The Game of Undesirables

Chapter 9

The light isn't the same when the door opens. It doesn't feel like the salvation I thought it would be. Everything feels cold and empty, and I shake with a terror that will never leave. 

The open door reveals that the room is empty, just like it was when I was shoved in. Every fear, every paranoid thought was just in my head. I can't even see the source of the dripping water, but I know it was real. It has to be. I can still hear the rhythmic drip.

An alien comes in and pulls me out by my arm. They knew they would only need one. My mind is a blank slate and my body is frozen solid.

"She's no threat to us now," Another alien croaks. "Look how pathetic she looks. The strong, relentless leader, reduced to none other than a mere atakhei." 

The alien holding on to me throws me to the floor. He lets out a strong laugh. "How pathetic. She's nothing but another human." Then he drags me away, not bothering to lift me off the floor. 

They got what they wanted. The leader is nothing to them now.

I hear a loud shriek of a door, and I'm tossed into a room. As the door closes again, I feel a sudden dread that it's going to happen all over again. I curl up into a tight ball on the floor, trembling furiously, and begin to cry. I squeeze my eyes closed and wait for the dark to succumb me once again. 

I hear whispers from behind me, and I know for sure that I have surely lost my mind. I hear them say my name, and they get louder as I can feel them getting closer and closer to me. I sob, wishing they would have just killed me. Death would be better than this torture. 

I feel a cold hand touch my skin, and I shriek, going out of my mind. I sit up and push myself away to the furthest corner, screaming my head off as dark, shadowy figures make their way to me. I wail as they get nearer and nearer, in complete horror. I try to shove myself away even further from them into the wall, and my hand slips on the floor. I collapse and sit right back up, curling into a ball to hide from the frightening images. I rock back and forth and cry uncontrollably, hearing them stop. I want to see if the horrifying hallucinations have gone away, but I'm too unnerved to find out.

"Aria?" I shaky voice whispers.

The gentle voice sounds familiar, a light, feminine voice. I start to get pulled out of my terror, but sink right back into it when I realize they're just tricking me. They're trying to mess with my head.

"Aria?" A different voice says cautiously. He sounds caring and worried, but his voice is trembling. "Aria, it's okay. It's Jay."

I almost lift my head up, but I shake it, squeezing my eyes closed. It can't be. They're trying to fool me, tampering with my memories so they can just start to terrify me more.

"Aria," he says again. I can tell he's close, I can feel his breath on my arms. I shrink back, afraid they will touch me again. They never do. "It's all over now. Whatever they did to you, whatever happened, it's over. You're okay now."

I slowly peek up over my arms, tears dripping down my face. My heart suffers a quick shock when I see a dark face a few inches from mine, but then I can start to make out the features of the face. Thin nose, light freckles, bright, blue eyes. 

I let out a shaky breath. "J-Jay?"

He nods. "It's me."

I dive into his arms, letting out my tears. He holds be in a tight embrace, talking to me soothingly, petting my hair like my mom did when I was a child. We sit there, rocking back and forth slowly, as I rid myself of demons.

"What did they do to you?" He whispers.

All I can do is shake my head. I can't stand to think of it again, not yet. It's too soon. 

When I calm down enough to start to feel sane again, I wipe my tears away, feeling embarrassed. They shouldn't have seen me like this. What do they think of me now, the strong and brave person I was reduced to this by our enemy? "I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong."

I sniffle, my eyes darting away from theirs. I can't make eye contact with any of them, it makes my heart skip. In the dim light of the room, it reminds me of the shadowed figures I saw them as when I was tossed in. "H-how long was I gone?"

Jay looks over at everyone, then back at me. "Eleven hours. We thought they had . . . " He shivers, unable to finish his sentence. "We could hear screams. They . . . laughed. Like it was just a game."

"It is just a game," I mumble. "It's the Game of Undesirables."

Eleven hours. I can't even fathom the thought. Eleven hours of pure darkness, and nothing but the steady dripping of water, paranoia setting in deep inside my soul. Eleven hours of torture. I close my eyes, trying to control my shivers as I bury my face in Jay's shirt. I manage to not let any more tears come. I feel his hand rub up and down my back, and I find myself calming down. I manage to stutter, "T-they . . . shoved me in a room. It was pitch black, I couldn't see anything. I d-didn't know if they were around me or would jump out at me. The only t-thing I could hear was dripping water. It wouldn't s-s-stop. I . . . I thought I was losing my mind."

None of them say anything. I don't know if they even can.

Jay looks hurt. He whispers, "You told me they weren't going to hurt you. I could've stopped them, Aria. I could've stopped it -- "

"No, Jay, don't say that," I interrupt. "I'm sorry, I really didn't know if they were going to hurt me or not. I didn't even know if I would come back alive. I just couldn't let them hurt you in order to get to me. I knew they would've gotten to me anyway." My voice fades in defeat, and I think they notice it. 

Suddenly, a small hiss interrupts the silence, and we all stand. We know that sound.

Jay looks over at me, fear in both of our eyes. He wraps his arms around me, and I place my hands on his chest, waiting for the darkness to come. 

"Raina!" I gasp. She stumbles to me, and I take her hand with one of mine, holding it tight. I try to stay strong, for her sake. "Raina, everything will be okay. Just stay strong. Be brave."

She nods, a tear in the corner of her eye. "I will. I'll be like you."

I smile, holding back a sob. If only she really knew the truth. Her innocence has blocked my resignation. Then, the gas takes over. I feel myself hit the floor before everything fades away.

* * * 

I wake up to the same grey walls, taking a bumpy ride in a tube to the last destination I want to go to. I close my eyes and hold back the tears as the tube bumps along it's inevitable path. Light hits my eyelids and the container comes to a halt, letting out a light whoosh. I pry my eyes open, watching the creatures clapping and cheering. It makes me sick. I press my forehead to the cool glass, trying to relieve the nauseous feeling in my throat.

The Grand Ruler, in all of his pompous glory, talks to the crowd in his peculiar language, and they all respond. We go through the entire heart-wreching process; he walks past each container, and they all cheer for who they want to see get mauled. When he walks by my tube, I could hardly care if they choose me. I've felt as much panic and fear as I possibly could without having a heart attack. At this point, what I think has been two weeks, my body and mind has become numb to their cruelty. At least, I thought it had, until the tubes pull away and one is left behind. Her wide, horrified eyes stare at me, her body shaking firecely. 

They've chosen Reina.