The Paradox Challenge

Chapter One

The Hunger Games was the inspiration, but other than a dangerous, life-threatening game thrust upon young kids, the similarities pretty much stop there. However, you may find some Hunger Game lines and quotes so keep your eyes peeled!!!

Chapter One

The edge of the snow cliff twisted into view as her sled jerked around the corner. The sudden turn ripped her from her seat, sending her body flying. Panicking, she flailed her arms out, helplessly rolling across a sheen of ice, down towards the drop of a 100 feet. This was it. She was going to die...

Sierra Faye blinked awake.

Through the absolute darkness, she coughed painfully, causing a puff of dust to swirl through the dense obscurity. All around her was a thick and definite black.

“What the...?” Her whisper stuck to her throat; heavy as molasses, the unfinished thought trembling in the air like the thread of an unborn secret.

Suddenly, for a fraction of a moment, broken images of dark brown eyes, reaching hands, and cold snow, flickered into her mind. But that faded out just as soon as they had appeared. Confused, shaking violently, and in the midst of disorientation, Sierra found herself slowly bringing her hands up, moving each finger carefully to see if they were okay. However, they were were perfectly healthy and all there. They were all there.

Wait, what?

Frowning, Sierra shook her head, wondering why such a doubt had crossed her thoughts. Of course her hands were fine; her soft flesh as pink as a dawn. Why wouldn't they be okay? It wasn't like they could have frozen off. Sierra furrowed her brows in confusion. It was most likely the leftover shards of a nightmare, still dimly pulsating in her foggy brain. She probably had been tired and fallen asleep on the couch but was now just waking up from...

The image of chilling snow, freezing her body to ice, flashed into her mind again.

Cold. So cold.

Wincing, she shook the dreams away, wondering what exactly had happened. The darkness moved like pieces of tangible shadow. Was it night already? Sierra furrowed her eyebrows and reached her fingers upwards, still lying flat on her back in flustered, scattered disorientation. Maybe there was a light switch somewhere...

Suddenly, her hands touched something rough. “What?” she murmured. Why was the ceiling so low? Curiously, her fingers traced the calloused texture all the way over her head...down the sides...across hinges...

Wait a second...hinges? Panic began to rise in Sierra's chest as the heavy realization slowly sank her hopes like lead. Frantically, she sat up, only to hit herself against the low covering. Her stomach dropped, and with it, her sanity. In ragged breaths, she began to thrash at the solid blackness, begging, begging, begging... A scream clutched at her throat but never seemed to make its way out. She knew where she was now.

A coffin. Sierra was inside a coffin.

~~~

“You're supposed to help me, Ren,” I smirked, smoothing out the threads of my sweater, “I hate your riddles.”

“But we are in the Games,” Ren grinned, extending his arms out towards the darkness, “Our world is a riddle.”

“And I'm sick of it.”

“I've spent three years in these puzzles. It grows on you, Sierra.”