Seven

Chapter 8- The Thief

The hours seemed to roll by slowly for Mario while he waited to make his much awaited escape. He had been sitting on his bed, staring out the window as the afternoon sun was setting. Soon, he thought to himself, he'd be free from this nightmare. He'd go back home, release Soren, beg for her forgiveness. Because after what Mario had just witnessed, he was more than ready to confess his sins and gladly make things right. Even if it meant he went back to prison.

Thinking back, he wondered why he let vengeance overtake him and turn him into a person he didn't know anymore. Six years of his life were already wasted. He couldn't afford to waste anymore.

He thought about his mother and what she would tell him if she knew what a mess he had become. He could hear her voice so clearly, as if she were right there with him. The smell of her lavender scented lotion briefly filled his nostrils, bringing about that familiar feeling of emptiness.

"It's never too late to make things right," she would tell him. "Admit when you're wrong. Pay your dues. If you do that, you'll always be a free man."

He was ready to go back to Atlanta and face whatever awaited him. Because his mother was right. He would be free if he just confessed to what he had done. There would be consequences, no doubt, but maybe they would go easy on him considering he served time for another man's crime. Whatever the case, it was better than what waited for him here.

So when the clock struck six o'clock, he was at the window, ready and waiting. With each ding, his heart started to beat faster and faster. He was nervous, but he was determined to make this leap and get the hell away from this awful place no matter who he had to go through.

Finally, the clock made it's final chime for the hour and Mario opened the window. But something was different than it was before. The view...it was almost...too perfect. He stuck his hand out the window and furrowed his brows in confusion when he touched something solid.

As he examined it closer, he realized it was just a painting. He tried pushing it away and when that didn't work, he started punching. When that still didn't work, he grabbed the iron fire poker and began beating it.

But nothing happened.

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Mario whispered to himself, looking around the room in a panic.

He raced out into the hallway to meet Richard's sinister grin.

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked.

Mario ran past him and down the hallway, looking in every direction for a window. He spotted one at the end of the hallway, so he made his way over, not worried about who was watching at this point. He was desperate.

He opened the window and cried out when he saw this window was also rigged to look like it had a view. Had it always been like this? Mario was certain when he checked the window when he first got here, he saw the front yard, with the driveway that led out to the highway. He remembered plotting his escape, the exact route he would take.

Now, all that was gone.

They were trapped inside. And that realization sent Mario spiraling out of control. He looked around, panting for each breath as the panic began to overtake him. He spotted Richard's unsettling smile just down the hallway. The way he was watching him, as if he was enjoying Mario's desperation.

Mario stalked towards him, ready to tear him limb from limb, but a small hand clasped around his arm and pulled him back.

"Stop!" Carmen called out. "If you go after him, you're as good as dead!"

"I'm as good as dead anyway!" he shouted at her.

"You're losing it! Get yourself together!" she demanded, slapping his cheek.

At first, Mario was caught of guard. He touched his cheek, looking at Carmen with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Surprisingly though, her violence did the trick. Mario seemed to snap out of his panicked state.

"If you want to get out of here, that's not the way to do it," she whispered to him sternly.

"There's not a way out of here!" Mario whispered back. "We're trapped!"

"I know it seems that way, but there has to be a way out," she said, looking around.

She jumped when the bell chimed, signaling the call to dinner. That meant they were about to learn the rules for the next game. Mario had to abandon his escape plans after the first game started and he ended up regretting it. This time, he wasn't wasting time participating in a meaningless game. They were all marked for death and apparently, in some gruesome way.

Carmen started down the stairs, but she paused when she realized Mario wasn't following her. "What are you doing?"

Mario stood there, frozen in place, unsure of what his next move should be. If he didn't show up to dinner, that would be considered breaking a rule and breaking a rule meant he was signing his death warrant.

Carmen climbed back up the stairs until she was standing in front of him. "We have to go. If you're missing, you're gonna end up staring in the next horror movie we watch."

She was right.

Mario nodded and followed behind her into the dining room. They were the last to take their seats at the table.

No one said a word. In fact, everyone looked quite distraught. After what they'd seen, this was no longer a joke to them. There was no more laughing, no more chit chat, no more shameless flirting. Everyone at this table had an expiration date. One wrong move and their bloody demise would be put on display for the remaining players to see.

The food was served- steak, mashed potatoes and a leafy green salad. It looked delicious, but none of them seemed to be in the mood to eat. Everyone just silently picked at their food, waiting on instructions for the second game.

It was a much different atmosphere from the last dinner they shared together, just last night. Although Mario wasn't very social, he appreciated that other people were. It seemed to ease up the tension going into the first game. Now, what were they supposed to do? They all knew what would happen now if they broke a rule. And that made the stakes so much higher.

"Good evening," Dr. Vincent's deep voice echoed throughout the dining room when the screen turned on. "I trust you are enjoying your meal. The second game will begin at midnight. This time, things will work out just a little differently. You're going to pair up with another player and work together to win this game."

"Another player?" Nine asked, looking around the table. "But there's an uneven number of us. Someone will be left out."

