I threw the blankets back over my prize, quickly jumping behind the boxes with Jen— leaving the bolt-cutter safely hidden in the pile of blankets. Relief leaped inside of my chest.
I found the bolt cutter.
I could hear the quick footsteps come into the room, nearing by the second. It didn't seem like just one, and I began to feel nervous. I peeked around the corner of the box, hoping to recognize whoever it was. I could feel my body stiffen.
"It's the Seekers..." Jen hummed in a rather soft, taunting sing-song voice.
It was Alex and Carson. They both had their weapons at their sides and seemed extremely wary of something. I knew they weren't the Finders. I knew they were the ones trying to stop us. Whether they wanted to or not—they had no choice.
Their eyes were cold and empty as they scanned the room, walking forward with such intent--such vigor that it scared me. They looked around the boxes, seeming to look for something...for us.
I swallowed. I knew if they caught us, they would put those weapons to use. And I knew that they couldn't stop even they wanted to—it was the rules. And rule breaking was a big thing around here.
I glanced at Jen as she placed her hand firm on my shoulder. A chill ran over me as she met my gaze, her eyes flickering above the box to the two older boys in the room. I hoped she wasn't thinking what she was thinking as she room blew over with a chill.
She smiled. A chill ran up my spine as I realized for a fact what she was about to do. I held my breath and shuddered in fear as she roughly pushed me, attempting to use me as a distraction method for her to get away.
But before I could roll into view of Alex and Carson, I ducked down, causing her to fall from the force of her push and roll right past me. The stake fell out of her pocket.
I quickly slid back into the shadows as they noticed her, holding their weapons above her body. They had no choice.
She began to scream and stumble away, attempting to pull the now-missing stake from her jean pocket. She looked violently around, her eyes widening in horror as she realized she didn't have it.
But she let out a relieved, almost panicked laugh as her eyes found and locked on the stake on the floor, right in front of me. Her eyes glimmered in hope. She yelped, holding out her hand to me as both Alex and Carson stalked forward, oblivious of my small figure.
"Hand me the stake!" She screeched. "Give it to me! Now!" she screamed and yipped at me, expecting me to throw it to her for her own protection. My heart hammered in my chest.
I watched in silence. I didn't know exactly to do as they neared her, blood-lust in their eyes. My body wouldn't move, as though it was telling me to stay out of it.
She tried to push me to them.
She tried to equal her fate now to mine.
She tried to get me killed.
But before I could do anything--before I could make a decision as to whether I should or should not help her— it was already too late.
I watched with horror as Alex slammed her to the floor, knocking out her breath. Her eyes locked on me with anger and hatred as Carson took over, pinning her down and driving his screwdriver into her hand multiple times, the red liquid flying and spewing against the walls as the screams of agony and horror swallowed my ears.
For some reason, I felt she was lucky. That wasn't the worst thing they could do.
Jen begged them to stop; she begged them to let her go as she screeched in pain— Carson drilling the rusty metal deep into her already wounded skin. She kicked and flailed around, but it was no use to two older boys who were holding her down.
I suddenly began to shake as I realized what they--the two people with a heart--the two people that protected me earlier were doing to her.
But then I remembered what she did to me.
And I remembered the two boys had no choice.
After what seemed to be minutes, Carson finally stopped, both of her hands full of holes and leaking blood. She was still conscious, looking as though she was tired, as though she was relieved and that the pain was disappearing. It seemed the both of us thought it was over.
Alex got off of her, quickly grabbing a rope from on top of an old, falling-apart box. Jen seemed to realize what was about to come as she tried to scramble away, begging for mercy.
It only took a second until he swung the rope around her neck, twisting it and pulling it tightly until her face turned purple and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her struggles ceased as she relaxed, the rope slowly coming undone around her. She fell limp, hitting the floor with a thud. She wasn't dead--they knocked her out.
The didn't kill her.
I then realized what this game was about. It doesn't matter who was on which team— The Finders or the Seekers—it was still Mommy's house. The game isn't just about finding the object fast, it's about just making it alive to find the objects. It's not about saving Anna, it's about saving yourself.
I watched fearfully as they pulled her out of my view, looking around for any more victims. They knew I was here, Jen made it obvious that someone else was.
I was small enough to squeeze deeper into the cave of boxes and furniture, hiding away from them. The smell of mildew was strong, and I could feel grit and what seemed to be rat droppings under my hands. I was scared, and I felt the tears running down my face.
I trusted them, but I was also aware they couldn't save me if they found me. They had to hurt me—it wasn't their choice.
What if they found me?
I held my breath as they walked past me, looking into the rubble. My the place I was hidden, I knew they couldn't see me from their height, but the tension still swallowed up the air. I stayed in silence for what seemed to be forever, before they finally left. I could hear as they walked back down the creaky steps, leaving only threatening, deep silence behind.
I knew that they knew I was still in here. They knew I was hiding away is those boxes.
But they pretended like they didn't.
It took a while to unfreeze my body, taking a deep breath once I left my strained position. I pushed away my fear, finally leaving my little hiding space.
Jen was lying in the middle of the floor. Her hands were bruised and profusely bleeding, and many cuts scattered her bare arms. Her neck was bruised as well, and her face was slowly going back to its natural color. You would've thought she was dead if it wasn't for the slight hum of her chest, and the remaining pained expression that still rested in her sleep.
Dried tears rested on her face.
I began to feel bad about not giving her the stake, she depended on me--she needed me to be safe. But if I gave it to her, she would've hurt Alex and Carson. She would've hurt the people that warned me about this place, about her—the people that protected me and warned me not to trust anyone. He was right, she was a bad person.
She even tried to hurt me.
She tried to keep herself safe at the expense of my life. And suddenly, I came to the realization that this was inevitable. It was either me or her—and for some reason, I didn't think she intended to use the box cutter for the right reason.
I walked over to my hiding place, pulling the blankets away and revealing the rusted bolt-cutter. Nervousness overflowed my senses, filling my gut.
What if I was the only one left?
What if I was the last one that could save Anna?
I shook the thoughts off as I picked the object up, the sack of rocks not as heavy as this. There were others, I knew it. There were four more other than me at the beginning, and I knew there still must be some left.
I heaved up the bolt cutter. All we had to do was find the key and get Anna to safety. It was my fault--she did it for me. I need to do what I can to get her back.
I tip-toed to the doorway, making as little noise as I could walking down the creaky stairs. All was completely silent as I stepped into the main hallway, where the bedrooms are. I froze as I realized blood was splattered on the wall, the color vividly standing out against the faded color of the wallpaper.
I realized that was either from the earlier encounter with Aki, or someone else was caught. And if someone else was caught, that would only leave three of us left.
I swallowed as my legs began to shake--the blood draining from my face. The bolt cutter grew heavy in my hands, along with the beg of rocks I still held onto—as though I would need it later—although I knew for a fact I couldn't get myself to harm anyone.
I jumped as a sound echoed through the halls.
I heard a loud creak coming up the stairs.