Police Story

His name was Bob.

The coolest. People would tend to ask who he was, but they ended up begging for their lives upon seeing the power of his Deathly Wink. It felt weird to have this kind of exposition, especially when he was left here to guard the queen while the other go play to get more allies, but he shrugged and smiled at the nothingness before him.

But then again, it didn’t feel right. Then again, he’s bound to make some changes. He’s not some kind of character pulled out of nothingness to start someone else’s arc or something. He was his own person. Nothing more, nothing less. Though, he’s a guard.

THE GREATEST GUARD EVER.

Hell yeah.

He’s guarding this door, alone.

This police station was safe because of him. He’s the greatest worker bee. The Peanut Butter Man ain’t shit. The Fire Man ain’t shit. The Ore-no-sutando-man, or whatever he called himself while posing like an idiot, ain’t shit. Even Leo ain’t shit. It’s him. His wink was the strongest. That’s why he’s holding the fort after their phones revealed their positions. That’s why their queen, Miss Jane, worked her hardest for their victory.

His luck knew no bounds. Being in a death game ain’t that bad. At this point, going against that Juan Montefalco was a bad idea. The last time he checked, he flew by and flattened an apartment building on the other side of the town. Scary.

BUT NOT SCARY AS HIM.

Bob was mad scary. He would wink at people and they would die. It’s like real life. His weapon of mass destruction was his awkward glare and cutesy smile. It’s a killer. And he’d get his wish. It’s not money, booze, booties, or bitches. He just wanted to stay true, to give back to the movie that changed his life, to make it be more to save others. He would wish for Zootopia 2.

Joining this rag-tag group of misfits was the best idea. As long as Juan was dead, then he could steamroll through everything. It was weird, at first. The queen made it so that his desire to rebel through his group went bye-bye along with his virginity. But hey, it’s the power of love and friendship working in his favor.

Bob rested both his hands on his hips and breathed. Blasting someone’s head right now with his shotgun seemed like the best idea. Maybe he should kill the ones in their cells.

He’s on a roll, after all. First, he got to kill the guy letting his dog shit in his yard. Second, he got to blow the head of that snobby computer shop attendant that’s been shooting down his advances. He’s feeling good, lucky.

And that confidence allowed him to pout his lips to welcome this frail and cute short-haired girl, who walked in front of him with a stick in hand.

He tucked his hair behind his ear and chuckled. He needs to appear shy. Even if it’s a 6/10. He needed to appear normal. And this girl seemed to believe him. There was this thought about how it would go. How it would sound if she begged for her life later. But he tried his best not to let that show up until later.

“I’m… I’m Leigh.”

She was looking for shelter. Bob would give her shelter, and maybe something more. He didn’t mind embracing her, taking her, to protect her and all, especially with how beaten she looked.

That’s why he shrugged and kept his smile. He spread his arms as though to welcome her, to touch her shoulder. And she raised that feeble twig and slammed it at the base of his neck. Bob lost the feeling of his body. His vision turned upside down and blackened even before he could ask himself what the fuck had just happened.

Leigh snorted, kicked Bob’s side, and picked up his shotgun. Her fingers still trembled at her second kill. That fresh smell of blood bubbled in her throat. She wanted to run, but her determined glare remained. She’d go home with Joshua in tow. Ryan would be happy. Everything would go back the way it was. He could just sit tight and relax, and then she’d be here to drag Joshua back.

She’s now doing something that she wanted.

“Pawn,” she breathed. “I need to learn how to use a gun. Take as much as you want.”

Six months. She’s the only one that could see that ticking screen of numbers. She tried to forget the details. All she knew was that she didn’t have much time left. That pistol cannon she made took 15 years off her life, after all. Living through this would be enough.

She hugged the wall and waited. People would be on high alert. Everyone would know that this bastard had been killed. One actually rushed outside to laugh at Bob’s fat ass. Leigh blasted his face and took two grenades and another pistol from his dead body.

She ignored that sensation again. Dragging Joshua back to Ryan would be her first priority. Dealing with something like emotions and feelings was something saved for later.

Leigh entered the building and blasted two people’s heads. It’s like she could already tell where they were placed. All she needed to do was to let her body take her and pull the trigger.

The first floor was cleared without any trouble. The pantry was clean, too. Now, she only needed to check two more doors. One would lead towards the interrogation room, and the other to the cells.

Worrying about numbers was irrelevant. Joshua should probably be one in either of those rooms, and she’s prepared to kill everyone that would stand in her way. For Ryan. This was what she wanted. Leigh checked upstairs first. It had no people, so she went down and pulled her two grenades out.

“Pawn. I need this to blow up if someone steps into its proximity. Take as much as you—”

Air rushed out of Leigh’s body. She grunted, almost falling to her knees, but she clutched her chest and heaved back on her feet. It’s getting harder to breathe. Her body felt stiff. Something within her hurts. But she pulled up a helpless smile to help herself worry about it later.

She tossed one of the grenades by the stairs. The other one was tossed near the entrance before she checked the jail cells. An irrelevant guard stood her way, but her gun was faster than his ability could be. Joshua.

She kept her head low and wobbled into the middle of the room. Everything’s getting heavier. The air, too. Ripe and dried blood. Sweat. Metal. hit. Piss. The smell ravaged tainted her tongue and caved her heart deeper inside her ribs.

