Chosen.

Chosen. Chapter 35

Chapter THIRTY-FIVE

Ryker Walker- California

"Mom! Mom! It's back on!!" She hurries to the back bedroom of our small home. "What I'd miss, Baby?" Hethyre asks as she bounces in bed and curls up next to me. I scream out in response, "Owww, Mom, watch it!" She quickly scoots over giving me more space, apologizing, "Sorry, Pumpkin!"

The burns all along my right side are still healing, and the skin is almost plastick-y feeling and too tight on my body. I think it looks almost as bad as it feels because it's all pink and blotchy red, so I mostly try not to look at it cuz it grosses me out.

Sometimes it hurts so bad I can't even go to sleep. I just lay there in stinging pain and wish I'd never been in that stupid dumb fire. Mom tells me the UWG said they're going to pay for surgery in a couple of months once I'm all healed from the accident, which is a good thing, because we don't have the money for anything like that.

Hard as I try, I don't remember anything that happened from that night.....or much else before that. And Mom, Terra and Alexus said they don't really either. We know we were Chosen and competing in the Trials, and then some kind of fire broke out and I got burned, plain and simple. I have tried to think back and remember the islands, the people, the challenges, and the only thing that is sorta familiar is when I see the nightly recap. In a way, it's like it all happened in a dream (or to somebody else). Honestly, if it wasn't for my scorched-skin that i'm left with, I wouldn't have even known I'd have been there.

The more I think on it, it might have been something to do with a blue pill they gave us all to rest when the scientists first picked us up......but now almost a week later, I'm not even sure if that part happened. Everything is a blur. I wonder if that was part of the plan? (I just don't remember much and my head starts hurting if I try to push too hard).

Terra says I'm lucky to be alive with how bad the burns are. Even my older sister, Alexus, has been being extra nice to me since we've been home. They said the whole town has been praying for me to get better quickly.

I haven't been out of my room much since we got back home, but I tell Mom to say thank you for me to everyone asking about me. I guess, we're pretty popular now since everyone around here watched us on the portals and we almost made it through three Trials. If only I had more memories about it, but....oh.....well.

I try to get as comfortable as I can and turn back to the portal and speak out to Mom, "You didn't miss anything yet. They are just replaying the highlights from last night again before they show the new stuff." She gives me a loving smile and pat on the not-burned side of my body.

On the screen, we see images of a family scooting across a very steep overhang that looks like it's only about the size of a ruler wide with a flashlight moving here and there in the darkness, and it's intense. I wonder if it's a good thing we went home when we did, because Trial 4 has been scary just to watch and freaks me out. Plus, watching everything in night-vision with all these creepy green-grey shots is even worse.

Today is Day 2 of the Break-out Trial and I wonder what they will show us tonight. To be honest, I've got a few families I hope make it out of this one and end up Chosen after the Trials. There's this one family with these two little kids that are so cute. I think they are called the Langdon family. Anyway, they are doing good and the kids swam like champs in one of the water tunnels!

My whole family also loves this one family from Texas. I don't know why, but the boy twin, Heath, is my favorite in that family. When it shows him, I get so excited and I feel like my best friend is on there. I know we don't even know each other, but I'm his biggest fan, I would have to say. Alexus really likes his older brother, and Mom and Terra even watch for them on the rankings. Maybe we just like them because they are from the U.S. like us, but whatever it is I'm glad they are one of the world favorites because it shows them every night, even if it's just a quick shot.

The portal changes to the 3-D map from last night on the screen and they have green dots showing where all the families are. The one and only exit tunnel is shown with a blue square, and its crazy how many different ways there are to get there, but even more ways that don't even get you close to there. It's like the most complicated maze ever. But there are some families that are so close, even though it's only been one day. I think it's just luck that they picked the right tunnels or whatever, because I bet it's impossible to know where to go in the pitch blackness.

I wonder if anyone made it out today. I hope some of my favorites did and they can get some rest before the last Trial starts. You can tell from watching that some of the families are just bone-tired. I wasn't surprised when a few terminated straight out of the gate. This one girl freaked out after only like 20 minutes down there! Her family tried so hard to calm her down, but she was on another level, and they had to quit because she wouldn't move from the wall she was holding like her life depended on it!

This other family was actually getting pretty close to the blue square exit, but this water tunnel they had to swim through had them all panicking. They couldn't hold their breath long enough to get through it, even though it wasn't that far. I think they were just too jittery and they would turn back around after only going under the water like 10 seconds, and finally the mom decided it was time to give up. I was practically yelling at the portal not to terminate because they were right there. My Mom got all mad and said she'd turn it off if I didn't relax.

Yessss!!! The opening announcement begins and I'm psyched! Finally, we get to see what's been happening since last night, and Mom calls out to Terra and Alexus that it's starting and they'd better get in here. Mom moved the only portal we have into my room since I'm pretty much stuck in bed all day. We all huddle down ready for the next hour like pretty much everyone else on the planet, glued to their screens. It's crazy only a week ago we were one of the families being watched on here. Ryker Walker, one of the 200 families Chosen. Yeah, right. Maybe it was all just a dream or a fantasy I made up in my head. If it wasn't for these ugly burns, I would think that.

The map flashes back up on the screen, except it's a new one with way more green dots closer to the blue exit tunnel this time. I also see a lot more red dots on the map showing where other families terminated. It must have been a crazy day, and I can't wait to see what's been going on!!

The hour goes by at the speed of light, and next thing I know the rankings are on the screen signaling the end of the nightly recap. Holy crap that was crazy!!! What are some of these families going to do?? It's like it went from bad to worse, but they just refuse to quit! And my pretend best friend Heath Barloc, he has no idea what's coming!

I wonder what the scientists are going to do? I mean, surely they wouldn't let anyone in the families die down there....would they?

I start to move my arm, and it hurts so bad as the pain shoots through me that I instinctively cry out, and Mom runs to get me another pain reliever. I look down again at my burns and wonder if the pain will ever end and how I'll ever be a normal 10 year old kid again and play like I used to. I think about the UWG and the scientists who let this happen to me when they probably could have stopped it.

I don't know, maybe they would....