The Hollow Game.

Chapter Nine

She had missed the sun. Walking around all day every day meant that she went out before it rose and stayed out long after it had set. Which made the daylight hours some of her favorite.

It also gave someone the advantage of seeing their surroundings in the best possibly light. This, she thought, was very important. One never knew what one could glean simply from observing those around them. And observe she did.

Everyone seemed to gravitate to certain individuals. Ace went to Binks, Lottie seemed to enjoying talking to Kitty and Sally, Milo and Jackson sat together with JD, and Derek appeared to be a loner. All these things made her wonder how they had been invited to the Game. Lily could admit that she had been skeptical when she had received her invite. The Hollow Games weren’t known to have a ton of people participating. At most, only ten people would be chosen and those ten would be from the lower classes. She remembered the last Game and how big of a deal it had been because there had been two contestants from the higher class. Neither had won nor had they walked out under their own power. Vivian Bloom and Janice Harris had been broken by the Game and last she had heard neither woman was seen in public anymore. So when she had found the crisp envelope in her mailslot, the first thing she had done was check her calendar.

A week later she had dressed in her second best skirt and blouse, wrote a quick letter to her landlady, then had exited the gates of her old life. That’s what it means to enter the Game, Lillian. You leave your old life, your old self even, and start a new. She had never really gotten it, too focused on her books or the newest piece of knowledge she had found to pay attention to her mother’s words.

Now I understand, Mother, she thought, gazing at the people around her.

Lillian Worton, apple of her mother’s eye, would be gone forever replaced with Lily the survivor. It was both a humbling and terrifying thought. “Do you think it was a joke?” She blinked at the unexpected, but not unwelcome, presence. “No,” she said, smiling slightly. “This game is too serious to joke about uneven numbers. It’s bad manners, not to mention luck.” Derek raised an eyebrow at her, his curly hair even poofier as the humidity rose. He shrugged, green eyes narrowing sharply as he studied her before he shrugged again. “Just sayin’, not everyone wants to stay here much longer. Sitting ducks and all,” he added dully. Lily kept her smile in place even as she discreetly eyed his clothes, his hands and mannerism. Fingernails short, the tips stained a yellowish green. Small scars and calluses dotted both hands but there was a patch of pink skin on his right hand, near the thumb and first finger.

Good clothes but a bit baggy around the shoulders and ankles, barely noticeable seams puckering in the light. “Do you enjoy fixing?” She asked.

Derek blinked, brows furrowed even as red crept over his ears and down his neck. “How did you know I was a Fixer?”

“Lucky guess.” He pressed his lips into a thin line before nodding curtly. “And since you know that I’m a Fixer, I assume you’ll forgive me for not knowing what you do.” She stared at him, watching as the seconds ticked by and he began to fidget with the bottom of his shirt. Finally, she told him that she was seamstress. “I do have a bit of a passion for history and what not,” she added, smiling. The silence thickened even when he had moved away, back to his claimed spot next to a fir tree.

No one else approached her as she strolled about.

Milo was higher class; Jackson’s knuckles were scarred from hitting things; Lottie had a slight twitch in her left leg that was absent in her right, robotic. She didn’t stay in one place very long, just enough to get a brief glance at one of her fellow contests then off again to the next. Ace had a habit of taking things; Binks bit his nails; Kitty narrowed her eyes a bit whenever someone tunes her out.

JD smoked; Sally was also higher class, making it three people this round. She wondered what her mother would say about that tidbit. Would she scream or would she have that gleeful grin and bloodthirsty gleam in her eyes? She didn’t think on it too long.

“Help,” a muffled voice called. Everyone froze, staring at each other blankly before the call, weaker this time, came again. Seconds later, Ace was darting towards the tunnel, Binks right behind her. “Hey, you need to speak up so we can find you!” There was a moment of silence before the call, a bit louder but definitely weaker than it had been, came again. The two darted into the tunnel entrance, their voices distorted oddly from outside. Lily watched as Milo and JD inched towards the opening before disappearing inside. No one else moved, eyes drawn to the gaping archway. Protect the others, protect yourself, she thought wearily. I truly am changing and I haven’t even begun to play the Game for real. Perhaps there really is something to that old saying, ‘Don’t judge others if you don’t want them judging you,’ after all.

She didn’t want to go back in but the fading voice was desperate and pleading. Save them, she thought, plowing ahead. Don’t think about anything else, just save them. And she would, she knew it.

