Let the Show Begin

The stage was almost set. The broadcast was ready. There were already a few hundred people patiently awaiting the start of the stream, while the main guest was beyond terrified for it. Scythe had done his job according to the plan, and now the man with the skull mask was leaning peacefully on a chair in the broadcasting room, where Chains and Boombox were observing the start of their project. Hammer joined them too, wearing his usual golden mask, with a hammer and shield encrusted on the forehead. The spotlight was not on them however, for everyone's attention was thrown at Red, whose glorious red costume, from head to toe was brightening up the gloomy and brooding atmosphere of the set. That was the plan. The man with the red mask gave the signal for them to start broadcasting the show and smirked behind his mask. Boombox pushed the start button, and all the viewers sitting at home were brought with a melody that would fit almost every game show in existence. Then, the transition to the studio smoothly switched to the video signal of the camera that was recording everything. It was showing Red, whose hands were spread wide open, with the name of the show glowing blue behind him in a perfect contrast to his appearance.

-Welcome.....to our show, "Nothing Personal". My name is Red, and I am here to entertain you and our guest through the ongoing show. Now, you may ask, what kind of show is this going to be? Well, dear audience, this show is whatever the hell we want it to be. A game show, a quiz show, a torture show, you name it! Today, it is going to be all three of them. However, do not mistake our show for something boring and blunt, no no. Our show, it is filled with color, mainly red and black, but you get the gist. Now, for our guest of the evening. We have this feller who traveled exclusively to our set with the bright idea to be a part of the historical pilot episode. Give a warm welcome to Mr. Victor! - He clapped and the camera panned to a tied up dark-skinned man sitting on a chair with a wild look in his eyes.

He was struggling to escape the confinement of the ropes but it was to no avail. Scythe was a professional hunter, so he would not let his prey escape so easily.

-Victor right here! - Continued Red and pointed - has been brought to us because he had been a man not only plagued by sin, but because he did not do what was considered humane. We will get to that point, but I want to establish the rules of today's game - Red pointed above him.

There were three shotguns elevated in the open, all aiming down at Victor, who suddenly felt even more fear about his current situation.

-Above us, you see three perfectly fine and functioning standard model seven round, twelve gauge shotguns. With the rules of our game that we are going to establish in a moment, these guns will regulate if our contestant over here is telling the truth, or in this regard the correct answer - explained Red and sat on his fancy stool.

He rotated around and then faced Victor directly. The dark man was sweating and looking at the whole set, trying to identify something that could help him feel relaxed in this situation. Sadly, he could not make up anything. The tape around his lips was preventing him from verbally assaulting the strange man dressed in all red. Red however was enjoying this, more than he could know.

-And now for the rules, dear watchers. Mr. Victor here is going to be subjected to questions, to whom he has to answer correctly. There is not a wrong answer, but technically, if it is not correct, one of those shotguns is going to fire directly into him. Those two on the sides are aimed at his shoulder and knee, but the middle one is directly pointed at his head. Imagine what a twelve gauge can do in this distance - Red looked at Victor, and if he could wink, he would but the victim wasn't going to see it, - As for the questions, some of them are going to be from the audience in the stream, while the main ones are going to be from me! Is everything clear? - He finished and looked at the chat system next to him.

All the viewers were typing "clear" and skull emoticons. Red smirked. He looked at the viewer count and was surprised to see it had bumped up to three thousand currently watching viewers. That brought even more joy to this man, to the twisted personification of the red death.

-One more detail, - he said and looked directly at the camera, - Those of you who tip our show can personally issue a question, and according punishment if deemed necessary for the situation. Since this is the first show, I shall allow the final decision to be that of the viewers! - said Red and clapped with his hands.

-Let the fun begin! - He shouted and the lights turned red and a spotlight fell upon Victor, who tied up and muted was sitting and awaiting his fate.

Red quickly went to him and got closer.

