Waking up

15 people are forced to kill each other in an unorthodox game of murder.

15 14 People

I was the first to awake.

My head was resting on my shoulder. All my muscles hurt. My eyes cleared and I saw… A table. It was just a giant round table. The room around be was dark, except for a lone candle burning in the middle of the wooden furniture.Its wax spilled down onto a metal platter. I registered myself. I… I couldn’t remember anything. The amount of confusion frustrated me. I just… couldn't pull any memories.

I was so wrapped in my own thoughts that it took me awhile to notice the other people.

All around me were unfamiliar characters, all slumped into chairs like me. Why are all these people still sitting while asleep? I tried to budge from my seat, but then I realized I was tied into my seat. What was this? Where was I? I tried to free myself, but the chair was bolted to the floor, and the rope bonds around me were tight. My arms were free, but I couldn’t get the tie-in loose. The hole known as fear and stress that once planted itself in my gut began to grow. The room was cold. All these people - I counted 15 including me - were relatively all teens, like me. They were all asleep. My arms hung beside me. I sat in silence, in the dark, for what felt like hours until I heard a movement beside me. The boy next to me was about 14. Two years younger than me. He began to stir, letting out a low mumble. Then his eyes shot open. He registered himself, and got the same confused look. Frustration followed. I looked at him blankly. Soon he turned his eyes away from himself to face me. He let out a gasp, then started exhaling quickly. His messy black hair was matted with sweat. I just looked at him.

“What the hell is going on here.” He said. I prepared my words, but he slammed repeated himself. “What is going on here!” He raised his voice.

“I don’t KNOW!” I finally got out, challenging his volume. My words echoed through the darkness. I looked at him with a eagle eye.

“ You-you think I’M the mastermind here? I’m tied in too!” I gestured to the bonds on my lap. He looked at his own. For 10 seconds he was silent, staring at his lap.

“Oh god. Oh my god were am I-I can't remember, who are you?” He slowed his breathing. The silence was eerie. I hated silence. It is a whole sound on its own. You can’t describe it, but when you tune in on it, you hear things… strange things.

“Listen. I don’t know any more than you do. Were alone, except for…” I gestured to the other slumped characters. “THESE people. Were going to need to work together to get out of whatever this is. Because I don’t think tying someone to a bolted chair in a dimly lit room is considered a friendly gesture.” The boy finally calmed down. His confused look gave away to a look of terror. He whispered in a voice I could barely hear, even in the silence.

“I’m going to die.” The thought creeped out of his mouth and into my brain. Death. The sentence lingered in my head.

“No. We’re not dead yet. And we won’t die. I promise.” I said. I immediately regretted it. I couldn’t promise anything.

Silence ensued for about two minutes. Me and the other boy listened and watched. The room was to dark to see anything but the table and the people around it. Something swinged above us on what seemed like a chain. The rust was barely able to be heard as whatever it was moved back and forth, back and forth.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Peter”. He said rather wearily.

“How do you remember?” I asked.

“I don’t. The paper says so.” I looked at the desk in front of him. On the edge, a laminated paper read Peter. I looked at my own slip.

Aiden.

Author's Note

As a writer, you can give me helpful reviews and feedback. Anything helps. More parts coming soon. And don't forget to read my other book, The Others.