The Legacies (Sequal to The Unrated)

Alissa

The dining hall was bigger than Alissa thought it'd be. If she didn't have a job to do, she'd take in the hotel's amenities. The Rating Games didn't start until tomorrow, so she had time. Glancing around the hall, Alissa took everything in. The large table of food caught her attention. They had enough food to feed an army. Participants crowded around each other, laughing and discussing what they will do once they get their desired rank. "If only they knew," Alissa thought. If only they knew that they were in danger. They wouldn't be so happy for The Games to start. 

Making her way through the crowd, she grabbed some food from the buffet and tried to find a seat when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, are you going to eat that?" 

"Zach?!" Alissa asked.

"How did you know my name?" Zach asked. Alissa pulled him aside.

"It's me, Alissa." She pulled down her mask some. "See?"

"Alissa! Hunt didn't tell me you had that. Where did you get it?" 

"It's best if you didn't know. I'm so happy to see you. I thought you weren't going to make it," Alissa said, hugging him. Zach returned the hug, and they sat down at an empty table. "So, how are your roommates?"

"Well, one hates my guts. The others are cool. You?"

"I haven't met them yet. They were already gone when I got there. Wait, how did you already make someone not like you?"

"You say that like you were expecting me to get into trouble! I may have said I had money, and it may have pissed one of my roommates off. Now, he hates me. I tried to explain, but I think I made things worse." Zach rests his head on the table. "Why me?"

"What rank are your roommates?"

"Silver, Unrated, and I don't know," Zach said. His words came out muffled.

"At least you know that much. Oh, and while we're here, my name's Faith. Don't call me Alissa."

Zach lifted up his head. "I know. I just didn't know about the camouflage tech. That's crazy."

"I also have this." Alissa took out a small flash drive. "Levi gave it to me before we left. He told me to plug it into any monitor, and he would be able to see us. I'll do it when we get back."

"Oh, yeah. Your hacker friend. Forgot about him. Whoops. I'm just glad you're alright. Magnolia would kill me if anything happened to you. So, would Hunter."

"How long have you known Hunter? You guys always seem so close."

"Since we were kids. I heroically saved him from a life of loneliness. I was on my own too. Everyone thought I was weird. Hunt did too. We talked, and the rest is history. He's always been there for me. Don't tell him this; I don't want to inflate his ego any bigger than it already is, but I think of him as a brother. I want to say he thinks of me like that too. That's mainly why I'm here. I couldn't let him go through this by himself. Not again. As soon as Hunt gets here, then we can start. Any idea when you're going to take the spotlight?"

"I was thinking of doing it at the opening ceremony. But since Hunter won't be here for another week. We may have to wait. I know they're doing a grand ceremony when the Legacies get here. Maybe then?" Alissa took a bite of her sandwich. "Wow! This is good!"

"Not to be morbid, but it may be some of these participants' last meal. You remember. We need to make sure we make it. Or this whole thing will be for nothing. Who knows if The Rating Games are going to be like last year? We got to be ready for anything."

"I know. Just be careful. The last thing I want is Zoey and Hunter being mad at me if something happened to you."

"Do you like him?" Zach asked.

Alissa nearly choked on her sandwich. "What?" She coughed.

"I've seen the way you two look at each other. I say go for it. Hunt likes you. He told me."

"Really? He did?" Alissa didn't know what to say. She never had a boyfriend before. She never thought her father would allow her to have one. "I didn't think he thought of me that way."

"Are you joking? Hunter gets all shy around you. He's not like that with anyone. I'm not telling you what to do, but I would think about it. You've met him. You know what he's like. Hunter would start a war if it means you were safe. Hell, he'd go to war for any of us. I don't know what will happen between tomorrow and the end of the month, but I think you two should talk. That's my two cents."

"You kind of sound like Shaun. He told me the same thing. Sort of. I'll think about it." Alissa smiled. She was starting to get excited to see him again. She hasn't felt like this in a long time.

"See? I know that look. You like him. I knew I was right."

"Alright, fine. You...were right. I do like Hunter. I'm just going to keep my expectations low. This could all be a misunderstanding."

"Like hell it is!" Zach covered his mouth. The entire table turned towards them. "Sorry. I guess we'll see when he gets here."

"Good evening, Participants!" A voice boomed across the dining hall. "I'm your host with the most, Game Master Cole. How y'all doing?" A roar of applause washed over the room. The only ones not clapping and celebrating were Alissa and Zack. "I just wanted to say how excited I am for you. We have some fun challenges and special prizes in store for you. Honestly, I'm kind of jealous." Cole laughed. "Well, let's do something fun. I have a bowl here full of numbers. Under your seats, you will find a number. If your number is called, please come up and introduce yourselves. Name, current ranking, and a fun fact. That sounds good. Here, I'll start. My name is Cole. I'm an Obsidian, and I speak over ten different languages. See? Not so hard."

"Of course, if you do public speaking for a living," Zach said.

"First up, number twenty!" Cole said, looking around. "Come on, don't be shy."

A small boy timidly walked on stage. He was wearing a black shirt. Which means he was Unrated. "And what's your name, son?"

"Adrian," He sheepishly said.

"Wait, since when did they let kids in?" Zach asked. "I thought you had to be over eighteen?"

"Me too," Alissa said. "That poor boy."

"And what ranking are you, Adrian?" Cole asked.

"Unrated. My fun fact is, um, I like skateboarding."

"Wow! I used to be able to do some tricks myself. I haven't practiced in a while. Mind showing me some moves later?"

Adrian nodded his head and hurried off stage. "Let's give it up for Adrian, everyone! Now, onto our next draw. It's number fifty-four!"

Alissa looked under her seat and found her number. "Shit," Alissa said under her breath.

"Hey, just look at me. You'll be fine." Zach smiled.

Alissa took a deep breath and walked on stage. She could feel everyone's eyes on her after locating Zach making a goofy face. She smiled and began. "Hello, my name is Faith Brooks."