Note: depictions of grief and loss, as well as mention of mental health issues in this chapter.

———

A loud thud against the door wakes Harper up with a start. She hasn't slept much the last few nights since Michael's disappearance, so it's a wonder that she even managed to fall asleep. She checks the time; it reads 11:06PM. Questioning who could be at the door at this time, she tiptoes to the front door, checking through the peephole. To her surprise, she finds that somebody is curled up at the door. She opens it to discover Michael at her feet; he's wearing his normal clothing once again, but has his blindfold on from being in the car for the ride home.

"Michael?" Harper cries, pulling him up from the floor as well as she can. He's very out-of-it; in a dazed state — almost as if he's been drugged. "Oh my god, babe, you're alright!" She removes the blindfold from his face, hugging him tightly.

Michael barely responds, as he can't find the words to communicate — nor his ability to use his vocal chords.

"Where have you been the last week?" she demands, tears forming in her eyes. "I've been worried sick. I thought you'd died at that party and they just hadn't found you yet!" She helps him inside, setting him on the sofa. "I need to call the police and tell them you've been found. They sent out a search party a few nights ago."

Michael looks around the room, seeing the home he knows and loves. Slowly, the flashbacks begin from being at the party. The horrific sights of people being shot to death; the blood; the screams of terror; the high-stakes; seeing his closest friends in there die one by one. The thoughts are so gut-wrenching, that Michael cannot keep down the bile that rises into his throat; as he retches, throwing up the very little food he's consumed in the last twenty-four hours.

Harper looks at him in shock. "Oh my god, what is going on?" she frowns, holding back his hair. She doesn't seem to care that he's made a mess of the sofa, or the floor. "Whatever happened at this party has really messed you up. You need to get some rest and we can talk tomorrow."

With this, she helps him up to bed. He falls onto the mattress, immediately falling into a deep, nightmare-filled sleep; while Harper goes back downstairs to clean up after him.

*

"I'm telling you ... one-hundred of us. Made to play death games. I was Player 077. If you lost the game, you died. I swear."

Michael sits, trying to explain the situation to his therapist. Since the end of the games, he has developed PTSD from the trauma he witnessed during those seven days. He told Harper the story the morning after he returned, and of course she was convinced that he had been drugged at the party and had been experiencing a vivid, lucid dream. It never explained, however, why he was gone for a whole week.

"A-And I made so many friends during that week. There was a guy named Elton; he was Player 080 ... and one named Freddie, who was 091. There was a woman: Whitney. She was 063. My ex Lisa was in there — Player 094. There were two best friends called Andrew and George. They were Players 024 and 025. B-But you see, George was actually Georgios, or Yog. He liked being just Yog. That was the nickname his best friend gave him.

"Freddie was there because he needed to pay for medical bills. Whitney was there because she lost her job. Elton ... well, he lost everything after he got divorced. I couldn't tell you why Lisa was there. She never told me, and I'll always wonder about it. And ... And George and Andrew were there so that they could start their band together. They wanted to call it Wham!, and make it big here in the States.

"I ... I cheated on my wife while I was there. With Whitney. I still don't know how I feel about doing it. I'm not sure I ever will know. But she was an amazing friend, too. She ... she died, to save me. She died so that I could carry on, and see my wife and my baby girl. She said I touched her heart, during tag. It was her last game. She forced me to tag her, so she'd lose the game. I'll always feel guilty for that.

"And George ... he was so fearless. He and Andrew were friends since they were kids. They went in together, and eventually knew they had to part ways after nearly two decades of friendship. Andrew died first, in Rock Paper Scissors. He sacrificed himself, so that George could spend longer with Elton. Y'see, George and Elton were both gay, and they finally found love ... in each other. But when Andrew died, George was never the same after that. He harmed himself in his room, in the middle of the night. But it got even worse once Elton died. He started seeing them both; hearing their voices. In fact, that's what caused George to die ...

"Our final game was Jenga. He heard Andrew and Elton. They told him to lose the game. H-He never told me that specifically, but you could tell. He was talking to himself, arguing with them saying he'd lose if he did what they said. But in the end, he did it anyway. He looked so happy. He told me he felt freer trapped in the party, than he did in the real world. Because ... because he got to be unapologetically himself around us.

"I ... I saw so many people die. More than a person should. It really fucked up my whole life. And my perception of everything is so different now. I'm richer in wealth, but poorer in everything else. I lost friends. I saw people brutally killed. I lost my mind. I nearly lost Harper ...

"When I told her I cheated, she didn't even get mad. She started to cry, but she said she forgave me. She said I'd been through a lot. She never believed everything about the party games, but she believed I'd been through a lot. She just denies what really happened. She denies it because it's so hard to believe. I wouldn't believe it myself, if I'd been told.

"I've already hurt her so much. I'm careless and forget things. I make comments that aren't thought out. I make silly mistakes. But I do love her. And I love the baby girl we're about to have together. It's just ... my mind will always be haunted by what I've seen, and nobody will ever believe me when I tell them about it."

Having finished his lengthy rant, he looks to the therapist, who is writing notes down on a notepad. "Do you believe me?"

