Skeletons

• Horror
• Short story
• Drama

								
10 minutes. The 4 of them stared at the paper in silence, the screen in front of them already starting to tick down. 9:59 9:58 9:57 Sara blinked. Time froze, a searing pain shooting through her chest faster than she could process why. An oozy, inky cloud slithered its way into her mind, contorting her thoughts into a numb, whirling cyclone. Sara turned to her friends for comfort. Nolan was likely just as stunned as Sara, dumbly staring at the piece of paper as if it would speak. Hannah, panicked, was screaming for help, slamming on the doorless walls. Their howls bounced off every surface, deafening those trapped with them. Then there was Kih. Sara didn't dare look his way. She couldn't. His bright blue gaze burned into her skin. She knew he was searching for her eyes, prying for the same comfort in her that she had sought out. Sara quivered. Matching his stare would mean telling him everything. Grant... The thought briefly flashed across her eyes before she blinked it away, turning her head further. She would have laughed at herself if breathing alone hadn't suddenly become a chore. Even now, in her stunned state, the only thing that went through her mind was her brother. What would he do? What could he do? Sara glanced back, choking back the bile that had collected in her throat. He trusted her to come back. In his state, she was all he had. Sara stared at the note hard, lowering a hand to gently touch the ripped and wrinkled corners. Disgustingly sweet, inky words stared back, burrowing themselves into her retinas like crabs in sand. 10 minutes. 10 God damn minutes. "What the f*ck is this?" Hannah screamed, slamming a palm on the desk. The outburst forced Sara to focus on them instead. There they stood, hand glued to the top of the metal surface in front of them, the flames behind their eyes raging at full force. As Hannah went on with their small, fury filled outburst, Sara noticed they looked... feral. It was reminiscent of a wild animal, screeching for their pack to save them. “Hannah…” Sara started, unsure how to approach the topic, or even if it was worth approaching. “Shut the f*ck up Sara!” Hannah growled. “You can’t manifest us out of this situation.” “Hannah calm down.” Noland whispered, touching his sibling’s arm. They glanced at him before shoving him off. “Don't touch me.” They hissed, quieter than before but still considerably audible. Alternatively, Kih stayed quiet, his eyes pointed to the floor. His jaw was locked together, his brow furrowed. He was completely unreadable. Still, Sara could see his hands subtly shaking before he stuffed them in his pockets. She frowned, though she couldn't blame him. Her own body had already betrayed her, hot tears streaking down her face and quiet, terrified whimpers escaping from her lips. Sara returned her gaze to the paper. Don’t look at me don’t look at me don’t- "It's like a... murder escape room..." Nolan muttered, his eyes still wide. His hands floated over the table covered in weapons. Pocket knives, machetes, bats, all lined up neatly like medical tools, perfectly aligned. He picked one up, weighing it in his hand. "They expect us to fight... to see who gets to leave." As he spoke, his eyes scanned the faces around him. His pupils were the size of needles, beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. "We have 10 minutes to, what... kill each other?" Kih finally spoke up, panic creeping his way into his voice. Sara could still feel his watch again fixated on her, begging her to say something. She only shifted her gaze to the table, silently making note of each item laid out. Her eyes landed on a silver spiked baton, the ends weighted evenly on either end with a morningstar the size of a small apple, the spikes stretching their limbs out proportionally. Sara glared at herself in the reflection, watching as the spherical nature of the ball distorted her figure and bent her head out of shape. Only one of them could leave. She shifted her weight slightly, watching as her reflection warped with her. One. Sara glanced at Kih, keeping her gaze low. His muscles shone with the sweat from under his damp tee shirt, flexing and shifting as he moved. She could see each blue vein pushing through the surface, tensing and relaxing. Glancing back at her own thin, dark toned wrists, coated in bracelets of stones that rattled together with every shift or shuffle. Each breath made her more and more aware of each rib that clearly shone through her skin, fat and muscle struggling to cling on. “Does anyone even know how to fight?” Sara murmured, not removing her gaze from the item. “Han’s been in a few.” Noland shrugged, looking at his sibling “Yeah and I lost,” they snapped, still reeling. Sara turned her attention to Hannah. It was hard to believe they could lose a fight. Their home cropped tee revealed a lightly toned abdomen, their arms showing clear muscle. Sara has witnessed them, in a fit of rage, throw a chair across the room with such force that it shattered upon impact. Noland on the other hand… Sara looked the man up and down. He seemed more suited for a gaming chair than a