"You have all been chosen to be part of my ultimate game." Alec's voice interrupts the otherwise silent room. No one gives him a reaction but I turn my head to give him more attention. "I see you're all very interested in this game." His words drip sarcasm and I take the time to look at the other girls at the table.
There were fourteen girls, including me. Each and every girl was so very beautiful and fit. The girls all looked to be around my age and that made my stomach drop. He was careful to choose the right girls, which meant he probably knows more about me than I'd like.
"Does anyone want to know more information as to why they're here?" The question suddenly jolted the girls to life and they looked around the table, seeing who would ask first. What was the harm in asking the question?
"What is the game?" I let the inquiry leave my lips and all eyes turn to me. The only ones that bothered me were Alec's. His steel grey eyes made my brain squeeze tighter until I had an awful headache.
"Now, Darling, I'm glad you asked. It consists of a series of rounds in order to find the winner. If you think any one of you are going to beat me at the game, you are sorely mistaken. None the less, I will play fair to offer each of you the same opportunity to win." Alec pauses for a moment. The girls in the room start to talk amongst themselves, panic settling in.
"What are the rules?" The question leaves my mouth before I can rein it in. Alec takes a sip of his water and his eyes turn to look into mine. My body tenses at the attention but Alec simply raises an eyebrow.
"A little eager aren't we, Darling?" Alec smiles as he sets the glass of water back down. It was as though his smile matched the coldness in his eyes. "The rules are simple." He begins, keeping his eyes trained on me but his voice raised for others to hear. "Win." He pauses, watching me closely before returning to explain.
"Each day a set of instructions will be given to you as to what game we are playing. You must play to win, and those that lose, will be eliminated. There will be two eliminations each day." Alec turns away from me only when he had finished.
Fear crawls on my skin as I take in the information. The small voices of the girls talking to each other make my head hurt so I decide to ask another question to try to relieve the tension. "What does eliminated mean?" Alec's eyes find mine again and I hold his stare though his eyes were beginning to eat away at my sanity.
"Eliminated permanently." Alec's voice dares me to question further but I don't need to. Someone else finally has the courage to ask a question.
"From the game or-"
"From everything you know. You will enter into the unknown and have to play the game by the rules there. These games are costly, my dear. Now, let's eat shall we?" Alec's abrupt ending and tone suggested he was done with the questioning. He wanted the conversation to be finished but I knew it wouldn't. I had heard the question before it was ever asked.
"You expect us to just be okay with this?" Someone snaps. I lower my head.
If you ask specific questions you will progress in a particular direction.
That wasn't the direction I would have progressed in. I wanted to know how to win. There had to be something more than just surviving in order to win. Alec's eyes locked on the girl next to me and she held his gaze with such defiance I was scared for her safety. "Now, Princess-"
"No, I want an answer." She demands. Alec's lips quirk up into that familiar smirk.
"Perhaps you should all be given an answer." Alec's eyes roam the table and all the girls shift uncomfortably. "Each of you may ask one question that I will give an answer to. Choose wisely." He leans back in his seat and waits patiently. The chatter in the room stays at a minimum but I can't focus enough to think of a question because it seems so loud.
"Let's start with you, Princess." Alec looks to the girl on my right. She swallows before answering.
"How long will the games last?" That was a waste of a question. There are fourteen of us. If two of us are eliminated every day that would put us at a week.
"One week." Alec says the answer I'd already figured out. "You, Beautiful?" He moves on quickly and I notice how he doesn't like being asked the questions.
"What happens if we win?" The next girl asks. I frown. I can deal with that once I win. The 'prize' only comes after I win.
"Why, Beautiful, your life is spared and you get to spend it with me." Alec's words make my stomach drop. The gasps that follow only make him smile and the sheer monstrosity of the situation amazes me. I noticed the pleasure that spread over Alec's face. He was feeding off our fear.
"Next." Alec's voice cuts through the air and immediately time starts moving again. He goes around the circle, calling each girl by a different pet name and showing obvious distaste in certain questions that bored him. I start listening carefully, trying to formulate the answer to my own question with the questions of others. If nothing else, I learned some valuable information.
I learn that our games will be based off of childhood games. Between the final two girls only one will be eliminated and the other girl will be left alone for a couple of days before one final task. Anyone who cheated would be eliminated immediately. Any of those who dared to try and stop eliminations would be eliminated. Alec was doing it because he loved playing games. He'd won three other games and had yet to have a winner. The final task had to remain a secret, therefore no one knew how to truly win. No one could be set free. Plots to escape resulted in eliminations. Eliminations couldn't be avoided or switched. And finally, every girl had to watch the eliminations.
"Well, Darling?" Alec's attention is now on me and the rest of the attention follows him. I look closely at Alec, searching his eyes even as his grey orbs search mine. "Where is it that you want your question to lead you?" His voice is cool, yet enticing.
