Survival of the Fittest

Chapter Nineteen

My heart was pounding as we raced down the long corridor trying to reach the end. I kept glancing at my watch as the seconds quickly ticked away. None of us were talking; we were all to focused on getting out of this cramped hallway. Niall was getting anxious, I knew he was claustrophobic and I hated that he had to go through this. Rachel was by his side comforting him as they ran together.  I tried to run as fast as I could, but keeping up with everyone was hard for me. I was never a good runner and this was no exception. I was breathing heavy and getting a little dizzy, but I forced myself along as I tripped over my feet and knocked into walls, I didn’t care, I needed to find Harry.

“This hallway is never ending!” Louis said between breaths. “Just keep going, it has to end at some point!” Ivy said pulling him along. I stumbled along behind them as we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. We all came to a halt. “Are we really ready to go through that?” Amanda asked quivering.  “It’s going to be okay babe” Liam reassured her as they took the first steps through the lit up exit. I watched as everyone walked through but I couldn’t get myself to move. I didn’t know why, but I just couldn’t, I was scared. What if Harry was already gone and this was useless? What if I walk out that exit and all I find myself in is another puzzled game? I put all of those thoughts aside and finally took two steps out into the new room that awaited me.

The light was blinding and it was cold, I covered my eyes as I stepped through to the other side. I tried to focus but the light in the room was too bright, it caused me to slip and fall right on my butt. I yelped as I hit the cold and damp floor. Rachel ran to my side and helped me up, I soon noticed that we weren’t just standing in any room, we were all standing in the room I had begun in. The cold snowy room where I met Harry.

The walls were dripping with water, from snow I assumed had melted and the floor in every corner of the room was torn apart. The thought of being back here was sickening, there were bloody hand marks on the wall in one of the corners and I could only imagine what that person had to go through. There were nail scratches all over the walls and clothes that had been left behind scattered along the floor. It was cold and eerie and all I wanted was to leave. 

Rachel, Kate, Niall and Zayn all had the same expressions on their faces as I did, because we all knew this room quite well. Ivy, Louis, Liam and Amanda didn’t seem too phased by it, but then again they didn’t start here, it was just another room in the game for them.

 There was a rumbling and then the walls on every side of us got sucked into the ground just like the first day here. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists as I waited for the ground to stop shaking. This was not what I wanted to be happening right now, the game could not be starting over could it? Did we go in a huge circle? Or maybe this was the end? 

I heard Louis gasp and my eyes darted open. “Harry!” I whimpered as I fell to my knees. The boy I loved was chained to the wall furthest from where we were standing. He was pale and had nothing but his pants on. There were gashes across his torso which seemed to be closing up but the dry blood that surrounded them was enough to know that they weren’t old. His curls had flattened and glued to his face with sweat as his head hung low looking at the bloodied ground beneath him. I cried at the site and ran over to him. I was in mid run when he lifted his head and said “Joanna don’t!” I didn’t listen and kept running, but was thrown back by a major shock. I screamed as I hit the ground. “Joanna it’s no use” Harry forced out.

The tears dripped down my face as I tried to process what just happened. “WHY?!” I screamed to the ceiling. Rachel, Kate, Amanda and Ivy ran over to me and helped me to my feet. “Why, Why, Why” I mumbled. They all comforted me by rubbing my back and trying to calm me down. The boys finally walked over and looked at Harry with defeated frowns. “Stop looking at him like this is the end!” I screamed, “We are going to get him out!” I yelled again, but Harry didn’t look too convinced and neither did anyone else. “Why are we just standing here? We’ve made it this far and now because there is an obstacle in our way you think it’s over?” I cried as I looked at Harry. He was too weak to argue with me, but Louis wasn’t. “I don’t want to think that it’s the end either Joanna, but what if it is?” He said going to put his hand on my shoulder. I brushed him off. “No. If I have to stand here and watch him die then you can go ahead and kill me right now.” I said as sat down. 

“Joanna don’t you dare say that.” Rachel said as tears welled up in her eyes. I hated seeing her upset and I knew I shouldn’t have said what I said, but I didn’t want to watch him die as I sat here living. She sat next to me and held me in her arms as we looked at Harry who was shivering from the cold. I looked down at my watch; it was September 29th and already 3pm. We had one more day to save Harry, that is if he makes it to tomorrow. Rachel gave me a hopeful glance as she saw what I was looking at, but I knew that the odds were slim. “How are we going to get passed this wall?” Zayn questioned. “Well, I’m positive it’s an invisible fence. It gives you a shock when you get to close, there is no way for us to really get by it unless we shut down its system.” Ivy doubted. “There has to be a way.” I said playing with a piece of tiling from the floor.

Just then a familiar booming voice filled the room. “WELCOME BACK!” it said. The rage was filling up inside of me when I heard this voice, I wanted to find whoever was talking and kill them, they didn’t deserve to live after killing and hurting so many people. “You are the only remaining survivors.” It said in a delighted tone. I glanced around as everyone’s faces dropped. We were the only ones left, of all the people who were here, we are the only ones left in this hell hole.

 “You have proved yourselves quite well and I am about to give you a grand opportunity.” The voice said as it paused. We all held our breath in anticipation as it continued, “You have two options,” it continued, “I can let all 9 of you go right now and get back to your families and loved ones, OR you can continue to play the game to save you curly haired friend over there. The choice is yours.” It finished and the room fell silent as two podiums rose from the floor across from us, there was a green button and a red button. I assume one said leave and one said stay. I looked around at everyone’s faces as they contemplated what to do. There was no way I leaving without Harry and they knew that. 

“We have a lot to think about.” Liam said as he looked back and forth from podium to podium. “There is nothing to think about, we are going to stay, I am not leaving without Harry.” I said crossing my arms. “I agree with Joanna, I’m not leaving my best mate here to suffer.” Louis said. I could tell everyone wanted to leave and  to be honest I kind of did too, but how could I leave Harry here? It just wasn’t possible. “Well, as much as I want to leave, I think we need to stay,” Rachel said holding me tight. 

I looked over to Zayn who didn’t seem convinced. “But what if we stay and can’t save him? What if it’s all a trick and there is no way to save him? We would all just die here, don’t you think Harry would want us to go? He did this to protect you Joanna, don’t you think this is what the booming voice meant when he told Harry it was the only way to protect you?” Zayn said. I looked at him thinking about everything he had just said. “Zayn, I’m staying.” I said. He sighed and said “All right, we’ll stay.” 

Everyone had now agreed and I approached the podiums. I read the correct button which said ‘We choose to STAY’ and clicked it. I stepped down as they got sucked back into the floor. “Well now what?” Kate asked. “I don’t know” I said looking around. Suddenly writing began to appear on the left wall. It read, ‘So you chose to stay? He must mean a lot to you Joanna ,especially if all of your friends chose to risk their lives again.To save him, you need to find a key. Where is this key you ask? Well it is located in a room, a room you all ran away from.” The message then disappeared. “No, not there.” Amanda said through a shaky voice. 

I looked over to Harry who was still chained to the wall and then down at my watch. It was 4 o’clock now and I didn’t know if we’d make it back in time. “Do the same rules apply? Do we still have to be back by tomorrow night?” Niall asked. Nobody knew the answer, the booming voice didn’t say anything about it so I assumed they still applied. “I don’t know Niall, but let’s pretend like they do just in case.” I said. He nodded and we all headed to the doorway leading back into the pyramid. I looked back at Harry one last time as he mouthed me the words “I love you.” I smiled and said it back, then disappeared back into the hallway.