Chapter 3 Call the ambulance
POPPY
The crimson glare from our phone screens turned the entire living room into a slaughterhouse of red light. The metallic screech of the app vibrated right through the glass table, rattling the empty bottle that had sealed Katie’s fate.
The digital iron box on our screens violently fractured, and a new line of text bled across the screen, replacing the warning.
[TRUTH FOUND: KENNY]
The name sat there on the glass screens like a physical blow.
“What the fuck?” Grayson was the first to move, his entire broad frame slamming backward against the bar as he stood up so fast his chair flipped over. His knuckles turned white against the mahogany counter, his face twisting from confusion into an ugly, volatile rage. “Tristan? Are you fucking kidding me, Katie?”
My eyes snapped instantly to Kenny. He never lost his temper. He sat entirely frozen, his handsome face draining of all color until he looked like a porcelain statue. He didn't yell. He didn't slam things. He just slowly turned his head to look at Tristan, his eyes wide and completely shattered, filled with a raw, agonizing betrayal that cut deeper than any scream.
“Ken… baby, listen to me, it was before—it was months ago, I swear—” Tristan stammered, his hands shaking as he reached out, trying to touch Kenny’s shoulder.
“Don’t,” Kenny whispered. The word was tiny, completely broken, but it made Tristan freeze in mid-air.
Kenny’s chest heaved under his soft designer sweater, his jaw clenching as a single tear slipped down his cheek. He looked at our best friend, Katie, and then at the man he loved, completely trapped in a nightmare he couldn't protect anyone from.
“You slept with him?” Grayson roared, stepping into the circle, his chest breathing hard against his varsity jacket as he glared down at Katie. “My fucking girl? With Kenny’s boyfriend? While we were together? Are you out of your goddamn mind, Katie!”
Jamie stood up smoothly, placing a heavy, warning hand on Grayson’s shoulder to keep his friend from doing something crazy. “Gray, calm down. Let’s figure this out. Don't do anything stupid right now.”
Katie sat on her floor cushion, her eyes wide, tears finally spilling over her tattooed forearm. She was trembling, looking at her phone as it flashed aggressively, a countdown timer appearing beneath a list of instructions.
[PENALTY DARE: THE CHALICE. DRINK TEN SHOTS OF THE 'DEVIL'S BREW' BEFORE THE TIMER HITS ZERO, OR THE PLAYERS PAY THE PRICE]
It felt like the right moment to say ‘I told you so’. But I kept my mouth shut because I'm involved in this fucked up game all over again.
On the side of the table sat a crystal decanter filled with a dark, murky amber liquid. It was a custom mix Grayson and Jamie had brought, a dangerous concoction of top-shelf liquor and heavy party substances meant to get the whole group completely out of their minds by midnight. Two shots were enough to blackout. Ten shots was wild. She'll be a walking zombie.
“No,” I gasped, my voice finally breaking through the heavy, suffocating tension.
I lunged forward and grabbed Katie’s cold, trembling hands. “That’s too much. Katie, don't do it. You can’t drink ten shots of that.”
“Poppy, stay out of this,” Tinsley snapped from the couch, her voice sharp, though her eyes were darting around the room in panic. “She lied to the box. She knew the rules. If she doesn’t do the penalty, the app is going to leak everything to the public. Do you want your mom to find out what we did last year? Because I fucking don't!”
“She’s right,” Katie whispered, her voice a ragged, hollow sound. She looked at Kenny, but Kenny couldn't even look back at her. He was staring at the floor, his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking silently.
“Kenny, I’m so sorry,” Katie choked out, but the countdown on her screen was already hitting forty seconds. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“How could you do it?” Kenny’s voice finally broke, a raw, emotional cry that echoed off the high glass ceilings. He looked up, his eyes red and swimming with tears. “He was my everything, Katie! You were my sister!”
“Dude, you better pack your shit and leave” Grayson pointed at Tristan.
“I’m going to drink the fucking shots!” Katie suddenly screamed, her voice exploding with a fierce, desperate rage that silenced the entire room.
Before anyone could move to stop her, Katie snapped the crystal decanter. She didn't even bother pouring it into a shot glass. She shoved the heavy crystal lip straight against her mouth and began to chug.
“Katie, stop!” I screamed, reaching out, but Jamie caught me by my waist, pulling me firmly back against his chest.
Katie swallowed the dark liquid in massive, desperate gulps, her throat moving violently as the amber fluid spilled down her chin, staining her oversized streetwear. She was sobbing through the swallows, her chest heaving as she forced the toxic volume into her body just to save our secrets.
With a loud clatter, she slammed the empty decanter back onto the glass table. The countdown on our phones instantly vanished, the crimson flashing stopping as a cold, black screen returned. She had beaten the clock.
Katie stumbled to her feet, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes glassy and unfocused as the massive wave of substances hit her bloodstream instantly. She stared at Grayson, who was still looking at her with pure disgust.
“There,” Katie gasped, her voice thick and slurred. “It’s done. Are you happy, Gray? Are you—”
The slurred words died in her throat. Katie’s eyes suddenly widened to an impossible size, the pupils completely dilating until her eyes looked entirely black. She clutched her stomach, a low, agonizing groan escaping her lips as her knees buckled.
“Katie?” I called out.
“Katie, hey what's wrong” Grayson’s angry expression instantly melted into pure panic. He took a step forward, his hands shaking.
She didn't answer, I don't think she could speak. She fell to her hands and knees on the rug, her entire body beginning to violent shudder. A horrible, wet choking sound came from her throat.
“Oh my god, she’s having a seizure!” Tinsley shrieked, scrambling backward over the top of the couch.
“Kenny, help her!” I sobbed, tearing away from Jamie’s grip and dropping to the floor. Despite the betrayal, Kenny’s protective instincts crashed back in, he lunged forward alongside Tristan, both of them trying to roll Katie onto her side.
A thick, white foam began to violently bubble out of Katie’s mouth, oozing over her lips. But it wasn't just foam. It quickly turned a deep, sickening crimson. Katie gasps for air, her back arching off the floor in a brutal convulsion as a dark spray of blood and liquid erupted from her mouth, splashing across the glass coffee table and soaking the warm chocolate chip cookies.
“Get an ambulance! Call 911” Kenny screamed, his voice cracking in terror as he held her shaking, bloody shoulders.
Tristan was scrambling for his phone, his hands covered in Katie’s blood. Grayson stood paralyzed, staring at his girlfriend as her chest made one final, violent heave, her eyes rolling into the back of her head before her body went completely, terrifyingly still in the center of the room.
The heavy oak doors to the kitchen swung open. Martha walked in, a gentle smile on her face as she reached out to take her ceramic tray back. Her eyes traveled from the plate, to the blood splattered across the glass, and finally to Katie’s lifeless body floating in a pool of dark liquid on the rug and the chaos around her.
The ceramic platter shattered against the hardwood floor. A piercing, blood-curdling scream tore out of the nanny's throat, echoing through the massive house.
