The Unnamed | The Unnamed Duology Book 1

23: Day Three

Author's Note: the random numbers and letters you see in this chapter is supposed to be a scribble, like when you scribble something out on paper. Just wanted to give you a heads-up becasue it's different in the book. I'll post a picture of it to show you what I mean :)

Anyway, enjoy and vote and comment!

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23: Day Three

Daniel wakes up to the sound of chattering. Everyone has food out and is eating. Some others sleep in, probably had a late night of workouts. That, or they just don't care about the next race. They're the ones that run to survive not to win.

Just as yesterday, there is a long table on the back wall, opposite of the one that leads to the bathroom, filled with breakfast foods. He walks over to it, his feet feeling better and his stomach growling.

Rose comes up behind him and then beside him, slapping a few more eggs and another pancake onto her syrupy plate.

"We all got letters," she says quietly. "Apparently they do that every year, its just no one really knows about it back in the Buildings."

"Where are they?" Daniel asks, his feet starting to burn a bit from standing on them.

"At the end of the table," she says, pointing with her free hand. "They each had our names on it."

Daniel nods and decides to get it after he gets his food. Three pancakes and a steaming pile of eggs later, he walks over to the end of the table and sees the envelope with his name on it. He walks back over to the bed he had slept on, thankful he's not on his feet anymore, and he scarfs down the food, not realizing how hungry he actually was. He hadn't eaten very much yesterday because he felt bad asking someone to make him some food, so he sat and waited until he gathered enough courage to not cry out as he stepped on his feet.

He takes a moment after finishing the food, which tasted amazing, before he reaches down to pick up the envelope. He looks around to make sure he can open it.

Everyone else's lie open beside them, some of them looking down at it to read its contents as they chew. Some hold the envelope up, studying it. All their names are in thick black marker, each name seeming to be in a different font.

He looks at his name. It's in thin, red ink. The Runner takes the envelope between both hands and then runs a finger beneath the flap, the ripping sound setting his nerves on edge. There's something different about his letter than everyone else's. He can just feel it. Unless the government just decided not to pay attention to detail or they ran out of black ink, there's something different about his letter.

He slips his fingers in the opening and pulls out the envelope's contents. There are two notes inside.

Daniel looks around, just to make sure he's supposed to have two papers. Everyone else seems to as well, so what's so different about his envelope?

He looks down at the first letter. The writing is in black ink, but his name is in red. It's from Mortimer the Elite Solver. He feels a knot rise up in his throat as he begins to read.

Daniel,

I have written and rewritten this letter many times over, trying to find the right words. Your life has just gotten a whole lot bigger if you are receiving this letter. This means you placed in the first race. Congratulations. I always knew you could do it. I hope you know that I am back in my mansion cheering you on. I think this year is the year I will try to watch all of the races. Of course, I would miss some of my other Servants, but I will tune in on them to check up with how they are doing in their own Competitions.