There Was Blood

Chapter 1

My eyes opened to a blurry beginning. I heard screaming outside, which only happened once a month. It couldn't have been time. It was too soon. I wiped my eyes, only making a little of my vision more clear. My body struggled to reach for my glasses, but it was worth the burn. As I finally set them on my face, blood met my sight. Blood everywhere.

The Hunter's Game is a game played every third weekend of each month. The meaning of the game is to find three keys. The first unlocked a sword and the path to the second one. The second unlocked protection but didn't connect to the last one. The third was the most difficult to find. No one knows what powers it contained, but rumors still went along. People killed to find these keys, and it wasn't refused, in fact, it was persuaded.

There were no rules. It was always my duty to find a basement and help my younger siblings into the darkness while my parents fought for freedom. Every time, I would worry that they wouldn't come back. I even had to comfort my younger siblings "they're coming back, I promise." But one day, they didn't. It took me a while to recover since we didn't even get to say goodbye. It didn't take long for my siblings though because not long after one slip up, they were gone from my life forever. Soon, it was my turn to defend the Demetria clan.

I slowly arose from my somehow peaceful slumber. It didn't take me long to pack my things, get dressed and make my way out. I had been on my own for 3 years now. My practice turned into instinct before the 7th month. The essentials were clothes, toiletries, weapons, fire, my special book of safety, and a map of hiding places for just in case.

Behind my door was a pack of rampaging animals attacking any human that crossed its path. I quickly switched from my doorway to the other side of the hallway and into the bathroom. Before my parents passed, we created a small hole in the door that was only open during this event. We could see out, but they couldn't see in. Outside was a teenage boy with dark brown hair and royal blue eyes. He appeared to have scratches up and down his spine, and only wore ripped jeans. The boy looked like he could fight on his own, but his technique was lousy.
On the other side of the hallway, a girl with long, brown hair stood. I could see her face in all the commotion. She knocked out two lions out of sheer luck, but if she stayed there any longer, she would be a breakfast item for the predators.

"Psst!" I whispered, loudly, "psst!" It somewhat caught her attention. The girl looked around for a familiar face but was still cautious about the danger. Her eyes were a deep brown and her face was flustered as if this wasn't her first fight today. Her body moved closer and closer to the bathroom until finally, I opened it in a swift motion and snatched her in. To my surprise, she didn't yell. There was blood on her thigh.