The Game

Sweat beads pouring down my face, the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, my sweet daughter’s warm-brown eyes pleading with me across the room; I only wanted what was best for her, none of this should ever have happened. Hands trembling, I take the scissors and the black book and run to her. A stampede of combat boots hitting the cold concrete ground -- I hear them coming. The time is now. I need to cut the wire.

I know how this looks, but I am a good mother, I promise. I was only seventeen when I had Anna, and since then, I have tried my hardest to take care of her. She is my light, she guides me through the darkness. All I ever wanted was to give her a good life. All I ever wanted to do was keep her safe.

~

Two weeks ago, after Gwen was fired from her job at a hotline, she made a post on FriendsBook looking for work. Nobody responded until four days ago. Four days ago, Gwen got a very strange notification. A man says that he just needs her to watch his house while he is away on vacation; he even said she could bring Anna. Gwen does some research on this stranger before saying yes, like any good mother does. His name is George Mac and he is rich. Not the typical rich, George has a mansion, a yacht, four summer homes, a personal staff, and he even owns an island off the coast of Hawaii. He says he’ll pay her $20,000 to watch his house for four days. Gwen is astounded. “$20,000?? No one in my family has ever seen $20,000,” Gwen thinks to herself. Gwen is one of seven children. Her parents were severely impoverished. Only her mom works and she is a waitress at a local diner. Her dad lost one of his legs in an accident at the factory he worked when Gwen was young. His job now is to sit on the couch and drink all his pains away. When her mom comes home, then his job is to knock her around until she’s letting out blood curdling screams. Sometimes when Gwen closes her eyes, she can still hear it. Gwen takes the job and heads over immediately.

~

I had never been in a place this big before. This man was a billionaire. There was a fountain in the driveway and in the foyer. I have never even been in a house with one fountain, much less two. “Good evening, Ms. Fine. My name is George. I was the one contacting you about this job.” George was a tall handsome fella. He had nice, shiny, slicked-back, jet-black hair, a full, thick black beard and a small nose with round wire framed glasses on them. He had warm, caring brown eyes that crinkled when he smiled. He was wearing a suit and tie and carried a briefcase. “Hi, I’m Gwen Fine and this is my daughter Annabelle. Say hi Anna,” I said as I tugged her hand to get her attention. “Hi,” Anna says shyly as she tucks herself behind me. “Well, I have to go now. This is Marie, she is my most trusted confidant and the best housekeeper I have ever had. She will give you a tour and I will see you in four days. Here is the money I promised you.” He hands me the briefcase. My hands lit up with electricity as he handed me my family’s new start. “C’mon, let’s start the tour for y’all,” Marie smiles sweetly. She is about 40, I think. Short, stout, with very round red cheeks. She reminds me of Mrs. Claus, but with red hair. The tour was much shorter than expected. Most doors and hallways were off limits, which I thought was strange. As Marie proceeds through the tour, I feel like something very wrong is about to happen. “What are you doing here? You don’t know these people. And why are 90% of all the hallways and doors closed? Are there dead bodies in there? Oh my God, Anna. Why did I bring my child here?” I think to myself. My heart starts beating faster. Marie turns slowly to look at me. “Are you okay? I can hear your heart beating,” she asks me with a kind of eerie smile. “Yes, I’m Fine, literally,” I laugh. I love that joke. Marie shows us to our room and it is so beautiful. The ceilings are high with a portrait of the heavens and angels on it. There is a big water bed with fluffy, cream-colored blankets and a mountain of pillows, all underneath a glittery pink canopy. This is Anna’s dream room. I look at her and I can tell she’s so happy. Maybe I am doing something right.

~

As Anna and Gwen walk into the room, Marie immediately closes the door behind them and locks it. Anna is too excited about this room to acknowledge a thing. Why did she lock the door?” Gwen panicked. “Maybe it was to give us privacy so we can get settled?” She tried to reason as she started to pace around the room. She hates being locked in rooms. Her mom would lock her and her two younger sisters away in their room before her dad started the beating, which led to Gwen’s association of locked doors to helplessness and fear. Anna is jumping on the bed and giggling, “Mama, isn’t this amazing!? Doesn’t this room look just like the picture I drew the other day?” The wheels start turning in Gwen’s head. “This is the room that Anna drew a picture of. Anna drew that exact bed, canopy-- everything. Even the color scheme matched the portrait - everything was pink, except for the white bed, which had been left uncolored in Anna’s drawing. How is this happening? This just has to be a huge coincidence, right?” But we all know that it isn’t.

