12. Carey
Carey
Everyone started talking or shouting at the same time.
“What the fuck?”
“This isn’t real. No way.”
“No fucking way.”
“This has to be a joke.”
I couldn’t even figure out who was saying what. I just sat back and stared fearfully at each person in turn, trying to figure out the most likely suspect. I wanted to believe Hudson was behind everything, but I wasn’t sure how he’d be able to pull it off, given his supposed lack of intelligence.
Then again, if he had help…
“It’s obvious who this so-called Game Master is,” Evan said, snapping his fingers to draw everyone’s gazes to him. His own eyes came to rest on my face. “Carey.”
“What?” I sat up straight, eyes bulging. “Me?”
Evan sneered. “Yeah, you. Don’t act all innocent. I know it’s you.”
“How can it be her?” April asked, glaring over at him. “Does she look like a tall man to you?”
“Use your brain, April.”
“I could say the same to you,” she replied hotly. “If you’re going to throw accusations around, you need to back them up with some sort of evidence.”
“Fine.” Evan rolled his eyes. “Think about it. We’ve all been at school together for twelve years, not counting her, and we’ve never had any issues like this. Then she shows up, and within a month we all end up trapped in a fucking murder mansion.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” April said. “In fact, your reasoning for why it has to be Carey is actually a reason why it can’t be her. She barely knows anyone. So why would she arrange something like this? And how? She doesn’t come from money.”
“I don’t know about the money part, but it’s pretty clear why she’d want to do something like this,” Jasmine said, arching a brow. “Everyone has hated her and treated her like shit since she started at Babylon, and rightfully so, because she’s a dirty little criminal. So obviously, she wants revenge.”
“Speak for yourself,” Zach said. “I’m friends with Carey, and I’ve never treated her badly. Same with April and Brooke.”
“Me too,” Courteney said, timidly raising a hand like we were in a classroom. “I mean… I’m not friends with Carey, because I don’t know her, but we aren’t enemies either. I’ve never done anything to her and vice versa. She has no reason to want revenge on me.”
Evan narrowed his eyes and turned his focus back to April. “Okay, so maybe it’s the four friends in on it together,” he said. “You, Zach, and Brooke teamed up with Carey to help her get revenge on the rest of us. And I guess Courteney was brought here because Zach has an obvious crush on her, so it’s an easy way for him to get close to her while the rest of us are getting destroyed.”
“Oh my god.” April rolled her eyes. “That’s so ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Kiara leaned forward. “Your family are literally military contractors. You totally could’ve built something like this.”
April snorted. “Oh, sure,” she said, throwing her hands up. “I just called my parents, along with the US Army and the Pentagon, and asked if they’d help me set something up to deal with some kids at school who are being mean to my friend. That all sounds totally reasonable and realistic.”
“Okay, fine,” Evan replied. “Maybe you aren’t involved, April. But I’m telling you, Carey definitely has something to do with this. She’s the odd one out here. The one we know the least about. How do we know her scholarship story is actually true? How do we even know if Carey is her real name?”
“Maybe you’re involved, and you’re making all these wild claims to divert suspicion away from you,” Maverick said, looking at Evan through narrowed eyes.
“Or maybe it’s you, Mav,” Evan retorted. “We all know you hate her and want her gone from Babylon. So maybe this is all a setup to get rid of her. Scare her out of town, or whatever.”
Tate piped up. “Nah, my money’s on Kiara.”
“What?” Kiara screeched. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Think about it, guys. She could’ve set up this shit to build her influencer career even more,” Tate said, putting the word ‘career’ in air quotes. “I bet none of the death threat stuff is even real. We’ll all get out of here alive in the end, and she’ll have a big story to tell her followers to get even more attention.”
“I already have five million followers, asshole!” Kiara snapped.
He raised a brow. “Is that even good?”
“Yes!” she shouted, slamming a hand on the table. “I can’t believe you’d actually accuse me, you fucking prick! You’re lucky I’m not slapping the shit out of you right now!”
“Go ahead and slap him,” Jasmine said, eyes flashing. “He’s only accusing you because you said that stuff to him earlier about how no one wants him around unless he brings party favors. Pathetic man-child can’t handle the truth.”
I flashed a puzzled look at April, and she leaned in and whispered to me. “Tate’s the school dealer. At least that’s what everyone says.”
“Fuck you, Jasmine,” Tate said. “And fuck you too, Kiara. I’m standing by what I said. You’re the one behind all this shit. All I have to do to prove it is wait, and then you’ll all—”
He was cut off by Maverick bringing his fist down on the table. “Everyone needs to calm the fuck down, right now,” he snapped. “This is obviously what the Game Master wants. For us to fight and fall apart.”
“I agree,” Brooke said, nodding fervently. “And you know what? I think he’s lying. He’s not one of us. He just said that to sow discord among us. And it’s totally working!”
“Oh my god.” Courteney sat up straight, eyes widening. “You’re right. That’s the easiest way to fuck with our heads in here—make us hate and distrust each other.”
“Yup. I really don’t think he’s one of us at all.”
The room was still filled with tension, but it wasn’t so thick now. Everyone looked relieved… except Maverick.
“Guys, if that’s true, then it isn’t a good thing,” he said, slowly shaking his head.
“Why?” April asked, frowning.
“Because if it’s one of us, we’d be able to discuss it—or argue about it, as we’ve been doing—and eventually we’d be able to figure out which one of us has the biggest motive to do this,” he said. “But if it’s an outsider, it could be literally anyone. And we have no way of knowing who.”
A somber silence settled over the room. Maverick was right, and we all knew it.
A moment later, the silence was broken by a series of pings and vibrations. Everyone around me pulled their phones out of their pockets. I did the same and glanced down at the screen with wide eyes and a pounding heart.
Better eat and drink up now, players, the text read. The first game is about to begin.