I was at the grocery store, buying late night snacks for myself. As I was walking out to my car, somebody ran into me. All of my stuff fell to the ground and I attempted to pick it up when the person who ran into me caught my attention.
I smiled warmly at the man who, in my opinion was attractive in his own right. The stupid girly side of me needed to make sure he knew I wasn't mad at him.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you. It wasn't my intention to make your stuff fall to the ground." The man's voice was smooth, and yet something was off about him. I trusted my gut and stood up slowly with my groceries, making myself look busy while I tried to find my phone.
"Oh?" I ask, trying to pretend to be attracted to him. "Then what was your intention?" I hold back my fear and paranoia and attempt to flirt to distract him awhile longer until someone else came out.
"Well, I was playing a game." He says quietly, his voice dropping.
"A game?" I ask, utterly confused.
"Yes, would you like to play?"
I bolt up to find myself still on the floor. Great. I probably just- A crash sounds off to my left, and though I don't see anyone in the room, I know someone is in here. I don't move for a moment and wait patiently for any sound to indicate where they are. It was pitch black in the room, and that would make sense because there weren't any windows unless you went to Alec's room. My body was tense everywhere and yet I didn't dare move a muscle.
Whoever the other person was, they were patient as well, and didn't move for a long time. I was about to give up my waiting game when I hear feet shuffle from where the crash had occurred earlier. My heart rate increased but I still didn't move for a long time.
The footsteps stopped once they were closer and I was tempted to move. Heavy breathing was heard in my ear and I screamed bloody murder before landing a solid punch to whoever it was. Their grunt told me they were a male.
I crawled backwards. My hands were suddenly bleeding as I realized I'd backed right into whatever had crashed. By my memory of the room earlier, I figured it was the vase. I shook in both fear and adrenaline, listening to the otherwise silent room. "You should have listened when he told you to stay in your room." The voice comes from my right, but I could have sworn he was on my left. Was there more than one?
My mind was reeling. If this wasn't Alec, then who on earth was it? Alec hadn't ever mentioned any other males. Alec hadn't really mentioned anything come to think of
it.
I grab a piece of the broken vase in my hand and continue to back up until I'm against a wall. It was one less way to escape, but it was also one less way to be ambushed. My heart was thudding violently in my chest and I couldn't feel my hands. I thought that was probably a good thing.
"You're not safe out here at night." The voice was deep, like a roll of thunder and it shook my bones. Somewhere in me I knew he was coming closer but I couldn't, for the life of me, hear him. "You're not safe out here at night." His words were right in my ear.
I moved quickly, acting like I would punch him with my right, and when he grabbed that wrist I shoved the piece of glass into his side. Immediately, I was released and I scrambled out of the room, slipping into the hallways. As I went to turn, a large piece of metal fell in front of me. I didn't panic and rather went to a different hallway.
Every time I tried to leave the hallway I was in, the large metal block would fall. I stopped trying after a while and crawled on the ground. Maybe there were sensors where my head would be, and that triggered the door. I got close to going into the other hallway when it fell, almost hitting me. As I rolled away I felt myself curl into a ball, trying to make sure my heart stayed inside of me. My next guess would be more difficult, but I would try it.
I stood in front of the hallway. The doors always came up when I stepped back far enough, so there had to be a sensor. I stayed back far enough and then leaned my torso forward.
My arm stretched and I began as high as I could before slowly letting my arm go down the wall. When I got to the very bottom the door shut. I nodded.
So the sensor was at my feet. The problem was the sensor was far enough back that even if I could jump it, the door could be triggered by my landing on the other side. If any part of me was in the line of the fall-
It was worth it.
I was about to make my move, settling into my position when all of the doors shut. My body went on red alert and I clenched my jaw. Right, so once I figure it out he decides to show up. How fitting?
"Now, you didn't think I was going to let you win this, did you?" His deep voice came from behind me, so horribly close behind me. I didn't move. "You were awfully mean." His hands touch my neck and move my hair to the side. Goosebumps raise on my skin as he places his hands on my waist and pulls me back against him. "I don't like mean people." I gasp for air as his breath travels down my neck.
I was too paralyzed in fear to move. The man tightened his grip on my waist and I grimaced, but didn't mention the pain. He chuckles as if he knew I was petrified. His hands turn me around and shove me against the cool metal wall with such a force I lose my breath.
The pain is excruciating as he grabs my hands and squeezes them, making the numbness disappear to be replaced with a horrible fire. Tears fall down my cheeks as I scream. "I think you should clean these up, before they get infected." As he says it I feel him shove sand into my palm, rubbing the gritty pebbles into my skin.
I feel his hands move away from mine and I react instantly. My knee comes up to hit him where it hurts the most and he doubles over in pain. Yet, he somehow manages to grab my hair and pull me down, straddling my waist and pinning my arms above my head to render me useless. He's swearing in pain and his body shakes as he tries to catch his breath. I kick my legs uselessly because there's no way I could get him off if I tried. My foot hits the wall and it must kick a sensor off because the door opens.
