END. I didn't want any of this to end. I really didn't. Despite the harshness of the game, this experience has been one of the best I've ever had. It's been amazing, and I didn't want to lose it.

"Why do you think it's gonna end?" Khan asked, glancing at me. "Because we know your secret?"

I looked at him. "You do know?"

"Seb told us everything," Yaz said, touching my leg. "We really don't care."

"I mean it wasn't like a shocker," Khan said before laughing. "You did kind of do a one-eighty after you got attacked by Layla's killer."

Yaz laughed. "I know, right? She went from, "Oh Layla" to "I'm gonna fucking kill this bitch."

They all laughed, and I just sat there, confused. Was it really this easy?

Rucker smiled. "Even if they didn't accept you, fuck'em. You can't go through life based on the opinions of other people," he said. "Plus, we're family. We're in this together."

"Yes," Khan said.

"Yeah," Yaz said.

"Yup," Sebastian said.

I smiled, feeling more tears fall, wishing Tini could be here with me. "I really thought you guys might turn me away or think less of me?" Maybe, they really weren't like the rest of the world.

"We didn't like Rucker any less for fucking that girl in front of her daddy and slitting her throat afterwards," Yaz said, turning him. "By the way, what the fuck?"

"Hey, that was epic," Rucker said. "One of the best deaths I ever planned."

"And wrong in so many ways," Yaz said.

Rucker snorted. "I gave her a gift, okay?"

"A gift?" Yaz repeated.

"The gift of my amazingly long dick before she met Satan," Rucker said with a shrug. "I blessed her, okay? The angels would be proud of me."

"I hope the angels spit on you," Yaz said.

Sebastian, Khan and I burst out laughing as Rucker glowered at us.

"Don't entertain, foot knuckles over there," Rucker said.

"Call me that again, and I'm gonna slap the taste out your mouth," Yaz said, glaring.

"I really missed this," I said, laughing as Duke cuddled further into my lap.

"How does it work exactly?" Khan asked unexpectedly, and I looked up. "The alters?" He held up a hand. "If it's too—"

"No, it's fine," I said. "I mean I never really talked about it before, but I don't mind, I think. I'm still cooping and learning about it myself."

Because of her, we have this whole new dynamic that we didn't understand. I mean when it was just Tini and me it was a bit confusing, but we just considered me another mask. But with her, Tini couldn't lie to herself anymore, and now we're in new waters that neither of us know how to explain or handle.

"Seb said his happens by triggers," Khan said.

I turned to Seb. "Triggers?"

Seb looked a bit uncomfortable, but he nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes my environment triggers him, or if I experience really intense emotions or pain," he said. "And I don't really remember too much when he takes over. Sometimes I do. But sometimes he blocks me, I think. It's hard to explain."

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to," I said to him. "If it makes you uncomfortable, don't."

"What about you though?" Seb asked.

"Uh, it's kind of weird to explain," I said, petting Duke. "I kind of have control over it — a part of it anyway." Tini and I could switch willingly, but her — she was her own thing.

Khan leaned forward, intrigued. "Really?"

"You control your alter?" Seb asked, jerking back. "When did she first appear?"

"Actually, I appeared around...eight?" I said, scratching Duke's neck. "I'm an alter, or another personality if that works better for you."

They all paused, looking at each other before looking back at me.

"Wait, so you're not the main personality?" Seb asked. "The host?"

"No," I asked. "Tini — the one who was out before —she's the main one. She created me to keep her urges under control. I'm in charge most of the time, and we can switch willingly."

Khan leaned back, tapping his chin. "So, you experience no memory loss when you switch?"

"Not really," I said, shaking my head. "I remember things when she's out and vice versa." I paused. "But when our other alter comes, we usually don't remember stuff."

"You have two?" Seb said, sounding surprised.

"Uh yeah," I said, softly.

"I didn't mean to say it like that," Seb said, putting up his hands. "It was just surprising."

"What's the third one's name?" Khan asked.

"I can't say it because she'll come out," I said. "And she can be aggressive sometimes. She the one that made Jookie bleed in the room."

"So, she's like the candy man?" Rucker asked.

Yaz smacked him. "You're so insensitive."

"I'm just trying to understand,' Rucker said, glaring at her.

"Tini and I just found out about her during the challenge," I said, shaking my head. "Seeing Rucker hurting like that brought up a lot of bad memories and she came out — we didn't even know she existed, but we somehow buried her years ago and she's back. And when she takes over, we can't control her, and we don't remember." 

"This is so fascinating," Khan said, tapping his cheek.

"She's not a science project," Yaz said, plucking him in the arm.

"I know it's just intriguing," Khan said, eyes brightening.

"So, you're the one out most of them the time," Yaz said, slowly.

"Yes, I'm the one you first met," I said.

"You're the overthinker," Rucker said. "You get in your head too much."

"Yes." I laughed. "Tini says the same thing."

