The Judgment Chamber

Cheryl curled her lip into a mocking smile and looked at Dwayne with disgust.

"No wonder. You even had the heart to attack a pregnant woman. Everyone, listen. Whether he's the undercover agent or not, we need to vote him out first. Even if he isn't the agent, he'll still hurt us later just to protect himself. Please vote for him with me!"

The speakers crackled again.

"You all seem to be enjoying yourselves, but let me remind you not to forget the rules of the game. None of you has stated your sins for this round. Please hurry. One minute remaining."

I quickly looked at the timer on the wall.

With all the fighting earlier, we had completely forgotten about time.

I opened my mouth to speak, but another thought hit me. If I revealed the full truth about my own crime, it could be used against me in the next round.

Wasn't that exactly what happened to Dwayne?

Suddenly, I understood the true nature of this game. It was called The Judgement Chamber, meaning they were judging us by our sins.

If I wanted to survive, I couldn't reveal everything.

So, I chose the least heinous sin. "I'll go first. I once killed a kitten out of jealousy."

Cheryl hesitated, then spoke. "When I encouraged that husband to kill his wife, she was already pregnant."

Rebecca stepped back slightly. "I knew my mother-in-law was allergic to peanuts. I still added a lot of crushed peanuts into her soup and convinced her to drink it. Then, I sent everyone else away. She suffocated to death."

Helen bit her lip. "My best friend was pretty, and I hated her for it. I pretended to be close to her, but I talked about her nonstop behind her back. Because of how close we were, everyone else believed the lies I told."

Everyone said their crimes lightly, almost calmly. None of them cared about the wrongs they had done in the past. They only cared about surviving the moment.

Every person here hid something rotten inside themselves, wrapped neatly under a human mask.

Now, that mask was being torn apart, exposing the darkest and ugliest parts within.

"You may vote now. You have one minute."

The speakers sounded again.

Dwayne had stopped struggling. Oliver's corpse lay right next to him, and soon, he would face the same fate.

"It's him… It's him. I know it. I just know it! It has to be him!" Dwayne's hair was a mess, and he kept mumbling frantically, "It's him. It has to be him!"

Suddenly, a wild, chilling look flashed in his eyes.

"I know. I know everything now. It's all…"

The broadcast cut him off. "Dwayne Malone is eliminated."

The next instant, Dwayne's tank began filling rapidly.

Water surged in until the entire tank was full.

Dwayne thrashed desperately, cold water flooding into his nose and mouth. He gasped and sputtered, blowing bubbles as he fought for air, his limbs flailing wildly.

"Help…help me… Hel…"

Everyone turned away again.

A person could hold their breath for no more than five minutes, but under terror and violent panic, even two minutes was rarely possible.

Those few minutes felt unbearably long.

Dwayne died with his eyes wide open, drowned inside the tank.

The broadcast sounded once more.

"The game continues."