Ephemeral

The Game Part 1

I ran up the stairs, holding the candle to dimly light my path. I rested at the top step and let out a shaky sigh. I could do this....Aidan wasn't that scary.

I had my free hand raised, balled into a hesitant fist. 

He might not have been that scary -- or so I kept telling myself that, but I didn't want to see Aidan again – I never wanted to see his smug and cocky face again. I still needed to see where I stood with him.

I could maybe negotiate with him to let Bella go.

This was my plan B, after all, but Bella didn't need to know that I had one.

Now that she was here with me, I couldn't afford to be solely focusing on myself.

"Aidan!" I yelled, holding the candle tightly in my other hand. There was a moment where I thought the candle would break from just how much force I was exerting on the wax with my fingers. 

I slammed on the door twice with my fist. There was a split second where I was questioning whether there were actual listening devices in the holding area -- that it might have just been my cynical paranoia showing its nasty face. 

It was a few seconds, but the door slowly creaked opened to reveal the man that I absolutely detested. My eyes locked onto his intimidating form, taking in Aidan from his hair down to his shoulders. I swallowed when I found a weapon...a menacing looking gun was strapped around his shoulders. 

My eyes were instantly drawn to it, and I could feel my face begin to pale – the school.

The school.

The track.

The blood.

Jack...!

"It's bad luck to see each other before the game, you know," he boasted, drawing me out of my distressed memories. He was about to take a step towards me, and I unconsciously took a quick step back -- making sure to keep my distance from the man.

He was treating this as though we were getting married.

A shiver went down my spine, but I concealed it well enough. He blinked his eyes and then titled his head, as if trying to figure me out – but I knew that it was only a manipulation tactic into thinking that he didn't know why I was here.

"I take it you want to ask me for a favor?" He smirked. I continued to stare at him, not quite sure on how to interact with my kidnapper. He let out a small half-shrug, his smirk never vanishing from his face. "Just so you're aware..." He spoke slowly, seemingly enjoying every second that I was standing in front of him. "I can't show favoritism."

"So you do have cameras down there..." I trailed, narrowing my eyes. It was a good thing that I took extra precautions as I spoke, then. I might have given everything away if I wasn't careful, and then we would have lost before the game had started.

This man was dangerous...and smart.

Aidan chuckled at my accusation but didn't attest to it. 

"The game is officially starting soon and you're running out of time."

He was right, I was already on borrowed time. I needed to get to the point or I had a feeling that I wouldn't able to negotiate with him. There wasn't enough time to fully think out my thoughts before I spoke them. 

That was equally as dangerous with someone who liked to play with people for fun. 

I needed to keep my head on my shoulders for now.