I twist my body under his. The distraction of the door had allowed me the moment I needed. My antagonizer was shoved under the door. Part of me was sad he made it to the other side. The other part of me was relieved.
I didn't stay there long enough to have him come back. Instead, I bolted for the furthest opening from me. I dived and rolled, making it to the other side just as a knife landed solidly into the other side of the door. My body was on fire and I was in such panic I didn't really comprehend where I was going, only knowing that it was away from him.
My feet lead me to the hallway all of the girls were staying in. I froze. This hallway was lit every so often with lights. It was under these lights that I saw a shadowed figure standing next to each and every door. All of their eyes were on me. Were we all assigned a guard? I swallowed, but as I stepped back, I felt a knife placed on my neck and cold hands pushed me against the wall.
None of the other figures moved, they remained statue-like, and part of me wondered if they were fake, put there only to scare girls who attempted to come out. Yet, my door didn't have a guard, which would make sense because he was right in front of me. I hadn't realized how long I was looking away from my current captor but apparently it was too long because my head was slammed against the wall.
"Pay attention unless you'd like me to show you how being eliminated feels." My head is spinning but my eyes focus on him.
He's masked, and all I can see are his eyes. They're a crisp, glacier blue that freezes me in my place when I look at them. He must have smiled because his eyes crinkle at the ends. I swallow, and feel the cold knife more prominently at the movement.
"I'm going to give you two options. You must choose one or the other. There is not a third option, do you understand?" His voice is low and scary. I give a nod. "I want a verbal response." He snarls.
"Yes, Sir." I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
"All right, I can let you go, and we can continue our little chase until one of us wins." He takes his free hand and runs it through my hair lightly. "Or, I can end your misery right here and you won't have to play your game." I feel his fingers beneath my chin and he tilts my head up a little as if he needed more exposure of my neck. "What do you say?"
"I'll take the first option." I say hoarsely. The low chuckle that comes from him makes my blood freeze.
"I'll give you a little bit of a head start. Just remember, my eyes are more adjusted to the dark than yours. Tick tock." The knife is removed from my neck and I'm speeding down the hallways.
The walls that come down are only in a specific section of the maze I'm in and so I have to prepare myself for other death traps. As I come down a particularly dark hallway, blaring lights flash in my face. It's a good thing I wasn't apt to have seizures from that, but I'm pretty sure I just alerted my guard as to where I was at.
I continue slipping through hallways until a metal wall slams in front of me. My body was drenched in water, my eyes were burning from gases, my throat was dry, and I was partially blind at the moment.
Groaning in frustration, I stand back and the dive under the wall like I had done what seems like numerous times. My body didn't want to stand, and I was breathing heavily enough to alert anyone within a mile where I was. But, nonetheless, I crawled forward until I made it back into the dining room. My eyes were adjusting quickly and I spotted the large clock on the wall.
5:01
Alec didn't give me my instructions until 6. I groaned in annoyance and then froze when I heard the slam of the metal doors. The blasted guard. I looked around for an exit and sprinted across the room. My door shut just as the other one opened.
I went down the hallways that I had memorized and opened the door I wanted cautiously. It was funny how in this end of the house, every door had handles on the outside... and there were no traps. Hmmm... really playing fair there Alec.
I see Alec move on his bed when I enter, but I don't take the time to watch him wake up and rather slip into his bathroom. His door opens and I hear an immediate uproar from Alec. "What are you doing in-" He stops when he sees it isn't a girl. "Did someone escape? Why are you here?" Alec's voice is still smooth even though he just woke up. How can he register all of this information that quickly after he woke up? "Who is the girl you are in charge of?"
"Austen Grey." It was interesting to compare the voices of the two men as they spoke. Alec was quiet for a while and my guard was growing impatient. "I gave her too many drugs last night in her water and she passed out on the floor. She didn't make it to her room and she was running this way, so I thought-"
"She's not allowed in my room and she knows it. It would be suicidal of her to come in here. Anyways, she's scared of me at the moment." Alec was lying. I knew he knew I was in here, but the guard seemed to have bought it. "If she's in this section of the house then she won't have traps to avoid and she'll be able to move quickly. I would go look for her." Alec was determined to make him leave, and it made my stomach knot.
What was he going to do to me once the guard was gone?
"Yes, Sir. I am sorry to have woken you up like this." The guard, even though his voice was a bit deeper, sounded small next to Alec. I tried to fight back a smile at the thought, but it broke through anyways.
"Just go." My guard left. Alec's footsteps were heard coming towards me and he flicked the light on in the bathroom. "Darling, will you step out of my shower please?" I follow his orders and Alec sighs. "You and I are going to have a long discussion."