Warrior to Defeat the Control

Make it a rule: don’t wake up before the sun. She had always kept her clock to the timings of the sun, it was a trait she had regrettably inherited from her Uncle. Well inherited was a nice way of putting it; he drilled it into her. Her and her younger sister, both raised on the rough end of life. She couldn’t blame him though; after what he had been through… and still she decided to walk the same path.

The tall brunette shifted her eyes over the hordes of people, nudging shoulders with violent strangers with her sister by her side. They were all just silhouettes aglow by the dim lights shining from the building. A looming darkness shone down on the victimized offenders. She felt nothing for them; not pity or regret, after all: they were also walking towards their oblivion. Then it hit her: how fitting for it to be a moonless night.

“It’ll be alright.” Her younger sister didn’t need to say anything, she could tell by the tightened grip that she was more than scared. She drifted away from the crowd to a quiet little alley besides the ominous building and kneeled to look up at her sister. She didn’t have any empathy for anything or anyone other than her younger sister. Nobody else mattered. She didn’t know her parents, and her Uncle was the very definition of a cold man. She stroked her sister’s cold cheek. There was no way she wanted to leave her, no way she willingly wanted to walk away knowing that she might not come out the other end. Nethertheless, she had to.

“Abs…”

Abs, the older sister, looked across seeing Liv’s teary eyes. She stroked her sister’s long hazelnut hair and drew her in for a hug.

“I know.” She whispered in her sister’s ear. That wasn’t a lie; she knew all too well; she knew it more than anyone.

“But what if you don’t…” Make it. What if she dies? What if… enough with that. Her Uncle had always told her that it was better to have a small sentimental goal to live, than some huge link to justice. So, to go by that rule, her goal to live was to save her younger sister from her Uncle. That made it sound a whole lot worse than it was. Their Uncle wasn’t cruel as such, he never beat them or anything. He was just a strict man who drilled so much self-defense and ‘fight for your life’ into them that they saw him more as an instructor than anything. Abs was just glad she took the blunt end of her Uncle obsessiveness, she shielded Liv by training harder and becoming more fierce than anyone. She knew her Uncle all too well. She knew that as soon as she walks into that building one of two things will happen: her Uncle will either consider Abs already dead to save himself from grief and start pushing Liv to become hard. Or he’ll lock himself away in his office and ignore her as he ‘studies’.

Liv was way too young to be put on the spot of supporting both herself and her Uncle, so Abs will fight. She will go through it and come out the other end to get her sister out. Because without the Vanitas, their Uncle won’t have anything to obsess over. That’ll be the best outcome for everyone.

Around them the crowd had started to thin out. The doors had opened and people were hastily making their way inside. Abs already had her ticket, she already knew where she needed to go and she already knew what was going to happen. “I guess…”

“Do you really have to go. I mean, what if they find out you’re there? The Kitsune won’t let you off that easily, they’ll tell Guy and …” Liv’s voice broke as Abs wrapped her arms around her younger sister’s shoulder and drew her in closer. The word sent shivers through her. Kitsune. What she would do to run away from it all, to hide and pretend it wasn’t happening; only the guilt would be too strong: someone needed to do something.

“They won’t find out.” They weren’t allowed to find out. She can’t let them; she can’t let Liv see her wavering. She forced the corners of her mouth to raise into a smile and Liv calmed. “Didn’t I tell you?” She took her sister’s hand and grinned more realistically. “I’m immortal.” After All, if she dies then every memory and photo of her will be wiped from the world. She’ll become another nonexistent.

Abs looked up to the man stood behind them. She didn’t really want to acknowledge him, it wasn’t like he really cared for them anyway. Her eyes grew redder as she sternly looked up at her Uncle. “You promise me you’ll look after her.” There was no letting her Uncle deny her; he was part of the reason she was doing this; he had to take responsibility for once in his life.

“I’m sorry.” It was little than a whisper but she still heard him. She heard him speak with self-pity and in her mind, she hated it. If he was going to show any emotion then he should at least show strength. He was a big strong man, tall with stress-caused grey hair. A brute of a man in his late forties shivering with self-pity.

Something died in him the last time he apologized. Walking out of the Venitas the victor really stole his heart from him; it stole the heart of every victor. Abs and Liv were a little too young to really know what was going on back then, but the memory of him hugging them for the last time was miserably vivid. Since then, for most of the girl’s life, he had never showed them any kind of emotion. Not hate nor anger or love. Just his unhealthy obsession.

“Don’t get angry at Uncle Archie, Abs.” Liv was such an angel to be able to look right through her. “He’s just as scared.” Abs stood up and put her hands in her pockets to shield them from the cold. Their Uncle lowed his canvas cap over his eyes and wrapped himself up tighter in his long dangling scarf as a sign of shame. She noticed the cold breath leaving his lips, noticing for the first time how cold it really was.

“Don’t worry.” They were such terrible words. ‘Don’t worry’, those words were only ever said when there was a just cause to worry. She could have said anything but somehow those words were the only ones she had left. How annoying. “I’ll just win over the crowd.” She jested with no realism. Cold words fell on cold ears, was there anything she could say to make her sister smile again. Just once, one more sweet and pure smile from her sister and Abs could walk away with no regrets. That aside, there was one thing she needed to do if she really was going to walk away without regrets.

With a hardness in her heart, she walked up to her Uncle and leaned in for a faint hug. “Look after her.” She whispered into his ear. “You’re the only family she has left.” She didn’t want it sound like a plea, she didn’t want her true feelings from her heart to come out into her words. Then again, it was becoming harder and harder to hold it all back. She was beginning to fail all the lessons her Uncle had vigorously forced onto her; lessons on being tough and cold and heartless.

“But she needs you.” Uncle Archie whispered back. “Olivia doesn’t trust me as much a she trusts you.” Abs pulled away bitterly, she knew that already, she didn’t need him spelling it for her. It was just a sign of his own weakness.

“That’s something you can work on while I’m in there.” Her Uncle understood the meaning behind her words. It was her way of telling him to stop his nauseating obsession and start paying more attention to the people who need him. After all, she was the only person who had the right to ask him to change. “Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me.”

She felt proud of herself for being able to face her Uncle, to be able to fix a little something in their poor relationship just before she takes the plunge. At the end of the day, all she was after was information. Once she wins she can get all the information she wants. She’ll be the spy, the player; the assassin if may be. All they needed to do was trust her. With their full trust she can get through anything.

