Grimm Games

Chapter 6: House of Straw

As we rushed through the large warehouse of straw, the faint sound of voices grew louder.

"What am I hearing?" I asked. "Who is that?"

"Shhh," Millie placed her finger to her thin lips. "I don't hear anything. And neither do you." She flashed a familiar look that we used to use to indicate being in on a joke or prank together.

The last time we exchanged that look was when we attempted to prank Millie's high school crush, making her believe Millie possessed superpowers and could be in two places at once. The memory of her crush playfully swiping my shoulder in fright after we'd come clean made me grin for a split second.

I took my cue and pretended to be clueless. "Where are we going?"

"Look for a place that seems to be safe. It's a closed in space with a restroom and maybe food, but always keep your guard up." She shot a stern look my way. "There are seven awful dwarves scattered around, keeping a lookout, and they're nasty little things. They come out of nowhere, so stay alert."

"Dwarves?" My mind immediately went to the fairytale. "What will they do if they find us?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

Millie rushed, searching, crouching to get better angles of our surroundings. And although my nerves were shot, I couldn't match her energy. Instead, I cautiously strolled through the darkened set of straw and hay barrels but couldn't find any cameras on the ground, or the gaming arena that the games usually took place in. "Everything feels so different than what's been televised."

The set was massive. I wondered how long it would take to find the end of it and if anything would meet me on the other side.

"Have you ever wondered what happens between each of the games?" She gestured to the dank space surrounding us. "You roam around, gather clues or necessities to prepare for the next game, but those Grimm creatures are always on the hunt. If you don't make it to the games in time to participate for the spotlights and the main show, those creatures will find you and make a spectacle out of your death."

"Jeez." I saw the show a million times, but the way she said that made my skin crawl.

"I've seen some messed up things here, Kam. Two players already died. Another player killed one right in front of me. A Grimm creature killed the other." Her fixed eyes widened briefly with the memory. "You shouldn't have come."

Here we go again, arguing and not seeing eye to eye, even if we agreed. "You're right but you shouldn't have come, either."

"I needed this." She turned to me. Her oily but stark white hair complimented her brown eyes. "This place is no different than out there. You have no idea the stuff I've seen and had to go through on those streets, nothing I can't tackle here."

"Everything you ever needed is at home," I pointed out. "You could've applied to go up north. You could've stayed up there for a few weeks with Mom—"

"With what job?" She huffed in annoyance. "Just because we look the same doesn't mean we are. We may have come from the same place, but I'm going down a different road, and you made it clear a long time ago that your path leads you down the opposite direction."

Frustration quickly replaced my anxiety. "Because you're always making the wrong decisions, and I try to help, and it only gets sadder until I back off."

"That's the problem, Kam. You're always trying to help, but you end up making it worse. Don't you even hear yourself?" Her words caused my heart to drop. That was the second time today someone made a similar remark. The first time came from an untrustworthy stranger who wanted me to call her mother, but coming from someone who really knew me made it sting.