~

Several hours go by, and Anna is fast asleep on my lap. I flip through the TV as I start to think. “Why did he give me the money up front? Every job I’ve ever had you have to do the work before you get the money. Why are all hallways off limits? Why did Marie lock us in here? I need some answers.” I slowly lift Anna off of my lap, and quietly tiptoe to the door. I put my ear up to the door and listen. Nothing. I turn the handle and the door opens. “That’s funny, I never heard Marie come unlock the door,” I thought. I sneak out of the room. The house is completely dark and there is no sign of any life. A few hours ago this place was bustling with servants and maids looking after the house. “Why was I offered this job when there are so many people here to take care of it?” I thought. Questions weren’t my friends right now. With every question, my anxiety grows more and more. “What am I doing here?” I crept up to one of the forbidden hallways. The first door in the hallway is unusually small. The top of the door frame is at exactly my height, and the width of the door is exactly my width. “This door looks like it was made for me,” I think to myself. That unsettles me even more. I reach for the door handle and without even touching it, the door swings wide open. My jaw fell to the floor. The room before me was complete with drawings we did as children, all the pictures we took, my favorite stuffed teddy bear - it was my childhood bedroom. I run out of this room and slam the door behind me. With my back pressed against the door I slide to the floor and start to cry. “How are all those things there? I watched my house burn down when I was sixteen. My siblings and I had to rush out, and because I was carrying my two younger sisters through a window, there was no way I could have saved my Teddy. That really happened right?? How did this man I don’t even know have a room filled with everything I owned as a kid, even my Teddy?” I was sobbing uncontrollably. “That’s because I do know you, Gwenyth.”

I woke up in another room. There was blue tiling on the floor and walls. There was a pool in the middle with the same tiling. There were no doors in this room. There was one window. I ran over to the window and I could not believe my eyes. There is no Earth underneath us. All I could see in any direction was stars. “Are we in space?” I thought incredulously. “Where is Anna??” “She is safe...for now,” a bellowing voice answers my question. “Can you hear my thoughts?” “Yes,” the voice replies begrudgingly. “Who are you!?” I screamed. No response. “I don’t understand what’s happening. I’m in outer-space, trapped in a doorless room, and I don’t know where Anna is.” I’m crying again. “You know precisely where Anna is,” I hear. All of a sudden, a memory appears to me, although I've never experienced this memory. It was Anna and I in a room, the floors were concrete and Anna was tied up with something I couldn’t quite make out. Her face was dirty and her big, puppy dog eyes welled up with tears. “Mama, please help,” she cries out to me, her voice shaking. I took a second look around the room finding it to be completely empty, except for a short staircase leading to a metal door with no handles. I hear people coming. Snapping back to the present, I ask the voice in my head, “How do I get there?” My eyes are drawn to the pool. Standing above it, I glare into the deepness. It’s just a pool, however something is telling me to jump in, so I do.

I hit the concrete floor hard. Anna meets my eyes as she starts screaming out of relief. “MAMA! MAMA!! Please help me!” Quickly I come to the realization that she is tied up with a bomb. Tearing it off isn’t an option and she can’t worm out of it. “Anna, don’t move. I will be right back,” She doesn’t question me - just sits there with tears in her eyes. This looks exactly like the memory I just had. If that was the truth, people are coming soon. I run around this empty room. I find nothing except for a little black book on the staircase by the door. “What the fuck is up with this place?” I think to myself. “Open the book,” the voice says to me. I look at Anna. She is staring at the bomb tied around her, watching the timer countdown. “Fuck I have to hurry,” I think. “OPEN THE BOOK!” the voice booms. I open the book and I find a pair of scissors inside. I take the scissors over to Anna. “Everything is going to be okay, just trust me.” I tell her sweetly. She looks up at me and says, “Mama please help,” her voice is cracking just as in the memory. I hear the boots stomping on the concrete, they are closer. Sweat is pouring down my face and my hands are shaking. I hold my breath and pray. I don’t usually believe in God, but right now I do. I take the scissors and cut the blue wire. A big flash of light and I was struck by the power of God himself, and I was thrown across the room. I lost. I lost everything. All I wanted was to be a good mom. To protect my daughter like no one had ever protected me. But I failed. I close my eyes and drift away. “I told you not to go down that hallway.”