Let's play a game

Chapter 1

In the end, we won by 1 point. It was super close, because if I hadn’t been able to cut her of she would have definitely won. Luckily, I tapped her just before she made a homerun. We hugged each other panting and puffing while we gave each other a "well played".

The teacher nodded us as he mumbled something about some beer that would be ready before the last hour tomorrow. I couldn't resist chuckling softly when he was gone. It wasn't until we let each other go that we noticed that we were the only ones still outside.

Then it happened. I saw a couple of men dressed in black with balaclavas. I pushed Anja into the gym and warned the teacher. He looked at us like we went crazy right then and there before him, until gunshots suddenly sounded. Immediately the teacher closed the doors and flew into the changing rooms.

The girls were dumbfounded when we stormed into the locker room and panickily asked if everyone was in the changing rooms. Confused, they replied that Nina wasn't in the locker rooms yet, but that she was cleaning up some stuff was. I gestured everyone to be quiet and lock the door while I was looking for Nina.

Anja shook her head violently. She didn't want me to be in danger, but I was the fastest and besides, I had learned enough martial arts to keep a few of them at arms length. The girls started walking one by one into the boy's dressing room, after which I explained the situation to the teacher.

He wanted to get Nina himself, but he understood that maybe I was the best option. Anja closed the door with tears in her eyes after the reassured look I threw her. A shiver of pure adrenaline ran over my back. I spurted to the other side of the gymnastics hall as fast as I could and searched for Nina.

She stood right along one of the bucks and wanted to turn around to go to the locker rooms when  another flurry of gunshots sounded. This time much closer. I grabbed her arm, covered her mouth with my other hand and pulled her between the wall and a plinth. Her cry of fear was smothered by my hand.

Suddenly the double door of the gymnastics hall flew open and a few men stormed into the hall, weapons pointed out in front of them. Nina's eyes were as big as saucers, but she managed to keep quiet. Between a crack of the plinth we could see the whole room and we knew that if they found us there was no way out for us.

I gestured to stay silent and took my hand from her mouth. I turned a little closer to the crack in the hope of getting a better view of the men. They all had something that covered their face, but I saw some things with which I could recognize them later or describe them.

A scar on the lower lip of one and blonde hair. The other had some kind of blue color in his hair. His right ear also had a pair of silver piercings. Whispering, I explained to Nina that she also had to study the men in the hope that they would be caught later.

Suddenly the back door of the gym also flew open. Immediately covered in Nina's mouth, but she managed to keep herself quiet as best she could. Soon I saw the panic that grew in her eyes. I had to hide her. The plinth with the hatch was right in front of us, but we could never get in without seeing us. It was right in their sight.

The newcomer, who had entered the back of the gymnasium through the back door, walked towards the changing rooms. There was now a free path towards the back door. The chances of us both getting out together were small. Too small. Even alone, the chances were very small. But as one of us ran... This was her only chance... And maybe my only chance aswell.

"Nina," I whispered as softly as possible, "Listen carefully. I'm going to create a distraction. As soon as I do, I want you to crawl into the other plinth. You have to be low..."

She shook her head.

"Nina! Listen! We don't have time for this. I have a chance to get through the door now, but not for very long anymore. You're doing it. Nina, listen! They're going to look here and they might find us! This is the only way! Listen, don't go too fast and make sure you stay low to the ground. And whatever you do, don't make a sound, okay?"

She nodded visibly shaking.

"Okay, if I'm at the door, you leave, okay?  If you leave too fast, they're going to see you, and they'll find you. Once you're in the plinth, you'll lock it from the inside out and don't make any sound anymore. The littlest sound can betray you. Understood?"

She nodded again. I breathed in deeply and got ready. I had to get to the forest. That's where I could hide until I was safe. The police had to have been notified. They just had to be. I had to believe in it. It was now or never.

My heart raged in my throat. It seemed like everything went into slow motion when I came straight. Everything went too slow for me. I felt the look from one of the men resting on me before I spurted away. In the corner of my eye, I saw a movement. Nina moved towards the plinth. She was going to make it.

One of the men shot into action: "Grab her!"

Adrenaline spewed through my body. I stormed through the back door and bumped into a group of men who immediately responded to the scream. Right away, I went to the left towards the wall that surrounded the school. I threw myself sideways over the wall and ran. The men were on my heels.

The forest wasn't far anymore. It was my only hope. The hedge appeared in the picture. Just a few more meters and I'd be there. I just had to make it. Although it wasn't smart, I looked over my shoulder. They were close by. Too close. It was like I could feel their breath burning in my neck.

