12-Mgla

          „Soooo-“, I started.

          „Oh yeah, the numbers are on the floor. You might’ve missed them since they’re very tiny and dark. They basically blend with the floor.“, Natalie said. When I listened to her now, when she talked slower, I noticed what a beautiful voice she has. I bet she’s young, probably early 20-ties or something.

          I looked at the floor closer. „Oh!“, I said when I found them. They were barely visible! How the fuck did she find them so fast?! I guess it’s true that women see better than men do... The numbers I got were 5 and 7.

          „The numbers I got were 5 and 7.“, I said. „What about yours?“

          „2 and 3.“, she said. „Now we open the doors... right?“, she wanted to confirm. „Yes.“, I replied. „Okay... We open the doors, and we take turns checking the numbers the other one got... Tho I don’t see a reason for any of us to lie.“

          „That’s exactly what a liar would say!“, she said a bit worried. Fuck! I didn’t even think about what I said-I-I-I just spit out the first thing that came up on my mind!

          What if she thinks that I’m lying now... This can ruin our well set-up team, I mean as ’well’ as it can be set up in these circumstances...

          THINK, KEN, THINK!!

          How do you fix this? This is a very important thing for me to have... If I can make her trust me and vice-versa this can turn out great in the future games... She’s smart afterall, while me and Josh are not so much...

          Let’s go over what I did... So I basically said ’Oh you can trust me, I wouldn’t lie to you’, which is the exact thing money sharks, liars and swindlers say!

          Wait a minute... money sharks and swindlers-

          „K-Ken?“, I heard her voice, „Are you trying to trick me somehow?“, she said with a bit of fear in her voice.

          „No, no, I-“

          „Prove it!“, she yelled.

          She was right. Me standing here thinking about what I said just made things even worse! She thinks that now I won’t open the doors on the side! She thinks that I lied to her just so she tells me her numbers! It’s wrong! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! SHE GOT IT ALL WRONG!! I’m not trying to trick her!! „Natalie... Just hear me out! Please!“, I tried to say calmly, but it was clear that I was panicking.

          „NO!! YOU’RE JUST LIKE HIM!! MY EX-BOYFRIEND!! He used to say all those things like ’trust me’ and ’I won’t hurt you’ or ’I wouldn’t lie to you’, yet he...“, she stopped for a moment. „H-He...“, I heard her sniff. „kh-h-he-“, I could hear her crying. Shit! I really fucked up!

          This was the worst possible scenario. Our team up is pretty much over before it ever happened! Tho... Maybe not all hope is lost... I can fix this... If she would just hear me out for one minute, it would be enough...

          „He cheated on you?“, I asked, trying to sound concerned.

          „Oh shut up! Like you would care! The only thing you care about is winning this trash game, just so you can get some quick cash and then lose it by gambling and drinking!“, she started breaking down. I... I felt really bad... Damn it!

          KEN YOU STUPID FUCK!!

          You made a girl cry for fucks sake! Who knows what she’s been through in order for her to finish at a place like this, where only losers like yourself and swindlers like Boris should be! I put my left hand on my head. I started sweating again... I always do when I’m nervous... This girl... she wouldn’t have broken down unless she really did tell me the truth about what numbers she has... This means that she was honest with me... and that she’s certain I lied to her! But there might still be a way to fix this... at least a little...

          „Listen, Natalie... This is all a big misunderstanding-“

          „Oh I understand! You bet I understand! I understand all about you and your lies!! My ex was the same... That damn cheating bastard! Why do you think I’m here, huh? Because I’m like you or your friend who went in debt because of gambling? No! I’m not like you!! He... HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!! Not only did he cheat on me with that stupid secretary, but he also robbed me! He took everything... He even tried to... well... I think you know what I mean... And I can’t do a thing about it!!“, she broke down even more... From the tone of her voice I could hear that she was about to start crying... If she would just listen to me for one minute!

