7
Sara
(Girl No. 2) had left the school and immediately went to Mackinac
Fort, which was only about 400 yards away. She climbed the steep
slope to its massive wooden doors and walked inside. The fort was
full of old wooden buildings, and 12 meter walls made of stone
encircled the entire area. Across the fort was a building with a
steeple, and Sara noticed a little opening at the top; perfect for
sitting in and observing the game.
She'd
always been good at rock climbing; it was one of her favorite
hobbies. But as she slung her daypack over her shoulder and set her
sights on the alcove, she knew she was in for something huge. Hand
over hand; she pulled herself up using loose bricks and holes in the
wall.
Ratatatata.
The
noise had come from outside the fort. Sara slipped and fell a few
feet but managed to grab onto a brick. Rocks tumbled down from the
steeple, bouncing off her head and falling to the ground. 'That was
a close one,' she thought. There was more of the speedy, shrill
noise, and then one loud 'bang'. Sara realized she was hearing
the sounds of guns being shot. The game had officially begun. Fear
tightened in her mind as she realized these gunshots could mean some
of her friends were dying. More gunfire was heard and she decided it
would be best to live in the present - at least while she was playing
this game.
She managed to reach the
small alcove before the real action started. Sitting in the alcove,
she opened her bag to see food, water, a map and compass and finally
a pair of binoculars.
"Binoculars?"
she asked herself. "I guess this can be handy…"
Then
she realized that the binoculars didn't come in everyone's
daypack. This was her 'random' weapon. 'You must be kidding
me?' she thought. 'What am I supposed to do with these stupid
binoculars, strangle someone with the attached string? Beat someone
to death with them? These are utter pieces of crap!'
There
was more shrill machine gun fire and she peered through her
binoculars in the direction of the noise. The binoculars were amazing
- she could see a figure dart into a building. Checking her map, she
realized this was the 'Mission Point' hotel.
An
orange glow emanated from the windows of the hotel's first floor.
Sara watched as flames began to exit the windows, curling into the
sky like the tongues of demons. The night itself was pitch black -
she could have fallen asleep with her eyes open and the night would
act as her eyelids. But the flames gave off a glow which lit up the
area.
For sure there were 2 people in
there, one who had gone in first and the other that had followed him.
She wasn't sure who else there was until she saw a small girl in
the familiar skirt and top standing outside the hotel.
"Get
out of there!" screamed Sara.
Then
there was a loud crash, and not 10 seconds after the sky that could
have once been your eyelids whilst sleeping turned into a vivid
canvas of red and orange. Sara gaped as for about 3 seconds, it was
daylight. She could see everything on the island - the mysterious
Grand Hotel, some streets down by the school, fudge shoppes, looming
buildings; everything. The sky was as light as day, but with more of
a twilight effect.
Darkness came
again as Sara watched a massive fireball extend at least 40 meters
into the sky. From her high, cramped perch, the fireball even rose
above Sara's head. (Keep in mind she was in the steeple of a
building in Mackinac Fort, which was on top of a massive hill.)
The
gigantic raging ball seemed to lick the air itself and grew bigger
and bigger. Eventually it dispersed, and sparks began to rain from
the sky.
Sara felt a choking in her
throat - she thought she was about to cry. As far as her guesswork
went, someone must have died in that fireball. It was ridiculously
huge - words couldn't even explain how large it was. She hoped
Donovan wasn't in there. She needed him for protection. As far as
her hopes went, Dono would also come to this massive fort. Then the
two could band together and try and figure out something to do. Her
mind snapped back to the dangers of the game. Focus was the key;
without it she would die. When daylight came, her perch in the
church's steeple would no longer become a very safe place to be.
With simple math she figured that if she was to sit there for all
three days, the top of the fort would eventually become a danger
zone. And if that was to happen…
She
fingered the collar strapped around her neck and began to lose
hope.
They were trapped in this
horrible game. And there was no way out. Even if she sat for hours
trying to formulate a plan, she doubted she'd come up with anything
useful. The crap eating government had covered everything, whether it
be escaping by water or blowing up the school.
Sara
would sit all night, until the moon set and the sun rose, just so she
could be there in the morning. She hoped to observe something from up
here, and hopefully it wouldn't be picked as a danger zone any time
soon, so she fell asleep.
