I stood in the dimly lit room and watched the exchange between Ande and Everett unfold through the CCTV screens. My jaw was clenched tight, the muscles in my neck taut with tension.Ande was relentless, his questions probing and his demands unwavering. Everett, on the other hand, looked weak (something I never once considered the precocious girl), her injured arm cradled protectively against her chest.As I watched the exchange between Ande and Everett unfold on the monitor, a simmering rage began to boil within me. How dare that insolent boy pry into matters that are beyond his understanding!The secrets of the Other Side are not his to uncover.Just then, the new teacher - Mr Blackwood - enters the room. He fixed me with a piercing gaze, a sardonic smile on his lips."Trying to keep your little pawns in line, I see," the teacher said, his voice dripping with amusement. "Though it seems young Ande is proving to be quite the troublesome piece."I clench my jaw, my grip tightening
It's quiet when the guards are done.I watch with a mixture of frustration and detachment as the guards swiftly but carefully package the bodies of the destitute children, needless forms now mere specimens to be disposed of.I can practically smell the metallic stench of blood, the once clear floor now splattered with crimson stains.My jaw tightens as I observe the grim scene unfolding before me on the security monitors. This was not how things were supposed to go. We had carefully monitored their reactions, and yet somehow, the etc – the failures- had slipped through our fingers.I lean forward in my chair, my brow furrowing as I study the gruesome tableau. The guards move with practised efficiency, their movements clinical and detached as they zip the bodies into the black body bags. I can't help but notice the way the fabric clings to the contours of their small, fragile frames.A muscle in my jaw twitches as I recall the hours of planning, the meticulous data collection, and t
I quietly close the door, nodding to the students waiting outside before making my way down the dimly lit hallway. My mind is still reeling from the conversation I just had with Everett. I can't believe she was so forthcoming with the answers I needed. But it's all so….. convenient. Everything about this situation makes me feel... suspicious. Something doesn't feel right.As I approach my room, I see Chris leaning against the door, waiting for me with a laid-back expression on his face. He straightens when he sees me, shoving his hands in his pockets casually.''So…, How did it go?" he asks, his tone passive.Walking past him, I grimace, unlocking the door and stepping inside. "It was... something," I murmur, collapsing onto my bed. Chris follows me in, sitting in the chair by my desk."Are you sure going to see her again is a good idea?" he asks, his voice laced with uncertainty. I don't even know how he knew where I was going.I shrug, pinning him with a hard stare. "It doesn'
I recoil from her, a chill winding down my spine.How could she?I grit my teeth, my resolve hardening as I glare at the girl."We'll see about that," I hiss before turning and striding out of the room, my mind racing.As I make my way back to my room, I can't help but feel a sense of dread. Everett's words have only deepened my suspicions, and I know I'm over my head. But I'm not going to let them win. I'll do anything to stop them, even if it means facing my father.When I reach my room, Chris is waiting for me, his expression tense. "Well?" he asks, his voice laced with concern.I collapse onto my bed, running a hand through my hair. "It's worse than I thought," I murmur. "Everett told me everything."Chris's eyes widen, and he leans forward in his chair. "What did she say?"I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I will tell him. "It's my father," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "He's the one who sent the signals, and they've been using me as a pawn in their game a
The world around me warps and distorts, the training room melting away as I'm plunged into a vivid hallucination. Suddenly, I find myself on a sprawling battlefield, the air thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the cries of wounded soldiers.Before me stands a Destitute, his features blurred and indistinct. But there's something familiar about him, something that tugs at the back of my mind. I don't hesitate, my training kicking in as I charge forward, my fists clenched and ready to strike.The Destitute raises his hand, his eyes wild with fear. "Ande, it's me!" he shouts, his voice desperate. Ande? My name echoes in my mind, but in this haze of battle, I can't place its significance. All I know is that I've been trained to destroy the Destitutes, to eliminate them at all costs.I tackle the Destitute to the ground, my blows raining down with a primal fury. I feel his bones crack beneath my knuckles, his cries of pain fueling my onslaught. This is what I was made for, what
I freeze, my heart pounding in my chest. "Who's there?" I murmur, my voice barely above a breath.The whisper grows more vigorous, more insistent. "Ande, you must listen. The coordinates... you must find them."I glance over my shoulder, but the guards remain oblivious, their attention focused elsewhere. Turning back to the mirror, I stare into my own eyes, searching for the source of the voice."The coordinates?" I whisper, my brow furrowed. "What do they mean?""They are your way out, Ande," the voice responds, its tone urgent. "You must find it! Before it's too late!."I hesitate, my mind racing. Could this be the same voice, the same man from my dream? The one who spoke of freedom, of a chance to break free from the school's control?Without hesitation, I reached out and clenched my fist against the mirror, the glass shattering into a thousand glittering shards. The students outside immediately spring into action, pounding on the door and shouting for me to open up."Ande!" one of
