The double dimension

Prologue

"Kailey, slow down!" I yelled after her as she ran along the stone pathway at the border of our homeland. "Don't worry I will be right back" She yelled. She took a corner and slowed down. "I wanted to show you this….." She stopped in front of a huge, glowing stone. Even though I knew that it wasn't good, the magical stone still attracted my attention, and we stepped ever closer. Reaching out a hand, Kailey gently touched the gleaming

CHAPTER 1

I felt the cold part of the rough, cotton quilt and shivered at the toe-biting coldness of Cytron's winter. It was snowing hard outside and had been like this for the past few hours. This has been the biggest snowstorm we've had in ages and it wouldn't pass away so easily. The winds howled and screeched outside and I, not sure what to do, got out of bed and peered through the frosty window.

We lived in a small wood cabin that our father had built for us when he was still here, before the rulers of Cytron, the leader of our attacker, President Enzo had taken him away to work in the dusty, dangerous and cold factories they had in the south, which mainly produced war vehicles such as the War Machines (Huge war robots that are equipped with guns and missiles).

About half of the men in our sector were taken away to work in Irondale, where the leaders lived. The workers weren't even allowed to send letters back home and their only break in the whole year was the week of the creation of Cytron, in which they were allowed to go home for a short period of time.

At that time, we always prepared great foods and luxuries that we would never be able to afford like cakes and cookies. Then I cut my thoughts. It even hurts to think about it. My rage at Irondale started to boil again. How could they take their own people and work them till their death! But I know I could not let the rangers hear that. Or I would surely be punished in front of the whole crowd. Rangers are the law-keepers of Cytron and know for their cruelty and injustice. Almost everyone is scared of them.

I looked at the homemade calendar and grimaced. Tomorrow is Termination Day, the day where our lives will be at the mercy of a computer, drawing out the person that is chosen. On the first Sunday of every new year, the President will go to all the 7 sectors and a special computer will pick out the names of 4 children from that sector. But we don't get to meet the other pair till the second week of training before the big event.

Then the 4 unlucky children will be put together in an arena and the Executioner, who makes the Survival Round, will let loose whatever Monster they'd cooked up in their labs to kill the poor, defenseless children, ages vary from 13 to 18. These "games" were invented as a fun entertainment for the residents of Irondale, and thousands of years ago and they used captured slaves, prisoners, and traitors for the contestants. Now they don't have that many people, they use us. The poor and defenseless people of the sectors. Sometimes they'd make it fast, but most times, the monsters will draw out the life from them.

Slowly. Very slowly. Once, a few years ago, the Norigan, a huge rhino looking monster, except they have giant tails with sharp spikes and mouths full of poisonous, sharp teeth. It took 2 days to eat the poor boy, bite by bite. It was painful to watch. Even though this was gruesome, there is also a very big prize if you win. Your sector will instantly have good food for a whole year with big parties going on for days. At least he wasn't someone I'd know. In fact, each Sector was forced to keep to themselves. No one really knew anyone from the outside world.

My great-grandpa always used to talk about the good old days, when the President Enzo hadn't invaded and killed and plundered, and Cytron was something called America, the land of the free, where people could say what they thought and think about what they say. Sometimes I don't believe him. After all, he was an old man and the school hadn't said anything about invading and killing and taking over. But I still imagine myself, flying as free as the hawks, going anywhere I wanted to. I've always wondered what it was like outside the fence.

Some people did try to escape, but before they'd even crawled out the high voltage barb-wire fence, bullets ripped them apart like meat in a grinder. After that event, escape attempts were rare. I looked at the old, rusted clock and realized it was only 4:26, and crawled back into bed. I fell into a light, dreamy sleep.

CHAPTER 2

The next thing I knew, I was being roused by my brother. "Wake up, today is the Termination Day!" Max sounded almost excited. I could remember my first Termination. I was so scared I puked 2 times! Max, however, was the exact opposite. He was cheery and excited. We ate a quick breakfast of bread and jam with the milk from our cow.

I planned to go to the market and trade a few pounds of milk for some bread. I told Max to stay home as I trod towards the city market. I finished the trades and was prowed around for a bit. Then something caught my eye. A pack of rabbit traps. The ones I had now were wooden, also made by my father. Even though it brings back memories, it was getting old and rusty. Father didn't have time to make a new one so my hunting skills started to slip.

