Death Maze

Chapter Two

Death Maze _ Chapter Two _ Where am I?

Everything around me is silent; accept for the occasional shuffle of what I think is someone -or something- moving.

When I opened my eyes earlier the light blinding light just made the ache in my skull more profound. With my eyes closed I've listened to people whisper to one another. I've heard a loud thud that echoes off of what I think to be walls, a clang on the floor, followed by a familiar male voice saying, "Eat up" in an almost gentle way, but I can just picture a sly smile creeping onto this man’s face.

Finally, I let out a small sigh just audible enough for me to hear, and slowly open my eyes. I blink harshly and sit up slowly. It feels as though I have a second heart beat in my head. I cup the left side of my head with my right hand, and squeeze my eyes closed.

"Water?" A raspy, female voice whispers. I flinch away, my eyes opening.

In front of me sits a pretty girl, younger than me. She looks to be fourteen or fifteen, it's hard to tell. Her face is covered in black grime, as well as her clothes, which are ripped to shreds.

I just nod my head, my throat too dry to trust my voice with. I reach out with shaky hands, and accept the water happily. I chug the warm, stale liquid into me. It must have been sitting here for a while.

Finally, I look around and take in my surroundings.

I'm in a little, square room. It reminds me of a closet, maybe a little bigger. The walls are a musty white color, like cement, just like the floors. I shift uncomfortably and move my hand to block the light shining down on me.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." The girl says, with a sad smile.

As I squint to look at her, I realize that there are four other men, and one other girl in the room with us.

The girl who offered me the water is a petite brunette with a mousy face. The second girl is tall and has black hair with a hard face. The guys are all pretty similar in looks, same long hairstyle, just falling above the eyes. Two have black hair, the other with blond, and the last with an orange colour. They're all skinny, and look as though they’re not eating their recommended daily intake.

"Where am I?" I whisper to the girl.

"None of us really know, Jack and Neil just-" I cut in.

"Hey, I think I know them." I mumble. "The names are familiar."

"They're the hunters. It'd be bad not to know they're faces from ours." She says, motioning to the people around me.

I look around the room and meet the eyes of everyone. None smiling, except for one of the black haired boys. His smile is more of a smirk, but I'll take it.

"I'm Josey," She stands up and walks over to the red headed boy.

"This guy here is Austin."

Austin waves in my general direction, but doesn't look at me.

"And over here," Josey continues, standing by the black haired girl. "We have Kaitlyn."

I smile a little and give her a small wave, she just glares in return.

"Okay... and this is Shane and Nick, the twins."

Now, she stands next to the two black haired boys and pats one, Shane, on the back. Shane waves and smiles, while Nick nods and says hello. I smile and nod back to them both, with a barely audible hello.

"And last but not least, we have Isaac."

She says, giving him a one armed hug. Like the black haired girl, he stares at me for a moment- as if sizing me up- then nods. His staring makes me feel uncomfortable. An image of me in a red car with a big man sitting next to me flashes through my head and I jump back a little. No one seems to notice the movement.

"What am I doing here though?" I say, looking around the small room. Josey sighs.

"We're not supposed to tell any newcomers why we're here. Jack and Neil don't like it. They prefer to see their faces when they first tell them."

I nod, a look of confusion on my face.

"I don't remember what happened, or why I'm here... All I remember was going on a grocery run." I mumble.

"Don't worry, it will all come back to you." Josey says to me with a sad smile.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Jack and Neil made you participate before you're better, though. They normally want to play around now, and I don't think they'd just let you sit out because you couldn't remember something." Josey shifts on her feet uncomfortably before sitting down a few feet away from me.

We all sit silently. Josey had asked me my name, but I don't know if she had actually heard me answer or not because I had whispered it, frightened that even the smallest of noises would set off these 'Hunters'. I still try and remember how I had gotten here. In my mind, all I can remember is grabbing a carton of milk from the dairy isle.

While I sit with creases in my forehead from trying hard to remember, a piece of wall starts to move. The others look at it like it's nothing unusual, while I stare at it with my mouth open.

The piece of what I thought was a wall, is actually a door. It shuffles on the ground and moves to the right. Whoever was pushing it must be strong, because the door was made out of solid cement. Just like the rest of this little cuddle space.

The man who walks in was definitely unexpected -to me.

Jack walks past Neil, who was finishing pushing the door to the side. My eyes widen and I scurry backwards a little, frightened. Josey gives me a side look, a warning in her eyes.

Jack’s eyes flash across the people in the room, and then they land on me.

"Oh! Alexis, you're awake!" He says happily, his southern accent hypnotic. I stare at him, more like glaring really, my mouth shut.

"Don't you remember me, darling?" He asks, hanging off the last word, waiting for me to remember.

Which I do. I just refuse to let him have his fun. Behind him stands Neil, a smirk plastered across his dark face as he watches me. The others just stare at me now, not really understanding.

"Alexis, what a pretty name," Jack mumbles, grinning.

I snap. I jump off of the ground and push him back, causing him to crash into Neil. The others stare at me, eyes wide.

"You bastard!" I yell at him.

Jack looks at me for a minute, and when Neil moves forward to come at me, Jack stops him.

"Feisty, are we? Haven't had one with such spunk like you in a while." He moves towards me slowly, as if I was a frightened animal.

Once in arms reach, he runs his fore finger along my jaw line. He smiles wide, the look of a killer. Neil closes his eyes and grins wickedly behind him. The other kids in the room just continue to stare, unsure of what to do. Jack turns around sharply then, his smile leaving his face.

"I suggest you eat," Neil drops a little baggy onto the floor that I hadn't noticed before.

 "The Game will be starting in about a half hour."

Neil begins to walk out of the door, followed by Jack (for once). Suddenly, Jack stops and turns around to face me again. My defensive stance hasn't faltered since I had pushed him into Neil.

"Oh, and Alexis?" I glare into his eyes.

"It really is a pretty name." He says, seductively, before following Neil out.