"MANSION HAS BEEN LOADED, " says the robotic voice.

"I can't believe we have to do this again..." says Blake with despair in his voice.

"Blake," whispers Ana, "don't look upset, you need to have a neutral face. The more upset you look, the more you're a target for the murderer."

Blake looks at her skeptically, "Why are you trying to help me? How do you know I'm not the murderer?"

"I don't know that, I'm just trying to help everyone, I can't let you guys suffer how Carly did."

Blake's POV:

"*As calmly as she came up to me, she walks away from me the same way. Her face still has the same expression. Her eyes look dead and her face is completely relaxed as if she's done something like this before, as if she has experience.*"

-End of POV-

"The game will be starting in 10 seconds, players!" says X.

"10..."

"*Shit okay, you've got this Joseph, if you think someone is the murderer, don't hesitate.*"

"9..."

"*Listen to what Ana told you, Blake! You'll be fine!*"

"8..."

"*Kill as many people as you can Rachel, you have to win.*"

"7..."

"*You can do this Chase! You did it last time, now do it again.*"

"6..."

"*You can't mess up like last time, Carly! Be more careful this time!*"

"5..."

"*You've tried to warn and help everyone, Ana. Now it's on them to see if they'll help themselves or not.*"

"4..."

"*You can do it, Lexi! Be positive and be smart!*"

"3..."

"2..."

"1... Game commencing"

"Good luck my players! Don't die! Or do, we'll see!" says X over the intercom letting out a maniacal laugh.

Once again, everyone takes off running in the opposite directions of each other. They're a little used to it now. They have an idea as to what they should do now.

Ana's POV:

"*Do what you did last time, do not come out of your hiding spot, for the love of God. If you hear something, ignore it, it's the best option.*"

I sprint to my hiding spot from the last round and get into it immediately, I pray that no one saw me.

Carly's POV:

"*Ok ok, you have a second chance, please don't mess this one up. You have to survive, Carly, do it for her.*"

I run around the map, panicking, trying to look for the best possible hiding spot. I'm trying to be more aware of everything around me, I refuse to die like last time, absolutely not. "*Over there!*" I find a supply closet and stuff myself in it, closing the door as fast and quietly as possible.

Rachel's POV:

"*Did someone just go into the supply closet? Do my eyes deceive me? That seemed fairly easy to find someone, is this a trick?*" I pause for a second, realizing what I'm saying, "*What is wrong with you?! Stop doing that, just do what you have to do, and stop trying to have fun with this.*"

I turn away from the supply closet, trying to find someone else. I see someone else in the kitchen, "I'm sorry, Chase," I whispers to myself.

-End of POV-

"Hey, Chase! You know there's not actually food in here right?" says Rachel.

"Hm? Oh," Chase laughs, "yeah I guess not, I didn't really come here for the food though. I didn't really know where else to go."

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense. But the kitchen is such an open place though, it's not exactly an effective place to be in," says Rachel as she moves closer to Chase.

"For such an open place, you seem to be moving closer, Rachel..."

"Oh, am I? I didn't realize. My apologies if I made you worry! I don't have any bad intentions or anything, I'm not murderer so you don't have to worry!"

"*Bullshit,*" Chase thinks to himself. "Uh-huh...don't worry, I believe you, but I think I'm gonna leave now. After all, you're right about the kitchen so I'm gonna find somewhere else to go."

"Hmm... alright. But Chase, just one thing before you go."

"What is it, Rachel?"

"I'm sorry for all of this," says Rachel.

"You mean for when you moved too close to me? Don't worry about that, Rachel, we all make mistakes."

"Actually... that's not what I'm apologizing for."

Chase has his back turned to Rachel, his eyes widen, "Oh? Then what is it?"

Rachel says as she sprints toward Chase with the knife in her hand, "For this."

"What's that sound, Rach-" Chase tries to finish his sentence, but he can't. His words sputter from his mouth as blood comes out. He drops to the kitchen floor, dead. Blood is emptying out of his body and onto the kitchen floor, with Rachel's knife still in his back. Rachel takes the knife out but does so at the wrong time.

"Rachel?! What the hell are you doing?!" screams Joseph, he stands a good distance away from the murderer and Chase's dead body.

"I-I-um- I'm sorry! I didn't wanna do this! I didn't choose this role!"

"Even if you got the Murderer, it doesn't mean you have to go through with it, Rachel. There's no excuse for murder," Joseph pulls out his gun. But, he doesn't aim for Rachel. "*What the hell are you doing?!*" Rachel thinks to herself. Joseph is aiming up at the roof and pulls the trigger.