          „W-What do you mean you can’t do anything? Just tell the polic-“

          „HE IS THE POLICE!! THAT’S WHY! He took my apartment, my car as well as most of the money I had! From that day I rented a cheap apartment which I could barely afford with my teacher salary... But then... Just when I thought it could not get any worse... Mgla...“

          „What?“, I asked confused.

          „Mgla“, she repeated, „polish word for ’mist’... I’m polish, you know... I moved here to study, but eventually I gave up because it was too expensive for me... And because I found a boyfriend, which I thought I will marry one day... But... well, you know the rest...“

          „So what is ’mist’ you mentioned?“, I asked her calmly. Looks like she broke down so much that she would just let anybody hear her story... I might as well do that, it will help her calm down a little... And after that I will do whatever I can to make her trust me.

          „’Mist’, or ’mgla’ on my language, is what I call the moment that made me decide to participate in these games in the first place... The mist that fell on my life... The mist that ruined it... I got fired from my job. That same day the guy who was renting me his apartment raised the rent, and I couldn’t afford it anymore... The thing is, all other apartments were either the same price or more expensive then the one I had... So what was left for me to do? Either turn to working on ’the street ’ or borrowing money. I would rather kill myself then to work on the street... So I said this to myself... I will borrow enough money to pay the rent for the next 4 months. In the meantime I either find a job... I either win enough money in these games... or I kill myself...“

          „...“, I was out of words... I-She... „That’s-“

          „’That’s not a solution.’ ’Killing yourself won’t fix anything.’ ’I’m sure there are people who care about you.’ I know that’s what you want to tell me. And then I would respond with ’My parents died.’ And ’I do not have a brother nor a sister’. Then you wouldn’t know what to say anymore. Even the shitties person on this planet doesn’t want to drive someone to commit suicide. And I know that. You might even be telling the truth. This maybe was a misunderstanding... But you see... The money I owe... The only way for me to collect enough would be to not have to pay the exit fee... Or to win around 5 or 6 games...“

          What the hell am I supposed to do now? I didn’t know she was suicidal! She had it so much worse than me! I’m here because of my own stupidness, I deserve to be here! But she... Natalie is here as her last stand... She didn’t deserve any of this! It was all a long streak of bad luck! Bad luck and misfortune! But wait... She said she wants to win in these games... but... if she really is just some unfortunate smart girl who did not have enough money for college... And, from what she said, I can suggest that she does not gamble, nor does she like gambling... Then...

          How?

          How did she find out about these games?

          I had to find out... I had to know in order for all of this to make sense! If she never went to any casinos and she did not have any super rich psycho friends, then it was impossible!! Impossible for her to just know about these games at her own! Someone had to tell her about them! Someone had to lure her here to play these games! But who? A friend? Her ex? Or some stranger?

          „Natalie, please! I beg you, hear me out! Just-Just one minute! That’s all I’m asking for!“, I managed to say out loud.

          „...“, no response.

          „Please...“

          „...“, still nothing. Silence. I will take this as a ’yes’. I got no time to waste! „Okay, Natalie, first I want to tell you that this is a big misunderstanding. I never meant any harm, and I got the way to prove it! I trust you, Natalie, I trust you told me the right numbers, but I know you don’t trust me... So I will open the doors on the side. You have to do the same thing... I know your Oxygen level will drop, but that’s just how it is. What I will do next is this: I will move from the place where my two numbers are, so you can see them clearly once you peek through the small opening when both of our doors are open. To show you that I trust you... I will not look at your numbers!“

          „kh-th-“, I heard her trying to say something, but she was in too much tears to be able to make any words with meaning. „It’s okay, take your time...“, I said. I think I did the best thing I could to fix this... Let’s hope this worked out...

          „In the meantime, I want to know one thing... How did you find out about these games?“

          „Kh-I...“, she started. „This... woman...“, she sounded weak. „Linda I think her name... was...“

          What........

          Did she just... say... Linda?

          No... No that couldn’t be... Could it?

          But if it is true... I mean there’s no reason for her to lie about it-

          „Ken...“, she said. Oh God she sounded so weak. Too weak... Something-Something was terribly wrong!

