Death or Dollars

“Hello and welcome to death or dollars!” The game show host booms and we all laugh.

It’s kind of a weird name, but when your mom is working two shifts to try and support you it’s kind of your duty to help in any way you can.

“Let’s meet our contestants!” The host continues and makes his way over to our tables. “Here we have,” He points to another contestant.

“I’m Allison.”

“Allison, welcome! What made you apply to be a contestant in death or dollars?”

“Well, it’s always been my dream to compete on a show. And plus I could use the money.”

“Wonderful! Moving on,” The host moves around the tables and meets with all of the other people.

There’s a 30 year old newlywed, a 35 year old teacher, a 60 year old retired man and me.

The 18 year old girl fresh out of high school.

“And our final contestant, Emily!” He walks over to me. “What’s your story?”

I take a deep breath. “I’m here to support my mom, she’s the best parent I could ask for and I want to help her in any way I can.” I say quickly.

“You all seem to have good motives for applying but do you have the skill to win?” We all nod uncertainly. “I sure hope so! This show would be so boring if you couldn’t put up a fight.”

Everyone looks around confused. That’s an odd way to say you need to be smart to win.

“Now let’s get started!” He cheers. “The first question goes to you Chris.” The host points to the newlywed. “What is one course your husband took in university?”

“That seems awfully personal for a tv show question, but if you want the answer he took geography.” Chris stammers.

A buzzer sounds and the room is filled with green lights for a few seconds.

“The first correct answer! You win 200 dollars!” The host cheers and some numbers appear on Chris’s table.

“Next question is for Jenna.”

The teacher.

“What’s the worst mark a student has ever gotten in your class?” “That’s also a personal question. I guess if I don’t tell you the students name, I had a student with a failing grade before.” She replies.

The buzzer and green lights start again.

“200 dollars for you! Our next contest is Patrick, Patrick, why did you get fired from your job?”

“I’m not going to answer that.”

The room fills with a red light.

“Wrong answer! That’s your first strike.”

A red x appears on Patrick’s table. When the x appears a jolt of electricity shoots up from Patrick’s table and he shakes.

“Moving on, Emily! Our youngest contestant yet! Tell me Emily, who was your first crush?”

I pause. I haven’t come out to my mom yet, should I lie and say it was a guy?

“I-it was a guy in grade 5.” I lie.

The red buzzer goes off.

“I think you misunderstood the question. Who was your first crush? No lies this time.”

I take a deep breath. If I have to come out to win I guess mom won’t mind.

“It was actually a girl in grade 7.” I sigh.

The green light flashes.

“That’s the real answer we were looking for! Thank you for cooperating.” A number appears on my table and he walks away. “Allison, why did you light the fire?”

Allison's entire face goes red. “How do you know about that?”

“Answer the question.”

“I lit it because I was done with that place.”

This show is getting really personal. It’s probably too late to back out.

“Chris, have you ever wanted to kill someone?”

It actually kind of sounds like truth or dare, I play that with my friends all the time.

“No.” Chris answers.

“Not once? Not once in your entire life. That’s a lie. What about when you were 16? That incident?”

A red x shows up on Chris’s table. He gets the electric shock.

“Make sure to tell the whole truth next time.” He moves to another table.

“Patrick, when did you start hiding money from your wife? And what do you do with it?”

“I’m not going to answer that either.”

“So you don’t deny it.” The host smirks.

The red lights flash and another jolt of electricity shoots up. A red x appears.

“Jenna, when did you plan on telling your husband that Liza isn’t his child?”

“What are you talking about? Of course she is!”

“What did I say about lying?? If you lie you will be punished.”

A hand comes out of the wall and grabs Jenna’s arm. I hear a loud crack and the arm retracts.

“You lied, and you didn’t answer the question. That’s a strike.”

The red lights flash and Jenna gets hit with an electric shock.

My breathing starts getting shaky. Is the death or dollars more than just a quirky name? Is signing up for this show a death sentence? “Emily!” The host says and I jump a little.