The therapist pauses a second, but then nods. "I do. And based on what you've told me, I'm going to refer you to somebody a little more ... experienced. Someone who specialises in PTSD so that they can work with you through all of this. Is that alright?"

Michael nods, just feeling some reassurance that somebody isn't doubting him for once. "Thank you."

*

Michael checks his Google Maps, to double check that he's at the correct address. He turns off his car engine, sliding his car keys into his pocket. With a deep breath to release expelled nerves, he gets out of the vehicle, making his way to the front door of the house he's arrived at. He knocks on the door, before stepping back to give the occupier some space.

The door opens, to reveal a middle-aged woman. "Sorry, I don't answer to cold callers—"

"Mrs Panayiotou," Michael greets softly. "I understand you're the mother of Georgios."

"Have you seen him?" She opens the door wider, her eyes full of hope. "A-And Andrew? Have you seen him too?"

"May I come in?" Michael gives her a look of sincerity. "I'd like to talk about them with you, if I may."

"Of course." She moves to one side, so he can enter the house. "I-I've been so worried about them."

"It's been a few weeks since you saw your son ... hasn't it?" He takes a seat on her sofa, facing opposite her. "Since you saw him and Andrew?"

"It has." Tears form in her eyes. "Are you a friend of theirs?"

"I guess you could say that ... " He furrows his brows sadly, as he goes on to explain. "When they went missing, I went missing too. All of us ended up together ... for seven days."

"Where were you?" she interrogates.

"At a party ... but it was the most horrific party. It wasn't even a party at all."

"Georgios told me he and Andrew were going to one ... so what happened there?"

"Well ... there was one-hundred of us. We were all players of the party games. But ... the games were ... deadly. And only one person could make it out alive ... "

She suddenly clicks on to what he's hinting at, and her eyes widen again. Tears quickly build up, falling down her face. "Wait—but-but you're here talking to me."

Michael's eyes begin to well up too, as he takes her hands in his. "I'm so sorry, Mrs Panayiotou. George and I were the final two players. We made a promise to one another that whoever got out would be the one to tell the other's family."

With her free hand, she covers her mouth, to prevent her sobs from becoming audible. "My baby—my sweet, sweet boy—"

"But he asked me to come and see you. He said to me, 'Tell my parents that Andy and Yog say hello' ... He also asked me to make sure you knew, that he worked so hard and sacrificed so much to try and reach his dreams. And he was so happy before he died — he found love at the party, and he made him so happy."

"He?" she repeats. "What do you mean, 'he'?"

"Ma'am, I'm saying that George was secretly gay." He looks to her, holding the gaze to show her that now is not the time for differing viewpoints. "He kept it secret from you all these years because of your religion. I know it's a lot to take in ... but he loved a man at the party. And that man loved your son. And it was the happiest he'd ever been. So please, just remember that ... "

Mrs Panayiotou looks as if she doesn't know how to respond; she is frozen to her seat in shock at everything she's heard. She can't even be angry that he was closeted — despite her beliefs, she would still do anything for her son back.

"My gorgeous, precious boy ... " she stammers, shaking slightly in her chair. "And poor Andrew."

"They were both fantastic people," Michael reassures her. "And they would have made it big here, if they'd have managed to start their band."

"I wish I'd never tried to discourage him from achieving his dreams," she sniffles. "Maybe with a little more belief from his father and I, he could still be here. I failed him."

Michael reaches over to her, to give her a hug. "You didn't fail him. You raised a wonderful young man, and despite all the hardships ... he loved you, and respected you."

Even though her chest is heavy with grief, she nods in understanding. Michael is just happy that somebody else believes what he went through.

*

Since the first visit to the Panayiotou household, Michael has become extremely close to George's parents, as well as his siblings. He goes to see them regularly, to make sure they're coping well. The pain of losing their son and brother haunts them every day, but they push through it.

Michael's and Harper's daughter, Rae Jackson arrived on August 29, 2024 — sharing a birthday with her father. He has since stepped up, taking care of her and giving her the life he dreamed of giving her.

Michael has been undergoing therapy and other treatment in order to try and overcome the trauma he faced in the games. It's a slow and agonising process, but he refuses to give up hope.

Harper and Michael are also working on their relationship, attending marriage counselling to talk through what Michael can do to better support his family. Harper has come to accept Michael's account of what happened during the week he went missing, and has forgiven him for cheating due to the emotional turmoil he faced. She concludes that he was not in his right mind, and was convinced he was going to die at the party. She will never fully know what happened, but she respects that it is deeply unsettling for him to discuss.

The police have been trying to investigate the mysterious disappearances of the other ninety-nine players of the game — but alas, no evidence has been found. Because of the blindfold Michael was forced to wear for the journey, he has been unable to give evidence regarding the location of the party. It is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of the new millennium.

The most significant factor, however, is that Michael's family has become free from financial stress. Granted, it came at a big cost — bigger than he ever wanted it to be.

But that's the price he'll always have to pay, for being the life of the party.

~~

And there we have it! I hope you enjoyed the story!

— MissJackson777