Seven

Chapter 19- The Truth About the Games

"Excuse me, sir, I have your water here," Richard said as Mario approached his bedroom door.

Mario furrowed his brows, taking the glass from him. He had forgotten he had even asked for it. "Thank you. I'm glad you're here. I have a few questions about the final game. You seem like a smart guy, so I thought I'd ask you."

Richard smiled proudly. "I'd be happy to assist you, sir."

"You've probably been around for a while right? Seen a lot of these games?" Mario asked.

Richard nodded. "Yes sir. This will be year number sixty-three for me."

Mario was quite surprised. Richard looked old, but not old enough to have been tied up in this for so long. "Did you start when you were a kid?" Mario asked.

Richard chuckled. "Oh no. I started as a young man. I was once a player, like yourself. I won the games sixty-three years ago and I've been around ever since."

Even though this news was startling to Mario, he tried to keep his composure. "Oh. So as a winner, do you get a choice to work on the staff for future games?"

Mario could tell by the look in Richard's eyes that the answer was no. He didn't want to be here, but at this point, he probably felt as if he had no choice.

Richard sighed heavily. "Back in 1959, I was a restless soul with no direction in my life. I bounced around from one town to another, stealing to get by. I was arrested and sent to prison, but to my surprise, someone paid my bail. I had no idea who, since I had no friends or family. That's when I met Dr. Vincent. He brought me here to participate in what he called games, only...when I got here..." he trailed off as if he was remembering something he'd like to forget. "Anyway, I found my place here, my purpose, my calling. My life has meaning now."

"You think this is meaningful?" Mario asked, looking around.

"Maybe you don't think so yet, but you will. See, you're like me, looking for purpose. Dr. Vincent sees that in you. That's why I know you will be the winner," he smiled.

Mario smiled back, though it felt and probably looked forced. "What about the money? Did you win a cash prize?"

"I did. I still have every last bit of it locked up in my chambers. I haven't left this town in sixty-three years. When I was out in the real world, people like you weren't even allowed...I mean..."

"It's okay," Mario chuckled. "I guess the world has come a long way since 1959. Not as far as it needs too though."

"I've never been one to judge a man based on the color of his skin. I like to look at a man's character. I can tell you're a fine man, player six. And I know the reason you're here. You could still have a life. You could win and go back home, to your family. I didn't have that when I was the winner. If I did, I probably wouldn't be here," he said kind of sadly.

Mario nodded, staring down at the water in his glass. He already felt like there was no winner in these games, only a survivor. He didn't want to merely survive though, he wanted to live. Being here only reminded him of all the things he had never done- deep sea fishing, a trip to Vegas, getting married, having children...if he stayed and finished out the games, even if he won, and even if he was allowed to return home with a cash prize, he knew his life would never be the same. He would have to live with what he'd seen here and the torment those memories would bring him.

On the other hand, losing meant death. Mario didn't want to die, but he didn't see much choice in the matter.

"Is the water okay, sir?" Richard asked him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yes. The water is fine. I'm just getting kind of...nervous, I guess. When you played your final game, do you remember who it was against?"

Richard's eyes clouded over and Mario was almost certain he wouldn't be willing to say too much. But to his surprise, Richard sighed, nodding his head. "Her name was Olivia and she was only seventeen. In our final game, she and I had to escape a flooding basement. At first, I was afraid for her. She was so young and frail. It seemed inconsiderate of me to save myself and let her drown. I still remember her eyes very well. The way she looked at me...when she saw that I had reached the escape hatch first. There's something about knowing death is coming that makes the human eye seem crystal clear. In that moment, that person sees everything, their whole life, playing out before their eyes, like a picture show. She screamed, she cried out, she...called my name. Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat, hearing her panicked screams. After the games were over, I learned Olivia was invited here because she brutally murdered her parents and older siblings with an ice pick. Still, even knowing she was a horrible monster...anyways, I guess what I'm saying is there's no way to not feel human in all this. That is, if you are, in fact, human. You and I, we aren't like some of the others that have been through here. Each of them have a dark secret; a secret that makes them worthy of such a demise."

"Dr. Vincent is just playing God then," Mario said, looking over his shoulder down the hallway.

Richard nodded. "I suppose you could say that. If not him, then the justice system and all it's corruptness would be responsible for doling out punishment. I think you of all people should know how unfair that can be."