The first cell had two dead naked men. Both their legs were taken out. They died in each other’s embrace as they bled to their final moments. Leigh stomped the ground to keep herself up. She took a sharp breath and punched her gut to stop her intestines from spiraling out of her throat. She ended the misery of a young girl bleeding the same way on the second cell. The third cell was empty. And she stepped at the fourth.

“So… that’s what you look like, Leigh.”

It was a girl, small frame like hers, cornering at the side of her dirty cell as she embraced herself. Blood stained her clothes. She had seen her before. And she’s either Ryan or Joshua’s, neighbor.

“I saw Ryan back at the 7/11… and I’m glad that you’re not as scary as I imagined you to be. Ryan was like…”

“Disgusting?”

“That’s rather strong… for a word…”

“You… can see, Angelica?”

“It’s what I wished for… yes. The game… I heard… from my phone. I used the voice command to… Also, don’t give me any more blind puns.”

“Can Joshua even make blind puns?”

“How did you—”

“I went around, looking for stuff, people. Y’know. We’re in a death game. And this is the only place I stalked that had guards. I took my chances. I was actually looking for Joshua.”

“That’s risky… but…” Angelica faced the floor again. “He… gave me so much… He kept using the word ‘see’ and ‘sea’ over and over again.”

“So… where is he?” Leigh glanced at the door and back to her.

“With Leo and the rest. They said that they would try to gather the rest of the players and try to fight with that… Juan Montefalco.”

“Shit. I can’t get back empty-handed.” Leigh cupped her chin. “Are you their Queen?”

“N-no…”

“Are you sure?” Leigh grinned and pointed a gun at her. “Because guards won’t be standing around to protect a blind girl in a cell and some half-dead bastards in the same room.”

“No, I’m not…”

“Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I peeked into the interrogation room and come back here with what I saw, right?” Leigh adjusted her aim. “Just so you know, I’m on a roll right now.”

“Are you going to… kill…”

“Well yeah. It’s simple.” Leigh glanced at the door again and went back to her. “They’re out to kill me. So, I’ll just kill them first. I want to win. It’s not my fault that they chose to fuck with me. In fact, they should be prepared to die and—”

“It’s not their fault,” Angelica whispered. “They were trapped in this Death Game without their own volition. They’re all good… They’re still people. They want this game to be over. Everyone wants to go home… that’s why everyone’s fighting.”

Leigh scoffed. “The fuck you say?”

“They were transferred into this game… without their own volition. They’re fighting for such noble wishes… and were forced to do something terrible.”

Leigh chuckled and bared her body towards Angelica. She’s thin. She remembered a moment where it felt like she had actual flesh under her skin. Everything seemed stiff. Even holding the gun in her hand took her all. Her look mattered once more.

“Well, ain’t that rich?” Leigh licked her lips and nodded to herself. “What a true testament that the people that joined this little shit of a game were just good forced to do evil. Of course. Of course, it’s not our fault that we suddenly walked up to another person, to cut off their arm or something. Of course, it’s not our fault that we had to sacrifice ourselves to save our friends. Of course, of course. Everyone wanted to do what they did. We wanted to do this. I wanted to do this.”

“But—” Angelica grimaced. “You wanted to survive, too, right? You’re doing it for good, right?”

“You could say that. But I don’t think I’m good. I don’t want to be good anymore. That’s why I decided to do something that I wanted to do… or something. And it would be easy for me to prove my point.” Leigh pointed her gun at Angelica. “Beg for your life. Right here, right now. I want to see you cry.”

Leigh’s grin faltered at the face of Angelica’s hopeful silence. The girl did nothing but be at her mercy. Her brown eyes, that was supposed not to perceive light glimmered, begging for Leigh to reconsider. For a moment, she thought that she was looking at herself.

Leigh tossed her pistol to the cell pushed herself out of the room.

“Wake up, princess. You’ll die if you go don’t go out. But don’t hide on the second floor. Don’t escape through the entrance, either. Go through a window and run as far as you can away from here. Don’t expect yourself to get saved. You saw it yourself. People wanted to do the things they do.”

Leigh didn’t wait for her to respond but wished that she would move as soon as she’s out of sight. Scared? Maybe. But that’s not how it was. She could accept that Ryan and Joshua did what they wanted. But it’s like that thought again.

The emptiness in her heart remained. Just when she thought that she could grasp everything in front of her, she looked forward and realized that there was so much more for her to reach. Tiring.

There’s only one place left. Everything else was silent. As far as she knew, this room was soundproofed.

She kicked the door down, blasted a man’s head with a shotgun. The naked girl immediately reached for a piece of clothing, screamed, crawled back, and covered her chest.

“What—” The woman blinked and nodded, trembling as though she had woken up from a dream. “Please… I’m just a victim here… They took me in. I’m just a victim. I was forced to do things. I don’t want to die. I want to live. I’d do anything!”

The girl had thick makeup. She’s supplied with microwave foods on the table. There was an unlocked phone. There were drinks here, too. The worst part of this love nest was that it smelled both of sweat, saliva, and washed cologne.

“I… I was taken here among the others, and I had to…”

Leigh re-adjusted her aim. “Where the fuck is Joshua?”

A second. Her lips perked up into a smile before they were forced to frown in fear. She knew him. And the thought of what happened here pissed Leigh off the most.

“I don’t know… who—”

Leigh shot her head, picked up the phone, and turned to leave. “Try working up your spiel next time, okay? Not that I had a reason to let you go, though.”

[20 players remain. Leigh Salameda blew Jane Montefalco’s brain off.]