Dazzling white lights shined onto the stage, illuminating everything within their path. The studio was painted a white void creating a hollow feeling to those within. Soft whirring emanated from multiple cameras on stand by staring at the seven variably dressed black men. They each held a red balloon in their hands, talking casually amongst each other. It was until they started hearing voices speak behind a set of black and white panels and watched as they began to slide to reveal two beautifully radiant black women wearing luxury dresses colored red and white. The woman dressed in the red dress carried a microphone in one hand and a note card in the other. She gestured to her guest to walk next to her as they both stepped into the frames of the cameras, causing all eyes to now be on them.

“Hi everyone! Welcome back for another round of Pop! The! Balloon!!” The host said into the microphone. Everyone clapped for a few moments and the host began once more. 

“Who do we have with us today?” She said placing the microphone near her guest’s face.

“Hello, I’m Tati. Very excited to be here!”

“And we’re excited to have you here Tati! I’m Tiana, and one of these gentlemen could be the man of your dreams. Are you ready to get started?”

Tati smiled and eagerly nodded her head. “I have to admit…I’m surprised no one popped their balloon. I didn’t think I’d be everyone’s type.” 

“You’re beautiful, so I’m not surprised! Let's get to know you better and see what they think. How old are you and what’s your sign?” Tiana asked.

“I just turned 28 and I’m a Scorpio.”

Tiana braced herself as if she was expecting to hear several balloons pop, yet it was an awkward silence filling the room. She looked to the men who appeared to be very attentive to the conversation. 

“...Oh wow! You’re a Scorpio? My sister is one too and she’s…quite the character! Okay, what do you do for work?” Tiana said, slightly peering over to the men.

“Well I’m a traveling nurse in Waco but I do some work on the side to help with my student loans,” said Tati, she then lets out a small giggle. “Don’t ask about that stuff though! It’s a long story.”

“I got you girl! But a traveling nurse? So you’re never home, huh?”

“I try to be, ya know? But I go where they need me.”

“Right, right…” Tiana looks over to the men who were smiling with all their balloons still in their hands. All Tiana could do was force a smile right back at them.

“I think we should meet the guys who really, really like you! So follow me…” Tiana led Tati to the first of the seven. He stood remarkably tall, practically looking down at the two women in front of him. Dressed in designer streetwear, the man smiled and showed a mouth full of gold teeth that sparkled after every encounter with the show lights.

“Hey! What’s your name, age, and where are you from?” Tiana said, then raised the microphone to meet the tall man’s lips.

“How y’all doing, I’m Deshaun. I’m 25 and from Waco, Texas.”

“Nice to meet you, Deshaun! Now I gotta ask, why didn’t you pop your balloon?”

Deshaun gazes upon Tati and shakes his head. “You think Imma pop the balloon on her? She’s literally perfect. From her looks to her energy. I gotta have her. All of her.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much! That’s so nice to hear coming from you,” Tati replied.

“Of course,” he said, winking.

“Such kind words! Okay Tati, what would you like to know about Deshaun?” Tiana asked.

“Hmm…do you have any kids?”

Deshaun shakes his head and asks, “Do you?”

Tiana's face lit up as if she already knew the answer to which Tati replied with a heartful yes. “I have a 5 year old son staying with his grandma for a bit while I’m out here. Is that going to be an issue?”

Deshaun smiles and says, “Of course not. We’d make a beautiful family together.”

As fast as her smile came, it left just as quick for Tiana. She looked down the line to see no one with balloon scraps in their hands. Tiana asks if she wanted to pop Deshaun’s balloon to which she vehemently says no. Tiana grabbed Tati’s hand and walked over to the next man waiting. He stood a bit shorter than the two ladies, sporting a classic white shirt with blue jeans and sneakers. A gold watch shined on his wrist with diamonds dancing every time he swayed. A smirk emerged from the man’s face as the two were now in front of him. A pleasant scent protruded their nostrils causing the two ladies to admire him a bit more than the previous man.

“You smell so good…what are you wearing?” Tiana asked. 

“Don’t you worry about that sweet heart, just know it’s some exotic shit. Can’t get this no where,” the man said with a cocky attitude. Tati and Tiana exchanged a look that showed they didn’t like that answer.

Tiana clears her throat and asks, “Who do we have the pleasure of speaking with today?”