Joseph begins to scream, "GUYS, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME AND THE GUNSHOT I JUST FIRED, DO NOT COME OUT! I HAVE COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE MURDERER, AND THEY HAVE KILLED SOMEONE! I REPEAT, THEY HAVE KILLED SOMEONE! CHASE IS DEAD!"

"*No way...*", thinks Ana.

"*Murderer?? Poor Chase...*", thinks Lexi.

"Rachel. Let's fight. I use my gun and you use your knife. Whoever wins will be able to live this round. If you win, you'll be able to keep killing," says Joseph. His tone is completely cold, it sounds deadly.

"I'm telling you, I didn't want to do this! Can't you understand that?"

"Just stop it, Rachel. Stop with your excuses. Answer my question, yes or no?" says Joseph. He can barely even look her in the eyes.

"*Even when I try to explain myself and act good, it doesn't work. Why can't I break this stupid cycle?!,*" Rachel thinks to herself.

"Fine. If that's what you want, we can do it."

"On the count of 3, we'll start."

Rachel nods.

"Alright. 1..."

"*Shit, shit, shit! Win this.*"

"2..."

"*I'll win this right? I have a gun after all... Let's hope so.*"

"3!"

In the blink of an eye, multiple shots are fired trying to hit Rachel. She's sprinting all around the map, she's fast.

"Stay still, God damnit!" Shouts Joseph with fear in his voice. He can't lose this.

"Never! I'm not dying!" Shouts Rachel. Her screams can be heard everywhere on the map.

Her screams are heard by the players.

"*Rachel?? She's murderer?! I would've never expected her of all people to get the role,*" thinks Ana.

"*Rachel...? No way...she was so nice to me, that's not fair,*" thinks Lexi.

"I trusted you, Rachel," says Joseph.

"We haven't even known each other for that long! Trusting me this early on was a mistake. When you trust people too soon, it always ends up bad."

"What are you even talking about, Rachel?"

"When competitions come into the picture, trust doesn't mean anything to me."

"What? What on earth are you talking about?"

"This is the way it's always been. Ever since I was little, I've always had to take competitions seriously. It's like I'm two different people when I compete. When you're forced to sign up for so many things, it has that effect on you."

Joseph looks confused, "What? How many things were you signed up for?"

"You name it, they most likely signed me up for it. Soccer, basketball, archery, gymnastics, a few instruments here and there. When I was a little older, around my early teens, they even signed me up for knife and ax throwing classes."

At this point, the fight has turned into a conversation, Rachel has her knife down and Joseph is beginning to lower his gun.

"Ok..." Joseph pauses before speaking again, "Who exactly is 'they?' Why exactly did they feel like they should sign you up for so many things?"

"'They' are almost every single adult figure in my life. My parents, my mentors, my coaches, I could go on. They all say the same damn thing, 'If you don't win anything, you'll never amount to anything.'" Rachel's voice breaks. She goes silent for a bit before regaining her composure, "The point is that if I wasn't good at something, they would despise me. While others had signed up for fun, I signed up to gain some purpose in my life."

"I am sorry, Rachel. I really am," Joseph considers his words carefully before continuing, "We can still stop this. We could take a stand against X. I don't wanna unleash the 'second person' that you talk about when you compete. That would be horrible for everyone. X would get his way if you did that."

"I'd like to, believe me, but my hands are tied, Joseph. Do you realize how hard it is to hold back the competitive side of myself?"

"No, but-"

"I'm not done. It's so hard to hold back this part of myself when I've lived more competitive than not! Why should I listen to what you're saying? Why would I go against everything I've ever known for the one game that competitiveness matters most?!"

"Rachel, stop. Take a breather, ok?"

Rachel maintains eye contact with Joseph, she takes a deep breath. "Fine. But, you still never answered my questions."

Joseph proceeds hastily, "I'm sure it must be hard, to not know which side of you is really you. That uncertainty can really get to someone, especially someone your age. But, you can make a change, Rachel. Just because you grew up like this, doesn't mean you have to stay like this. I can't force you to listen to me, but please make the right decision."

Rachel stammers, "I- well- I don't know-"

"Rachel. Don't do something you'll regret."

"I...I can't. I'm sorry, Joseph. I have to finish what I started."

"Rachel, please don't."

Her eyes begin to well up as tears flow down her face, her voice quivers as she begins to speak, "I don't even know why I bothered to tell you, you're gonna forget after this round anyways. Goodbye, for now, Joseph. Thank you for the talk."

"What? Rachel, no-!"

Rachel continues to speed up more than before, Joseph continues to try and shoot but misses every shot.

"Don't you do it, Rachel! Please!"

Joseph aims his gun near Rachel's head. He has one bullet left, he can't miss. His hand shakes as he pulls the trigger, causing the bullet to ricochet off the wall and then onto the floor.

