Suddenly Charlotte found herself lying on her back, her head pounding. Spots of light marred her sight as the ceiling above her came into focus. “Charlotte, can you hear me? Are you okay?” Charlotte sat forward and unceremoniously threw up, tears stinging her eyes.
“Oh god,” she groaned at her own weakness.
“Charlotte, are you okay?” he repeated as she struggled to get up. James held her in place though, his hands on her shoulders.
“The cameras…” she breathed, not needing to look weaker than she already did.
James looked at her sternly. “Answer the damn question, Charlotte”.
“I’m fine. I just had a bit of a head rush. It’s nothing I can’t handle... the cameras…” she whispered as her surroundings became clearer.
“They’re out – all of them,” James said, his tone dismissing. “Charlotte, what happened?” He reached forward and held her face in his hands, examining her expression carefully.
“The usually old crap,” she sighed. “I can’t control it. I couldn’t stop it”.
“I tried to snap you out of it. You were mumbling to yourself… as if talking to it,” he said. “Don’t worry it wasn’t loud enough for the cameras to pick up,” he added when she turned to him wide eyed and pale.
“How did I end up on the floor?” she breathed, pushing him back and looking about. The cameras were lying dead on the floor.
“I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t get through to you, so I put out all the cameras throughout the tunnels and I raised the blocks beneath you up a few feet from the ground and then I pushed you off the edge. I’m sorry,” he breathed, his cheeks blushing red, beneath the sterile lighting.
“Thank you,” Charlotte suddenly said in a rush, hugging him. “I was about to attack Iseult and you stopped me – thank you”.
“And you feel okay?”
“Headache, nausea – nothing new. I’ll be fine. I am just happy they didn’t see me throw up,” she replied. “I found them all but I am certain Iseult will know the right way. Vimal is knocked out I think and Harry was fighting something else. They are all in the one tunnel”.
“Are you sure Iseult will be right?”
“Absolutely positive,” she replied.
“Are you okay to keep going?” Charlotte frowned at his over-concern.
“Help me up – I am fine and I know exactly which way to go – Iseult will show us the way out of here,” she grinned, more to try and placate him than anything. He helped her to her feet and with a flick of his hands, the cameras came to life once more.
“Come on – this way,” she said, hurrying down the left-hand tunnel. She forced herself to appear strong, but she felt weak. However, she was fully aware that it wasn’t as bad as she had been in the first games. Her work with Ashley had at least saved her a little bit of the pain, though the side effects were more adverse seeing as she didn’t have the time unconscious to recuperated.
The slope of the tunnel gradually became more of a sharp decline, pushing them further into the depths of the underground maze.
“How far ahead will the others be?” James whispered, though his voice seemed to echo in the darkness.
“Not too far,” Charlotte began when suddenly the lights in the tunnels went out. They both stopped running. “What the hell was that?”
“Lights gone,” James said, his face illuminated in the blue camera light.
YOU ARE READING
Altered
Science Fiction'They wore uniform grey, their expression hard and distant, their muscles taut with expectation, as if at any moment they were ready to lead an assault, to carry out orders, to kill, to die. And yet they were. Kingston had trained these children to...