“I’m Jordan and just turned 29. I’m from San Diego, California.” He bowed his head then gently grabbed Tati’s hand giving it a soft but sensual kiss. Tati looks at Tiana and silently mouths, “Is this allowed?” Tiana shrugs and takes Tati’s hand from Jordan, forcing a smile to try and not upset him.

“Such a gentleman we have here everyone! Alright Jordan, why didn’t you pop your balloon?” She asked.

“Man, not gonna lie, when I saw her come through those panels, my heart went to racing. I’m talking quick, back to back thumps. I’m going to have to agree with my homie over there. She’s perfect. Sexy as hell in that dress too.”

Tati’s face flustered, overwhelmed by his words, she shyly thanked him.

“I see! Okay Tati, what would you like to know about Mr. Jordan?” Tiana asked.

“...What do you do for work?” Tati asked. Jordan hesitates for a moment, then looks at one of the camera’s and smirks.

“I make content,” he answered.

Tati raised one of her eyebrows. “So you’re a content creator?”

“You can say that.”

“What kind of content? Youtube? Twitch streams?”

Jordan shakes his head and lets out a sudden but quick laugh.

“Let’s not get into all that just yet. Just know if you fucking with me, you’ll be straight,” he said.

“Oh…okay,” Tati said meekly.

“Okay! Do you want to pop his balloon Tati?” Tiana asked, staring into her eyes. Tati held her gaze for a moment then quickly looked away. “No, we can keep going.”

Jordan does a silent celebratory dance as the two walk to the next man. The cycle continued as Tiana met with the remaining five men with balloons. She met Michael, a 30 year old construction worker out of San Antonio who wore a gold necklace that his late wife gave him before her passing. He told Tati that he lost his wife to a drunk driver who's still alive today, walking free. Michael assured her that he was over it a number of times. 

There was Leonard, a 23 year old up and coming news anchorman that sported two gold earrings in his ear visiting from Chicago, Illinois. Now Leonard warned Tati that he’s currently enrolled in rehab for “substance abuse” and when she tried to learn more, he either dodged or changed the subject entirely. She did notice the white in his eyes was a deeper shade of yellow compared to the others.

After Leonard, it was Caleb, a god fearing man from Savannah, Georgia that took pride in the worship of his lord and savior. He had a custom gold ring on his right pinky finger that had Jesus Christ’s face engraved on it and flaunted it every chance he could. He promised that when he wins Tati over, she’ll get her very own ring with a picture of Mary on it.

Next was Martin, a 28 year old college student from Atlanta, Georgia currently living with his parents as he finishes his bachelors in accounting. His gold rimmed glasses flickered as he kept pushing them up on his face every so often. Tati asked if he had a job or any source of income to which he said that he occasionally streams on different platforms when he’s not at school. She then asked what the most viewers he’s had and he replied 4 with confidence.

Lastly, there was Anthony, 23 year old visiting from Memphis, Tennessee. Sporting a regular golden bracelet, he remarks that even though his jewelry isn’t as exquisite as the others, his net worth makes up for it. When asked what he does for work, Anthony instead pulled out his phone and showed his online bank account. “I sacrificed a lot for this,” he said before breaking out into tears. “A lot.”

“Whew child, this has never happened before on the show! No one popped their balloon and you didn’t want to pop theirs either!” Tiana said.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t want to pop any of them, they’re all super nice and handsome and I just couldn’t do it…” Tati said solemnly. Tiana sighs and gives her a half smile before guiding her back to the sliding panels.

“Don’t you worry about it. The show must go on,” said Tiana. She then turns her attention to the seven men. The cameras slowly zoomed on her face and stayed there as she made her announcement.

“For the first time in ‘Pop the Balloon’ history, no balloons were popped from both sides! In a perfect world there would be seven Tatis for each of you guys, but sadly that’s not how the world works. There can only be one person for her. Do you guys understand?”

The seven men collectively agreed, clutching their balloons. The air turned tense as the lights began to dimmer and its hue went from a stark white to scarlet red. The men began to look around to see the cameras back away from them slowly and the two ladies were farther away than before. They felt isolated and cautious of one another, checking over their shoulders to see who was still next to them. Unexpectedly, a black jagged looking ball slowly descended from the roof creating a nauseating electric whir with each inch. It stops abruptly, causing the men to talk amongst one another, then demanding answers from their host.  Tiana’s face resembled a doll stuck in its never ending smile.

