Finding the Traitor

Micah slowly walked behind Andrei and Vanessa, casually looking at the rows of buildings whenever Vanessa looked behind her. She had to die next, surely. If he didn't get rid of her as soon as possible, she'd pull something crazy and get him killed. He'd be able to tell Amber about what she did, and she'd be able to pull something off, probably. But while he was lost in his own malicious thoughts, he bumped into an unmoving Andrei.

"We're here?" Micah blurted out quickly, pushing himself away from the giant.

"We meet in front of the house, right?" Andrei asked Vanessa.

Vanessa checked her watch, and then shrugged. "They didn't give any instructions on where to go, so if we're in the wrong place, that's on them."

"What's up, guys?"

Odebode, Silvia, and Wendy all approached the building, and all three looked shocked looking at the other three, and vice versa.

"Shit, I thought one of you would be dead." Silvia muttered slowly.

"Same here." Micah added slowly. "No offense, obviously."

"None taken." Silvia replied, looking at Wendy. She was releasing stronger shocks then usual. She exchanged glances with Odebode, who started typing on his watch.

'Should we say anything to her?'

'Wait it out. Shouldn't get her hopes up.'

They continued to wait, and Wendy continued to release sparks. They got more and more intense, eventually moving to hitting the rest of the players. Everyone just dealt with it, even Micah.

Eventually, a figure started walking towards them, holding another body. Feminine in figure, so Amber was one of the survivors. The other body was shrouded in shadows, possibly to cover up any wounds. As she approached the rest of the group, it was made clear who the body was.

"Hey Micah, mind if you take a look this?" She asked in a pained voice, setting Cyrus body over in front him. "His injuries shouldn't be too severe, but I'm not an expert on this sort of thing."

"Well, he looks really messed up, for one." Micah gasped. "I don't think it'll be fatal, but what the heck happened down there?"

Silvia noticed both Wendy's body and voice shaking behind Amber.

"Where's Eric?" She asked, trying to hold back all her emotions at once, taking a few steps back once the shocks started getting more intense. Amber just looked over Cyrus while Micah examined him, with Odebode crouched over Cyrus to try and get a closer look.

"Amber…where's Eric?" Wendy asked louder.

Amber gave a sombre look over her shoulder.

"Dead." She answered bluntly and quietly, turning her head back to Cyrus.

Wendy didn't say anything. She just took some more steps back, her breathing getting more intense by the second.

Until finally, everything was let out.

Wendy fell to her knees and started bawling, slamming her fists on the ground while yelling out Eric's name. But that sound was quickly drowned out by the brilliant show of electricity coming out of her, engulfing her in electricity to the point where nobody could even see her, for she had been replaced with the light show made of nothing but pure anguish.

It continued for a few seconds, until the sound of something quickly hardening was heard for a few brief moments, before the lightning was replaced by what looked like a giant crystal egg where Wendy once was.

"We're all okay? We're fine? We're fine." Leonie said to herself. "So, don't think I have to say this, but Eric was eliminated. That leaves three players left to die, so if you're targeting anyone, now's your chance to act on it!"

"Is Wendy okay?" Silvia asked.

"She's fine! Probably." Leonie replied calmly, waving her hand. "I'm assuming she's fine, Kalea?"

"If I made it correctly, we should be fine." She sighed.

"She'll join you after she cools down a little." Leonie laughed, putting her ear to the cocoon and still hearing Wendy's muffled meltdown inside. "What? Challenge is over. Go home."

Once Wendy was too exhausted to keep crying, the crystal shattered around her.

"You able to get back?" Was all Kalea asked, sitting down by a can of some sort in her hand. Wendy nodded, and Kalea got up, stumbling slightly.

"Well, better get some rest. See you tomorrow."

Wendy slowly walked over to the house, her energy draining more and more with every step. All her electricity left her in the outburst, and she was left stumbling to where she thought the house was. Her vision was getting hazier, and her hair felt like it was about to escape her scalp. She fell to the ground, feeling the world around her blacken. But cutting through the encroaching noise was the buzzing of her watch. She used the last of her strength to answer the call on it.

"You doing okay, Wendy?" Silvia asked. "You better?"

"Can't…move." She replied. It pained her to speak as the words cut through her throat.

"Alright, where are you? We're getting ice cream."

Silvia took a bowl of fruity mint blast. She never had it before, but the idea sounded interesting enough to try. Wendy wanted strawberry, so she ordered that too. The smiler at the desk looked over her bowl, and some kind of black gunk leaked out of its eye onto her desert. She gave it a quick sigh before scraping it off with another spoon. Not like they could control it, she thought as she walked back. Leonie was all too glad to explain what smilers actually were once she asked. If a criminal eligible to enter the game dies with a body in good condition, the body gets taken and is put through some kind of process to become a smiler. So all this time, everyone was talking to animated corpses. She slid the ice cream over to Wendy, head placed onto the table of the ice cream shop. A simple collage of neon walls and benches surrounding circular wooden tables, meant to replicate the feeling of a park. It didn't work.

"So, you able to eat?" She asked quietly. Wendy nodded, looking at her ice cream for a few seconds. Silvia started eating hers. Edible, yes. Something she'd order again, no.

"Thanks." She squeaked out, starting to eat it. "Sorry for scaring you earlier."

"Nah, it's fine. More concerned about you being trapped, honestly."

"No, I meant earlier. That whole thing about everyone dying. That was dumb."

"Glad you noticed that." Silvia nodded.

"Besides, there's only three people who still have to die, anyway. And the player working with the staff is still out there."

"Oh, right. I guess they are." Silvia nodded calmly. "Any idea who it is?"

"Amber." Wendy replied. "Cyrus was trying not to die, and he was bleeding really badly and knocked out. Amber didn't have any damage done to her! Her clothes still looked brand new!"

"So what do you think happened?" Silvia asked. In her mind she was hesitating to press her further. But if she quit the façade at this point, the whole thing could come undone.

"Amber knocked out Cyrus and killed Eric! Or made Cyrus kill Eric and knocked him out afterwards!"

"Hmm, maybe." Silvia nodded. "It's possible." She knew the basics of the challenge Vanessa's team had to do. Something about a robot. But she knew nothing about what Amber's team did.

"So let me guess, you want me to help you kill Amber?"

"Would you?" Wendy asked.

"I mean, sure." Silvia nodded. "If someone has to die it should be them, am I right?"

"Good." Wendy replied calmly, looking at Silvia with her cloudy grey eyes. Eyes filled with more intensity than anything she saw from her.

"Well, it would suck if you were too tired to do it, right?" Silvia replied, taking Wendy's empty ice cream bowl. "So you should go to bed. I'll bring these back."

Wendy nodded, walking out the door.

"I'm guessing you can head back by yourself?" No answer was given.

"She's gone, right?"

A slightly digitized voice emerged from her watch. "She's gone?" It repeated.

Silvia looked out the door, and Wendy was walking down the street.

"Yeah, she's gone. What do you want?"