Before every time I came back from a little forest near us, I'd at least have a rabbit or a squirrel, but now I'd be lucky if I got a small game. Everyone knew that the first was out of limit even though it was in the fence, but many people still go there. If you were caught though, you are in trouble. The whole sector once witnessed a brutal beating done by a ranger to an old lady and she never recovered from her broken bones. So to say she got beaten to death. I was desperate to get some new traps. It even came with a knife and a basket for the meat.

I headed towards the table. The old man greeted me cheerily. "How much is this?"I asked. "50 quills". "That's preposterous!" I said, 50 quills are enough to feed us for a month! "Can you lower the price?" I asked."Then 45 is the lowest I can do."She said. I wavered for a second, then an idea popped into my head. "Are those your puppies?" I asked.

Her answer was yes. I noticed that one of the puppies had a wound and he was in very bad condition. "I will pay 45 quills for that wounded puppy and the traps." The old lady chuckled. "That dog won't last till tomorrow." But I was good at medicine and I knew I could fix him. "It's a deal or no deal." A few minutes later, I was carrying the puppy and the gleaming golden crossbow homewards.

I smiled at the thought of Max, playing around with the puppy. He'd look so adorable. Since we all deserve a little something, I bought a little sparrow pin for my mother. I hurried as the winter wind blew through my thin layer of clothing. The puppy howled in pain as its wound brushed against the wind. I reached the door and opened it. The warmth of our hut surrounded me, covering me like a blanket.

The smell of fresh-baked bread entered my nostrils, making me hungry as ever. Max came out and the surprise on his face was totally unforgettable. He ran to me and hugged the dog tightly as ever. I gave mom the pin and for a few moments, we forgot about the troubles. The termination and the starvation were all chucked behind our heads, and we celebrated.

CHAPTER 3

It was late afternoon when I headed towards the Irondale, towards what could be my death. It was already full of people. I found my seat and sat down. I could see Max in the first row when he was ten. There was a small chance that Max's name would be drawn. But my name was on the machine twenty-seven times.

It was because I was caught disobeying the law twenty-six times. You see, just to make life extra hard for us, we are allowed to use chances when we disobey the law. We can either get punished or take a vote under our name. But every time we do that, our name is added to the box.

Even though I knew lots of other people had more slips than me, like another girl who had to take care of her two sisters and her mother. I bet she has like 60 slips, or even more. I still had an unsettling thought that I would be drawn. Then, a loudspeaker asked the crowd to remain silent. I recognized the voice as Silberg Milervake. He was the one who made the games every year. He was a fairly old man, but not too old.

He had a gruff voice and rarely smiled. "Let the 183rd Monster Hunter begin." He announced. Behind him, stood Volt Violet and Rick, who were the instructor for sector 8, our sector. Silberg rumbled on about his speech, which was contemporary to be said every year. It was about how Americans don't deserve the land and President Enzo had saved us by helping us rule. I laughed at this.

I think we Cytronians will get along and survive ourselves better than with the President. But of course, I didn't say that. I shuddered when I thought about what he will do to me, and possibly my family if I said that. It wouldn't be good. He rambled on about what different sectors specialized in. "Sector 1, Industrialized clothing and wool. Sector 2, crops, and wheat. Sector 3 Seafood. Sector 4, Mining. Sector 5, lumber. Sector 6, Metal supplies, Sector 7, War machines and weaponry, Sector 8, electronics and aircraft."

Then I focused back on the ceremony. The only person besides me that I don't know what to get chosen is Max. In fact, I would take his place if I could. Then I realized that there was someone else. Someone important. Someone I already forgot about and just remembered. That, someone, was Kailey Wilting.

CHAPTER 4

A few Years Earlier.....

It was a rainy day in Sector 8, I stood beneath a big oak tree near the fence. I knew there was a danger of being electrified, but I didn't care. I was so cold, hungry, and miserable. I leaned and sobbed on my sleeve. I haven't sold much at the market today and I wondered how I was going to make it past this week, even with all that traps from the forest near us which I named "Weeping Woods". At that moment, a figure stepped in front of me.