The time had come. The last of the people were walking inside, the sun was beginning its ascension to the sky and Abs was happy that her goodbyes had been said; even though it was much more painful than she planned. She stepped back towards the main door. Liv and Uncle Archie followed her onto the main street where they paused hoping for something to happen. Maybe she’ll turn away, like she could ever do that. They thought about it, a unison moment. If only there was another path, a different route for them to take. If only things in the past had happened differently? Yet this time it was different; if she didn’t do it then nobody else would. Despite what they wanted they both stuck to Abs’ most famous words: ‘if only is pointless’.

<><><><><>

“Cheer up Riley. You always look so…” The tall lady in her forties, dressed up for a nice night out, smothered in thick makeup and an arrangement of colourful stones around her neck; waltzed her way to her teenage son in disparagement. “So absent? No. What’s the word?” She sighed while trying to measure her son’s face. Noticing how he was trying to hide from her with his headphones on and phone in hand. She turned to her husband and flipped her wrap over her shoulder. “Say something.” She suggested.

A chubby, yet tall man in a long grey coat and a thick striped scarf looked at his wife and sighed heavily. It was the usual from her, she was a good mother and all but she always wanted more attention out from her son. The man wasn’t too bothered by it though, his son had been like this for quite some time, it wasn’t just some puberty thing, but a whole other psychological issue. Being once a young man himself, he walked over to his son, leaned on his shoulder and sighed again.

“Ignore her. She’s just being paranoid. This morning she was planning to send you to some psychiatrist. I advised her not to though. You don’t need some old man telling you things you already know, do you know?” The teenager looked up from his phone and gave a faint smile. He didn’t quite hear what his father had said but pretended anyway.

Riley didn’t hate his mother, he just didn’t understand her. One minute she’s praising him, the next she was condemning him. At the end of the day though, what really got on his nerves, was how overprotective of him she was. At least his father was consistent. He just wanted to keep the peace because he knew that she would only turn her blame back to him eventually. Yet she was at it again, needlessly worrying. He decided to not say anything this time.

Riley was what he called a ‘normal nineteen-year-old’, or at least that’s what he thought. He lived a simple life of attending College and working part time though he always had time to waste in his room either reading or working on his laptop. His friends often called him a recluse but he never saw it that way. He saw himself as a person who would rather get a good grade than a mediocre girlfriend.

His mother thought otherwise. She saw him as someone strange for a young man. As if listening to loud music and moping around while ignoring his folk was unrealistic for a teenager. It was like she woke up every morning and thought ‘today I’m going to start pointlessly getting mad at my son’. It was the little things that set her off, a glance he would make or a single word he’ll let slip from his mouth, or, in this case, his lack of involvement.

It was always the same. Something wasn’t right; something was ‘off’. It wasn’t as if she was overreacting or anything; he had been saying the same thing for years. What annoyed him was how oblivious she was to him. He had complained about a feeling he had, a headache, nausea something heavy inside him. Yet it wasn’t something that science could explain. He had been to many different doctors under his mother’s orders and every one of them told him it was something psychological, which really annoyed him. The built-up worry and stress he had been gathering, how nauseated it made him feel all over one thing: missing. Someone was missing.

A pat on the shoulder broke him out from his deep thoughts. His father mockingly pointed at his wife and laughed. Although his father was more understanding and always found a way to ease Riley for a bit, he was equally obvious to what was really going on. Riley looked on ahead to where his mother was lining up at the ticket booth still puzzling over the word she had forgotten. The word that would best describe Riley. It was the usual, muttering and rolling her eyes and counting on her fingers. Nothing changes with her.

“Oblivious!” She shouted out unexpectedly. “That’s the word. You look so oblivious.” Riley nearly choked, all this time she had been puzzling over the exact same word he would use to describe both his parents.

He couldn’t help but moan out hopelessly. “I’m alright mum.”

She wasn’t having it though, she turned on her heels and faced her son looking very menacing. “I know, I just worry about you. Why do you look so oblivious?” There it was, it was her way of trying to guilt trip him so he’d talk. She wasn’t going to let it go so easily, they’ve already had the same argument countless times before and they’ll have many times more.

He swept his hand through his scruffy dark hair in frustration. “I just feel as though…” He was going to regret saying it but she will never let him go without saying something. “As though someone is missing. Like we’ve forgotten someone special.” He felt his voice die off at the end as his saw his mother’s face fall. She turned slowly to her husband with a pushy type of concern on her face. He had no choice but to intervene.

“No one is missing son. There’s only ever been the three of us.” He may have saved his mother from being overly worried, but he certainly didn’t save Riley from his own uneasiness. It was a bit of a coward’s way of ending things but at least his mother was no longer on his case.

“I know.” There was no hiding the misery in his tone of voice but it could certainly be ignored.

“Okay then.” His father said awkwardly. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Wait! What, no you can’t leave me with her. Riley’s mind dragged on as his head lifted to see that in his mother’s eyes she was thinking the same thing. Great. His father couldn’t have left at a more awkward time. Riley looked around himself, he thought about following after his father but he was long gone, lost in the rushing crowd.

The silence grew into something unbearable. Riley thought about moving away but there was nowhere else to move to. He threw on his headphones and tuned up the music to the loudest. He could tell from his mother’s disapproving look that the noise was echoing out from his headphones into the real world, and she could hear every piece of music he was listening to. Not that he cared. She shifted on her heels and continuously played with her wrap. Silence was never her strong point. She was a sociable person who loved chatting amongst all her girlfriends. Gossip was her life. It wasn’t hard to think of all the gossip she was sprouting about him. She sighed in an obvious attempt to get his attention, to draw him into a conversation. He looked up regretfully.

“Looking forward to it?” Something inside him sank. He had fallen for her trap and now he had to answer or face her wrath.

“I guess.” It was the faintest answer he could think off. Of course, he was looking forward to it, he had never seen the Venitas live before. It was something he had always wanted to do. His mother wasn’t happy about his answer though and spoke before thinking.

“What’s wrong.” She complained.

As if she had to ask. She knew what he was going to say; but for once in her life she wanted to be somewhat motherly.

“Something’s not right.” She rolled her eyes as he spoke troubled by his own words. “It’s this place: it makes my head hurt.”

That was it. She had no more patience with him. She didn’t understand anything he was saying and she didn’t care. In her eyes, her son was saying bizarre things that people in an insane situation would say. She tutted, raised her handbag higher on her shoulder and looked desperately at her husband.

“Maybe that psychiatrist isn’t such a bad idea.” She complained pretending Riley didn’t hear her. At least he was sure about one thing: he will never have any significant relationship with his mother. His father on the other hand; at least he knew how to laugh things off.

