x
Valarie opened fire on us but I moved out of the way just in time. Hiding behind a bench, I take a peek and some dead bodies on the floor.
"Where are you?" she took out her phone. I take a look at mine and discover the mini-map was one and notice two red dots moving away. Panicked, I tuck my phone into my bag and run out of there.
"Follow me." yelled the kitsune as it ran ahead of me and I do so. We run until we got to the middle of the carnival which showed the paths leading to the different carnival attractions.
“This path is open. It will lead you to the next shard of the mirror.”
I look at my phone to find the other contestants and discover I was alone. With the rest of the entrances leading to the rest of the attractions closed, I take the open path keeping my ears open for any sudden movements.
Then I hear a sound of a machine and quickly hide behind a small building. Hearing the noise again, I take out my bow, grab an arrow from my quills, and posed with it.
'Okay now take a deep breath.' said my inner voice and I do that. 'Three...'
'Two...'
'One! Now!'
I jump out of my hiding place and shoot an arrow into the darkness.
'Great! I just wasted an arrow.'
'In that case, where is the sound coming from?'
My instincts perked up as I picked another arrow from my quill. Eyes, darting to the left and then to the right, I silently move away from the building, turn around and launch an arrow at the robot above me.
"So that's where you were..."
Someone screamed and before I knew it, I was on the floor trying to stop one of the robots from trying to stab me in the head. Flipping over, I grab my knife from my leg harness and plunge it into the robot's skull.
"Phew! That was close." I place the knife back in my leg harness and take another arrow from my quills. "It looks like this path isn't safe to walk in."
I continued to be on high alert until I reached a huge door. Putting my weapons aside, I open it revealing a huge field with a huge animatronic robot wearing a school uniform standing in front of a tree.
"What the..."
Then a door a few meters away from me to my left opened and another female contestant rushed in. I watch her struggle to close the door as one of the robots tried to keep it open but she eventually managed to keep it shut.
Panting, she looked at me then at the robot. "What's going on?"
“COME ON! DON’T TELL ME YOU NEVER PLAYED RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT. IT IS A VERY EXCITING GAME!”
‘Red light green…' my eyes widen in horror. 'Oh sh!t!'
'I JUST TWEAKED IT A BIT TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A DEATH GAME!'
Then the door to my right opened and two male contestants appeared panting.
"Wha...what's going on?" one asked.
"We are playing 'Red Light Green Light!'" yelled the female contestant.
Another one of them groaned. "You have got to be kidding me!"
"AWW, DON'T SINK INTO DESPAIR YET DARLING." cackled the voice. “EVERYTHING GOES AS LONG AS YOU GET TO THE OTHER END OF THE FIELD WITHOUT GETTING KILLED. BESIDES, ALL OF YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE UNLIKE HER."
They all looked at me and to my dismay it was right. They did have an advantage for they were a few meters away from the finish line.
'All they need to do is to make a quick break to the finish line and it's all over.' I take out my bow and an arrow. 'It looks like I have to play dirty to win.'
"NOW LET THE GAME BEGIN!”
The robot looked away giving us the signal to make a break for it. I run and made sure to stop once it looked at us. Not making a move, I watched as one of the female contestants shook like a leaf and waited for the signal to move. Once its head was turned I do a forward roll and shoot my arrow at the female contestant making her fall to the sand.
"Hey!" she shrieked quickly wiping the sand from her eyes.
"Shh!" I reply just in time for the robot stopped playing its tune and daring not to move, I could feel its robotic presence looking at us.
‘The trick is not to run at full speed.’ I thought and the minute the music started playing, I jog, take out another arrow and shoot it at the male contestant who stopped causing his friend to bump into him.
"Hey!"
"Shh!"
The robot had stopped singing again.
"WOW! I LIKE YOUR STYLE."
“Psst.” my eyes dart to the left and I see the kitsune pawing on the ground. “The piece of the mirror is here.”
Once the robot started singing again, I forward roll to the right and, jump on the place where the kitsune was a few minutes ago landing face down. Picking myself up, I quickly shift the sand before the music stopped.
“WHAT IS THIS? ONE OF THE CONTESTANTS IS MOVING AWAY FROM THE TARGET! LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE HAS ALREADY SIGNED HER LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.”
"You are almost there." said the kitsune.
'Thanks for the encouragement.' Once the music stopped and when it started again at a fast tempo, I grab another arrow, (this time the red one) and shoot it at the female contestant's leg causing a small explosion. She yelped and backed away while I reach out to grab the shard of glass and put it in my bag.
The robot stopped singing and I stay still. When it looked away, I shoot another arrow at the male contestant and make a mad dash toward the robot which stopped singing abruptly to look at us. I continue to run repeating my strategy but was still far behind and I was wasting my arrows.
"IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE ALL TIED UP! WITH ONE STILL FAR BEHIND!" the voice announced. "HOW ABOUT WE SPICE THINGS UP A BIT?"
Then we hear something.
"Say, did you really like Yen?"
"Huh? You mean the chick who passed on last year?"
"Yeah? Did you like her?"
Whomever it was scoffed. "No, I don't."
"Why not?"
"She's ugly and I heard she was a tart or something."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's a pity her brother doesn't know how awful his sister is. She sleeps with anyone who would pay her money."
"Are you sure about that man? It's wrong to speak of someone like that. She did commit suicide when word got out."
"Gah! That's her problem. Not mine. Everyone ought to know what a tart she was and I was not afraid to tell anyone either."
The tension in the air suddenly increased to a hundred as I looked to my right. One of the male contestants in front of me was seething with rage while the other behind him turned pale.
'I guess I don't need to know who the culprit is.' I look at the robot. 'I wonder...'
The robot looked away and the see the rest of the contestants start running but I stay put.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER? GIVING UP SO SOON?" mocked the voice.
I shake my head as soon as the music stopped.
'This is a huge gamble.'
The music started again and I grab the red arrow.
'Are you willing to do this?'
'I am betting my life on this after all.' I reply fixing it to the bow.
Sweat was dripping down my forehead and I could feel the tension in the air rise as I drew my bow. The female contestants had managed to cross the finish line leaving two of the male contestants.
'All it takes for me to die is for them to cross the finish line.' I take a deep breath. 'But I am not ready to die yet.'
As soon as the robot looked away, I fire my bow at its head and watched it explode.
"WHAT THE...HEY!"
The voice sounded angry but I didn't care for I was grabbing another red bow and shooting it at the wall. Once it exploded, I rush out and so did the other contestants.
"Phew! That was a close one!" said the female contestant. "I thought you were going to die!"
"YOU! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?"
I placed my bow on me and sighed. "I didn't know. I took a gamble and won."
"A GAMBLE?"
"I looked around and didn't see anyone with guns so I guessed it was the robot holding the atelerary," I explained with a sigh. "It was the only option I had considering the fact I was going to die."
The rest were shocked at this except for one of the male contestants who had angry look on his face and the other male contestant who was as white as blank paper.
"WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A GAMBLER IN OUR MIDST." said the voice.
"I told you, I only want answers," I say taking out my phone.
"BUT THE RULES ARE RULES. YOU HAVE TO PLAY MY GAMES TO GET WHAT YOU WANT!"
I hum in thought and look back at the hole I had just created. Curiosity, I take a peek through it and then look at the rest of the contestants who stared at me with curious looks on their faces. Not saying a word, I flee from the scene leaving them alive.
"HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the voice yelled but I ignore it and find my way towards the center of the park. "YOU ARE LEAVING THEM ALIVE!"
I hear screaming behind me and it doesn't take a genius to guess what happened. Upon reaching the carnival's center, I take out the mirror frame with the piece of glass from my bag and look at it.
'Now, where would I place you?' I ask myself. 'It looks like I have to find the rest of you and superglue to figure it out.'
I look through it and to my shock, I see an arrow pointing towards another part of the carnival's attractions but it was boarded up with wood. Very, weak wood.
'I wonder if I can break through this with my own body?' Taking a step back, I run, jump and destroy the planks of wood.
"OH! NOT BAD!" cheered the voice as I venture down the path littered with more robots. Not willing to waste any more arrows, I use my katana to cut them down and was out of breath by the time I was done.
'I have to give my ancestors credit. Who knew wielding a katana could be tiresome?'
Then I hear a huge sound behind me and look back. There, I see one of the female contestants screaming whilst coming my way only to get impaled in the chest by a spear.
"What the..." then a huge robot with four arms appeared wielding spears. It took one look at me and curled into a ball and started rolling towards me. I move out of the path watching it roll away but just as I thought it missed me, a huge spear appeared from the darkness directed at me.
'Sh!t!' I do a backflip and dodge the attack but more came my way. Running sideways, I hide behind a tree and waited.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER? I THOUGHT YOU LIKED TO GAMBLE WITH YOUR LIFE?"
'Not this kind of gamble,' I take out my bow, fixed a red arrow to it, and draw it to myself. 'All I need is one shot to end this.'
I wait and send the arrow flying the minute I hear a noise. What followed was an explosion but out of it came the robot still wielding its spears. I quickly move out of the way as it came closer to the tree I have hiding behind. Seeing the red light from
'I guess the only way is to get out of here before it sees me.' thus with that in mind, I crouch down in the tall grass and start crawling. Taking a peek once in a while to see where it is going, I stop and lie low when its eyes came in my direction and continue to move when it looked away. Repeating the same strategy over and over again, until I was sure the distance between the robot and I was far before running again.