As the game is about to begin, I glance around the room, searching for a familiar face. But Chris isn't here.I scan the crowd again, searching for any sign of the other boy. But he's nowhere to be seen, and a pang of guilt twists in my gut. I pull a nearby student aside, and my grip was tight on their arm."Where's Chris?" I demand, my voice low and menacing.The student's eyes widen, and they stammer, "H-he's still in the hospital. He couldn't play today."I feel a surge of relief and regret. Relief that Chris is safe, for now, but regret that I was the one who put him there in the first place. Without him here, I don't know how much he has in points, and I can't risk him being eliminated. I can't just let that happen.Steeling my resolve, I approach the instructor, the chip still hidden under my tongue. "I want to use some of my points to help Chris pass this round without being eliminated."The instructor raises an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flickering across his face. "Are you
The boy steps forward, blocking my path. "I saw it first. Now give it back."I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I stare him down. "I'm not giving it to you. It's mine now."The boy's eyes narrow, and he plants his feet, nose flaring. "I don't care. I need those points, so back off." He growls.I can feel my heart pounding in my chest as I weigh my options. This flag could be the difference between passing and failing, and I'm not about to let it slip through my fingers.But the student in front of me is easily twice my size, and I can see the desperation in his eyes. Suddenly, movement catches my eye, and I glance over his shoulder and see a group of students approaching, their faces twisted with fury."Hey, that's our flag!" one of them shouts, his voice thick with rage.The teen in front of me whirls around, his eyes widening as he takes in the sight of the approaching mob. I can see the fear in his expression, and for a moment, I almost feel sorry for him.B
"We're not your enemies. We're students, too. We escaped the school just like you." I hesitated, my grip loosening. "Prove it," I demanded. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" At last they took off the mask from their faces, they looked nothing older than eighteen at most, but I wasn't going to be fooled, definitely not by their appearance especially. We pointed the guns at them, cold sweat dripped all over my face but that wasn't enough to make me tremble, at least I wouldn't allow myself to fall victim to such trickery. “No problem, no problem, I'll prove it, I'll show you that we mean no harm I swear,” the female of the group yelled. “Please, just back off with the gun a bit, that thing's dangerous and I doubt you even know how to hold them properly which makes it more dangerous.” Was she mocking us or what? I couldn't make due with it. I took a quick look at her and her colleagues behind us. They didn't seem to have any sort of weapon on them and they didn't retali
I could hardly believe my eyes at first, but that was the honest truth apparently, and just like that, we had finally escaped the school, but freedom felt like a distant memory as we trudged through the arid landscape. Where we would go from here, that was the next question. Amid the celebration and excitement from my classmates I looked around, something didn't feel right, not in the slightest, but what was it? Suddenly, it occurred to me to look ahead as if I surveyed the land. "Does anyone have a binocular?" I asked. "A binoculars? I think I got one while we were escaping, it was amongst the staff gadgets," someone said. At once it struck me. Why exactly would they need such in the first place? The more I puzzled about this uneasy feeling the more restless I felt. The girl handed over the device with a bothered look on her face. I grabbed hold of the device and peered through. Scanning- Scanning- The coast looked clear, crystal clear however, what was this cloud of dus
(Diego's POV)I dart through the shifting corridors of the maze, my heart pounding in my chest as I try not to lose sight of the others. The disorienting twists and turns of this twisted landscape make it difficult to keep my bearings.And I'm finding it harder and harder to keep on going.As I watch my classmates struggle to cross the swaying platforms, a seed of doubt begins to take root in my mind. Something about this whole scenario doesn't feel right. The way the walls shift and the floors move - it's almost as if it's an illusion, a trick of the mind.I take a step back, studying the maze around us more closely. The patterns on the walls seem to shimmer and distort, and the very air feels charged with an unnatural energy. Narrowing my eyes, I focus my senses, trying to pierce through the deception.Suddenly, a flicker of movement catches my eye, and I whirl around to see a shimmering figure in the distance. It's the teacher, I'm sure of it. A wild surge of anger rises within me
(Ande's POV)We wait patiently for Ethan in the game room, the few of us that are still free, trying to cross check if we have everything. It was almost….. peaceful.Alas, things were not meant to be, as the world around us suddenly shifts and distorts.I grip the railing as the building contorts before my eyes, the once familiar corridors and classrooms twisting and distorting like a kaleidoscope. The floors seem to shift beneath my feet, and I struggle to maintain my balance as the world around me turns upside down. "What's happening?" I shout, my voice laced with panic as I glance at my teammates. Ava clings to the wall, her eyes wide with terror, while Chris braces himself against a doorframe, his knuckles turning white.A sinister chuckle echoes through the disorienting space, and I feel a chill run down my spine. "Did you really think you could escape me so easily?" The teacher's voice, dripping with malice, surrounds us.I whirl around, searching for the source of the sound.
