The following afternoon, a few hours before the episode starts, all twenty-nine remaining contestants are packed into the common room. This time, it’s under Reese’s calling. He stands at the front, the projection wall behind him, turning a small box over in his hands.

  "Alright, first things first," he says, raising his voice. "Drop your phones in here."

  He lifts the box. The complaints come immediately, but Reese’s voice drowns them out.

  "No leaks, no spoilers. I’m sorry, but no phones." He grins. "I know how tempting it is to post something, but trust me—this is gonna be huge. We don’t want to ruin the surprise, do we?"

  One by one, the contestants hesitate—then comply. Even Rebecca. She doesn’t say anything when Reese holds the box out to her. She can’t. Not with his eyes nailed to her. She just takes her phone out of her pocket and drops it into the box. During all that time, he never breaks eye contact. He doesn’t even blink once. Then he moves on to the next person.

  With a longing that physically hurts her, she just watches. The way he works them. The way they fall into his rhythm, like it’s the natural thing to do. Phones rattle inside the box. Reese thanks each of them, satisfied.

  "Perfect." He returns to his original position, opposite the group, and hands the box to Contestant 14. "Okay, let’s shoot the first scene. Let’s start with a big one."

  “What is it?” someone asks. Rebecca doesn’t recognize the voice.

  Reese ignores the question. He doesn’t respond with an ambiguous remark or a disarming smile, and the common room is too silent for anyone to have missed it. Maybe he’s just entertained passing instructions to Contestant 14—but that doesn’t seem to be the reason either. More like an excuse. Rebecca’s eyes narrow. It isn’t like him to avoid a confrontation, a question, or anything, really.

  "She asked you something." That voice, Rebecca identifies it instantly. Contestant 24. "What is it?"

  "Patience is a virtue. Did you know that?"

  Rebecca chuckles under her breath. She’s relieved she can still predict his ways. She still knows him. She’s still the closest person to him.

  Her gaze falls instinctively on Contestant 45, who’s smirking at Contestant 24 like she holds information no one else does. What if she does? Are Reese and her sharing secrets now? Like they used to? It’s not important, Rebecca tells herself, he’s made his choice. The only problem is, it still hurts.

  She looks at the door. Maybe she shouldn’t be there. She shouldn’t be part of whatever it is that Reese is doing, she should be dancing. Especially when she’s one of the extras in his little project, not his equal, and she hates it. She should let what’s left of her life shrink to dancing. She’d die happy.

  But she can’t go. Not because she isn’t a complete fool who wants to keep an eye on Contestant 45—that too—but because she needs to see whatever it is Reese is doing all the way through. She’s convinced this video of his isn’t something she’ll want to miss.

  “Ready, folks? Please, do follow me.”

  At first, nobody moves. They only pivot on their heels, tracking his steps. Reese pushes through the crowd, heading for the common room door. As he passes next to Rebecca, he grabs her hand—a quick squeeze that makes her heart skip a beat. Then he lets go. The gesture is subtle, almost hidden, but she understands: stick by him, follow his lead.

  Slowly and hesitantly, the crowd starts moving. Reese leads them through the kitchen and into the emergency stairs. Then up. He’s taking them to the roof.

  “Where are we going?” someone asks. Another unfamiliar voice.

  “You’ll see.”

  For a moment, the only sound in the emergency stairs is the thud of their footsteps, and the occasional giggle behind Rebecca’s ear. Once they reach the end, Reese pushes the door open, and the rooftop stretches out before them. The same place where Reese asked her to trust him for the first time. Only now, lined along the edges, spider drones stand in a silent row, their legs coiled, waiting. The sight freezes some of them in place. They gasp, exchange looks, and take some steps back—but no one speaks up, and no one leaves.

  Reese pulls out a phone. Not his—Contestant 1’s, cracked screen and all. Only now, it’s working. He opens an app. Then slides a finger up, like he’s adjusting the volume of something. At least, that’s what it looks like he’s doing.

  Almost instantly, the spider drones retract their legs, locking into stillness. Now, they’re nothing more than a row of perfect spheres lining the roof. Reese steps forward, standing between two of them, at the edge of the rooftop. Rebecca freezes mid-breath, but the drones don’t react. He turns to the group.

  “Did you do that?” someone asks.

  Again, Reese doesn’t respond.

  “Listen, I don’t know how long the signal lasts, so this has to be quick. Let me hand you the props. Are you excited? You better be.” He rolls his neck. “Fourteen, give me the boxes.”

  Contestant 14 moves forward, placing a small carbon box on the ground—not much bigger than the one they stored their phones in. Then, next to it, he places a bigger one.

  “Come on, folks. Don’t be afraid. Take one. You need one of each,” Reese says.

  “What are they?” asks the same contestant as before.

