The Game of Undesirables

Chapter 5

The halls are completely silent. The only thing I can hear is the echoes of our footsteps against the cold, metal floor.

"Where are they?" The little girl whispers, voice trembling almost as badly as her small hands.

"I don't know," I mumble back. I give her a quick sideways glance. "What's your name?"

"Raina."

"That's a pretty name," I remark. "I'm Aria." I try my best to be comforting, to keep her preoccupied so she doesn't go into a panic attack, but the truth is I'm not that great with kids. I can start a conversation, like asking what her name is, but then I have no clue what to say next.

"That's a beautiful name." She smiles half-heartedly.

"Thank you." At first, I don't think she heard me. She's staring off somewhere else. I follow her gaze, but nothing is there. "Raina?"

Her voice becomes so quiet, I can hardly hear her. I have to stoop low next to her so she can whisper in my ear. "I saw something."

"Where?" I mouth. She doesn't say anything more. She just points, straight ahead. At nothing. After a few passing minutes, I turn to her. "Are you sure you saw something?"

She nods, then gasps. "Look!"

A huge, dark figure sweeps by. It crawls low to the ground, and is gone in a second. If I had blinked, I would've missed it. About two seconds later, it passes again.

Raina's tiny hand grips mine. I squeeze it, and get on my knees next to her. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"No, don't leave me!" She pleads. A sudden fear appears in her eyes, and suddenly I see myself in her, when I was little. I see in her the panic I felt when I stood over my father. It's then, at that exact second, I decide that I will protect her with my life. No matter what it takes.

"Everything will be fine," I promise. "I'm just going to go see what's up there. Jay will stay with you until I get back."

He steps forward next to her. She takes his hand, and I turn away before I see her look at me again. The first time was hard enough.

My footsteps are too loud. The metal makes every movement I make sound like an eruption. Maybe they did this on purpose, I think. The closer I get, the louder I sound to myself. I creep over to the wall, hoping that if something hears me, at least it won't see me at first. The hallway gets darker, until I almost can't see anything. 

Nothing happens. I wait and wait, the minutes ticking by. I almost turn back, but my feet won't move. 

Raina screams from behind me. Claws rip through my shirt and dig into my skin. In seconds, I'm pushed to the floor, and a bright yellow pair of eyes looms over me. It rumbles like a thunderstorm. I want to stab it with the spear, but it skittered into the darkness, and if I move an inch, the thing will probably bite my head off. 

Okay, I tell myself, don't do anything stupid. If you don't move, it might not, either. But, how am I supposed to get away, then?

My arm twitches, and the monster bears its teeth, sharp as knives, and each about as large as my hand. In the dim light, I can tell the creature is come kind of lizard. The reptilian skin that covers its body is so black, it almost looks navy blue. Two giant slits sit on each side of its head, like shark gills. 

Shark gills . . . A thought passes into my mind, and slowly, an idea hatches. As quickly as I can, I punch the slits, and to my relief it howls in pain. I kick it's stomach and push myself backwards, then dive into the vast darkness for the spear. I feel it dive after me, and I grip the spear, spin around, and jab it into the beast's chest. The sparks light everything. I was a second away from being lunch.