(Ande's POV)After washing out the blood from my clothes, I looked down with a heavy sigh of disbelief, I could not believe that this was what I had been reduced to. A monster, perhaps. "We have to go," Chris said to me, his hand upon my shoulder. Yes, there was somewhere we had to be and I refused to let anything come in the way of my freedom, not even myself. Chris and I rejoin the others. The students from the lab are gathered, their faces etched with a mixture of fear and anticipation. They couldn't possibly reject me and I knew that, I was one of them and they were just like me, we had the same substance or whatever it was that was put in me running through their veins, they couldn't possibly bail on me. "Ande," one of them says, her voice tinged with relief. "We've been trying to make sense of what happened back there."As I explain what I found in the lab and the chip I retrieved, their expressions shift from confusion to horror."So they were trying to turn us into desti
(Ande's POV)I shake my head, refusing to believe what they're telling me. "No, I can't have done this. There must be some mistake." I couldn't accept that in the slightest bit, how could everything turn out this way, we had come so far and yet this was supposed to be the result?No, it couldn't possibly be this way. "Ande, listen to us," Ethan says, his tone urgent however I looked away from him, the last thing I wanted on my plate was someone to interfere with how I felt but he was persistent an attribute that I had hated for quite a while now. "We all felt... different, after what happened in the lab. And now, with what's happened here... we can't risk staying any longer. For our own safety, and for yours."I want to protest, to demand answers, but the fear in their eyes gives me pause. I took a deep sigh, surely this wasn't the end of everything, I knew there had to be some sort of way but the opportunity seemed difficult to come by. "I understand but I'm sure there's a cure
(Ande's POV)Ethan's head snaps up, his eyes wide with fear. "No, please, Ande! I swear, I won't do anything like that again. I'm with you, all the way. You can trust me, I promise.," he said, while desperately leaning to us for trust. I hold his gaze, searching for any hint of doubt or deception. After a long moment, I nod slowly. "Alright, Ethan. I'm going to hold you to that promise. We can't afford any more risks, not when we're so close to freedom."Ethan nods, his shoulders slumping with relief. "I understand, Ande. I won't let you down, I swear it."Before I can say more, Jay suddenly interrupts us, his gaze strangely vacant as he clutches the sleeve of my shirt. "Ande," he says, "Ande…""Jay, what's wrong?" I ask, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You seem... different."Jay turns to me, his eyes clouded with an almost otherworldly intensity. "We need to go back to the school," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's important, Ande. We have to leave go back now."I'
I'm in my office when a guard bursts into my office, breathless and wide-eyed. "Sir, there's an urgent joint summit being called. You're expected to attend immediately."I let out a frustrated sigh. These summits always mean more demands and red tape to deal with. "Can't they handle this without me for once?" I grumble.The guard shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, sir. They've specifically requested your presence."I groan in frustration, slamming the files shut. The benefactors - those stupidity wealthy elites who oversee the Games - are the bane of my existence. "Unbelievable. Can't they see I'm up to my neck in work here? We're still recovering from the disastrous events of the last Games."The guard shifts nervously. "I'm afraid they won't take no for an answer, sir. They said it's non-negotiable."I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling a migraine coming on. "Fine, fine. Tell them I'll be there momentarily." As the guard scurries off, I mutter a string of curses under my breath.
There is a dismembered hand lying on the floor, partially obscured by the doorway. My stomach lurches at the gruesome sight, bile rising in my throat.The skin is pale, the fingers contorted, and there's still fresh blood pooling around it. I freeze, my eyes fixed on the grisly scene.Ethan and the others hadn't noticed it by the looks of things, their focus probably only on getting into the school undetected. But I can't tear my gaze away. Something about the hand catches my eye - it appears to be clutching a small electronic device, a tablet of some kind. Swallowing hard, I slowly approach the severed limb. I need to get a closer look. Crouching down, I carefully pry the fingers open and retrieve the tablet, wincing at the sticky, warm sensation of the blood on my skin. My heart is pounding as I examine the device, realizing it's emitting some kind of frequency. An idea struck. Quickly, I pull out my jammer and connect it to the tablet, grinning as I gain access to the video.