I’m scared.

“You told your friends you were moving out of town so they would try to talk to you correct? When in reality you’re living with your mother in a camper in the same town. Why did you lie?”

“I-I guess I knew I wouldn't be able to see them often and I didn't want them to feel like it was their fault.”

“Lie!”

The same arm that grabbed Jenna shoots out and grabs my left arm. I cry out in pain and the crack rings through my ears.

“It was all self preservation, you didn’t want their pity. You didn’t want them to see you as a failure. But in the end, you did fail them.” I feel a couple of tears fall down my face from the physical and emotional pain.

“That’s an x for you Emily.”

The x appears and my whole body lights up with pain from the electric shock. The other contestants look over at me sympathetically. I stand up and try to shake away the rest of the shock. The host walks over to Chris but my ears are ringing and I can’t hear what he’s saying.

The room flashes red and I hear a scream.

The whole world is going slightly blurry and I can’t focus.

“Patrick.”

The words sound distorted and distant. More red.

I look over and see Patrick on the ground, unmoving. Is he, is he dead?

Two men come out from backstage and drag his lifeless figure away. The floor shines with the crimson of fresh blood.

Oh my god. He’s dead. They killed him. And I might be next.

“Emily, are you well enough to stand?” I shakily get to my feet. “Why did you never tell your friend you had a crush on her?”

“B-because she’s my best friend. T-that’s weird.” I stammer.

“Wrong again! You really need to stop lying. Bring her a chair.” He snaps his fingers.

The same two men bring me a chair and sit me down.

“Now, the punishment for lying.”

The arm comes out and grabs my leg. I scream again and look down to see my leg hanging limply.

“There’s more to come, you didn’t answer the question. It wasn’t stupid morals or her feelings that kept your from telling her. Again, it was your image. You were scared for yourself.”

Another red x appears on my table and the electric shock comes back.

I grit my teeth and try not to scream again. 

The host moves on. I hear a loud noise so I look over. Chris is on the ground, he was the next victim.

He gets dragged away and adds to the puddle of blood that’s slowly growing on the floor.

There’s no more green lights. No more cheers. The entire room in blood red and the stench of metal almost makes me gag.

It’s just me, Jenna and Allison now.

I hear the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

It’s just me and Allison now.

Oh god, why did I sign up for this? I didn’t even know what the show was, I just saw an opportunity to help my mom out with some money and took it. I’m such an idiot. I’m a greedy idiot. If only I had my friends still. They could have talked me out of it. And now I’m going to die.

“Ah, Emily.” The host walks up to me. The last person who will ever talk to me again.

“How does it feel to be the youngest contestant? I’m sure there’s loads of pressure to make sure your age group is represented properly. Do you think you’re doing a good job? Do you regret signing up for this?” He says with a glint in his eye.

“Why do you do this?” I whisper.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Why do you do this?” I repeat, as loud as I can.

He smiles. “I’m glad you asked. Have you ever wondered why you’ve never seen this show on tv before? That’s because it doesn’t exist on your world."

He spins around and when I see his face again it’s completely different. This guy is a demon.

“This is entertainment at it’s finest where I’m from." He smirks. “You get a bunch of greedy humans who will do anything to get their hands on some cash and then pick them off one by one. And plus we get to hear all about your life, all about the skeletons in your closet. You reveal everything about yourself right before you die. Did you learn something new about yourself today?” He laughs. “Now for your final question, if you had to choose between dying yourself or your best friend dying, what would you do?”

I freeze. “I would die.” I say.

The host raises an eyebrow and waves his hand. I feel a sharp pain in the center of my chest.

I look down and see the glint of a blade sticking through my chest. It slides out and I crash to the ground. I start losing blood quickly, there’s nothing else I can do. I never found out if I was lying during that last question.

I close my eyes and feel myself slip from the land of the living and fall towards the kingdom of death.