Surviving a Real Life Horror Story

Chapter Six

I stared out the window as Andi drove. My fingernails clenched tight into the skin on my arm as I watched the scenery literally fly past us. I never realized how horrible of a driver she was before this. To get the place of sign up, we had to take the highway. The entire time, I wondered if we would even make it to our destination. She swerved carelessly from lane to lane; I lost count of the number of people she had cut off in the process. I closed my eyes for a majority of the trip, uncertain of our future.

I was sure of one thing; Andi had no regard for safety. I couldn’t imagine how she would be in the arena where there would be no rules or regulations.

Finally, I felt her slow her Cabrio to a halt, and I risked cracking open an eye.

“We’re here!” she announced cheerfully.

I let out a sigh of relief and felt the tension leave my shoulders as I un-dug my nails from my arm. I looked at her to see she was making duckfaces at her reflection in the rearview mirror as she adjusted a few strands of hair. I sighed and got out of the car.

Andi misread my action. “Eager to get signed up?” She chuckled as she climbed out of the car.

I turned to look at her as we climbed the hill that blocked the building from sight. Part of me couldn’t believe she had asked that, but the other half didn’t seem to care; I had no response to that either way. When we got to the top of the hill, I felt my jaw drop in shock. There were hundreds of people gathered outside of the small building.

“There are so many people here!” I said in disbelief.

She smiled at me. “It’s a popular event.”

She wasted no time in leading us to the edge of the group. She was rosy cheeked and full of emotion as she parted the crowd. She smiled at everyone that she passed and even gave a few small greetings like she had just won the Miss America pageant. I followed solemnly behind her. I couldn’t smile at any of the people that we passed.

All I could think of was that they were signing up to this same competition.

And they might not walk away from it.

I couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around how many people had gathered here, to sign up for a competition to play with their lives just because money was involved. Money could make people do the craziest things. I pursed my lips as I remembered Krista. I had to believe that some of these people weren’t motivated by selfish ideals.

Andi was the first to enter the building, and I followed behind her. I noticed that there weren’t nearly as many people inside as those that were gathered outside. I was lost in my thoughts as I traveled, trying to block out the scene around me. The entire situation was just solemn. I didn’t watch where I was going, and only too late did I realize that I had stumbled too close to someone.

“Sorry,” I muttered, breaking out of my trance.

“It’s quite all right, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” a male voice said.

I looked up to see who I bumped into. I didn’t recognize him, but he looked the same age as Andi and I. He had silver blonde hair and deep hazel eyes. His face was crafted in a way that reminded me of an eagle.

“It was my fault entirely,” I said apologetically.

“Rexi!” Andi’s voice drawled from the front desk.

“Here to sign up?” the boy asked me as he glanced between me and Andi.

I sighed and looked at him. “Yeah, not to give a sob story, but my sister needs surgery.”

He smiled. “That’s a good one. It’s good to know someone isn’t here just for themselves.” The friendly glow in his eyes vanished.

“Are you signing up?” I couldn’t help but ask.

He nodded. “I have a lot of illnesses; I need that money to take care of myself.”

I frowned at him. “I-if you’re ill…won’t you have a hard time in the arena?” I asked him slowly.

He stared at me for a second before he walked away without another word. I stared after him for a long minute. I didn’t know why I felt so bad for him, but I did. I didn’t even catch his name, yet I found myself hoping he’d win a million dollars for himself.

“REXI!!!” Andi called again.

I sighed and walked over to her. She was standing beside a table with a pile of applications on it. I realized she had already submitted hers and now it was my turn. My hand was shaking as I pulled one from the pile and picked up the pen. I hurried to write my information on it before I could change my mind and stuffed it into the box on the table.

“So, who was your friend?” she asked me with a big grin on her face.

“I don’t know,” I replied looking in the direction he had disappeared into.

“He was cute,” she said and then diverted her attention to another boy that entered the building.

I stared at the back of her head as she socialized. Everything was about appearance with her. Did she really not care about substance? I suddenly had a thought that made guilt stab me in the heart. I wondered if maybe it would be better for all of us if I teamed up with someone like the ill boy instead of her in the arena.