Run

“Run,”

The words barely escaped my lips before the lights began to flicker, slowly dying as the shadows began to wake. Chills swept into the room and within that darkness, the demon doll appeared.

“Run. Run. RUN. RUN! ALL OF YOU RUN AWAY!”

With panic bleeding into my chest, I grabbed my best friend, Tris, by the hand, sprinting out of the small cabin that protected us for the past week. I ran through the trees, ignoring the pain my bare feet felt as it stepped on every rock and branch. I ignored the screams of pain and fear echoing throughout the woods and raced through the river, trying to ignore how deeply red and tainted it was.

Only twelve of us were left. Twelve children out of the fifty that entered the final game in the woods. Twelve out of the five hundred kids the world has sacrificed for this year’s monster feast, a horrific game of survival where gods would watch in interest and guardians would manage with greed. It was entertainment for them all. A sickening kind meant to control humans to their tune, whether it be their behavior or population.

I couldn’t care less about the others, but Tris couldn’t die. She needs to live just as much as I. She can’t get caught.

“Mavin,” She huffed, “I can’t keep up,” Her voice, once sweet like honey, was ragged and worn. There was no spark in her deep, brown eyes. There was nothing except acceptance and despair.

“We’re almost there, Tris. Just a little bit farther and then we’ll be safe.”

“No…. I can’t do this anymore.”

“.....What?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” She whispered once more, tears slipping down her sun tanned skin as she held her golden necklace, a gift from her family. . “I want to go home,”

I wanted to go home too. All of us did. None of us kids thought we’d end up in these woods, playing this game of cat and mouse. None of those kids now dead knew the real purpose of this game. None of them except me, the president’s son.

“Listen Tris, I know you’re scared,” I tried to smile. “I know you saw your best friend get slaughtered, but we have to run. We have to live and keep moving. Would Nasha want you to die here now after sacrificing her life for you?”

“No-”

“Then keep running. Now.”

With the words hanging in the air, I gripped her hand-hard before continuing my sprint through the woods. I slowed down just slightly to prevent Tris from breaking again, but I knew she would soon. It was only a matter of time. We’d have to find shelter soon before the sun sets and before the beasts, products made by the guardians, awakened. We have to make it. To the next checkpoint of the game. It was one of the many safe spots within the woods. It was a spot where survivors could protect themselves though only for a little while. If we could make it, we’d survive the beast’s hunt and survive the final night. We’d finally be free and become winners. We’d become heroes to the world. Whatever that means.

With every hour slowly passing and the sun slowly setting, we finally arrived at one of the last checkpoints left, the grand holy tree. Long, white willow leaves glow gracefully with its deep brown trunk, giving hope to those who saw it. Just beneath the mighty tree, a cottage stood patiently with its doors right open.

“Finally,” Tris tiredly laughed, exhausted from running. “We made it, Mavin!”

I watched her grin at me, hope blooming in my chest. I could finally see my life coming back together. I could taste it and it tasted sweet-addicting almost like cotton candy. I wondered then if Tris could feel it too.

Smiling at her, we accepted the cabin’s welcoming arms and entered its mouth. We saw nothing in the dim dark. Nothing until liquid began to pool at our feet and stain it red.

Tris screamed before I could, fear flooding through her eyes. Lying before her were two boys- both looking to be no older than twelve with their now pale skin and hollow, empty eye sockets. They were the Maxon twins. The quiet sons of the baker that served my family and my father.

And above the broken bodies was a human-like monster, one of the most grotesque I’ve ever seen. With greasy, curled black hair and pale skin, it stood on its spider legs, feeding on what looked to be a leg. I heard the crunches as it bit in and grimace as I saw the flesh rip from the bones. I felt like puking until there was nothing left in me.

“Oh god please save us,” Tris whimpered, clasping her hands together in prayer, “Please forgive us for our sins and have mercy on us.”

There were gods in this world. I knew fully well, but they’d have no mercy on us. They were just as cold and heartless as the leaders of every country. They’d want nothing more than to see a Hataurus, the very beast before us, break our every bone and tear our every organ. We were their toys to play with. Nothing more. Nothing less.

As Tris sobbed her prayers and cried for the dead boys, the spider paused its feast on the younger brother of the two, Ned. It stopped shredding his leg, lifting its eyeless head into the air. It sensed our presence. It sensed our fear.

