The Game

Savannah Rushing
Mrs. Lovell
8th period
English 11

The Game

I awake to a pounding in my head. My body is numb and heavy. I want to move but my muscles seem to be frozen in place. I am able to turn my head just the slightest, enough to see where I am. It is dark, but my eyes have adjusted to the small amount of light in the small cramped space. I look around and see that I have been buried alive, the panic grabbing a hold of me, but I force myself to stay calm, knowing I must preserve any air that I have. The dirt is cold and damp on my skin, my shirt and jeans cling to me. I notice in the top right hand corner, somehow, there is a camera with a speaker. My body seems to unfreeze at that point. 

“ HEY! SOMEONE HELP ME! LET ME OUT PLEASE!” I scream, my throat raw from lack of water for God only knows how long. I can feel the tears running down my face. My hands hit the dirt above me, only to realize how unstable it is. I stop and just lay there, helpless and alone. Confusion and fear coursing through my veins as to how and why I am here. I see out of my blurring vision that a red light is now on the camera. “ Please, let me out. I haven’t done anything wrong.” I cry out. A static sound fills the small space, making my heart race in my chest.

“ Good, you’re awake. You have been sleeping for quite some time, I was getting a little concerned.” The voice held no emotion. It was dry and scratchy, but also young, maybe mid 30’s? I tried to stay as quiet and as still as possible. “ You have been chosen to play a very special game and you must pass in order to leave and return back to where you came from. You can trust me on that.” 

“ Trust you! You kidnapped me and are going to make me play some sick and twisted game of yours!” I scream at the camera. He lets out a chuckle, one that just makes my heart stop and chills to run down my spine. 

“ Now Miss Selene, there is no need to be rude. Now, as I was saying. I will have one of my workers get you out in a minute, but you must promise not to hurt them. They are only there to let you out of your resting place. They will also be taking you to the room where the game is. I’ll see you there.” The light turns off and I heard a loud noise above me, one that sounds like a crane. I begin to panic because this grave is not stable, only for the whole top to the taken off. As I lay there, I see that is was really just a metal container lined with dirt and mud. 

“ If you would follow us please, maam.” A person in a white hazmat suit offers me their hand. I pull myself up and out of the container, my legs shaking and weak. They lower their hand and begin to walk off, me slowly following. 

“Where are we going?” I ask, only to receive no response. Soon we come to a door, one with vines and flowers growing from the inside out. The person comes to stand beside the door and motioned for me to go inside. “ Are you crazy! I don’t know what is in there. You could kill me for all I know.” They still stay motionless and I finally give in, my hand reaching out for the vine covered handle. My heart leaping into my chest at the first thing I saw when I opened the door. 

It was as if someone had taken the jungle and put it in a giant room. Trees as tall as the sky and as many as the entire world could hold. I could  not see and end except for the wall that the door was on. I jump when I walk in and the door slams shut. 

“ Now for the first game. Somewhere in this room is a terrible beast. They have been trained not to kill, but they will hunt you and if you are down and they even get their teeth near you, you lose. As I promised I will not harm you. You are to try to get to the other side of this jungle without getting caught. The door will be locked and you must find the password somewhere in here. You may not kill our beast for that will result in an immediate game over. Do you understand?” I swallow and nod at the camera attached to the door. “ We are not five Miss Selene.” he warns. 

“ Yes, I understand.” I say. I hear a small click and then a gunshot goes off, signaling me to start. I look around the opening I am in now before I pick up a rock and scratch an eye into the bark of a tree. My feet start to pound onto the floor, my heart jumping around and the blood rushing to my ears. I hear the crunch of leaves and the snaps of twigs as I fly the the jungle. I see a small clearing up ahead and skidd to a halt, looking at the beautiful area around me. I can just barely make out the hidden cameras, but I decide to ignore them and focus on the task ahead of me. 

I look around the second clearing and mark another tree, my ears listening for the sound of this “Beast”. I force myself  to calm down my breathing, making myself completely still while still letting my eyes look around for any clue as to what the password is. When  I don't see anything different, I head in another direction. I figured this man was smart enough no to make it a straight shot out of here. The trees are blurs behind me until I catch a glimpse of something out of the ordinary. I stop and run back, my wild eyes landing on the marking. 

Carved into the bark of the tree is an eye, much like mine, but older. As if who was here before marked this tree. I look up and notice another carving, and then another, and another. All are similar eyes, all different though. My heart pounds as I realize just how many people have been here. It was their way of communicating to the rest. I grip the rock tight as I put my own on the tree. The eyes stare back. As if their souls are still here, never have left. I shook off the feeling and slowly wander back into another clearing, this one being another wall, this one is not the same as the first. Then I see it. 

Crouching down near the door is a man. He is caked in dirt with no clothing. His hair is matted and long. His head snaps up to me and I see it. The eyes we have been drawing suddenly look back at me. Slitted red cat eyes with the same jagged scar. A roar rips through his throat, the scars and dried blood catching my eyes. 

“Oh look, you found him. Now to get away.” The voice carries through the jungle. Suddenly it hits me, this is the beast.  I turn on my heels and take off, running into the dense woods and not paying any mind. I knew it was way to easy. I hear him running behind me, the pounding of his feet matching the beating of my heart. I could feel his breath on my back but I didn’t dare turn around. I knew better. I tripped and went flying, my hands digging into the mud, my head smacking the ground. I only hear a ringing in my ear, and I roll over, knowing I couldn’t get up.

 I look up and see the man with a sad look in his eyes. He is holding a sharp rock and his hand is shaking. Suddenly he runs the rock over my eye, the blood blurring some of my vision. I could feel the tension leave his body as I screamed. I could faintly hear the rock it the ground and the man break out into heart broken sobs. The pain became too much and I began to black out, but before I could, I heard the man’s faint voice before a gunshot rang through the jungle before a heavy weight fell on top of me. 

“Tag, you’re it.”