Series Wednesday: Family Game Night Page 48

“Hope how do you know Percy is okay?” I ask her. “I was with him before this, before the game started.”  Little Hope says. I knew she was more than just a little girl. She has to be his adopted daughter. “So you know what room Percy is being held in?” I ask her. “Yes I do but I can’t tell you that until you find the key” she says. So she doesn’t have the key. “Do you know where the key is?” I ask her. She just looks at me with her big green eyes. I am going to take that as she isn’t saying.  “Did your dad tell you this?” I ask her. “I am not allowed to tell you that. I am only allowed to tell you that I am going to help you once you find the key.” She says as she looks over at Grace, who is yelling at the girl crying about being cut.
                Grace screams “Finally!” She is holding the key in her hand. I look over at little Hope. “That’s not it.” She says to me. What could she possibly mean that isn’t it. The guy helping Grace shows her a key he just pulled out of one of the guys. Well this is great! “Is that the key?” I ask little Hope. “Maybe, that is only 2 found. There should be 3.” Little Hope says. “What in the hell!” Grace screams. “How are there 3 keys?” Grace turns and yells at me.  I motion for little Hope to stay here as I walk over to Grace. “This is bull and you know it.” She tells me. “There are 3 keys.” I tell her. “No, we found two keys.” She tells me as she shows me the two keys. “Little Hope says there are 3 keys and she can’t help us until we find all 3.” I stand back after telling Grace.  “Of course there are 3 keys. We are almost out of people to check.” Grace looks at the line of people. She has cut through most of them. There is only like 6 people left. Grace looks around and sees the guy with the arrow throw him. “I bet.” She says as she walks over to him. I follow her as she pulls the sheet off him and cut his side and pulls out a key. “Of course he had the last key. So what now?” She says. “The dumbie?” I ask her. “What about little Hope can’t she just help us find where Percy is?” She says to me. “Play by the rules. Go pull the back on the dumbie” I tell her. Everyone is standing around talking to each other.
                Grace walks over to the dumbie with all 3 keys. “Wait” Sara says. Everyone looks at her. “If you got the keys does that mean we can leave? Or are we still going to get an arrow in the back?”  Sara asks Grace. “That is a good question. I am not sure, I have to pull the string on the dumbie and he will tell us what comes next. Okay?” Grace says in a very sarcastic manner. Grace pulls the string on the dumbie. “I am sure you’re confused on why there are 3 keys and all these people. Now that I have found you, my family it is time for a cleanse of anyone who has seen my face. Kill them all! Expect for Hope she will show you the way to Percy. I cleaned up your mess it’s your turn now sister.” The dumbie stops talking. Grace takes a deep breath. I hear a scream from behind me and little Hope stabbed a man in the throat. “The faster we get this done the faster I get home.” Little Hope says. Grace runs to her bag as people start trying to run out of the warehouse. They are getting shot down by arrows. “Time to get to work Grace says as she runs toward them stabbing them as she runs through the people. I turn to grab little Hope who turns out to be a mini serial killer. I look back at her and she is running around stabbing people to. She is so fast and does not even blink, like this isn’t her first time. I stand here just watch them slaughter these poor people.

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night Page 47

                The Vet Tech is slowly cutting people’s stitches and trying to see who has the key. Laura doesn’t have the key in her and Sara offered to go next. Grace is sure that Mario has the key in him. I am not so sure, to me it seems too obvious. I sit with little Hope and try to keep her from watching the others get cut open. “How are you feeling?” I ask her. “I miss my mommy.” I feel sad for her. “Can you tell me about your mother?”  She looks down. “I don’t know much about my mother. I was adopted and I only have a dad” she explains. “What is your father like?” She smiles at my question.  “He is very smart and clean. He works and travels a lot but he is very sweet to me. I have a full time nanny but she isn’t as much fun as my dad” Hope says. “Hope how did you get here?” I ask her. “I am not allowed to say.”
                I walk over to Grace and pull her away from the people. “Whoa, what is the problem here” she asks me. “I think Hope is his adopted daughter and I think she has the key” I tell Grace. “What are you sure??” She asks. “No I am not sure but I have a feeling” I tell Grace. “So what should we do? Should we scare the key out of her?” Grace says looking at little Hope. “NO! I think she has orders. Like she can’t give us the key until we figure things out. This is all a game remember. So he probably wants us to play, not just cut people open and get our answers that way.” Grace shakes her head at me. “Fine how do we play?”  I look at her. “Maybe I can work on little Hope. We can’t let him know we have caught on to her being his adopted daughter. Well that’s if she is. I really think she is however.” Grace just looks at me. “Little Hope?” Grace asks. “Yes I have decided to call her little Hope so you don’t get her mixed up with my mom Hope” I explain. “Fine doesn’t matter what we call her. If she has the key we need to get it from her. You’re saying to play the game but we don’t even know what the game is or how it works. Just tell me if I keep cutting people open or not” Grace says. “Yes keep cutting but I need you to talk to the people to see if we can get some more information out of them. That is the game” I tell Grace. We both nod and go our separate ways.
                I sit with little Hope and think of a way to try to make her give me the key or tell me who left her here. “How are you holding up?”  I ask her. “I am okay, just miss my home” she says. “I miss my baby brother. That’s why it is so important to find the key we are looking for” I tell little Hope. “Why do you need the key to see your brother?” She asks me. “Because an evil man took him from us. He is the one who put us all here, he has my brother Percy locked up here somewhere.” I let a tear fall down my cheek. Little Hope whips my face but doesn’t say a word.
                A lady screams out in pain. “Stop being a baby!” Grace says. I look over and Grace is cutting the lady’s stitches. “Why do you think you’re here?” Grace asks her. “Not sure I make blankets and sale them online. I am not sure why I would be here?”  Grace looks at me super confused. “You make blankets to sale online. Do you have an online store?” Grace asks her. I can’t help but over hear.  I don’t get why these people are here? I just don’t understand what a woman who sells blankets online has to do with this. The fake ID maker and the hairdresser I can kind of understand, but her I am not sure.  All of this makes no sense. I look back at little Hope. “Percy wasn’t taken by an evil man he is okay I promise.” Little Hope tells me. How does she know this?

