The Sitting Game

One of the Thoughts

Not again.

Almost An Interrogation Room

It was not an interrogation room. It looked like one. It felt like one. It wasn’t one.

The single pool of an almost medical yet grimy light spilling over a group of people slumped in a circle of chairs was not an expression of justice. The thirty-minute timer overlooking them from a wall was not a trick along the lines of good cop, bad cop. The substance used to knock said six people unconscious was not a secretly approved drug just for cases like these.

It was something else.

A game?

The first of the people awoke.

It was a young man named Raff, early twenties. He was a buzz-cut-wearing, wouldn’t-trust-him-to-hold-a-baby kind of guy. He yanked at the Velcro, hard, and swore.

Another young man opened his eyes, William. He looked too proper to be there, clad in a white button-up shirt and oxford shoes.

“Would you happen to know what’s going on here?” he asked in the poshest British, which indicated he came from a long line of Oxford graduates (which explained the shoes) and also made Raff want to punch him.

Raff said nothing, just continued working on the straps. William studied his own hands, Velcroed at the wrists to the arms of his metal chair.

The third to wake was a rough and tough girl in a workout jersey. Despite her appearance, her eyes were sharp and her name was Maria. She frowned.

Raff ripped the strap off his left arm, the sound harsh in the small space.

“Who are you guys? Why are we like this?” Maria asked.

William took to the conversation like a fish to water. “All good questions really. I’m Will but I don’t know anybody else here. Nor do I have any clue as to why we’re like this. You?”

Maria looked around at their circle. Three people were still out of it. She shook her head to William’s questions.

The fourth to wake was a skinny, jittery guy with darting eyes. He gasped into consciousness and began shaking and muttering unintelligibly.

“You ok, bud?” Maria asked. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Rusty shook his head.

Raff started on the second strap.

The last two people woke simultaneously. Meadow was a young girl, barely eighteen, clad in thrift-store homemade overalls and glasses that looked to have been broken and repaired at least half a dozen times. The other girl, Nikkie, was the opposite of Meadow in every way. She was a little older but perfectly put together in the latest fashion trends of the west coast. Her impeccable neon cat eye was the only pop of color in the room.

As soon as Nikkie was fully awake, she moved to stand but the straps stopped her. “Oh, God. Why am I tied to a chair?”

Maria tugged at her own strap. “Welcome to the club.”

“Jesus,” Nikkie said.

The voice that answered her was a loud boom of laughter through the speakers above. It was deep and amused. “Not quite. But now that all of you are awake, let our little game begin.”

So the Game Begins

Raff had managed to free himself and was about to stand but the voice tsked. “If you want to live, remain seated and follow the instructions under your chairs.”

Raff stopped just in time. “What the–”

“Ready, begin,” the voice said. It could have been a man, it could have been a woman, it was impossible to tell because it sounded like they were using a voice changing program, like in some documentaries where the person wanted to keep their identity hidden.

The timer that had been frozen at thirty minutes came to life, red numbers counting down.

“Wait,” William called.

“What the fuck? Hey, you psycho!” Raff shouted but Big Brother was gone.

Rusty began to hyperventilate.

“Who are you? Come back.” Maria studied the ceiling as if she could see beyond the dark and the concrete.

Raff swore again and reached under his chair. He pulled out a piece of paper. Maria and William, who had also gotten free from their Velcro cuffs, followed suit, while the others struggled. Rusty tugged at his straps like a madman, cutting his skin.

Raff began to read. “‘The six of you can survive if all of you stand at the same time before the timer runs out.’ What the hell kind of joke is this?”

“Is this a prank show for famous YouTubers?” Nikkie asked.

“I only have 41 followers,” Maria answered. “So not likely.”

“Then what? Kidnapping?”

“There’s more.” William straightened his own piece of paper to continue reading off the instructions. They all had gotten the same ones. “‘If even one remains seated at the end, everyone will die except the person sitting. You can’t all remain sitting.’”

Rusty broke free and reached for the paper under his own chair, eyes wide with panic.

Maria continued. “‘If you don’t want to gamble anymore, you can be the first to stand at any time and be guaranteed an exit from this game.’ That’s all.”

They gaped at one another. Rusty looked broken.

William swallowed and cleared his throat. “Ok, then. Would anyone care to explain?”

“Here’s a translation for you,” Raff growled, “we’re all going to DIE.”

