The Apocalypse Game - Chapter 5

“Who’s there?!” A dangerous and clear voice resounded with the immediate pounding of footsteps.

Without a second thought, we bolted back the way we came, not daring to risk a single glance backwards. Periodic dull thumps trailed by vibrations of metal entering mud barked at our heels. I shivered and exhorted all my energy at the thought of becoming a porcupine under the assault of metal blades. Finally seeing the spot of heavenly light after the seventh turn, we burst into the main hall behind the stone screen concealing the path to the corridor.

“Calm your breathing;” I whispered through light pants and quickly dragged the two out from the enclosed space, “he’s going to notice us!” I kept my head down and turned to the side of the chamber concealed in shadows.

Before I was able to take another step, my head bumped into a solid obstacle in the way of us and safety. Trailing up from the pair of red Converse, my eyes were wide with fear as I met another pair of eyes filled with innocence and query. They shone with gentle warmth under a pair of dark and thin brows, followed by a strongly raised nose and rosy lips naturally curved into a smile. A head of smooth, hazel hair fell to the bottoms of a pair of slightly tanned ears, adding the perfect finishing touch to a handsome, debonair visage. For a second, I thought his eyes shined with a golden glow, yet they were the colour of dark chocolate after I blinked. I was probably hallucinating from fear. If I had nothing on my hands, I would have, without doubt, fawned over this flawless face; but sadly I had something big to deal with. Only hesitating for a second, I muttered an apology before stepping aside.

“Wait,” His voice flowed like honey, “I can help.”

When the man with a blade between each one of his fingers dashed out from the corridor, the eavesdroppers have disappeared. Sliding the lethal weapons up his sleeves, the man, who held the alias Ice, stepped out from behind the cameo wall to survey the scene in the hall.

From the patterns of the steps in front of him, Ice concluded that there were three people listening in, one of which was quite athletic. Two, including the fit eavesdropper, were quite light and of taller figure than the third, and all three were female. The athletic one may have calmed her breathing, but the other two must still have some signs! With this in mind, Ice scanned through the separate clusters with intensity while standing in the shadows for possible targets. Ice was not afraid of trimming off the frivolous edges, for he could just disappear afterwards without a trace.

A cluster of six teenage girls rested near a bench with their phones, occasionally giggling and commenting on the figure of some pop star - nope, too many people, not athletic; an old woman sat with a middle-aged woman watching some children run in the middle of the hall - nope, can't run; three girls running in the middle - nope, too young… Prudently and swiftly eliminating his choices while watching all the exits of this familiar place, Ice worked from one side of the room to the other. A pregnant woman was futilely soothing a crying girl - nope, can’t run… As one choice fell after another, Ice’s handsome brows knotted closer and closer in query. A pair of teenage lovers glancing at a display, the boy slightly shielding the girl from his view - nope, or the boy would have… Wait! Ice’s gaze glowed fierce with concentration as he focused on the side of the girl, her chest is rising too rapidly to be normal, and her face is red, possibly from running!

As if feeling the heat of Ice’s gaze, the boy covered the girl’s face with a deep kiss. Ice turned away with disgust and discontent as he eliminated one of his last choices, filing the breathing under the exertion from a kiss. Just as he was about to reassess the room, a hand landed on his shoulders. Jolting in alarm, he turned to face his companion.

“Let’s go,” The latter spoke with a composed and emotionless tone, “leave them for Parrot and Sentinel to deal with.” If I heard Yi’s codename, I would have probably laughed myself to death - It was actually parrot!

Nodding with suspicion and an odd feeling for a detail he could not grasp, Ice followed his brother, codenamed Scar, back into the concealed corridor.

Back in the main hall, the little crying girl stopped weeping and winked at her “mother”. Sighing in relief, the “pregnant mother” pulled out her “baby” from underneath her shirt, revealing a ball formed by a bulging bag covered by a jacket. The two turned to the kissing couple, and halted with disbelief. A second later, the girl pushed away the boy with fuming cheeks in the intense laughter of the “mother and child”. Her eyes watered slightly as she shot her “boyfriend” an acerbic glower, which was responded with an innocent smile.

“Oh my, ha ha ha, Hea- Heather, ha ha ha ha ha…” The “mother”, who was, if you could have guessed, the brilliant Alice - me, laughed until I could not breathe, “Oh my goodness, I can’t breathe, ha ha ha ha ha…”

“Ha ha ha ha, Heather,” Rayna, the “crybaby”, collapsed beside me, holding her stomach while laughing herself hoarse, “Heather you have an affair!”

