Chapter 10
An alarm when off in the room the players slept in, in the morning. The alarm came from overhead, in a speaker. A buzzing sound rang across the room. Jade rolled over and grunted. Kelly gasped awake and sat up quickly. Heather slowly opened her eyes and wiped a tear the fell across her face. Zoey started panting. Maya grunted as she got up. "Oh. Ow!"
"Are you okay?" Kelly asked.
"Sleeping in a chair is very uncomfortable," Maya said.
Kelly sighed and Zoey rolled her eyes. Jade gasped, "I almost forgot... slept so well... no nightmares. Now new nightmares are going to surface."
"Well good morning to you too," Maya said.
The buzzing stopped and a doorway appeared. One section of the wall opened up and moved to the side.
Jade got up and helped Heather stand up. Zoey slowly walked through the hallway. Kelly and Maya used the bathroom before leaving. Kelly turned back as Jade and Heather entered the hallway, leaving the room.
"What about Sarah?" Kelly asked.
Jade looked at Kelly and to Sarah. "She's gone."
Kelly looked at Sarah as let out a small gasp. Her eyes began to water and then Maya held her hand. "We need to go," Maya said.
Kelly nodded and grabbed a cereal box before leaving the room.
The hallway led to another room. Inside, was a mobile rack of clothes. An assortment of shirts and shorts hung on the rack before them.
Jade circled the room. "Where's the trap?"
"Maybe this is still a checkpoint?" Maya asked.
"Haven't we been through enough?" Kelly asked.
"Speak for yourself," Heather said.
"Hey," Zoey said, "let's just put an outfit on."
"Why? Can't we skip this?" Jade asked.
"Skip it?" Zoey asked. "Do you see a door? A way to move on? We're supposed to do something and what else could it be?" Zoey grabbed a pair of denim shorts and a yellow shirt. "There are still cameras." She got changed behind the rack. "We'll come on then," she said to the rest of the players.
Jade grabbed the longest shorts, checking the size, and a blue shirt. She got a pink shirt for Heather. "What size are you in shorts?" Jade asked Heather.
I don't need new pants," Heather said. Jade gave her the shirt.
Maya grabbed the blue shorts and a white T-shirt.
"Do we all need to change?" Kelly asked.
"Well no secret passage has been revealed so," Zoey said. She was looking at the last outfit remaining.
Kelly sighed and grabbed the short shorts and crop top off the hangers and got changed.
Once she put her other arm through the short sleeve, the heard a click. The wall opened up to the left of the room. Zoey lead the way down the jagged path. The players all walked down the hallway which turned left and right and moved downward. Kelly was the anchor of the group. She scratched her chest as she moved along.
"You know," Heather said, "If Sarah had lived, her mom would never let her hang out with us ever again."
"Things will never be the same," Maya said. She was standing behind them and walking downwards.
"Why because we know each other's secrets?" Jade asked.
"Because this wouldn't have happened if we're friends," Maya got in Jade's face. "We're in this trap because we're friends. We changed each other. We've done horrible things."
"For each other," Jade said.
"Not this again," Zoey said.
Kelly looked at then, staying quiet. She rubbed her arm.
"Haven't you guys learned you lesson?" Maya asked. "We didn't value our lives. We didn't value each other."
The other players went quiet and continued down the extensive hallway.
"Did anyone else notice there were only 4 outfits on that rack?" Heather asked. Her voice was soft.
"Yeah," Jade said. "Did he just assume one of us would die in the night?"
"Well he does have cameras," Maya said. "He's always watching." She looked up at a camera and made a face. "Do you see us!? Are we entertaining you!?"
"Maya!" Jade said.
"He had to have preplanned everything," Zoey said.
"He's been rather optimistic hasn't he," Heather said.
They turned another corner and continued down they path. There was miscellaneous scrap and materials along the hallway. Kelly scratched her back.
"Who designed this place?" Zoey asked.
"I think he did," Jade said. She placed her hand on the wall as she moved along.
