17. Good Boy

Stuart was in absolute denial… Don’t tell me we have to keep playing. No… no… We have to sit here until two more people answer a Truth and execute a Dare? Only then will we be rotated out? It’s simply devious. Oh god, why did I have to be the first to play this shit?

Soya was terrified, convinced she would be the next target, but fear kept her glued to the floor. May sat back down as well, grinding her teeth in anxious silence.

….

Seeing the utter despair written across all three of their faces, Gomut shot a side-glance toward Gen. “Get ready! You might be next.”

Gen understood exactly what that meant, nodding with a joyous expression that made him look like a little child who had just been promised a lollipop.

Then, Gomut spun the revolver.

SHHH… RINGG…!

The gun, which had been spinning fast, started to wobble and stop. It pointed sideways, into the empty space where no one was sitting.

Gomut spun it again.

SHHH… RINGG…!

The fast-spinning weapon wobbled and clicked to a halt. This time, the barrel was pointing directly toward May, and the handle was pointing straight at Dan.

May tensed up instantly, her heart hammering as she braced for whatever horrific survival task was about to demanded her. But contrary to her worst fears, Dan addressed her in a remarkably gentle tone.

“Miss, may I know your name?”

May stammered, her voice trembling. “Is… i… is that the question you want to ask?”

Dan nodded with a polite smile, though it looked deeply grotesque stretched across his bruised, battered face.

“M… May,” she answered, stuttering through the syllables. Despite the tremor in her voice, a wave of profound relief washed over her features.

Dan muttered softly, “May… May.”

Then, with a sharp smile, he turned his eyes toward Stuart. “You are Stuart, right?”

Stuart nodded slowly in agreement.

Dan spoke up, his voice carrying a joyful ring that completely betrayed the painful state of his face. He looked back at May. “Miss, I Dare you to make Stuart clean your feet with his tongue and drink the remaining water right in front of us.”

Stuart was completely paralyzed with shock. What? Why me? Why do I have to be the one executing a dare? What the heck is this? And why on earth would I lick her feet? And drink the water… what kind of sick, dirty fetish is this? Why am I the one doing it? If you like it that much, do it yourself!

Stuart immediately retorted, turning to Gomut. “Sir! Why must I do the Dare? It’s her turn! Make her do it—why me?”

Gomut smiled, lazily raising his gun to scratch the side of his forehead with the barrel. He answered with a wide yawn.

“What? Commanding people is a physical activity, isn’t it? Haven’t you seen me order these two around by my side? Or are you suggesting I don’t do anything at all? You certainly have an interesting way of interpreting things, Stuart. Just remember this—I also have an extremely interesting way of making people dead.”

As Gomut finished speaking, his eyes drifted significantly to the gun resting against his temple, making it crystal clear that Stuart needed to comply without any further resistance.

Stuart gritted his teeth, desperate to find a loophole. “I only have to do it for one minute, right? That was your rule.”

Gomut chuckled darkly. “If you want… hmm… you know, you can go right on ahead. Continue until your heart is completely satisfied.”

Dan, whose smile had turned into a firm, angry scowl, shouted with sudden authority, “Are you going to do it, or what?”

With that, Dan reached down and unholstered a second gun from the side of his waist—the very revolver Gunther had held before he died.

“Tsk…”

Stuart reluctantly reached into the storage crate and grabbed a water pouch; there were only ten left now. He dragged himself over and sat flat on the floor directly in front of May.

May was completely bewildered. Why would Dan give her such an easy dare where she had to do absolutely nothing? Left with no choice, she simply waited for the single minute to tick away. A deep blush crept onto her face, a wave of sheer embarrassment hitting her because her bare feet were noticeably dirty from walking across the dark cellar floors.

But Stuart was utterly drowning in shame. Having to drink dirty runoff water and lick another person's foot was nauseating just to think about. Now, he actually had to execute it. It was undignified, degrading, and entirely filled with humiliation. But if it bought him enough time to stay alive, he would swallow his pride. He had to do it to make it out of this basement alive.

With a face masked in pure humiliation, he muttered in a low, hollow voice, “Raise your gown a little.”

Blushing furiously, May lifted the hem of her gown just enough to clear her feet.

Nobody in the room uttered a single word. Dan covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide and glazed as if he were experiencing pure, euphoric bliss just by watching the display.

Stuart lowered his head, pressed his tongue to her skin, and began to count the seconds internally.

….

As the first ten seconds ticked past, Stuart realized the worst part of the ordeal wasn’t the loss of his dignity, nor was it the crushing shame. The act was physically repulsive. May’s feet were caked in filth from walking through a room that had been tracked with urine and waste. The grime had been dry before, but as his saliva mixed with it, the filth came alive on his tongue, sending a violent wave of nausea straight to his throat.

Only Dan was actively enjoying the spectacle, watching Stuart degrade himself with absolute delight. Dan stepped closer to the huddle, took the water pouch, and began pouring it directly over May’s feet, letting the water wash the loose dirt over Stuart’s mouth.

A deep wave of disgust consumed Stuart. The clock was dragging past the half-minute mark.

But he persevered, utterly terrified that a bullet hole would be punched through his skull if he stopped. Is licking filth better than being dead? It didn’t matter anymore. He waited out the final seconds. All he had to do now was swallow the remaining runoff water, and the nightmare would be over.

And he did it.

….

The moment he finished, Stuart collapsed on the ground and violently threw up everything in his stomach. The floor was instantly covered in a vile pool of dirty water, mixed with a few half-digested pieces of hard bread. He couldn't stop heaving; his chest convulsed over and over even long after his stomach had been completely emptied. He desperately wanted to vomit away the very memory of his actions—the repulsive taste of what he had just done in front of everyone. But he couldn't change reality.

Dan smiled broadly, stepping forward to pat Stuart firmly on the shoulder.

“Good boy!”

Stuart jolted away from Dan’s touch in sheer horror. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to cut his own ears off.