Into the Darkness

Chapter 10

"That is defiantly broken." Dale said in a very sure tone.
It was the same undesirable conclusion that Benedict had come to just a little earlier.
"Like you would now" Nevada Scoffed. She probably would have continued but Benedict shot her a warning look.
Enough was enough.
She turned away displeased.
"What are we going to do?" Ireland asked. She looked on the verge of tears. I am not sure if it was because of the pain or just all the stress. She was fighting off the tears desperately.
Benedict noticed, "why don't we stop here and rest for a couple of hours. you guys get something to eat and Carina can show you how the guns work. I'll stay here and deal with this."
His voice is calm but also demanding. This was not a suggestion. We all obey without hesitation.

We sit in silence for a few moments but hunger soon takes over. We all dig in our backpacks for food. I am carful to avoid the pocket with the key in it.
What is the purpose of the key anyways? I don't see how it is going to fit into the voice's twisted plan. Then again I don't know anything else about his twisted plan either. If there is a plan at all. He could be just leading us to our deaths.
That's a disturbing thought.
I start to chew slowly on a protein bar. It tastes like sawdust. I thought I was hungry but I guess not.
This is only reinforced when I hear Ireland whimpering. I can't imagine what she is feeling now. What bad luck? I have a feeling a broken arm is going to mean this place will be even worse then usual for her.
"Why don't you show us how the guns work?" I suggest to Carina. I can't bear anymore of this silence
She has three right next to her right now.
She fumbles with one as she picks one up to demonstrate. "well you cut it off at the elbow and all you have to do after that is hold the fingers in a fist and they shoot one of the disks. In the maze I tied a piece of string to them and just pulled it... almost like a trigger."
"Wait you did this in the maze?" Dale asks surprised.
"Yeah there were a lot of them so I had to improvise."
"How many is a lot?" Dale asks in amazement. I want to know too. I was barely able to fight off one.
"Five maybe six."
"Dang girl." Nevada smiles.
For just a moment everything feels okay. Like we could just be normal friends in a normal place. But then we hear Ireland's high pitched scream.
We all fall silent and a few minutes later she walks over with Benedict. Her arm is in a a makeshift sling. It looks like Benedict ripped some cloth from the backpack. Her cheeks are stained with tears and her lip is quivering.
We all look down avoiding her gaze.
"Everybody get some sleep." Benedict says calmly, "be ready to leave at a moments notice."