"Do you need help?" A soft voice said. Surprisingly, it was a girl about my age. I didn't have to say anything for her to understand that I did. She took off her knapsack and gave it to me. I opened it, and to my amazement, there they lay, 2 gallons of water, a few loaves of bread, a turkey leg in an aluminum wrap, and even a huge slice of cheesecake and a jar of cookies. I hadn't seen so much food for almost a year, I almost fainted.

"These are for you, by the way, my name is Kailey Wilting.'' the girl said. "But why, you don't even know me," I said in curiosity. For a second, I thought that she blushed, but then she walked away in the mist and disappeared. When I reached home, I was still shaken by what just happened. When I showed Max what I got, his face lit up like a lantern in a cave. That night, all three of us had a big feast.

As I lay in bed that night, my tummy full, I still had a weird feeling that I had seen Kailey somewhere before. Her golden hair slick body just rebooted my mind somehow. I might have seen her at school, but someone that could afford to give so many foods to a stranger probably didn't go to my school. She probably had her own teacher with new books every year.

I promised myself that I would investigate the case more tomorrow, but for now, I just wanted a good night's sleep.

CHAPTER 5

Present Day.......

Silberg was coming to the end of his speech, and Violet stepped up to randomly generate the names from the computer, although we nicknamed it "the Death Machine". The whole court went silent, and she typed a few words in the death machine. I spied Kailey in her seat. She looked so calm and collected. Violet walked to the podium and spoke loudly and clearly, "Kailey Wilting!". I felt as if I was about to puke. Why, of all people, her?

I saw her pale face, and suddenly she didn't look so calm anymore. She slowly trudged towards the stage. "No, I can't allow this to happen, especially to the person who saved my life." Without thinking I stepped on to the stage and shouted, "I volunteer as tribute!"I cried. The moment I said this, I knew that I shouldn't have done that. But now, there was no going back.

For the second time, the crowd went silent. For as long as anyone could remember, no one had ever volunteered. One by one, they each crossed their arms to their chest and raised a hand towards me. It was the symbol of respect, and they were doing it to me.

Violet looked so excited to have a tribute, she couldn't hide her surprise. "Looks like we have a volunteer." She said cheerfully. Kailey looked almost relieved but worried at the same time. As the crowd began to silence, Violet typed into the machine again. Her face suddenly went white as flour, and for the first time, I saw her always happy face grimiest. This time we both knew without looking that something was wrong.

"The next tribute of Sector 8 is, unfortunately, again Kailey Wilting. " She sputtered slowly. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. It can't be right. How can it be? But here, Kailey's name was chosen again. She walked to the stage and stood beside me. For some reason, in all the bad luck she seemed a little happy. Maybe she was trying to comfort herself.

The crowd erupted, shouting and pushing toward us, screaming to let me go. It took all the rangers to keep them back until the leader fired a shot into the air. Everyone stood still. The rangers took Kailey and me into the hall, towards our certain death.

CHAPTER 6

We were led to a small waiting room together. "It was very brave for you to volunteer for me." She said softly."Now we are equal." I joked."I guess we are." she said back. Then, Max and my mom came in. He ran to me and started crying. "You didn't have to do that!" He wailed. "They should let you go!"

"Everything is gonna be alright" I promised. But it was a promise I couldn't keep. "Max, listen to me." I said harshly "My friends will bring you and mother food, take care of yourselves." We formed a tight circle and hugged. Then time was up. Before they were forced out of the room, mother gave me an eagle necklace, which was supposed to give me good luck, and Max said, "Whatever you do, don't separate from each other." I wondered if it would be the last time I would ever see them.

Then, Kailey's family came in. I watched as they hugged and kissed each other goodbye. After that, the soldiers marched us into a truck, and the motorcade sped away. I must' ve fallen asleep because when I woke up, it was pitch dark outside. I looked out and noticed we were at an airport.

"Looks like we are going flying." I said "Yes, indeed" Kailey replied. Two guards opened the door and escorted us out onto the runway. There was a government jet waiting for us. I stared at it in awe. I had never even gone on a train, let alone a plane.

