T W E N T Y - T W O
His Laugh

"IT'S A LITTLE too quiet in here, isn't it?"

"Bella, the whole place was as quiet as a cemetery since this game started." Lucius snorted, rolling his eyes before leaning against the wooden walls. I held in a little snort of my own at Lucius's statement. The place was definitely quiet, except for the occasional screams of horror when they were being murdered.

"Alright." Placing her palms up in mock surrender, Bella shook her head defensively. "I was just commenting. No need to set fire to my character."

From where I stood, I could see Cassiel and Gabriel both roll their eyes, the former shaking his head slightly in annoyance. None of them uttered a single word though, too busy keeping watch as we, according to the boys, neared the kitchen.

"She's right though," I piped in. "It is awfully quiet. Not a single movement or scream. It's like everyone is dead and we're the only living survivors." I shivered, pulling the sleeves of my sweater down to cover my fingers.

I could feel Cassiel's eyes on me, his large summer green eyes observing my every movement. When I turned to look at him, ready to ask him what was it that he was staring at, he turned away, lips pressed tightly into a thin line.

It seemed as though the universe was always prepared to prove me wrong, however. As we ventured down the hallway in a journey to reach the kitchen, we heard a small whimper a few doors down. My heart skipped a beat while my mind immediately registered the fact that there was still life hidden somewhere in the walls of this boathouse. Excited to have the chance of saving a life, I turned over to Minnie, tugging her hand.

"Minnie, did you hear that?" I asked, straining my ears.

"Hear what?"

"I heard someone a little down the hallway. Maybe a whimper. But it seemed weak, almost."

"There's still someone alive. We have to go help them!" Elated beyond comprehension, Minnie quickened her speed as she rushed down the hallway. I struggled to keep up with her, jogging at a quick pace as the rest of the group called for us in surprise.

"Where are you going?" I heard Cassiel ask.

"Someone's alive! We have to go—"

I barely even finished my sentence before I was cut off, my feet jolting to a stop as my jaw dropped to the floor. Just a few steps in front of me, Minnie had stopped short, her hands covering her lips as she held back tears. I swallowed a bile in my throat, resisting the urge to gag as I gently laid a hand upon Minnie's shoulder.

Laid on the ground was a woman that could not be more than twenty years of age. Her eyes were wide open, lips slightly parted as she stared at the ceiling with her glazed-over eyes. There was no sign of blood. Instead, the only thing that had proved that her death was caused by one of the projections of the four horsemen was the fact that her entire body only contained skin and bones.

Just like how I saw the projection of famine drain every single drop of energy away from that victim when I first woke up, this woman was the exact mirror image. Her wrinkly skin clung onto her bones, not a single ounce of muscle or fat in sight. She was so unbelievably thin that she resembled a rag doll, one that had distorted proportions too far away from being healthy. The woman's cheeks were carved in, hip bone showing distinctively from her now droopy jeans.

My stomach churned at the image, causing me to turn away, tightly squeezing my eyes shut.

"No," Minnie cried out. "We didn't make it. We couldn't save her."

I pulled my best friend into my embrace, gently running a hand down her back to soothe her as she sobbed. Minnie was crying for a woman in which she did not even know; a complete stranger. If that did not show how kind-hearted and peace-loving she really was, I don't think anything else ever will.

I, on the other hand, had no more tears to shed. Shock was coursing through my veins even though death was a common occurrence in the past twelve hours or so. I could only pray that nothing like this will happen to the people I love and care for.

There were just too many deaths for one night, and as the time ticked on, the numbers were just dwindling and dwindling. The clock is now at a sharp 9:30 in the morning, the seconds ticking by faster than expected as we moved on and foraged for food. When we stopped right in front of a larger wooden door, Bella squealed in delight, lifting her weight off of Lucius who had been supporting her, and cupped her hands to her lips while grinning in excitement.

"I'm so hungry I can eat a whale!" Exclaiming in pure joy, she hobbled her way to the front before pushing the door open, not even bothering to safety check the area first.

Thankfully, the area was empty of a single soul, all quiet just like the majority of the boathouse. The kitchen was situated at the ground level, a few doors down from the main hall which held the dance floor and bar. The cupboards were luckily completely decked out with packet biscuits and bottled water, and some even contained luxury foods like champagne and wine. The fridges, which were surprisingly powered on, had fruits and meats inside. Minnie had raised her eyebrows slightly in amusement when she caught sight of a small tin of caviar.

"Who would leave that in the fridge just like that?" She asked, shaking her head before making her way to the cupboards to help Bella with the food.

