The Shadow Games

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

*******Dear readers!

Thank you for fanning me and voting and commenting! The response feels awesome! I think I’m going to try and do what some of those big authors do, I’ll only update if I get either 70 comments, five votes on this chapter, or 95 fans.  I just want to try this because I’m trying to write long, decent chapters, and I just learned that ten pages on word equals about 3 pages on Wattpad. So I want to write better, more engaging chapters for you. Oh, and shout out to Luvina for her awesome comment-good luck with your stories! Sorry, I thought in this chapter, it was necessary for me to say all this. Thank you for reading!

Nina sat in the stony silence. The room never changed, they didn’t seem to change either. It had been a while since Ronnie had stopped crying, and they both had been on the quiet side. There wasn’t anything to really say. Who knew what would happen to them here? Maybe preparation for the next game. That was the only thing Nina could think of.

The silence was endless, and Nina used that time to think. Think long and hard about everything she had given up at home. Mother was probably all teary and inconsolable. She wouldn’t stop talking about Nina, her poor baby, or she wouldn’t talk at all. She would be willless, sad, and would have all her energy drained out of her.

And Pa would be stony, too firm and loud. He would work nonstop, never pausing or resting. He would avoid the fact she was gone. He would try and forget about her. He would pretend she never existed. And that thought hurt Nina more than the thought of her mother’s grief.

Leanna? She was too young. She would forget soon enough. Nina would just be a distant memory if she never returned. Mother and Pa would not add on any facts about Nina, any mementos of her, any thoughts of her.  Jor, he was young enough that her leaving would hurt. But not enough that it would keep him from having a future. He was so bright and talented, he would go on to do good things. Wouldn’t he?

Nina’s head was swimming a bit, so she took a break and slumped against a section of hallway wall. She was tired, but she couldn’t sleep under the warm light. It burned though her eyelids and kept her nightmares at bay. But even unrestful sleep was better than idle sitting.

She was alarmed then, as the wall behind her slid open. They had both stayed in the half of the hallway by their cubes, assuming there must have been more on the other end. But they didn’t think that the back wall would open.

Nina spun around to see who was in the cube.

It was a boy.

He was on the small and short sides, with tan skin and blond hair. He had cinnamon brown eyes, with long thick lashes, but that didn’t hide their razor glare. He was a contender that she didn’t plan on messing with.

He was in a long sweat suit, like her own, but it was black, with a solid curving neck, and the sleeves and legs didn’t flare. And he wore his with a sort of pride she lacked.

He seemed okay to talk to, though.

What scared Nina was the fact he was staring at her. And was standing straight up.

“Hello.” she said. Ronnie looked over at her and stood up.

“Hi. I’d come out of that cell, it’s so much nicer in this hallway.”

He took a glance at the hall, and stepped out of his cube.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“What are your names?” he asked back.

“I’m Nina.”

“And I’m Ronnie.”

“I’m Matt. What is this place?” he asked.

“We’re assuming its somewhere to stay between games. How many did you kill?” Ronnie asked.

“This is where we wait for the second round to start?” Matt asked in a tone of shock.

“Umm, well, there’s no other explanation for our being in here.” Nina said.

“So, how many did you kill?” asked Ronnie.

“Eight.”

Both girls gasped. “Eight?” Nina repeated. “I didn’t kill any.”

“Then how are you still alive?” Matt asked.

“A branch fell on the girl right before I went down to kill her. I was very happy when she died. It made a messy job easy.”

“Hmm, I can see that being helpful.” Ronnie said.

“When do you think we’re getting out of here?” Matt asked.

“I’m assuming when all the games from round one are over. But I don’t know what day today is!” Nina cried.

They heard a rumble form the far wall then. It was lifting so very slowly.

“I guess that’s our answer.” Matt said.

“I guess it is too.”

Ronnie took the lead, running up to the door, and getting down on the ground to look under it. The other two hurried to keep up with her.

“All I see is feet.” she said.

“Feet?” Nina repeated.

“Yea. Bare feet.”

“Do you think they’re contestants?” asked Matt.

“If they are, then there are an awful lot of contestants.”

The wall was up enough that they could lay on the floor now and wriggle through, but they waited as it slowly lifted enough for them to crawl under.

They looked around their new surroundings. They were in a metal hallway similar to the cubes, but long, and opening in big double doors which children were streaming into at the end. The three clumped themselves together, and started walking towards what could only be round two.