There was no bigger regret than walking through the main doors to the Venitas live hall. Out from the cold early morning, into the warm and wide-open space. The live hall wasn’t anything particularly special. It was large white square room with seats all facing to the center of the room towards a circular stage. Everyone was teeming as they rushed through to find the best seats in the house.

For Riley the urge was clear. As soon as he took one step inside it hit him like a brick, something he had felt before but never so powerful. He felt a knot in his stomach, a sensation ran through his nerves making his whole body want to turn and run. Run straight to the exit and out the doors to the outside world. Considering how long he had waited to see the Venitas live, instead of just sitting in the living room on the tv; he wondered what was making him feel so insecure. He looked around at the many merry faces. Old people on the blink of death looking for one last thrill; children just starting to see the real world with their own eyes; teenagers his own age thriving in large loitering groups blind to everything they didn’t care about. And there was Riley: the only one who was in a confused state of fear.

“Just let him be dear.” Had someone been trying to communicate to him while he’s been lost in emotion. He turned sharply noticing his father guiding his wife towards some front row seats. “He doesn’t need us hear. Just let him do his own thing.”

Without a thought to him, both his parents left him alone in a room that was making it hard for him to breath.

The pain most of the time extended to only a stabbing feeling in his chest, a dull sensation. Like a large-scale heartburn that set a fire within him. Maybe his muscles would start to hurt and he’d find himself clenching at one of his arms. However, this was more than that: he felt psychically drained. His head hurt, his eyes blurred and he found himself digging his nails into the palms of his hands to try and distract himself. There wasn’t anything else he could about it.

Reluctantly he lost himself in the music playing on his headphone, shoved his hands in his pockets and grabbed the seat nearest to the exit all the while trying his hardest to ignore the suspicious feeling growing inside. Maybe not thinking about it would make it go away? He hoped.

“Ladies and Gentlemen.” As if his headache wasn’t enough now they had to introduce strobe lightning to the mix. The room darkened as flashes of blue and green and reds flew around the room. Riley flinched but continued his futile attempts to hide it all away.

Stood on the center circular stage rose a rather dashing young teen. “Can I have your attention please.” He walked around the stage with a Cheshire cat grin on his face with his arms outstretched to gather everyone attention. The whole room was instantly captivated by his aura of confidence and silence befell them all. The anticipation in the air was so thick it was almost sickening. At least that’s what Riley thought. After all, these people had waited a whole year and they knew exactly what was going to happen.

“Tch.” It was all too much for the bad-tempered teen. It may have been quite the sight for the ladies, seeing the young announcer strut around dresses smartly in his black suit and tie; but through the flashing light display, Riley couldn’t see anything.

“My dear audience.” The teen started. “My name is Guy and I welcome you all to the Venitas!” He took a quick bow as roars from the audience exceeded his expectations. “Shortly, ten contestants, chosen from you lovely people, will be chosen to play. Now if you can all get settled and seated, then we’ll begin!”

Guy, the young announcer, graciously accepted all the affection. He was literally the center of attention as he flirtatiously waltzed around the stage. Well, he was a very handsome young man, so why shouldn’t he enjoy the admiration that was being thrown at him. The woman at his feet and the standing ovation of the crowd went straight to his head. That’s over confidence for you, Riley thought.

Guy’s eyes sailed over the sea of crowds and landed gracefully on the pretty few he spotted. A cheeky wink later and he moved on to the next beauty; only to fall on something he wouldn’t call beautiful. A person a few years older than him, sitting at the far end of the hall with his arms crossed and his attention drifting somewhere else. A few seconds past before the other person turned his head and made direct eye contact with Guy. Maybe it was nothing, but both felt something rise in their throats. A shiver later and a rather hatful glance, Guy turned away sharply to return to his attention to those who adored him.

“Creep.” Riley whispered to himself. He hated overly dramatic people who looked down at the little guy. “Geez.” He bit his lower lip and took his headphones off. He had waited a long time for this, he wasn’t going to let some ‘feeling’, or some rude announcer get in the way.

Although Riley decided to ignore the little ‘happening’, far off behind him Abs noticed the change in Guy’s pride. At first, she tried to ignore it as she kept a keen eye on the young announcer. She was there to put an end to it all; and Guy was the definition of ‘all’. This was Guy’s game, his crowd; his doing. Well, he was at least the face of it all. In truth he was just another prawn in a bigger game. But that can wait.

She continued to glance around the hall, her eyes falling on Guy and his theatrical antics, but every once in a while, she gritted her teeth as she found herself looking at the back of Riley’s head. It certainly was nagging her and curiosity had set its seed within her. She thought through all the fact she knew, everything her uncle had researched over the years. The Venitas, the Kitsune; and concluded that there was no such thing as coincidence.

“Geez.” She bit her bottom lip and faced the facts that maybe something else was at play. There was no harm in considering it anyway.

Riley was only sat a few rows in front of her, with his headphones hanging around his neck and his phone gripped in his hand. She made her way forward and took a second to get a good look at him; what he was wearing, his face and features but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. So she stepped over the seat beside him and sat down. “Hi.” She said with the most convince smile she had. “I’m Abs.”

Riley watched in awe as a girl his own age climbed over the back of the chair besides him and sat down. She was quite tall his noticed, but under her musty pink jacket he could tell that she was unusually muscular for a girl her age. He watched as she took a hair band out of her pocket and tied back her short brown hair into a high ponytail. He felt annoyed that his space was being invaded but turned away hoping that ignoring her would put her off.

Abs stepped forward to shake his hand but Riley only glared forward, he didn’t even take the time to turn his head towards her hoping that she would get the message and go back. He wasn’t in any mood to socialize, not that he was very sociable anyway. He was the quiet type who much preferred to own company than to have to force himself to be friendly. He didn’t appreciate girly girls who were only interested in his looks; he hated flirts.

Abs rolled her hazelnut eyes. She wasn’t the type to give in so easily, and she certainly wasn’t’ going to get turned away by some moody teen. She sat back in the seat and tried to find what he was focusing on. She stuck her tongue between her back teeth and tried to smile again. After a while of silence, she puckered herself up, brushed back her hair and twisted herself so her whole body was facing Riley. “Hi” she said again. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Abs.” She held out her hand again with impatience behind her smile.

Riley glance at her hand as if she was looking at something inhuman but gave in anyway. “Riley.” He said bluntly while shaking her hand.

“Nice name.” She flirted. “So, have you been here before?” Riley turned his head away when she leaned in just a little bit too close. Just put up with it, she convinced herself. Just start up any conversation and maybe I’ll get somewhere.

