The Never Ending Game

Chapter 11: The Deal

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Mitch walked down the bloody path once again. Only this time instead of the path floating in darkness, it was surrounded by oak trees. The tree's bark were covered in blood, and they had heads hanging among the branches. The heads belonged to previous victims of K.C., Mitch thought as he walked aside them. The heads varied to old people to seven year old children. Mitch thought of this to be sickening ,so he tried to not look at them.
He continued walking, no interruptions, no footsteps, nothing. Mitch was anticipating either Jerome or Lachlan to run up any second, but they never came. He continued on ,looking down. His world was falling apart, and he just watched it. He kept on going until something in a tree caught his eye. He saw familiar blonde hairstyle in a tree. He looked up to see Lachlan's head hanging in the tree. Mitch did a double-take, his mind went in panic mode. There hung his friend's head, and he couldn't stop it K.C. Mitch couldn't control himself, his legs gave away making his knees splash in the blood. The blood splashed onto his jeans, and he started to cry. The tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped down on the blood making it ripple. His sword clanged on the ground and Mitch's arms fell limp by his sides. He couldn't stand looking at Lachlan ,and so he looked down at the blood.
He could barely make out his reflection, but he could see his puffy eyes and clenched teeth. As Mitch looked at himself he noticed something different about himself, his left eye seemed to glow. He wiped his eyes and looked closer at himself. His eye was glowing bright red, not because of the blood but of its color. He gasped and instantly stood up, distorting his reflection. He picked up his sword, to see if his eye is actually glowing. His sword had a few blood drops, but they slid of the blade when Mitch picked it up. He angled the blade to see his reflection, he wasn't mistaken. His left eye stared back at him, glowing red and the pupil dilated. His hand reached up his eye, making sure it isn't fake.
"It's too late for you now, Mitch." A voice stated behind him.
Mitch jumped and dropped the sword, he turned around to see K.C. behind him. K.C. stood there unarmed, instead of his insane expression stood actually a serious one. His eyes glowed ,giving a faint light for Mitch to see his smile gone.
"What do you mean?"
His smile returned.
"Well, I mean that you're gonna become like me. Look at your eye."
"I'm never gonna become like you." Mitch scoffed.
"Oh you will. You're already half like me. Now you just need to have a killing spirit."
Mitch couldn't believe what he was hearing. He could become like K.C. ,a heartless killer who just does it for fun. His mind was racing, he thought he could avoid it. He thought he could control himself, but he even knew he was going crazy. Then something clicked in his mind.
"What if I do become like you?"
"Well then, we would have an ultimate death match. Last one standing will be the king of the hunger games."
"Okay, when I become like you I want a deal."
K.C. raised his eyebrow in interest. Then he smiled to what Mitch had to offer.
"If I win then you make everything go back to normal and there will be no hunger games. But if you win then you can do whatever you want, you can reincarnate us and fight again, whatever."
K.C. rubbed his chin then started to give in to the wager.
"Yeah, okay I'll give in."
  And with that K.C. shook on it and they parted. K.C. went down the path where Mitch came from, as Mitch continued his way. K.C. left him alone to walk on the bloody path in the blood forest. Mitch thought he took a risk by making that wager, but he needed to save his friends. He kept on walking past the trees that had no head to hold. He tried to make it to the end ,but the light never showed up. Soon the trees lessened and then the path was once again floating in darkness. Mitch kept thinking of his wager, what if he doesn't win, what if he dooms all his friends. Mitch kept doubting himself, he wasn't as skilled as K.C. he couldn't kill, it was against his will. Mitch kept on walking until he bumped into something hard. He rubbed his forehead and looked at what he bumped into. It was a giant oak tree ,towering above him its branches spreading as far as an eagle's wings. He noticed a rope vacant of any head and he wondered if K.C. was keeping this for someone special.
"Oh ,it is for someone special." K.C. whispered in Mitch's ear.
Mitch ,when he heard him, reflexively punched K.C. in the face. The fist smacked K.C. center on his nose, snapping it out of place and making it bleed. K.C. stumbled back and held his nose ,as Mitch turned around to look at him. K.C.'s eyes were filled with insane anger as he snapped his nose back into place.
"Who is it for?" Mitch asked.
"Oh ,you'll find out soon enough."
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Mitch sat up from the bed, Jerome still dozing next to him. He ruffled his hair as he got out of bed. K.C. hanged the heads of victims, that wasn't crazy at all. Mitch tried to calm himself down from the dream, it was terrifying but it was also a lifeline. Mitch made a wager with a psychology, and he waged it on a battle to the death. He couldn't believe he did that, he hated himself. Mitch sighed and walked towards the swords, to see if he had improved at all in swords. He picked up a sword and something reflect on it. He looked back at the sword to see the impossible. His left eye was glowing red, Mitch silently swore to himself. His eye is just like K.C.'s ,it looked insane. Mitch was panicking because he didn't want Jerome to see it. He looked back at him to see him still sleeping. Mitch quickly used a lock of his hair to hide most of his eye to make it less noticeable. After a minute or two, Mitch made his eye hard to see and not suspicious to Jerome, who woke up after.
"Hey, Mitch." Jerome greeted Mitch, not noticing the eye.
Mitch sighed with relief to know he hid his eye well. He joined Jerome for breakfast, which wasn't that much just fruit and water. Jerome would occasionally look towards Mitch but would quickly look back at his fruit. Mitch noticed his occasional glances and wanted to know why he kept looking.
"Jerome, what's wrong?"
"Uh, oh. I-its nothing." Jerome stammered.
He seemed troubled, and Mitch didn't know by what.
"Jerome, tell me the truth." Mitch said sternly.
"Don't worry, biggums." Biggums, Mitch didn't hear that name in awhile.
"Jerome." Jerome sighed and gave up on not telling him.
"Mitch, I just can't stop myself from being scared around you. He looks exactly like you and I keep forgetting that you're my best friend and not that psycho." Jerome looked down.
Mitch was troubled by that, Jerome feared K.C. but he even sort of feared his own best friend. Mitch was disappointed in himself, his friend has the right to know. It wasn't even an hour and he was already going to show his eye. Mitch sighed and rubbed the eye under the hair. He didn't want to freak out his friend but he didn't want to lie to him either. He sighed over his decision.
"Jerome? I want to be honest with you." Mitch sighed.
Jerome looked over to his friend, chewing his fruit. Mitch turned toward him, and Jerome noticed the covered eye.
"What is it Mitch, and what's wrong with your eye?" Jerome asked.
Mitch sighed and made sure Jerome could see his whole face. He then lifted the lock of hair off his eye and looked at Jerome. Jerome's eyes widened in fear and surprise to see Mitch's new red, glowing eye.
"M-Mitch, how?" Jerome stuttered.
"I don't know. I thought it was just a dream ,but it became reality." Mitch said silently.
Jerome looked at the eye, it looked exactly like K.C.'s eyes. Jerome couldn't believe what he was seeing, all he had to say was why.
"In my dream, K.C. said I was becoming like him. He said it was too late for me."
Jerome didn't respond to it neither did he ask more questions, he didn't want to know more. He just looked away and tried to finish his breakfast. Mitch couldn't believe Jerome is scared of him, and now that he had an insane eye Jerome should fear him. He looked down on his apple, he lost his appetite and left his apple half eaten. He went to the swords and kept looking at himself. He was no longer the happy Mitch he knew, he's now a possible psycho. And he needed to be one to win the hunger games.