Seven

Chapter 14- The Distraction

Mario stood in front of Carmen's door ready to knock, but something was holding him back. Was it what Richard and Jefferey had told him? They made it sound as if Mario was the only one here who hadn't murdered someone. They called the players evil. Carmen didn't seem evil, but she was here, which was everything Mario needed to know about her.

Still, could he judge? He may not have been evil, but he was certainly not virtuous either.

And with that thought in mind, he raised his hand and knocked on Carmen's door.

He was startled to see her maid answer. She gave him an angry look. "I told you to get out of here!"

Mario tried to look past her into Carmen's room, but it was dark and he couldn't see anything. He finally sighed and rolled his eyes at the crazy old woman, who was still going off on him.

He turned and walked away, heading for his own bedroom. It was probably for the best that he didn't get any closer to Carmen. From what Richard and Jeffery said, only one of them will be leaving alive. He didn't want to feel bad for wanting to live, so leading Carmen to believe he cared about her was a terrible thing to do. And while the other players might have been evil, he wasn't and never would be.

Mario opened the door to his bedroom and froze when he saw Carmen sitting on his bed.

"It's about time," she smirked.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, closing the door behind hm.

"I gave you a look!" she said standing from the bed and closing the space between them. "You know...the look you give someone when you're into them?"

Mario thought long and hard about how he should respond. But as he looked down at Carmen's cleavage, and her legs...those long, smooth legs...

He gulped, knowing turning her down wouldn't be easy. Because he didn't want to. Not at all.

"You're not scared of little ole me, are you?" she asked, wrapping an arm around Mario's neck.

He quickly pushed her arm away and took a step back, before he lost his resolve. "We can't do this."

"Why not?" she pouted.

He walked past her and took a seat on the bed, trying to find the right words.

"You were flirting with me just an hour ago. What changed since then?" Carmen asked with a bit of an attitude.

"I may have to kill you in two days. Does that not bother you?" Mario asked, holding his arms out in disbelief.

"Of course it bothers me! But like you said, what's that got to do with right now? I may be dead in two days. Do I want to spend that time locked in my room, crying and falling apart? Like I want to?"

That surprised Mario. Carmen was freaking out, as she should've been. She was just trying to deal with all this, the same as Mario. And in that moment, Mario realized he had already gotten too close to Carmen. He cared about her. He cared about how she felt. He cared about what would happen to her. And he started to wonder if he'd be able to end her life if the situation called for it.

He knew the answer to that. There was no need to wonder.

"You're right, I'm sorry. This is just so f****d up, you know," he scoffed, shaking his head. "The reason we're here, what we've been through, what we've seen...it's just so f****d up."

Carmen hesitantly crossed the room and sat next to Mario on the bed. "You're right. It is. And I want to say it's unfair, but...it's not. At least, not for me. I deserve to be here. You don't."

"How do you know that? You don't know anything about me," Mario said, meeting her eyes.

"I know you don't belong here. I don't need to know anything else."

"You don't either," he said.

She looked down and chewed her lip nervously. "I don't know why anyone else was here. I don't care. I came here thinking I could win, that I could somehow get this money and run away...and never come back..."

"I came here thinking the same thing," Mario said.

Carmen smiled, but it was obviously forced. Mario could tell by the look in her eyes that she was tormented. He didn't know if it was what she'd done or what was to come in two days. Maybe it was both, but it was eating her alive. "I know they're only going to let one of us walk out of here alive. So maybe you're right. This is a really bad idea. It's just...I wanted to get to know you. Because...you seem genuine. Everyone else that came here with us, I could tell they were all fake from the start. Even though none of us knew why we were here or what was going on, all of the others seemed so arrogant. It was like they were in a competition to see who was the biggest piece of shit."

Mario chuckled. "I agree."

"But not you though. You're the most normal of us all. I've only known you for a few days, but I've already figured out that you're not like us. You're not selfish, or cruel, or thoughtless, or...evil..."

"No, I'm not. My mom raised me to be better than that," he replied.

"Sounds like you've got yourself a great mom," Carmen smiled.

"I did," Mario sighed. "She passed away four years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Carmen frowned. "My mom passed away when I was eight. It's a pain you...never really get over."

"You're right about that," Mario nodded.

"Did you at least get to say goodbye?" she asks.

Mario's heart broke at the mere thought of the last time he saw his mother. She was wailing in a courtroom, insisting her son was innocent. The last time he saw her, she was falling to pieces, because of him. And that's what fueled his thirst for revenge. His mother gave up her will to live because she thought her son was a murderer. If he hadn't been wrongfully accused, Mario knew his mother would still be alive.

"I didn't get to say goodbye. I was in prison when she died," he finally answered.

"What for?" Carmen asked.

"Murder."

She looked at him in surprise. "And they just...let you out?"

