Chapter 31: Microphone

It is Wednesday. One of us is going to die today. I'm terrified. What if it's me? What if they eliminate me and kill me. I don't want to be eaten by that psycho and those judges. They had us in the hotel trapped. All of the doors were locked and there were security all over, keeping an eye on us.

We couldn't talk to each other. They had us in separate rooms. Security brought breakfast, lunch, and dinner but I tried to eat anything except meat.

They ended up taking us to get ready for the elimination. Soline looked weirder than ever.

"What's wrong?" Basically the first word I said to someone the whole day. "Do you feel like you're being stalked?" She asked. I shook my head,

"no, but I have seen some weird things around here" I said and she looked at me wide-eyed.

"Do you suspect anyone here?" She asked and I stayed silent. They're probably listening to me as we speak right now. I leaned into her ear and I said,

"don't let them close to you. They're dangerous" I whispered. She looked confused.

"Especially the judges" I finished talking and Soline looked betrayed.

"I knew it"

"Don't trust them. If they do try and get you, run. I tried but they ended up locking us in the hotel like prisoners" I said quietly and she kept glamming me up. She finished and I told her to be safe. Guards waited outside and took me to the stage. The rest of us were already there Jacks eyes quickly landed on me. They let us talk but they never left.

"Adryan" Jacks walked towards me and hugged me. Damien wanted to but Jacks arrived first.

"I missed talking to you," he said placing both of his hands on my shoulders. I looked at Damien and he looked at the ground, disappointed. Louise, Veronica, and Clarissa were talking. I joined them and they all were nervous.

"Hi, guys" I waved and they gave me a weak smile.

"Hi, Adryan. I'm so worried. I don't want anyone of you to die" Veronica said. She was terrified, We all were. How are we going to feel knowing that we can't do anything in this situation? I mean, we're basically dead at this point. There's no escape, even if we try our hardest, Aristole always figures it out. The show started and I felt my chest tighten. I took a deep breath. I felt someone's hand interlace with mine. It was Damien. He gave me a warm smile and I felt a little better. He closed his eyes and nodded telling me it was ok. He leaned to my ear and said,

"I have a plan. You need to hold my hand" Before I could ask why, he walked to the stage holding my hand. Jacks noticed us and he looked shocked. He rolled his eyes at Damien and he ignored him. The host danced once again. And we all sat there uncomfortably.

"Welcome everyone. Today the whole thing gets more intense. The rankings no longer exist and their future depend on you, the fans!" She said happily and the fans cheered. It's not the same. Figuring out that after you get eliminated you don't sadly leave and return to reality. You get chopped up and eaten by a group of psychopaths. I wish I didn't know. Maybe I wouldn't be so afraid. The host didn't interview us. Maybe she knew about our escape attempt and was told to not interview us because we might say something to expose them. She just got straight to the point.

"Ok everybody, stand up!" She said and we all did. We all held our hands and closed our eyes. This was it. One of us is getting eliminated and I going to die. I feel angry that we can't do anything about it. There are multiple guards waiting backstage for us. Running away and trying to fight will be impossible. She had an envelope in her hand.

"Ok, everyone. The one leaving us today is..." she opened the envelope and gasped.

"Clarissa Butcher" she said. Clarissa got pale immediately and looked terrified.

"I'm sorry. You are..." Karen said and Clarissa yanked the mic from Karen and the crowd gasped.

"This is a setup, This is all fake! Do you know what they are going to do to me after the show ends?" She said angrily. We all stared at her shocked. "They're crazy, all of them! And you believe them! They are going to..." one guard grabs her and takes the mic away. Another one comes in and grabs her as well.

"The show's over!" He said and threw the mic. They carried Clarissa backstage and she screamed her lungs out. Just like that... she was gone.