AFTER SPENDING SOME time in the kitchen, I left, leaving most of my food behind. Being around Gmie ruined my appetite and made me exhausted, so I thanked Fee for breakfast and ran out as fast as I could.

I didn't get far because Chi-Lynn chased me down.

"Hey, Betinia!" She ran up to me, heels clicking on the wooden floors. "Do you know who you're voting for yet?" she asked, getting straight to the point. "In the upcoming voting session?"

I haven't even thought about that yet. "Umm no."

Her soft hands gripped mine as her eyes looked at me with fresh, long lashes. "I hope it's not me. I want us to be allies," she said. "I'd be a great one. None of these boys can resist me."

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.

"Please don't let me die," she said, eyelids shaking. "I have a child at home, and he needs me. Please. I must make it back."

Again, I stayed silent, which caused her to increase her grip on my hand. I felt like I needed to say something, or she'd never let me go. "Alright. I understand."

She smiled, jumping up and down. "Thank you. And please don't tell anyone about my child. I don't want them to use it against me in the game. I know you won't though. You have an honest face." Then she scampered off.

Allies? With Chi? Having alliances usually worked well in these types of games, but they could also backfire as well. Trust was the key to a good alliance. Could I trust her? Could you trust a seductress?

She cried on the spot without even thinking about it, which meant she was probably used to getting her way. She probably seduced plenty of men with that tactic alone.

I shook my head. I had no idea who I was going to vote off, but Chi might be a good ally. A seductress could be useful in future challenges, or she could be the death of me. Probably the latter since Chi was friends with Gmie, and she hated my guts.

♟♙♟

Three o'clock came around really fast. Everyone sort of met up in the hallway and walked over together to the common room.

Layla wasn't crying anymore, but she looked sullen and depressed. Deep circles caked her brown eyes, and she still had blood on her clothing. She really wasn't coping well.

When we got to the common room, Layla dragged herself over to a recliner and fell into it like she had no energy left.

I also sat on a recliner with my boots tucked up under me. Everyone else found their own spot in the room, mostly on the floor with the huge pillows.

Once we were all settled, Gmie, of course, spoke first.

"Let's start with the basics," she said, sitting on top of a pillow. "Chi, Tiran, and Rucker are all up for elimination tomorrow. I think we should vote off the most murderous. Rucker."

Rucker snapped his head up, crunching a pillow between his thick fingers. "Huh? What? I'm the most murderous? You know nothing about me."

Gmie motioned to the glass table with the clues. "We all saw those booties. And you said, clear as day, that you don't mind killing. You probably murdered a child, and if you can murder an innocent child, then you can murder me in my sleep."

Aries cocked his head to the side, confused. "But isn't that the point of the game? To be murderers? What if we have a group challenge? We need someone who can stomach the bloody stuff, which Rucker can do."

"Okay? I still don't want a straight-up psychopath walking around," Gmie snapped. "Yeah, he could be useful in challenges, but challenges aren't the only way to win. Murdering others is also a good way to win, and someone like him wouldn't even bat an eye about murdering all of us and winning everything for himself."

"What about Tiran? His timid ass could be a killer," Rucker argued. "The silent ones are usually the deadliest."

That's true... sometimes. My eyes flickered to Khan who was leaning against the wall, silent. He never said anything — just listened while cleaning the lint off his tight black shirt. Eyeing him, it took me a moment to realize how built he was like he worked out a lot.

Gmie snorted. "Tiran? Really? He couldn't even stomach a dead body. My pussy cat would kill before he did. He sells drugs. He probably killed someone by overdose, if that."

"So, why do we want someone like him in the game then?" Rucker asked, making a valid point. "The challenges are just going to get worse, and he can't stomach them."

Tiran spoke up, climbing to his feet. "Yes, I can. I know I threw up during yesterday's challenge, but can you blame me? It was very shocking, but I sucked it up and completed it anyway and I know I can do it again if needed."

Gmie smiled, fixing her skirt. "See?"

"Look, bitch," Rucker started with a dangerous edge in his voice.

"Okay, guys!" Sebastian said, cutting him off and standing in the front of the room. "We need to make this a bit more organized. How about we let all three of them speak first, and then we comment. Chi, do you mind going first?"

"No, of course not!" Chi sprang to her feet, pulling down her short red dress that showed off her lean legs. Her fingers pulled down the front, making her cleavage pop a bit more.

Yaz, who was sitting in an identical recliner across from me, rolled her eyes at Chi. I haven't seen Yaz around much. She must stay to herself. Don't blame her.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Chi-Lynn, but just call me, Chi," Chi said, waving to us with her red nails. "I was born and raised in Georgia. I'm a Southern Belle. I think keeping me on the show would be very beneficial to everyone. I'm very well-liked with the audience, and I can do challenges. Blood doesn't bother me. Plus, I'm really easy to get along with and I'm really athletic."

Sebastian then nodded to Tiran.

Tiran took a deep breath, hands shaking. "I'm Tiran. I'm a med student. I go to SE Edgars. It's an Ivy League university. Ummm, I'm very intelligent, and my knowledge of the human body could come in handy in future challenges. I'm not very threatening to others, so you don't have to worry about me trying to kill you. I'm just trying to survive myself. I know I didn't handle the first challenge well, but I promise to do better."

Sebastian nodded to Rucker.

Rucker stood, staring down at all of us. "Look, I'm not going to stand here and beg for my life. You're already going to vote which way you want. Nothing I say will stop you, so fuck it."

