The silence was deafening as we stared at Karen's lifeless body. Her pale skin contrasted starkly against the crimson that soaked the sheets beneath her. It didn't look real at first, like some twisted prank. But the metallic scent of blood in the air reminded us—hindi ito isang biro lang.
"Oh my god..." Eliza whimpered, clutching my arm like a lifeline. Her nails dug into my skin, pero parang hindi ko yun nararamdaman. My mind was stuck on Karen—on how lifeless she looked, on how this could even happen.
"Karen..." Leo whispered, his voice breaking.
"What the hell is this?!"
Guia, trembling, pointed at the bedside table.
"Wait... ano 'to?"
Lahat kami napatingin. There was a folded piece of paper beside Karen's bloodied hand. It looked deliberate, almost placed there on purpose. Slowly, Leo reached for it, his hands shaking. He unfolded the paper, his face contorting in disbelief as he read the scrawled words aloud:
"Continue playing. Guess the Mafia."
Mas bumigat ang hangin paligid. My knees almost buckled under me as those words sank in.
"Are you kidding me?" Eliza whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"This is insane. Ano bang nangyayari dito?!"
"No. No, this isn't happening," Zion said, pacing back and forth, hindi mapakali sa mga nangyayari.
"This has to be some kind of joke. A sick, twisted joke."
Hans, na kanina pa tahimik, backed up against the wall.
"This isn't just a game anymore. Someone—someone's doing this for real."
"Reese..." Eliza's voice cracked as she gripped me harder, tears brimming in her eyes.
"What the hell is going on?!"
I couldn't answer. How could I? Hindi ko rin alam kung anong nangyayari, my thoughts tangled in fear and disbelief.
"This can't be happening," I muttered, mostly to myself.
But it was. Karen was dead, and now we were being told—no, forced—to play a game none of us signed up for. Akala ko simpleng laro lang 'toh.
"Who would do this?" Zion demanded, his voice shaking.
"And why?! This was supposed to be a vacation, not some... not some horror movie!"
Leo crumpled the note in his hand, frustration and fear etched on his face.
"It doesn't matter who did this. What matters is we're stuck in this now. And kung di natin ipagpapatuloy ang laro..." He glanced at Karen, swallowing hard.
"What if this happens again?"
No one wanted to say it out loud, but we were all thinking the same thing: It will.
"Who's next?" Guia's voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the tense air like a blade.
"Kailangan na'ting hulaan kung sino ang mafia," sagot ni Kai tila kanina pa nakayuko habang nakasandal ang katawan sa pader.
Eliza shook her head violently, panic written all over her face.
"I don't want to do this anymore! We need to leave—now!"
"And how?" Zion countered, his voice edged with hysteria.
"There's no signal. Wala tayong phones. We're on a freaking island in the middle of nowhere!"
"We could try the boats—" Hans began, but Leo cut him off.
"They're gone."
"Gone?" I echoed, my stomach dropping.
Leo nodded grimly.
"I checked earlier while you guys were unpacking. Wala na sila sa pier. Whoever's behind this made sure we can't leave."
Despair settled over the room like a heavy fog. We were trapped, with no way out and no way to call for help. Mananatili pa kaya kaming buhay dito?
"Let's just stay together," I suggested, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Kung walang maghihiwalay, walang mapupuruhan. No one leaves the group, okay?"
"Right," Zion agreed, though his voice wavered.
"We stick together."
But even as I said it, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Whoever orchestrated this wasn't playing fair.
Kai spoke at napatingin kami sa kanya.
"The game's rules haven't changed. One Mafia, one Doctor, one Police, and four Villagers. The Mafia kills, the rest of us guess."
"How can you just say that?!" Eliza snapped, her voice shrill.
"Karen is dead, and you're treating this like it's still a game?!"
Kai's expression was unreadable, his usual cocky grin nowhere in sight.
"I'm not treating this like a game, Eliza," he said quietly.
"I'm telling you how we survive."
"By playing along," Hans muttered, realization dawning on him.
"Yes," Kai confirmed.
"By playing along. Whoever's doing this wants us to play. If we don't, they'll kill us all."
His words sent a shiver down my spine.
"So sinasabi mo'ng we should... go along with it?" I asked, disbelief heavy in my voice.
"Act like this is normal? Like Karen isn't—" My voice broke. I couldn't finish the sentence.
Kai looked at me, his eyes hard. "Do you have a better idea, Reese?"
I didn't. None of us did.
A long, tense silence followed. Then, reluctantly, Zion spoke up.
"Fine. We play. But how do we figure out who the Mafia is?"
"Trust no one," Kai replied coldly.
"Everyone is a suspect. Including me."
The weight of his words hung in the air.
"I hate this," Eliza whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"I hate this so much."
"We all do," I said softly, though my own voice was barely steady.
For a moment, no one moved. Then Kai spoke again, his voice calm but firm.
"We'll vote when the sun comes up. For now, everyone stays together. No one wanders off. And if anyone tries..." His gaze swept over all of us, lingering just long enough to make his point clear.
No one argued.
The ten of us came to this island as friends, looking for a fun vacation. But now, we were prisoners in a deadly game. And as I looked around the room, I realized something terrifying.
I couldn't trust any of them.