------------------

At this point, the classmates have gotten familiar with the routine. Go to school in the morning. The few unfortunate souls would be selected to play the game. And then, the lucky ones would return home for another day of drinks and parties.

In fact, some of the classmates seemed to have adapted to this. Kyle, for example, looked more than well as he sat in his seat with his legs crossed in boredom.

When Katie walked into the classroom, many students looked at her curiously. At this point, if anyone was surviving these games, it was her. With that in mind, a few students were having some rather interesting conversations.

“Hey, Aaron! Aren’t you good with gals? Why don’t you try to be Katie’s boyfriend?” One of the students turned to a guy who was known to be quite a playboy. “She’ll probably help you out in the games!”

“What?” The guy, Aaron, was obviously caught by surprise. “Hmmm...Katie?” He rose his eyebrows. “That is...that is actually not a bad idea…” Yes, relying on a girl to lie wasn’t the best for his reputation as a man, but...what purpose would a good reputation serve for the dead?

And then Katie sat down next to Caitlin and gave her a sweet smile. Not the smiles that she had when she was in a frenzy in battle, but an honest smile, and it was kind of cute.

“Yeah…” Aaron backed down. “I don’t think so. Pretty sure she’s gay or something. She’s with Caitlin.” He glanced at his friend. “You may have a chance.”

“I’m not into ladies.” The girl shrugged and joked. “But maybe I can bend myself? You know, to save my life?”

Suddenly, a voice called out from the side.

“What a waste.” The two turned and found Kyle talking. There was a strange sense of lust in the boy’s eyes. “I’d bone them both.” He pointed at Caitlin and Katie and smirked wickedly.

On the side, Katie froze, stood up, and walked over to the table. The boy and the girl were taken back, but Katie wasn’t here for them. She walked straight to Kyle’s table.

“What are you doing…” Kyle started, playing innocent. He never finished before Katie punched him in the face so hard she swore she saw a teeth falling out. Kyle was knocked over, blood flowing out of his mouth. Without another word, Katie walked back to her table.

The two students that were talking at first exchanged a glance, looked at Kyle mockingly, and turned back without bothering to help him up.

Katie walked back to the table where Caitlin was sitting at.

“So...where were we? Oh, right! I’m glad you’re feeling better.” She said quietly, stretching her fingers.

“Do I want to know what that was?” Caitlin glanced at Kyle.

“Wait...you didn't hear what he said?”

“No...Katie, he was halfway across the room!”

“Oh…” Katie looked back at Kyle slowly, who was making his way back up. “ah well, I heard him saying bad things about us yesterday, so…”

Caitlin smiled softly, but she made no objection. In fact, she was looking much better now than she did yesterday evening. When Katie came into the classroom, she fully expected to see Caitlin with reddened eyes, if she was here at all. Honestly, she was fully ready for Caitlin to not be here. If she chose to give up, then Katie might need to have a really, really friendly conversation with Mr. Isaac about bending the rules!

Thankfully, Caitlin didn't give up. Instead, she did the complete opposite.

“If I’m gonna die eventually, then I might as well go down fighting.”

“Fair enough.” Katie grinned. That’s her girl!

Caitlin returned her friend’s smile with a small smile of her own, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but look around for Zach, who she found in a corner of the classroom. Caitlin waved for him to come over, but he didn't do it.

Some might call Zach a coward, but Katie couldn’t help but give him some respect. Then again, the fact that he was no longer her competitor probably helped in altering her view.

Just like every other morning, the class was chaotic this period of time. Whatever order there used to be has gone out the window along with Mr. Isaac on the day these games started. Now, there was only chaos. But that chaos disappeared when a familiar figure walked into the classroom.

When Mr. Isaac’s wretched figure entered, everyone shut their mouth, held their breath, and started praying.

Well...almost everyone.

“Good morning!” Katie exclaimed brightly. “Mr. Isaac! How’s your day going?”

Mr. Isaac glanced at Katie, and for a moment, the girl swore she saw fear in Mr. Isaac’s eyes. But all the teacher did was ignore her. She was about to say something when Caitlin grabbed onto her hand and shook her head. Katie felt the warmth and shut her mouth.

Mr. Isaac walked to the front of the classroom. In front of him, everyone has gone back to their seats. Nodding in satisfaction, the undead raised his voice.

“Good morning, students.”

“What, do you know about the telephone game?”

Everyone snapped to Katie, who was about to speak up. But when she saw all the attention on her, she suddenly went back to silence. Am I the type of girl that speaks when I’m told? Hell no! I speak when I please!

If Mr. Isaac saw the commotions, he didn't show it.

“In case some of us don’t know, the telephone game is when a message is passed down across a line of participants. The first person receives the message and passes it down to the second person, and so on.”

“Usually, the message is completely different at the end.”

“But, I hope, for your sake, the message is translated correctly.”

“Because if it’s not, some of you will die.”

Katie felt her lips curving up in excitement! He did it! Mr. Isaac finally moved onto something actually fun! A twisted telephone game? Hell yes! Who can say no to a children's game that’s being twisted and turned to kill its players? Well...probably almost all the students here, but not me!

She leaned forward and waited for Mr. Isaac to announce the rules.

“When the game begins, you will form a line. I will pass the message to the first person. Here’s the fun part...if you pass the message down incorrectly…”

“then you die?” Katie couldn’t help but speak up. She literally couldn’t contain herself. “How? Beheading? The flames? Hanging?”

“then…” Mr. Isaac stared at Katie. “then the person next in line will find his or her throat slit.”

Beside Katie, Caitlin slammed her fists into the table.