Truth or Death? [on hold]

Night and Day

Hey again! This chapter might not be as interesting as my previous ones but it was necessary so please, give it a chance? :) This (like the rest of the story) will need to serious editing so if you spot any mistakes or if you have any tips, feel free to comment on it! x

I let out a long, long sigh. “What do we do now?” Disappointment could easily be heard in my voice. “The game hasn’t even started.”

                “I told you she wouldn’t make the cut, Andrew. Only a few people do and you really thought that a small innocent girl like Lexi would?”

                “Shut up Frost. Just shut the hell up, will you?”

                “You tell me to shut up because you know I’m right.” Smugness and insolence oozed from his tone, making me angrier and angrier by the second. “But I guess that we will have to go recruiting again.” I shot him a dirty look which was meant to shut him up but this only fuelled his lungs. “Oh, c’mon Reaper! I thought that you’d be used to tricking innocent people by now.”

Xavier was known to be the most unbearable company human kind had encountered. From his cheeky demeanour to his bitter and cynical approach to life—everything about made you want to punch him in the face. Yet we always stuck together for some strange reason.

                “What do we do now?” I asked; my question was directed to Dix who was standing by the door.

We only had met Lexi by accident whilst we were out recruiting player for the Game, but somehow I felt bad for her. She seemed to really want it.

                “We wait.” The same veil of calmness and the same stillness clouded his eyes. “She will come back to us in a few hours, I can tell you that much.” Something in Dix’s voice made me shiver and look down at my overused combat boots.

Dix was barely twenty-five and yet all mischievous and youthful gleam had disappeared before it was even born. He was all business like his father was before him. A mere gaze from him could make freeze and cough up everything he wanted to know.

                “She will come back to us?” I felt relieved. However the feeling was immediately replaced by shock and repulsion. “What do you mean, ‘she will come back’?”

The question just hung in the air. Dix had left and I was left in the room in the company of a dead Lexi and an irritating Xavier who’d do anything to push my buttons.

I took a closer look to her lifeless body.

She looked smaller and more vulnerable than she did before. Her hair looked darker and her face paler.

                “She’s stubborn and annoying, I give you that. But will she actually be able to survive? This game has real consequences you know? Plus I heard that the contestants this year are gonna be quite the bunch.”

I raised my eyebrows at my blue-haired friend’s statement. “She’s already dead,” I said flatly. Arguing with Xavier was tiring and all I wanted to know was what the consequences would be—one could not simply come back from the other side without a scratch.

***

                “Andy? Why do you look so distant? You haven’t been listening to one word I have said!” Cara looked royally pissed off. And I didn’t blame her but my mind was somewhere else.

Why is it that women always want your undivided attention at the most inconvenient times?

Cara had always had an obvious crush on me and honestly, most of the time, I found it quite flattering and endearing—but right now she was just plain annoying.

I couldn’t help but think about how small and helpless Lexi looked on her bathroom floor and about what Dix had said.

“She will come back to us.”

 It was almost heartbreaking. There was something strange about that girl; it seemed that there was something almost tormented behind her flustered actions and coy smiles.

                “I don’t think that anything you say right now will bring him back to our world.” Ingrid shot her sister an amused look and turned to me before kicking my leg. “Stop frowning you’re gonna get wrinkles.”

My gaze fell on Ingrid. She looked so out of place in Cara’s pink room it was almost comical. The sisters were polar opposites: whilst Cara had long blond wavy hair, Ingrid’s was jet black and styled in a messy bob. One wore black leather jackets, skinny jeans and Dr Martens whilst the other was all miniskirts and crop tops. The differences didn’t stop there.

Their personalities didn’t match either; the sisters were as similar as day and night. In reality, it was quite amusing to see that, despite their appearances, they were closer than anyone I had ever met.

                “I have a lot on my mind right now,” I sighed.

                “I am sure you do. That small girl sure did have an impact on you, didn’t she?” Ingrid smirked, her green eyes—the only similarity she shared with her sister—gleaming with self-satisfaction. “And before you ask how I know, Frost told me.”

Of course he did, I thought.

                “Was she pretty?” Cara’s immediate reaction earned a chuckled from both Ingrid and myself. “I mean, is she prettier than me? Did she have nice eyes? I know how you like nice eyes.”

Before I had the chance to even think about a safe answer, we heard a knock on the door and Xavier barged in, looking out of breath.

                “Dix wants us four to go to the common room in half an hour.” Then his eyes scanned the room before meeting Cara’s. “You should learn to control your facial expression.”

                “What do you mean? You don’t even know what we were talking about, you imbecile.”

He dropped on the bed next to Ingrid and drawled, “Yeah but I can clearly hear what you’re thinking; and it’s not very lady-like and extremely loud.” The statement made her blush and scream in frustration.

I ignored their usual childish bickering as my attention reverted to Ingrid once again. I could clearly see that something was definitely wrong with her now that I looked more closely; she had that same worried, pained expression when no one was looking her way. She was skilled at hiding her emotions and would never admit to anything that would hurt her pride—it had been that way for as long as I remember.

Xavier glanced over his shoulder, his strange-coloured eyes fixed on me. “Shall we go? He doesn’t like to wait.”

No one said a word and we all headed to the common room. As I walked in the smell of wood and the orange light from the fireplace wrapped around me, welcoming me with a feeling of familiarity that made me reminisce of my childhood. I had grown up in this place playing board games and sharing ‘scary ghost stories’ with the others. This had been our safe haven for years; however now it was just a room where we discussed serious matter.

 I noticed a movement in the corner of my eye and saw her.

She still appeared to be paler than her usual self but other than that, she was moving and alive. Her lips tugged into a weak smile, she stood by door awkwardly.

Vote/Comment? <3