“Look.” Finally, he looked her square on with a stern expression. He sighed, he didn’t want to hurt the girl but with all the weight her was under he couldn’t handle a pesky girl looking for attention. “I’m not interested.” He didn’t take his eyes of her hoping that his rather cold look would scare her off.

Abs only smiled with the corners of her mouth almost reaching her ears. What’s up with his guy? Why am I even doing this anyway? She tried to question her motives but the same answer just kept popping up: ‘because it’s too much of a coincidence’. She needed to think of something quick. She had obviously misjudged him, thinking that some pretty boy would be more than willing to chat to some flirtatious girl. Yet somehow, this guy stepped out the normal stereotype she had pictured for him. It wasn’t like she could change her act halfway through, he’s find that way too suspicious. And continuing being the girly girl wasn’t getter her anyway. Right! She made up her mind. I’ll just make it up as I go along.

“I’m not that type of girl.” She twisted her body so that she was no longer leaned up against him and pouted. She was no longer in the mood to get his attention but maybe she could get him somehow curious in him. She leaned back in the chair, crossed her legs and sighed. Play it cool. Mirror his own attitude back to him. She thought cunningly.

Riley saw the sudden change in persona and ignored it. Instead she spitefully looked down at his lap and grinned. “They all say that.” He said bluntly. He knew it was rude, throwing every girl into the same box, but she did that herself. And somehow, she thought that a quick change in attitude would suddenly get him more involved. How naive.

Abs started to turn red with fury. She didn’t have time to chat with some ungrateful man-child. She thought about ignoring everything she had witnessed earlier; Guy’s reaction and all. However, nothing’s a coincidence, don’t take anything lightly. The last thing she needed. In the middle of her inner-debating her uncle just happened to pop into her head with words he drilled in her. I know. I know. Her inner monologue repeated. Something’s not quite right, and it’s my duty to investigate everything in hopes that any little thing can help me. You know, sometimes I really hate my own words. It was her that decided to go down this path. She could have been a nurse or police officer. But no; she had to be the one to take it upon herself to end it all.

There’s no peace for the warrior who hasn’t completed their duty. “I guess.” She admitted to him calmly. Riley looked up from his lap, now that wasn’t the answer he expected. “I mean, you’re obviously not who I pictured you to be.” She smirked. “I wasn’t trying to be pushy or anything, I just got curios. I saw the way Guy looked at you. I was just wondering if there was something between you.” She wasn’t trying to be girly or cold anymore; then again, neither was she trying to be herself. God knows that being herself would only push him away further.

Riley listen to her carefully. Yeah, it freaked him out a bit when the announcer glared at him so rudely, but he didn’t expect anyone to be intrigued by it. Maybe she was just one of his fans looking for a way to meet Guy herself. Never underestimate the power of a fangirl. He smirked.

“Well.” He looked at her then back at his hand which were entwined on his lap. “I shouldn’t think so. I’ve never met him before in my life. I guess he just had me confused with someone else.” He thought about playing it off as ‘maybe he wasn’t looking at me’, but even he couldn’t deny that that look was direct straight at him.

Abs didn’t believe him. She felt something rise within, her normal brutish shelf. The ‘her’ that her uncle had raised. She faced forward looking at Riley from the corner of her eye. “Well, if you say so.” She whispered unconvincingly. She was so doubtful in her own words that she found her body acting on its own as she tried to grab Riley’s hand. She’ll force the truth out of him if she had to. “However, I…”

“I’m back!” Abs paused herself as Guy rose from the ground in the center of the circular stage and waved a long glass cane around. She withdrew her hand and sat back taking in every sight of him galivanting around the stage. “I am pleased to announce that the ten players have been chosen.” Abs grinned menacingly and out from the corner of his eye, Riley noticed.

She didn’t even notice that Guy was gone while she was trying to draw information out of Riley. It wasn’t until his loud personality hit the room that she reminded herself of the real goal. Riley was just a side quest.

She knows something. Riley kept an eye on her as she tapped her foot eager while Guy called out the names of the players. Riley knew that she no longer cared about interrogating him, and he couldn’t be happier about it. He shuffled aside and sat one chair away from her. He sighed in relief and leaned back in the chair while running his fingers through his hair as a stress release. Once he felt himself calm down a bit he returned to try and enjoy the rest of the Venitas without other butting in or the growing pain he felt.

“So, without wasting more of your time, here are the ten lucky players.” He lifted the cane far into the air and a screen lit up above him. “Charlotte Reeds.” Above him the faces if the names called out sprung up on the screen, the crowd roared but no one stood up the claim name. Knowing this, Guy continued. “Beth Lils, Bobby Moore, Patrick Mills, Abs White, Margaret Woods, Riley Waters, Mather Greene, Joe Rocket and finally; Bucky Bourne.” There was hardly a breath between each name as the crowd got louder and louder after each name. He shouted them out proudly and without hesitation and even the screen behind him had a hard time catching up.

Suddenly all went quiet. The screen vanished unspectacular, and gradually, one by one, each of the people whose name had been called out stood up to claim the title of a player. It was expected of the players to be more than joyous about it, after all, they have all been waiting what felt like an eternity, yet none of them made a sound. Guy didn’t seem all that surprised, he knew what was going to happen over the next ten days so he knew the reason for their dumbfoundedness. Yet, he still grinned mischievously.

Riley watched as Abs rose from her seat. She seemed to be the only one who was actually glad to have her name called out. It was one thing to watch the Venitas live, but a completely different story to have their name called out. She knew this, she once knew the feeling all the players felt. Last year that was. This year it’s different for her: this year she cheated.

Disbelief rose from within. Riley Waters? It was name he knew all too well, yet he hoped another Riley Waters would step up and he could hide away. Yet only nine people were stood up. Riley went pale, he watched as Abs looked around counting the players, nine? He counted again and so did she. Nine.

Guy paused, he had waited quite some time for this tenth player to stand up but he couldn’t wait any longer. He stretched out an arm to all those who have stood up and welcomed them to the stage. “Come on up you lucky ten.” He grinned again. He took a second to look at Abs, the to the person sat to her right.

“Well, this is some turn of events.” Abs chuckled as she turned to look down at Riley. “You are Riley Waters Right?” She kept her teasing smile on and flicked back her hair. Riley didn’t reply. “Come on then, can’t keep everyone waiting.”

He felt a strange mixture of shock and embarrassment. So many thoughts ran through his head, he didn’t know Guy; his name was Riley Waters, but...but… he came to realization that there was no way of getting out of it. It was like something fell off him as soon as his name was called out. It was fine watching someone else play, but to be the player himself was scary. Is this what every player feels like?

