And in that moment... They had understood each other perfectly...
“Kailey...” Charlie was staring at his feet,” If we ever get out of here I-”
“We won’t” She interrupted, “It’s time to accept that, Charlie.”
He had been hopeful ever since they had found the letter, but Kailey had the feeling that his
hopefulness was steadily fading, She felt sick to the stomach just thinking about how she had felt
while reading it...
‘Dear Charlie and Kailey,
Every year the Institute is forced to pick two regular men at random to kidnap in order to be
sacrificed to our leader in heaven.
We do not choose the Victims. He does.
Depending on how quickly you find this, the pyramid will explode and you will die in the
next twenty-four hours.
If you haven’t found the timer yet, you will in the corner of the pyramid, this will tell you
how long you have left to live.
Thank-you for your service to the country and The Great Institute.
We bid you farewell.’
“You want some water?” Charlie interrupted her thoughts once again.
“What the hell kind of difference is that going to make?!” She snapped.
He looked away.
“Sorry,” Kailey had adopted a gentler tone, “I didn’t mean- I just- That was very kind of you.”
His smile was pained, but it was there none-the-less.
They sat in silence for a while, and it was Kailey who broke it first.
“Let’s play a game.”
“What’s it called?”
“It’s called: We’re going to die anyway so we might as well spill our guts.”
“Haven’t heard of it.”
“It’s patent pending.” She shrugged, and smiled, something she hadn’t done in 12 hours.
Charlie let out a chuckle, “Alright.”
Kailey explained to him the rules of the game and he listened, his smile broadening with
every word she said.
“Start with your first memory, and tell me your life story up until now, and then I’ll tell you
mine but-”
“Alright.”
“I’m not done. You can’t leave anything out. and I mean anything.”
“Alright.”
“You go first.”
So he did.
He talked non-stop for twenty three minutes. He talked about his earliest memory, going to
the beach with his father. About how it had felt when he’d lost him. Charlie talked about growing
up without a father and the struggles it had brought him. He talked about his most embarrassing
moments, his saddest moments, his funniest and his favourites. He told Kailey about his deepest
regrets and his proudest moments. He told her secrets he’d never shared with anyone. He made
Kailey laugh, cry, caused her to blush, and to cringe. But at no moment did he cause her to break
eye contact. When he was finished, she was speechless.