"Shit... you've gotta be kidding!"

"Goodbye, Joseph," Rachel says as she stabs Joseph in his chest.

He drops to the floor almost immediately. The knife killed him on impact.

"Woah woah players! I'm proud of all the killing but settle down for a bit! The round is over! Congrats to the ones who survived and especially congrats to the murderer! That was an AMAZING game! I look forward to our future games! I will now be starting the memory wipe and teleporting back to the lobby right about now!" says X over the intercom.

"Memory Wipe Starting," a robotic voice says.

"Memory Wipe finished, now teleporting back to lobby."

"Now then, players! You guys know what time it is! It's time for me to tell you how many lives you have!"

"Blake: 10 lives" "Rachel: 10 lives" "Chase: ...9 lives. Do better." "Joseph: ...9 lives" "Carly: 9 lives" "Ana: 10 lives" "Lexi: 10 lives"

"Here are the results of the second round, my players! The rest of your day is free to do whatever you please! Have fun, and I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

Just like that, X is gone and most likely won't be speaking until it's time for the 3rd round.

"W-what?" says both Chase and Joseph at the same time. They both exchange looks at each other, confused about what the hell just happened.

"*That definitely confirms it. It's Rachel for sure, I have to warn the other players,*" Chase thinks to himself.

"Guys, it's best not to worry about it! After all, you can't really do much about it, the round is over," says Rachel.

"...You're right, Rachel. There's no point in dwelling over something that's already happened. Chase, let's try and do better next time, alright?" says Joseph.

"Hell yeah, of course."

"That's the spirit! Let's hope we all survive for the 3rd round, we need to," says Joseph.

"Yeah! We can do it guys, we just have to try harder!" says Lexi.

"I agree, Lexi! You're so smart!" says Rachel.

"*You're disgusting, Rachel. I will expose you, no matter what,*" Chase thinks to himself.

Chase and Rachel lock eyes. Chase looks away, he can't ruin his plan the second he thought of it. "We should probably get out of the lobby, guys," says Chase.

"Yeah I agree, Chase," says Rachel giving a smile.

2 hours later...

Rachel's POV:

After the game ended, I felt horrible. I don't know why. I'm not sure if something went down during the game but it seems like the only option. I ran to my dorm a few minutes after the game ended to figure out the cause of this.

Lexi sees me running, and she knocks on my door as soon as I close it, "Is everything alright, Rachel? Why were you running?" She sounds so concerned, and I also detect a bit of fear in her.

I take a deep breath, "I'm alright, Lexi! Don't worry about me, ok?"

"Alright... I hope you're ok, Rachel," Lexi says. I hear her footsteps get quieter and quieter as she walks away from my dorm.

I sit in silence for a bit, before I get an idea.

I whisper, "X, can you hear me? I have a question."

A few moments pass by, no sign of him. The only noise in my room is the sound of the AC. Then, I hear static coming from the intercom, and then X's voice.

"Oh? Do tell, what is your question?" says X. He speaks in an excited tone most of the time, I'm not sure why he does that. He's probably just weird.

I open my mouth to speak, but I close it. I'm not sure how I should say it.

I stammer, "Um, do- do I have to be murderer?"

X lets out a hearty laugh, "Ha! Are you trying to deny your role?"

"Well, I'm not sure I'd call it that. I just- I don't wanna do this! Please!" My voice almost breaks but I stop myself before it does.

X goes silent, I can't hear anything from the intercom.

"Rachel, I am not going to sugarcoat this for you just because you're young. If you do not fulfill your role as murderer, I will personally kill you myself."

He's not speaking in an excited tone this time. He sounds dead serious. Hearing the change in his voice, I feel my body start shaking as my leg begins to bounce up and down. I sigh, I thought I got rid of this habit. I place my hand on my leg, gripping my leg to get the bouncing to stop before I think of how to respond to X.

I could play this safe and agree to be my best at murderer, or I could test something.

"If you kill me, you won't have a murderer. How will the game go on?"

"I must say, you're acting quite confident. Well, let's see, how would the game go on?" X says, I can tell he's trying to mock me, "Ah! I easily brought 7 people into this, I bet one more wouldn't hurt. You wouldn't want to bring someone else into this hell, would you?"

I push my anger down my throat and respond, "No. I don't want that."

"Good! So, you'll have to suck it up. Got it?"

"I understand."

"Perfect! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be doing something that's actually worth my time. Goodbye, Rachel."

He gets off the intercom. The second he does, all of my anger escapes me. I scream, furious over my situation. I throw a chair across my room, it doesn't help my anger leave. Thankfully, I asked X if I could make my room soundproof when he showed everyone their dorms.

After an hour, my anger calms down. If I have to be murderer, I might as well be good at it, right?