“Riley?” Abs nudged him a few times. “No backing out of it now. Might as well get it over and done with. Maybe you’ll be the first to go.” She chuckled spitefully. “After all, only one can win.”

Riley rose from his seat quicker than Abs could blink. He glared at her in rage. This was no joking matter, the Venitas, where only one player can win. And the other players? Nine. That makes me the tenth. He straightened himself up, came to terms with what had just happened and walked away from Abs ignoring her as she followed him to the center. “Happy?” He quickly remarked as soon as he stepped onto the circular stage. Abs didn’t need to reply.

The game was set, Guy danced around the ten stunned players in a ritualistic parade of the poor unfortunate souls. The scales were removed from their eyes, the only ones in the room who saw the Venitas for what it really was. As soon as their names were called out, the whole world forgot them. They were now figures of worship. They were false gods.

“Hi.” Guy walked over to each player and shook their hands. He spoke with dignity and peace. “You must feel so blessed.” It surprised them how Guy actually believed that lie. No way in hell did they feel anything close to blessed. They were cursed. “I have a feeling this year is going to be…” He flung himself away from the ten to address the audience. “Spectacular!” He shouted out gleefully.

He spurred on the audience’s praises before returning to welcome each player individually telling how proud they should feel. But his words fell on cold hearts and his grin faded when he took ahold of Abs hand. “Well isn’t this a surprise.” He said cunningly. He tightened his grip. “You’re the first player to enter the Venitas twice. It’s as if someone rigged the game.” He whispered sarcastically. Abs pulled him in closer.

“Now who would do that.” She replied with confidence. Abs smiled as she watched Guy struggle to keep the sincere smile from turning into a growl. Quickly he let go of her hand and stepped aside to face Riley.

“You’re a lucky lad Riley.” Abs leaned in closer with curiosity getting the better of her. “Guy’s your age always wants to be picked for the Venitas.” As Riley pulled his hand away bitterly, he suddenly felt a lot worse. Something familiar fell over him and Guy alike. Abs raised an eyebrow keenly. She watched patiently as Riley started to look somewhat faint. So, he is hiding something. Amongst all the confusion, another player coughed rudely as a sign of impatience. Abs looked across to a much older woman flattering her eyes in disapproval. Abs tutted when she realized that Guy had walked away and was now facing the audience. She was annoyed that someone else ruined her moment of intense viewing.

She stepped closer to the other teen and leaned on his shoulder. “What was that about?” She whispered in his ear.

Riley felt the feeling fade, he felt sturdy again and, feeling as thought Abs was a little too close, stepped aside and brushed her off. “Nothing.” He said abruptly. “It was nothing.” He thought it through himself but couldn’t come up with an explainable reason why he felt like that. That was unless it made him sound like a madman. Plus, why would I tell her, who is she anyway?! We only just met and buy first impressions, she’s annoying.

Thankfully, Guy broke him out of his through with his loud charm. “Audience, I welcome you to celebrate with me the beginning of this year’s Venitas.” He roared out joyously. The audience shared in his moment of glory and celebrated loudly as streamer floated down from the ceiling and landed on the crowd. Eventually Guy calmed the thunderous audience and regained control over the room. “Now you all know what happens. These lucky ten will take part in ten games spread over ten days. At the end of it all one player will be crowned victorious. Only one.” He put a scary kind of emphasis on the last two words. Only one.

I should have run. I should have trusted my instinct earlier on. Now it’s too late. Why do I ignore myself just like everyone else ignores me?

“Is he alright?” One of the ten players, a boy not much younger than Riley leaned up towards Abs while watching Riley with concern. He didn’t know what was going on, he knew that all of them were feeling very scared but he could see that Riley was beyond scared.

Abs looked over to the tall person stood on her left, he wasn’t anything special, she observed, but he did have some very deep, dark brown eyes. From what she could tell, based on her own format on judging people from first appearances: this guy wasn’t so bad. In fact, he seemed a lot more cheerful than the others. Like somewhere amongst all the fear, he saw something a little brighter. She raised questionably eyebrow.

“Oh!” The boy exclaimed quietly. “I’m Joe. Nice to meet you.” Abs shook his hand and smiled kindly. Good strong handshake, she noticed.

“Abs.” She replied easily. Joe smiled and looked over to Riley again. “Him?” Joe nodded. “I don’t really know him.” Joe seemed a little bit taken back but quickly smiled again.

“Oh.” He grinned sheepishly. “I just thought, since you… Well you seemed to know each other.” He chuckled again.

“Well I literally just met him a moment ago. All I know is his name.” She looked over to Riley. He was pale no doubt but he seemed to be handling it okay. She noticed how tall his stood with his back straight and his eyes forward. If anything, Riley looked stern and ready. Probably the only one truly ready to play. Apart from her that was. “I think he’ll be okay. After all, it’s only a game.”

Joe looked a little confused for a moment but returned to his merry smile. It was a bit strange calling it ‘just as game’, both of then knew that was a lie. Yet he just figured it was her way of bracing herself. “I guess you’re right.” He chuckled again.

“But before we officially start, why don’t we allow the players a little bit of time to get… adjusted.” Guy returned to the players after thrilling the audience. “The first game will start in two hours. Well I don’t need to tell you that. You all know how this goes, right?” He teased. “But if I were you....” He took a breather to direct his words at Riley, “I would practice a bit. You don’t want to die in the first round.” He joked coldly.

After a quick theoretical twist of Guy’s wrist, the first of many mysterious things about the Venitas took place and all the players found themselves no longer before the audience, but stood in a hall with a very long table displaying various ‘tools’ to ‘aid’ them in their ‘game’. Abs smirked. She knew it all inside and out and quickly walked to the table to be the first to claim her tool.

It was freaky to think that their whole world could just change in a flash. Earlier that morning Abs was at home. She was cooking breakfast for her sister and uncle, like she always did, with full knowledge that it could be their last breakfast together. Like usual, they talked about minor things; school, homework; life in general all to put off talking about the inevitable. Abs knew that she was going to be a player in the Venitas, she had condemned herself to fight against it all. She had known for weeks but the very mention of the Venitas was practically taboo between Abs and Liv.

Abs walked up to the table where she ran her hand across everything that laid there. The other players didn’t really know what to do. They knew about what happens during the games, but not in between, and they had yet to see what was on the long table. Finally, Abs reached they very thing she was looking for and raised it from the table in one effortless sweep. The other nine jumped back in awe and fright seeing Abs sweep up a long scythe from the table and grab it with both hands. All the while smiling to herself.

“But...What?” The oldest out of the ten was a frail old woman with dark tight curls and thin pinkish lips. She wobbled towards the table and placed her hand upon the other ‘tools’. “But they’re all…” She stuttered. “Weapons.” The woman picked up a small hair pin and was about to twist it between her finger and thumb when Abs suddenly stopped her.

