The Game's End

Chapter 8

I wake up to birds chirping and all I want to do is die. I am totally alone, there is no one left to go to. Even if I make it to TRU (The Rebel Underground) I won't have Kat or Shawn. They left me alone, but I don't blame them; I probably would've left too if I was in their position. I just wish they understood. I look up at the clear blue sky and know they are walking under the same one. "I'm so sorry," I whisper, maybe the wind will carry my message to them. I start walking in the direction of TRU.

~Kat's POV~

Shawn and I have been walking in circles forever. We are so lost without Sarah. I feel bad about leaving her alone, and what I said, but the anger and hurt got the best of me. I can't blame her that her father is Tyrant, she didn't get to pick who her parents where.

"Shawn do you have any idea where we should be heading?"

"Well you remember what Sarah told us about how TRU would be where the rainbow fish are. Well I figured that they would be where the children's story says they are, at the top of the mountain of color. So in other words, TRU is going to be on Mount White." he said knowingly

"How do you know its Mount White?"

"Because white light is the product of all the colors merging together and when you put white light through a prism it forms a rainbow. Also Mount White is shaped like a prism so it is just seems the most logical of Mountains to pick."

I just nodded and started to follow Shawn in the direction of Mount White. Though for a second I thought I heard someone say, I'm sorry; but it must have been a trick of the wind.

~Back to Sarah's POV ~

A couple hours later I reached the bottom of Mount White. I walked around the base of the mountain until I found the river; along the river bank there was a small, almost unnoticeable trail carved into the rocks. I followed it until I made it to the top of the mountain. There I found the river's start, a great big lake full of rainbow fish. I also saw a tree with intricate carvings on the trunk. To an average person it just looks like shapes, swirls, and lines; but tome or anyone looking for TRU it was a map. A map of the mountain and anything in a two mile radius, and if you read the map correctly you can see that TRU is located at the heart of the mountain. But how would anyone get into the heart of the mountain you are probably asking. Well think about it, it is right in front of you. You get in through the lake. I stared at the tree and smiled as I came up with this. It was purely ingenious. I walked to the water's edge and dove under the surface of the water. The rainbow fish played no attention to me whatsoever and I continued to swim down. Finally I reached an underwater cave and swam inside. There was a door carved into the soil, also with an intricate design. Again it was a map and I followed its directions straight to the heart of the mountain. At the end of the long winding dirt corridor there was a door, and thought the rest of the doors I had seen where either carved straight into the rocky soil, or just holes in the wall, this one was pure brass. It stood at least fifteen feet high and the entire thing was covered in locks. And I mean every inch had a lock there was no place that didn't have a lock on it. I looked to the left and saw a key it was a skeleton key so it would probably open all of them. I took it from its hook, when a small girl appeared, she looked to be only seven or eight but talked with the maturity of a grown adult, she looked at me and said, "if you would like to pass into the world of The Rebel Underground, you must first complete four tests, you have already completed one of the four by figuring out how to make it this far. This is the second test the key you hold in your hand will open all of the locks on this door but only one of the locks will open the door. You will be given ten minutes and three tries to open the door, otherwise your memory will be erased and we will leave you twenty miles into the desert. Your time starts now, good luck." then she back up into the shadows.

I loomed at the door in front of me and thought about it. They wouldn't put the lock in the most obvious spot, but in a more abstract place. It probably wouldn't be at the top of the door or at the bottom so as to not give a shorter/taller person the advantage, so it would probably be in the middle somewhere. I closed my eyes and reached my fingers out and skimmed the surface of all the locks in the middle. I started on the left side and slowly made my way across to the right side, I felt every feature of every lock until I came across an empty spot. Unseen to the eye and almost unnoticeable. Almost. I took the key in my hand and inserted it into the hidden lock, then twisted; I heard a click and voilà it opened. The little girl came up to me and congratulated me on passing the second part of the test. She took me to another door at the end of yet another corridor. "This is the third part of the test, you will speak with some of the council. They will ask you questions, and answer truthfully, they will know if you don't." The whole they with known if you don't put me on edge and I realised I will probably be telling them my secret. "What is your name," I asked the girl, she looked slightly taken aback but answered anyway, "I'm Samantha, thanks for asking not a lot of people do." before I could respond the door opened and a pound voice boomed "Come in."

I followed Samantha into the room and stood next to her, in front of me was what I assumed to be part of TRU's council.

"How did she do on the door, Samantha?" one of them commanded.

"Two minutes one try 'mam."

"Well congratulations you just set the new record, you should be honored."

"I truly am." I responded politely.

The middle council member waved her hand and Samantha disappeared again. She is really good at that; note to self, ask Samantha to teach me how to do that. I looked. back up at the council who started firing questions at me.

"Your name and age."

"Sarah, fifteen."

"Who told you about us and how did you find us."

"My father told me about you. And an old lady told me a riddle, which lead me to the story of Xhòn ,which lead me to the rainbow fish, which lead me here."

"Your father's name."

"Alexander Johnson."

They all gasped in unison, then said, "The Alexander Johnson."

"Yes." And now they know my secret.

"As in Tyrant's brother."

I nodded in an answer to their question. Yes Tyrant is my uncle, the second born son of my grandfather and the one who murdered my family before my eyes.