Under Worlders

One

In a world of darkness, there is no way out. No hope, no love and no happiness. All you can do is wait, keep quiet and watch your steps. In this world you can't make mistakes, you can't take it back and you can't change the future. You don't know what to do or say. It is just something that happens. There's no changing it and no stopping it.

I live in that world of darkness. I breathe it. I see it. I feel it.

And I'll die in it.

There is no choice. Death here is practically the stench in the air. It's like the plague. The plague that kills slowly. It happens. We accept it.

I have no parents. I have no siblings. I have no cousins. Just me. Just me and everyone else in this stinking world.

A bell rang. Hunting time. This means either death for me or someone else.

I grabbed my things. There weren't many. Just a spear, knife and a book. I couldn't read. But I still kept it. Like I said, I don't have many things.

The bell rang again. It had begun. If I didn't watch my steps now, I was sure to die.

I heard a rustling behind me. I immediately stopped. Something lit up. I jumped and screamed. Darn it, I've given away my location!

A light was flickering behind me. It illuminated a face. A boy's face. He looked little over seventeen.

"Hello?" the face called out. His voice was soft and scared. I slightly smiled. A victim. This was going to be easy. I bent down, getting ready to pounce. I jumped at him but before I could get close, he moved the light towards me. It was hot. I jumped back.

"Wh-who are you? Wh-what are you?" the voice asked shuddering.

I growled. He was persistent.

"Ar-are you a d-dog?" he asked, his courage clearly failing him.

"No," Was all I would say.

"Are you a person?" he seemed more reassured.

"Yes," I couldn't believe I was talking to the prey.

"Can I see you?" he asked shyly.

This time I didn't answer. I couldn't smell a trap, but I knew this must be one. He seemed to not have cared. He bent down and picked up a piece of wood then lit it. More light filled the space. He could see me. I crawled into the shadows. He threw the wood down on the floor and it lit other things, making the light larger. This time I couldn't escape. I was right in the middle of it. So, surrendering, I stood up.

"Go ahead. You win. Kill me," I told him in small sentences. My English was not good. I could hardly speak it. I barely spoke at all.

"What are you going on about?" the boy, who was also bathed in light, asked shocked.

"Hunting Hour. You kill me. You won," I tried to explain best I could with the words I knew.

"I am not hear to kill you!" the boy was utterly blown away by what I had just said.

"You must. You won. No choice. Kill already!" I was getting tired of his tricks.

"No, I will not kill you! I came here to bring an Underworlder to the surface! You must come with me now!" he demanded.

"Surface? You take me to Surface to kill?" I said slowly. Surface was a new word and a new place for me.

"No, look, just come already," the boy put a formal face on. He seemed to think that he was in charge.

"Then I not go," I crossed my arms and turned around.

"But you must! I need to see the results!" he cried out as I began to walk away.

I did not know what the Surface was or what results meant either. But I stopped anyway. Perhaps the Surface was a place he was going to take me to kill. I raised my hands in surrender a walked slowly towards him.

"I go, to Surface. Do re-re-re-salts," I had trouble saying results, it wasn't a part of my vocabulary.

"Thank you, this way," He beckoned me closer to him and I did so, slowly. In a flash of bright light, we were out of that world of darkness before I knew what was happening.