by Amanda Adair
“I’m going to think about where and how to play,” Sofia says, “and maybe you should, too.” She gets up and disappears in between the shelves.
“And you?,” I ask Sage.
“I’m unsure,” she admits. “I don’t know what to do. We’re lucky nothing has happened to us yet.”
She’s right. We’re lucky still we have time to consider our options. We’re lucky what happened to Finna and Cris convinced us that the game isn’t as harmless as we thought. None of us knew that the game’s deadly. None of us would’ve done anything.
Their suffering is our warning.
chapter 30
Today I can’t concentrate, like I’m sick from caffeine withdrawal and lacking energy. In English I didn’t realize Mr. Boyd asked me to read a poem by William Butler Yeats out loud. (His wife, Mrs. Boyd, hasn’t taught at Horace Blake since Cris got suspended from school.) Then during lunch break I forgot my tray and wallet at checkout. Since Tansy arrived in Seneca my life has turned upside down. Nothing is the same. I’ve lost my boyfriend and I’m slowly losing my friends. One by one. First Finna, then Cris, and the next one is probably Sage.
During our chemistry lesson I am suddenly called on to come to the principal’s office. All of my classmates look at me while I leave the classroom. I have never been asked to come to the principal’s office. Because that is always a bad sign and I’m a good student. You’ve either cheated on a test, you’re parents are there to pick you up because your grandmother died, or you’ve got caught blackmailing a teacher or selling drugs.
Instead of the principal a female police officer is sitting on one of the chairs. It’s the same one that questioned me after they had found Remi.
“Aspen,” she says. “I’m Detective Mitchell. I have a few more questions for you.” She points at the chair next to her.
“Sure,” I say and sit down.
“You’ve told me you think Tansy has something to do with Remi Cavanaugh’s death,” she says. “Can you tell me why exactly you believe she caused his death?”
“I’ve told our school psychologist that I think it happened because of her,” I say. I’m not prepared for this. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Tell her about the game and sound crazy? Maybe Mrs. Jeong has already told her about it.
“Did you see her do something?,” she asks. “And with Tansy Walsh you mean Tana?”
“Yes, Tana,” I says. I want to say that Tansy knew what would happen but in Remi’s case that isn’t true. She couldn’t finish his story and that’s why he died. But this doesn’t make any sense. “She told us some scary stories about illnesses and deaths.” Should I mention Finna? “It was some game. At least that’s what she said. But Remi died shortly after.” I stop because I will probably need Tansy’s help. I can’t let her get arrested.
“There are people who think that you’ve caused Remi’s death,” she says.
Robert. For sure. “What was the cause of his death? I didn’t touch him.”
“Neither did Tansy, right?,” she says and sighs. “Aspen, sadly we still don’t know exactly why Remi died.”
I don’t say anything.
“Did you know Remi wanted to break up with you?,” she asks.
I wasn’t prepared for this question either. “No,” I say. “I mean not before he died. His brother told me.”
“Let me be honest with you,” she Detective Mitchell says. “I don’t think you have anything to do with his death. I just need you to tell me if you remember anything that could help us find out why he died.” She leans back again. “He was a young athletic boy.”
I cannot help her. I don’t have a clue what happened to him. The only thing I could tell her is that the game exists and that those deaths in Washington and Maine have something to do with all of this, too. When I leave the office again there are other students waiting outside. I’m not the only one she’s questioning today. At least I don’t have to be stared at again since the lessons are over. I’m on my way to the parking lot to drive home with Sofia and Sage when a hand wraps around my arm and drags me into the restroom.
“What the hell,” I say and break loose. “What do you want?”
Tansy kicks the toilet cabins open, one by one, to make sure no one else but us two is in the room. The doors swing open and crash into the walls. Then she turns towards me.
“Gigi’s in town,“ she says.
“So?,” I ask. “Who is Gigi?”
“One of the girls from camp,” she says. I remember the YouTube video. “What should she want here?,” she asks. “Why is she here?”
I listen to her words but instead of replying I stare at her hair. No matter how stressed she is her hair is perfectly wavy. And it shines like a freshly polished convertible. With her doll-like face and big green eyes she looks so innocent. I would call it the puppy effect. No one would reject playing a party game with her, no matter how spooky, considering her good looks.
“Is she visiting you?,” I ask.
“No,” she says. “I haven’t talked to her since camp.”
“Does it matter that she’s here?,” I ask and lean against the basin.
“There must be a reason,” she says forcefully. “People don’t just randomly show up in a town like Seneca.”
“Listen,” I say. “I don’t know what you think I know. All there is about this camp are some articles that suggest that Allie and Hannah died because of accidents and a vlog by a girl named Layla who, using fake names, told the world about a magical game that is hurting people. So, how about you tell me what happened at camp and what happened to Gigi.”
“Gigi is the one who introduced us to the game,” she says and steps closer as I step back. “She played it with us. Me, Layla, Allison and Hannah.”
“I thought you were the one who made them play it,” I say.
“I didn’t even know the game,” she protests. “I’ve never heard of it before. I think she wanted to kill Hannah and Allie because they didn’t treat her well.”