“Or you know,” Maria said, “we can all just stand.”

Raff snorted and crossed his arms like a giant fortress.

“It doesn’t have to be that hard,” Maria continued.

Raff rolled his eyes. “Life doesn’t have to be that hard but people are shit and I ain’t going to put my life in your hands.”

“I will stand,” Maria said defensively.

“Yeah, but what are you going to do if I don’t? Or that beauty queen over there?”

William decided to intervene because the clock was ticking. Five minutes had already passed by. “Alright. None of us is as smart as all of us. Let’s think of solutions. Could this be one of our friends?”

“Shit, what kind of friends do you keep around?” Raff asked.

Meadow was so quiet that they barely heard her when she suggested calling 911. But William heard. “Brilliant, see, we’re getting somewhere.” He whipped out his phone but his expression soured fast. “No signal.”

Others faced similar results.

“Maybe they want money,” Nikkie said. She looked up. “I’ll give you everything in my savings and all the earnings from one of my most viral videos.”

No answer.

“All of my viral videos.”

Still nothing.

“Name your price, mate, my mother can pay anything,” William said, his voice just edging on desperation.

“Hey, you listening?” Raff yelled. “A lot of money’s being offered here.”

But Big Brother didn’t care.

“Let’s just all agree to stand, ok?” Maria said. “We’re a team here.”

“Are we?” Raff asked.

“Yes. How about I introduce myself? Cultivate trust.”

“This ain’t some escape room shit.”

Maria ignored him. “My name’s Maria Velez. I’m a basketball player and yesterday I waved at someone who wasn’t waving at me and I thought my life sucked. But perspectives, am I right?”

William smiled. They began introducing themselves clockwise.

“Nice to meet you, Maria. I’m William Emsworth and I thought a trip to Los Angeles would be fun.” He laughed bitterly.

“I’m Raff and I don’t want to die.”

“I’m Nikkie.”

Maria cocked her head. “Aren’t you going to say more? Like how many followers you have? Or what kind of YouTuber you are.”

Nikkie laughed nervously. “Two million. I’m a beauty vlogger.”

“Girl.”

Raff wasn’t impressed. “Are you sure it’s not one of your crazy fans doing fuck knows what?”

“Why are you here then, sis?” She glanced around the room. “Or any of you?”

Raff crumpled up the paper.

William gestured for Meadow to continue.

“Um, I’m Meadow.” She was self-conscious even in this situation and it was obvious she hated herself for it.

“Is that all?” William asked.

Meadow nodded, her head tucked in between her shoulders.

Maria looked at Rusty on her right. “And you?”

He stared at the floor, having quieted down like a cheap wind-up toy. “Rusty.”

William and Raff exchanged looks of distrust.

“Ok, good,” Maria said, “now on the count of three, we all stand. It’ll be over before you know it.”

Raff inconspicuously nodded his chin toward Rusty. For all her optimism, Maria was also uncertain.

“I’m with Maria,” William said. “Let’s do this.”

Raff sighed.

Maria nodded. “On the count of three. One. Two.”

Everyone glanced at one another, teetering on the edges of their chairs.

“The game can never win the game!” Rusty cried.

Everyone stopped. Rusty curled into himself like the Gollum.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Raff roared.

"What do you mean th game can never win the game?" Maria prodded. "Rusty, please. You know something, don't you?"

A loud half-time buzzer rang out.

Panicked eyes found the timer. There were only fifteen minutes left.

Nikkie turned to Rusty, pleading and angry, but mostly terrified. “Ok boy, come on.”

“The game can never win the game,” he said again and again.

“Rusty, if you know something, tell us,” William pleaded.

Rusty shut his eyes. Tears slid down his cheeks as he shook his head. “I don’t want to be game anymore.”

Raff tensed but before he or anyone could react, Rusty stood up.

And Then There Were Five

Raff gasped. “What are you doing, man? Fuck. Sit back down.”

Maria’s mouth hung open. William didn’t fare well either but better than Meadow and Nikkie, both of whom looked sick.

Big Brother’s laugh boomed overhead once more. “Congratulations, you are free.”

A door opened at the back of the room. Rusty shuffled out, crying.

“This changes the rules,” Big Brother said. “Not all of you will make it out alive now but there is still a chance for some of you. For the one who betrayed, one must remain seated and sacrifice their life. Ready, begin.”

A hellish eleven glimmered to life on the timer.

“Well shit,” Raff said.

