What Game Will You Play

Chapter 9

(Edited)

We stare at each other for a moment, and I see the look of recognition across his face. He remembers me. He looks to the left and then the right before waving me over to him.

I put up a finger to tell him to wait a moment, and then I turn to Devin. "You know that guy I was telling you about earlier, the one yelling at me in the Mirror Maze?"

He looks at me while he thinks for a second, then replies skeptically, "Yeah?"

"He's waving us over across the way. I think we should go," I tell him.

"You think we can trust him? You said he scared you. How do we know he's not planning on killing us?"

"Well, he did tell me to run. Maybe he knows something we don't. It looks like he has a group of people with him, Treegrass people, and I think we should go. We can't stay here."

Devin looks at me for a minute before agreeing.

I look back over to where the mirror guy is and see him waiting. When I start to stand, he quickly puts a hand out to stop us, and we duck down again. A few seconds later, a group of guards walk by. When they pass, we are once again waved over, and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

I make sure to look for myself to make sure the area is clear before we move quickly over to the other side. Moving out of the darkness into the light makes me feel like anyone can see us, and we will be shot regardless of our score. I realize now that I don't even have my box with me anymore.

When we reach the other side, the mirror guy quickly hides us in the darkness.

"Thought I told you to run earlier." He whispers.

I glare at him, although it's useless in the dark. "How the hell was I supposed to know what you were talking about?" I whisper shout at him, "A random stranger yelling at me to run is not the most reliable reason to do so."

He looks at me for a second with a scowl on his face before motioning us to follow him.

I can't help but ask, "Where are the other people I saw you with before?" I notice they are not here now and I start questioning my decision to come over here.

"They are inside," he replies and walks across the way. I check to make sure no one is coming before I follow him. When Devin and I catch up to the Mirror Maze guy, I notice that we are in a slightly more secluded place.

There is a game booth on one side and a building on the other, making this area like a pathway. There is also a wall dividing us from the rest of the carnival in the back. He stops in front of a door on the side of the building and opens the door. I move to take a step forward to walk in, but my brother stops me.

Devin looks directly at the guy, "How do we know we can trust you?"

The guy looks at Devin for a second before looking around at the place we are in, "How do you really know you can trust anyone? I guess the only thing I can think of to tell you is that the people out here looking for you and I have guns, and we don't."

This seems to be a decent answer for Devin because he nods at me to go in.

Somehow, the room seems darker than the pathway, and I am not able to make out much. It is almost completely pitch black, but as my eyes slowly adjust, I am able to make out some counters and what appears to be people sitting on the ground. I have no idea how big this room is since I can't see far, but I hope it has something we could use to get out of here.

I notice the faint smell of food and realize that he might have brought us to one of the kitchens behind a food stand or something. It's too dark to tell if that is actually where we are, but if it is, then it should be a good place for all of us to hide until we figure everything out.