Chapter 19
"Look Faye, I will talk it through later, I'm going home for lunch." Roan said. Faye nodded.
"Ok, but hurry back, I don't get it at all." She said.
"Don't get what?" Liam asked as he and Tom came round. Tom went quiet and looked down away from Faye. Roan rolled her eyes and smiled. She didn't know how Faye didn't notice his crush on her, but it is always harder to notice it when the crush is on you.
"English stuff." Faye explained. "Right anyway I'll see you later, I need to nip home too." She then disappeared out of the front doors.
"Same I'm going to go with her." Will said.
"Wow you brave boy!" Liam sniggered. Tom nudged him.
"Good luck." Roan winked and they watched him chase after Faye.
"out of all the people you could've made friends with and you chose Faye." Liam said.
"What's wrong with Faye?"
"Will fancies her big style."
"Tell me something half of 6th form doesn't know." Roan looked at him. Liam knew how obvious it was, but he didn't want to say anything. They glanced around, Liam then took Roan's hand and clicked.
They landed in the hall as always and Roan dropped Liam's hand. She went into the dining room and dumped her bag on the sofa. She then sat down next to it. Liam did the same opposite her and they sat in silence until Harold came in with lunch.
"It's ready." He said. They both got up and sat at the table. Hazel and Jake came running through the door as they had also suddenly just got back. They all sat down and tucked in hungrily. Lewis and Darren joined them for a change and Lewis had some news.
"Ok, the Poison Game is this evening and we are, for once, hosting it here! I will be picking a victim for the games and other packs will be doing the same. There will be ten contestants as always. I will be spending this afternoon finding someone. You are not to interfere or I will be putting your closest friends on the menu." Lewis threatened. Roan looked at Liam in confusion. Liam shook his head discreetly. Roan took the message and just ate in silence, wondering what on earth was going on.
Once everyone was finished, Liam and Roan went back out into the hall.
"I'll explain at school." He promised. She nodded and took his hand. Once they were back in school, they let go awkwardly and laughed nervously. It was one o'clock exactly so it was once again safe to step outside. They both went across the playground and into the 6th form area. They sat down and Liam began to speak.
"Ok the poison games is a game the...most powerful packs play. Each pack picks a victim and the victim has to sit opposite an opponent and at the start a coin is tossed. Heads or tails. Two cups are in front and one had poison in and the other doesn't. The winner of the coin toss gets to pick which cup they want first. One person dies in every round and the last person standing is then the winner." Liam explained.
"That's awful." Roan said.
"The worst thing is that you can't smell the poison unless you have the 6th sense in other words..."
"The double devour. I know." She said. "I wonder who your dad will pick."
"Me too." Liam admitted. Just as he said that Will and Faye came back. They had been speaking and Tom was beaming. Roan bit her tongue to stop herself giggling and Faye sat next to her. She got out her folder and Roan started talking through the work once again and Tom and Liam disappeared off as per usual and the girls kept working. The bell then went and they had to go to last lesson.
"We will sort it out on Monday." Roan said. Faye nodded and they went their different ways.
***************
Later that evening Roan was at on her bed with a piece of art work. She was finishing off a few touches when someone knocked on her door.
"Come in." She said. As she did Hazel strutted in with her black high heels and striking red dress. Her hair was up for once and she had put on a leather jacket. Roan wiped her hands on her jeans and smiled.
"Hazel, what can I do for you?" She asked.
"You know the Poison Games?" She asked. Roan nodded. "Well my father wants you to get out of the way. No making noise and no fuss either." She said.
"I was going to stay away anyway." Roan sighed looking back at her work.
"No you don't understand Roan. He wants you out of the picture, out of Liam's life. You are the victim Roan and there is no going back." She grabbed Roan's arm and clicked her fingers. Next thing Roan knew she was in the cellars. Around her were lots of cells. Hazel flung her in one and locked the door. She laughed and swung the key back and fourth.
"Why are you doing this Hazel?" Roan asked.
"Because I don't trust you." She stated.
"With good reason." Roan muttered.
"what?"
"Nothing." Roan spat. "Liam wont stand for this."
"That's the thing Roan. He isn't eighteen yet, so he has no say in this. You're screwed." She said laughing. Roan listened to the sound of her heels clacking fade away before taking a paperclip from her pocket. She shoved it in the lock and began to try and pick it. After ten minutes she was crying hard as it just wasn't doing anything. It was no use and the worst thing was that Liam had no idea and in fact was still training.
"Focus on the box and nothing else. Don't let anything distract you." Darren willed Liam on, who was staring at the box. His eyes flashed green and his pupils became two black holes that swallowed everything in sight. "Keep going."
Liam was giving it everything and eventually he just let go.
"Ok Liam, what is it? You are distracted and when I find out what it is..."
