Game on

Double Dutch

The purple glow from the building came from neon bars of light wrapping around the gutters. They reminded me of a space ship from a sci fi movie.
Gabriel swaggered towards the dull violet door, her blonde hair looking dirtier than ever. I felt ill, my hand shaking from nerves. The bird looked uneasy, flying towards the door and then quickly away.

"It's okay to be nervous," Benny said, her pigtails swinging and thwacking her back. "But the games aren't always that bad."

She gave me a sweet smile. God, but this girl was too innocent for all of this. She looked very young, maybe sixteen or seventeen. My empty memory whispered a comparison: she was like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Even though I couldn't remember exactly what that meant.

The bird cawed in distress and Sorrow glanced at it. He was about to step through the door. Just as he was moving, he turned back and gave me a mocking wink. Nameless. I could feel the stigma mark me.

"What do you think this game will be?" I asked Benny.

"One time it was a card game," she gushes, clapping her hands. "I really loved that!"

Her tone was calming me down a bit. Maybe these games weren't so bad. I opened my mouth to ask her a question but the words died when the Other stopped.

The purple light caught on the edges of his leather outfit; for a moment he was made of coloured shapes instead of skin and bone. Hard triangles of neon and black. His masked face turned to watch me for ten long seconds. The rest of them started to mutter. And then he continued on his way through the door.

As we went up to the door, Benny watched me, her wide eyes suddenly shrewd.

"You've caught his attention," she said.

"I don't even know him."

"Who does?" she replied with a girlish laugh. "Off you go!"

The door gave off a menacing air. Like the entrance to a space ship, it was the dividing line between the known and unknown. I touched the handle and it burned cold, like ice. The bird fluttered at my shoulder.

"Let's go," I whispered softly to it. I opened the door and walked in, the light steps of Benny following.

The first thing that hit me was the blinding light. Like a spotlight, it made everything in the vast room very clear. It was less a room and more like a gymnasium filled with...ropes? Long rough looking ropes blocked the exit on the other side. They began in iron handles and stretched, their texture snakelike, across to the other side of the gym. The ropes were in sets of two and hung just off of the floor. I counted...five sets of ropes, ten in total. What was this?

We huddled before the first set and I saw confusion on some faces and wariness and fear on others. The Other stood close to me, his leather clad arm within reaching distance. I shivered. The bird soared over the ropes and landed with terrible ease at the other side. If only I had wings.

"What is this...ropes, d'you think...maybe..." I could hear everyone muttering, wondering at the game.

"This is cool!" Benny exclaimed, clapping her hands again. She was like a child. I saw Sorrow shoot her a dark look.

"What do we do?" I asked, my eyes catching on those ropes again. Even though I knew they weren't moving...I thought I saw one twitch. As if it was alive.

"We wait for the big sign to tell us," she said happily. "But they look like skipping ropes!"

My stomach twisted at the thought. Did I know what that was? In my mind I could hear the beating of ropes and a feeling of anxiety...

Suddenly a dark board mounted to the left wall of the gym exploded into life. Neon purple writing lit up:

Welcome to the fourteenth game! Tonight I ask you to play a game of Double Dutch with me. When the ropes start swinging jump into the middle and last until the end of the rhyme. Then jump out. There are five sets of ropes and the exit is at the other side. But be careful! You don't want to mess up the beat. The time limit to win the game is 10 minutes.

The beat? I blinked and the ropes juddered into life. They moved slowly in opposite directions and then began to speed up. When they crested downwards they smacked the floor and I winced. The rhythm was like the beating of a heart...the hairs on my arms rose. Thump thump,  thump thump, thump thump...
They moved so quickly I didn't know how I would jump in.

"It's just like school!" Benny squealed.

I wondered if she was a little bit mad.

"We're in this together," she added, snaking an arm around me. I gave her a wan smile.

The other teams seemed to be making plans. Sorrow was talking quickly to another boy. The Other stood silently, waiting for the timer to start. He was so still. Like he was barely alive.

I closed my eyes for a thump thump of the ropes and opened them. The bird perched on a sign above the exit, waiting for me.

"I think some people are going first. Should-should I go last?" Benny asked, her mouth trembling slightly. I could see that she didn't want to go last. The poor girl was scared. She looked so young...

"I'll go last. I won't leave you behind," I said and she gave me a warm smile.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed and let out a squeal when the timer began.

"Let's go!"

Gabriel was the first to jump in. She flashed an arrogant smile at her team and leapt into the middle, barely missing one of the ropes. Her team had paired up into twos and then another leapt in beside her. I couldn't hear the rhyme but Gabriel's face had gone pale.

The Other ignored the rest of them and walked over to the other end of the swinging ropes. He was so fast I barely saw him move. And then he was in the middle, perfectly in time.

Just as Benny was about to jump in, one of Gabriel's team mates missed the beat. I saw it happen in slow motion. She jumped just a tad too late and there was an earsplitting scream. The rope slashed her leg and she staggered.

"Kitty!" Someone yelled.

Blood pooled on the floor and it was time to jump again but-

"No!" I shouted, but it was too late.

The rope lashed out and sliced through her leg, cutting it straight off. I saw the cold white of bone and her screams echoed throughout the room along with the thumping of the ropes. Only when the ropes swung again did they cut off and her body was a mishmash of cuts and slashes.

Gabriel didn't even pause. She simply leapt out of the ropes and landed safely on the other side.

"Kitty..." Someone sobbed. Benny gave me a fearful look.

I was in shock. I couldn't stop staring at the girl. I was going to die...just like that...blood dripping...

Her remains were buffeted this way and that by the ropes. They moved like snakes and I swore I could hear that malicious whisper again...like the paper tissue...

"We have to move," Benny snapped, shaking me. "Time's running out."

She was right. I could see the digits moving. Everyone had already leapt in, even the one sobbing for the girl named Kitty.

Benny jumped in before me and her face was hard. Not innocent at all. I tensed, ready to jump. But how could I do this?! Maybe I wouldn't play...maybe...

No. This was the only way through. Otherwise...my eyes strayed to the girl's remains. I had a feeling my death would be just as awful if I didn't play.
I jumped in beside Benny.