  Reese clears his throat and rubs his chin. “One is a…” he chuckles, “I don't even know what they're called, but I’ve seen a lot of videos of people wearing them lately. You know what I’m talking about? Those jackets that expand like squirrel wings or something. It’s for us to jump off the roof. In the other box, there are action cameras we’ll use to record the jump.”

  “What?”

  “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Wait, what the hell are we doing here?” asks Contestant 24 as he makes his way through the crowd.

  “Good question.” Reese nudges the box with his foot. “We’re shooting a video. In this scene, we jump.”

  Silence. The last slanting rays of sun paint the sky behind him. Rebecca has no words. The others don’t either. At least until Contestant 24 speaks again.

  “You seriously expect us to jump?” he asks. “Just to record a video with you?”

  “Yeah. Why not?”

  “It's too dangerous,” Vanessa intervenes. “I mean, there are so many things that could go wrong.

  Reese shakes his head. “Nah, you’re overreacting, man. I mean, yeah, this is probably gonna get us in trouble, but it’ll just be a night in jail or something lame like that. Rebecca and I used to pull risky shit all the time, and that’s all they ever did to us. Right?”

  He and all the other contestants turn their heads toward her. She hesitates, then says, “Yes.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  But that’s not entirely true. They were also punished for breaking into the nurse’s office. The punishment wasn’t physical. It was manipulation, and ultimately, the destruction of their relationship.

  It’s too late to change her answer and be honest now, anyway. Reese is already asserting himself with a satisfied smile, and some of the contestants are already considering going through with it.

  “And you’re sure this works?” Contestant 2 asks, examining the squirrel-winged jacket. It’s compact, like one of those waterproof jackets that fold into tiny pouches.

  Reese scoffs. “There’s videos of people using them all over the internet. That should be the last of your concerns.”

  “So we should be concerned about other stuff,” Vanessa insists.

  “Didn’t you hear him?” Contestant 6 exclaims. “A night in jail—that’s all. I want to do it. Give me the jacket. I want to jump.”

  “Come on, guys,” Reese continues. “It’ll be fucking groundbreaking. And we’ll be recording the whole thing. Even Live’s gonna love it. My theory is they benefit from us doing stuff like this. It boosts their numbers.”

  “You’re asking us to risk our lives for you. You realize that, don’t you?” says Contestant 24.

  “You could jump and die here—though that’s very unlikely, because these things are solid.” Reese lifts the pouch in his hand. “Or you could die on tonight’s episode. At least here, you’ll be doing something. You decide.”

  “Something for you.”

  “Ah, that’s the real problem, isn’t it? Well, you’re free to go hide in bed. Let the rest of us make the best of our situation.”

  “Yeah.” More contestants start getting on board with the idea. “I want a little fun.”

  “We’re not dead yet, are we?”

  “But there’s something I don’t understand.” This time, it’s Contestant 43 who speaks. He’s leaning against the door at the back of the group, arms crossed over his chest. All the other contestants turn to look at him. “You want us to jump but have no intention of escaping? Seems to me like you’re wasting an opportunity here.”

  “I don't know if that's possible,” Reese says. “But if you, or anyone really, finds a way to escape, then go ahead. Be my guest.”

  “You’re not planning on escaping, then?”

  “I’ll decide when I hit the ground,” Reese says. “So, are you in or not?”

  After a moment of indecision, the contestants—all of them, Vanessa and Contestant 24 included—agree to shoot the scene.

  “Okay.” Reese pulls a rolled piece of fabric from the box and hands it to the closest person.

  Rebecca gets hers from Contestant 14. She spreads it out, slips it on, and prays her stomach won’t betray her before they’re instructed to jump.

  “Are you ready? Remember to enjoy the moment and have fun. We’ll see each other on the other side.”

  A pause.

  “I meant down there, by the way.”

  Contestant 45 steps forward. She makes sure to grab the spot next to Reese before Contestant 14 does.

  “I’m ready,” she says.

  Reese’s eyes narrow, but when the others start murmuring—“Yeah, me too.” “Let’s shoot this thing.”—his lips twitch into a grin.

  “That’s the spirit.” Reese says.

  Rebecca isn’t ready; her legs wobble like noodles. She stays put while the other contestants pass by her side. Some brush against her or bluntly push her with their arms, yet she doesn’t move an inch.

  With his back to them, Reese addresses the hesitant ones over his shoulder. “What are you doing over there? You either jump with us or go back inside.” When his eyes fall on Rebecca, his whole face softens. Rebecca’s stomach churns. “Rebecca,” he says. “Nobody’s forcing you, okay?”

  Rebecca swallows. What’s that supposed to mean?

  She’s not sure why, but instead of retreating into the emergency stairs and back into the house, she begins walking toward the edge of the roof, to an empty spot between Contestants 10 and 38.