"You talk to each other?" Khan asked.

"Yeah." I turned to Seb. "Can you talk to yours?"

"Sometimes," Seb said, still looking uncomfortable.

"So Tini's my killing buddy?" Rucker asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, she's the one that tortured Gmie," I said.

"She tortured the shit out of her," Yaz said in a happy tone. "It was awesome."

"I know." Rucker smiled. "I was so proud."

"So, all of you have different interests?" Khan asked.

"Yeah, we have different likes and dislikes," I said.

"Do you have anything in common?" Khan asked.

"I know me and Tini both hate popcorn," I said.

"Why?" Rucker said in shock. "It's buttery goodness in a box."

"I hate the squeaky noise it makes when I bite into it," I said, shuddering. "And I hate the way it rubs and gets stuck in my gums."

"So that means you guys can like different guys," Yaz said, a smiling forming on her face. "I'm guessing Tini kissed Jookie?"

"Yeah..." I said, shaking my head. "She has a lust-hate relationship with him. I don't get what she sees in him. Neither does N — that's the third personality. She actually hates Jookie."

"So, you kissed Khan?" Yaz asked.

I felt my cheeks heat. "Uh yeah."

Khan smiled at me but didn't say anything.

"That's crazy like dating must be so hard because you have to find someone that all three of you like," Yaz said. "Can you imagine having sex? Like changing in the middle?"

"Uh we haven't had to really go through that yet," I said, seeing all the ways it could go wrong. "I had a boyfriend before this. I liked him, but it wasn't love or anything like that."

Rucker turned to Seb. "We learned about her, but you're pretty quiet about yourself. Do you want to talk about Seb junior?"

Yaz laughed. "Seb junior sounds like you want to meet his dick."

"You know what I meant," Rucker said, glaring at her.

"If you're not ready to talk about it," I said, looking at Seb encouragingly. "Don't feel pressured to."

"It's okay, talking about it helps sometimes." Seb let out a breath. "There isn't much to tell. I don't really have control over it. He comes when he wants to and leaves the same way. I hid it most of my life."

"Me too," I said. "No knows except you guys." I paused. "And I guess the thousands of viewers now."

"I don't think they're broadcasting us anymore," Khan said, looking around. "They're watching us, of course, but since the shows down, I don't think they're live streaming us to the world anymore."

"Seb really fucked it up for them," Yaz said, nudging him. "Good job."

"And now they're trying to starve us," Rucker said, clenching his fists.

"I don't know what they plan on doing with us, but from a business standpoint, they're probably doing damage control," Khan said. "Seb said that they're losing viewers at a rapid rate. The viewers think the game's rigged, so why are they gonna bet? Why watch? Why go to a casino if you know you're going to lose? The creators and producers are probably trying to think of a way to fix everything."

"They could at least let us order food until they figure it out," Yaz said.

"What if that's their plan?" Seb said. "Make us run out of food, so we'll start eating each other."

"I don't think there's anything in this world that would make me eat Yaz's toes," Rucker said, shaking his head.

"You're such a dick," she said, tossing a pillow at him.

Rucker caught it and smiled. "If anything, we'd eat Gmie first."

"Especially after what that heifer did," Yaz said.

"What she'd do now?" I asked.

It took them a few minutes, but Khan and Yaz told me what they found out about Gmie and her deal and her immunity, and how it was all planned.

"I knew I should've listened to my gut," Rucker said.

"But they would've found a way to get you to play either way," Khan said with a shrug.

"The point is what do we do about her?" Yaz asked.

"We can't kill her," Rucker said, rolling his eyes.

"There is something we can do," Khan said, going into deep thought for a second. "I need to iron out the kinks first, but I may have something."

"My thing is why were the viewers even surprised that the game was rigged? Isn't the point to make us suffer and be miserable and lose, so we die?" Yaz asked.

"In a way, yes," Khan said. "But I don't think the game is marketed as just killing. You could watch snuff films and other things for that. People watch us for the reality aspect and for the betting. Betting on if we'll survive in these impossible horror situations and challenges. If the game is manipulated in anyway, what's the point in betting? That reality aspect is gone and your money too. Once the money aspect is gone — that's a huge chunk of your viewership gone. With seventy percent gone, that's a major major hit. Basically, you're done."

"It sounds like they're gonna have to rebrand," I said, thinking it over. "Does that mean they'll start over from scratch and get rid of us for new contestants?"

"It's possible," Khan said, a wrinkle forming on his forehead. "Seb really exposed them, so they'll have to do a lot to regroup and rebrand. And that could be bad for us."

"Sorry," Seb murmured.

"No, you did the right thing," I said. "You saved us. We fixed one issue, and we'll just have to try and figure this one out too." I touched his hand. "Thank you for saving us."

Seb smiled. "No problem."

"This shit is never ending." Rucker shook his head. "If it's not one thing, it's something else. We survived to maybe die again so soon because they fucked up?"