"As you know, there are currently five players remaining, however, one of you have in your possession something very precious and dear to me. I'm giving that player exactly one hour to come forward or he or she will be eliminated. If it is returned to me, you will be free to forfeit the next game and go on to the next round," Dr. Vincent continued.

Everyone looked around at each other in confusion. Who would be dumb enough to steal from a man that kills people just for fun, Mario thought to himself.

Mario knew it wasn't him that took anything, so he was in the clear. He only worried about the next game and what teaming up with another player would mean for him. What would they be doing? Dr. Vincent never actually explained what the game would be, only that they would choose a partner.

"Is that it?" Damon asked, looking to Winston, who was standing at the doorway to the foyer.

"Dr. Vincent will explain the game in further detail soon. Make sure you are in the foyer by midnight to receive instruction. Choose your partner carefully," he said with a bit more emotion than was usual for him.

What was that supposed to mean? Mario hardly knew anything about the other players. How was he supposed to choose one carefully? What would they be doing?

"I'm going to my room," Carmen said quietly, standing from her seat at the table.

Everyone watched her as she left and Mario wondered if it was her who had stolen from Dr. Vincent. Mario had more interaction with her than the other players, but he still didn't know all that much about her. She seemed smart though, so he didn't think she'd do something so stupid when she was trying to get out of here.

Brandi and Damon whispered to each other, occasionally looking over at Mario or Nine. They were obviously making assumptions and since Mario was the only player of color, he assumed the blame would fall on him for that reason alone. He was used to that, after all.

They finally got up and left the table together, leaving Mario and Nine alone. Mario expected Nine to ask him to team up with him since Brandi and Damon probably would and it seemed as if Carmen was the thief.

But Mario didn't like Nine. There was nothing in particular, just a lot of little things. He was loud, obnoxious, lazy, careless, and that's just what Mario had picked up on since he had been here. He was just a young, dumb kid with no idea what life was really like. He probably grew up with everything he wanted right at his fingertips.

Of course, Mario didn't like making those kinds of assumptions about people. He certainly didn't like it when people made assumptions about him. The last time an assumption was made, he ended up in prison for six years for a crime he didn't commit.

He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And that got him to thinking. Was he here because Dr. Vincent thought he killed someone? Or was he here because of Soren? No one knew about Soren. No one had even reported her missing. Her own family didn't care about her, so why would anyone else? She was just a spoiled, rich brat who took all her daddy's money and destroyed his legacy only months after his death. And then to regain her claim to fame, she pointed her finger at Mario as the murderer in an investigation Mario had no idea was even going on. He didn't know the deceased woman, or anything about her. Not even her name.

Yet because he was in the vicinity at the time of her death, and he was a black man, he was naturally the predator.

Soren was named a hero for her bravery while Mario went to prison. And now, he was here, in a sick, twisted game for the entertainment of more rich people.

Mario went to his room, not sure what to expect from here. He assumed Damon and Brandi would team up since they've been glued to each other's side. That meant he was left with either Nine or Carmen, neither of which seemed like an appropriate ally. No one here could be trusted. So who would help him win? Who would be the most valuable? Would he need strength or brains?

Somehow, the obvious choice was Carmen and Mario knew that all along. But he also knew she more than likely wouldn't be participating in the second game. The way she left right after Dr. Vincent announced someone stole something from him made her look guilty. Which meant Mario would be stuck with Nine.

He reluctantly went down the hallway to the room he believed to be Nine's and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Nine answered looking rather frazzled. He seemed to be relieved to see Mario though.

"Are you okay?" Mario asked, furrowing his brows.

Nine looked around the hallway before pulling Mario into his room and closing the door shut. His hair was even messier than it was before, like he had been pulling at it. He was panting, like a dog on a hot summer day. He was pacing. He was shaking.

"Don't tell me you're the one that stole something," Mario whispered. "How stupid can you be?! You saw what happened to the other players!"

"I know! But it was worth the risk," Nine said, pulling out a black book. "I know why we're here now."

He tried to hand the book to Mario, but Mario took a step back. "Man, you're crazy if you think I'm gonna touch that thing!"

"You don't want to know?" Nine asked.

"No, I don't. I don't care why we're here, I just want to get out of here...alive. And that won't happen if I'm breaking rules. You must be a special kind of stupid-"

"Jackson had HIV and was knowingly passing it along to his s****l partners," Nine said, causing Mario to pause.

"What?"

Nine nodded, once again trying to hold the book out to Mario. "It's in here. I guess his parting gift makes a little more sense now."

For a second, Mario thought about taking the book and at least checking to see what it said about him. But why would he? He knew why he was here. He didn't feel it was quite as bad as passing a fatal STD along to everyone he slept with, but it was still wrong, nonetheless.

Finally, Mario shook his head. "No. I can't. I can't get involved in this."

He turned and walked out of the room, not even wanting there to be assumptions made about why he was here.

"Wait! You're not even curious?!" Nine called out after him.

Mario stopped, but didn't turn around. "No. None of that matters. I don't care what you did, or anyone else here. I only care about getting out, like I said."

With that, he continued on his way.