Obscure

twenty four

"HOW IS THAT even possible?" Sophie couldn't comprehend it. Her mind whirred. How had she, the most unathletic of them all, finished second? 

Eli reached out. His fingers combed through her hair again. Then he lowered his hands to his side. Her bangs kissed her cheekbones, ruffled by the wind. "I knew you could do it," he said. 

Sophie frowned. 

Headmaster appeared then, his image depicted across the massive screen above their heads. "Hello contestants! The first official game has ended. For those of you who were unable to complete the course, I want to apologize for the rope malfunction. You will have the option to either redo the entire course or have the last obstacle docked from your points. Miss Aubrey will be around tonight to collect your answers." 

Then he clapped his hands together. A broad smile stretched across his lips. "And congratulations to our two winners, who were able to complete the course in record timing!" 

"You may all retire to your rooms now. Dinner will be served at six-pm sharp!" 

The image faded. Sophie stared at the puffy white clouds that rolled in, mimicking the sky. Her heart thudded behind her ears. "I don't understand," she whispered. 

Eli looked at her. Her gaze flickered toward him. For a brief second, she saw his expression twist with a mixture of pity and remorse. Then it vanished, replaced by his broad smile. "Let's go!" He grabbed her hand. He squeezed tight. "I'll walk you back to your room." 

Sophie gulped. The other contestants had started to clear the arena. She noticed her roommate lingering around the entrance, her arms folded across her chest. She had a furious glare pinned on Sophie. "Oh boy," Sophie muttered. 

"Eli!" The girl chimed. Her voice carried across the field, high pitched and annoying. She waved when Eli looked over. 

Eli squinted. "Is she a contestant?" 

Sophie scowled at him. "Yes. She's in the Day Class, like me." 

He puffed out his cheeks. "Oh. I haven't paid any attention to the others." Then he forced a smile and waved back. His grip tightened on Sophie's hand. "You're the only one that I care about." 

"That's not good," Sophie murmured. Her roommate seemed to deflate like a balloon. The other girl, Natalie, paused and put her hand on her shoulder. They shared a look and then walked away. 

Eli hummed. "Most girls would kill for a guy as loyal as I am." 

Sophie shot him a glare. "You are participating in this contest. You have to be prepared to accept whoever wins." 

"I'm still allowed to have favorites." He chuckled, the sound warm and rich. His smile made her heart thud louder. 

 "Not in this game," she grumbled. 

Their conversation carried throughout the tunneled hallways. It didn't take long for Sophie to forget about the weird bursts of adrenaline that happened during the first game. Then they reached her room. Eli squeezed her hand and then released her. His smile hurt. "I'll see you at dinner tonight, okay?" 

"Okay," she whispered. Her hand curled around the doorknob. She pushed the massive door open and then shut behind her. Her roommate sat at the kitchen table, her arms folded across her chest. Her cheeks puffed with a pout. "It's not fair," she said. 

"Life's not fair," Sophie snapped. A wave of exhaustion rushed through her. Sophie stalked toward the fridge. She pulled out a water bottle and drowned it. 

Her roommate scowled at her. "You're a bitch. I don't know how you managed to come in second place. You're not even that skinny." 

Sophie ignored her. She tossed the plastic bottle into the trash and started toward her bathroom. The girl continued, growing louder as Sophie moved further away. 

"I'm like way skinnier than you. And I have more muscle. I should have come in second place, not you." The girl picked at her nails. "I don't even know what Eli sees in you. Your face looks like the back-end of a walrus." 

Sophie paused at the foot of her bed. Her hands clenched into tight fists. She looked back over her shoulder at the girl. "All that and yet I'm still the one that Eli is interested in. Doesn't that just get under your skin?" 

The girl stiffened. Her head snapped up, eyes wild. Sophie smiled. She stepped into her bathroom and shut the door. She paused in front of the mirror. Her fingers brushed at the heavy layer of dirt that coated her cheeks.She stripped and then jumped into the shower. It took a bit to work the grime from her hair and skin. When she was all clean, she dried her hair and wriggled back into her pajamas. 

Then she collapsed on her bed and passed out. 

Sophie jolted awake several minutes later. The room around her was pitch black. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. It didn't take long for her gaze to fall upon the small clock that sat beside her bed. It was almost eight-pm. 

"Oh crap," she gasped. Sophie bolted from the bed and burst into her bathroom. She combed her hair and substituted her pajama pants for a clean pair of leggings. Then she rushed, blind, toward the door. Her stomach twisted with knots. 

She stepped into the hallway and looked around. During her walk to the room, Eli had mentioned that dinner was held in a small room down the hall. It allowed contestants to get better acquainted with the prizes. Naturally, her roommate would let her sleep through dinner... 

It didn't take long for Sophie to realize that she'd taken a wrong turn. 

The stone hallway opened into another, smaller courtyard. Spouts of water spewed around a naked angel in the center, an array of benches collected around it. Moonlight shimmered high above her head, mixed with vibrant starlight. 

 Sophie frowned. 

As she neared the fountain, small pellets of water sprayed her. She looked around. The courtyard didn't seem to have another entrance. Her arms folded across her chest. She turned back and looked at the way she'd came. The wall of the castle stretched high, an abundance of balconies carved into the elegant stone. 

"Rats," she huffed. She turned back toward the fountain and started walking toward the other side. Another collection of benches waited.Sophie paused when she noticed a darkened silhouette sprawled across a bench nearby. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight. 

"Hello?" she called out, uncertain. She took a hesitant step toward it. The person seemed stretched across the bench, almost like they'd fallen asleep. 

As she drew even closer, moonlight illuminated the face. Sophie's shoulders relaxed. "Oh, Alex. It's just you." The sound of her voice echoed throughout the silence of the night. It sounded weird, hollow almost. 

She walked closer and squatted down in front of his face. His cheek rested against the stone, face angled toward her. A frown graced her features. "Alex?" 

His eyes looked glassy and unfocused. Her hand reached out and she poked his shoulder. The coldness that tainted his skin seeped through his shirt and seemed to burn her fingertips. His body hardly moved, heavy, unresponsive. 

Then it slumped over onto the ground. And that's when Sophie saw the blood.