“I would do that.” She said with unusual sincerity. “You see, if you press this.” Abs carefully took the hairpin away from the woman and presses her thumb against a tiny silver button on the base. Something mechanical clicked inside and out popped a tiny paper-thin blade at the other end. The old woman gasped in shock and stepped back. “You see, it’s a tiny little thing but effective. Just be mindful of the venom on the blade and it could become your best friend.” Abs smiled as she pushed the button against and the small blade vanished without a trace of it ever existing. She then passed the pin back to the woman. “The first thing you pick up tends to be the correct tool for you.” The woman looked questionably at Abs.

“I see. Thank you young lady.” She patted Abs on the shoulder. “I’m Martha.”

“Abs.”

“Okay. But what I don’t understand is why we would need such weapons.” All of them turned to another lady in her late sixties standing at the back of the crowd with her arms crossed. “I mean, these are just silly games. Why do we need weapons?”

Abs witnessed as the woman glanced from each of them critically. It was the same woman who got annoyed and coughed to break up Guy and Riley. Just what I need. Abs sighed. It didn’t take a lot but already Abs could tell that this woman was going to be trouble.

“Well.” She said bluntly while stepping towards the woman. “If you want to win then you need to survive. And if you want to survive, then you need to fight. It’s as simple as that.” She grinned sarcastically.

“You don’t have to be so rude.” Oh great! Here comes another one. A chubby, yet muscular man, with square glasses stepped between Abs and the mean woman. He tapped the sides of his glasses. “What makes you an expert at this anyway?”

Abs couldn’t help but smile and from a small chuckle grew a hearty laugh coming deep from her stomach. She stepped back and raised her scythe to admire the artisanship. From experience, she knew how certain people naturally fitted into certain roles. Judging by Martha, she was the sweet and frail type who needed to be supported by other during the games but would try her hardest to keep the peace between them all. Joe, who she met earlier; seemed to be of a light -hearted lad himself. He’ll probably prove himself during the games to be reliable and level headed. The woman stood before her however, was a real trouble maker. She’ll question everything and rock the boat, so to say. Lastly, the cubby man. Possibly has a sweet spot for old mother type women, mummies boy for sure. Maybe she’ll have a use for him.

“I’m sorry.” She gathered her wits and straighten her whole body. “Look, I’m only pointing out the facts. You don’t have to listen to me, you don’t even have to like me. But if there is even a spark of wanting to win, then you’ll listen and you’ll listen carefully.” Abs didn’t need to find a role for herself, her whole personality was a ‘role’ unto itself. Her uncle raised her to be stern, abrupt, strong and willful. She wholeheartedly didn’t care about any of the others. In fact, she’ll use them eventually. She’ll be the cold outsider whom everyone turned their hate towards, after all, a common enemy can until even the most outcast of people. Again, she grinned cunningly.

“Now to get back to business.” She turned her back to the others and grabbed a pile of clothing at the end of the table. “If you look at your wrist, you’ll find you’ve each been designated a colour. I suggest you find the weapon right for you, grab the clothes that match your colour and get dressed. You can do whatever you like after that.” She didn’t have time to waste as proven by how quickly she marched away towards the changing stools.

“But how did…” Martha looked down at her right wrist to see a thin white plastic band.

“Guy put it on when he shook hand with you earlier.” Abs interrupted as she walked away.

They all fell into an astonished silence. Along with her sharp attitude, she took all the noise with her leaving Riley and the other to fumble around little lost and surprised. One by one they each headed towards the table and grabbed ahold of something that caught their attention. Their hearts were as cold as the weapon they held onto. Their minds a blank as the walls encasing them. Riley could tell by all the whitewashed faces that they all just wanted to curl up into a corner and fade away. At the end of the day, by the rules of the Venitas; they’re already forgotten. Maybe someone will give them mercy and they’ll wake up from this nightmare, body sweating, sheets damp; nonetheless, no matter how hard he pinched himself, all he did was leave sore red marks on his skin. The stab of realization: this was no dream.

He forced himself forget about the fear and concentrated on what was happening around him. He was the last to walk over the table after everyone else had collected their things and were getting dressed. He looked down at the table of weapons, none of them stood out to him.

“Lost again I see.” Riley turned to see Abs smiling as always behind him. She grabbed her scythe proudly and leaned against it. Riley noticed the flashes of bright pink pulsing along the edge of the blade.

“How’d you do that?” He pointed to the pink and down at the other tools seeing how none of them flashed the same vibrant pink as hers did. Abs smirked.

Abs smirked. “See this.” She raised her arm and pointed to the pink band on her arm. “Like I said, each of us has our own colour. It’s for the audience to be able to tell us apart.” She lifted Riley’s arm seeing the blue band on him. “Now, once you’ve found the weapon for you, it will match your band so only you can use it. I guess it’s just Guy’s theatrical way of making everything just that little bit flashier.”

“I see.” He ran his fingers over the row of long, and thick and light swords. Each with their own unique quality. Abs stepped back to get a good look at his figure.

“Well, you’re young but not too buff. I would keep to speed if I was you. But saying that…” She lifted one of his arms and measured it up against her own. Riley instantly pulled back. Abs chuckled at him. “My scythe doesn’t look like much, it’s long and although it looks light depending on how you balance it, it can be quite heavy.” She turned back to the table and shuffled aside a few tools. “Stick to something agile. You’ve got strong legs after all, if you concentrate on something that’s quick and easy to move around with then you might make it past the first game.” She said sarcastically.

He wasn’t going to respond to her. She’ll have the last word anyway. He decided to just close his eyes and take a deep breath, the first thing he’ll see when he opens his eyes will have to do. Abs became curious as she watched Riley chest move in and out. It had only been about half an hour since they met and already she had seen so many different sides of him. Too many. She couldn’t work out if he was a cold and solitude teen, or a friendly and lighthearted boy or a mysterious man hiding secret from about him and Guy. He came across quite weak and scared at first but watching him breath she realized that there was unique strength about him. She just needed to figure out how he’d fit into her scheme.

After a few slow moments of breathing deeply, he opened his eyes and placed his hands upon a strange looking sword, something he didn’t see before. He lifted a strange brass hilt with two thin blades running parallel a little bit longer than his arm. Surprisingly, as he twisted it around from hand to hand, he found it to be lighter than it looked. The hilt was sturdy and kind of plain, while the blades stood a few centimeters apart with both edges sharpened. Abs raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the table.

