The Game

The Riddle

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Em's POV

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"Goodbye" I whisper into his smooth silky hair. I really liked him and wished we could have stayed, but we can't.we barely know them. I stand up and try to look brave, I nod at Lola and join Ash outside, she looks so lost I just embrace her and tell her to suck it up for Lo as she needs us. Although she comes out calm, her body is shaking as she tries to bury her emotions. She cares way too easily and too freely, and she fell hard for him even in a single day, although granted it felt like a week already. we take her hands and carefully climb down the mountain.

About 3 quarters of the way down we come to a stop. the only way down was to enter a small passageway inside the mountain. Me and ash started shaking and so did Lo but she firmly grabbed our hands, took a deep breath and went in

"Come on, we got this" she whispered quietly as we shuffled down the tunnel

I heard the bats, I felt the cold slimy walls, I sneezed on Lola and quivered as ash clutched my hips like I did Lo, a bit like a Conga only they were fun and not like this. then we heard a voice and Lo took a sharp intake of breath.

"I make you weak at the worst of all times.

I keep you safe, I keep you fine.

I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold,

I visit the weak, but seldom the bold."

"What was that!?" I stammer

"That was Gary...."Lo starts but trails off. "Gary Bob Dylan" she says but as me and ash start to burst out laughing at his name she gives us a grave look.

"He is the creator, or at least that's what he told me when I fell yesterday"

"Wait what?" ash exclaims "what do you mean you had a creepy voice called .. " She trails off into laughs then gets a grip and continues "you know, and you didn't tell us? we are here too!" she exclaims obviously upset.

"I'm sorry I just forgot I guess, I can't believe I forgot to ask..." She trails off and that's when she slips pulling us all down into a never ending ditch but just before we black out I here Lola exclaim

"Remember the riddle, it will be the key!" And then it all goes dark.

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Lola's POV

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"Hahaha!" em laughs at the joke I just told. we are all wearing fancy dresses with feather headdresses and pearl necklaces. I look around to find we are in that really posh restaurant down the road, I play with the pearls dangling across my chest, waiting idly for something to happen.

then the doors from the kitchen open and out comes the waiter only I can't see a waiter I can just about see the tray with our food at about the same height as the other tables.

I carry on talking and laughing as if this were normal but inside I was utterly confused. then I saw the waiter, it was a baby Pygmy hippopotamus my eyes widen in shock but it doesn't even seen to register to em and ash so as the hippopotamus walks past they swiftly take their meal as it continues it's journey so I do the same only when I pick my up meal and put it down the hippo suddenly grows to a full sized one with huge teeth and bites down hard on my foot!

I scream and shake my foot but the hippo stays attached. I'm in a full blown panic screaming at em and ash to help me but they sit there doing nothing. I scream in searing pain as it bites down harder and then I remember the riddle.

I make you weak at the worst of all times.

I keep you safe, I keep you fine.

I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold,

I visit the weak, but seldom the bold.

It was the key I was sure so I tried to figure it out and then it suddenly came to me. Think Lola think! Then it hit me. Fear! so I took deep breaths an tried to think of it's an allusion.

"You're not real. You're not really here, you're not real and I'm not scared of you" I chant my eyes streaming, when ash suddenly says

"Hit it in the head with the tray, that usually works" she says in her calm snobbish voice and I realised it was just I'm my mind so I grabbed the tray not wondering how ash knew that and hit it on the head. it immediately let go and plodded back off to the kitchen.

"what just happened?!" I exclaim. I can't help but laughing at what a ridiculous situation that was, I mean I'm not even scared or hippos.. It just hurt. I roll my eyes and blink at the preposterous nature of the scene, but now I'm in a black room. em sits opposite me.

"Are you real?" I ask cautiously,

"Where's ash?" She says to me sleepily giving me a weary hug answering my question.

"I don't know, I thought she was with you" i sigh this wasn't going at all to plan

"How long have you been here?"

"Not long - I counted 30 seconds

"So you figured out the riddle then"

"What riddle?" She says

"You know the whole I make you weak at the worst times blah blah blah"

"Oh no, just my vision wasn't that bad and I realised it wasn't real pretty quick"

"Okay tris!" I mock - tris was from our favourite book divergent and she could tell the simulations were fake even though normal people couldn't.

just as em starts laughing Ashleigh plops down next to us soaking wet

"What's up with you!" I laugh not hugging her because I didn't want to get wet

"I drowned" she shrugged. me and em stare at her

"what?" she continues and even though she is soaking we hug her back and we feel her shaking - it must of been awful so she gratefully accepts the hug and returns the favour. We all knew she would never admit how truly terrifying it was for her so we leave it.

Then we all back away simultaneously as we try to work out where we are. we stand up and join hands,  walking in any  direction hoping the exit is that way.

"Come on"

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Hey guys!

Keep reading and voting my little stars! :)

Any comments would be much appreciated!

Lots of love

TJ xxxxx 🍌🍉