I clasped my hands over Tris’s mouth in a heartbeat, feeling her breath moisten my dirty skin. I felt her trembling in my arms and heard her muffled whimpers loud and clear. She was just as scared of becoming a corpse as I was.

“Krrrrrrrrrrk,” its long, fleshy tongue growled as it started sniffing the heavy air, taking heavy breaths.

It started moving towards us, slowly and hesitantly. I need to move. We have to run, but where? Night was already here. Numerous beasts were roaming the forest now-I could hear them. I could hear their hooves, claws, and scales brushing against the trunks of the trees. I could feel their thirst to kill.

“Mavin,” Tris’s muffled voice whispered as the Hataurus got closer, its tongue slithering out of its mouth like a snake, “Mavin,” Its tongue was inches away from Tris now, still getting closer. We backed slowly together, but still, we didn’t run. I felt light headed and I could feel my legs starting to grow faint. “Mavin!”

“Aaagh!” We both tumbled backwards, falling back outside. I heard Tris scream, but didn’t know why. I felt stunned, but Tris wasn’t, grabbing me with shaky hands and pulling me on my feet. She started sprinting and together, we both raced to climb the big, willowy tree, trying to ignore the loud shrieks coming from behind us. We drowned out the sound of claws desperately trying to catch us and instead willed our hands to climb, grasping whatever small opening we could find on the tree. We continued doing this and soon, we were at the top, faint and wheezy. The moon was now above our heads, illuminating the world around us with an eerie red glow.

“We’re safe,” Tris wheezed, clutching her legs as the Hataurus roared at us in rage. “It looks like it won’t be able to reach us,”

“It seems like it,” I huffed, “That was a close one.”

We had many close calls throughout the ten days in the woods, but this was the closest we’ve ever been to death. How many of us were left? How many kids will get to go home this year? There were many other kids among the twelve that could have survived. Some were big and muscular, taught by their families how to defend themselves and some were quick witted and clever, good at making the right moves. Surely we couldn’t be the only ones who survived until now. You never expected the twins to die though. My thoughts ranged in my head. They were quite smart and yet looked at them. They died. Just like the rest. My thoughts were right. I gritted my teeth, and tears threatened to tip from my eyelids. None of this was fair at all.

“...Mavin, are you alright?”

“Huh?” I asked, my head snapping out of my thoughts. “Yeah Tris. I’m ok,”

“Oh..I see,” She stared quietly at her hands, fidgeting like she always does when she’s nervous. “Sorry-You just looked a bit lost in thought so I was wondering if you were worrying about stuff and-,”

“Tris, it’s fine. You were just worried about me. Thank you.”

A blush crept up her cheeks as she strangled her hands. “..No problem,”

We allowed the silence to fill the space between us, staring down at the Hataurus as it continued clawing at the tree and pacing back and forth. We felt the moon’s grasp on the sky slowly fading and counted down the hours until the game was done. Only two hours were left.

“Hey Mavin,” Tris, breaking the silence, whispered, “Why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ll take watch and let you know when we can leave,”

This was unlike her. “No Tris. I can do it if you-”

“Please, let me do it,” Her eyes seemed to glow within the darkness of the night, reflecting the moon’s rays, “I’ll take the first watch. Go rest.”

She was acting strange. I knew it, but I was exhausted. My eyes were already drooping and my body-already began to ease onto the trunk of the tree. Could something seriously happen when we’re so close to winning?

“...Alright then, Tris. Wake me up when you need to switch with me.”

I thought she nodded then, but I wasn’t sure. She was clutching her leg again, and I could have sworn she was shaking but I didn’t know why. She turned away, seemingly gazing at the monster below us. For what reason-I had no clues and I never got a chance to ask. In fact, I never got to switch places with Tris at all. By the time I had woken from my slumber, she was gone along with the forest and everything else. Not a sound was heard except for the chirps of the animals and the footsteps of the maids and butlers. There was no forest and no beasts. There was just my bed and the sunny sky outside. Was everything just a dream?

I didn’t know. Not until I felt gold metal press against my skin and a soft cloth with it. I looked inside my shirt and found a necklace wrapped around my neck. A gold one with a tiny songbird. It was the very necklace Tris wore. And with that necklace was a piece of her clothes with the words “I’m sorry” written in red. I was the only survivor. The only hero of the monster feast. A single tear slipped down my cheek before it formed a stream, and with these tears flowing, my mouth screamed my pain. My grief. It cried all my emotions out into the world, trying to heal whatever pieces my heart had left.