16. Self-Made Rules

Gomut, maintaining his eerie, expressionless mask, continued.

“I will not bother explaining the general rules, as I assume you all know them. Truth means you have to tell the truth; Dare means you have to perform a task. We will be playing in rounds.

Each round will consist of six players. Me, Dan, and Gen will be playing in every single round, while the other three spots will cycle through the rest of you. And for those of you wondering how that cycle works...” He paused, his gaze locking directly onto Stuart.

A thin smile stretched across his face as he added, “We will sit against each other. The three of us will sit on this side.” Gomut pointed at his feet, completely ignoring his own rhetorical question. “While the three of you—” Gomut extended his index finger, sweeping it across the remaining captives, “—will sit directly in front of us. Then, we will spin this revolver on the ground.”

He tapped the metal of the gun in his hand.

“Whoever the barrel points to will be the one executing the Dare or answering the Truth. Whoever the handle points to will give the command. After exactly three spins, the three people opposite us will swap out.”

Gomut began to turn back toward his comrades, then paused halfway as if a sudden thought had struck him. “Oh, and yes. A Dare must be successfully concluded within one minute. Refusal to complete a task will carry the death penalty. The exact same penalty applies to dishonesty.”

Stuart ran the numbers quickly in his head. … That’s actually not terrible. There’s only a one-in-six probability of being the doer, and if I get picked, I can just choose truth. How could he possibly confirm whether I’m telling the truth or lying anyway? He’s an idiot. And the odds of me being picked for the hot seat on the very first spin are just 16.7%. I can survive this shitty game.

While some were frantically calculating how to outsmart the rules and others were paralyzed with fear, everyone took comfort in the fact that only three of them had to play at a time. The rest could wait in the wings. Perhaps Gomut would get bored or change his mind before their turn came up.

But they didn't have time to overthink it. Gomut, Gen, and Dan sat down cross-legged onto the stone floor. With a cheerful, mocking smile, Gomut snapped his fingers and pointed at three distinct targets in the lineup.

“You! You! And You!”

He was pointing directly at Soya, May, and Stuart.

May offered no outward reaction. Her face was a mask of utter dejection as she quietly walked forward and sat directly across from Gen, the short guard in the black clothes. Soya hesitated for a fraction of a second before stepping forward to sit across from Dan, whose white shirt was stained and whose face was heavily bruised from Violet’s fists.

Stuart, however, was internally traumatized. How in the world did I get picked first? Why did that bastard choose me? Because I asked him nicely? I knew it—I shouldn’t have called him 'sir.' Trying to copy Edward's polite military act was a total mistake.

Gomut watched with satisfaction as the three captives took their places. With a bright, cheerful smile, he clapped his hands. “Let’s play!”

He placed the heavy revolver flat on the stone floor between the two rows of three and gave it a violent flick.

SHHH… RINGG…!

The gun spun rapidly, blurring into a metallic circle before it began to wobble and lose momentum. It slid to a halt, pointing sideways into the empty space where no one was sitting.

Stuart, May, and Soya all let out a collective, silent breath. Two more spins to go.

Gomut reached down and spun it a second time.

SHHH… RINGG…!

The revolver whirled against the floor, slowed down, and wobbled to a stop. Once again, it pointed sideways, into the vacant gap between the two lines.

Joy surged through the three captives. Just one more spin, and none of us had to face the hot seat.

Gomut chuckled softly and spun the weapon for the third time.

SHHH… RINGG…!

The fast-spinning gun began to wobble, its metallic ring echoing inside the cellar walls until it finally came to rest. This time, the barrel was pointing directly at Gomut.

The handle was pointing straight at Stuart.

Soya and May practically leaped out of their skins with internal relief, though they forced their faces to remain completely blank.

Stuart was ecstatic. Perfect! I get to give the order. I’ll just ask him a safe question. I don't care about a dare, and he'd probably just execute us if I dared him to set us free.

With newfound confidence, Stuart opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. He pondered for a brief moment, framing his words carefully, before looking Gomut in the eye.

“What do you choose?”

“Let’s start with Truth,” Gomut replied smoothly.

Stuart swallowed hard, his throat dry. “I ask you the Truth: what would you have done if I gave you a Dare to set us all free?”

Gomut’s smile widened, and he burst into a loud, booming laugh. “You are far too smart! Haha! Haha! Excellent question!” He paused, his laughter cutting off instantly as his face went deadpan. “I would kill you. Because that would be incredibly annoying to do. And there is absolutely no need to follow the orders of a dead man, is there?”

Stuart’s face remained entirely expressionless, but inside, he was reeling. I am so glad I asked him that first. Phew… now everyone here knows the stakes. Thank god.

Believing the third spin was over and the round had concluded, Stuart began to push himself up from the floor. Seeing him rise, Soya and May naturally started to stand up with him.

But Gomut’s voice sharply cut through the air. “Where do you think you're going? Aren’t you going to give me a Dare?”

May and Soya froze, sinking back down to the floor. Stuart remained half-standing, utterly bewildered. “We have to do both? Isn’t the game either one or the other?”

Gomut shook his head, looking amused. “That would be Truth or Dare. I explicitly stated at the very beginning that this game is called Truth and Dare. Now, tell me, what must I do?”

Stuart couldn't even hide his baffled expression. What?! When were you planning on telling us that rule? After we died?

Forcing his facial muscles under control, Stuart adjusted his strategy. “I give you a Dare: tell me exactly where we are located.”

Gomut raised the outer corners of his eyebrows, a smirk playing on his lips. “Isn’t that just another question? Not a task.”

Stuart replied simply, having already anticipated the loophole. “Speaking is a physical activity requiring the movement of a body part—specifically, the mouth. Therefore, it qualifies as an action.”

Gomut nodded, genuinely appreciating Stuart’s quick wit. “I love how fast your brain works. But you forgot to specify that I had to answer the dare truthfully. Hahah.”

Stuart deliberately let a look of shock cross his face. Yeah, right. Like hell I was going to add that. If I had backed you into a corner, you would have shot me and claimed I was being annoying.

Gomut shrugged and answered, “Since you want to know so eagerly, I will tell you honestly. We are far to the north, completely surrounded by wasteland and snow. There are no human settlements anywhere near us. As far as I know, there are none at all.”

Stuart repeated the words silently in his mind, a cold weight settling in his stomach. No human settlements near us.

With a grim sigh, he started to stand up fully, but Gomut reached down and flicked the revolver into a fresh spin before barking at the trio:

“Where are the three of you going? We still have two more turns left in this round.”