Day 1

She could feel him, leaning over her, his breath tickling her face and neck. She squirmed in his grasp, trying to break free of his hold. She didn't want to go with him. She didn't!

"Natsu!" She yelled. "NATSU!"

But deep inside, she knew he wouldn't come, not while he had Lisanna to protect. Her head pounded and she struggled all the more, not wanting to find out where she was being taken. Screams ripped themselves from her throat and echoed in the air around them.

"Scream all you want little one, no-one's coming for you." The man whispered from above her. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, willing him to go away while still wriggling in his hold. "They don't care about you now 'she's' back. You were just a replacement"

"No!" She wouldn't believe it – she couldn't! She wasn't a replacement for Lisanna – Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy! They were all her real friends! They were her family! "No! I won't believe you!"

But his taunting voice just kept whispering in her ear. His warm breath kept crawling over her skin.

"Hey"

That voice…

"Hey!"

That wasn't this man's voice…

"Come on! Wake up!"

It came from everywhere, yet nowhere…

"Hey! Wake up!"

Whose is it?

"HEY!"

Lucy bolted upright, gasping for air, her blonde hair plastered to her face with cold sweat. She took gulps of that sweet cold air and then brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her shaking arms tightly around her knees, burying her face in her skirt. She couldn't breath. The air was going in, but it wasn't doing anything.

"Oi! Calm down!"

That voice again, the one from her dream. Only this time, it was closer. Lucy felt a warm hand grip her shoulder and she raised her tear stained face to look at the owner of the mysterious voice.

When had she started crying?

Her chocolate brown eyes locked onto a worried set of emerald as the boy looked down at her, his grip on her shoulder tightening. She was panting, still unable to breathe properly. She could feel her lungs slowly constricting. She was going to die. Oh god, she wasn't going to make it!

"Calm down, focus on breathing and only breathing" His voice was calm and soothing, but yet Lucy couldn't do as he asked, she kept wheezing, her whole body trembling.

The boy scrambled round to sit in front of the panicking blonde and placed his free hand on her other shoulder. His eyes stayed on hers at all times.

"I need you to listen to me. Focus only on me and carefully follow my instructions. Can you do that?"

Lucy nodded and kept her eyes focused on him, already following his first instruction. He smiled gently at the girl and then continued to speak, his voice holding a certain authority.

"Copy me. Breath in through you nose." Lucy did as she was told, receiving yet another smile from the stranger. "And now out through your mouth." He breathed out and Lucy copied. "In through your nose." She breathed in. "And out through your mouth"

She was breathing regularly now, although her body still shook. Seeing that she was better, the boy released his grip and sighed, running his hand through his messy black hair.

"You had me scared for a minute there…" He admitted, flicking his gaze around the room before meeting her eyes again. "You just suddenly started screaming, and then you wouldn't wake up… Are you ok?"

Lucy swallowed and nodded.

"I-I'm Ok." She stuttered.

"Good." He stood up and began to walk to the other side of the room. Half way to his destination, he suddenly came to a halt and twisted his head back so that he could see Lucy out of the corner of his eye. "I'm Carter, by the way. Welcome to hell."

'Hell? What is he talking about?'

Lucy hurriedly scrambled to her feet and looked at the boy, her eyes wide with confusion – and fear. Carter smiled softly at her, the expression filled with gentle sympathy.

"W-what do you mean 'hell'?" Lucy asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Carter flicked his green eyes around the room and it was only then that Lucy looked at her surroundings. She was in a dark room, the only amount of light coming from a petite candle in the corner. There was a barred door over to her right, embedded into a thick, cracked, rock wall. There were no windows and no clock. Whether it was night or day remained a mystery. It was all to much and Lucy sunk to her knees, her body trembling violently.

"Where am I?" She whispered. "And please, don't say 'hell' again"

Carter knelt in front of Lucy and placed his hand on her chin, willing her to raise her eyes from the floor and look at him.

"What's your name?"

"Lucy…"

Carter looked at the blonde seriously and let a sigh escape through his lips as his gaze trailed to the grimy stone floor below.

"Lucy, you really haven't figured out what's going on yet?"

The girl just shook her head.

"Carter, tell me. Please" She pleaded.

"We're here to participate in 'The Game'"

"'The Game'?"

Carter nodded, all emotion draining from his face.

"Yes, a tournament set up by a Dark Guild. They kidnap good mages and force them to participate for their own entertainment"

Lucy's breath hitched and she hesitated in asking her next question – fearing the answer she would get.

"And what are the rules?"

Carter looked up, his eyes hard. He leaned in close, his hands pressing onto the hard, concrete ground either side of her legs, supporting his body weight. She could feel his warm breath on her face, gently tickling her skin. His eyes were locked on hers, serious determination glittering in his green orbs.

"Lucy." He whispered, his voice hard. "In this game, there is only one rule."

He paused. Lucy waited. The air caught in her throat, her heart crashed against her ribcage with each beat, threatening to break free of its bony constraints.

"What is it?" The words that gently breached her lips were almost inaudible.

"If you lose."

Pause. Thump-thump-thump.

"You die."

Right, so the story's underway. Just so you know in advance, certain elements of this story will be inder YOUR control! I will let you know when this happens and how you decide will be by voting on Polls on my profile!

You'll understand when it happens!

BTW, I'm still accepting Oc's and the ones that I have already got will be coming in maybe two to three chapters (Or Less, but we'll see how things go...)

Carter is my OC, just so you know...