“It’s all part of the show, don’t worry! Now let’s begin!” She said, raising her arms up towards the ball. Its jagged features began to smooth as it started rumbling above the heads of the men. Moments later, it blasts open dropping an assortment of sharp objects and everyday tools, ranging from saws to kitchen knives clanging as they hit the ground. The men got away from the rain of metal, some didn’t move quickly enough and suffered multiple cuts on their body, painting drops of blood on the floor. They all looked furious and were no longer demanding answers, instead they were ready to create their own.

“Gentlemen, I present you boundless options to winning Tati’s heart! All you have to do is use one of these options to pop each other’s balloons. The last person with their balloon intact gets to go home with our lovely contestant.”

The men looked around to another in fear of what’s to come. There was one who couldn’t believe it was happening at all. The only thing he could do was laugh.

“Are you serious? You want us to pop each other balloons with knives? You fuckin’ crazy or what?!” Leonard said. “No one is crazy here like you, psycho bit–” Almost in an instant, a ceramic knife plunged through Leonard’s balloon popping it instantly as it entered his stomach. Leonard fell backwards to the ground as his assailant landed on top of him gripping onto the knife’s hilt. With his eyes widened from shock and fear, he sees a gold chain dangling over his face. With a deadpan expression, Michael looked into Leonard’s eyes before twisting the knife deeper into his stomach, causing Leonard to cry out in pain. The group of men looked at the scene before them with horror plastered on their faces.

“What are you doing?!” Caleb yelled. Michael slowly takes the knife out of Leonard creating a sizable puddle of blood beneath his body. With his hands covered in blood, he reached for the two golden earrings from Leonard's ear and placed them on his. He stands up, towering over a twitching Leonard, watching his eyes scan everything one last time before they eventually stood still.

“What we came here to do in the first place, to win,” Michael said maliciously, facing the group. “I suggest you try and do the same.”

“What?! Do you realize what you’re doing?! Killing over some bitch you just met?!” Caleb said, grabbing a small double edged blade off the ground. “You!” Caleb points the blade towards Tiana who looked strangely composed the entire time. Tiana points to herself and innocently says, “Me?”

“Who else bitch?! You stop this shit right now!!”

“How do you expect me to do that? The cameras are rollin–”

“I don’t give a fuck about your video! You know what, just let me out. These niggas can kill each other, I’m OUT!” Caleb said as he dropped his balloon. He then started to slowly approach the panels waving his weapon around to ward off anyone near him. Tiana grabbed Tati’s hand and the two moved out of his way, watching him with delight on their faces. Caleb’s face was in complete contrast to theirs as he violently slid one of the panels to the opposite end to see the unthinkable. Rather, the incomprehensible.

“What? W-where’s the exit? It’s right here isn’t it?! My god…” He said, staring at an empty vacuum of space. The panels began to fall over to the ground like dominoes, revealing that there was nothing behind all of them. Caleb drops the blade onto the ground and falls to his knees, reaching his hand out to nothing. His eyes began to water from pure despair he felt in his heart, causing him to cry out. His blood curdling scream echoed the studio for sometime, reverberating back to the ears of those in attendance. They closed their eyes and tried to cover their ears with their hands, to suddenly find the horrific noise ceased. They open their eyes to see that the same ceramic knife that plunged Leonard’s stomach found a new home in Caleb's throat. There stood Michael drenched in red and gold, stoned faced as before. Caleb’s hands reached for his murderer's knife, grabbing onto its sharp edge and nearly cutting his fingers off trying so desperately to remove it.

“May your soul rest in peace,” said Michael as he places one of his boots on the back of Caleb’s head and forcefully stomps it to the ground as the knife yanks from his throat. A smashing thump echoed the room as blood splashed upwards, some landing on Tiana.

“I’m glad I’m wearing red today,” she said.

“This guy is insane! He’s going to kill us all!” Jordan shouted.

“Shut up! It’s just one of him and…one…two…four of us! We can all take him down and then we’ll see about that host afterwards. You guys in?” Martin said. He looks to see the others with fear and horror painted on their faces, meanwhile Michael removed the gold ring from Caleb’s pinky and placed it on his. “This sick fuck. Are you guys IN OR NOT?!”

“I-I’m with you brother!” Anthony exclaimed. He picked up a hack saw next to his foot and watched Martin grab a machete. Deshaun and Jordan didn’t grab anything to which the other two criticized them for. 

“Fuck those two, bunch a pussies anyway! We’ll go on my count and rush him. Sound good brother?” Anthony said. Martin nods and looks towards their target slowly approaching them.