The huge plane glistened in the dark, and on the side, the Cytron badge was clearly visible. As I stepped in, I was shocked by the leather chairs, two big, cotton buds, and even a flat-screen TV. Judging by the look on Kailey's face, it looks like she hadn't seen something this grand before, too. We were led into a fancy dining room, and a few minutes later, a chief came in with a tray and two meals.

As soon as the platters were lifted, the smell of beef steak, onion, mashed gravy, and lamb chop stew all poured into my nose at once, overwhelming it. I slowly and gently cut a piece of beef off and popped it into my mouth. The tender flavor burst in my mouth and I took a gulp of the thick, flavourful stew. "It's so delicious," I said.

Kailey nodded, her mouth still full. "I will leave you here to enjoy your dinner." one of the guards said, then they walked away. "Alex, at least we have some nice food before we die," Kailey said. As I was just finishing, a figure came in. I knew who he was the moment he came in. It was the President Enzo himself, followed by several bodyguards. "Well, well hello my tributes." He said with a smile.

CHAPTER 7

He wore a silk robe with patterns all over it. He almost looked like a kind grandfather, but one looked at his evil, hollow eyes and he looked like someone from the dark realm. The dark realm is the place where Enzo keeps the monsters under lock and key. Even though the creatures look dangerous and evil, they are actually just creatures like us humans. He should be in there if anyone. "It's a pleasure to meet you," I said calmly. This caught him by surprise.

Most people that he saw were either too scared to talk or too excited. But I was the first to remain calm. He quickly recovered though. "What you did for Kailey here was unforgettable." He remarked. "It was simply so brave, but sadly what is to be done has to be done and Kailey was chosen again." I suddenly had a horrible idea. It was so terrifying that it was almost impossible. But maybe it was real. Maybe the creators made Kailey's name reappear on a slip of paper. I have seen this kind of thing done before, with some different conditions.

I don't know how it could have been done or even were done, but I must have looked very pale because Kailey said, "Alex, are you alright?" "I am fine," I said "Just a little tired." At that moment, a voice rang out over a hidden intercom. "Passengers, we are nearing Irondale, prepare for landing" I looked out the window and saw the city right below us, and the Enzo's mansion was right there in front of us as we landed on the Serpent's Lair, also known as the tribute training center.

CHAPTER 8

The building was a dull, grey block of concrete in the middle of the city. It looked more like a high-security prison with its guard towers and electric fences than a training center. I guessed that it was to prevent any tributes from escaping, and the electric fences here were probably working even better than ours. The jet hovered above it and landed softly.

The guards opened the door and we stepped out. The first thing I noticed is the smell. The air smelt of petrol and gas with a little sense of tulips in it. A stair appeared and I walked on the iron platform. The guard's gesture and we went into the building. Inside, air conditioning gave it a nice, cool aroma and we were led to a door, marked Sector 8. The door automatically opened and to our amazement, and we entered a huge lounge. There was a flat-screen TV, several leather sofas and even a spa!

There were two rooms and Kailey chose the one on the right, and I took the left. I undressed and took a shower and I felt so good since we don't shower very often. There was also a bottle of some sort of soap, but I didn't know what to do with it. When I finished, I found that a servant had already taken my old clothes away and gave me brand new ones. I have never had new clothes before, and it was very soft and comfortable.

I went into the lounge and waited for Kailey to finish and had a better look at my surroundings. Beside the front door, there was a huge table. I guessed it was for dinning. There was a corridor that led to our rooms and a huge spa pool. Then there was a living room with a couch and a TV. At that moment, Kailey came out. "Had a good bath?" I asked. "Yes," she said, "I feel much better now". The doorbell rang and I went to answer it. There stood a waiter with two black boxes. "These are for you," he said. I thanked him and closed the door. I went back and set the boxes on the coffee table.

They were surprisingly heavy, made of some kind of steel I presumed. I opened the one with my name on it and Kailey opened the other. We gasped at what was inside.

CHAPTER 9

Inside our hand-crafted box, lay a beautiful crossbow and a pair of glittering knives. On the pistol, there lay a name tag, with my name on it. I carefully picked it up, inspecting the perfect curve of the trigger and the barrel covered in carefully carved gold. I knew I was pretty good with a crossbow. I hesitated for a while but I picked up a clip from the box and loaded the bow. I had never gotten a good crossbow, let alone something so beautifully crafted like this.