"Don't let her escape!"

Suddenly one of the shooters appeared in front of me just past the gate. I rammed my body into him, fell and rolled a little further across the ground. Maybe it was the fear, maybe the adrenaline did it, but I immediately flew back up and ran further. My lead had gotten a lot smaller, so panic almost got the best of me, but I pushed it back.

I zigzagged between the trees by hoping to shake off my pursuers, but they clearly didn't feel like letting me escape. Jumping over a low-hanging branch I abruptly turned to the left and came into the dense part of the woods. You couldn't look beyond a few yards ahead of you. It was perfect.

Anja and I had been researching it a lot, so I knew exactly where the good shelter places were. Even if we used it for different reasons. The moment I was sure they couldn't see me anymore, I dropped myself into the pit that went hidden between 2 boulders. It was almost impossible to see unless you knew where it was. A few men rushed by while others slowed down.

Without me knowing, I held my breath out of fear that they would still find me. My heart jumped like a savage as I let myself sink deeper and deeper under the rock. I knew if I made a sound they'd find me. I didn't even want to know what would happen to me when they found me.

"Where is she? Does anyone have a sight on her?"

There was that voice again. Who was he? I couldn't afford to look. That would be the stupidest thing I could do. If they had the rock in their vision, they'd see and find me. Still, it was hard. He was the leader. And if I could see him or recognize something about him...

"No one. We have to leave, sir. Otherwise, the police might find us."

"Was there anyone else who met my expectations?"

"No sir... But we can..."

"That's okay, David, I want her."

After a break, he continued: "Get everyone out of the school building and bring a few documents. Let them search for the file of a student who meets her profile and appearance. If we don't find her now, we will find her later."

They were going to look for me. Reality came crashing down to me like a piano falling in my face. At home I wouldn't be safe anymore that was a fact and a painfully obvious one as well. I couldn’t go to the police because it would be too predictable for me to do so. They'd expect me. Who said they were trustworthy, by the way? Someone who could arrange all this... What would that person all not be able to do?

I had to take my chance. I needed to know who was after me, for who I had to watch out for. Very carefully, worrying about making a sound, I crawled up. Hoping that the plants would cover me and keep me hidden from him, I overcame my fear and i looked over the edge.

The men had dropped off their masks. I saw them all except for one of their faces. He stood with his back towards me. I studied the others thoroughly. I didn't recognize them, but later, if it was necessary, I would.

I gently started lowering myself down when suddenly one of the men shot up. He looked straight at the rocks to the place where I was hiding. I stayed stiff. It was like he looked at me right in the eye. He also looked at me right in the eyes. All the blood pulled out of my face and I turned pale.

He saw me, he had to. For some reason, he suddenly looked away again. With difficulty, I managed to stop myself from shooting down right away. Instead, I kept slowly sliding down until I was completely clogged back.

"What’s wrong, Ryan?"

"I thought I saw something in that tree there, but it was just a bird."

Why did he lie? Did he just save my life? No, he didn’t… He couldn't have. Whoever this Ryan guy was, I couldn't afford to trust him.

"Now that you say so, who knows, maybe she's already been able to hide inside one of the trees. No one would see her, and she could spy on us just like that."

"Sir, maybe it's best if you're already leaving. You can't afford to be arrested. David, make sure he gets away safely. I'll look for a little further. She can't have gotten that far."

"We'll see you at the meeting, I suppose?"

"That's sounds good to me."

Footsteps sounded but became softer and softer as the man disappeared. My heart was like a possessed one. As soon as I could, I had to run straight back to school, get my stuff and run. That was all I could do.

Ryan said again, "I know you're sitting there, just come up.

He wasn't talking about me. I had to believe it. I had to. He wasn't allowed to find me. Then it was over for me.

"You know I'm talking to you. Just come now, if I'd wanted to kill you or tell on you, I would have done it a long time ago."

I grinded my teeth. He couldn't be sure.

"Listen, this can go one of three ways. The first one goes like this: I'm going to shoot between those two stones for fun because I know there's no one there, is there? The second option is that I just call my boss and call my men here, we'll get you out. Or the third option: you come out of that hole and listen to me."

I moved even less than a death corpse. I wouldn't surrender. The last thing I wanted was to die or to get kidnapped. How could this day have gone so wrong? How did I end up in this situation? I wanted to cry.

"Okay, have it your way."

I heard a clicking sound that I immediately recognized. The sound a gun makes when the safety is taken of. All the stubbornness in my body disappeared like snow in front of the sun.

"Wait! Wait! I’m coming out already"

"That's what I thought."