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“Look at the snow… It’s pure and beautiful… Thank you for agreeing to take a walk with me… I’m so happy…”
Fragments of memories in his head evoked nothing but sadness. He desperately didn’t want to delve into self-analysis and reflection, but what else was there to do at night, being locked in cell number 5?
He remembered how it all started… How late in the evening he was attacked by people in masks, they injected him with some vile substance, and he woke up in the “Hall of Justice” in the company of 14 other people. A voice, distorted by effects, informed them that everyone gathered there was a bad person, that they did not deserve the right to live. But since the “Phoenix” organization has always been benevolent towards humanity, they would be given a second chance. To do this, they had to play a game… Where there would be “good guys” and “bad guys.” 15 cells. In each – a terminal with a user interface for the “Mafia” game. There are two teams. The bad guys know in which cells their teammates are. Their terminals have a chat function. Every night, they choose a target… Who dies. For real.
He remembered the face of the guy who was killed first… A terrible sight. The victim’s cell was filled with poisonous gas, and he had no chance of surviving. He could hardly believe that the fat man who died had actually committed some sin until he found a notebook in his jacket… Where he vividly described how much he hated people and talked about his abuse of animals.
“Are there thieves, murderers, and rapists among us? How strange… Why do they all look like ordinary people?”
He was bored and constantly on edge. He was assigned the role of a civilian; he could only vote during the day, taking his place in the “Hall of Justice.” He remembered the first execution. Then everyone understood why they had to sit exclusively in their chair during the vote and why the chair restrained their hands and feet with shackles. The girl, against whom everyone voted because of her shrillness and unpleasantness, was fried with electric shocks. The participants in the game voted while sitting in electric chairs… Moreover, only the next day did they learn that she was just another civilian.
“What is my sin? Is it all because of that winter night?”
He remembered the girl from the hospital. Feeling like a hero, he took her out that evening, ignoring the prohibitions. Sneaking past the guards, they walked around the city until night… Until she felt ill, and he had to call an ambulance.
“I haven’t seen her since… Is she dead now? Is my sin that I ruined an innocent soul who just wanted to escape from her cage?”
With these thoughts, he finally managed to fall asleep.
In the morning, the inhabitant of cell number 5 was found dead.
The game continued.
Fragments of memories in his head evoked nothing but sadness. He desperately didn’t want to delve into self-analysis and reflection, but what else was there to do at night, being locked in cell number 5?
He remembered how it all started… How late in the evening he was attacked by people in masks, they injected him with some vile substance, and he woke up in the “Hall of Justice” in the company of 14 other people. A voice, distorted by effects, informed them that everyone gathered there was a bad person, that they did not deserve the right to live. But since the “Phoenix” organization has always been benevolent towards humanity, they would be given a second chance. To do this, they had to play a game… Where there would be “good guys” and “bad guys.” 15 cells. In each – a terminal with a user interface for the “Mafia” game. There are two teams. The bad guys know in which cells their teammates are. Their terminals have a chat function. Every night, they choose a target… Who dies. For real.
He remembered the face of the guy who was killed first… A terrible sight. The victim’s cell was filled with poisonous gas, and he had no chance of surviving. He could hardly believe that the fat man who died had actually committed some sin until he found a notebook in his jacket… Where he vividly described how much he hated people and talked about his abuse of animals.
“Are there thieves, murderers, and rapists among us? How strange… Why do they all look like ordinary people?”
He was bored and constantly on edge. He was assigned the role of a civilian; he could only vote during the day, taking his place in the “Hall of Justice.” He remembered the first execution. Then everyone understood why they had to sit exclusively in their chair during the vote and why the chair restrained their hands and feet with shackles. The girl, against whom everyone voted because of her shrillness and unpleasantness, was fried with electric shocks. The participants in the game voted while sitting in electric chairs… Moreover, only the next day did they learn that she was just another civilian.
“What is my sin? Is it all because of that winter night?”
He remembered the girl from the hospital. Feeling like a hero, he took her out that evening, ignoring the prohibitions. Sneaking past the guards, they walked around the city until night… Until she felt ill, and he had to call an ambulance.
“I haven’t seen her since… Is she dead now? Is my sin that I ruined an innocent soul who just wanted to escape from her cage?”
With these thoughts, he finally managed to fall asleep.
***
In the morning, the inhabitant of cell number 5 was found dead.
The game continued.
