The Death's Game

29. Game of Voices

Percy and Blake managed to take care of the rest of the fake mirrors and adjusted them in combination so that the light from the glass-stained windows fell onto the coffin. There was only one last left, which made Percy think just a little bit longer. Long enough for Blake to swim right up to her.

"So, that's Ryder's story, huh? Guy's some kind of mystery to me," said Blake, finally speaking to her. Since their little romantic moment, after making some short comment about Trevor, he was completely silent. It made Percy feel hurt even more. She didn't even care about the other stories she didn't see, the ones about Trevor and Mark.

Ryder, however, kept her interested, especially since she knew nothing about him, and he also wasn't keen on sharing his past experiences.

"So is he to me. To everybody, I'd say," Percy quietly hinted, unsure if she wanted to talk more with Blake or remain in the silence they shared earlier. She was still embarrassed by her big expectations that were consumed by the water flames.

"And his story doesn't tell anything, to be honest."

"Only that he was in the hospital, likes dogs and knows his share of people, and is in the game. Wow, such knowledge."

"Maybe he had a girlfriend?" Blake said, looking at one of the images.

"Maybe." Percy just shrugged, trying not to care about anything in the world. And especially not about Blake and his ex-girlfriend she knew nothing about.

Ryder's story was rather simple. In one image he was in the hospital, wearing black jeans and a black leather jacket, looking around at the people who seemed to be smudged. On another one, he was playing with a black dog in a dark room. Another, he was sitting on a bridge with some girl, both seen from behind. One more, he was in a big house with seven figures, each so very different from another one. In the last one, he was in the game, the very first moments, when Percy was in the same room with him and Millie. Before other people joined them up.

"The one with seven figures is very interesting though. Do you think those are his friends?"

"I don't know." She didn't give much attention to the image, but now that Blake mentioned it, she leaned closer, having no trouble navigating through the water.

Those seven figures seemed to be quite original. One of them, a girl, looked like an angel, with her blonde hair, a white dress, and a slight light around her body. Really beautiful girl. Beside her was a well-built man who seemed to be staring at her. Another, somewhat chunky man holding a burger. And one who seemed to be sleeping on the chair – and he was the only one having a chair, by the way. And a playful, but a bit dark girl showing something to an even darker man, dressed all in black, with a quite nonchalant but courageous pose.

Percy blinked a few times, noticing the last girl in the picture. She was wearing a sparkling dress, and her green eyes seemed familiar. It wasn't Mint. It was someone else, someone Percy felt she saw somewhere. But with her trying to remember where she saw that girl, the only thing she got was a headache.

Blake set the last mirror correctly, drawing Percy's attention to the supernatural coffin, which began to make strange sounds. With all ten streams of light directed at the dead's resting place, the mausoleum resounded with the loud mechanism of something that seemed to open with a mighty roar outside. Percy trembled inside, not wanting to see what was waiting for them. At the same time, curiosity filled her. Blake, who seemed to be a bit braver at this point than she was, floated over to the coffin. He turned his face toward Percy as if waiting for her silent acquiescence. She didn't want to leave him alone in this, so she joined in and together they tried to open the coffin. This time, it gave in easily.