"What's the meaning of this?!" "Someone call 911!!" "Help us!!"
The hall fell into chaos with children crying and men breaking glass in a desperate attempt to protect their families. She watched them in disgust until she couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey!!", She shouted out making the hall go quiet really fast, "I'm not gonna waste my time here, you wretches have a choice. In those goblets of ice cream, there are eleven beads, ten blue and one yellow. You can either accept them now or leave but I won't guarantee that it won't be in a body bag."
The crowd only heard the word 'leave' and attempted so, walking cautiously to the exits but were scared back to their spots when the waiters raised their guns every time someone got too close. The lady could only roll her eyes in annoyance and watch their sorry attempts.
"This is sad... Hey!! Before you go making yourselves into cheddar cheese, there's an extension to my proposal", her voice made everyone pause. Many still thought it was a dream or some prank but most knew how real this was and her words felt like a life line.
"The proposal is... If the majority of you decide to take up my 'challenge', you can be spared. Then again, if you don't make a decision in... Thirty minutes!! I'll just toss you all off the ship... not alive of course. Your choice!", she said calmly a she downed the wine in her hands happily as if to soothe her throat. Ignoring the mortified faces of the crowd.
Alrick and his friends were frozen silent for a while before Tommy's knees gave out and he fell to the ground, snapping them out of their trance, "You gotta be kidding me, this can't be real.", his voice wouldn't stop shaking as his eyes lost focus.
He looked up like he just realized something and suddenly gained the strength to run off, probably to find his family. Alex left soon after and so did Eleanor then Alrick. He searched around for them for a while before finding them somewhere near the center of the crowd.
"My god, Alrick! Where the hell have you been?! Get over here now!", It was rare to hear his dad swear, at least he did it at the right time. Alrick immediately walked over to them, his three brothers quickly hugging his legs when they saw him.
He ruffled their hair to calm them down, it didn't really work. "Dad, What do we do?", He asked his dad, not bothering to not let the triplets hear him. They were smart enough to know what was going on.
"Alrick... I've already decided what's best for us right now. Everyone has already chosen to take up the proposal. The children, elderly and some obvious exceptions have already been voted out as the minority that will stay behind...", he paused before sighing and pulling Alrick away from the family.
"... I need you to leave with your mother and younger brothers... Your sisters and I will remain...", he said.
"What? Dad no... You can't...", he wanted to say more but his dad beat him to it.
"What then huh? If I could send you all away I would but only a few per family can be saved... Our family is already big enough as it is...", his father ran a hand over his face in frustration.
"But Dad, It might be a death trap"
"This whole damn place is a death trap! What's the difference between one more?.. We should have listened to you son...", normally, Alrick would be happy to hear those final words but now wasn't the time of course.
"I need you to protect your mother and brothers okay? I'll try everything in my power to bring your sisters and I back safely."
" Does Mom know yet?", Alrick asked, already knowing his dad's answer.
"... She doesn't, don't tell her till we leave, Okay? That Ice cream seems important, get them together while we can and I'll sort out the beads the witch talked about.", his dad said.
"Fine... I'll get the damn Ice cream.", He knew their talk was over and proceeded to grab as many as he could then bring it to his dad. He then led his mom and brothers over to the corner where the minority had inhabited without his mother noticing.
Soon enough, the crowd was already divided into two, their difference in sizes were apparent. Once the thirty minutes were up, the pretty lady was back at the center of the hall again.
"It seems you wretches have made up their minds right?", no one answered her question but the answer was very clear, "Good. Boys, escort our brave souls out the hall. The Saved souls should just remain where they are.", she sipped on her wine while the armed waiters escorted the challengers out.
Alrick's dad, Frank, moved forward to hug his mother, Martha, and the triplets then Alrick who hugged him back tightly. Alrick then hugged his sisters for the first time in years.
"Take care of Mom", Mia said as she ruffled his hair, "and the squirts too", Chloe gave some advice as well before they were led out.
Martha was confused, no one told her about this. She kept on calling out for her husband but he didn't reply. She then realized what was happening and screamed, "Frank?!! Where the hell are you going?! Get back here!", she tried to run after him but Alrick held her back.
"Let go you mule! Idiot! Get your dad and sister back here right now!! Let Go! Let Go!!", she hit him as hard as she could but he didn't let go.
"Mom please calm down"
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down!! Let me go!! I hate you!!", she screamed and thrashed but when she saw he wasn't budging, she broke down into tears. He held her close trying to soothe her as she sobbed against his chest, each sob hitting him hard. He had never seen his mom cry before.
She soon calmed down and led the triplets to a nearby table where she sat quietly, she needed space. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, looking round the hall to see if he could spot any of his friends.
He found Eleanor with her grandmother at a table, he walked up to her and put an arm over her shoulders, "You good?", he asked her.
" Yeah... It's just me and my grandma in our family so we didn't get chosen. What about you?", she asked.
"... Dad, Mia and Chloe volunteered to go for the challenge thing, Mom isn't taking it too well", he sighed.
"Maybe they'll make it out safely", she said as she ate some leftover ice cream.
"Yeah... How can you still even eat that stuff?", he was honestly disgusted but she just shrugged.
"What? It's just Ice cream", she said, making him shudder but when he was about to speak, she shoved some in his mouth causing him to swallow it.
"The heck Eleanor?", he said wiping his mouth and she just laughed, she was crazy honestly. He began nagging her but she wasn't really listening. He just brushed it off, knowing that she was just as nervous as they all were and this was her own unique way of quelling it some how.
Soon enough, the pretty lady cleared her throat again, calling for their attention.
"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 heck are you on about?" Alrick couldn't stop himself from speaking out loud. The witch was really trying his patience. He wasn't ready for another 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 hair tangled. I don't want your boyfriend," she waved them off. Her words made the two turn red from embarrassment and fury.
"Eww—heck 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.