Dead Boy Walking

Bang, Bang. My Lover Shot Me Down.

Stance shaking

Eyes unseeing

She imagines

That she is not there.

          Yet she is. Kaydence is there and all of a sudden life becomes too real for her to handle.  She’s frozen in time, mechanically breathing, blinking. Her eyes pick up images that do not reach her brain. They only float on the surface of her irises, causing the scenes playing out before her to merely look like a movie reel being played. Not her life being lived. No, not Kaydence’s life, nothing so morbid or terrifying as this could ever happen to her. Never.

Only it was happening.

Now.

       The blond and her drone to the left really were screaming in surprise and terror. The black girl in combat boots did actually have a pocket knife drawn, gazing at every corner, every shadow in paranoia; her friend did actually faint. The males in the room were in fact gathered around the pot head. The pot head who did indeed have blood leaking out from the back of his skull.

     This was not fake, this was not a game. What truly made this fact hit home with Kaydence however was that she knew she did stand in the middle of the nightmare. This wasn’t only a dream. Kaydence was a part of this scene, having only a hand on her shoulder to offer her comfort.

The blonds screaming increased in volume.

‘What was her name again? Benny? Barbie? Becky?’ Kaydence couldn’t make her mind work at the moment.  It was too clouded over with fear.

“Oh would you shut the fuck up?” Came the speakers, the same scratchy voice issuing forth. They sounded as if they had not used their voice in years.  They also sounded young and male. It did not matter how young the voice seemed though. Everyone still listened and there was silence.

It was deafening.

Kaydence covered her ears with her palms, desperate to hear the sound of waves that her blood flow created.

It did not help and she stifled a sob.

“Jesus, you would think I just killed someone or something,” the voice laughed, “Oh right, I did.” The voice laughed harder. No one else found it funny and the hand on Kaydence’s shoulder tightened.

“Alright, now that I’ve got your attention, I can tell you why you’re here. You’re here because I’m bored and need entertainment.” The voice paused.

       Tears trickled down the no longer screaming blonds face and her wannabe. The black girl was crouched over her friend glaring at the speaker. Every male in the room had a defensive stance, their face’s snarling. The Goth and the Prep were clinging to each other, breaths heavy. As for Kaydence, Kaydence only stood…staring. But no one spoke.

The atmosphere was filled with tension.  

It must have felt awkward to the murderer hiding behind speakers, for he cleared his throat, then continued. “Well gee whiz Mr. Voice, how do we help you with that? Glad you guys asked. You are all going to play a game for me.” 

     ‘A game?’ Kaydence thought. ‘This doesn’t feel like a game.’

Kaydence took a quick glance around. It seemed everyone felt the same way, that this was not a game. 

“Here are the rules to this ‘game.’ There are none. I have hidden weapons around the building along with bobby traps. Your goal is to find these weapons and use them, on each other. The last one standing wins. Oh, and If you are all still alive by morning, then I’ll just kill all of you. Sound fun?”