battlefield. His white shirt showed orange cheeto stains that refused to wash away, his pudgy fingers smooth to the touch. Sara often imagined him in a fedora. He just looked like that sort of guy. "This," Hannah continued, "This is some jigsaw bullshit. We arn-" "The note said the room will fill with gas if we don't" Nolan interrupted, waving around the weapon. The action nearly hit Kih, who stepped aside in time to dodge. "What other choice do we have?" "So then we cover the vents with our clothes, don't let it get in and wait it out, they can't gas us forever." "Do you know how big a gas canister can get?? You plan on stopping all of it with a fucking bra?!" Sara let out a slow, shaky breath before taking a step toward the table, the twins fading into the background. One more time. That's all she wanted. It's her fault he's like this, she has to be there. She has too- "... H?" Kih whispered, taking a tentative step toward her. He bent his neck, scanning her face for any sign of where her head was. Finally, she slowly looked up, cheeks flushed and absolutely drenched. Kih slowly reached out for her hand, which she accepted. "Sara..." "I love you" Sara burst out, her voice barely above a whisper. "I love you so much I need you to know that" "Hey, wait, slow down, we're going to figure something out-" Kih started, taking hold of Sara's face and stepping even closer. "No!" She shouted, causing Kih to take a step back in surprise. She swallowed and tried again, an attempt to shake the quiver in her tone. "No, Kih, just please listen, ok?" Kih nodded solemnly. Hannah and Noland had settled down, watching as Sara put one hand on either side of Kih's face and pulled his forehead to touch hers. "I love you so much and I know you deserve so much better than this," she choked, staring directly into Kih's eyes. The pain in her chest deepend, clawing its way past her heart and into her throat. It was hard to see the man that she loved so dearly through the flood that was fogging her vision and leaking out her eyes. "You deserve to be happy and I know that we could have been, we could have been so happy..." "Baby, it's OK, I know, I know," Kih tried to calm her, his own voice breaking. Even he couldn't hold back the tears that forced their way out his eyes. "Baby I'm right here, we can get-" He was cut off by Sara suddenly pulling him in for a kiss. They clung to each other intently, wrapping limbs over torsos and lacing fingers through each other's hair. Neither wanted to let go of the other. Ensnared in each other’s arms, the pair fell into a wall, clamoring for some sort of stability. Soft cries between desperate kisses were suddenly cut short by Kih gasping for air. Red liquid trickled down Sara's left hand, her right still holding the back of her fiancée's head. "I love you." She whispered, her voice cracking as she twisted the knife in his gut and pulling it out. Kih slumped back, his wound now spurting across the floor and pouring down his leg. He choked, mouth gaping like a dying fish. "Sara...." he muttered, slowly sliding down the wall. Clutching his stomach, he looked to her for help, his eyes searching her face for an answer. "Why?" Sara, visibly shaken, made her way towards him. With her bloodied hand, she cupped his cheek, leaning in. "There are things more important to me than you." She said quietly, raising her gaze to look into his eyes. She let his hand touch her weakly, traveling down her side to her abdomen. She laughed sadly, her tears mixing with the iron scented pool at their feet. "Even if you don't," she whispered, returning her blade to his flesh. "Your sacrifice will live on." Kih cried out, his hand grabbing onto Sara's wrist in an attempt to stop her with the little strength he had. "Please..." he muttered desperately, tears trickling across his cheeks. "I can't." Sara sobbed, wiping his face. As her thumb stroked his cheek, a smear of red followed. Suddenly, Sara was ripped away, launched into the opposing wall. She landed with a thud, her head cracking against the floor. "What the hell, Sara?!" Hannah screamed in horror, staring at the small woman. "You couldn't even have fucking waited?" Sara pushed herself onto her arms. "We don't have time to wait-" "The f*ck we don't!" Hannah argued, throwing her hands in the air. Suddenly, all eyes were pointed to the timer. 6:43 6:42 Sara just flicked her eyes back to her friend, raising her eyebrows. "Shut up!" Hannah shouted. "Just shut the hell up, we can figure this out-" they glanced at Kih, his arms limply laying at his sides. "No..." they muttered, stepping forward. “Is he- what- no…” “Get back, Hannah” Noland ordered, his voice barely above a whisper. He was crouched by Kih's side, taking his hand off the body's still warm neck. Hannah definitely stepped forward once more, unable to take their eyes away. "God damn it…" They whispered, clenching their fists. While their voice dare not quake, their body refused to conform, vibrating in anger. “GOD DAMN IT!” Their voice reverberated through the slick concrete walls. Hannah whipped around to turn back at Sara. “YOU FU-” CRACK Hannah fell to the ground, dazed. Their vision blurred