What Game Will You Play

Chapter 22

(Edited)

I'm running.

The bright lights of the carnival blur together as I run through the empty place I once found so beautiful.

I keep running.

I see people lying on the ground everywhere, but I just keep moving right by them.

I see the gate my family and I walked through just a few hours ago, and the doors are wide open.

On the other side of the gate, the sun rises above the horizon, creating beautiful designs in the sky. The orange, yellow, and hint of pink make me wish the earth could look like this all day.

I run through the open gate, leaving the carnival behind me.

I let my feet take me to where I'm going. There is no thought behind my movements. I just run, run, and run some more.

I don't run out of breath—I am not even sure I am still breathing—and I can't feel my feet hitting the ground below me. I can't feel anything.

I run, and I can't stop running.

All I can do is watch as I move past the houses I see every day. I run past the old mill where we used to take field trips as kids. I run past the flower store where my mother works. And then I run past the trees that Devin and I grew up climbing.

Before I know it, my feet are no longer running on solid, hard ground but a softer and bumper, familiar surface. I find myself running down a road I know very well, and I have a feeling that I know where my feet are taking me.

Is she there?

Is she alive?

Did they leave her unharmed?

Did she escape them?

I come to a halt right in front of my house. I look over at the empty chair on my front porch, and panic builds up inside of me. My mother was sitting in that chair just a few hours ago, but her and the blanket she was working on are no longer in sight. She could be inside, I think to myself.

I walk up to the front door, and I stare at the familiar carvings on the door for a second before opening the door slowly. I look around the living room, and when I don't see her, I start running into every room, yelling her name.

"Mom! Mom! Mom? Where are you? Mom! Mom! Are you here?"

I find myself running full speed again throughout the house, and when I am confident she is not here, I run out the back door.

My feet immediately stop in their tracks. There, lying on the ground in my backyard is my mother, next to her is my father, and next to him is my brother. Their eyes are open but lifelessly staring at me.

The air gets hard to breathe, and I feel tears filling up my eyes until I can no longer see properly.

"No... no... this isn't real... this isn't real."

I start yelling no more and more while I pinch my arm as hard as I can.

I hear my name being called in the distance, but I don't try to figure out where it's coming from.

"Sam!" The voice is louder now, and there is some sort of pressure on my shoulder.

I continue pinching myself while begging my body to wake up from this nightmare.

"Sam... Sam!"

I wake up with a jolt. "Sam!" Aiden is leaning over me with one hand on my shoulder and the other on the side of my face. The slight pain I feel on my upper cheek tells me that's where I got hit by the guard. I slowly sit up, and my head starts throbbing a little bit. I take a look around the room and see that it looks the same as before, aside from the two guards who are now lying on the floor in the corner.