The Paradox Challenge

Chapter One

“Well, I'm going to escape.” I pulled the folds of my sweater on tighter, shivering as my breath fogged the night air.

“You wouldn't be the first to want that,” my friend shrugged, brushing away his wavy dark hair.

“And I won't be the last,” I firmly stated, glaring into his dark eyes, “You're coming with me.”

“Nope,” Ren smiled secretly, the edges of his thin lips curling into a knowing grin, “I'm going to live unpredictably. They WANT you to escape this place, they're counting on your to use your wits and skills for their own twisted purposes. But I'm going to change the rules. You should know better than anyone about rule changing. You taught me how.”

“There you go again,” I rolled my eyes, “You build up the suspense and then leave me hanging. Why do you care so much? Why not just get out? Why is it so important to be unpredictable?”

Ren's eyes dimmed and his lips drew into a tight, serious line.“To show them I'm more then just a part of their Games,” he whispered.

~~~

It had been twenty minutes since Sierra had realized she was in a coffin, probably lying on a metal table in the morgue. Oxygen was just begin to grow thin and she had to force herself to calm down or suffocate to death. Still, her entire body was completely convulsed into shock, her eyes wide and unblinking into the darkness as the rapid beating of her heart thundered like rain.

A thin thread of light had wavered through the cracks of the interior concealed-hinges. It was a pale, luminescent white, which probably meant she was inside a room. Shadows moved from the outside like whispers of doubt, blinking the lines of light from falling into her casket. Still, no matter how hard she pounded, if those constant shapes were people, they never heard her.

Think, she commanded to herself, What is the last thing you remember? Sierra closed her eyes and clenched her fists, breathing as sparingly as she could. But no matter how hard she pushed her brain, nothing came to mind besides shards of snow caps and icy cold. It's the unexpected wake-up; it's temporarily shattered my memories, she thought numbly.

Sierra was determined to get out. Thinking about what had happened in her past was too stressful and lying still doing nothing was deadly. She pressed her fingers against the metal hinges, feeling it's shape and form, a new idea suddenly sparking. The screw seemed loose enough. If she could just pry the rods out...

Working with her nails, Sierra frantically began to claw at the top hinge. At first she found her fingers too large to slip through the small openings. Trembling, she tried and failed multiple times until switching to using only her nails. And while they could just slide through, they soon became bent and cracked from the constant battering.

Sweat lined her forehead as she made achingly slow process. Her breathing was growing hoarse and heavy and she could feel the air grow thinner with each intake of oxygen. Sierra winced as a piece of her nail chipped off and warm blood stained out onto the wood. Shoot. Now the procedure would now be too slow. If she wanted to get out in time, she would have to work faster. And her fingers just wouldn't do it.

Sierra searched her clothes for anything of use, her hands shaking with nervous anxiety. She was trying to stay calm and use her oxygen wisely, but her entire body shook with frightened anticipation. Pockets were empty...shoes had no laces...shirt had no buttons...was there anything?

Sierra reached up to run her fingers through her hair...no pins...no clips...nothing! In petrified anguish, she kicked at the ceiling of her coffin screaming out in trembling shrieks. It was a stupid thing to do, but her entire consciousness was slipping into incoherent insanity.