The Land Of Jacks

Chapter One: Lost

Claire woke up to the word strudel. Suddenly she knew where she was. "Jonathan, what time is it?" He looked supprised that she finally woke up. "Uh... Ten pm." She looked around the bus and saw all the other people on the bus. "Were you two talking about cookies for the last three hours?" Jonathan looked at Duke and blushed. "Never mind, where are we?" Duke looked at his GPS. "Twenty miles from Helena, Montana." Great. They weren't even in South Dakoda yet. She was just about to say something when all of a sudden the bus slammed on the brakes. A loud eeek disrupted the whole bus. "Ah, shuks. Not again!" Duke grabbed a sword out of his bag. Jonathan took out his bow and quiver. And Claire just held up her fists, like she was ready for a boxing match. Then everything got quiet. Too quiet. Then... BOOM! The front of the bus exploaded with knights marching onto the vehicle. Passengers screamed and Claire's red springy hair was tugged on from the back. The green in her eyes were gray and full of fear. This isn't what they expected at all. The last time they were attacked, trolls and giants took them as hostages. But knights wearing red and black armor isn't at all what they were hoping for. They knew a weakness for monsters and trolls and such- but knights with spears and creepy masks wasn't on the moist. Out of the corner of her eye, Claire saw Jonathan and Duke being forced different directions. The next timing she knew, it was dark.

When she woke up, she was suited in a red and black uniform and her back pack was gone. The room was dark and warm. The only thing visible was a orange light glowing on the ceiling. Then, out of know where, a TV came on right in front of her. A woman wearing a mask came on the screen. The mask was black and gold, with little red lace and the edges. "Where am I! Where's my brother!" She screamed. But it dawnedoin her that the person on the screen couldn't hear her. The woman looked straight at Claire and said, "Hello, Claire. I'm the Ruler of Black. I rule the Land of Jacks. Don't panick, your brother is with King White and little Duke is with The Queen of Red. Lets get to know each other a little better. The three of us, the king, queen and I, like to wager. So we picked you three and bet on who we thought would win in a game of cards. So we divided you up and put you in different places. And instead of using cards, we used obstacles. Who ever gets out of the laberinth first... Wins." Claire let it sink in, and tough um, sort a like Saw. She drew her attention back to the Ruler of Black. "You have five days to reach the finish. You'll be given a sack with food and water. Also some materials to help you with the challenges. Your time begins... Now!" Claire didn't budge. The TV went out and the room was dark, except the orange light. Then the darkness evaperated when the white lights came on. She wasn't in a room anymore, no sir. She was in a garden of black roses and thorn bushes. The sky was pink and purple with not a cloud in the sky. Large gates were up ahead and a gigantic fence went around the laberinth that stretched around for about four miles. It was huge. How could she do this in only five days? All the stress and fear started to gather and build on her shoulders.
She wasn't able to move.
She couldn't talk or scream or anything.
Then, she thought it was all a dream, so she pinched her self. But it didn't work.
The longer she stood, the longer the sky faded into a reddish-orange. The sun fell down under then gates. A bag was sitting down next to a key. A deck of cards appeared next to it. All the backs were black. Claire began to move and she grabbed the card on top. She turned it over and it read, You have five days and counting. The deck suddenly disappeared and so did the card. Now the sky was pure yellow, but the sun was no where to be found.
The black roses seemed to be getting darker. Everything was tilting. Then she walked without thinking.

She knew she was lost.