-When I remove the tape I expect you to not scream, otherwise one of those shotguns might just blow your shoulder out! - He said and quickly removed the tape covering his mouth.

Victor started coughing and looked his captor with such a look, that if it could kill, Red would fall dead. The masked man liked that! He sat back on his chair and the camera panned to Victor, who was breathing heavily.

-Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me allow you the privilege of knowing a bit of Victor's story. He was a good, a very good graduate of his school of choosing and in fact, he had a bright future ahead of him, yet one day, he was a witness a stander who just happened to pass by something truly tragic. A little girl was killed and left to rot in a small alleyway, when a young man found her body. It looked as If he was the murderer and the upcoming people felt that way. They blamed him. Not one asked him what was going on. Not even the pristine Victor, who was all about the righteous shit and how everyone deserves a chance. Well, Mr. Victor has now the opportunity to redeem himself and prove to the people that he truly in fact felt some kind of pity for the poorly blamed man. In addition, answer the questions I have provided today! - established Red and checked the chat.

People were typing, "Kill him" and "fire those guns" but Red wanted to toy around a bit. He looked at the heavily breathing man, who had not muttered a word since he was freed from the tape.

-Are you ready to play, Mr. Victor? - asked Red and grinned from behind his sigil of choice.

The camera panned to him and for a second, he and the lens made eye contact. With a sore throat, he answered.

-Fuck you! – screamed the man, trying to suppress the fear that had entered him from the very moment he opened his eyes and saw that he was not at home, but at a house he did not know, above the fact he was tied and subjected to see the three muzzles of the shotguns.

Red laughed, genuinely and slapped his knee.

-Hilarious, alright then, let us proceed with Question 1! - He said and his eyes that stared into the man became, darker.

-Is your full name Victor Francis Duffer?

He nodded, but Red continued to stare awaiting a verbal answer.

-Yes!

Red nodded and looked at his tablet, set in front of him, just like those other game shows.

-Question 2. Are you a man of rightness and believe in equal rights?

That felt like an odd question.

-Yes! I believe that everyone has a chance for everything.

Red smirked and felt an itch in his head.

-Please, elaborate! - Further instructed Red.

Victor looked at him not exactly knowing how to proceed but he continued talking further.

-I believe in today's day of age, not everyone respects the opinions of others and that itself makes it hard for people to connect and make new acquaintances. Yet, when someone is marked by people and does not get the chance to speak and maybe defend himself is probably the biggest injustice, since he is already considered a black sheep and whatever he says, valid or sound, it doesn't get heard and the person is...framed... - carefully answered the tied man.

Red watched as he said every word, trying to convey simple logic. And that logic in itself was true, but it would have been better if it did not have a major hole inside it. He was impressed by his thoughts, yet disappointed he lacked the backbone to truly practice those words. He made a sound with his tongue, the one where someone is ticked off, and does not agree with something. As Victor was about to feel a bit safe from the dooming shotguns above him, the one pointed at his knee fired without any sign of it doing so. The sound it produced as it completely obliterated his knee was enough to fill a stadium. The following scream of pure agony came second to it, but both things equally satisfied Red, who smirked the moment he heard the shotgun blast. He looked at the bloody hole left from the twelve gauge and tried to imagine what it would feel like to have his knee completely obliterated, to the point of seeing his broken bones look like a bloody salad. Victor on the other hand was throwing curses left and right, trying to subside the pain in some way, trying to make it bearable. Nevertheless, it was not supposed to be. It was supposed to hurt and inflict damage.

-I answered! I answered your question! - He yelled, grinding his teeth so much that his gums almost bled.

Red laughed and looked at the comments. Everyone was going completely ballistic and were tipping the whole production. So far, no one had tipped with instructions, but that was not important. It was important for the show to be seen, and that was exactly what was happening. He then turned his attention back to the wounded man.

