Chapter Thirteen
1277 Words
That night should’ve been the longest of my life, so I was surprised at how easily sleep came to me. It wasn’t long before I realized that nothing good came to me for free. Images of the video played over and over in my mind in a heart wrenching blend of visuals. Sometimes it was the girl from the video, sometimes it was Andi, Brenda…and Krista being slaughtered. I woke up to the taste of my own tears three times before I decided that sleep wasn’t getting me anywhere.
I turned over to look at the clock on the farthest wall. It took me a minute of hazy confusion before I remembered that I had spent the night at Andi’s once again. Once my mind was clear of sleep, I squinted through the small amount of light to see the clock on the wall. It was five in the morning; in only a couple of hours, the competition would begin. Even though it was early in the morning, the thought made my heart pound as if I had downed a half an energy drink in one go.
Today could be the day that I die.
“Hard to sleep…isn’t it?” Andi’s voice drifted from the kitchen suddenly.
I jumped at the sound of her voice. I wondered how long she had been awake…and what she had been thinking about in that time. I sat up and carefully rubbed at my eyes.
“Yeah, it is.”
I heard her footsteps as she stepped into the living room. I looked up to see her leaning against the doorframe, her white robe cloaked over her body. In the darkness, her robe shined slightly making her look oddly ghost like.
The thought made me shiver.
“I don’t plan on going back to sleep,” she said.
“Me either,” I replied.
An eerie silence hung in the air between us. I knew that we were out of things to say simply because our minds were focused elsewhere. Even though Andi wasn’t the smartest person, I knew that she had come to grips with the fact that she might die today as well. It showed in her stance, her demeanor. Part of me worried if she knew about Milton’s offer.
“I’m going to get ready,” Andi said distantly.
I glanced up as she turned to walk out of the room. A frown crossed my face as I caught the tone in her voice. Something was definitely weighing on my mind. I contemplated asking her what it was, but I had a feeling that she wouldn’t answer me anyways.
I listened to the sounds of her retreating footsteps, and once again, I was alone in the living room. I sat up on the couch and stretched, relishing in the feeling that ran from my head to my feet. In my mind, I was very aware that I was alive. My body screamed with the feeling.
I wondered what it felt like to die.
I frowned at the thought of the video again as I stood to my feet. I had no idea what I was going to do for the next few hours. All I knew was that there was no way to get my heart to slow its panicked rhythm. The anxiety had already tightened its steely grip on me, and I knew that it wouldn’t be letting go anytime soon.
I began to pace the living room. At first, I wasn’t sure why. Then, I decided that it was the way my body coped with the anxiety. I thought about the arena again, and the horrors that I was sure I would face today. I wondered what the exact protocol was…if there was any. Did the competition give us a head start on the killers? Or were we released at the same time?
Depends on what kind of a show they want to see, I thought bitterly.
I had thought the video of the old footage would help, but showing just the deaths of previous contestants wasn’t enough to help anything…except maybe my fear…my own realization of death.
I thought of my mother and sister briefly. In my heart, I wished I could’ve gotten to say goodbye. If I died in the arena, it would be days before they even found out. Once they did, what would they think? Would they know that I sacrificed myself for a good reason?
Stop it, I scolded myself. It doesn’t help you to think about that right now.
The little voice in my mind was right. There was nothing I could do to change time…I just had to look forward. Even though my future was the opposite of bright. I heard a floorboard creak as Andi moved about the bathroom as she got herself dolled up for the arena. My unsolved dilemma weighed on my heart once again.
I needed an answer…I was almost out of time.
I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn’t notice Andi when she appeared in the shadows. Only when she took the moment to clear her throat did she draw my attention.
“You seem nervous,” she said hesitantly.
The sound of her voice caused me to stop in my tracks. I turned to see her through the shadows. “I am…aren’t you?”
“Of course,” she said, and her gaze drifted to the floor.
“Is something wrong?” I asked her.
She looked up at me through wide eyes before she shook her head quickly. “Oh, no…I just…do you like my new outfit?”
I could tell there was no excitement in the tone of her voice, and she looked at me through round, almost sad eyes. If I hadn’t been sure something was wrong before, I was definitely positive now.
“It’s great, Andi,” I said, “tell me what’s really bothering you…come on. You can talk to me.”
“I’ve never really been good at disappointing someone,” she said slowly.
“Disappointing someone?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
Before she had a chance to speak, my mind discovered the answer to my question. She worried that she would get us killed in the arena. Something in her mind must’ve told her that her looks wouldn’t save her. Idly, I wanted to ask her what had brought her to reality, but I knew that it wasn’t what mattered in that moment.
“I-I need to talk to you,” she said and that hesitance was back in her voice once again.
I started to feel sick the more she talked. What could she possibly have to tell me? Why did she sound guilty?
“What is it about?” I asked, taking a slow step towards her.
“The arena,” she said, and I could hear the sound of her swallowing roughly.
There was something that she didn’t want to tell me…that much was obvious.
Get on with it, I thought to myself as I felt the anxiety squeeze at my heart.
“Tell me,” I urged.
“I-I found another partner for the arena.”
- Writer