Kailey picked up her knives, and a glitter of joy crossed her face, despite the position we were in wasn't exactly enjoyable. There was a rumor that Irondale spies on us and sees our talents even before we knew it and gives us a surprise. Well, now we both know it's true. Suddenly, a voice was pronounced in our intercom. "Hello my guests, a servant will be here in a minute to lead you to the training center where you will be practicing your skills until the day of the hunting, which is twelve days. Good luck." The intercom cracked and died. A moment later there was a knock at the door and a servant came in, leading us to the training room.

We walked down the stairs and through a maze of rooms and corridors. Finally, we entered a room. As soon as we did, I immediately sensed something wrong. The door closed and was bolted. Instantly I knew what this was the "Test". Each year all of the contestants will be tested and the people and the residents will vote on who will win or die first. There were huge prizes. This test will be broadcasted live on television across the Sector and attendance to see it was mandatory. I knew there was the test but I didn't realize it would be this early. The only weapon we each had was her knives and my bow. We both looked in each other's eye and at that moment we realized, we were in deep, deep trouble.

CHAPTER 10

Down the room, there were two tunnels leading down and fading into the darkness. I knew we were being aired live so I tried to not panic. I think about what we should do next. I remembered the last thing that Max said before we left for the City, "Whatever you do, don't separate with Kailey." I said, "Whatever we do, we can't separate." Kailey agreed and we headed down the right tunnel. Meanwhile, in the room next to us, other tributes from our Sector were doing the same thing, except one was going down one tunnel and one was walking down the other.

Their names were Emily and Dan and as they headed down the tunnels, solo, they got more scared and more scared. But neither of them decided to go back and find the other. We knew none of this as we didn't realize the other could be here too. As I walked down the spooky hallway, a growl arose. We stopped dead in our tracks and pointed our weapons at the uttering darkness ahead of us. I was the first one to see it. I saw a flash of silver scale, and then a sharp claw. "Get ready for an attack," I said quietly. Kailey nodded in agreement.

Suddenly the hallway opened into a dim-lit warehouse, as big as two football fields. There were big wooden boxes and crates, and the whole thing smelt of dusty equipment. There was a sudden roar as a dinosaur looking monster lunged at us. It was the size of an average human but had sharp teeth and claws. I tried to aim my gun and fired. The bullet hit the monster and it fell, staggering to the ground. Kailey finished it with her knife. We fought two more monsters and raced towards the exit. Then, we saw something that stopped both of us. We stared at it in utter surprise.

CHAPTER 11

The thing we saw was our family and loved ones, about to be eaten alive by the monsters. At that moment, nothing mattered. Me being in danger, the Monsters, where I am, nothing did. I charged at the monsters, firing shot after shot. Kailey also lunged at them slaying one by one. They stopped what they were doing and charged at us instead.

The gashes on my body didn't even feel painful and I reloaded clip by clip. Finally, all the monsters were killed. We rushed to our family but just as we were about to reach them, they disappeared, just like they had never been there. We were greeted by thin air. Kailey looked around, hoping they would be around the corner. But I knew that President Enzo had played yet another trick on us.

We headed to the exit, defeated. We were so sad that we didn't feel the pain from the slashes, or maybe they were real at all. We barely noticed as we were led back to our rooms. I had the dinner that was already placed on my desk. Normally I would have slowly enjoyed it but today I didn't have the will to. After I finished, I went to my bedroom and sat on the couch.

Then, I thought I heard someone crying. Ok, correction I was the one. I allowed myself to grieve for a minute but then I headed to Kailey's room. I saw that she was buried in her sheets, sobbing too. I sat by her and didn't say anything for a while. She sat up and looked a little ashamed, I don't know if it was because I was in her room or she was caught crying, maybe a little of both.

"It has been a crazy day, huh?" I said. "Yeah, sure it has been," Kailey replied. I knew we were being monitored so I could not say my true feelings about Irondale or the governors, but even though my eyes could read how I felt and I could do the same for her. Even though we just met, we seemed to know each other pretty well.