          „Natalie! Natalie, open the door!“, I yelled as I opened mine. One of the two little LED light turned on. So that’s what it meant! If it was turned on that means one of the 2 players has opened the doors on that side! This is to inform the other player... This was just the thing I needed! This-This meant Natalie knew I opened the door on my side, all she had to do was open her door! Then we could talk about this and I could calm her down! Her pressure was probably low due to all the stress, but if I could talk with her while we see each other’s face I’m sure I can calm her down! Then-Then we could talk about Linda! I had so many questions! What the hell is that woman? Why and from where does Natalie know her? Please, oh, please just open the door, Natalie! When you do we’ll-

          „Ken... My name... My full name is Natalie... Portman... Like that actress... Listen... It’s already been...“, her voice – it sounded like she was about to collapse! Her blood pressure must be really low! Please just open the damn door – „About three minutes... since... I cut my wrist...“

          My heart stopped for a moment. Was she serious?!

          „NATALIE!! OPEN THE DOOR!! “, I screamed. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! She-she must be lying, right? I mean how would she - „My piercing. I used my piercing... to do it...“

          I put my right hand on my heart and started breathing heavily.

          „Ken... Before I go... I want you to know that I am... grateful to you... At first I thought you were... like him... but you aren’t... Because of this chat with you... I realized I have no chance... When I said it out loud I... There’s no way I win these games... Even with your help... ’Cause Linda... She tricked me... I never had any chance... Ken... If you meet her... Don’t... trust...“, she sounded weaker with every word she said. Never in my life have I feared this much for a person’s life! This-This can’t be happening- I-

          „...Ken... This... is a gift for you... Win for me, will you?“, she said as I heard something -

          *click*

          I saw the second LED being lit up, as her door opened.

          The first thing I saw was her left hand, completely covered in blood. She was holding it with her right hand, which was also covered in blood, and the bleeding... Oh, God, the bleeding... It-It just wouldn’t stop!

          „W-We have to stop the bleeding-“, I said as I looked at her face.

          She was gorgeous. Tears formed on my eyes. She had a mid-length dark hair and a piercing on her nose. She was crying and smiling. She may sounded weak, but she looked like she would die if anyone even touches her. I couldn’t stand seeing her like this, her hands covered in blood, her face covered in tears, her soul shattered due to all the painful things she’s been through.

          Her entire being was a young, sad, dying girl who’s tired of life.

          „Thank you... Ken...“, she said with a sad smile on her face, as tears came down her eyes.

          She collapsed. I started screaming. Her side door automatically closed.

          I heard a beep from her cabin, as well as a few clicks. I couldn’t think straight, but this was enough for me to realize that they opened her cabin. She was disqualified now, but at least they will take her to doctor, right?

          T-They have to, they can’t just let her bleed out!

          I heard someone entering her cabin. I put my ear as close to her cabin as I could. I heard a few people rushing and getting her out of there really fast. I could pick a few words like „bandage“ or „pick her up“.

          I was right! Th-These were doctors! I was right! They will... They will help her! She collapsed but, if they stop the bleeding now, she will survive! Y-Yeah, I’m sure she will! I mean, don’t they broadcast these hellish games to those rich sick fucks? T-They won’t record someone commiting suicide, right? Then again, they do not care if somebody gets poisoned in these games. But... if they did not want to save her they would just leave her front door closed... They wouldn’t rush in with doctors and everything-

          Y-Yeah , if they didn’t care they would let her bleed out in the cabin! T-This must mean they are helping her at this very moment!

          These thoughts calmed me down a little. This was too much... I don’t think I can take these games anymore... What the hell was even going on here?

          I needed someone to talk to.

          I needed someone who would help me out figure what the hell is happening.

          So much info.

          So much stress.

          So many tears.

          I punched my front doors. „YOU MONSTERS!! “, I yelled. „MONSTERS!!“

          For the next 10 minutes or so, I continued crying.