Chapter 61
IVY
I can’t stop shaking. Adrenaline, maybe? Nearly falling wasn’t the worst part. It was the shrieks of her voice. It sounded so much like her.
“How’s the shoulder?” Luca asks.
“Good.” It’s better than it was. Thankfully I was able to do most with my left arm, but I still had to put more pressure on my injury than I should’ve. “Thanks for not letting me fall.”
He keeps a hand on my side, like he needs the connection as he says, “Thanks for not letting go.”
I lean back, resting slightly against him. “Do you really think it was fake? Would they really go to that length just to screw with us?”
“Yes, they would.”
Another chill crawls up my spine. His hands rub up my arms as he says, “It’s almost over.”
But it’s not yet. Because we’re watching Brooke and Micah. And they’ve just made it to the end and are now heading back. It’s like a horror movie. I don’t want to watch but I can’t look away.
They think the worst is over but it’s not.
When we walked back over to the group, Decider made sure we didn’t say anything about what happened.
All Luca did was curse and threaten to kill whoever’s idea this dare was before Decider threatened to leave us here if he didn’t shut his mouth and fall back into line while the others have their turn.
Clearly there’s something that Brooke is hearing because she stoops down, her knees to her chest as she curls up into a ball and presses her hands over her ears.
Micah crouches in front of her, appearing to talk to her.
We can’t hear any of it. Whatever is echoing under them, disturbing her, is for them only.
It’s unsettling the lengths that the game makers are willing to go through to torture us.
She’s clearly crying as they stay in place for a few minutes. Finally, Micah gets her on her feet. Once they start walking again, she has her hands over her ears until they get off the catwalk. Micah is shouting at her while she cries as they rejoin us.
Brooke ignores him as she tells me, “I hate this fucking game.”
“Same.” I debate for a few seconds before I ask, “What did you hear?”
Her horrid expression tells me that she had the same excruciating experience. “Nothing.”
Micah is still pissed as he yells, “Nothing sounded a lot like your goddamn father.”
Her arms fold over her chest as she says, “It was fake.”
“Was it?” Micah asks.
The bruises I’ve seen tells me it wasn’t. I already know the answer but ask her directly, “Does he hit you, Brooke?”
There’re additional tears trailing down her cheek as she swipes them away with the back of her hand. “No.”
“I’m gonna murder the bastard,” Micah shouts and I’m on his side for a change.
“No, it’ll make it worse for my mom. Please don’t.” They argue for a few minutes before Micah storms off.
“It was my mom screaming,” I tell her. “I don’t understand who would do that. It’s sick.”
“Agreed.” Brooke keeps swiping at her cheeks. “It’s like they’re in our heads. And we’re supposed to walk away, never talk about it, and pretend it never happened when Mercy is over. Now I understand why. Who would sign up for this shit willingly?”
“Not me.” I didn’t.
“Remy just tied the blindfold. Now they have to make it back,” Brooke says.
“If you ever need a place to crash or escape, you can stay with me,” I offer.
She says, “Thanks,” blinks rapidly, and then we turn back to watch.
“They’re halfway there,” Brooke utters.
Remy stumbles as Garrett clutches the side rail. Their movements become frantic.
Garrett clings to the rail as Remy tries to get him to let go.
They struggle for a few minutes before Remy leans over the rail, waving back at us as he jumps around.
We can’t hear him, but his face is angry and twisted with rage.
He’s leaning dangerously over the side when the grating gives out under him, causing him to drop as he attempts to grab onto the steel beam.
“Oh my God,” Brooke gasps and we all helplessly watch on.
Garrett crawls towards Remy but it’s too late. His grip fails and he plummets into the vast shadows below.
“No,” Brooke screams. “This isn’t real. It’s another trick.”
We stand frozen in place, watching as Garrett just stares into the void until he begins crawling towards the platform.
I peel my eyes away from the horrific scene and center on Luca. “Tell me that was fake.”
He doesn’t speak.
Garrett returns to us. His words frantic as he explains, “I tried to help. I couldn’t get to him. I’m so sorry.”
Decider announces, “Challenge complete. Two teams remain.”
Brooke states, “We have to see if he’s alive. He might be down there, waiting on someone to save him.”
Micah observes where Remy vanished at as he flatly states, “No one would survive that fall.”
“So, we’re just going to leave him here?” Brooke shrieks.
“He’s being retrieved,” Decider states as he turns to walk away.
“Retrieved? You sound like you’re talking about a piece of trash that needs to be fished out of the water.” He was a living person with a family and friends. A mom and dad who expects him to walk back through the door at their home. But he never will and all because of a senseless game.
“He knew what he signed up for,” Decider waves to the helicopter. “Board within the next two minutes or you will be left behind.”
Luca grasps my hand, pulling me towards the aircraft. “Come on, Ivy. We have to go.”
Micah, Brooke, and Garrett turn to walk away as the engine powers up. I don’t understand how everyone can pretend as this shit is normal. Act like a life-altering catastrophe is just another part of the day. That instant just changed the life of many, and they don’t even realize he’s dead yet.