November 12, 1980
It's so odd when you see this burning determination in people that you have never seen lit before. Back in the old cell I was in, barely anyone was this determined. Sure, we had some wanting to live, but none of them really had a life outside of here and sometimes I like to think they had just given up on getting money since they knew it was pointless if they were just gonna die if they failed. Over here now, everyone is so determined to live. Even Eveyln had this look of will power that contrasted how stoic and calm she usually acts. I never usually get to observe the room too much, so whenever I do I make sure to get every single detail I can get to find some advantage if needed. That's probably how I made it this far anyways, I know people without having to talk to them. As I observed the room, I noticed Harrison and Riley sitting together. Being all lovey dovey. Or at least I saw it that way. They were subtle with it, but I saw them hold hands slightly as they smiled together. It felt so sickening. To look "love" straight to its face and think it wasn't meant to be. I'll admit, I was slightly jealous of them. Not because they're in a relationship, but because me and Riley don't usually spend as much time together as we used to. I never realized how important Riley was to me until recently. I knew that him being around helped me not go insane like everyone else, but I didn't think it would be by this much. I guess you can say, I miss the times where me and him were just hanging out without having to be bothered by others' problems. It's not like we've been distant from one another, we still talk and hang out, but Riley has become more busy with Harrison lately and hangs out with the girls, so we don't have moments where it was just us as it used to be. I know Riley and Harrison are in a relationship, but knowing Harrison, he'll find a way to mess it up and well Riley is gonna have to deal with it. It was for me, but I didn't like that it was. I didn't like that because of me, Riley had to go and date my enemy so he would leave me alone. I'd rather him stay away from Harrison, but Riley likes to find good in everyone, so it makes sense he wouldn't have just completely given up on Harrison, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I started to walk over to Evelyn, completely bored out of my mind. When I approached her, she gave her soft smile out and spoke,
"Hey Franklin, how are you feeling?" I shrugged,
"Feeling ok, just thinking about getting out of this shit hole." I said, looking around. I seen Evelyn tilt her head in curiosity,
"You don't look too happy about it. How come?" she asked.
"I mean we're still gonna kill people." I said. I sighed before continuing,
"And who's to say more than at least 2 of us are gonna make it out of the last round?" I asked. Evelyn crossed her arms, making her cleavage more pronounced.
"That may be true, not many of us would survive, but it's the drive to survive that makes us all determined." she said. She confidently struck a pose, putting his hands to her hips,
"Once I get out of here, I want to make amends for everything I have done, and fix them. That's my motive." After she finished, she looked at me with curious eyes,
"What's yours?" she asked.
"Money, that's about it." I said bluntly. Evelyn shook her head,
"No, I mean besides that. There's gotta be another reason." she said, which I immediately shut down with a simple "Nope". It looked like she was starting to think and before I knew it, she patted my shoulder.
"Maybe so, or you just haven't realized it. We do things because of many reasons, not just one." she calmly said. She observed the room, watching everybody prep themselves.
"We live in a weird little world where killing each other has been our only answer to protect ourselves. So much so, we try to push down any other reason to try and hide away from anyone else." Evelyn said with a stoic, yet intelligible look before turning to me and speaking with this thoughtful tone,
"You'll find your reason, believe me, getting money probably wasn't your only reason. There may be something else you've hid because you had to." I couldn't help but stay silent. I didn't have a comeback, seems like as of recent, I don't have it for most stuff. All I could do was lean back on the wall and think, not much else to say to that. Dammit Evelyn and her psychological bullshit. I look up towards the direction of a happy Riley and Harrison, before looking down shamefully. Evelyn had noticed my expression and who I looked at. She didn't say anything, but it looked like she understood what I was thinking and we just quietly stood there, it was as if we didn't need to say anything to each other, we both knew how one another felt. That's when a bell rang. It was time to go and play the games. Everyone had gotten up, ready to begin. Evelyn, Hope and the rest of the ladies had gone on one side, while me, Riley, Harrison and the rest of the men had gone on the opposite side as the suited guards came back again, standing in the middle.
"This is your second to last game. Since there are nine of you left, we will put you all into groups of three. Then each group will play a game, only one person will die, the other two live, understood?" the middle guard with such a distinct looking outfit compared to the normal orange guard suit attire, had said. Everyone nodded, getting ready. The guards had picked groups, first it was these two men and one woman, then it was Evelyn and Hope and this one random lady who looked like a smoker, and finally… Me, Riley and Harrison. To me, this could be good or bad. For one I hate Harrison, so if I got the last bullet, I could shoot him and help Riley get out of this fake ass relationship. Then again, they are a couple and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them had to play a power move, and I know for sure who that person would be, and let me tell you, I know Riley ain't about that life. Anything could happen. The first round started with the first group. I wasn't paying attention too much to them, considering it looked like it was just some messy plays. Although, I did feel a tap on my shoulder. It was Riley. He looked a bit nervous and sad. I tilted my head and asked him what was wrong, he looked at me with this nervous smile.
"Um, so it's us and Harrison. How do you feel?" he asked. I shrugged,
"I'm alright. If anything this really makes who I want to shoot easier." I said, more direct than I'd like. I saw Riley grimace slightly, I guess he wasn't expecting me to be so calm about killing someone.
"You know, you're still hurting someone, right?" he asked, softly. I looked at him and nodded my head, which made him frown, but I wasn't gonna hide the truth from him.
"Just because Harrison doesn't bother me anymore, it doesn't mean what he did was justified. Especially with all the death he's caused, he doesn't deserve to keep a life he loves to play with." Riley didn't like that at all,
"Franklin, this still isn't better. You killing him will make you no better than him." he said. Crossing his arms, he continued,
"Plus you wouldn't say the same thing for Evelyn." I couldn't help but wince my eyes at him.
"Him and Evelyn have different reasons. Evelyn killed in self defense, Harrison killed because his precious ego was getting beaten down by someone who was rightfully angry at him." I exclaimed.
"She still killed someone!" Riley did raise his voice, but it was quiet enough that no one, but only me could hear.
"We've murder people here too, what makes us different from Harrison? We're all murderers whether we like to admit it or not." he said, crossing his arms. I looked into his eyes, I was getting pretty annoyed by his stance, until I thought about it.
"You're turning into him." I said which made Riley get upset,
"What are you talking about?" he said.
"You're trying to justify everything he did? All the murders, all the abuse, all the bloodshed from his hands, and you're trying to defend it?" I said, which made Riley start to feel oppressed by me pointing out the obvious.
"I just think we are villainizing someone who has done similar things we do. It's hypocritical." he claimed.
"So, him throwing that plate at my head was justifiable or him fighting me in front of everyone and making me bleed." I said, repressing him more and more with logic. I knew his tough facade was starting to melt under all the pressure.
"I would say you've changed, but I'd be lying. You're still you, but more gullible. Don't ever compare yourself or anyone to a murder. Evelyn may have killed someone, but she's far from being a murder because she at least killed in self defense." I said. I then heard a gunshot, and one of the men went down. Next thing I knew Harrison was beside Riley with a glare at me.
"Leave him alone, I heard everything. If you don't want to trust your friend, then you can leave." Harrison said, roughly. I couldn't help but feel my blood boil. I looked at Riley, one last time, before turning away and closing my eyes. I walked off, it was hard to speak with Riley as the next round began with the girls…