Maya took a bite of the mni wheats cereal and chewed slowly. It takes funny. There were mini wheats were unfrosted, but they still tasted off. Where they old or- Maya stopped chewing. She tasted something awful in mouth and peeked inside the box of cereal. She picked up a peice of the cereal and pinched it until it crumbled. Along with crsuehd up wheats, came an ooze. Looking at it more closely was the ooze ran down her hand, Maya detected tiny wings and legs. There were dead bugs inside this cereal!
Maya spit out her cereal and tossed the food away. She leaned agasint the wall and panted. Kelly walked up to her.
"Are you okay Maya?" Kelly asked.
"Don't eat the cereal," Maya said.
Kelly tooked at Maya and nodded. "Okay." The walked together for a minute down the extended hallway.
Kelly fell behind the group and was vigorously scratching her chest, arm, and back. "Ahhhh!" She screamed.
The other players turned back and ran to her. Jade and Heather took a minute.
"Kelly?" Maya asked.
Kelly yanked off her shirt and she saw that the first trap of the day had already begun. All over her chest and the sides of her arms were burns.
"Oh my God," Maya said. Her eyes widened.
Zoey covered her mouth. "Kelly," she held out her arm, "it's okay. You're alive."
"How can it be okay!? Look at me!?" Kelly said. "Ow! Ow ow." She stayed in place with her arms straight down like Carrie after they poured pig's blood on her.
Jade and Heather came. "Kelly are you okay?" Jade asked.
"It's going to fine," Zoey said. "You're not blistering. Those are 1 degree burns. You'll heal. Here," Zoey took off her shirt and handed it to Kelly. Zoey had on a tank top underneath from before.
Kelly put it on and winced in pain. "I hate this!"
"Look on the bright side, you're done," Heather said. Jade looked down.
"Oh shut up Heather!" Kelly said. "I'm so sick of you. I'm sick of your voice. I'm sick of your face. I'm sick of you telling us what to do."
"Well someone has to or else you'd fall in your face," Heather said.
"I was doing just fine without you in my life. This whole thing is your fault. You and Jade." Kelly said.
"Me?" Jade asked.
"Her?" Heather asked.
"You both started this by making your infamous group. Why did you pick me? Why!?" Kelly asked.
"Is this really the time?" Jade asked.
"Yes! This is exactly the time!" Kelly said. She got closer to Jade and Heather.
"We picked you because you were weak. And meek. I wanted to mess with it," Heather said.
Kelly nodded sarcastically. "Really?"
"Guys we need to stick together," Jade said. "This tedious arguing-"
"Like you're so perfect," Kelly said. "you let everyone walk all over you, no wonder you never reported the men who-"
"Stop it!" Zoey said. They continued to bicker for another minute. They weren't moving forward. Meanwhile Maya was looking back and forth and who was talking, then closing her eyes and grabbing the side of her face. She leaned too half of her body downward.
"We should have sacrificed Heather for everything!" Kelly said. They were all talking over one another.
Jade gasped. "How can you say that?"
"Don't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind," Kelly said.
"Heather is-" Jade said.
Maya's scream shut Jade up, and all the rest of the girls of the players. "I can't take it anymore!" All the awful things she had seen over the passed 2 days. Amelia being shot, Sarah, Heather's arm, and now Kelly. no to mention eating bug wheats.
"Maya?" Kelly asked. She looked very worried.
Jade grabbed Maya's shoulder but Maya pulled away and started running down the hallway.
"Maya?" Jade raised her voice. The other players followed her.
Maya ran around a corner, and down a long strait path, not bothering to look around her. Almost at the end of the path, the ceiling suddenly got higher, so you couldn't see it until you were too close.
There was a double frame glass ceiling from a greenhouse displayed above the room. It was currently open, due to a string in place across the hallway. It was about 8 inches above the ground.
Maya kept running with other players several feet behind her. "Maya!" Kelly called. "Stop!"
Maya ignored them as she ran ahead and tripped over the wire. The glass ceiling came together quickly, and the glass shattered down onto Maya.