The Game

Ginny

The flash of green leaves fly by as the smell of cedar, charcoal and moist earth take over my senses. The familiar taste of copper invades my mouth as I run my tongue over a deep laceration in my lip. I’m moving through a dense forest, my body stiff and sore. I can feel the wood of the wagon floor beneath my ragged muscles.

My usually sharp senses are dulled and I have no idea which direction we came from or which direction we’re headed. My hands and feet are bound with silver, the silver stifles my power but it doesn’t block it out completely. My nostrils flare as I begin to wake from my stupor. The resistance finally came for me.

Looking around, I see I’m not alone. The last of the golden rays are falling into the shadows, quickly turning to night. Memories flood back to me as I recall being at the river this morning with Pearl washing our clothes from the week prior, only her and I, much too far from our family home than we should have been. We’d become far too complacent. The memory of what transpired returning to me.

I had my back turned and remember feeling a shift in the energy as a cold shadowy darkness penetrated my carefully crafted shield. In my futile attempt to turn, a shadow creature threw tendrils of darkness out capturing my wrists and binding my ankles, he pulled me in close and tightened his grip on me, smothering me in darkness surrounding my body with dark tendrils of smoke. I desperately try to free myself and the creature turned me around forcing me to watch.

Pearl was being held by a man that had a solid foot of height on her and at least 150lbs. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and ripped her head backwards, he was wielding a needle and before I could look away, he stabbed it into her neck injecting a milky substance. Her screams engulfed me, high pitched and unearthly. Her red eyes were dark and frantic. She collapsed in front of me as I turned to see three men gathering around us. The Collectors.

A fourth man that I hadn’t seen grabs a fistful of my hair ripping my head backwards, the sting of pain the radiated through my scalp from the pull dulled in comparison to the searing pain that ripped through my body as they injected the same milky substance into my veins, and the rest of the world slowly went dark.

There are three bodies surrounding me and we’re being pulled by a horse drawn wagon, bars surrounding us in what appears to be a human cage. I’m bound by silver, of that I’m sure as I try to push out my powers. My usually keen sense of others intentions, my surroundings and my ability to blockade anything that usually threatens to harm myself or my family are tethered.

I glance around and take in my surroundings. It’s dark and my senses have barely had time to adjust to the sounds, shapes and smells of the forest. I can hear someone beside me making a barely audible whimper and I can see the golden hair of Pearl next to me, she’s lying on her side with her hands bound behind her back, her eyes fierce taking in our current situation. Our eyes connect, her wildly fiery red gold irises shimmering in the light of the moon bore into me.

She knows we’ve been captured and I can tell it’s all sinking in as she shudders and shrinks into herself, fear and disappointment seeping into her previous fervent stare. She’s beautiful, even like this, her golden hair surrounds her, the stark contrast notable against the dark wood we’re lying on and her light skin is covered in dirt and bruises, like these men dragged us through the woods before getting us to this fucking cage.

There are two other women in the cage, crumpled up in the fetal position, neither seem to be awake. One is dark skinned with long thick dark hair that appears to be black with the little light I can use to decipher. The other girl in the far right corner has what appears to be coppery red hair, she’s pale and her face is battered, her bound hands behind her back tied to her ankles, it looks uncomfortable. The Resistance found us, the collectors came for us, the game had just begun.

The carriage slows and we come to a stop, I can see a faint glow of light far to the right in my periphery, I can only turn my head so far in the position I’m currently in. The men get out and one of them sneers as he comes into my view, he looks us over and glares at me. He has a dark aura, I can feel the sludge of dark magic surrounding him, even without being able to use my powers to sense his intentions, I can see in his eyes that they are anything but good.

“What the fuck are you looking at bitch?”, he unlocks the cage and scoffs “You going to give me a hard time getting you inside or am I going to have to give you another cocktail? You were harder to keep sedated than the others.” I’m unsure what to make of what he’s telling me but I know I hold unusually strong and vast powers. Ive never really understood what I am but I know I can do much more than anyone I’ve ever come across, I was raised by light witches but I know I am not a witch.

Most of my powers I’ve kept to myself, not really knowing how to even explain them to someone else, not even Pearl knows the vastness of what I can do. I learned at an early age that my powers could and would be used against me, I watched my parents get murdered in front of me on the day of my 11th birthday. I’m drawn back into my memories.

My parents had a safe space to hide in the vents above the living room, having planned and practiced this numerous times, my parents always said we were playing a game which ended in them being captured and me having to silently get to and remain in the vent staying as quiet as possible.