and an intense ringing had settled in their ears. Squinting, they could just barely make out the silhouette of Sara, spiked baton in hand, holding it by her side almost as if it were made for her. Hannah let out a grunt, shakily trying to use their elbows to pick themself up. A deep pulsing pain slowly crawled its way to their temple, sending a shudder down each of their limbs. “Sara… you bitch…” They barely whispered, the words fumbling out of her mouth. Thinking had become near impossible over the pain, not that it had been their strong suit anyhow. There was an audible drip, the slapping of something wet making contact with the floor. Hannah looked down to follow it, only now starting to notice the warm feeling slithering down their face. They touched the spot that had been struck. Blood. Quickly, Noland grabbed a mallet and rushed Sara, swinging with all his strength. Sara made an effort to block but the attack knocked the weapon out of her hand. A second swing landed in her shoulder, causing her to scream in pain and shuffle backwards, clutching her shoulder. "Why don’t you stop?!" He shouted, swinging again. Sara launched herself out of the way, tripping over her feet and falling back into the table. Slamming down on her elbow, Sara turned to face her assailant, eyes pointed toward the floor. "You said it yourself, Noland." She hissed through gritted teeth, tilting her vision to look up at him through her eyebrows. He cautiously approached, squeezing the mallet with both hands. Hannah had scooted herself to a wall, laying her head against it as she watched. Sara watched them both closely, her expression shifting as she did. Suddenly, her eyes flicked back up to Noland. "What other choice do we have?" With that she grabbed the nearest item off the table and swung. The chain of the demon core wrapped itself against Nolands throat, the ball pulling it tight. Noland clawed at the metal, doing his best to try and lift the ball off his shoulder. Instead, Sara pulled him in, tightening its grip. "Do you remember how I told you about my brother, how he's in a wheelchair and on a feeding tube?" She whispered, staring into his eyes. "How I was the only one who could care for him, and you said...?" Noland gasped, only barely getting enough air. His face was very quickly shifting to a bright shade of red. "I don't-" " 'Why not get rid of him' " Sara said, lowering her voice to mock Noland's. Noland's eyes widened as a small scowl slowly spread across her face. “Remember?” She murmured, before throwing him to the ground. "Crazy bitch..." Hannah muttered, trying to pull themself up with the smooth concrete wall. “We're your friends, You're supposed to be our friend.” Sara didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the table decisively. Seeing an opening, Noland lunged at Sara. The two fell on top of the table, causing it to collapse beneath their weight. Weapons and blades toppled over the pair, one burying itself in Noland's shoulder blade, another slicing the crook of Sara's elbow. They both winced, pulling at and punching each other. Noland began to wrap his fingers against Sara's throat, closing his fist tightly. Blood rushed to her face as she gasped for air, hands gripping his wrists as an escape. The feeble attempts did next to nothing against Noland's clutch. Her eyes began to jump from the items surrounding them until she spotted a small glock, only a few feet away. Sara used her arm to try and reach it, only to find herself a few inches short. One more time. Her eyes darted frantically as she grabbed a pole, using it to bump the gun closer to her. She tried again, this time able to slip her fingers under the surprisingly ridgid handle. Instantly she cocked the hammer back, aimed, and squeezed the trigger. Noland released his grip. His head bounced forward a bit, then back, then fell forward once more, dropping on Sara's face. Pool poured onto her eye as she gazed through his head to the ceiling above them. "NOLAND!" Hannah screamed, throwing themself to the floor and beginning to crawl over. "Noland... you dick.." They began to sob, tears dampening the unfinished floor. Sara pushed the body aside, wiping the blood off her eyes and turning her attention to her friend. Hannah's grief turned to rage as she glared up at her friend- no, her enemy. Her brother's murderer. "You don't have to do this." “I do,” Sara whispered, kneeling before the puddle in front of her. “Hannah… i always liked you. You were my best friend and my rock..” her voice broke a bit as she went on, “I’m sorry, i have to.” “How did we even end up here?” Hannah muttered, laying their head on the cold, stone floor. “I don’t know… someone must have found our campsite, decided we were the perfect test subjects for their sick little game.” Sara looked up at the wall behind her friend. It was all she could do to keep herself focused. The gun felt heavy in her hand, sinking its way to the floor. “Sick bastards…” They muttered, trying to pick themselves up off the floor. They then chuckled lightly. “You’re stronger than you look, you know that?” Sara let out a surprised giggle. “Thank you.” She choked, dropping