Dying to Breathe

10.4: make 'em pay

A/N: Hello again! I hope you enjoy this week's update :) Feel free to listen to 911 by Ellise while reading!

Chapter 10, Part 4: Make 'em Pay

A slow round of applause sounded out as Penelope swiftly readjusted in the barstool.

Chloe smirked, "Well, that was considerably dark."

Penelope rolled her eyes, taking a large swig of the oversized drink. "Just doing as ordered, Capt.: revealing the darkest part of my past to the entire school." Letting out a laugh, she cocked her head bemusedly, "I just spiced it up a bit for the occasion."

Chloe nodded thoughtfully, her expression unreadable, "Murder, huh? And sororicide at that. Colour me impressed and concerned for my well being."

Shaking her head, Penelope pushed the wig's neon strands away from her face. "My sister going missing is the darkest part of my past."

"Not the murdering of her?" Chloe asked wryly, quirking a bleached brow up as Penelope scoffed annoyedly in her direction.

Shoving the drink in Chloe's hand, Penelope gave her a face, "Go away or tell me what I want to know already."

"You're just not even going to deny it, huh?" Muttering into the drink, Chloe took a sip.

Letting out an entertained exhale, Penelope shook her head again, "If you knew what I've been through, you wouldn't even suggest it."

"Sure, sure." Chloe openly ignored her, "Killing a family member in cold blood must have taken a real mental toll on you." Waving her off, she rested her cheek on her fist as she leaned her elbow against the sticky bar. "I can just tell I'm going to be seeing a lot of you, Jones. You'll go for the gold."

Letting out a loud breath, Penelope gave Chloe an expectant look, "Now why do I feel like you're just stalling? What am I missing, Chloe?"

Smiling for perhaps the first time, Chloe held her hand over her mouth, "Boy, am I excited. I feel all tingly."

"Oh my god, Chloe. Just tell me!" Penelope grabbed her arm, scowling as her annoyance boiled in her already hot blood.

"The dark web." Chloe spoke lowly; her voice barely reaching Penelope's ears as the nightclub's violet atmosphere seemed to dim right at that moment. "You know... those onion websites that won't show up on normal search engines. You use the Tor browser to access them." She continued as Penelope's face morphed into confusion; the only thing she knew about the dark web was that you shouldn't go on it. "Well, a few years back a website was created, and today that website is the main source of entertainment for anyone with a bare minimum knowledge on the dark web." She paused, a glimmer of sadism back in her grey eyes as she gave a sly smile, "It's fucking wonderland."

"What does this have to do with the dare? Do people dare each other to do things, or something? Why am I involved?" She frowned.

Chloe shook her head slowly—her eyes practically shimmering with excitement, "Turn that thought into a complex system of subcategories, levels, points, votes, ranks, a wide range of topics, along with popularity contests... and then maybe you're heading in the right direction." She laughed, twirling her hair as she stared off into the distance with a terrifying grin on her face. "It's created to make you act out your every twisted fantasy. The higher the rank, the more you want more points. The bigger the point reward, the more of a cost to your morality as you strive for gold. It's delicious—that slow-burn of corruption."