They always said it would never happen but this night, they were whispering angrily in the hallway after they had put me to bed. I could sense their restlessness and unease before they came into my room and my father knelt down to my bed and whispered, “it’s time Ginny, we need to play the game and I need you to promise that no matter what happens, you will keep your powers inside, stay silent, stay strong and stay put.”

I remember slowing nodding as fear gripped my throat, causing my breath to hitch. I stoically get out of bed and straighten, blocking all my emotions from my parents, mind blank as practiced and I surrounded myself with a veil of protection as I made my way to the vent. I cover myself with the blanket that’s been left there for me and I silently gaze out the vent, I can see into the living room which opens to the foyer.

A black cloud forms in the corner of the room and I can hear whirring as I see a shadow step out of a newly formed portal. My parents are standing strong but I can see fear in my mothers face, they knew the Dark Lord was coming for them, they have been planning for this moment for years, preparing me better than I imagined I could be at the young age of 11 but I know my place, I know my job and I won’t falter.

My emotions still shielded, I glance at the shadow which has formed into a man. He looks down at my Father menacingly.

“Hello Thesis, we felt that you might finally be coming for us” my father says. “Where’s the girl?”, Thesis snaps and my father winces. “She’s who I’m here for, I don’t need you, or her” as he snaps his gaze towards my mother.

“I told you I’d be here for her on her 11th birthday and I expect for you to fetch her for me”. “She’s not here.” my father whispers. “She vanished yesterday, we have been desperate to find her, we thought you decided to come for her a day earlier than you demanded in our agreement.”

“We just wanted to be able to say goodbye to her.” My mother sobs and her lip quivers. “Perhaps you need reminding who I am and what will happen to you both if you cross me!?” Thesis growls.

My parents turn to each other and gaze into each other’s eyes, I can sense their emotions and see the love radiating from their eyes, my father nods and pulls my mother into his arms. “We don’t need reminding Thesis, we are fully prepared for whatever comes our way, we’ve been preparing since you started this sick and twisted game. We’re ready”.

As I take in the room, my emotions luckily tethered with an aura of protection swirling around and tickling me every so often to remind me of its presence. They’re going to die here, this is what they’ve been preparing me for, this is the end of the game for them, and I have to keep playing. For them, I will win this game.

The black shadow rushes towards my parents, no longer appearing in front of them as a man. A deep guttural growl comes from the shadow “You’re telling me you don’t know where she is!?” he scoffs, “and you expect me to believe that!?” “And you’re resolved to your inevitable fate I see.” “Just know,” he says calmly, “I will find her, and I will use her to create a violent wrath that will wipe out your entire species.

When I find her, I’ll make sure to remind her that YOU’RE the reason she will never be free. I told you, I would make sure to take care of her if you gave her over when she turned 11. I allowed you to teach her the light side of her powers until now. I promised that I’d give her a life where she could learn how to use the dark side of her power after that. She would have grown to find her place, by my side, with freedom, you did this to her and I’ll remind her of it every day.”

“You will Never find her” my father spits. She’s stronger than you ever thought possible and she will be your end.” At that, Thesis is instantly a man again, he takes his hand and throws a wispy black shadow towards my parents, fear tries to grip me as I watch but my shield around my emotions tightens, knowing it needs to strong for this. The black shadow spreads around my parents and before it encapsulates them, I see them nod to one another and step into each other’s arms.

I feel the love leave them, the bright pink light drains from their bodies as other colors flourish around the room. The man holds out his other hand and a sphere begins to form at his fingertips, drawing all the colorful light in the room into the sphere. He releases the black shadow and as it snaps back to his fingertips, my parents crumple to the ground,

I hold my breath but I know their dead, they’ve been preparing me for this since I was old enough to remember. The shadow man sends his dark aura out through the house searching for me but this vent is made from dimeritium and it suppresses powers from leaving or entering the vent. There’s no way he will find me.

He huffs, anger and sadness rising into the room and he throws a murky shadow at the wall smashing the windows at the front of the house. I almost gasped at the sudden shift of emotions in the room, anguish and explosive anger seep into the room repulsively.

He takes the orb of light in his hand and whispers “I will find you Ginny, all I have is time on my hands and you will help me destroy the remaining light witches and take over the Kingdom of Light”. I make a silent promise to myself that that would never happen and I close my eyes hoping he would go away.