"It's nothing, I'm just not in the mood for this at the moment."
"Liam you're never in the mood." Darren pointed out. Liam pulled a face at his tutor and went to the door. As he flung it open he leapt back in surprise as Jake stood there.
"Erm Liam...we have a problem." He stammered.
"Go on." Liam said getting worried.
"Well I know who dad has picked for the games tonight." Jake bit his lip.
"Who?"
"Well...don't get too upset....and don't do anything stupid but..."
"Spit it out Jake!"
"Roan. He chose Roan."
Liam' face fell for a second and then his insides began to boil like they never had before. His dad had figured out what was distracting him and he hadn't even told Darren, but somehow he knew he had guessed.
"Where is she?" Liam asked as calmly as he could.
"I...er..."
"Where is she?" Liam shouted.
"...The cellar." Jake spoke quietly. Liam gritted his teeth as he stormed down to the cellar. He went along the cell and in the second one he found Roan sitting there crying. He had never seen her like this before and he didn't want to look at her when she was in such a state.
"Roan..." He said.
"Liam, get me out of here!" She snapped grabbing the bars of the cage so tightly her knuckles went white and her eyes flared their bright green which quickly died down.
"I...Roan I...I can't get you out. I'm going to have to find a way to legally get you out of this. We can get into an awful lot of trouble for pulling you out. This is tradition! I will find a way, even if we just cheat." He said. Tears slipped down Roan's face as Darren and Jake came in.
"We have to find a way to get her out and you two are going to get started on that while I go and speak to dad." Liam snapped. Darren and Jake nodded, not wanting to argue, and ran back upstairs. Roan was gripping onto the bars which were in perfect cubes with weird patterns spiralling through them. She had clawed her fingers round and just stared at him with wide eyes.
"I'll get this sorted...I promise." He said. She nodded and slumped back feeling her heart sinking and the blood pounding in her head from panic. Liam then left her alone once again. She tried to stop crying and she sat hoping someone would bring her the good news she had been waiting for, for a long time. Her parents were probably dead and if they were it would be likely she would be joining them. At least they would be together. She sighed and heard footsteps and she crawled back to the cells door. It was Hazel.
"What do you want?" Roan snapped.
"To say I'm sorry for my actions, but my dad said I had to do it or there would be trouble and I mean a lot more then usual. I didn't want to get things messy." She said.
"Right..." Roan spoke in a sarcastic tone. She knew people like Hazel and wouldn't give in to them or be fooled like some. Hazel said no more before once again leaving Roan in the dark.
Liam made it up to Lewis's office and didn't even knock before barging in.
"Why her?" He shouted slamming his fists on the desk.
"What? And who said you could come in?" Lewis asked.
"I did! And you know what I mean. Roan! Why her when you could've picked anyone? She could be special dad. Really special!" Liam snapped. Lewis rolled his eyes.
"You need to learn that your actions will suffer consequences. Roan is your friend, but you want it to go further then that. She is your distraction and because if this, I need to get rid of her. If she miraculously lives then you win don't you." Lewis smiled. Liam growled and bared his fangs and his dad.
"OI!" His dad shouted his eyes flashing the red only the double devoured get. Liam stopped and raged back out of the room. His dad had won, but Liam wasn't coming back without a fight.
He went into the living room where Jake and Darren were reading through a pile of books.
"We have half an hour." Liam said sitting down and picking up a book. All three of them were picking up one book at a time and using a quick speed trick. This was when they could quickly look through pages and get through a book with in a minute, depends how big the book is of course and these were as thick as a fist. They raced through and after twenty or so minutes. Darren stood up.
"I got it! He said. The boys looked up. "Oh wait that would take too long, but it would have been perfect...sorry." Darren picked up another book and when they ran out of time they had nothing.
"Liam to get her out of this you will have to double devour her." He said.
"What? No way." Liam said.
"It's the only way." Darren agreed. Liam sighed, she wasn't going to like this.
"No." Roan said. "No I do not want you to put me through that. Promise me you will never let that happen to me!" She said.
"All right I promise. I knew you wouldn't like it...I'm sorry Roan but there is nothing else I can do." He said. They were on their own and in a silence for ten seconds.
"Teach me your 6th sense strategy." She said.
"It wont work." Liam said.
"It will give me a slight advantage, it's all we have!" She said.
"Fine, but I don't know what good it will do." Liam sighed. He sat down opposite her and began to slowly teach her how the 6th sense worked. After fifteen minutes Hazel called down to him.
"Sorry Liam time's up, people are arriving and you need to get ready." She shouted.
"Keep practising Roan. You can do it, I believe you can. Just don't...die on me." He said. she put her fingers to his cheek as that was all she could reach.
"I wont." She whispered. He touched her fingers before getting up and sprinting up the stairs. They were all out of time now.