"Upupupupupu."
This could be heard in the distance.
As a child, I used to be really scared of the dark. Of the unknown. I looked at the shadows lurking at the window, on the walls of room, on my soul. And I closed my eyes, willingly avoiding them. If I closed my eyes, I said to myself, they will clearly go away. I won´t have to deal with them. I just kept repeating this until, finally, exhausted, I fell sleep.
Its really not been that long since then, but it feels like a lifetime ago. But now, something is different. Now, I am not afraid of the shadows, the shadows are afraid of me. I look over them and they squirm and howl when I give them a very little pinch.
"Upupupupupu", I hear it again.
I look down on the blood that is all over the floor and I see the people that have been gathering close. The look of terror, shock, and panic engraved in my mind forever.
I could hear a voice explaining what just happened. Charming, yet frightening, it felt familiar yet alien. After the voice was done speaking, everyone instantly jumped back, covering their backs, and sudden silence invaded the room.
23 children. Not old enough to know the world but old enough to think it belonged to them. Now all they had was the tools to ensure their survival. At the cost of others.
It was clear they did not want to play, but play they did. Who is bad? Who is good? Does it even matter? I widen my eyes at the pure, pristine distrust thrown around. Some kids were quick to try to lead the others, trying to remain logical and calm. It was a dire moment, but they´ll be damned if they lose their cool. They did not wanted to win, they wanted for the madness to end. Or so they said.
But I knew. I knew they had roles to play. Roles that were imposed on them. Roles that they took unknowingly, but that they had to take to the end, or end dying. Some of them were secret allies, but had to pretend they knew nothing of it. Some of them tried to hard to stay out of troubled, but always, always, is the quiet ones who stand out the most.
And then one of them slipped. He seemed lost, confused. He knew the rules of the games, but did not realize the hidden rules of secrecy. He sat on his back, and made the most innocent of questions. Questions that, more than more questions, provided answers. Answers that everyone was starving to get. Immediately assumptions where made and the people that claimed to hold the standard of Hope made a point of lamenting the decision.
The accusations thrown around only got more severe and the time was ticking, closer and closer to the end of the day. The votes started piling on the kid that looked the plainest. It had to be him, they said, the one that talks but doesn´t.
Upupupupupu, I could hear under my breath.
It seemed to be settled, it seemed like it was going down without a fight. Then the kid, who stayed quiet for most of the day, stood up. Looking down, clenching fists. Decided.
"It is I. The Lucky Guy! You wouldn´t punish the lucky guy, would you?"
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK" was everyone reactions.
The room entered in full panic mode, few minutes left. Voting was coming down to the wire. And suddenly, a hand pointed at another kid.
"It has to be him."
The boy, genuinely surprised, had no time to react.
"I... but..."
It was too late, the game had taken a hold on the minds of the other kids. It was going to be him.
"Why...?"
He didn´t know. When he got in the school he was just a normal kid. Sure, he was the best at something, but even now that seemed pointless. The thought of fighting back lurked his mind for a bit, but then a epiphany came to him. He couldn´t do nothing. He did not have how, the grip of the others was too strong. He looked at the eyes of the other who now wanted him dead. He saw the shadows in those eyes.
And he understood.
He would have done the same.
It is better this way.
"Upupupupupu" I heard again. This time, I recognized where the voice was coming from.
I laughed again, delighted.
"Upupupupupu!"
The shadows now belonged to me.