A Game Of Pawns

Chapter 22

Everything was stained red with blood; the woman and her clothes, the metal pole, the wall behind her and the carpeting below. None of the blood was shiny, like it would have been if it was wet and the air in the room was filled with the scent of iron. How long had she been here like this? Even the pole had stopped dripping and looked almost flaky with the dark liquid. It looked like something out of a horror movie; except, in the movie, they'd probably be dead. How had she not vanished already? It seemed unlikely that someone would survive being impaled by a fist-sized metal pole. Demi and I stood with our mouths open, stunned at the scene but another cry for help broke us out of our stupor and we started to frantically search for ways to help. The pole had been bent about a foot past where she had been impaled, so we couldn't simply slide her off; plus it made me feel woozy just thinking about it.

"Okay, okay," Demi said, "we need to stay calm. What's your name?"

"Anne," breathed the woman on the wall. Her hands stayed on the pole, either trying to maintain her balance so she wouldn't spin and hang upside down, or simply because it was extremely painful and probably the most logical reaction that her brain could manage. "Get me down! Please!"

"We're gonna get you down," Demi assured. She was very calm and spoke gently but quickly. "Xander, stay with her. I'm going to find out what's on the other side of this wall." She left through the door we had entered from and I turned to face Anne, unsure of what to do.

I had never been in this type of situation before. Trying not to panic or faint, I closed my eyes and tried to remember if Saris had ever talked about what to do when someone gets severely injured. The thing that came to mind was not advice from Saris, but the first time I had gotten stitches. When I was a kid, maybe six or seven, I had gotten into an argument with one of the other students while we were in the stairwell. I got pushed and hit the corner of the stair pretty hard with my head. Within the next hour, I had been taken to the emergency room, where I was put in a small, cold room and a doctor, wearing a face mask, sewed me up with fifteen stitches. My mom was in the room with me when I was getting stitched up. She talked with me and it got my mind off of what the doctor was doing and it helped me get through the strange and frightening event.

I couldn't think of much else that would be useful, especially since I was in pretty poor condition myself, so I opened my eyes and gave Anne a weak smile. "I'm Xander," I announced lamely. I cleared my throat, "I know it's a poor time for introductions, but maybe taking this, " I circled my hand in the direction of her abdomen, "off your mind will help a little. Sorry I can't do much more right now."

"Alright. But I can't talk," Anne hissed with pain.

"I'll talk enough for the both of us." My mind raced. What do I say? I probably shouldn't mention the game or anything about this cycle; I'm sure she'd rather not think about it right now. Slowly, I moved further into the room, considering options for conversation topics while looking for a place to get more comfortable. I considered the desk, but that seemed rude since she was literally hanging on the wall. Unfortunately, the closer I got to the bloodstains, the less comfortable I felt. Anne made a noise and it made me jump. I had been so distracted with where to sit that her small sound scared the sense out of me and I blurted the last thing that had entered my mind before she had startled me, "I like video games." She gave me a strange look. "Umm...yeah. Zelda is my favorite. It's actually why I use a sword and shield here. Nerdy, huh?" I started to tell her my experiences with the game franchise and how I had gotten into it. I didn't get very far when Demi opened the door.

"No good," she said. "I found the other side of the wall. The pole there is also bent and I can't find the tools we need to cut it off."

I felt a sudden, strange sensation. It was like a counter just lit up in my brain. I could feel a sense of urgency, like in a video game when you're fighting the last boss or in a sports game when you only have seconds left on the clock. I could feel that we were close to the end of the cycle and I suspected that Zack and his archer had found and taken out more people. Judging from the look Demi gave me, we might be the last ones left.