The Hollow Game.

Chapter Six

Rays of pre-dawn light shined through the tunnel exit. Derek grinned as wind whipped his hair around, sending shivers racing down his arms that had more to do with glee than the cold.

Beside him, Lily hummed appreciatively, her eyes closed and her face tilted towards the light. “We made it,” he exclaimed breathlessly. The two tumbled forward, neither worrying nor caring as they fell to their knees onto wet grass.

He could hear laughter, high-pitched and wild, and wondered where it was coming from. A quick glance behind him showed nothing but dark stone and dirt. Beside him, Lily was completely absorbed in staring at the sky, her blue eyes wide. The laughter sounded harsh and ugly around them, more like a hyena’s cackle than actual, human made laughter. Oh, he thought belatedly. It’s me, I’m the one laughing.

He had thought working long hours staring at machines and robotic body parts was bad but now he had a new meaning for it. Judging from the rapidly lightening sky, they had been wandering those tunnels for hours. Running from traps, edging cautiously past trick floors, and dodging falling boulders that threatened to crush them at any moment. An old saying drifted through his mind and he threw his head back and cackled. The Games are more than childish.

He had always thought that was funny— never really grasped that they were like this and wonder exactly why he had decided to come in the first place. Once the laughter died down, he looked around. The tunnel that they had come from was the only one here, its stone white and crumbling against the deep greens and browns of the forest it led to. The trees, most of which had lost their leaves, were hulking things that blocked a good chunk of the view. They were the first ones there, the first ones to survive the phase one of the Game. “Do we stay here?”

“I don’t know,” he shook his head slowly. “Yes, no— maybe we should stay here. I don’t know.” Birds chirped and leaves rustled in the wind as the two stared at the ground. I wanted to come here to show Joey that I could, he thought. Now I’m running for my life and so far from okay that I don’t think I’ll ever know the meaning of the word again. Derek jerked his head up as branches snapped rapidly. He stared into the forest, eyes wide, before he stumbled to his feet and grasped onto Lily’s arm. “Come on,” he whispered hoarsely. “We can’t stay here.” She nodded and the two crept towards a cluster of bushes opposite the tunnel.

Spiked vines and pointed leaves made finding a comfortable spot nearly impossible but the two shifted and squished together until they were both covered by the leaves. Prickles jabbed him in the arm like tiny needles and Lily’s foot was wedged against his shin, but they both managed to shimmy away enough that they could peer discreetly through the leaves. The two watched as two more figures stumbled through the tunnel, their faces dirty and hair askew. “Ha! See, I told you this was it.”

“Yeah, yeah. We made it, now what?” The two boys shared a look, shrugged, then moved away from the tunnel before laying down. “Now we wait.” Derek twitched his nose, trying to both lean in closer to the unsuspecting boys and stay hidden from them. Lily’s foot dug deeper into his shin as she rearranged herself, the leaves rustling noisily, alerting the boys. Images of Joey, stupid, bull-headed, plaid wearing Joey invaded his mind as he watched the boys creep forward.

Beside him Lily froze, her face set in a smile that looked more like a grimace and her pale eyes wide but calm. Please don’t let them be killers sent to end us, he prayed. Don’t let them find us, let us remain hidden.

They’re a way for the highest highs to gain ground over those beneath them, even other highs. That’s what the Hollow Games are about and you shouldn’t forget it.

Oh man, someone’s watching us! Milo usually wasn’t one to worry. He knew the Game was hard, that it had been both luck that he had been Chosen and stupidity that he’d agreed to go, and that there was a high mortality rate. But all those things fluttered to the wayside at the prospect of bringing back his family’s name.

Granted, he thought all of the high class society things were pointless, not to mention difficult and filled with backhanded compliments and thinly veiled insults, but his family was all he had. And he cherished everything he had. So when he had gotten his letter, all crisp and clean and official looking, he had been thrilled. Finally, a way to show his parents that he could make something out of himself. A way to show them that he wasn’t useless and that they could be proud of him. Within minutes of being in the labyrinth tunnels, he had decided then and there that he should have thought the Game through a bit more.

“Hey, there’s a light down this way,” he called to Jackson.

“Another trap?” the other boy called back, his voice dripping with boredom. Milo frowned, eyed the lightning tunnel thoughtfully before saying no, it was sunlight for sure.

Cold air flooded the damp, warmish tunnel and that helped clear his thoughts. Helped put them in order. Jackson, blonde hair dirty and hanging in front of his face, jogged ahead before falling back, a hand clasped over his eyes. Or eye, he thought, taking in the other’s appearance. His black suit was ripped in several places and the white shirt was more brownish gray than actual white anymore.