her head. Hannah studied her friend. “Just do it, Sara.” “Huh?” “It’s you or me, and I’ve got nothing to live for.” Hannah smiled softly. “What? How could you say that?” Sara was absolutely baffled. “Look… i've been thinking about it for a long time-” “Its been 8 minutes-” “Longer than that.” Hannah stared at Sara, her eyes firm. “Its been… years. ‘got nothing. No house, no pets, you guys were really my only friends.” “What about Deliah?” Hannah scoffed. “With how much I spend on shit we don’t need, how much I rely on her to keep me afloat… she’s better off without me.” tears began welling up in Hannah’s eyes. “It’s been 3 years and she still lives in that shitty apartment with those losers who don’t care about her and I want to take her out of there. I want her to live in a nice house with people who care about her but since I can't keep a job…” Sara stayed silent. She couldn't bring herself to comfort them any further. What was there to say? At a time like this, Sara couldn’t even be sure it was her place. “... Things really are just cruel, huh?” she said in a hushed tone, watching her friend writhe. “Yeah… cruel…” Hannah muttered, clearly thinking of other things. Sara simply stood up. The metal felt warm in her fingers, sucking heat from her skin. She fiddled with the safety. On, off, on, off. “This is more cruel.” Hannah nodded toward the gun. “Just do it.” Sara’s eyes welled up and she looked away. “... I can’t.” Hannah was taken aback. ".. what?" "I mean I can't hannah!" Sara turned back to her dear friend, tears streaming down her face. “The f*ck you mean you can’t? You killed the loverboy just fine!” Sara looked away once more, staring at the floor. “What, you're saying that now you know I want this, you can’t do it? Now that you know that I suck, suddently you can’t pull the fucking trigger?” The pair glanced at the ever ticking timer to their right. 0:18 0:17 “KILL ME” Hannah screamed, picking herself off the ground and leaning on their palms. “Stop it…” 0:14 “YOU FUCKING BITCH JUST SHOOT-” The sound of the gun echoed through the room. Hannah fell to the ground, their head bouncing off the ground with a heavy thunk. A pool of blood surrounding the wound, drenching their hair with crimson stains. Sara stepped back, breathing hard and dropping the gun. She knelt down, pressing two fingers against their throat. Nothing. Suddenly the room filled with a celebratory sound, surrounding Sara from all sides. Sara burst into tears, dropping to her knees. The timer flashed 00:00 across its screen with vibrant colors, alternating from one to the other. She screamed in agony, slamming her hands against the ground. “SHUT UP!” Sara shouted in tears at the machine. The music played on loop for a solid minute before just as abruptly ceasing. In the silence, Sara's wails were more apparent, bouncing off each cold wall like a ball. She sobbed until her tears ran dry. She lurched forward and crumpled to the ground, pulling at her own hair. They're gone. She killed them. Sara cried until her head felt too heavy to heave any longer, slumping into a pile on the floor. Grant… the name swam in her mind before slowly, her eyes fluttered shut. A few hours later, Sara woke up, the scent of iron that had cursed her senses prior to sleeping haf since vanished. What she did notice, however, was the now open, brightly lit opening in the wall. She stirred herself awake, doing her best not to look at the bodies- though she glanced. The bloodied corpses had begun to bloat, the eyes a milky white. Kih was still wearing his confused, pained expression, staring off into the distance. Sara turned away. She managed to stand, now staring through the doorway. She saw nothing but light, a bright sun pointed directly at her. Sara squinted and, after some consideration, followed. Once through, the door slid shut behind her and she found herself in a slightly larger room. This time it was painted like a childrens room, paint chipping away from the plaster. Happy sunflowers smiled at her from the textured walls and the smell of lavender filled the air. Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she realized she was joined by 3 new faces. To her right was a tall, white, blonde woman, hair a mess and cuts and scrapes all over her body. There were several tears made in the light blue cocktail dress she was wearing, revealing her lacy black under garments. In front of her was an Asian man, about the same height as her, with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder and bruises all up and down his tattooed arms. And to her left was a small mexican girl with red and black hair, her Gothic mascara smeared and her eyes staring blankly forward. Sara looked at her own now tattered black fae dress and tangled braids. Each one of them had one thing in common. Blood. Sara numbly stepped forward, joining the group. Each one was silent, staring in terror of something in the center of the room. Sara followed each of their gazes, and what she found made her blood run cold- a timer on a table next to a single sheet of paper and a big 9:00 plastered across the screen.
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