Lazarus Peak

"Hey guys... you're the lucky hundred! Well, not lucky per se~" She laughed and tossed her glass aside, the shattering noise was the only thing that could be heard in the hall.

"What the hell are you on about?" Alrick couldn't stop himself from speaking out loud. The bitch was really trying his patience. He wasn't ready for another shitty turn of events. The pretty lady just smiled at him.

"Well aren't you feisty? And cute too, I just might keep you," she gave him a once-over, making him shudder in disgust.

"Don't look at him like that you pervert, he's a minor and he's mine," Eleanor's glare could kill if given a chance. He didn't know whether to be touched or terrified.

The lady laughed out in amusement, "I'm kidding, don't get your panties in a twist. I don't want your boyfriend," she waved them off. Her words made the two turn red from embarrassment and fury.

"Eww—fuck no—him?—her?—kill me—Old Sally's is better than him," their voices clashed as they immediately moved away from each other. Everyone in the hall raised a brow at them in astonishment. 'Is it really time for this?' they all thought.

The pretty lady's brows twitched as they kept on dissing each other. "Could you two shut up?" The sweetness in her voice made their skin crawl, but it worked since they immediately got quiet.

"Thank you. Anyways, like I was saying!" She raised her voice. "Don't freak out or anything... Well, don't freak out more than you already have, but I might not have said the whole truth of the matter. My bad!" Her sweet voice was really starting to piss everyone off at this point.

"Can you stop shitting us and get us off this sorry excuse for a Titanic? I wanna go home!" a disabled man screamed in anger and soon more people joined in. Martha was a core member in regards to the swears and curses this woman was subjected to—Alrick swore he felt something trickling out of his ears.

"Gosh, these people are angry. Let's speed things up then, boys!" As soon as she said this, the waiters with the guns closed in on them from all sides. They screamed in horror and had to huddle up together. They were forced to move to the direct center of the hall; they stood within the decorative circle on the polished floor.

Once they were all in, the pretty lady nodded to one of the waiters who nodded back and reached into the pocket of his vest, pushing a button within.

As soon as he did, the circle let out a light glow as the lights inside the hall went off simultaneously. Seems like whatever the circle was sucked up the electricity around it. A barrier rose along the circle from ground up, encasing them within it. They tried to bang on it but a sonic recoil shot back at whoever dared to touch it.

People were screaming, children crying, everyone was on edge. The fear of the unknown was at an all-time high. Alrick had found his way back to his mom and brothers, holding them close as the barrier continued to set itself up. They were soon fully encased within.

"Okay guys, I know you guys are probably confused but not to worry, Lucy will explain it all." She was speaking in the third person now and apparently her name was Lucy.

"You see, letting you guys all go is a big risk to our very strict policy of secrecy and confidentiality. You all will run your mouths as soon as you're out of here." Her tone was lazy.

"It's not like people would believe you lot, but two hundred and fifty-seven people going missing all at once would still cause a ruckus and lead to the wrong people having suspicions. So it's better every single one of you are disposed of. No story then, right? And brainwashing is so stressful—no one wants that stress," she said as a matter of fact.

"You promised to let us go!" a woman screamed out in desperation.

"I did, but I didn't clearly specify though. Having a painless death is still the same thing, it's a luxury really. I'm sure after all the fun you wretches had today, you no longer have any life regrets, right? It's not like you have lives to go back to if you leave here. Most of you would be orphans, widows, defenseless. I mean, most of you make up the dependent population. You're all worthless without the rest of your families," she said, already bored with answering questions.

"Bullshit! We'll be fine. Let us out of here!" Alrick was done with all this and wanted to get off this ship.

"Of course, when I see you're no longer breathing." She then snapped her fingers and turned to the waiters. "Hurry with them and keep them in the bio chambers," she said as she began to leave the hall, the doors opening up for her.

"Bitch, get back here!" "No, please!" "There are children in here!"

Screams and cries echoed through the hall but no one paid heed to them. Once the doors closed shut, the room was drowned in darkness once more. The only source of light being the circle underneath their feet and the lights on the twitching waiters' guns.

Alrick took hold of his shivering mother who seemed to be mumbling something in Spanish, her native tongue. She then turned to him and held his arms, "My baby boy, I'm sorry we didn't trust you. It's my fault, please forgive me," she sobbed like a baby. He didn't feel happy about being right at all.

"Mom, calm down... please," he felt himself tearing up, something he rarely did. His younger brothers wailed as well, everyone minus the waiters broke into tears. It was a great show of vulnerability. Some cried for themselves, their children, their grandchildren, material things, loved ones. Everything was accounted for in their sobs.

Soon, a soft whistle could be heard despite the sobs. It had an uncanny feel to it. They traced the sound to the base of the encasement. An orange gas was pouring in at an alarming speed. Their eyes widened in shock.

It resembled the well-known killing method used for the worst criminals sentenced to death: the gas chamber.

This was an execution.

They relentlessly banged on the barrier walls only to be knocked down. The ones who hit it harder were sent farther away. It wasn't until the first person dropped that reality fully set in. The screams and sobs reached no bounds. Mothers hugged their dying children and vice versa—it was truly terrible.

Alrick heard Eleanor cry out in agony. He wanted to turn to her but his blood ran cold when his younger brother, Alvin, dropped to the ground. Martha screamed as she ran to her son, his brothers trying to shake their brother awake.

Alrick just stood still, watching in horror as Max soon followed, and then Cody. The tears wouldn't stop and his body wouldn't move.

"This has to be a dream. I'm dreaming. Hey Alvin, did you hide my alarm clock again? Did your brothers tell you to do it?" The only response he got were his mother's sobs.

"Hey guys, give me my alarm clock. I need to wake up." No response. They were still lifeless on the ground. He then saw his mom's eyes roll back as she fell backwards on her knees, lifeless as well.

He began laughing to himself—it started off as a giggle before turning into full-on crazy. He laughed despite the tears streaming down his face. He laughed until it became eerily quiet.

"Why is everyone quiet? Come on, let's go home." No one answered. No one could. He laughed before kneeling beside his brothers' still bodies. "Hey guys, I need to wake up. I need my alarm clock," he repeated. His enthusiasm sounded like they'd wake up at any moment.

When he saw nothing was happening, he crawled over to his mom. "Mom? Mama? Why are you on the floor like that? You'll hurt the baby like that," he tried to sit her up, but her body was heavy and limp.

He brought her close to his chest and hugged her tightly. "Mama, open your eyes and tell me I was right again. Come on, you know I'll... love it...." His words began breaking, his emotions breaking through as he let out a harrowing scream. He put his mother down and stood up, looking around.

He was the only one left.

He looked at the armed waiters that continued to stand there emotionless. He hated their faces. "Hey? Hey?! You bastards! Isn't this shit killing your conscience? Are you motherfuckers so sick and heartless?!" He walked up to the barrier and banged on it, the recoil force sending him far back.

He got up with a nosebleed but he didn't care and ran back to the barrier only to be sent back farther this time, banging his head and knee. He groaned on the floor, his head dizzy and so was his vision. He touched his head and winced. He pulled back his hand and saw blood. 

He laughed because why not? His own blood was the funniest thing right now.

His vision soon went dark, eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body becoming limp and his head lulling to the side. It was finally quiet. No one moved inside the encasement.

Soon the barrier fell as the lights came back on.