The Weight of a Decision

Iris began frantically touching her face out of pure terror. The voice and face of the woman unlocked a memory she had suppressed as her time in the flower room drove her to remember the essentials. 

"Sophia! Why are you here!!" Iris screamed as tears rolled down.

The being smiled.

"Aww, how adorable. Is this a reunion?" The being's sadistic voice echoed through the room.

Iris looked up at the being, her face full of anger.

"Let her go!!" Iris jumped at the being.

The being moved out of the way causes Iris to crash into the wall.

She looked up, her head bleeding and her face full of wrath.

"Bye" The being disappeared.

Iris' fury was short-lived as she was not dealt with the decision of deciding who is permanently disabled and will have a large hatred towards her.

"Please help me." The man finally spoke, his voice filled with fear.

"No! Please help me! I helped your mother with raising you!" Sophia screamed.

"Please, I have a family who are waiting for me. I need to go and provide for them." The man's body began trembling.

"Iris, help me! I know you! I know you! I…"

"Please, Iris, I have a daughter who is ten, and she is probably extremely scared about where her father is." The man tried to remain calm, but his voice and actions told a different story.

Iris has no idea what to do. She is frantically looking around. She has never been dealt with such a difficult situation; all she can do is tear up as they begin arguing over who deserves to be saved.

"P-please, please stop!!" Iris screamed; she couldn't process the information; she felt petrified and disturbed by the choices.

Sophia looked at how Iris went to the corner, curled up, and began crying.

"Iris, please just choose me and let it be over with!" Sophia supplicates.

"No, please, I have a family!" 

"But she knows me, and I have been with her since forever!"

"No! She needs to help me and my daughter!"

"Shut up." Iris's voice feels soft.

"I don't care that you have a family! I also have a family that loves me!!" 

"But my daughter has no one except for me." 

Their argument increased in tone until Iris reached her breaking point.

"Shut up!! I said, "Shut UP!!!" Iris looked back, her eyes filled with tears, her eyes filled with devastation.

They both instantly went quiet. 

"You have ten minutes to decide, or both will get killed." The being's voice rumbled throughout the entire room.

Iris stood up and began walking to where they were.

"Let me ask you two questions, and whoever's answer I like will be healed." Iris' words made the atmosphere of the room become more tense.

She walked to where the man sat.

"Your daughter, how is she?" Iris' soft tone pierced the man's ears.

"She is my whole reason to live. She is my biggest blessing, a real angel." The man's tone became soft and caring.

Iris walked over to Sophia. 

"How long have you been here, and how do you remember my mother?"

"I have been here for about a week, and I loved your mother as my own sister. I valued her with all my heart, and I want to be there for you in your time of remembrance." Sophia began crying.

Iris stared at her, her mind racing. Something feels off. The more I thought about it, Sophia's answer didn't add up.

"I've only been here for three or four days." Iris's voice hardened. "How did you know my mother is dead if you have been here for a week?"

Sophia's eyes widened; the room remained still. Then Iris grabbed the butcher knife and slashed Sophia's nose.

"Ahh!!!" Sophia screamed, blood pouring down her face. "I hate you!!! Why did that bitch give birth to you!!!"

Iris ignored her, her hands trembling as she turned to the man.

"Thank you. I will never forget this." He whispered, his voice filled with gratitude.

Iris nodded, "Just value your daughter and tell her how much you love her." Iris grabbed the man's eyes and attached them back with a powder that was in the tray.

Iris looked back as Sophia's screams stopped and her legs became hotter.

Iris's and the man's heart dropped. They saw how every drop of her blood was expelled, leaving her all dried up.

"You did well. Little Iris. You now have to open each door to find out." The world began to disappear while sixteen doors appeared.

Iris ran to the doors and began to try and open them. She managed to open the correct door after six attempts.

She enters the door and finds herself in the flower-filled room. She feels a huge wave of relief, as it is a total change in environment.

"Since I expect you to choose that woman, it would have been your next thirty-two doors, so let's just skip that one and go to the next challenge." In the next second sixty-four doors appeared, all scattered through the room.

"For your next challenge, you will have to find the correct key and the correct door on a time limit, as it would be very easy." In the sky, a timer was created.

"The keys are marked, so don't worry; it won't take you long."

Tick, tick, tick.

Iris began to run to the closest keys and started picking them up. 

She managed to grab eight keys in less than five minutes; now all she has to do is find the correct door.

She runs to the first door and tries all the keys with little to no success. She repeats this process for ten doors until it dawns on her that the challenge would be virtually impossible if she didn't have extreme luck.

Iris fell to the ground; she began overthinking about how to complete the challenge until something clicked.

She inexplicably felt drawn to one of the keys far away from where she was located.

She began running to the key; it was a gamble, but she felt that it would be the correct decision. 

Iris reached for their key and began running to one of the doors.

She began opening the door.

Click

It opened; she cheerfully opened the door.

As Iris enters the door to the next challenge, she sees a figure covered in a dark fog; however, it's a smaller statue than the mysterious being, and there is one door behind it.

The fog began to clear, and the figure that appeared left her petrified.

She is face to face with someone she values so much—her father. However, there is something wrong with him. His eyes are deep, dark, and cold, and he's holding a weapon.

"Iris," he said, his voice distorted and unfamiliar. "You should have died with us."