"What do the booties mean?" Layla asked, and we all paused, surprised that she was speaking. "Did you kill a child?"

Rucker looked at her. "What they mean is none of your business."

Her sullen features turned to anger. "You got my vote. I hope you rot in hell."

Wow. Where in the hell did that Layla come from?

"You got mine too," Gmie said, scratching her bun.

Clenching his fist, Rucker snarled and stomped out of the room. Chi followed behind him, nodding goodbye to us. What was she doing? Consoling him?

"Is that it?" Aries asked, confused.

"Yeah. Rucker will be voted off," Gmie said, standing. "No one wants him here. Come on, Demo." She then walked out with Demo close on her heels.

Yaz left next, and then Layla. Aries went over to chat with Sebastian, and then Khan left and then Fee. Tiran joined the two guys in the corner, and I just sat in the recliner, thinking.

This whole meeting felt like a waste of time. Rucker was going to be voted off because everyone thought he was a murderer. Wasn't everyone here guilty of something?

Whether he killed a child or not, I didn't think those booties meant, "child killer." When Rucker looked at those booties, sorrow etched his face, along with a pang of sadness. He seemed to be caught in a memory almost. None of that screeched, "child killer."

Something inside me told me that Rucker shouldn't be voted off. Not for that.

Leaving the common room, two cameramen followed behind me, zooming in. Every zoom felt like it was draining my energy. I just wanted five minutes without them. I wished there was a blind spot somewhere. Wait, a blind spot!

There had to be some around here, and if I found them, they might lead to something, like an escape. Probably not, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

Opening up the live feed cameras on my iPad, I followed myself, trying to find a place where I couldn't be seen. It never happened. Every camera captured me at some angle. My walking around brought me to the gym.

With the door opened slightly, deep grunts filtered out into the hall. Peeking in, Rucker sat on a bench, lifting weights, still pissed. He couldn't see me since the door was to his side.

Rucker growled and threw the weight. He tore off his shirt, throwing it into a corner. That's when I saw the tattoos on his right arm. Chinese symbols. No idea what they meant, but I snapped a few photos with my iPad before running off.

I continued on my quest for a blind spot, moving to different rooms but no luck. My mind started to become frustrated, and I clicked off the camera app and accidentally hit the show app, signing into the live chat again. Crap.

Comments fluttered across the screen.

"Nosy bitch. I bet she's trying to escape," one comment said.

"I just want to see dem titties," said another.

"Open that jacket, pretty girl and I'll buy you a pony to ride," someone else said.

The comments disgusted and disturbed me so much, that I got distracted and ended up colliding right into Khan.

He caught me with his large hands, staring down at me with intense eyes. His gaze felt like it could penetrate my skin and see within me. It was weird.

"Sorry," I said, hopping back.

"It's fine," he said, nodding.

"Umm, do you want your jacket back?" I asked, feeling like I was obligated to ask since I ran into him.

Once I said that more titty comments filtered into the chat. Ugh.

He stared down at me, scanning my body. "It looks like you still need it. Keep it for now."

"Thanks," I said, eyes averting to the ground. "Ummm, do you know who you're voting for?"

Face blank, he never showed any emotion. "No. You?" He didn't rush to conclusions like everyone else. I liked that.

"No idea yet," I said.

Then we just stared at each other until we kind of just moved away. It was hard to describe exactly what happened, but we just kind of went our separate ways without speaking, but not in a rude way. We just... glided apart.

I made it down the rest of the hallway and spotted Layla sitting on the floor, staring down at her hands. A soft strawberry odor lingered in the air around her. I remembered smelling this before somewhere.

"You okay?" I asked, trying to scoot away from the cameraman behind me.

"Do you believe in God?" she asked suddenly.

"Um, yeah, sure," I said, following my normal protocol. But in reality, I wasn't sure if I did. Why would God put me here? Why would God have my mother slaughter my whole family?

Sniffling, soft tears gushed from her eyes, falling down her chubby cheeks. "I've always believed in God. It's how I was raised. To believe in him, no matter what. But why would he do this? Put me here? Put us here? I did nothing wrong."

"You're all murderers. Stop lying," one comment said.

I didn't know why, but I found it hard to believe that she was the murdering type, but looks could be deceiving.

"I'm not sure why God put us here. Maybe, it's a test," I said, thinking back to a religious infomercial I've seen before. I had no idea what to say to her.

"Or a mission," she said, perking up. "To kill off the sinners."

"Ah, okay."

She leaned in a bit close. "I hear things. A voice in the walls. Do you hear it, too?"

A voice in the walls? Was she losing it? "No."

Her eyes widened and glittered like sparkling liquid. "It must be god talking to me. If only I hear it, it must be him."

"Sure," I said, letting the word slip out.

"God put me here to help," she said, clasping her hands together. "You're voting for Rucker, right? The child killer? He deserves to die. Anyone who harms a child deserves nothing but death and pain."

Before I could answer, my iPad pinged again, and I stared down at a new chat comment.

"Whoa! This bitch just pulled a complete 360," the comment said.

Yes, she did.

Giving her a small smile, I made up an excuse and left. I wasn't going to tell her that I wasn't voting for Rucker. It just didn't feel right. My tummy kept disagreeing, which meant that Chi or Tiran had to be worse than Rucker.

I just needed to find out how before it was too late. In less than twenty-four hours, everyone would be voting, and my gut told me Rucker would be the winner if I didn't intervene.

♟♙♟