"Why do I want to win?" I ask quietly. He frowns and then shakes his head, chuckling lifelessly at my question.
"You're wasting your question on that?" Alec's face holds disappointment but he continues. "Why wouldn't you want to win?"
"Who's to say you're any better than death?" I press the subject further and he raises his eyebrows.
"Who's to say I'm not?" Alec seems offended and I can see the anger growing behind his eyes. The girls are all tense at the conversation.
"Well I know you a little more than I know death, and as of right now, I'm not seeing why I should stay." I remain calm, trying to use the conversation for my benefit. Alec was smart, so I needed to be careful where I took this.
"You'd rather die than stay with me?" He asks.
"Is death better than a miserable life?" I turn the question back onto him. He frowns, getting agitated with me. This conversation wouldn't last much longer.
"Every moment of life is precious." Alec argues. I raise my eyebrows. My throat told me to stop talking but my brain told me otherwise.
"Now you're just being hypocritical." I say back hotly. Alec is getting infuriated.
"I am not!" He stands, not being able to contain his anger in a sitting position any longer. I noticed how his fists clenched, how his knuckles turned white, how his jaw was tense, and how his eyes blazed in a new light.
"Yes, you are." I say back calmly. He snarls and his eyes tear into my own, breaking down my defenses.
"How dare you say that I am-" I stand and interrupt his sentence. Alec beats me in height and as he stares down at me, being twice as strong, I start to realize how careful my questions need to become. "How am I being hypocritical?" Alec's voice is quieter now but he's still angry.
"How not?"
"Why won't you answer my question?" He points the blame on me.
"Why won't you answer mine?" My body tenses as he looks like he's about to explode, but suddenly his body relaxes. Alec regains his normal composure and looks at me differently. He's thinking more clearly now. "Why do I want to win?" I repeat my earlier question and he takes in a deep breath before responding.
"Because I want a game."
"That's not why I want to win." I rebuttal.
"It should be." Alec snaps once more before regaining his composure again. He shakes his nerves down and returns his attention to me.
"If none of us wanted to win, you wouldn't have a game." I point out. The girls look at each other and Alec looks panicked for a moment before he settles his eyes on me smugly.
"Someone in here wants to win." He says the words slowly and I know they ring true.
"Why?" I ask the question that everyone knows the answer to.
"Because they want to live."
"And why is life so important?" I continue, trying to get him to the point I want to make.
"Because I'm taking it away!" He shouts. I stand in front of him, satisfied.
"Which means you don't think our life is worth that much if you're willing to so easily take it away, all for the sake of a game." My words are cold and his face goes slack at how my interrogation worked. "If you ask a question you'll progress in a particular direction, right?" I sit back down and the room remains silent.
Our food is brought out then, and only then. I start eating the steaming hot soup and enjoy it sliding down my throat. The food was absolutely delicious.
Alec remains behind me for a long time. When he finally sits down, I don't feel any better. "Darling, if you don't mind, once you're done eating, I'd like to have a private word with you." His voice is quiet and I know the only other person who heard was the girl to my right. Her eyes went wide and I turned to look into Alec's eyes.
"Do I have a choice or-" His eyes flash once more and I try not to smile at my accomplishment. "Yes, of course." I clench my jaw as Alec straightens. My food suddenly didn't look so appetizing.
Once my plate was clean and I'd downed my glass of water, Alec stood and dismissed everyone. I stayed in my seat and the girls noticed. Alec sat back down and brought his chair closer to mine only once each and every girl had left the room.
"There's one of you in every batch." He takes a hand and brushes my hair behind my ear. The soft touch doesn't match the sound of his voice. "Each and every time, they lose." Alec says it as though it interests him.
"Something tells me you don't play fair." I argue. Alec chuckles, his hand tracing my jaw. I didn't dare to tell him to stop touching me, for fear of how he would react.
"I play fair, Darling, they just always lose." He smiles and lifts my chin in his fingers. "You're smart, you notice things, and you're quite entertaining. I like you." He lets my head drop but he rests his hand on my leg.
"Is that a compliment?" I ask honestly. Alec grins, pleased with my question.
"We have yet to see." Alec removes his hand from me and I look at his eyes. His hand starts towards my face again and I wait for his fingers to touch me again. But he pauses, stopping just a short distance from my face. Alec stands and lowers his hand to help me up.
I take his hand again and he leads me towards the door. Suddenly, he shoves me against the wall and his hands find my waist. "Do you remember what I said when I took you?" His voice is husky.
"N-no." I tried to remain steady but this position made me uncomfortable. Alec chuckles and his lips found my ear.
"You were running away from me, and I caught you." Alec's words create pictures in my head. I feel my heart rate increase. "When you fell to the ground, I whispered something in your ear."
"Tag, you're it." My voice shakes as I say the words. The memory had started coming back. I shake in fear and Alec smirks.
"Don't worry, Darling, you can only be it for so long."