Darwin's Game

Chapter One

Chapter One

The lights flickered on exposing the eight teenagers scattered through out the building. Bennet and Lydia squinted in the bright light. Throughout the building 5 other teenagers, 2 to each of the 4 rooms did the same. There were no windows or doors leading outside, only to other rooms. The whole structure was a concrete box with no escape. In each room was a message written in permanent marker and in a corner laid two packages with a slip of paper.

            The message in the room in the building’s South Corridor was written on the space where the ceiling met the wall making it bend, so that reading it was difficult. Bennet was the first to realize what the task was. He turned to Lydia, “Get on my shoulders.” Lydia stared blankly back, “Umm...Why?” Frustrated he responded, “Look, we don’t have much time. Just do it. I’ll tell you later.” Bennet crouched down, allowing the girl to stand on his shoulders. Luckily, Lydia was smaller and lighter than Bennet so it did not put too much strain upon him. 

            In the North Corridor’s room Monica sees the message on the floor just seconds after Bennet. Her partner was still out cold. She walks over, her black pumps striking the floor, and nudges him with her toe. Jason moans and grabs her foot, hugging it close. She screams, “Get off!” and with much difficulty and kicking, manages to remove her foot from his death grip. Already it seems that Monica has taken to a strong disliking for Jason.

            From either the screaming or kicking, Monica manages to wake Jason, because now he is screaming as well. “Where am I?! Who are you?! Why did you take me here?!” He interrogates her. Frustrated and angry, she scoops him up by the front of his shirt and pins him to the wall. He stays silent and still although whether if it was by shock, is questionable. Jason stares at her face, grins eerily, and looks her up and down. He mouths, “You look hot.…” Monica is some what taken by this and asks, “What?” Jason states clearly this time, “You’re hot.” Monica’s pretty face scowls and she slaps him across his own pointed face. Giving a small stomp, she retreats to a corner by a writing desk.

            However it isn’t long before she realizes that she was going to need Jason’s help to read the tiny 1 x 1 inch message on the floor. Monica debates the decision within her mind, reminding herself how much she already hates the boy, but eventually gives in. She sighs, “Hey kid… I know how to read the message on the floor. Get on the floor and read it out loud.” Even though Jason doesn’t even know Monica’s name, he is more than happy to corporate with her, saying, “Yes Ma’am,” almost robotically.

                        Meanwhile, in the concrete room of the East Wing Corridor, a struggle ensued. The girl’s head hit the floor hard, making her vision blur for a second. She panted hard, fighting against her considerably tall opponent. Clearly the boy was winning, and her short, slim stature wasn’t helping her along. His hands pushed her shoulders down, his elbows pressed her arms to her sides, and his knees pinned her own legs together, so she did the only thing she could do, she screamed. Immediately, Carrick’s hand clamped over Shiloh’s mouth, and his elbow shifted on top of her arm, making sure she couldn’t get free.

                        “Mmf—“

                        “Shut up,” he hissed urgently, “someone will hear you.” Shiloh’s eyes narrowed, as if saying, that’s the point, while she bit down on his hand. Hard. Carrick sucked in a sharp breath and gritted his teeth; refusing to remove his hand for fear that she would scream again. She bit down harder, drawing blood this time.

                        “Look, if I let you go, you can’t scream got it?” She searched his face for treachery, but found it surprisingly blank, besides the muscles tensed from the pain. She nodded and unclamped her jaw. He pushed off from the ground quickly, obviously uncomfortable with the position as she had been. She scrambled on all fours across to the door, struggling to stand.