Tulips of Truth [Ⓗⓤⓝⓣⓔⓡ Ⓧ Ⓗⓤⓝⓣⓔⓡ]

Chapter 10: To x Pay a x Price

After seeing the shockingly violent display of Cassandra's strength, none of the boys decided to trifle with her feelings. Her deep hatred for spiders went beyond just seeing one. The bleeding forehead said so. She stayed silent and kept her glasses on her lap. She refused to watch the rest of this play out. Footsteps echoed throughout the big room as Victor raised his hand, the platform emerging beneath them. He walked across and stepped onto the main platform. "Alright! Toss the woman out, and we can get this show on the roll!" Robert hollered.

As Victor waited for his prisoner opponent to come up, he checked his stopwatch. Two hours had passed by then. Cassandra still sat against a wall, not caring what happened next. All she wanted to do was leave and reunite with her friends.

...

"Way to go, Victor. You got us in this room. And it's all because you lucked out on rock paper scissors."

"It wasn't my fault!"

"Let's not argue, guys!"

Jayden scoffed and crossed his arms, going to sit on a low couch. Cassandra slipped her shoes off and went to a stack of books, looking at each of the spines to see if they piqued her interest. However, none of them did. So she sat beside them and began to run her fingers on her hair. Seeing the long strands of hair be pushed aside by the gentle pressure of her index finger was satisfying. "And we have to spend 50 hours in this room?" Jayden questioned.

Robert silently nodded. Robert and Victor went to check and see if the TV in the room was working, which it was. "Hey, Jayden? ... What do you know about the Hunter Exam?" Robert asked.

Jayden lifted his head and exhaled. He then got up and went to the table in the middle of the room, filling a cup with tea. "Well, let's see. Phase Three lasts 72 hours. Each phase is designed to weed out half of the remaining candidates. So, on average, it's meant to take 72 hours. This is just more proof that you're an idiot," he responded, glancing at Robert.

He scowled and shook his fist before getting swatted at by a long chunk of long red hair. Cassandra sat around a pile of books, her long red hair unraveled. "Can we not commit acts of violence? I can't handle you boys arguing like the little kids from Silver Willow. Besides, our chances of reaching the goal within 10 hours will depend on the remaining trials," she explained.

Derek nodded in agreement. Now, the group didn't do many activities; sleep, drink tea, and read. No one knew if it was night or not. But they went to bed when the time felt right. Cassandra, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. She stayed lying down and glanced at her shoes, which were sitting by the closed doorway. "I wonder how Kurapika and his friends are doing," Cassandra muttered.

That's when Derek looked at her. He sat up from the couch, where he had been sleeping. "Why worry about them? You have us guys to worry about. I don't think they needed you to be with them in the first place. They have that guy Tonpa," he said.

"And how do you know?" Cassandra asked, lifting her head.

Derek chuckled, going to walk to her. He sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her. "Tonpa told Jayden that he planned to go with them. That pudgy guy plans to also weed out the few of them; they're rookies. Well, most of them. And so are we; except Jayden. This is his 20th attempt."

No wonder he looked older than the rest of the group. Cassandra shuddered and moved away from Derek, but he only moved closer. "Look, Cass-"

"Don't call me that."

Victor groaned in his sleep. "Derek, quit trying to get her to like you. We get that you like to charm the ladies, but she's not comfortable with it. Go back to sleep," he said.