“One…”

Step, Step, Step.

“Two…”

Step, Step. Pop! as Michael steps on the balloon Caleb dropped.

“THREE!! GO!!” Anthony yells at the top of his lungs. Martin dashes forward shouting from the top of his lungs then looks to his side to see no one with him. Anthony instead charged at Deshaun with his hack saw in hand. The sudden change caught Deshaun off guard and he tried blocking the hack saw with his forearm and watched as it shreds pieces of his skin. The two fell onto the ground, blood splashing onto them.

“What the fuck?!” Deshaun and Martin said in unison.

  “I was sick of seeing you and your gold teeth shining everywhere! It pissed me off every time you opened your filthy mouth! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!!” Anthony said as he started slicing Deshaun’s forearm, causing him to emit a scream you’d only hear in horror.

“I don’t even know you nigga!!” Deshaun cried out.

“Bro, HELP HIM!” Martin yelled to Jordan who stood there frozen in place. His eyes started darting everywhere imaginable until they eventually went into his head. Jordan’s body has completely shut down and he fell to the floor face first.

“Damn it!!” Martin yelled. He turns back to a once faraway Michael, now in his danger zone. “SHIT!” 

Martin swings his machete and manages to make contact with Michaels torso, causing blood to seep from the wound. Martin’s face lit up thinking he won and in an instant Michael swung his upwards across Martin’s face, slicing half of it off. His glasses flung in the air as his body faceplants into a puddle of blood. Michael removed the machete stuck to his torso and he let out a disgruntled grunt as it took some of his skin with it. He dropped the ceramic knife and decided to use the machete instead, then looked to see the gold rimmed glasses broken sitting next to its owner’s balloon. Michael cocked his foot back and with full force, kicked Martin’s head so hard that it almost broke off his shoulders. Stepping over Martin’s lifeless body, Michael grabbed Martin’s glasses and placed them on his face and stepped on his balloon causing a hard boom to erupt in the room.

“Wow…Michael is really trying to win your love Tati!” Tiana said. She then angles the microphone towards Tati, mouthing her to say something. Tati catches on and says, “Y-yeah! He’s really…really fighting for it. It’s rare to see that nowadays, you know?”

“Mmhmm, I agree!” Tiana said.

“SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!! He’s coming over here!” Deshaun cried, still trying to get Anthony off of him. They fumbled and tumbled around as Michael slowly advanced towards them with the blood stained machete and balloon in hand. “He’s going to kill us both if you don’t move!”

“I don’t care, let him! As long as you die, I’ll be happy!” Anthony said. He bursts out laughing as he continued to wrestle with Deshaun. The sounds of the haunting steps in the numerous blood puddles became louder and louder, instilling a feeling of dread into Deshaun as tears rolled down his face.

“Don’t cry now, it’ll be all over s–” Deshaun blinked and went from seeing Anthony’s face in front of him to seeing a fountain of blood spraying in his face. Anthony’s headless body fell limp onto Deshaun’s, frightening him as he pushed it off to the side. The soaring head of Anthony’s landed on top of its balloon causing it to pop. 

Covered from head to toe in crimson, Deshaun laid there dazed and ready to accept his end to see him walk over to Jordan instead. Deshaun’s eyes widen as he watches him raise the machete up high. He then closes them to prevent him from watching anything else and opens them to see himself tackling Michael to the ground, falling on top of him.

“When did you–” Deshaun punches Michael in the face with all his might, sending Martin’s glasses flying to the side and he punches him again, and again repeatedly. Each connection Deshaun fists made became more and more violent and bloody. Martin’s face began to swell up and contort from each impact to the point where it was barely recognizable. After a few minutes it became more meat than skin. Deshaun looks over a motionless Michael beaten to a pulp and stands up. His knuckles covered in bruises and dripping blood he examines them before putting back to his sides. Deshaun kicks the machete away from Michael as he walks towards Jordan. He attempts to wake him by shaking his body rigorously.

“C'mon man! Wake up! Dammit!” Deshaun cocks his hand backwards to deliver a slap that he believed would surely wake Jordan, but felt cold, wet metal wrap around his neck.