"I was wrongfully convicted. The guy who actually committed the crime came clean on his death bed and I was released. After I had served six years for nothing..."

"That's..." she trails off and shakes her head. "Dr. Vincent must think you committed the crime, or else you wouldn't be here."

"I think he knows I didn't. But he knows something else I'm guilty of, which makes me just as deserving of being here as anyone else," Mario sighed in defeat.

He expected Carmen to ask more questions, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, she stood up and looked at Mario, although not able to meet his eyes. "I think I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Have a good night, player six."

"You can just call me Mario, you know," he said to her as she was walking towards the door.

She paused and turned back around. "I may have to kill you in two days. It's probably best if we not get too personal," she smirked, turning and walking out of the room.

After she was gone, Mario laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was starting to grow more and more curious about the book Nine had found- the one that ultimately led to his demise. Mario knew he wouldn't be able to get his hands on it without Dr. Vincent finding out, so there was really no point in dwelling on something he could do nothing about.

He just wanted to know what was written about him. He didn't care why Carmen or any of the others were there, he just needed to know if Dr. Vincent thought he killed someone, or if he knew about Soren. If it was for the murder, at least he could justify how Dr. Vincent found him. He was in prison for years. His case was high profile and everyone in the southeastern US had heard of him.

But what if it was Soren? What if Dr. Vincent knew Mario was holding her captive, and without food and water since he'd been at the mansion? Would she even be alive when he got back? He never planned on being gone this long, or leaving at all. He was forced to come here. So if Soren died, it wouldn't be his fault.

Except it would. Because Soren wouldn't have been there, alone, if it weren't for him.

And he wouldn't have taken her had she not falsely accused him and ruined his life.

His thoughts exhausted him and he was finally able to drift off to sleep, although, not for very long.

The chime of the breakfast bell came much too soon. Mario dragged himself out of bed and down the stairs to the foyer where Winston was waiting.

"Good morning, sir. Breakfast is ready, if you'll follow me."

Mario wordlessly followed Winston into the dining room and took a seat at the table. The staff began to bring out the breakfast dishes, but Carmen had still not arrived. It was required that they followed the rules and Mario knew Carmen was aware of what could happen to her if she didn't. Could something have happened to her?

"Where's player four?" Mario asked Winston.

"She wasn't feeling well and requested her breakfast be served to her chambers," Winston answered.

Mario didn't buy that story for a second. He had just saw Carmen an hour ago and she was fine. He tried to think back to their conversation earlier. Did he say something to upset her? If he did, he couldn't remember what. Why did he even care? He knew he shouldn't be worried about Carmen. They would be facing off against each other tomorrow night, during the final game. Mario didn't know if that meant one of them would definitely die or if the loser would have the chance to confess to what they had done and get to leave the way Damon did, empty handed, of course.

Mario ate his breakfast in silence, waiting on an announcement or some kind of message from Dr. Vincent. There seemed to always be some kind of surprise party, or dinner, or something that would involve Mario being watched like a hawk by the staff.

When Mario was done eating and the table was cleared, he stood up slowly, looking around at the staff in confusion. "Do I just...hang out today? Or..."

Everyone seemed to look to Winston to answer Mario's question.

"Yes, sir. You have the day off to rest, explore the mansion, or whatever your heart desires so long as you stay with in the approved areas," Winston replied. "Don't forget the open bar on the third floor. It will be available to you through tonight."

Mario nodded in response.

He headed up the stairs to the second floor, but before he returned to his bedroom, he thought he'd check on Carmen first to make sure she was okay. He started down the hallway in the direction of her room when he saw a group of staff members congregated outside her door. They were speaking to each other in hushed voices, but their facial expressions and body language suggested alarm.

And that triggered Mario.

"What's going on?!" Mario called out, hurrying toward them. "Where is Carmen?"

They all looked around at each other as of they didn't have a clue what to say.

Mario looked at Carmen's maid. She usually scowled at him and cursed him, but right now, she was like a timid bunny, cowering away from a larger, more threatening animal.

"Where is she?" Mario asked, looking around at them.

He looked past them, into Carmen's opened door and noticed the window was opened. He plowed through the fragile staff and into the room, making his way over to the window, despite their protesting.

He looked out the window and noticed the painted backdrop lying in pieces on the ground below. How would Carmen escape from the window unnoticed? And how could she survive a jump from so high up? Mario noticed shrubbery outside his window, but there was nothing but the asphalt driveway below Carmen's window. She would've seriously injured herself had she jumped.

"I promise, sir, we're doing everything we can to find her," Mario overheard one of the butlers telling an angry Winston, who was now standing at the door.

"Player 6, please come with me," he said, stepping into the room. "We have a special presentation prepared for you."

Mario knew right away this wasn't going to be good. His chest ached at the thought of having to sit through another gruesome murder. Still, he nodded and obediently followed behind Winston.