'I hope that thing doesn't find me.' I thought running until another building came into sight. 'I know this is a carnival but how many buildings does it have?'
Hearing a sound behind me, I open the door to find myself in a dimly lit room serving as a climbing arena and a few of the other contestants were already climbing on it trying to get to the roof where a ceiling window was located.
"IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE TO CLIMB YOUR WAY OUT OF HERE." yelled the voice.
Then the door behind me burst open revealing the robot chasing me from before.
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU BROUGHT A NEW FRIEND!"
It laughed as I quickly joined the other contestants in climbing up to the roof. The good news was there was something to help us climb but the bad news was it was littered with traps. I yelped when something jabbed my fingers and stared at the blood on my palms. Suddenly someone screamed and fell only to be caught by the robot who ripped him limb from limb like he was a piece of paper.
“NO TIME TO LOOK. KEEP CLIMBING.”
I obey and continue ignoring the stinging sensation on my palm but the higher I climbed, the more I felt the stings.
“Move to the right.” a familiar voice yelled and I do just that.
“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU AREN’T ALLOWED TO GO THERE!”
“Emma he is right! What if it is a trap?”
‘That voice!’ I look to my left and see Legos who was a few meters away from me. Besides him was another contestant who used a rope and jumped on the platform which took him higher up the wall.
“Hah! See you on the other side b!tches!” he jeered but it didn’t last long. The platform came to a halt and glass doors appeared barricading him inside. Then, huge spinning blades emerged from the top coming down on him slowly and I look away. His muffled screams of terror were heard across the room and looking back, I see a pool of blood that drained away when the glass barricades disappeared.
“SMOOTHIE ANYONE?” chuckled the voice.
At this, another contestant gagged and this caused her to slip but she caught up and started climbing to get away from the robot which was climbing fast but it grabbed her by the leg.
Staring at the platform beside me, I swallow saliva. 'I hope this works.'
Then I leap onto it then jump off before the glass barricades appeared to trap me.
“SHOOT! I ALMOST HAD YOU!”
I continue to climb until the piece of the mirror was seen. I get to it and use my hunting knife to pry it off the platform.
“HEY! NO DAMAGING THE PROPERTY.”
Hearing the sound of someone screaming, I look down and see the robot was getting closer but things got complicated when I looked up. One of the contestants reached the ceiling window only to discover it was a fake.
"It's a dead end!"
"What?"
"You are lying!" Legos yelled.
"I am telling you the truth!" he yelled tapping at what looked like a painting.
"No!" Legos looked down at me in shock and I looked down at the robot who was climbing at a slow pace for some reason. The voice started laughing like a maniac while I continued to chisel out the mirror piece without breaking it.
‘Gosh, this is taking a long time!’ I thought.
'Keep going you almost have it.' yelled my inner voice.
Then I had an idea. Taking out a red arrow, I toss it up to Legos who caught it with one hand.
"What do you want me to do with this?" he yelled.
Without giving a reply, I grab another arrow and slam the pointed end at the wall causing a small explosion. My right eye was blinded by the debris but I was able to get the piece of the mirror from the wall. Then another explosion was heard and something fell on my head nearly causing me to lose my balance.
“I DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU ARE DAMAGING MY PROPERTY BUT I AM GLAD YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR IT. WITH YOUR LIFE!”
Then something grabbed my leg and tugged making me lose my footing. I hold on to the only support I had to prevent myself from falling while trying to shake my foot loose.
“Emma! Grab this!” a rope was tossed. I look up and see it was Legos at the top of the roof. I made to grab the rope but the robot tugged hard on my leg nearly making me lose my balance. Suddenly, something swiped passed severing the robot's hand. In a split second, I grab the rope and look down to watch the robot tumble to the floor.
“WHAT THE…HOW IS THIS…NO! IT IS NOT FAIR! IT IS NOT FAIR! IT’S NOT FAIR! IT’S NOT FAIR! IT’S NOT FAIR.”
The voice continued to yell until I get to the top of the roof where Legos grabbed my hand and helped me up. “You look awful Emma.”
I look at my bleeding hands. “I feel awful.”
I and another contestant peered into the hole to see what became of the robot. The minute I see it stand up, I take out another red arrow and aim to get a good shot at it.
"Die." and with that, I release and watch it explode to bits.
"NO! YOU LITTLE..."
Panting and out of breath, I lay down on the segregated roof and look up into the night. I was exhausted, in pain, groaning, and starving.
'Serves me right for not packing something to eat.' I think.
"Umm guys...I think we need to go." said one of the male contestants.
I couldn't agree more.
