Death's game

Chapter 24~ protection at a cost

Everything was blurry and it took me a minute to even sit up and register everything that'd happened. My mind was echoing with the noise of that gun going off and May's last gasping breath. And I only had one thought; I killed someone.

I had a shivering feeling of creepy chills as I remembered arriving at the campus the first day and imagining it as slightly reminding me of a graveyard. I guess in some ways now it was.

My mind started racing again with questions to many to count. Did anyone hear the gunshot? How long has this horrible game been played at this school? What on earth is the purpose? As my thoughts were spinning wildly out of control when everything stopped for me as two things alone gripped me.

First of all, where the bloody hell was I? And secondly, I realized that Carter was now aware that I had a gun... And I had a feeling that couldn't be a good thing. But I'd worry about that later.

Shakily, I pushed myself up onto my feet and did a slow 360 trying to register my location. It looked familiar, vaguely, but I just couldn't quite figure it out.

I took a step forward taking in my surroundings. I was outside somewhere, looked like a very average parking lot. The familiar part was the water's edge just beyond the line of the parking lot. The sand; a beach but why did it feel familiar. It couldn't have been part of campus which meant I should've been dead right about now according to the rules.

Something felt like I'd been here before...

Then it hit me like a slap in the face. This was the beach Jett had teleported me to when he'd given me the stupid teleportation bracelet in the first place. It probably wasn't supposed to let me come here; maybe he was allowed more choice in destination and forgot to change that before passing it on to me. Or maybe he left it on purpose.

Whatever it was, I knew I needed to get back to campus ASAP because I didn't know how long I'd been out cold and when people would come to kill me for leaving campus. Plus the sun was hanging low and I didn't want to be walking across campus in the dark while this damn game was going on.

I tapped the bracelet, surveying the dots and poking the one that looked closest to my dorm.

Weightless... Solid ground again.

My knees locked and I nearly toppled over but thankfully there was a wall for me to slam into. Just my luck, right?

Sighing in annoyance, I rubbed my shoulder that I'd just slammed against a wall as I started walking. The dorm numbers were close to mine, and after winding my way around in circles for 10 minutes I managed to locate my dorm. I should never be allowed to give anyone directions... I don't even really know how to get to my own dorm.

Just as my fingers curled around the knob, the door swung open from inside. Larissa stood there, a blaze of emotions zipping across her face as she looked me up and down. She looked relieved but angry and at the same time very skeptical and suspicious.

"You look like you just got run over by a bus." Larissa stated in a dry tone, arching a brow, "the hell have you been up to?"

"Trust me you wouldn't even believe me if I told you." I muttered, walking past her toward my room.

"That's it!?" She fumed, slamming the door and marching after me, "you're gone all day and come back looking horrid and expect me to take that as an answer?! I don't think so belle!"