We didn’t have a discussion immediately. Instead, when we all returned, everyone broke into small groups and discussed amongst themselves while I went to the dorm to rest. I didn’t get to. Instead, my eyes refused to close, and my mind would not stop thinking. Instead, it kept on rewinding the Principal’s words. “Five of you will only live.” Had that been the plan all along? Put a group of students in a building, force them to play deadly games, and limit the winners to five. It wasn’t even a quarter of the number of the initial students. I couldn’t fathom it. My heart raced with possibilities and questions the Principal could only answer if he had a good conscience. Then, I heard Everett’s voice in the hallway. “Guys! We need to talk!” We gathered in the classroom again, but this time, we were quiet, as if everyone was still processing what had happened. Even Everett said nothing until Dale coughed, and she blinked. “I don’t need to say why we are here. I mean, we were all t
Everett wasn’t in her room. The room lay quiet, devoid of life, and I didn’t bother searching around. I didn’t even think I’d see anything new. Also, with her character, I didn’t think she’d leave anything suspicious lying about. I didn’t stop but continued checking the classes while avoiding the one where we kept the bodies and the other dorms, but Everett was nowhere to be seen. Upon seeing a few others, I asked about where she could be, emphasizing that it was vital I saw her as I had something important to say (a lie, but I needed them to break the walk of silence they put up against me). I finally received some answers but they were either places I’d searched or she wasn’t there at all. It was like she made a disappearing act.Finally, I considered she was in the shower room where she could be taking her time so I returned to my dorm, hoping I’d see her later. At least there was nowhere to run or hide. Now that we were well on our own without guidance or can’t classe
I was used to being alone. As an only child, I didn’t have bonding moments with siblings and only got to see my friends when I could. So I was used to being lonely and being alone, which I knew would be part of my life. It wasn’t anything new.Except that it was different this time. Despite the Principal’s words, these were my mates, people I at least considered friends, who now had their backs turned against me. I wished I could turn back time, but looking at it, what could I have done? The voice ensured that I abided by the rule, and I couldn’t risk going against it. And as a result, I was being punished. Anywhere I turned, the others looked at me like there was something wrong with me, and even Ethan, Dale, and Zane had nothing to say to me, except about my duty. I could see the pain in their eyes and wished I could tell them everything, but I couldn’t. There was no solution in sight, which was why I stayed in my room. It was a cowardly thing to do but was much better than be
The night went on smoothly without hitches. The following day, too, especially as the wall of silence was being broken down, little by little. I guessed it was because I noticed the spy, and Zane’s mention that I had helped catch him before was a plus. The others weren’t entirely talking to me yet, but at least they didn’t shut me off or ignore me when I said something. I also tried searching for Everett, but she was either busy with the others or didn’t want to speak to me. It fully confirmed my suspicions that there was something she knew and was keeping something away from me. It was one of the things that finalized my decision the next day. I was going to pick up the reins of my life. When it was almost time for my night duty, I went to visit Valerie at the sick bay, where she and Miguel had been working on the drugs. They had been cooped there throughout the day, and when I asked Miguel about the update, he mentioned that they had all the items they needed and that the truth
“Check his pressure-”“Someone fetch me a syringe-”And just like that, my classmates all woke up, the medical team trying their best to revive the convulsing spy. The sickbay had never felt this rowdier since we arrived. However, thanks to my mistake, I could watch it happen. However, the results of my actions weren't all too good. Soon, marching in came the big dogs, a small group of guys with good builds who'd shown nothing but disdain towards me, and I could say I walked right into a trap with this one. The leader of this clique, Gab, so I hear his name goes, comes rushing towards me and yanks me by the collar of my shirt before slamming me into a wall.“Listen up, pretty boy, I don't think you've noticed, but we don't like you a lot,” he mentions the obvious.“I can tell, alright? You keep glaring at me as if you could chew on my bones,” I reply, much to his distaste. “That's right,” he nods aggressively, “now, you're going to start talking; otherwise, we're going to beat you
I couldn't delay things any longer; I knew what I had to do, and I had to do it fast. Waiting for hours for the assigned punishment alone in my room, I ended up falling asleep and by the time I woke up, Ethan was as well asleep. I was confident I wouldn't need to bother about any verdict. The perfect timing to escape it was. Careful not to get spotted, I slowly slip away from my room, heading to find my target. Arriving at the sick bay where the medical team gathered, pulling an all night in an attempt to save the spy, I found Everett's roommate, also a part of the medical team and knew this was my chance. I spare no time and head to the girls' dorm, where all the females are already fast asleep, and quietly tiptoe to Everett's room, but- things take a quick turn. Contrary to my thoughts on approaching Everett, I'm soon faced with the challenge of female guards standing before her door. "Was she inside? Was she not?" I couldn't tell, nor could I leave without meeting her. I had
The place was covered in dust and decorated with shattered items; moreover, the floor was painted in blood. I didn't need someone to tell me what had happened here, not with the broken items littered everywhere, making it difficult to walk by. It was obvious where we were, and it was the zone of yet another horrible game; from the looks of things, it did not go so well. While I walked past, I couldn't help but notice the complete similarity to the gym; that was all I needed to confirm that we were up for a bumpy ride. "How'd you find this place?" I ask curiously. Everett, rather than answering, spaces out as she stares at the detached room. I could imagine what went on here, with the blood all over the floor, just how many people died, what; visualising this terrible probability of it repeating itself strikes a hard blow on me. I wouldn't want this to happen again. "I was assigned to look for it, an old abandoned building without life in it," she says. Her words are somewhat co
I've always been looked down on and called many names since childhood. I could recall the words of even the criminals till this very day. "Child of a Traitor," they said."Be careful. He might steal your things someday, and you won't even know it."I can still picture the scornful look of resentment they gave me, and it didn't matter to them whether it was my father or myself who was guilty. Their fingers, their fits of anger, their fears and their frustration were all targeted at my mother and me. All they knew was that I was a product of a man everyone hated, but I've always wanted to know just what was his sin to make everyone hate one man so much. My mother used to tell me, "Ande, no matter what happens, all you have to focus on is how to survive in this hell hole; don't worry about anything thing else."I used to think she said those words to me to protect me from hating this cruel life, but I began to doubt her words as it seemed to me that she might have had some ulterior mot
"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.