It was now day five, and chaos had already struck, this time from the bathroom. A scream erupted as someone came running out like he had just seen a ghost. It was a young man with short brown hair, and his skin hugged the bones on his face, probably from trying to savor his food.
"Again?" People questioned
"What, how?" another voice asked.
People were confused. They could already guess it was another killing but that wasn't what people were confused about. It was the how. That was because right now it was hard for people to kill someone. People grew so paranoid with the last two that they were taking turns being on the lookout. I'm guessing that's why it was done in the bathroom this time. Where there wasn't a lookout.
"It was Finn!" the man screamed as he collapsed in front of the bathroom doorway.
"Finns dead?" People from row D questioned. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." He turned his face to reply, "But not only that, there was also another man in there." The man paused, trying to catch his breath. "It looked like someone from row A. I don't know his name."
People turned to row A to see who was missing. It was the bunkmate of the first person who died. Greyson. Now, the first column of row A was dead. Just like that, the kill count went up.
The officer, getting up from his bed, seemed annoyed. He muttered words under his breath—I couldn't make out what he said. Afterward, he took charge of the situation. "Alright, alright, let me go see." His voice was still raspy from waking up.
As he went in, glares turned. People's suspicion grew, and most of their eyes lay on one man. He was the one sitting on the floor. Everyone else here was on watch while he was the only one missing.
"What's the stares for?" He asked in a worrisome voice.
"Just suspicious." Mark's voice came from the crowd.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we were all out here, everyone knew where each other was at, besides you."
"Are you saying I killed them?"
Mark stared, suggesting he did.
"Look at me," He pointed down to his body. "Does it look like I would have a chance to take on two people?"
Mark stayed quiet; other people whispered among themselves. "Maybe you're right, Adriel, but who knows, you could just be putting on an act right now."
"And you're telling me there wasn't anyone else here that didn't go to the bathroom last night."
Before Mark could reply, the officer stepped out of the bathroom. He looked down at the man on the floor and looked back up at the crowd. He let out a deep breath, "Well, from what I can tell, they were stabbed. One throat slit, the other one through the ear, causing a brain bleed." Pausing for a moment, "This time, nothing was amputated. Meaning I can't search for anything." He put his two fingers to his temples. Still trying to wake up. He muttered a few words under his breath again. "Well, since you guys are so insistent on killing each other, I will not do anything about it anymore—tired of this bullshit. I don't even get paid enough for this."
The officer looked back down at the man on the floor, he shrugged. He could pretty much guess what was going on from the tension in the air. The man's face went pale. Just like that, he made his way back to his bed.
Hearing this, the conversation took a turn, distracted by what the officer just announced. In total, five people had been killed. There were now seventy-six people in this bunker, with resources being more limited than in others.
The fact of the matter was that there were now two issues. Row D didn't have a leader, and people suspected Adriel of being the killer. To many of the other rows, this was an opportunity. Solely because Adriel was a part of row D, and row D was a gold mine for resources. If they were just to attack row D first, not only would they get all the resources it held, but they would also get the killer who has been rampant around here. It was just a matter of time now.
Before Adriel could even clear his name, the crowd dispersed back into their rows. Seeing this, Row D had to move quickly. They needed to find a new leader, or they might not be there the next day. There were already mini-alliances within the huge alliance in row D, so each representative was sure to fight for the position.
Ael's head then popped up from the top of the bed again. "Another one, wow." Looking up while sitting at the edge of my bed, I replied, "You really have no empathy for others, do you?" Blatantly, with no concern, Ael spoke, "Some, just some, but hey, looks like they got the killer."
"Do you really think he is the killer?" I ask.
"Pfft, no. Like he said, look at him. Clearly Mark is just trying to find a reason to attack row D—smart if anything."
Getting up from the edge of my bed, I grabbed an energy bar. I only had 2 more left after this one. I had been eating them over and over again since I hadn't been able to get any decent sleep.
I didn't have any lookout like other rows did, so I had to look out for myself. Sleeping is the weakest state of a person. That and using the bathroom. It's why animals watch each other when they use the bathroom. Surprise, people here hadn't started to do that already.
Even though we were humans and had evolved, we were the same. Look at everyone now. We were all acting like a pack of animals. Sighing, I could feel my heart beating heavily—unsure if it was the anxiety, the lack of food, or the amount of caffeine I was taking in.
"Well I'm taking my shower, be right back." Ael said as he got off his bed.
I turned to look at him leave. Honestly, at this point, I thought he was a clean freak, along with being a psychopath. It was a weird combination. He took a shower every morning, while most people here took one every other day.
Either way, it wasn't my place to judge; it's not as if I were any different. For me, I always had to make my bed correctly, with each step following the other. My storage bin had to stay organized. When I tapped my fingers, it had to be in even numbers. I didn't know when exactly I developed these habits, but I did. They were more tiresome than anything.
As I laid back in my bed, I nibbled on my second energy bar, watching the room like I usually do to stay up to date on what's happening here. I took one when I felt paranoid, staying awake and watching for others around me, and then I took another one right now. I learned my lesson on the first day when I wasn't paying attention.
It was because I wasn't paying attention that I ended up in a vulnerable position. On top of that, I somehow became the "friend" of that psychopath. I had been trying to keep my distance from him as much as I could since I didn't consider him one. But he insists we are.
'Stubborn man.'
If people started to take notice of him wanting to be friends with me, it might be the end for me here. I didn't plan for that, but I didn't plan for me to even be in this situation, so who knows what's going to happen? The world always had some weird plans for us. All we could do is look up to the gods for guidance and ask for their help.
It was the gods who helped me get through that hellhole of a wasteland that the Empire put me in. If I looked for their guidance, I was sure I would be able to get out of here. I hope.
I did a prayer to the gods like I usually do every morning and night when I get the chance. Most people did. It deepened our connection to the gods. Under my breath, I began to mutter some words.
***
All day, it looked like row D was trying to figure out who their next leader would be, but no progress was being made. It just kept coming in full circle. Each person wanted the powers that Finn held. But soon, time was up.
Whispers from rows C and B were going around in the bunkers. You could see row D starting to become worrisome, some even becoming desperate. They were just trying to have a figurehead. It was because the whispers were telling people that, on the first chance they had, they would attack row D for their resources.
War always happens for three reasons. Money, land, and power. Resources fell in the land category. And right now, the territory they were fighting over was row D. All the other rows were waiting for was a chance to attack. They didn't believe the officer when he said they could kill each other if they wanted to. So they were waiting till he was out of the picture.
Just then, they got their chance. As the officer got up from his desk to go use the bathroom, it was time for rows B and C to begin. They knew if the officer wasn't there to stop them, they could capitalize on the moment. Not even five seconds after the officer's body disappeared behind the bathroom walls, a knife was pulled.
Row D was now at war with rows C and B. The bloodbath was starting. The faucet that was holding it all back was about to break.