The Apocalypse Game - Chapter 6

                Did he just say… Bath house?!

The smile that I struggled to fake faltered with a twitch at the corner of my lips. I lit up with a furious glower and halted in my steps, daring to burn through the cheery back of the rambling parrot.

My valuable free time to explore was exchanged for a tour of a royal bath house? Who are you kidding?! Turning to my newfound confidant, I made an indignant puppy face at Nick and hoped for a solution out of the torturous trek ahead. Nick sighed and patted my back, then stepped forward to follow the crowd and to be entertained by the end of Rayna’s pet chicken anecdote.

Nick! I shouted into my mind, how you dare abandon your comrade in the face of danger?!

“Karma~” Bounding past me with a smirk, Heather caught up to the two ahead and joined in on their conversation.

Bending back, I wailed into the air and grumpily ran up to the parade disappearing into the winding passage leading to a steaming pool.

I really, really looked forward to dinner.

w   w   w

            Reaching forth and stretching out my slender limbs on the luxurious king-sized bed, I smile contently and peered through narrowed eyes like a satiated cat. Rolling on to my back and then over to my abdomen again, I spread my scent all over the giant piece of feather-filled furniture. I let out a satisfied burp as I watched Heather and Rayna pull out our toiletries and pyjamas and order them neatly into cupboards of our temporary den, introducing a homely ambience into a previously estranged room. This is the life; a curve broke out across my cherry lips inertly, I should hire some servants when I’m rich…

            As if sensing the nonsense spiralling through my mind, Heather shot me a glare and barked at me to get out the chargers for the dozen pieces of technology in our bags. I pouted to her and sent a puppy face, but was relentlessly dragged off the bed and thrown towards the lonely table waiting by the corner. Glaring back at Heather with equal displeasure, I made a face and dug out the tangled cords in Rayna’s purse. Cussing lightly, I flumped down on the second bed next to the table and began untangling the raveled mess.

            “Alice,” Looking up from her phone, Rayna stared at me with an adorable tilt of her head, a pose she often stroke when bemused by something, “You knew Nicholas was lying to us, right?”

            “Hhm.” Without looking up from the puzzle in my hands, I nodded slightly before refocusing on the single purple charger entangled in the battle between black and white. I shivered as the scene on my lap reminded me of the Hercules vs. snake sculpture.

            “He…” Still embarrassed from the memory of the dizzy glow in the boy’s eyes after their intimate contact, Heather lost her temper and muttered pitiably, “stole my first kiss…”

“Oh no, he kissed me, now I have to marry him ~” Finally looking up from the disturbing thought, I made a whimpering frown and teased, “don’t worry kid, you’re not going to get pregnant.” Quickly sticking out my tongue at Heather’s enraged glower, I rescued the winding purple cord from the rest and set it aside before revisiting the battlefield.

“Why do you still trust him then?” Moving forth to lean beside me on the cushioned bed, Heather looked up curiously.

Sighing in relief before hauling out another three “snakes”, I beamed brilliantly at the amicable Heather, “Smile more often, no one owes you money.”

Entranced by the luster in the pair of winning eyes curved from the beautiful, rouge bend on the glowing face before her, Heather was caught speechless for a second before waving me back on topic, “Don’t deviate from my question.”

“People have their secrets;” I triumphantly drew the last two strands apart and threw them towards Rayna before turning to face Heather, “He saved us, so he poses no harm for now. I never said I trusted him fully, just that we can treat him as a friend. If he wishes to tell us more, then he will do so when he feels like it. If we ask for the truth, we might be turning away a good ally.” Rayna stuck a few cords into the plug near the table before climbing onto the bed beside me, forming a circle with Heather.

“What should we do?” Peering at us with her delicate eyes, the crescents above them dropped together unsettlingly, “The guide and the driver don’t seem to be good people… I’m really afraid.”

            Drawing Rayna closer, I stroked her hair lightly, “As long as they don't do anything extreme, we’re quite safe. Acting odd will just increase their suspicion. I can bet they’re still looking for us.”

            “Didn’t you hear the things they said in the hall?” Heather whispered weakly, “They wanted to kill a teenager.”

            “Not one, two.” I curled up my knees and leaned on an arm.

            “Exactly; are we waiting to be slaughtered then?”

            “No we’re not, but what can we do?”

            Stumped by my candid question, the two looked up at me with apprehension and anguish. We sat there for a while, unwilling to think of the possibilities lying ahead. If we stayed, then we might be discovered and kidnapped; or even worse, we get discovered and then game over. On the other hand, we had no one to report to in the group, since the only authorities were the ones hunting us down; we would probably push other tourists in danger if we seek aid from them, if they believed us in the first place; we had no chance to contact the police and stay unnoticed before they arrive; and we were not certain of our chances escaping the hands of the powerful group behind the two. Any one of those options sounded quite revealing of our identity, not to say incredibly dangerous.

            Coming to a final conclusion, I uncurled my legs form underneath and hopped down to reach for my purse. Opening it to reveal the fat stacks inside, I smirked in approval.

“Far more than enough to survive the trip back home if we ran away,” I displayed the scenery of red before clasping the leather brick shut, “but act normally for now. If the conversation was worth killing for, I have a feeling every one of the tourists is under surveillance.”

“For now, let us enjoy the beauty of Jinan at night!” Winking at the two melancholy lumps to revitalize their cheer, I slipped on a pair of comfortable flats before motioning for them to get off the bed.

While we dressed for our departure with variegated feelings, an inaudible chuckle resounded outside the door. Drifting off towards the fire exit a few doors down, the silhouette carried an amused sneer.

“How problematic…” A lazy tone hummed from its throat as its outline disappeared through the thinning crack of the quietly closing door, “our little mice are the ones who heard our plan…”

 

 

Author's Note

This is kind of a wind down of the action from the previous chapters. A bit calm, perhaps like the peace before a tropical storm?

What are your impressions of the characters so far?
As always, open to comments, suggestions and constructive criticism!