Seven

Chapter 13- The Party

"My eyes are up here, six," Carmen smirked as she came toward Mario.

Mario quickly dropped the rubber into his pocket and cleared his throat. "You look nice."

"So do you," she smiled, adjusting his tie.

"I don't know if I'm looking forward to partying with the staff, but if you're gonna be there, I think it might be worth it," he smirked at her.

Though she tried her best, Carmen couldn't hold back her laughter. "Don't start hitting on me now, six. What if they tell us to fight til the death for the final game?"

"What's that got to do with right now?" he shrugged.

Mario could tell Carmen didn't know quite what to think of his new attitude, but she was definitely intrigued. She was in the same boat as him. Her life could be over in just two days. Why not live it up until then?

Mario offered Carmen his arm, still wearing the same playful smirk. "Want to be my date for tonight?"

"Well, I have some many other choices, but I guess you'll do," she smirked back, linking her arm with his.

They walked down the stairs together laughing; something neither of them had really had the chance to do since they'd arrived. There was nothing to laugh about, no reason to be happy. Until today, it had felt like a nightmare come to life. But now, Mario was letting go of his fears, accepting his fate and embracing what could be his last hours on earth.

Winston, flanked by two of the butlers, greeted them in the foyer and led them to a secret staircase that was hidden behind a bookshelf. As Mario and Carmen ascended the stairs to the third floor, they paid careful attention to their surroundings, noticing things they hadn't before; doors, windows, pictures, maps. Mario made a mental note of everything he saw in case he could find it useful later.

Finally, they were standing before a set of large wooden double doors with very intricate craftsmanship. Angels with harps were carved into the top corners, with fluffy clouds swallowing them up. It was truly a masterpiece.

Winston opened the doors and Mario's jaw nearly dropped to the floor in surprise. There was a bar stacked to the brim with every kind of whiskey, liquor and beer imaginable. There were lights- purple, pink, blue, yellow and green, flashing all around. Music played from the stereo system at the corner of the room. Carmen and Mario looked at each other with a mixture of confusion and awe. This room, nothing about it, matched the theme of the rest of the mansion. It was the first time either of them had seen anything modern beyond the monitors by which Dr. Vincent communicated with them.

"Welcome, welcome," a familiar voice said from behind them.

They turned around and gasped when they saw the tall man in the wide-brimmed hat and long, black coat. His face was horribly scarred, leaving one of his eye sockets empty. He didn't bother to cover it, which Mario found quite disturbing.

"Are you...Dr. Vincent?" Carmen asked.

He nodded, giving her a wink. "And you are Miss Carmen Santos, age twenty-two, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but relocated to the United States at age nine when your father remarried."

Carmen looked stunned. She shouldn't have been so surprised that this guy seemed to know everything about her. After all, that's why she was here. He knew she had done something. He knew where to find her. And if Mario had to guess, he knew exactly how to play her too.

"And that makes you Mr. Mario Banks, age thirty, though might I add, you have aged liked a fine wine. You were born and raised in College Park, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, by your single mother, who passed away just four years ago."

"That's enough," Carmen snapped angrily. She looked around and cleared her throat. "I mean...we came here to party, not to talk about things we already know."

"And party you shall," Dr. Vincent grinned. "Winston, get these two a drink. Whatever their hearts desire."

"Very well, sir," Winston replied. "What can I get for you?"

Carmen took a second to give it some thought. "Give me a Raspberry Mojito."

"Of course, and you sir?" he asked, looking to Mario.

Mario usually had whisky or beer, never any fruity cocktails. But this wasn't an ordinary occasion by any means. "I'll have the same," he answered.

Winston nodded and hurried away to the bar. After he was gone, Carmen looked at Mario and blew out a breath. "I'm sorry about that...little outburst. I just don't like someone knowing so much about me. Someone...I've never even met before."

"Me either. It's creepy," Mario said.

"Do you think they'll hang out with us all night?" she asked as they observed the room.

All of the staff, butlers and maids alike, were standing around socializing, laughing and smiling as if four people hadn't died in the past few days.

It made Mario wonder if these games had been played before and the staff was just used to this sort of thing. Once he got enough drinks in him, he intended to ask.

"Here you are, miss," Winston said, handing Carmen's drink to her. "And for you, sir."

Mario took his drink and studied it carefully. He had never seen so much in one glass. There were fresh raspberries, mint leaves and lime. It was aesthetically pleasing and judging by the way Carmen gulped hers down in one go, it must have been tasty too.

Mario took a small sip and hummed in delight. "This is good."

"It was my mom's favorite drink," Carmen smiled, shaking her empty glass. "Hey Winston! Get me another!"

"Yes, of course," Winston nodded, hurrying away.

"Wow, can you believe this? It's like the world's lamest night club," Carmen laughed.

Mario couldn't help but laugh along with her. She was right. No one in this room besides the two of them appeared to be under the age of sixty. Some of them looked to be well into their eighties, maybe even nineties.

"We should talk to them. Maybe we can get them tipsy enough to tell us where the security footage is viewed," Carmen suggested.

Mario hadn't even thought of his escape plan in a while. It was an ideal opportunity to get some much needed information out of staff that would most likely know the ins and outs of this house. He knew he should take advantage of it.

"Who do you think would spill it the easiest?" Carmen asked.