He didn’t want to even imagine what he looked like. A hot mess on steroids, maybe? My mother would throw a fit and Father would just stare at me in that disappointed way he does whenever I do something shaming the family. He fought against the urge to laugh but a giggle or two escaped before he managed to calm himself. “Dude, think, we’ll be out of here in no time.”

The blonde shrugged, “This is just the first phase,” he said. “The second one is what I’m worried about.”

Too true. He didn’t say anything as they stumbled out of the tunnel then onto the ground.

“Ha! See, I told you this was it.” Milo sniffed, breathing in the scent of pine and rain and decay. Jackson shrugged again, running a hand through his hair even as his bangs flopped right back over his eye. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “We made it, now what?”

He didn’t have an answer to that and the blonde didn’t seem to have one, either. Without consulting the other they inched away from the tunnel entrance and flopped onto their backs. Birds chirped overhead and he absently wondered what they were saying. Probably something along the lines of ‘look at these two, acting all tired. Why, just this morning I had to go pester that nosy old man into giving me some of his oats. What do they have to sigh for?’

Another giggle escaped and he quickly clamped his lips together until the urge once more retreated. “Now we wait,” he said, pleased that his voice showed none of amusement. He had a feeling that Jackson wouldn’t appreciate it. Leaves and bushes rustled together, snapping and smacking against low hanging, broken branches. Jackson glanced up, eyes narrowed before he pressed a finger against his lips and motioned for him to him. Milo raised an eyebrow but silently crept over to the blonde. The two shared a brief glance, no more than a second or two, before as one they pounced at the bushes. Screams erupted from within as the two landed heavily onto prickled vines.

An elbow into his side and his head hit the ground with a soft smack. Milo groaned as pain exploded behind his eyes, his vision dimming than swaying slowly back into focus. Jackson, his suit ripped even more, was helping a young woman up. He thought she might have been in her twenties but wasn’t that great at guessing someone’s age. Another guy, possibly around the girl’s age, was sprawled on the ground, clutching his head. He raised his head and glowered at them, honestly looking like he was tempted to lunge at them. Before the guy could decide whether to actually go through with it, Jackson snarled at him, asking what they were doing, hiding in the bushes like a couple of heathens? Milo didn’t feel like telling the enraged blonde that he happened to enjoy hanging out behind bushes. Lots of things happened when you weren’t actually present.

“Us? You’re the one who jumped us. If anything, you’re the ones who shouldn’t be here.” The other guy’s voice was equal parts angry and bitter. He was curious but not enough to draw attention to himself. The fight brewing was already charged and a quick glance at the sky showed nothing but rapidly lightning clouds and the tops of trees.

“Are you two contestants?” The woman interrupted, smiling calmly. He had a new found respect for the woman. The double glares thrown at anyone would make them quiver and back down, but she just continued smiling like they were discussing the weather or commenting on each other’s hobbies.

Jackson straightened up, his glare dissolving into a charming grin as he faced her. “We are,” he confirmed. “And I assume you are as well?” She nodded, moving towards the guy and offering her hand which he brushed off as he got up. The four faced each other, the tension thick and uncomfortable, causing him to squirm and fidget. “I’m Milo,” he blurted, offering his hand first to the woman then the guy. “I’m Lily and this is Derek. Did you have to go through the room without a floor?”

No, he said, we went through wall spikes. “Not pleasant,” he added with an awkward grin. Lily nodded again, her gray eyes narrowed at them even as her smile remained in place.

Milo suddenly had the image of a predator staring its prey down and shivered. I never want to be on the end of that look ever again. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, the awkward tension broke as several more figures stumbled out of the tunnel. None of them moved, frozen as more laughter echoed around them. Man, those tunnels must be cursed, he thought, discreetly watching the two girls kneeling on the ground. The one laughing was hunched over, her blue hair covering her face. The other girl stared down at her companion, her tan skin taking on a grayish tint due to all of the dirt and dust coating her.

The blue haired girl finally lifted her head and Milo reeled back, blinking at the wide grin on her face. She looks like something cracked and she’s not nearly worried enough. Jackson took a hesitant step forward before stopping as the girl began cackling again, her grin never leaving. Milo glanced at the tunnel once more before shuddering. Yeah, maybe all those stories about people going mad in stone had some mirth to it after all. No one said anything as the girl’s laughter continued. And if he thought it held notes of pain and fury then he didn’t say anything. After all, it was both none of his business and possibly just his imagination. And so he said nothing even as the laughter tapered off and the only thing that could be heard was the muffled hiccups and the girl’s eyes flooded with tears. This Game destroys more than just the people watching, he realised, gazing at her sympathetically. It destroys those who play it, too.