Nikkie was quiet as she began to cry. “I can’t die.” She shook her head and wiped at her smudging makeup.

“No one’s dying yet,” Maria said.

“One of us has to,” Nikkie snapped.

A heavy silence descended on all of them.

Maria was a fighter. She never lost a championship. Even when her girls’ morale was low, she was their captain, she lifted it and carried them to victory. She couldn’t give up. “We’ll think of a way,” she said. “Will?”

William’s hair was now disheveled from the sheer number of times he had run his hand through it. He looked like he barely heard her.

“Can you try calling your mother again?”

He took out his phone but shook his head. Still no service.

Meadow’s soft sobs filled the silence.

“This is terrifying,” William said quietly.

“No,” Maria shook her head. “This can’t be it, right? We just die like this?”

Nikkie laughed but it was a little, hysterical thing full of disbelief. Raff stared down at his intertwined hands.

“This feels like a nightmare,” Nikkie said.

“If our bodies are ever found…” Maria started, forced to face the inevitable. “My mom. She'll never know how much I loved her.”

William cleared his throat, trying to hold back his own growing panic and sorrow. “Maybe we could record video messages.” He looked up at the ceiling. “You will deliver them, won’t you? This is the least we deserve.”

Meadow tried to quiet her shaking sobs. “I don’t– I don’t have a phone.”

“You can use mine,” Nikkie said.

Meadow nodded.

The timer ticked down to eight minutes.

Nikkie found the best selfie-angle and began. “Dad, I’m sorry I was a bitch the other day and wrecked Nate’s car but he always hated it anyway. He’s just too nice to say anything. Anyway, if um, oh wow. Wow. I can’t believe I’m about to say this but… if you’re watching this video, I’m probably dead. And I want you to know that I loved you so much. And I’m sorry I was so busy and on edge all the time. I’m sorry. I love you. I love you so much.”

She wanted to say more but the timer was counting down and no words came to her. She handed the phone to Meadow.

“Dawn, I’m not tired of you. I wish I could say this to your face and have you roll your eyes at me. Don’t feel bad. I’m not mad at you. Take care of Mammy and Dad. I love you all.”

William sat up straighter. “Mum, I think Edward is a good man, he… I don’t think he’s a gold digger. I was being selfish. You deserve to be happy. I see that now.”

Maria spoke in Spanish. “Don’t be sad, Mama. Please. God will have me under his wing but it hurts me to think of what will happen to you if you fall into despair. We will meet again. I love you.”

Raff turned his phone over and over again and when his turn came to record, he only said, “I’ll stay.”

William’s head snapped to him faster than it seemed possible. “What?”

“No,” Maria breathed.

“Yes. I don’t have a family. My friends… they have their own lives. I spend half my life drunk and the other half waiting for something good to happen. Maybe–”

“Raff,” Maria started.

Meadow squeezed the hem of her skirt.

“Promise me you will stand, all of you. I don’t want any dumb shit to waste my sacrifice.”

They said nothing.

“Promise me.”

William nodded. Meadow did too. Then Nikkie. Maria looked at him longer.

The timer was down to twenty seconds. The white light overhead turned read. The room was awash in blood.

“Maria,” Raff warned.

When the timer was at ten seconds, she nodded.

Raff stretched his neck from side to side as if psyching himself up for a fight.

Nobody took their eyes off him.

Five seconds.

Breaths came out uneven.

FOUR.

Lips pursed into straight lines.

THREE.

Tears welled up.

TWO.

Raff closed his eyes.

ONE.

The Game Can Never Win the Game

The room plunged into darkness for a long minute. But when the light came on Raff was still there. He opened one of his eyes.

Maria, William, Meadow, and Nikkie were still seated in their chairs, their own eyes shut.

“You dumbasses.” Raff let out a sound that was both an angry growl and relieved laughter.

Everyone else opened their eyes. Nikkie touched her body to make sure this wasn’t a post-mortem hallucination. Meadow and William laughed. Maria sat back and rested her head on the back of a chair for a second, taking in her victory. Their victory.

William readied to stand. “Should we?”

They all got up, wary like newborn calves.

There was clapping from above.

“I was thoroughly impressed by your loyalty. It will be fun to break. Now, let’s play another game.”

Another Game

Raff awoke in another room. It was dark save for one grimy light. There were five other people there, slumped in their chairs.

He shook his head ready to heave.

Not again.