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“Go ahead, kill me, put me out of my misery.” He spits a mouthful of blood in my face. His body goes limp under me and he doesn't even try to fight back.

He wants me to kill him, which would be so easy. But Brent doesn’t deserve an easy way out. I grip his feet and begin dragging him through the snow. Brent’s body feels like dead weight as I pull him toward the door. He groans in pain, begging me to kill him, but I ignore him. I hear the door creak open, and when I look up, I see Tyler there.

“Grab some rope and follow me,” I shout over the howling wind.

“Why, what are you doing?” asks Tyler.

“Just get me some fucking rope,” I demand, adjusting my grip on Brent.

I watch Tyler take off running inside. A few minutes pass, and Brent keeps calling me names. I stop and kick him in the face to shut him up, and he spits out a tooth.

“Is that all you’ve got, you little bitch?” he asks, spitting blood. I know what he’s doing, but fuck that. I won’t give him the satisfaction. Within minutes, Tyler runs out the door with the casting net in his hand. He throws it on the ground beside me and kneels. We both begin undoing the rope connected to the net and after a few minutes, we have him tied up, and I drag him inside. The watching group steps aside and lets us pass. As we walk, someone in the group begins shouting, “Kill him!” as we descend the stairwell. I slow down a bit, feeling exhausted, almost too tired to keep going. I look back at Brent, and our eyes meet. He grins again. Anger fills me once more, and adrenaline flows through me. I pull Brent down the stairs and with each step, Brent's head bounces like a ball.

“Where are you taking him?” Tyler asks, a confused look on his face.

“Stop asking questions and just follow me,” I say.

Tyler doesn't protest and does what I tell him. No one else in the group questions what's happening. I stop when we reach the 6th floor and look over the railing at the atrium.

“Tyler, give me the rope and go down to the center of the atrium,” I say.

Without hesitation, Tyler hands me the rope and takes off. Tyler quickly runs down two floors and through the only open entrance to the atrium floor. I grab a piece of broken marble from a table and tie it to the end of the rope. I look over the edge and see Tyler standing in the center of the room, staring up at me.

“Tyler, watch out! I don’t want you to get hit.” I shout, then wait for my brother to step aside. Once he has moved out of the way, I toss the rope to the chandelier—I miss. I shout in anger and try again; this time, the marble piece hits the ring on the chandelier and falls through the center. I let the rope go, and the marble's weight brings it down to where Tyler is standing.

“Throw it up here, Tyler,” I shout. He is weak but does his best. He stands there swinging the rope with the marble attached like a fan blade and then lets go. The rope flies up and I miss grabbing it by just a few feet.

“Try again Tyler, you’ve got this.” I say.

He winds the rope up once more, using all his strength and then lets go, this time I’m able to catch it. I set the marble end aside and turn to face everyone. “Listen up, everyone. I want all of you to remember what happens when you turn on one another. Brent is going to be a constant reminder.” I look around the room for something to help me make my point. My eyes land on a white lifebuoy out of place in the corner.

“Bring me that lifebuoy,” I demand.

Xander is closest and reaches for it. I watch as he bends over to grab it and see him clutch the spot on his leg that was pierced by the spear months ago. It was infected for a while; he could hardly walk. Now it's finally healed enough to move around, but from the look on his face, I can tell it still hurts. Luckily, the wound on my shoulder didn’t get infected and healed quickly. Xander reminds me of myself, and because of that, I know that if he's like me, he's too stubborn to sit around and heal. Xander walks over and hands me the lifebuoy. Then I lift Brent's head off the ground and drape it around his neck like an oversized necklace. I grab the end of the rope and make a noose. The other end is tied to the wooden railing, and I tug on it to check if it's secure. Then I lean over and see Tyler staring at me.

“Come up here,” I shout. My brother needs to be up here for this, so I stand there and wait. Brent has also terrorized Tyler for far too long. I look down and kick Brent again to make sure he is still alive. I'm not letting him die that easily.

“Are you sure about this? We can find another way,” says Sara.

“Yeah, Theo, you don't have to do this,” Mary adds. Take control. Show them you’re in control. My father’s voice echoes in my mind again.

“This is the only way. It has to be done. Brent doesn’t care about any of us. He wants us all dead.”

35

TYLER

The cold air sends a shiver down my spine as I race up the stairs. When I reach the 6th floor, I hear something above me. What the hell? No one’s supposed to be up there. I look up, unsure of what it is, since the floor above is unfinished and blocked off. Everyone on the ship except Julie is gathered with Theo, and he is about to do something crazy. As I head over to where they are, I hear the sound again. I start back up the stairs and look around as I reach the 7th floor. To my surprise, I see Julie rearranging a piece of wood over a hole Theo created months ago. She slides a plank of wood around again, then startles when she turns and sees me.

“What are you doing, Julie?”

“Don’t sneak up on someone like that,” she demands. “I was fixing this wood. It fell when I walked by it a second ago.”

“Why are you walking up and down the stairs?”

“I needed to get some air,” she answers.

“Yeah, but–”