“Stop it you two!” Storming towards the pair of us, Heather was on the edge of bursting into tears, “Stop laughing; stop!”

“Okay, okay;” I tried standing Rayna to her feet while suppressing another string of giggles threatening to escape my throat, “But you should really thank our friend there. You would have been discovered if not for his… His brilliant idea.” Struggling to finish my sentence, I erupted in laughter at the memory of their kiss.

Now really tipping towards tears, water swirled in Heather’s big eyes as she whimpered another set of commands for us to stop. The boy who offered to help walked up behind her and shot Heather an apologizing smile, yet Heather turned away in embarrassment.

“Okay,” I took in a deep breath and straightened up calmly, cheeks flushed from laughter, “I’m sorry Heather. To be honest though, you didn’t lose anything; he’s quite good-looking.” I winked at the pair and smiled as Heather’s face glowed even redder.

“Thank you for helping us,” Turning to the boy standing by Heather’s side, I beamed a genial yet untrusting smile, “What’s your name? And… How did you know, and why did you help us?” Recovering from the comedy, suspicion and logic immediately sprung back to the steering wheel. Hearing my questions, the rouge on Heather’s face faded as she shifted back to take her place next to me and regarded the boy with prudence. Rayna also slowly stood up at my side to study the stranger with a curious glimmer in her eyes.

“My name is Nicholas, but you can call me Nick;” Giving me a long look, a charming smile slowly broke out across his faultless features. Glancing once at Heather and returning to gaze into my eyes, he answered with a gentle yet authoritative tone, “From your panting and urge to hide in the shadows, I could tell you were running from someone. As to why? I helped you because you seemed harmless, and was urgently in need of it.” Finishing on a light note, he smiled amiably.

I could tell he was half lying, but experience told me to let it go. People often lied for their own safety, and obstinately digging at them only led to bad endings. If he wished to tell us the truth one day, then he will. Plus, since he saved us from harm, this person probably did not pose any danger to us, at least for now. Nodding to signal my acceptance, I hid the trace of hindrance behind my composed and friendly expressions. Sensing my acknowledgement, Heather glanced at me in query but decided to stay quiet. Rayna just shrugged and donned her innocent smile.

“Glad to meet you,” I reached out a hand, which Nick took and shook, “I’m Alice, the young one’s Rayna, and your partner’s Heather.” Remembering to wink at the word “partner”, Heather’s cheeks flushed slightly again. This was going to stick with us for a while.

“Nice to meet you all,” Nick laughed, “would you mind if I tagged along? I’m sent on this trip alone. It’s quite dreary, to be honest.” Leaning in on the last sentence, he winked at the three of us.

“You think so too?!” Immediately throwing the suspicion towards the back of my mind and rediscovering my tomboy nature, I leaped forth in excitement and hooked his neck, “Brother! Finally someone understands me!”

Chuckling genially and bending slightly to meet my height, Nick patted my head and looked to Heather and Rayna in query. Heather’s heartbeat seemed to speed up every time she looked at him, but she tried to suppress her blush and shrugged in nonchalance. Rayna simply laughed and made a face. Letting go of his neck, I patted his shoulder happily.

“Nick you’re a good person,” I nodded seriously, “You can be my second brother. How old are you? I’m eighteen.” Shooting me a glare, Heather mouthed “privacy”, yet I completely disregarded her warning and looked at Nick intently like an excited puppy.

“I’m in first year university, nineteen this year.” He laughed harmlessly, “So I can be your older brother.” I beamed at his approval and began blabbering on about all the stories about Heather, Rayna and me. Rayna shook her head in resignation and Heather was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide in. Nick was immersed in our friendly welcome and laughter and was quickly acquainted with our group.

The fifteen minutes of break time was elongated to twenty minutes, finally ending when the cheerful voice of the parrot broke through the air. We were so focused on a story about Rayna’s pet chicken that I failed to notice the guide and the driver’s appearance. Perhaps it was because of our eavesdropping, but when I looked at the parrot and the driver again, I sensed a dangerous vibe emanating from the two.

“Alright everyone! Since we are running short on time, is everyone alright with finishing the entire tour? We won’t be leaving you to wander on your own and will be going straight to dinner;” Seeing a consensus of nods, of course with me as an exception, Yi beamed and walked towards the back of the immense chamber, “please follow me to the royal bath house!”

 

Author's Note

The previous chapters have been jumping around a lot, but they're always circulating around the main plot. What's your impression of the characters so far? ^^

As always, open to comments, constructive criticism and suggestions.