  “No.” Reese calls out again, and Rebecca stops. “I saved a spot for you,” he says, removing the box from his side.

  For a second, Rebecca dismisses him and takes a single step in the opposite direction. As soon as she turns her back on him, she remembers the hand squeeze he gave her earlier, and she stops. Stick to him—that’s how she’d interpreted it. So she ends up obeying and takes the spot next to Reese.

  Ten seconds later, all twenty-nine of them stand at the edge, unmoving spider drones at their sides, the city glowing beneath them. The wind cries in thin, reedy whistles.

  “One!” Reese’s voice tears through it. “Two!”

  Rebecca feels his hand tighten around hers. She yanks her gaze from the dizzying drop and looks at him. His lips move. No sound. But she swears she reads the words:

  “Don’t jump.”

  He doesn’t let go.

  “Three!”

  They stay put. But at least twenty others leap. Their capes work. Their bodies turn weightless, like feathers. But it doesn’t matter.

  Below, spider drones emerge from walls, windows, and the street. Gunfire rattles the buildings. Contestants drop limp. The pavement greets them. Pedestrians scream. Cars skid, horns blaring. The spider drones crawl back into their hideouts as quickly as they came.

  On the rooftop, a single second of dead silence follows.

  “What the hell!” Contestant 6 shatters the quiet. He spins on Reese and shoots an arm out, a trembling finger aimed at his chest. His grin stretches wider than ever. “Did you just kill all of those people?”

  Reese doesn’t say anything. He stares at the dead bodies on the pavement. He’s lost every drop of color in his face, and his eyes are as empty as black pits. Even his breathing is off. It’s too slow and too shallow.

  “He’s right,” Contestant 24 says. “You didn’t jump. Why didn’t you jump?”

  “You knew about the drones,” says Contestant 10—Lena’s other friend. She didn’t jump either.

  Before anyone notices, Rebecca lets go of Reese’s hand as if his skin had turned electrified. He finally pulls his attention away from the mess he made and looks at her hand instead. A moment later, their eyes meet—but she can’t tell what he’s trying to say. She can’t read him anymore.

  Did he plan this? Did he want them to die?

  “Hey, answer us,” Vanessa demands. “Why didn’t you jump?”

  Reese steps away from the edge. Facing the door to the stairs, he squats and grabs his head. The group follows him—now only eight. Rebecca looks around. Vanessa didn’t jump. Neither did Contestants 6, 10, 24, 2, or 45.

  “I can’t believe you killed them all!” Contestant 6 claps, laughing hysterically, practically bouncing in place.

  “The drones were turned off when we first got here. Did you do that?”

  “Are you getting special treatment from the producers?”

  “I can’t believe someone else lost their shit and killed everyone—and it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.”

  “Don’t act like you’re in shock,” says Contestant 24, turning his back to the void and facing Reese. “You wanted this to happen.”

  “Leave him alone!” Contestant 45 shouts. She’s crying now, and her mascara stains her cheeks. “He didn’t know. He was just trying to help us.”

  “Yeah, right,” Vanessa says. “Look around, honey.” She grabs Contestant 45 by the arm. “Isn’t it a bit too much of a coincidence that both his girlfriends survived?”

  “You planned this, didn’t you?” Contestant 10 aims the question at Rebecca instead of Reese.

  Rebecca tries to take a step back, but she has to adjust quickly as her heel finds the air.

  “No,” she says.

  Contestant 24 steps forward. “You’re full of shit,” he spits. “You and your psychopathic boyfriend planned this. Kill everyone, then run away together.”

  Reese stands. “Run where? I’m trapped here, same as you.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “Why is she alive, Reese?”

  “Did you see that, Tommy. There’s someone more crazy than us.”

  “Reese, did you tell her not to jump?”

  Reese looks at Contestant 45, horrified, but before he can answer, Contestant 24 lunges at him, clearly trying to tackle him.

  Reese holds up Contestant 1’s phone. “You don’t want me to reactivate the drones, do you? Then keep your panties on.”

  Silence.

  The alarms at the emergency stairs go off. Rebecca remembers them from their first time on the rooftop. When she was just starting to believe maybe Reese wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe he was worth trusting. Now, all she sees is a murderer. Cold. Disconnected from anything but his goals. Scared, too. But above all, ruthless. Dangerous.

  And she’d shared his bed so many times she’d lost count. She thought her life was safe in his hands. She thought she knew him. Thought she recognized his masks—both the fake and the real.

  Where did that man go? Was he buried under the insanity of the show? Had her betrayal broken him past repair? Had she split the minds of two people in that house?

  Rebecca takes a deep breath, and a tear rolls down her cheek.

  The morning started with twenty-eight contestants and the man she loved. Now, they’re eight strangers.

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