Game of Life

Chapter 11

"What the hell is going on?" I shrieked, stumbling backwards when the wall to my left collapsed. Honey sprayed from the broken surface, covering us in the goey substance. The ground shuddered, sending us flying backwards and we crashed heavily into the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Eric grunted and I rolled to the side. "You okay?" I panted.

"I'm alright, you just landed on me is all," he responded with a snort

I covered my head with my arms as another rumble spread along the floor. "We should get out of here!"

"Don't think we need to, Severin is just being dramatic." Eric spat his name, voice full of venom.

A loud crack followed his words and he whipped to his feet. "Watch out!"

His weight crashed into me, pushing me to the side just as a large piece of rubble landed where I had been. "Thanks," I gasped.

"No problem, now might be a good time to get out of here."

"I thought it was just Severin being dramatic?"

He glanced up at the ceiling and I followed his gaze. Cracks were spreading along the roof, one end curled towards the ground where the wall had crumbled. "I don't want to take that chance anymore. Come on." His hands wrapped around my arm and he pulled me to my feet. We ran down the winding pathways, pausing at every tremor so we wouldn't fall.

We raced down the staircase, bee bodies lined the ground on all sides. "What the hell?" Eric crouched down beside the pile, they were definitely dead, but what had killed them?

"Plan the funeral later Eric, let's go." I tugged on his sleeve and he slowly got to his feet.

"Right. Which way?"

I stood outside the threshold, glancing between the two paths. "Uh..left? Which way was the staircase?"

"I don't remember."

"Left it is."

I took the lead and we wandered the halls, occasionally finding a pile of black and yellow bodies.

"You can stop this game any time now Severin!" I jumped at Eric's sudden shout. "I know you're listening! It can't be fun just watching us wander around aimlessly. What's the point?"

"The point is to see how many more die," Severin murmured, appearing between us. "Four hundred of you were unable to avoid death this round, something about these insects just left so many of you terrified." He pat Eric on the head and giggled. "It was like a buffet for my beasts."

Clearly repulsed, Eric swatted his hand away and backed up a step. "You're disgusting."

Severin grinned, showing sharp canines and a flickering forked tongue. "Thank you." He glanced up at the ceiling. "Well I suppose this has gone on long enough." A clap of his hands and we were standing in a field, the hive no longer in sight.

"Did someone already kill the queen?" I asked.

"Of course, your friend Darren sprinted right up while you were resting. Lit her up like a match." He waved his arms and the images were displayed along the sky.

Darren reached the top floor panting for breath, blood trickling down several cuts on his arm. His surprise was evident on his face as he faced the queen. She was horrendous, much larger than any of the other bees we had faced. With a bulging back and a stinger that reached almost five feet long, I was glad we hadn't been the ones to face her. A shudder passed through me, I'd hated all kinds of bees ever since I had been stung by a wasp as a child. But Darren didn't hesitate, summoning a ball of fire in his hands he launched his assault.

He managed a direct hit with the first shot and the sound she made was deafening, a vicious shriek of pain and rage, but before she could counter he flared up a wall of fire, surrounding her with the boiling heat until nothing remained but a pile of ash.

"That was a little too easy," Eric murmured. Severin grinned at his words and jerked his head at the sky.

"Just watch."

Seconds later the hive started to shake and the ceiling collapsed around him, opening up so the sunlight shone in. He stood waiting in the centre, yelling something we couldn't hear over the sounds of the collapse.

I shot at glance at Severin. He was practically vibrating with anticipation, bouncing slightly on his disfigured toes with his clawed hands glasped together in front of him.

I turned my attention back to the screen as swarms of beasts entered the room, the very ones that had ignored Eric and I before. I couldn't turn away from the screen as Darren faced them, surrounding himself with magic and pushing it away from him in an ever widening circle of fire that engulfed all it touched, incinerating the bees where they stood. He kept it up for a long time, wave after wave of bees descended upon him and each one he faced without fear, until they finally stopped coming and Severin waved away the view.

I felt a newfound respect for Darren, he had managed to beat one of the beasts entirely by himself. I spun around looking for him and Severin spared me the trouble by bringing him to the front. "Well?" the demon asked. "Claim your prize, what shall number seven, the water elemental, be?"

Darren furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, glancing around the crowds as he tried to decide what would be best to fight. "Um...I don't know. A dolphin?"

Severin shrugged, not very enthusiastic about the choice, but he kept his word. "Well then, so it is said, so it shall be. This won't be very interesting. Why don't you all take a break while I plan?"

He poofed away and Darren jogged over to us. "A dolphin? Really?" Eric asked.

Red creeped into his cheeks and he glanced away. "I don't know, I figured a dolphin wouldn't be so bad to face."

"Guess it depends on how he sets up this round," I murmured.

"You couldn't have suggested something like a turtle? Or a snail?" Eric shook his head in disappointment.

"Shells," I pointed out, "That would be a pain to get through."

"I guess." Eric scowled at the rejection of his idea. "At least they'd be slow."

"True," I conceded, "No changing it now though."

"Okay but think about it, if you die from a dolphin, that's just sad. I mean, look at them, they're adorable."

"So are elephants, but did that thing he summoned look adorable to you?" Darren snapped.

"Enough you two! We won't know if it was a good choice or not until the round actually starts so just relax," I scolded.

"Yeah. Let's see what kind of mutation he has planned for us this time."