“I guess this will do.” He said with no confidence. Down the center of each blade stretched out a blue line much like Abs pink line. Obviously, he was stuck with it now. He sighed and laid the sword down on top of his pile of clothes.

“Well don’t leave me hanging. How does it feel?” He turned back to Abs looking a bit depressed. “You know that weapon hasn’t been used in quite some time.” She ignored the way he looked and continued to walk past him. She figured that if didn’t start cheering up then there was no real point in getting to know him since he’ll lose anyway.

Riley frowned. “What do you mean?” Abs quickly turned back to face him and gave a cheeky grin.

“Every year the Venitas takes place, and each Venitas consists if ten players. I know for a fact that each year every other weapon has been chosen at some point in previous Venitas games. However, the last time that two-headed sword was chosen was around…” She paused for thought. “Oh, over ten years ago.” Riley looked at her a bit surprised and confused.

“You keep track of it all?

“Never mind that. Just get dressed.” Abs said, waving her hand as she walked away. Again, Riley was alone and a little lost. He looked down at sword and felt the corners of his mouth rise to a smile. Two-headed sword huh?

“Wow!” Riley nearly dropped everything as someone stood behind him leaned over his shoulder to look at the tool he had chosen. Riley stepped aside as a slim girl crept up from behind. “Suits you.” She joked. She was a skinny girl, around the same age as him, with shoulder length burgundy hair with dark brown roots showing and velvety brown eyes. On her back she had strapped two lightweight katanas. Proudly she reached out her and forcibly took his hand into her own. “I’m Beth.” She said suddenly. Riley didn’t have time to shake her hand as she quickly let go and strode away. Poor Riley didn’t even get to introduce himself let alone figure out what type of person she was.

Riley thought about how Abs and Beth looked alike. They were both tall and slim pretty women. Beth was undoubtedly bustier while Abs had more muscle to her. Both had shoulder length dark hair and dark eyes but somehow, they seemed to be completely different ends of the personality scale. Abs came off as calculated and cool, she was ready to fight; while Beth seemed energetic, overly-friendly and very proud. That said, new things might come out over the next ten days.

“Do I have to wear this?” Riley had finally walked himself to the row of small changing rooms where he dropped the pile of clothes on the stool and lifted a black jacket lace with a little bit blue just as his sword. He measured it up against him and looked into the mirror. “Can’t I just wear what I’m already wearing?” Without realizing it, he was speaking out loud and over the top of the changing room Joe popped his head out.

“Tell me about it.” He gleamed. “I mean, hang on.” He jumped back down and vanished from view only to pull open the changing room curtain and step into the stall. “Look at this. I would have been fine in my jeans.” He turned around looking at the black slightly baggy, trouser decorated with a few deep pockets. On his top half he had a plain white top and a tight fitting black collarless jacket with a pattern of a few orange stripes on the back. He flapped open the jacket and pouted. “This just isn’t my style” He joked.

Riley looked down at the exact same clothes he had, but this time his jacket was lined with blue, just like his wrist band. “So, you’re orange then?” Riley looked at the plastic band on Joe’s arm then up at Joe. He was a very tall guy, with a slim, track star build and very short black hair. Thought what really stood out was his remarkably sharp eyes and huge playful smile.

“Yeah.” He looked at the blue stripes on Riley’s jacket. “Aw man. Blue is so much better than orange. Can we swap?”

“Umm? I don’t think we can.” Riley said nervously. He just wanted to get dressed in peace. Surprisingly Joe seemed to be a bit more insightful as he stepped back out of the stall only to pop his head back in again.

“I guess you’re right.” He jested. “I’m Joe by the way.”

“Ril…” Before Riley could even finished saying his own name, Joe let go of the curtain and vanished. “Okay.” He said to himself uneasily hoping that no one else will barge in.

Finally, Riley could get dressed in peace, he sighed at his reflection in the mirror. His trousers fitted a lot tighter than Joe’s did, and jacket he actually liked; it was something he would wear on any normal day. But the shoes… No doubt they were capable of anything, the sturdy tan shoes with solid thick soles and tight laces. He just wished he could throw his daps back on again. The shoes given to him weren’t all that comfortable. He exhaled sharply.

“I think it’s gonna be an easy win this year.” All Riley wanted was a bit of peace and quiet so that he could concentrate on at least surviving the first round. But that wasn’t in the cards for him. Walking boldly towards him was the same sharp-tongued girl who had been bothering him since the beginning. He looked around hoping to find some way of getting away from her.

“Geez.” He moaned. She walked a lot quicker than he expected and soon she was stood directly in front of him, leaving him no time to find an excuse to escape. He dropped his head in defeat and decided to just go along with it. “Why’s that?” He said moodily.

Abs grinned mischievously. “Over there.” She pointed to the same old lady who decided to pick a fight with Abs earlier. “Margaret in the white, haven’t you notice that she’s a little too old for this.” Abs laughed. “I mean, there’s Martha and that guy over there as well. They’re all way too old.

Riley noticed a man in his fifties fiddling around with a black cane. Sure, he was old; with his unkempt white hair and trembling hands, however it was a bit unfair to say that they won’t survive. If they work together then they might make it past game one without losing anyone.

“Then again.” Riley looked up hoping that she will take back her words, but she wasn’t that kind. “That little thing over there…” She scoffed. “It’s sweet an all that she’s trying but I don’t think she’ll get very far.”

Riley had had enough. He unconsciously began tapping his finger again the sword he held in his right hand. He couldn’t believe that someone could be so cruel and cold, especially in the situation they were in. I can’t believe this is actually happening. He swapped his sword over to his left hand and ran his right hand through his hair in frustration while Abs continued to mock the others.

Riley couldn’t help but look over to the youngest out of the ten. She was gripping a very long blade all the while listening carefully to Beth. He cheered up a little bit seeing that there was still a little bit of compassion out there. “I don’t know.” He wanted to prove to Abs that not everyone was as ruthless as her. “Beth seems to be teaching her well.”

“Sure she is.” Abs smirked. Riley felt his fist clench in fury. “Beth is just saving her own back. She’s gossiping and making sure that the other girl makes a truce with her. That way, if it’s just these two left; Beth could easily kill her off.”

Riley was stunned. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. How can one girl be so bitchy? “That’s a bit drastic.” He said while trying to hold on to the last of his calmness. “You shouldn’t judge them.” Riley flashed her a furious look before walking away from her and sitting beside the white-haired man.

The older man was busy reading a manual, what it was about, Riley didn’t know. But judging by the way he quickly flicked through the pages, he wasn’t enjoying it. The man hadn’t had any interaction with any of the other players, instead he kept himself to himself muttering indecisively.

