"Go ahead… the game has begun!"
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Silence
Ever since the last syllable left the captor's mouth, the entire warehouse had been submerged in a suffocating silence.
The gazes of Seb and Ronnie roamed all over the place.
They looked at the gun, at their captor, at the roof, at their feet, at the walls of the empty warehouse, and the person sitting right across them.
But they… never met each other's gaze.
Perhaps they were too afraid of what might they find in there.
Maybe something that they hoped to never see.
Or something that they knew they would see but couldn't afford to see lest it affects their convictions.
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"Have I not made myself clear enough?"
"…"
"…"
"I see. Let me make it clear then."
He removed an expensive silver colour brandless watch from his wrist and placed it in front of them.
"The time is 9:52. If the gun hasn't been fired by the time the second-hand makes 5 laps. I will kill both of you."
"…"
"…"
"The only way for you to see tomorrow's sunrise is to win the game."
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*Tick* *Tock* *Tick* *Tock*
As the deafening silence held them all captive, the quiet ticking of the second hand felt extremely loud.
Every single Tick or Tock, counting down the time left before their collective deaths.
Even though the weather of spring was pleasant and the warehouse well ventilated, the two best friends found themselves nervously sweating buckets.
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*Tick* *Tock* *Tick* *Tock*
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Sebastian's and Ronnie's eyes eventually met.
Their eyes were full of multiple emotions…
Pain, Terror, Hesitation, Fear, Suspicion, Resolve and … Guilt.
Even though not a single word was said, a thousand messages had been conveyed between the two.
Instantly, the two of them grabbed for the gun.
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"I guess this is the end…" Seb smiled in sorrow as he saw the pistol gripped tightly within Ronnie's hand.
Ronnie also smiled back in equal pain. "Indeed, Seb, this is the end…"
"Guess there was no other choice…"
"Haha, it's unlike you to make such a defeatist statement Seb…"
"Look who is talking…"
"Seb."
"Yes?"
"I am sorry…"
"Don't apologize Ronnie. I already knew that this day was going to come eventually…"
"What are you talking about Seb?"
"Huh?"
Seb raised his downcast eyes once again to look at Ronnie's face.
"Goodbye Seb…"
"What are you doing Ronnie…"
"Hanging out with the two of you… were the happiest days of my life"
"NO STOP IT!"
*BANG!*
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The body fell facedown onto the table as blood kept rushing out of its temple.
The gunpowder streaks were visible on his face due to being fired on at point-blank range.
His arms lay limp as they dangled from his shoulders.
The gun lay on the table, having fallen not too far from the hands of the corpse.
Ronald 'Ronnie' Douglas had killed himself.
He had sacrificed his life so that Sebastian would not have to bear the guilt of killing his best friend.
Another one had bit the dust.
Another sacrifice, another life lost.
Just so that Sebastian could stay safe.
As Sebastian stared in horror at Ronnie's corpse in front of him, it felt like he was slowly dying on the inside.
Even as his denial overworked itself to prevent him from remembering the traumas of his past…
It still couldn't do anything about the corpse in front of him.
It was real.
His best friend Ronnie was dead.
He opened and closed his mouth.
He wanted to say something.
He wanted to scream out in outrage.
But he found not a single word leaving his mouth.
He tried to force himself…
But no matter how much his tongue moved…
His voice box just wasn't able to produce a single vibration.
He felt as if he was slowly choking.
All he could do was breathe heavily trying to grasp for more air.
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*Tick* *Tock*
9:57
The man in the suit pushed back his chair as he got up and circled around Ronnie's corpse.
He picked up his gun and cleaned the bloodstains on it using a white handkerchief.
*Click*
*Click*
He threw away the empty cartridge on the table and replaced it with a full cartridge from within his pockets.
He continued circling the table before stopping right beside Sebastian.
"That was an unexpected move. What a noble spirit of self-sacrifice and friendship."
*Clack*
He the gun M1911 once again.
"Admirable qualities… The Bratva could have used someone like him…"
He then pointed the gun right at Sebastian's head.
"What a waste … We weren't planning on letting any of you leave this warehouse alive today."
*BANG!*
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A gun had indeed been shot.
But it wasn't the one in the captor's hand.
A bullet had indeed pierced through a temple.
But it wasn't Sebastian's.
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The man in the suit fell to the floor as the blood seeped out of the bullet hole in his head.
Before he could shoot Sebastian… he had been taken out by a sniper.
Sebastian could hear some sort of commotion taking place around him… but he wasn't able to pay any attention to it.
All he did was silently stare into Ronnie's lifeless eyes.
It was uncertain which of the two was the real corpse.
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Eventually, Seb felt someone knock him out as he lay still on the chair.
When he woke up, he was sitting at the same table, but he was all alone.
The corpses of both Ronnie and their captor were missing.
His hands were no longer handcuffed, and the table was completely empty of any shells or cartridges.
The entire warehouse was empty except for the table and the chair he had been sitting on.
He might have mistaken the events from earlier as some sort of crazy dream if not for the red handcuff marks on his wrists.
Even though he had been freed, Sebastian continued to sit still on the chair without making a single sound.
He sat and waited
And waited and waited.
What was he waiting for?
He did not know himself.
Maybe he was waiting for someone to come and take him away from there.
Maybe he was waiting for a sign that would tell him what exactly happened here.
Maybe… he was waiting for death.
But nothing came.
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Eventually, he was shaken from his reverie when a ray of light was pointed at his face.
He checked it only to find out that… it was sunlight streaming through the ventilation windows at the top of the warehouse.
Seb squinted his eyes and finally decided to leave his seat.
As he walked out of the door of the empty warehouse and squinted at the sun in the sky, he spoke for the first time after Ronnie's death.
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"I guess I did live to see the sunrise again…"
"… looks like I won the game, Ronnie."