Mario looked around the room, giving her question some thought. He spotted Richard, his personal butler, and smiled when he remembered the condom in his pocket. He pulled it out and showed it to Carmen. "Well, my butler gave me this. He may look like a creeper, but he's a pretty cool guy."

"Your butler gave you a condom?!" she said, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Maybe he's seen this kind of thing before," Mario shrugged. "Something tells me this isn't the first time they've had guests in this house. He's probably seen a lot."

"So who are you planning to use that thing on?" she smirked.

Mario smirked back, making her think he was going to say her, but her eyes widened in surprise when Mario pointed across the room at Carmen's maid. "She looks like she'd be feisty, so maybe her?"

"You've seen her teeth right? They look like they were chiseled out of peanut brittle," Carmen said.

Mario laughed, probably harder than he's laughed in years. It felt nice to let loose like this after years of constant worry and anxiety. He was in a messed up situation and he was very aware that his life could be over in less than forty-eight hours. Still, he needed this night. Badly.

It seemed as if Carmen did as well.

They continued drinking, laughing and joking around with the handful of staff who didn't seem so uptight. They danced, they sang, they got really, really drunk. Dr. Vincent didn't stick around for long and eventually, most of the staff returned to their rooms as well, leaving only Mario, Carmen, Richard, and the youngest butler in the house, Jeffery- a frail, skinny man with fiery red hair and a long, slender neck.

While Mario never bothered to hide the fact that he was attracted to Carmen, especially with the more alcohol he drank, it took Carmen a bit longer to pick up on his strong signals and give him a little something back.

While Jeffery and Richard were busy at the bar, making another round of drinks, Carmen came over and sat on Mario's lap. Mario smirked at her, letting his hand run up her thigh.

"Tonight would be the perfect night to go on a little adventure, don't you think?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Mario's shoulder.

"What kind of adventure?" he asked her.

"The kind that will get us into a lot of trouble," she whispered, moving closer and making Mario think she was coming in for a kiss.

But she didn't. Instead, she stood up and looked around the room. She stretched her arms up over her head and yawned. "I'm getting tired. I think I'm gonna turn in for the night."

Mario looked at her in surprise at first, but as she walked past him, she gave him a wink. He assumed that meant it was time for him to turn in for the night as well.

He stood up, ready to follow suit, but Richard and Jeffery came over with their drinks. "Here you are, sir," Richard grinned. "Where's is the young lady?"

"She was tired. I guess it is getting pretty late," Mario shrugged, sipping his drink.

"And you're just going to...let her go, sir?" Jeffery asked.

Mario had no idea what to say. It almost seemed if the two of them were trying to be his wingman or something. He looked between them, wondering what the hell was going on.

Richard smirked knowingly. "We like your odds."

"My odds?" Mario asked, furrowing his brows.

"There's always a couple that come out of these games. At least for a little while anyway," Jefferey shrugged, earning him a devilish glare from Richard.

Mario had already assumed these weren't the first games this staff had ever been a part of, but no one had actually said anything to verify that as a fact. He decided to quickly take advantage of the situation he found himself in.

He sat back down on the sofa and looked between Richard and Jeffery. "So...does the staff bet on us?"

While Richard looked a bit reluctant to answer, he finally sighed. "The staff places bets on their favorites to win each game, as well as a few other...side bets. Like who will end up together, or who will end up fighting, who will end up...taking their own life..."

"People are dying and you're just making bets on it? This is just fun to you?!" Mario snapped.

"You know why you're here, so you can imagine why the others were here too," Richard snapped back. "The ones who have already be eliminated were the worst of the worst."

"What do you mean?" Mario asked.

"Well, out of all seven players, you're the only one who didn't directly cause someone's death," Jefferey answered.

Mario froze. He had been wondering what exactly it was that they had on him. That means they did know about Soren. If he did happen to win these games, he'd probably be going back home to a yard full of cops ready to bring him in for k********g.

Before he could get too worked up about it though, something else caught his attention. Jeffery said out of all seven players, he's the only one who hadn't directly caused someone else's death. He knew that both Jackson and Damon did, but he had no idea what the rest of them were guilty of.

"I've never killed anyone," Mario said quietly, "but...I've done things for revenge that I'm not proud of. Until I came here, I thought I was justified. After seeing what I've seen in the past few days, all I want to do is go home and make everything right. I just want to live a peaceful, quiet life."

"That's why my money has been on you from the start," Richard grinned.

"Of course it is," Jeffery chuckled. "He's your assigned player."

"I've never bet on my assigned player before," Richard bickered, clearly tipsy from the alcohol.

"How often do these games take place?" Mario asked.

"Once every year, Dr. Vincent gathers seven players who have something they're hiding. Something...they don't want anyone else to know. Usually, these people are truly evil and seeing their demise isn't as unsettling as you might think. Every once in a while though, someone like you comes along. Someone you know isn't bad, just misunderstood. The point of these games isn't death and destruction, though I can see why you'd think that. It's actually reformative," Richard explained.

"Reformative?" Mario asked.

Jeffery licked the tips of his fingers and proceeded to tame his wiry blonde hair as he answered Mario's question. "Dr. Vincent is a brilliant psychologist. He uses the games as a method to reform even the most evil. Every year, we've watched a victor walk out of here completely changed. And the six players that don't leave, well, they get their just deserts."