I nod to show her I understand. “Okay. Why are you telling me all of this?,” I ask.
“I just think we should be careful,” she reminds me. “I don’t know if the game’s over for me. I don’t know if it’s over as soon as something good or bad happened to someone. Nothing has happened to you yet and you should hurry up and decide what you want to do.”
She decided to risk other people’s lives. I can’t do that. I’ve caused enough harm for a lifetime.
“Maybe Gigi’s here because I survived,” she says.
I doubt Gigi would come here to kill Tansy because of the game. There are many survivors. Like Layla. Charlie and her classmates. It’s more likely that Tansy is hiding something. She hasn’t been honest with us from the start.
“What was your story?,” I suddenly ask, ignoring what she’s told me. “Why did you play the game with us? We all know now that you didn’t have a choice but I still want you to tell me the details.”
I didn’t expect her to be honest and tell me her darkest secrets. Tansy tells me about her father. Her violent father. She tells me about her mom and her grandma, about her childhood and the years she was homeschooled and finally she tells me what happened to her after she played the game again. I can see the joy in her eyes. I can see relief and hope. In this moment I understand why she didn’t have a choice.
Tana Sydney Rhodes is reminded of her parentage whenever she hears or reads her own surname.
Rhodes.
Every time she listens to the sound of the name she can’t breathe. She’s afraid he might be around. It’s the name of her father, the one she hates. She hates knowing him and she hates having half of his genes. What she hates most is that he’s still alive and breathing. No, what she hates most is that someone else is barely alive and breathing.
Her mom. It was him. He beat the hell out of her, so she ended up in a hospital. She ended up in a coma to be precise.
She wasn’t at home when it happened. She was out with friends
because her mom wanted her to have fun, just like her grandma does now. She blamed herself for not being there for her. She could’ve stop him. Her father was looking for Tana, not for her mom. And because she wasn’t there he freaked out and got more violent than ever before.
He’s always been a difficult man but at some point he started abusing her. He was screaming at her, treating her like a slave. Whatever Tana wanted she had to ask her father first. He mom didn’t have her own voice and opinion anymore.
Today, months later, as Tana sits next to her bed and grabs her hand, she opens her eyes. Her big green eyes that look like a replica of Tana’s.
Tana, she says and smiles.
In that very moment her daughter is the happiest human being that has ever existed. She has her mom back, her one and only mother. The person she adores most. They will still be afraid of him, will have to fight for their freedom, but now Tana isn’t on her own anymore.
“When I moved to Cherokee,” she tells me, “I became Tansy Walsh. I didn’t want to be Tana Sydney Rhodes anymore. It’s my mother’s maiden name. And Tansy was my nickname as a child. I hate the name Rhodes because I hate my father. It reminds me of him and what he’s done to my mom. Most people back home know what had happened, but they don’t believe it’s him who did it. He told everyone she’s fallen down the stairs in our house. No one cares about the truth because he’s a police officer. His colleagues love him because he’s generous and he keeps their secrets, too. He keeps quiet when they should be arrested for drunk driving. He keeps quiet when they cheat on their wives. He’s not a good man and I’m ashamed to be his daughter. I’m so happy I have my mom back. I thought she would die. I thought I would lose her.”
It must be horrible what she’s been going through. I can’t imagine losing my mother. And that’s why I can’t allow the game to kill me.
chapter 31
“Never have I ever said ‘I love you’ just to get laid,” Benji says. He’s part of the Football team and I’ve met him at Remi’s several times. As none of us reaches out for their cup he adds, “you have to be honest, otherwise the game doesn’t work.”
“Are we seriously sitting here, playing another game?,” Sofia whispers into my ear. “As if the last game we played hasn’t ruined out lives already.”
I ignore her and turn towards Tansy who sits on the other side. “Why do you assume Gigi would show up here?”
We’re at Blaize’s again. When we got here he greeted us with a casual “there’s the girl with the bag and the girl who stole the bag. Interesting.” Then he told us he’s happy to have us at his house again. Deep down he’s a nice guy and not a douche bag like most guys in Seneca.
“She could show up anywhere,” Tansy replies. “Seneca’s small. If she knows people here she will show herself at some point.”
Thanks for your precise response, I think but the phrase that I spit out is, “if you dare to play the game again today we will stop you.”
“I’m not that crazy,” she says. “I’ve just played the game so I could have my mom back.”
“Never have I ever lied to a friend,” Benji says.
“Never,” Blaize says at the same time as Trisha says, “guilty.”
I stare at the pattern of the carpet. It looks like an Arabic carpet with its red and golden circles and curved lines. The rest of this house is modern, maybe even futuristic, just this carpet and some of the vases and lamps seem vintage.
I bend forward to reach my cup. I drink. Out of the corner of my eye I see that Tansy’s drinking as well.
“Never have I ever stolen something,” Trisha says while staring at me.
“Are you seriously looking at Aspen?,” Tansy asks and makes Trisha blush. You can barely see her red cheeks due to her dark skin, but I can see it in her eyes that she’s embarrassed. She thought we still didn’t like each other.
