Game of Reality

CHAPTER FOUR

Word count : 2159

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(POV Sara)

Sara wasn't sure what had happened. She and Ari had been walking, hiking one of those rocky hills, and then, she wasn't sure what had happened. She had seen someone tackle Ari to the ground. And she had stood there. She had seen someone wrapping their hands around Ari's neck. And she had stood there. She had seen Ari trying to fight back. She had stood there. She had seen her friend's lips go blue, seen his hands fall limply to his sides, seen the Someone get up and walk away. She had stood there.

And then, she wasn't there anymore. She was somewhere over her own right shoulder, staring at herself. She saw herself shake terribly, saw herself walk on unsteady legs like she was drunk. She saw herself walk, and walk, and walk. And then, she saw herself pick up a rock. And she saw use the rock to hit Someone Else repeatedly. She saw them fall to the ground, and she saw herself start to walk again.

And then, she heard a voice.

"Here comes level three. Are you still excited?" The crowd shrieked as one, a mess of voices and noises that couldn't be deciphered but sounded distinctly affirmative. "The round starts now!"

Sara looked down as the ground shook underneath her feet. Her legs felt tired, her arms were heavy. She looked around, but couldn't find Ari. She called out to him, but he didn't answer. She wondered how she could be in the third level when she didn't remember qualifying for the second.

And then, before she could think any more, she felt a hand grab the back of her neck and push her forward. She fell to her knees, and the hand pushed her harder, no matter that she tried to fight back, she was too weak, and her head went underwater. She was so confused, nothing made sense, the water was cold, and reflexively, she breathed in.

"C4LLmeG0D is qualified! And so quickly as well. Might we already know who our winner will be?"

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(POV Jen)

"Here comes level three. Are you still excited?" The crowd shrieked as one, a mess of voices and noises that couldn't be deciphered but sounded distinctly affirmative. "The round starts now!"

When the ground finally stopped shaking, Jen found herself in some disgusting, wet, muddy swamp. The heat was heavy, the air was heavier, and the humidity was going to make her hair all frizzy. Like her day hadn't been hard enough. And then, to make matters worse, she was standing a few mere steps away from the one person she wished she'd never have to see again.

She was frozen. She watched as he saw something, as he smirked at it, as he pushed and pushed until the voice called out his name. "C4LLmeG0D is qualified! And so quickly as well. Might we already know who our winner will be?" The crowd went wild, cheering for him. She watched his smirk and his parading and his pride and she decided that she wouldn't walk away, this time. She wouldn't let him win, this time. This time, she would show him she was worth so much more than he ever saw, than he ever realized.

She walked towards him, sauntered really, with a small, haughty, seductive smile. He had always been easy to lure in. He had only ever been interested in himself, invested in himself, and the best way to make him interested in her had always been to show how interested in him she was. Like he needed someone to love him so together they could both love him twice as much.

So she came up to him, and he was hooked. He stared at her face, at her lips, glanced lower every few seconds, while she placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him backwards until his back was against a tree. He kept staring as she brought her face closer to his, close enough to feel his breath on her face, to see the gold flecks in his blue eyes: His breathing sped up, his pulse jumped under where her hand still rested on his chest. Her other hand caught his wrists and she slowly, sensually brought them up above his head. She brought her face closer to his, still, as the hand that had been on his chest reached down her back. And while he was preoccupied, trying to figure out whether he wanted to give in or push her away, she took her dagger out of her waistband and stabbed it through his hands as hard as she could.