It’s morning. Four thirty, to be precise. The early bird gets the worm they say… Except the birds that start chirping at three am. Those birds get shot.
Ahem. Anyway…
Hannah struggles to wrench open the Humanities door. The lock appears to be broken, but the heavy metal still refuses to budge. Frustrated, she whacks the handicap button. The door swings open slowly.
“Oh. Well that was easier than expected…” She walks in and tries to close the door behind her, but it has a mind of its own. She gives up and wanders over to the stairs. The first flight is easy, but at the top of the second flight, she has to catch her breath. She briefly wonders why there is such a difference before continuing down the hall.
Near the end of the hall, through the door on her left, she finds what she is looking for. The dim light from the windows does not reach this far, so she pulls out her flashlight keychain. This is the item she chose to take with her into the games. It holds no sentimental value, but practicality is more important in these circumstances. She clicks the button and watches the weak beam light up the five inches of air in front of her face. Good enough.
Struggling to avoid bumping into something, she makes her way across the room to a door in the back. She pulls a key from her pocket and tries the lock. Bingo. This is it. She pushes the door open…
And freezes.
The room is cleaned out. What appears to have been an office at one time now consists of a desk, an empty shelf, and a small window. Lying on top of the desk, however, is a note. Hannah tiptoes across the room. It almost feels as if she should not be here, as if she were a student breaking into a professor’s office to change a grade. Her hand reaches for the note, cautiously. The room is silent. The birds have stopped chirping. Hannah suddenly remembers to breathe as she picks up the letter.
Inscribed on the top of the envelope is a name.
Her name.
Hannah’s hands are trembling as she slits open the envelope with a nail. She unfolds the letter and, in an attempt to stay calm, reads it aloud.
“Dear Hannah… Congratulations! You found the right key, and you made it to the room it opens. You must be relieved to know that you have found yourself a haven of safety in this little locked room. We will gladly give you this right, but we do have one condition. At five o’clock tonight, in the third floor lobby just outside of this office, a game of Euchre will commence. This will be a gambling game. Four players will arrive, each carrying an item of food. In exchange for this food, you will offer the winning team this office. However, you must ask them to wait in the lobby while you gather your belongings. Once you are back in the office, you will open the top drawer of the desk and find an item with further instructions…”
She pauses at the last line, unsure if she can even say the words aloud. It reads, “If you follow our instructions carefully, by the end of this night, four more tributes will be out of your way. Sincerely, The Gamemakers.”
She drops the note on the desk, and it flips over. On the back is handwritten note:
P.S. If you don’t follow our instructions, you will be one of them. The odds are in your favor… Take your chances.
--Erica
YOU ARE READING
The Kairos Games
FanfictionIn this thrilling spin-off of the Hunger Games, twenty-six lonely college freshmen face up against their worst nightmare: death, at the hands of each other and cafeteria food. Who will win the dreaded Kairos Games? Will it be Becca, with her yellow...