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night Page 46

Everyone is freaking out. “Hope do you have any cuts on your body?” I ask her. I don’t want to touch her with out her permission to check. She starts to feel her body and nods no. “Okay sweetie.” I smile at her trying to make her feel safe. I can’t imagine being that young and feeling like that. “Cahira can I have a second?” Grace says, I rub Hope’s shoulder and get up to go to Grace. “What’s up?” I ask her. “Really what’s up? Well we have to cut these people open to figure out who has the key in them. That’s what’s up.”  Grace says as she pulls a to go surgical kit out of her bag. “You really just carry that around with you?” I ask her. “Yes, as should you. You never know when situation like this will arise.” Grace says like she is some kind of girl scout. “Why would we ever be in situations like this? I mean really? This is all happening because you, mother and dad are sick in the head.” I tell her, I don’t mean to sound as sassy as I do. “No, we are in this situation because dad’s high school sweet heart decided not to terminate her pregnancy. Instead she gave up the baby, who grew up to be a man that we now have to deal with. That is why all of this is happening.”  Grace says with a smirk. She loves to be right and isn’t afraid to show it. “Grace you might want to cover your face.” I tell grace. She looks at me confused. “What?” Grace says. “Your horns are showing.” I tell her and laugh. “Oh you’re so funny.” Grace says.

                “We should figure out a way to get this key.” Grace says to me. “Well I’m all ears.” I tell her. She walks into the middle of everyone and starts waving her arms to get their attention. I pick up little Hope and walk over. “Who here is a doctor or a nurse?” Grace says. Everyone looks around to see if any one raises their hand, but no one does. “So no one here can help with the cutting of your stiches and finding this key.” Grace says. “I was a vet tech.” said one of the guys in back. “Your name?” I ask. “My name is Michael.” He says. “Why do we have to listen to these two? You are just little girls.” Says the FBI’s most wanted. He steps in Grace’s face. She smiles and stabs him in the leg. “I just cut one of your major artery. Do you know what that means? Its means you’re bleeding out.” The guy falls to the floor and is trying to cover up the cut, like it going to save him. Grace circles around him and slits his throat. “That’s who we are.” She whispers to him. As he falls over, Grace lifts his shirt and cuts his stiches open. “No Key.” She says as she looks up at me.

                I look up at everyone looks super confused. Some but not most look scared. “So, any one got questions?” Grace asks. I pull a sheet over him. “Now back to you vet tech. Do you think you can check everyone for the key without hurting them?” Grace says to Michael. He steps forward and looks at Grace. “Yea I should be able to.”  Michael says. I notice a woman steps forward from the back. “Your related to Daniel, aren’t you?” She asks Grace. “Who is Daniel?” I ask her. “He was my high school sweet heart. That was the last time I say someone get killed in front of me and seen the murder with that look in their eyes.” Grace and I look at each other and back at her. “What’s your name?” I ask her. She looks scared. “I would rather not say.” She tells us. “Her name is Laura.” Says a guy behind her. “And how do you know that?” Grace says him. “I went to high school with them.” He says. “That what your going to say? You went to high school with us!” She now seems mad at the guy talking. “Okay so we know her name, now can you tell us yours.” I ask him.  “Mario. My name is Mario.” He says. “What does she mean when she said that was all you were going to say.” Grace asks him. “I mean that he was Daniels other half. We were both in a relationship with Daniel.” Laura says.  I step back and whisper in Graces ear. “So is he gay or straight?” I ask. “So Daniel was dating him behind your back?” Grace asks. “No, we always knew about each other. It was a well-known thing.” Mario says. “When was the last time you saw Daniel?” I ask them. “Graduation.” Laura says. “That was the day he broke up with us. He said it was fun well it lasted but he had to go on.” Mario said. “We were all going to different colleges, so we all agreed.” Laura said. “This is just weird.” Grace says. “It was their relationship, don’t judge.” I tell her. “Fine what ever, no judgement but I am going to have to cut you open. I am pretty sure one of you has the key.” Grace holds up her knife. Both step back in fear.

