Chapter 2: Blood on Snow

Everyone froze and stared at the man in black.

He let the silence hang for a moment, then spoke, "I’m the host. I’ll announce the rules and keep order. The winner gets a hundred million dollars. The price of failure is death. You knew that coming in."

He scanned the room. "Any questions? Now’s your chance."

A teenage girl with shaking hands raised her arm. "Um… can we quit?"

"Sure."

She exhaled, relief flickering in her eyes. "Thank you. How do we quit?"

He raised a hand. Bang—

The bang echoed like a Fourth of July firework gone wrong. For a split second, nobody breathed. Blood sprayed from the girl’s head, and she collapsed, twitching. The metallic scent of blood hit me like a punch, and my stomach clenched.

Somebody screamed. The room exploded into chaos. Someone knocked over a bunk, the clang ringing out as people ducked behind metal frames or pressed themselves against the walls. The man in black shouted for order, but it was useless.

Gunshots cracked again and again. Each shot took another life. When it was finally quiet, everyone left was shaking, frozen in terror.

The room—once pure white—was streaked with blood, like red leaves on new snow. My mouth filled with bile, but I had nothing to throw up.

The host dusted off his sleeves. "Anyone else want to quit?"

No one moved.

He cleared his throat and announced, "First round: Benevolence. As long as you act with kindness, you move on. Kindness means—well, for example, you can give up your life so someone else passes."

He peeled off black leather gloves and beckoned to the nearest player. "Come here, it’s fine."

The guy staggered over, shaking so hard it took him three minutes to cross the room.

The host smiled. "If I say, ‘I’ll give my life so he advances,’ he moves on. My price is…"

He yanked out a slender dagger and drove it into his own abdomen. Blood welled up, splashing the volunteer’s white shirt. The host pulled the blade free, letting the blood run.

Everyone stared, silent, listening to the blood drip onto the cold floor.

"If one stab doesn’t do it, we’ll try again."

"You have two hours. After that, anyone who hasn’t advanced dies. Game starts now."