The Hollow Game.

Chapter Five

The cavern was large, open and empty when the three entered it. Multiple stone archways circled the walls and torches made from glass and wood hung from the walls, casting unknown shadows around.

Ace frowned, brows furrowed as she studied the room. “See, I told you those stupid arrows would lead us in circles. And now we’re back where we started!” Lottie threw her hands up and walked ahead towards the center of the room. “My arrows were a great idea,” Binks said. “Not my fault if the tunnels circle around.”

Ace ignored the brewing argument as her eyes darted between archways.

There was light here but nothing that screamed ‘exit’ in anyway. “No, this is a different place,” she said, cutting the two off. A shiver raced through her before she squared her shoulders and threw a large grin at the two. “I think we should go down that way.” The archway in question was directly opposite them and what little light there was didn’t shine inside it. Lottie gave her an incredulous look, her brown eyes wide.

“You want to go through the one doorway that the light doesn’t go into?” At the other girl’s nod she laughed, high pitched and long. “You’ve got to be crazy! Seriously, are you even buying this?”

They both turned to the boy who shrugged in return. “Not like we have a plan, anyway. This path, the other one, what difference does it make?”

“Then it’s settled,” she clapped her hands, pleased. “We go that way!” The heaviness in the air stayed as they crossed the cavern and the prickling feeling of something wrong stayed with her long after they went through the archway. She knew that they would get out, it was only natural. But that didn’t stop the doubts and what-if’s that whispered in her ear.

No, we will make it out of here, she thought firmly. And I’ll win the Game and then I’ll never have to play it again.

“It appears that the Game is progressing rather slowly, Keeper.” Glasses clinked together as men and women lounged around, chatting, eyes wandering occasionally over to the TV in the center of the room.

Those who were chosen wandered through the tunnels, oblivious to watchers above them, silently judging them. A man in a white dinner coat shrugged. “Some of them have tripped a few of the traps but other than that there’s nothing I can do to speed everything up.”

A short round of laughter and then the guests settled back into their previous rhythm.

On the screen, three contestants walked across one of the several hidden caverns and two boys ran away from the floor to ceiling wall spikes. “No,” the other man said. “But we can make it interesting.”

The white coated man nodded, already moving towards the television. “Of course, we wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone.”

“What’s happening?” The ground shook harder than it had before. The walls crumbling and bits of stone fell from the ceiling as the lights flickered rapidly, threatening to go out completely.

Ace felt a hand clamp tightly onto her arm before she was yanked backwards. A chunk of stone fell where she had been standing seconds ago, a cloud of dust poofing out from under it. “I think we should l leave,” Binks said, pulling her and Lottie towards the tunnels. She blinked, coughed. Dirt and dust floated through the air and the ground shook and broke with every step, threatening to send them plummeting into the ground.

I wonder what’s below us, she thought, glancing at the thin cracks beneath her. Her eyes drifted towards the archways and winced at the state of them. Crumbling stones and boulders blocked them from entering several of them and the rest were inaccessible simply because the floor around them was gone.

Another sharp crack rang out and like thin ice, the hard stone floor gained even more cracks and gaps as it pulled away from itself.

“Come on,” Lottie screamed, dodging around boulders. “The tunnel’s not completely blocked off, yet. We can still squeeze through if we hurry!”

Ace braces herself as her next step caused the ground to quiver and spiderweb cracks to appear. Somehow in all the chaos the three had been separated. Lottie was farther ahead, her pink dress ripped and dirty, her brown hair falling out of the meticulous bun and matted with chunks of rock. Her eyes darted left and right, trying to find Binks in the mess. Finally she spotted him a bit behind her, his dark eyes narrowed and a small trail of blood slowly dripping from a small cut on his cheek. He nodded and darted forward, still behind her but not by as much.

Ace ignored the stinging on her legs and the stitch in her side as she ran towards the tunnel. Lottie was already there, her feet dangling as she crawled through the narrow gap between the top of the archway and the boulders. She bit her lip and grasped the girl’s feet before shoving them up. Seconds later Lottie disappeared from view and she was climbing the rocks. Binks, without being told, hoisted the shorter girl up a bit so she could grasp into the rocks better. Ace wiggled and squirmed until Lottie grabbed her hands and helped pull her through. She fell with a thud and placed her feet against the boulders as the ground quaked. The two girls watched as the slim gap grew smaller and the little light that came in dimmed.

“I’m going to try and get through one of the other paths,” Binks’ voice was muffled but distinguishable even as the gap between them shuttered closed. “One of them has to join together somewhere.”

Before either one could say anything, the last of the light faded and Binks’ voice was too muffled to pick out what he was saying. Ace slowly picked herself off, quickly brushed her hands down her ruined dress, then started marching determinedly away. “Where are you going? Shouldn’t we try, I don’t know, shifting the rocks around or something?” Ace winced at that.

“No, why would we do that?” She could almost feel the other girl’s incredulous look. “‘Why?’ How about because he’ll die if we don’t try to help!”

She bit her lip then forced a tight grin on her face even as images of those spider web like cracks and missing gaps invaded her mind. “Binks said he would meet us where our tunnels connect,” she said firmly. “I thought he was your friend,” Lottie accused, voice low and strained.

“Binks said he would come so he will,” she grabbed Lottie’s arm and dragged her down the tunnel. Her words hung between them, heavy and awkward, and neither one was inclined to break the precarious silence.

He said he would come, she thought, looking back at the entrance. So he will. He has to otherwise I’m going to find him and then things won’t be pretty.

At least he has his knife. Lottie gaped as Ace cackled, honestly wondering whether staying with her or staying behind was the safer option.

Ace’s laughter died down and her grin felt more realistic. She had complete faith that Binks would do as he had said and join them later on. He had promised and that was enough for her. “Come on, can’t let Binks do all the work!” Lottie gasped as she was once more pulled through the tunnel, her arm bouncing around as the other girl enthusiastically ran. Everything will work out and all of us will get what we want.

Her laughter echoed down the tunnel as the two began looking for places where the tunnels connected together. And I’ll win this Game and if I die trying, well, that’s okay too. I’ll at least know that I tried my hardest and I that I won’t be able to do anything about death. No use crying over it. “Hey, do you know that one song?” Lottie blinked, already feeling a headache coming on.

“What song?” She asked wearily. “It goes hum, hum, hum hum, hum, hum hum hum?”

At Lottie’s groan Ace’s grin widened, pleased to successfully take the other girl’s mind off the situation. After all, worrying never gets you anywhere and Ace took that to new heights. Everyone would be find and it was only a matter of time until they found the exit and began the next phase of the Game.