-You did answer, but you lack the conviction, and plainly contradicting yourself! Not only did you make valid points, but also, you completely went over how you did the exact thing and made that poor man accused of murder actually be arrested! Your actions, being none, ended up as worse as the other people that were before you and will be after you. Therefore, Victor, yes you answered, but that answer was...unsatisfying - explained the red suited man and observed how Victor was trying to fight with the pain.

Red glanced back at the chat and saw many people type "finish him" and "end it!" but he wanted to make one last attempt of getting something from him, although it risked him answering correctly, if there was a correct answer of course.

-Very well Victor, next. This following question is going to be more of a situation, rather than anything else. Let us say you are going back home from work and you see a fallen old woman, incapable of standing up due to her old age. What is your action? - asked the Red man and leaned back on his long stool.

Victor was sweating profusely, feeling the burning sensation of losing his knee that the question he was asked completely went over this head. Not to blame him of course, it was not every day he lost a knee or two. It was his first time, and probably last, since leaving this place consisted of him being truthful and not pissing off the host of the whole ordeal. Red was tapping his crossed legs, and was observing the man. The chat was suggesting very innovative stuff, but he was still keen on waiting for a few more minutes. It was entertaining to look at one of the people responsible for all the horrible things that happened in prison. It rather felt poetic.

-I would...help her! - managed to say the tied up man, bringing Red back to the room.

-Elaborate! – Further, instructed the red suited host and grinned from behind the mask.

Victor was physically shaken...still trying to suppress the need to scream from this terrible situation he was in.

-I would help her...because it is the right thing to do!

Red nodded and looked at the chat.

"Liar!", "hypocrite!", "kill him!" - were the common chants among the five thousand currently watching. Red laughed, and Victor gulped harshly, feeling a burning lump stuck between his throat.

-Well, yes, it is the right thing to do...but that brings me to the point from earlier, WHY DID YOU NOT HELP THAT MAN?! - shouted the masked man and stood up.

Victor leaned back, but with that movement, he hurt his leg even more. Red grabbed his shirt, white and stained with snot and splattered blood.

-You...do not belong here! Not in this world where you are too chicken to stand your ground! Nevertheless, ultimately you are indeed correct Mr. Victor. Which is why I am willing to let you live - he smirked and sat back on his chair, to the massively relieved man.

-...But, I am not so sure about the chat...let us see. Should we punish Victor for his sins, or should we let him leave? I promised at the start that the final decision is going to be taken from the chat, so please, vote bellow - instructed Red and began observing the downwards spiral of thousands of comments of the same matter.

There was not one, not one comment that said mercy. The now six thousand people watching voted without any hesitation for "murder him!". The genuine smile wrapped onto Red's lips was enough. Too bad Victor could not see it, nor could he see the vote. That made him even more anxious about this.

-What did they say? - He managed to mutter looking directly at the red mask.

Pity. Red wanted to play a bit more with him, but having dealt little to no damage to him before it only felt right to save him and just end it.

-Well... - said Red and snapped his fingers.

On signal, the middle shotgun fired before Victor could understand what had happened. The twelve gauge penetrated his face and destroyed every nuance of his head that resembled a...head. There was only one oval looking shape, with no middle filling to it. Only a gaping hole...with nothing but broken bones, flesh and blood mangled together as if a toddler had played with play dough.

-My, my...what a sight! Truly, a magnificent end to this poor soul - said Red standing up, as the camera panned for the last time to the lifeless body of Victor.

-Now, I would like to thank everyone who tipped the show and those who gave suggestions. We are honored to have your attention in the long run, so we appreciate the love! With that being said, this is the end of our pilot episode, and I believe the next one should be airing very soon, so stay tuned....and remember, "Nothing Personal", only for entertainment! - Finished Red and the broadcast was over.

The Mask of the Red Death then looked towards the broadcast room where, Scythe, Boombox, Chains and Hammer observed. Everyone clapped and Red bowed to the received ovation. He was grinning the whole time, feeling more than happy for the resulted outcome.

-Well lads, who is next? - asked Scythe looking at the door behind Red.