Instead, I stayed by the fridges, pulling out some fruits that were hopefully still good to eat. When a cold hand rested on the back of my neck, I jerked away, the apples dropping to the ground with a soft thud as I moved away. There Cassiel stood, eyes wide with slight shock and a tinge of amusement. Chuckling, he stooped down to collect the items I had dropped before standing back up to his full height, grabbing a few more apples from the fridge before kicking it shut with his foot.

"I didn't know you were so jumpy. If I did I would've said something first instead. Sorry to scare you."

"I only have this place to blame." My giggle was tended, heart still thundering in my chest with shock as I took some apples from his hold to ease his load. "Just don't do that again. I don't think my frail heart can take too much shock."

"Thoroughly noted." He smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth as his green eyes twinkled with mischief.

I could feel my heart skip a beat, breath caught in my throat before I shook away the thought, moving along to meet with the rest of our little band of not-so-merry men and women. He must have noticed my evasiveness, for it took him a matter of seconds before he was walking by my side once more, eyes softer and worried as he glanced down at me from his towering height.

"What's wrong?" He asked, hugging the fruits close to his chest. "You're avoiding me."

"You are delusional. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know. I'm not avoiding you." My argument was weak, and Cassiel saw straight through that horribly crafted lie.

"Stop lying," he said, immediately seeing through my false proclamations. "I know you enough to know that you're avoiding me."

"I knew you for barely even 24 hours, Cassiel." Stopping, I turned over to offer him a small glare, one that was not full-hearted. "You don't know me that well at all, contrary to your belief."

"I have known you for a long time, Addison." He furrowed his eyebrows, placing the fruits on the counter so that he could grab me by the wrist when I turned to walk away. "Just because you did not know me didn't mean it was that way for me too."

"And how did you know me exactly?" I challenged, tilting my chin up defiantly as Cassiel drew small patterns on the inside of my wrist.

"I was Lucius' friend for a very long time. We aren't... human. Lucius was in charge of protecting you when you were a little girl and I hung around him a lot. I might have gone to a rival school in town, but that didn't mean that I hadn't seen you before."

"You are a creep, mister, spying on young girls." I clicked my tongue mockingly, shaking my head just the slightest.

I hadn't expected Cassiel to laugh, but he did. It wasn't a throaty laugh like I had expected, but rather one that came from his belly. He tilted his head backward, lips parting as he chuckled at my comment. With shoulders shaking slightly from the intensity, I couldn't help but blush when he recovered, his eyes training down on me.

"In that case, I am apparently guilty as charged. But it's hard to stay away from beautiful girls like you, Addison."

His reply left me stumped, and I was positive that my jaw had dropped at that moment those words left his mouth. I hadn't expected Cassiel to be so light-hearted, to be so flirtatious. Especially with what happened back when we first met and back at our safety room, I hadn't thought that we would get along at all. Cassiel had been so cold and distant, bordering downright rude when we had first met.

And yet, I was now left gaping like a fish due to his smooth comeback, and I had never found myself in such a lack of words before. Thankfully, I didn't have to say anything for Minnie rounded the corner, eyes dropping to our connected hands for a second before I pulled apart from Cassiel's grip as if his hands were hot coal.

"Come on," she said, gesturing for us to follow her. "We've all got something. Let's go before more of those evil spirit things show up."

Cassiel followed without another word and I couldn't help myself but allow my eyes to trail after his figure. He was lean, tall, and slightly muscular but not in the overly buff sort of way. Without a doubt, the man had a sort of attraction to his looks and newfound personality, but I wasn't going to be one that admitted it out loud. I had kept a lot of secrets to myself through my years alive and keeping yet another wouldn't be too hard.

Just as I was about to follow the two, a glow caught my eye. It was so bright that I had to raise a hand to shield my eyes from the light, squinting at the object as hard as I could. Before I had even set my eyes on the item, a gut feeling told me that I had just found the item that would bring me one step closer towards freedom.

Placed right in between a few wilting flowers by a colorful vase was a light green orb, the size of a jewel. It gleamed brightly in the ray of sunlight, reflecting the giant star's dazzle as it brightened the room. How it didn't shine beforehand, I did not know. I crossed the room in seconds, fingers grasping tight on the orb before smashing it to the ground with as much force as I could. The orb broke upon impact, turning into dust as a puff of pale green smoke emerged from its remains. The familiar tingle started from the bottom of my toes, the feeling ascending to the top of my head before leaving my body rejuvenated as if I had just stepped right out of a spa treatment.

When I placed my hand against the sunlight streaming into the room, I couldn't help but smile with what I saw. Instead of the light going straight through my palm, it blocked out certain rays. My flesh was seemingly more opaque than it was before, and that made my lips tilt up into a smile.

Maybe, just maybe, I could beat Death at his own game.

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