“Never have I ever been in handcuffs,” I say to de-escalate.
Only Benji grabs his cup. “None of you, really?,” he asks in disbelief. “Okay.” He shakes his head and empties his cup. “I need some more.”
“Tell me what you know about Amaris,” I say to Tansy.
“Alright, but I haven’t found anything that could help any of those who are cursed,” she says. “And we need to go somewhere else.”
Without another word I grab my cup and get up. I don’t check if she’s following me but when I go outside on the patio and turn around Tansy is with me. Through the huge window façade I see Sofia and Sage sitting inside the living room. Sage is staring at us. She probably wants to know what we’re talking about. I want to know where Cris is.
“The only thing I found was a short story by a writer called S.T. Pearson,” Tansy says. “It’s over a hundred years old and he’s writing about a fifteen-year-old girl named Amaris. I’ve told you about it at Remi’s house. Her sister is sick, so she begs God to help her and heal her sister. After weeks she stops praying but she doesn’t want to give up. Since God doesn’t do anything she started worshipping the devil. A pact with Satan then saves her sisters life.”
“That’s bullshit,” I accidently say instead of just thinking it. “This can’t be based on a short story.”
“No, the short story is based on the girl and her game,” Tansy says and looks at the stars, at the moon above our heads. “The game seems to be old and maybe this S.T. Pearson knew of the background story.”
“We need someone who knows how to escape the game and its curse,” I say. “Not some bedtime story we can tell our children and grandchildren in case we survive.” I remind myself that she has already survived. She’s free, why would she want to help me, help us?
“What?,” she asks.
I’m not exactly blessed with a poker face. Others can instantly tell my mood, my emotions and probably most of my thoughts.
“Why would you want to help us?,” I ask. “You could just enjoy your life without mom.”
“Believe me, I do. But it’s me who didn’t think about the consequences. Being afraid of losing my mom and being beaten up by my dad was the greatest incentive. It’s another matter that I’ve completely ignored the curse and just told you to play the game again. As if there’s nothing else I could do.” She pauses to take a breath. “I can at least tell you all I know.”
For a second I wonder if Gigi shouldn’t be considered a murderer even though no one can prove her guilt. Even though she didn’t drown or burn these girls herself, with her own hands. Her purpose wasn’t to save her mom or her own life. She was selfish.
“Gigi wasn’t forced to play the game, right?,” I ask but I don’t expect an answer. “So, she just came across it and thought it’s a chance to get rid of two mean girls.”
“Sure, I guess,” is all Tansy has to say.
I hear a branch crack shortly before Sage’s voice appears next to my ear, “what are you two doing?”
When I turn my head our noses almost touch. She’s standing right behind me. She must’ve come near very quietly. Due to the darkness out here we couldn’t see her.
“We’re still playing Never have I ever,“ she says and rolls her eyes. “The last one was ‘never have I ever had a crush on my teacher’.”
“Wow,” I say trying to sound as bored as possible. “Did anyone drink? Let me guess. Benji did.”
“Of course,” she says. “Wanna know what teacher? Because he told us. It’s Mrs. Boyd.”
“Don’t say her name,” I tell her. “Because of her Cris can’t go to school anymore.”
“Because of Cris Cris can’t go to school,” she corrects me. “Come inside.” She looks at Tansy, then at me. “Or would you rather leave and go somewhere else?”
I shake my head but then I say, “I’m not sure.” I turn towards Tansy before we walk back inside. “
“Maybe there’s a way to contact Amaris without playing,” I say.
“You should give it a try,” she replies.
I’m almost disappointed when she says you instead of w
e. I expected her to support us, but I keep forgetting that she doesn’t have anything left to be afraid of. Sure, her father but nothing related to the game. I don’t want to feel alone anymore. I don’t want to fight this on my own.
chapter 32
There are those nights that I lie awake in my bed. Tonight is one of them and their frequency is increasing. It has become epidemic lately. My head is still processing everything I’ve learned today, and my eyes can’t be closed no matter how hard I try.
At two a.m. I decide to sit up and walk downstairs. I’m thirsty.
Whenever I can’t sleep I’m thirsty. But no amount of water can help me fall asleep, not even a waterfall. I fill a glass with tab water and empty it. When I walk past the front door towards the stairs I hear a noise. I assume it’s coming from outside. There’s rarely anyone outside that late.
I turn right and walk towards the front door instead of the stairs. Without thinking about what might wait for me out there I grab the doorknob and open the door. No one is there. As I want to close the door I wince as something moves in front of me.
Holy shit, I think. You got me. It’s just a little bird. Good night, I think.
About six hours later I’m at Horace Blake again. When I walk down the hallway now I have a very different feeling than during those past years. I’ve always felt safe, but I don’t feel comfortable in these corridors and rooms anymore.
Until now, until today, I can’t walk over the meadow behind the main building. It hurts to know that Remi died there. His parents prevent the authorities from releasing his corpse. They want to know why he died, and they want another autopsy. And I would love to tell them it wasn’t his health and it wasn’t because of drugs. It was a cure. A murder.
But no one would ever believe me. I could end up in a mental hospital.