"They would take a major loss by killing us and starting over," Khan said. "They already put so much money into this. I'm hoping they just plan on taking a break and coming back stronger."

"And in the meantime, we starve?" Yaz asked.

"They could be putting food out in kitchen for all we know," Seb said. "We really haven't left to look."

"Hopefully," Yaz said. "But I don't see them leaving anything good. They probably hate our whole team now. They'll probably leave us dog food."

"So, what about Layla's killer?" I asked.

"The game's paused," Sebastian said. "I don't think we have to worry about that now."

"It'll gives us something to do besides playing Uno with cheating ass Yaz," Rucker said, glaring at her.

"What is this cheating that you speak of?" Yaz squared her shoulder. "It's called skill."

"It's called cheating your ass off," Rucker said.

"Jookie said that they hid some of the footage, but that one of us did kill her," I said. "I can confirm that Gmie or Demo didn't attack me that day in the tunnel. I don't know if they're involved some other way but neither of them tortured me."

"How do you know that?" Khan asked.

"Tini bit our attacker," I said. "Like took a major chunk out of their ankle."

"Didn't she also take a chunk out of Gmie's tit?" Yaz said, shuddering. "I felt that one."

"She has a thing with biting," I said before laughing. It felt so weird to talk about her and our relationship so casually with someone else. It was really weird, but nice. A relief kind of.

"So I'm guessing Gmie and Demo didn't have a scar?" Khan asked.

"Both of them were clean," I said. "I checked at the pool room."

Rucker turned to Seb, eyeing him up and down. "You, scrubby bubbles, you're the only one in our group whose ankle we haven't seen."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "You really think it's me?"

"Prove me wrong," Rucker said, scratching his bandaged hand. "Show me your ankles."

Seb turned to me. "You don't think it's me, right?"

A part of me wanted to say I believe you — I knew you would never do anything like that. But the other part of me heard Tini's voice, "Don't be a pussy bitch." I didn't want to keep making stupid mistakes, especially here where my mistakes could get us killed.

I believe him. Go away.

"Can we just see your ankles?" I asked, softly. "And then we can put all of this behind us."

Seb's face dropped, and his eyes started to change. "I really can't believe it. After everything I did for you, you think I'm this murderous killer? Fine. I'm done. I'm out."

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"Anyone else notice that he still didn't show us his ankle?" Rucker asked, looking around. "And just ran off like an emotional little bitch?"

"He wants us to trust him," Khan said. "Though I don't understand why he didn't just show us."

"This has nothing to do with his trust issues," Rucker said. "It wasn't like we singled him out. Everyone had to pass the test. He made this about himself."

"I should go talk to him," I said, getting up.

FIX IT NOW OR I'M STAYING OUT. Stop screaming. You're such an annoyance. Takes one to know one, Betty Boop.

"You're not going anywhere near French fries until I'm better," Rucker said, touching his bandages. "He's overacting, which just makes his ass look even more guiltier."

"Did you guys think his alter did it, and Seb doesn't remember?" Yaz asked before holding up her hands, looking at me. "I'm not saying because he has an alter that he did it, but it could explain why he's so defensive. Maybe he's ashamed or something?"

"That's possible," Khan said, rubbing his chin. "He wasn't as open about it as Betinia was, but this has to be something that's uncomfortable and scary to share." He paused. "Though if his alter was that bloodthirsty, I think he would've attacked one of us by now."

"Snapple overreacted for no reason," Rucker said with a shrug.

"You really gonna judge him for overacting?" Yaz cocked her head. "Didn't you leave the team for week and stop talking to Betinia because—"

"That's in the past, Yaz," Rucker said, glaring. "Just like your last pedicure."

Yaz dived at Rucker, and they started to wrestle on the bed. Duke jumped out of my arms, joining them.

"I still didn't get a chance to look at Chi, Aries or Fee's ankles either," I said, scratching my knee. "Though the person who I bit definitely wasn't Fee — too big." 

"But he could've helped the person you did bite," Khan said, going over to his desk and pulling something out. He threw it on the bed. Layla's journal. "I hope you didn't mind, but I read through it when I was bored a couple days ago."

"No, it's fine," I said.

"Besides you, Layla liked Fee. He used to feed her, and they talked," Khan said. "She never used his name. She referred to someone as "huge guy" and I took that to be him."

"Yeah," I said, thinking back. "He did used to leave her leftovers." And she did say look into Fee.

"But there was no footage of them together," Yaz said, pulling Rucker's hair before rolling off him.

"That's the footage that the game probably hid from us," Khan said, tapping his chin. "They didn't want us to figure it out yet."

"So, they could control the betting, right?" I asked.

"That, and I don't think they wanted to reveal the thirteenth contestant yet."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

We all turned to look at him. Thirteenth contestant? Huh?

♟♙♟