Riley didn’t know much about the Venitas. Sure, he watched it every year at home, he didn’t anyone who didn’t. But as far as actually being a player, he was completely lost. He sat quite a distance from the man, as to not bother him too much. He wondered how scared the man was? It was true, she was too old to be playing in such a game as the Venitas, but that didn’t mean they had to give up on him. Riley couldn’t help but empathetic towards him. He must have a family; children, grandchildren? He must be thinking of them. Yet here he was, struggling.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” The man looked up from his book and took off his reading glasses.

“No. I’m fine.” He said bluntly. Riley sighed. No matter how hard he may have tried to convince himself that he could do it alone, Riley knew that the man needed at least one friend.

“Well if you say so.” He paused waiting for the man to respond. “I’m Riley by the way.”

“Patrick Mills.” The man didn’t even look up from his book but instead moved further away from Riley. He noticed how shaky the man’s hand was but decide not to mention anything.

Silence passed with Riley and Patrick sat at opposite ends of the bench doing their own separate things. It was a bit awkward for Riley as he sat examining the markings on his two-headed sword, while occasionally glancing over to check up on Patrick. It wasn’t the silence itself he felt awkward about, it was the fact that everyone else had formed small groups and were chatting amongst each other, while he and Abs were the only ones who didn’t seem to fit in. Even though Patrick was alone, he did choose to be that way. Riley had to respect that.

Abs wondered around the hall watching the others intensely. As far as she was concerned, they were all pawns in a much bigger game. The Venitas was just the stage, to which the opponent was the Kitsune. And the other nine players were just tools she had to use. She’ll have then play different roles depending on their individual skills. She had to. She had to be cold and cruel and bitter, because as soon as her name was called out, the Kitsune had the advantage.

“Look, I’m sorry about earlier.” Abs was caught off guard by the chubby guy from earlier. She shot him a questionable look. The guy lifted his glasses up his nose and rested his hand on the best of knives he had around his waist. “You know, earlier. I think we were all just a little stressed and it came off wrong. I appreciated what you were trying to tell us, about just getting it over with and following our instincts…” That’s not what I was trying to tell you? “You’re looking out for us.” He took his hand off the belt and held it out for her. “Thank you.” He said sheepishly as a streak of red ran across his cheek. “I think we were all scared and you just took it upon yourself to snap us into action. After all, there is no real point in us moping around.”

It wasn’t her intention at all. She smiled and shook his hand. “I guess.” She said blandly.

The rather geeky looking guy put his hand back on his belt. Abs expected him to just walk away after saying his peace, unluckily for her, he had more to say.

“I suppose none of us expected this to happen. I mean, I only came because some friend online invited me. Outside of here I work at home helping people online, photoshopping, repairing broken computers even tracking down people. I’ve gotta admit some of the thing I do aren’t….”

Is he ever going to shut up? Abs pretended she was listening but she couldn’t care less. This guy was talking at her and she didn’t even have time to say anything herself. Though, to be honest, she hated talking about herself; so as long as he doesn’t ask her to explain her life story, she could put up with it.

“... I wasn’t gonna come a first, but he eventually convinced me. I know, it’s a stupid move, I’ve never met him before. We chatted a few times online, he had some interesting points of view and he did say some very strange things, but he seemed okay. We were meant to meet up outside the hall, but I guess something came up as he didn’t show. Well, I had already brought a ticket online and I’m not one to waste money so I decided to come in alone. You can imagine the shock it was when Guy said my name. Of courses you know.” He chuckled sheepishly again. “You must have felt the same way when your name was called out...”

Wrong she thought. Urgh, will you just shut up already! She shifted from foot to foot as she kept on talking. She was hoping he would spot her disinterested in her action as she turned her head a few times to look behind her, occasionally glancing at the clock on the wall. Dunce, she sighed.

“Oh. Ha-ha, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Bobby.” Abs forced a smile as she shook his hand for the second time. Yeah, sure, he seemed harmless and all but he was way too talkative.

“Abs.” She said quickly.

“Hmm?” Abs held her breath, hopefully that was the end of it. Hopefully he’ll let her go. She looked down at the pink band on her wrist, they only had forty-five minutes left until the first game starts. Until the Venitas really starts to become a challenge. “I swear I know you from somewhere?”

Now that was interesting. Does he know? It didn’t matter if he did know, it would make no difference to her. Or maybe… it’ll be easier for them all to know? Whatever, she wasn’t going to tell them anything, if they find out for themselves then that’s a different story. She’ll just deal with it when that happened. However, judging by the way Bobby shook his head, he didn’t remember.

“Never mind.” Bobby laughed. “Anyway, nice chatting with you.” She wondered if he was going to shake her hand again but thankfully he just walked away.

“Hey brown?”

Oh no. Please just leave me alone already.

“Reading isn’t going to help you later.”

Riley felt someone come up behind him and lean on his back. He leaned down with his elbow on his knee and his head resting on his hand. Regretfully, he turned to head to look behind him seeing Abs gleaming down at him. He sighed heavily in frustration and looked at the band on Patrick’s wrist. It was brown.

“He can do what he likes.” Riley replied spitefully. He wanted to get away from the bad vibe Abs was carrying with her but he knew that if he pushed her off she would only find another way to annoy him. “Why don’t you go help him over there. He’s been eyeing you up a lot lately/” Riley joked as he pointed towards Bobby.

Abs turned her head, it was true, Bobby was practically staring at her. She tutted and leaned back further on Riley. Was earlier his way of flirting? She felt sick.

“I was just giving him a little bit of advice. Right brown?” She pouted playfully. “You don’t need to get all defensive.”

“Patrick.” Riley snapped back. “His name is Patrick. You think you know everything don’t you.” Abs grinned to herself but didn’t say anything.

By this point Patrick started to feel uncomfortable. Although they were both arguing about him, neither of bothered to realize that he didn’t really care and he certainly wasn’t going to get involved. He shifted off the bench and moved to another settee with his book to read in silence.

“I’m better equipped at this any anyone where.” Abs said overconfident. She decided to move from a standing position to sitting on the back of the bench while still leaning back to back against Riley.

“And why’s that?” Riley’s voice started to rise to the point that all the other’s stopped to watch their argument. Though it was a little bit strange seeing them arguing with her using him as a prop to stay upright. It looked like a couple’s domestic argument, but in reality, they were both ready to tear each other’s throats out.

The tension stayed high until a familiar voice surprised all of them. The air suddenly turned cold and as Abs looked down at the timer on her wrist band she realized that the time was coming close.

“Because she’s last year’s winner.”