Series Wednesday: Family game night Page 45

What game is he playing? I pull Grace to the side. “I don’t know what to do here,” I tell her. “You go find what room Percy is in, so once we have the key we know what door we are opening.”  Grace tells me. “DO NOT kill anyone while I am gone.” I tell Grace. She smiles at me. “Can’t make any promises,” she says as I walk away from her. I start to wonder around the warehouse. I don’t see any rooms where he could be. This place is much bigger than it looks.  I am not sure what to do. I can’t yell for Percy because my older brother might hear me. I wish we knew his name. I hear screaming from back where I left Grace. I turn around and run back to see what’s going on. I hope she hasn’t killed anyone.
                I run up to see a guy with an arrow through him. “Whoa.” I say as I look at Grace. “There was a note attached to the arrow. She has the bloody note in her hand. She hands it to me just looking at the dead man lying on the floor. The arrow went right through his heart. The housekeeper is the one who screamed I see as she is still standing there with her mouth open. I look at the note in my hands. “The deal was not for anyone to go off on their own. Find the key that is your job. Anyone tries to leave again, and they get an arrow through the head and you might never find the key to Percy‘s door. Let’s hope he has enough food not to starve.” Great now he is threating Percy’s life. I look at Grace as more of the tied up are being untied. “NO ONE LEAVE THIS AREA!” I yell out as I point at the guy with the arrow in his chest. That is when I notice her, a little girl she can’t be much older than 6 or 7. I grab a sheet and cover the guy so she won’t see him. I hand the note to Grace and walk over to the little girl. “Hi sweetie.” she looks up at me. She doesn’t say anything she just looks around. “Sweetie are your parents in this room?” I ask her. She looks at all the people untied and getting untied. “No, I don’t see them.” She says in the smallest voice. “What is your name sweetie?” I ask her. “Hope” she says. I just look at her. Her name is Hope like my mom. Did he take her because he knows her or because she has my mom’s name? I wish we had a little more directions. Hope isn’t crying she is just standing here, she must be so scared. I put my arms out for me to pick her up. She comes to me and I take her back to where Grace is standing looking at everyone.
                “Who is the little girl?” Grace asks as I walk up with her. “Her name is Hope.” I tell Grace. “She looks just like Percy when he was little. Don’t you think?” Grace says as she stares at her. “All little kids look alike to you. Her parents aren’t in the group.” I tell Grace. I think he looks just like Percy to, but I don’t need Grace getting any kind of ideas. “Why are we here?” The hair dresser asks. “Not sure but the guy who put us all here gave one of you a key. That key is needed for you to get out of here and for us to get our baby brother back.” Grace says. I look at the four metal beams we all seem to be stuck in between, there are white shear sheet hanging down from the top of them. It would almost be pretty if we weren’t all being threatened with an arrow in the back. I look at Hope who has her head on my shoulder. “F that! He can’t get us all if we all walk out at the same time,” says a buff guy in the back. “I have seen this movie and let me tell you how your plan works. You die. But be my guest and walk away.” Grace says to him. “We should just find the key” Sara says. Everyone looks around.  “Does anyone have a key?” Grace asks. Slowly everyone is checking their pockets and shaking their heads no one right after the other. “The letter says someone has a key and we have to talk to you to find out who does. Please just make this easy and give us the key so we can all get home” Grace says. Sara keeps holding her side. I start to look and everyone seems to be holding some part of them. “Sara are you okay?” I ask her. “Yea my side is just burning like I have a cut. It is probably from whoever put me here they most likely were not very careful tying me up or something” Sara says. I look at her. “Let me see your side maybe I can help.” I put Hope down. “Wait right here for me.” Hope just nods yes. I walk over to Sara who is lifting her sweater and untucking her shirt. She lifts it up. “Do you see a cut?” She asks me. I look at her side and it isn’t a cut I see. I see stiches, fresh ones. “Grace come here!”  Grace comes walking over. “What is it?” she asks as she walks over. She just stops when she sees the stiches. “Oh, this is not good” she says to me.  We look back and everyone is noticing they have fresh stiches. “I hate him!” Grace says to me. I nod in agreement, not sure what we do now.