“Huh?” Deshaun said before the metal squeezed his neck with immense pressure. He dropped Jordan and tried to gasp for air but to no avail, as the grip became tighter and tighter. Deshaun fell back onto his balloon, popping it. He tried to grab onto the chain and looked to see a facially destroyed Michael behind him, tightening his grip onto the chain he once wore. Deshaun’s eyes turned bloodshot red as he looked into the remains of Michaels face. He tried to put his hands behind him to claw at Michaels face and every time he tried to make a swipe, the more Michael increased the pressure on his neck. Desperate sounds of air escaped from Deshaun, and his eyes slowly closed with each forceful choke.

Michael waited a few moments as he watched Deshaun’s body turn limp little by little. He loosened his grip and Deshaun’s body fell backwards. Michael placed his fingers under the nostrils of Deshaun to feel nothing exit them. His vision began to blurry as he looked at his fingers. His head began to sway from side as he tried to cling on to whatever life he had left. Eventually that had gone away as well, as his body leaned over. A few moments went by and the entire room fell eerily silent. The two ladies looked at each other confused as to what to say after witnessing a scene like that. Tiana looks at one of the cameras and was about to speak until she hears someone gasp for air. 

Jordan woke up from his unbidden slumber. He looks to see the six other men he arrived with all dead. The scene caused him to lose all control and scream uncontrollably. The cameras went from Tiana to panning on a distressed Jordan, trying to shake those near him. 

“How could this happen?! Why did this happen?! Why, why, WHY?!” He cried out. Jordan turned his sights on the dead men to the two living women. His face went from unparalleled despair to righteous fury. “YOU!! You did this! You made th–us kill each other!!”

Tiana and Tati didn’t say anything. They just stared at him with smiles on their faces. One of the cameras got close to Jordan and surprised him. He looked into the lens to see himself with tears running down his face. Something within Jordan broke. He tried to figure out if it was his mind, his heart, or both. He felt something that didn’t make sense to him. That feeling overwhelmed him and sent him into a spiral furthering his descent into madness.

“I…I understand it now. Haha! Yes! That’s it! That’s why!” Jordan said joyfully. He stands up and walks over Deshaun’s corpse and grabs the chain that was still wrapped around his neck and places it on his. He laid Deshaun’s body down and opened his mouth and reached in to find that his gold teeth were removable and so he did. The golden caps that occupied Deshaun’s mouth were now forcibly slotted into Jordan’s, causing his mouth to bleed profusely. He didn’t wince or cry out in pain, he smiled with his new set of gold teeth that sparkled every time they met the show lights. 

One after another, Jordan removed the jewelry that the other men had and placed them on his body. He tried to wipe the blood off but realized it was a fruitless endeavor. He knew exactly what everything meant. Why he was there, why his fellow brothers fell before him, and the purpose of life itself. Jordan grabs his unpopped balloon and makes his way to Tiana and Tati. The cameras zoomed in on the trio, creating performative shots to create needless suspense.

“Congratulations Jordan! You’re the last man standing with his balloon! How does it feel?” Tiana asked, then puts the microphone towards Jordan's face.

“It feelsh…amasheing. I haven’t felt thish alive, well, ever! I’m happy that I got the chansh to be here, to win Tati’sh love,” said Jordan. 

“Hell yeah, Jordan! Now, Tati, do you have anything to say to Jordan?” Tiana said, she then moved the microphone to Tati. An awkward silence occupied the space for a bit until Tati grabbed the microphone from Tiana and walked towards Jordan.

“Yes, I do. Jordan…”

“Yesh T–” POP “...Tati…?”

Jordan looks down to see his balloon popped and a double edged blade plunged into his stomach. He was bewildered as to what was happening and looked to see a once smiling Tati face filled with pure disgust and his blood staining her white dress.

“How bout you actually fight for my love, fucking loser.”

“...w h a t…” Jordan uttered those words before falling over onto the blade causing it to insert itself deeper within his stomach. A blood puddle emerged as his life began to leave his body slowly and violently. The cameras panned out from Jordan and looked towards Tiana who was clapping with an unsettling smile. Tati walks back and hands her the microphone then apologizes profusely for taking it. Tiana assured her that what she did made up for it.

“Talk about a bloody betrayal! Alright everybody, that’s going to be it for this week’s episode of Pop! The! Balloon! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we love creating it for you guys! Our adoring fans at home! This wouldn’t be possible without you. Tune in next week for our special 100th episode of ‘1 versus 20’! I think you’ll enjoy that even more. Until then, my loves and lovers, be seeing you~!”

Tiana and Tati started waving to the cameras as they left the set. The lights began to dim over the dead and the silence ruled once again.