Mario looked at Richard, taken back by what he was saying. He was right. There was nothing fair or just about what happened to him. And maybe other players deserved to be here, but he knew he didn't. He wasn't a cold blooded killer. He had never even stolen anything. The only thing he was guilty of was vengeance.

Vengeance...

Mario blinked a couple of times, trying to pull his thoughts together. Suddenly, things were starting to take shape.

There were seven players to start the game. Seven deadly sins, one of them being vengeance.

Richard nodded, as if he could read Mario's mind.

If Mario represented the sin of vengefulness, then what did the others represent? Jackson obviously represented lust. Other than that though, he had no idea. He didn't know much about the players, other than Carmen, and he really didn't know a lot about her either. If each of them represented one of the Bible's seven deadly sins, then that meant Dr. Vincent carefully researched each of them, what they were guilty of, and if they had any intentions of changing.

If only he had let Soren go, he wouldn't even be here. And holding her captive didn't change anything. It didn't erase the six year prison sentence he had already served. It didn't bring his mother back.

"If I win the final game, is he going to let me leave?" Mario finally asked.

Richard looked puzzled that Mario would ask such a question. "Of course. Each winner has the option to stay or go. Either way, the money is yours to keep."

"And player four, will she have that same option if she wins?"

Richard pressed his lips together. "Well, you see...Dr. Vincent knows who the victor will be long before the final game, based on character and integrity alone. You were destined to win from the moment you arrived. Player four has just been lucky to stay alive this long. When you play the final game, she will be eliminated."

"How am I supposed to be okay with that?" Mario asked him.

"Well, she is the reason you wasted six years of your life in prison and didn't get to say goodbye to your mother," he reminded Mario.

"No, she's not the reason. Soren Rose is the reason. She was the only witness to the murder and she identified me in the line up. If a teenage girl was really the killer, then why did Soren point me out? Unless she had ulterior motives....if she were the one that was here instead of Carmen..."

Mario paused before he finished his sentence. The reason he was here was because of his vengeful heart. Did he really want Soren to die? No. Her death wouldn't give him back the six years of his life, nor would it bring his mother back. It wouldn't even make him feel better.

"I don't blame Carmen for what happened to me. She was just a kid when all that happened anyway. Why is she even here? Why is she paying for old sins? If that's part of Dr. Vincent's criteria, then everyone should be here. No one is innocent."

"You're exactly right," Richard nodded in agreement. "But Dr. Vincent very carefully chooses his participants."

"Based on what? How they might taste?"

Richard looked quite surprised. His already pale face turned even more pale. He didn't have an answer, but he didn't have to have one. Mario was certain of what was going on here. And he wanted no part of it.

Before he could answer, a bell chimed, signalling the start of the final game.

Mario's heart began to pound. He still wasn't sure he wanted to go through with this, but it seemed as if he had run out of time. He had no choice but to participate....

Against Carmen, who he had grown fond of in the past few days.

"It's time to go, sir," Richard said quietly.

Mario followed Richard downstairs to the foyer where Carmen was already waiting. She didn't look at Mario, didn't even move. She just stood there, lifeless, as if she had already given up.

The monitors turned on and Dr. Vincent's silhouette appeared. "Hello and welcome to the final game. Congratulations players four and six, for making it this far. This game will be a bit...different. Since the two of you have conspired against me, against the staff and against the games, you will be conspiring against each other to win and earn your freedom, along with the cash prize. In just a moment, you will be led to a car out front. That car will be taking you to the nearby port where a ship is waiting. You will board the ship and be taken out to very specific coordinates before the staff will be transported back to the mansion and the two of you will be left alone. The ship...well, it has seen better days, so it won't stay afloat for long. On board, you will find one set of diving gear, complete with an oxygen tank. The first player to locate the gear and successfully evacuate the ship will be declared the winner. The other player will sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, along with the ship."

Mario looked at Carmen, but she kept her eyes on the monitor, as if she were in a daze.

"Please follow me," Winston said.

He lead Carmen and Mario out front where they were placed in two separate cars. Mario got in, along with Richard, and they started for the port right away.

Mario nervously fidgeted with his hands, staring out the window, lost in a cloud of thoughts. He had no idea what to expect from Carmen now. Would she even try to win? Or would she simply shut down until Mario escaped the ship? Or would she try to find the diving gear and leave him to die?

One thing was for certain; one of them had only hours left to live.