Ashes

Chapter 1

"Tory!" 

I groan and roll over. Whoopy-do. Another day at the Howard-Brennan-Dubois household. Will it ever end?

Like an answer, my phone buzzes. A text from Ben. 

No, it will not end. It will only ever get worse.

Dragging myself up, I contemplate the window for a couple seconds, measuring the risk of breaking my legs if I jumped out of it, versus the risk of breaking someone else's legs if I went to breakfast. I was saved from making a decision, though, when Whitney decided to poke her head in through my door.

"Tory, sweetie?"

I grunted.

"Is everything OK?"

No, Whitney. Nothing is OK.

She fiddles with her necklace, about as clumsily as she fumbles with words.

"I know, sweetie. I know it must be hard. But the police have promised you're safe, and they would know, wouldn't they?"

No, Whitney. The police don't have a clue, to be frank, and they never do. What's more, Whitney, you "know" even less than the police, and that's saying something.  She swallows, visibly looking for her next sentence.

"Tory, I really think you should go to school. Even just for one day. I just- it's not like you to be defeated by some bad man, and I-"

"Bad man? Really, Whitney? We're talking about a psychopathic serial killer here with a personal vendetta against me here, not some village idiot who ran over a cat and didn't tell anyone! And as for the police, excuse me for having lost all faith in them when they decided to let him out of the MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON he was supposed to be in in the first place!"

"Fine. OK, Tory. I can see why you're scared, but don't you think-"

"I am NOT scared. I'm not." It's true. I'm fine. Just a bit stressed.

"Al right. Just- go out tomorrow, maybe. With your friends. Nothing can happen in the middle of town, and this isn't healthy, Tory. It's been weeks. Something would have happened by now."

And with that, she leaves. And as soon as she's gone, I sink back down onto the bed and put my head in my hands, ignoring my phone, which is doing its best to distract me by vibrating.

Whitney's wrong. If he's out, he's coming after me. After all of us. Why does no one seem to be able to take that seriously?

And as to why nothing's happened yet? He does that. It won't make a difference when - with flares like these, with powers that we know literally nothing about, he could kill us in our sleep and leave us none the wiser. 

If the Gamemaster's out, he'll come back to play again.

And this time, I won't have a wolf inside to defeat him.

A/n this is my first ever fanfic so any comments from other Virals fans out there would be hugely appreciated! Hope you enjoy the next parts!