This time she wouldn’t fail and everyone would be okay. Quiet shuffling behind her signaled Binks stalking her footsteps, watching. Warmth filled her but she pushed it away, eyes narrowing as they barely adjusted to the lack of light. “Hey,” she yelled. “Keep it up, we’ll find you!” The faint, muffled help sounded again, closer than before. Ace glanced back at Binks, hardly able to make out more than a shadowy figure. He nodded and the two continued on, twisting down one path than the next until roaring filled the tunnel. “Oh please,” the voice begged. “Help, help me. Oh god, there’s so much water. Please help me!”

Ace frowned, squared her shoulders and marched into the next tunnel section. It was a cavern, much like the one she and Lottie had been separated from Binks due to caving in. Unlike that one, this cavern was smaller with only one other archway and a single glass balloon to give off some light. The center was sunken in, water gushed down from either side, rapidly filling the hole and the woman in the middle of it. “Help!” She called again, her voice hoarse. “Help me, please!”

“Hold on, we’re coming,” Ace called back. Her eyes darted to and fro before narrowing. “Binks,” she turned towards the rim of the hole. “Head left, see if you can get her.” She didn’t wait for a response, already sensing that he had started forward.

Unsteady; the ground is soggy not unstable. If it caves in it’ll be to the water’s pressure not wrong footing.

She found a small patch and began the tedious process of crossing over to the rim. The ground was dirt instead of just dirt covered stone, turning everything into a slippery, sticky mess. Ace inched along, her hands held out in front of her, tongue poking out as she concentrated on finding wall. She could feel water running into her shoes, the coldness making her toes tingle. The rest of her tingled in sympathy for the woman who liked like she was up to her waist in the icy water. Binks, his back to her, was leaning over the woman. She slipped and stumbled through the mud, hands waving wildly as she struggled to keep her balance. The water was up to her ankles when her hand smacked against the wall. “Binks?”

“Tied up,” he grunted, pulling at the woman’s arms. “Gonna need to go under and untie her.” Ace nodded, eyes narrowed on the wall as her ears strained to catch the splash over the water’s roar. Nothing here. Come on, where is it?

Water sloshed up her legs and she chanced a quick glance at the woman. The water was up to her chest and quickly rising; Binks wasn’t in view. Their eyes met briefly but that one look held more fear than any Ace had seen. Hurry, it said. I can’t stay like this forever.

Finally she felt it. Icy liquid drenched her hands and arms, running rivers down her sides and legs before joining the pool below. Ace reached into her pocket and prayed that it was still there. It was.

In her palm laid a dull green pebble, a crack along its side revealing tiny wires. Gritting her teeth, she shoved the pebble into the flowing stream with all her might. Seconds and centuries became interchangeable as her hands began to grow numb and her arms ached, threatening to drop. Then slowly the stream began losing its power, lessening its attack. Slashing and grunting could be heard, louder than before, and she focused all her strength into keeping the pebble where it was. “Binks?”

He grunted, “Got her.” Her lips twitched then twisted into a grimace as her arms shook. A hand, wet and rough, grasped her shoulder and pulled her away. The moment the pebble left, water gushed out, spluttering as it picked up speed. Ace waded behind Binks, careful not to slip on the ground. Water or not, falling face first usually hurt, thank you. “Come on,” he yelled, pushing both of them ahead of him and into the flooded tunnel. Ace couldn’t feel her body, couldn’t even tell if she were actually moving or not. All she saw was darkness and the water sloshing after them like fingers reaching to claim their prize once more. The woman sniffled, snorted, and coughed as they moved back through the tunnels. The twists and turns taking longer to navigate than the first time around. Finally she saw Milo and JD standing guard at the tunnel’s entrance.

Once they saw them the two hurried forward, ignoring the following liquid as they pulled them towards the light. “We need jackets,” Milo yelled as JD yanked them into the grass. Ace ignored the jacket flung around her shoulders, watching with blank eyes as water poured out of the tunnel. The grass around it squelched and even more came out, looking like a never ending cup finally reaching its limits.

“Thank you. Oh thank you, thank you,” the woman burbled. Her red hair matched both her sopping dress and her red rimmed eyes. And while everyone was swarming around them, jackets out and trying to get them warm and dry, Ace tilted her head to the side and caught Binks’ eye. The two stared at each other before looking away, neither one saying anything but sharing the same thrill, the same fullness that bubbled and frothed before spilling over.

And so to the confusion of some, the disapproval of others, and the understanding of one, Ace’s grin widen.