Kailey looked at the clock and saw that it was already 11:15 P.M. "I guess we should be sleeping," Kailey said. I agreed even though I know the nightmares will be especially bad tonight. I knew they never went away, it's just that sometimes I will wake up in my bed, often wet with sweat. Then it took a long time to sleep again. I laid in the comfy soft bed but still couldn't fall asleep. I stood up to get a cup of hot chocolate. After I finished, I felt a little better and went into a very restless sleep.

CHAPTER 12

I woke up screaming myself out of the terrible dream. Even thinking about the vivid pictures was painful. The next thing I knew Kailey was beside me, like the girls who once gave me hope when I thought all was lost. She handed me a drink and I gulped it down. "I feel better now" I muttered. "I am sure you do," Kailey replied with one of her iconic smiles. I tried to smile too but I was still being haunted by the memories of the monsters.

I really wondered how she could keep up without any nightmares. "We should better be getting to the dining room and order some breakfast," I said quickly to get us out of the awkward situation. "OK, what do you want?" Kailey asked. "Surprise me," I answered. She smiled again and left. I took a long time picking out what clothes I wanted and getting ready. When I came out, there was a huge, and when I say huge I meant HUGE meal waiting for me.

I stared at Kailey. "What?" She said with a laugh. "Wha-why on earth would we need all this food?" I stuttered. "That's enough to feed our family for three days!" Kailey replied, "Well they are paying for it we are gonna die anyway so how bout let's just get a full tummy every day?" "This will be more than enough to give us a full belly," I said, "I am predicting your stomach will burst before we get halfway through it." But we started eating anyway. My prediction was more than right. Even with all the delicious scrambled eggs, long striped bacon, and hot chocolate with vanilla pudding we couldn't get halfway through it.

"Kailey, do you understand that we don't need that much food now?" I asked jokingly."Lesson learned, not to order that much food, sir!" She said back, also playing along with the joke. "Now come on soldier Kailey Wilting, we have got a big day ahead of us," I commanded. "Very funny," She said as we walked down the corridor and entered the big stadium where the speech will be made. We found our seats and sat down patiently waiting for the event to start. We both saw something that looked like a presenter but we didn't know what it was.

A few minutes later the President and Silberg followed by several other important representatives I don't know of took the stage. The President started the speech with a few corny jokes which we pretended was funny and then the real presentation began.

CHAPTER 13

As the speech started, the round thing we saw before projected a hologram in the air. It was a slideshow. "Dear participants, rangers and eliminators, I come forward today to give my presentation of the rules of the event. The rules of the challenge are simple. You fight the monsters. If you win, your whole sector gets rich foods for as long as you live." This was huge because we barely get enough to eat, and almost never have the money to buy good food.

So, each of you will have two weeks of training and on the second last day, you get to meet your other two teammates. If you beat your beast, then you get to fight your other contestants through your wits and courage. You and your enemy, if there is any at all, will be put through five levels, each getting harder and harder until someone dies. The survivor is the winner. Remember, you don't hut the monsters. They hunt you." He continued.

Just as the speech was coming to an end. He said one last thing. "Remember, there will always be one twist at the end of the challenge. Good luck" And as the lights dimmed, he disappeared. We followed the wave of people through the exit. On the way, I think one of the stronger participants from sector four gave me a stare as if he thought I was weak. I wasn't in the mood to start a fight but I promised myself I will teach that brat a lesson one day.

It was pretty late at night and we were starving. I let Kailey choose what we ate and hopped in the shower. The stream of tropical water ran down my smooth skin and as if by magic, started to clear my thoughts. I didn't realize how long I was in the shower until I heard the voice of Kailey outside. "Alex, are you OK?" Kailey called. "I am alright" I called back. I dried myself and stepped out of the shower. Kailey was outside looking worried. I could stop myself from smiling. "You don't have to worry Kailey," I assured her.

Then she smiled too and said that our dinner had already arrived. The scent of beefsteak and grape juice slowly crept into my nose. I couldn't help but notice how hungry I was. I walked into the dining hall and of course, there lay a whole table of food yet again. After we ate, a group of assistants came in and took the dishes away. Then we headed towards the training room, for the first-ever training session. It was all about what we were good at using, so they could put them in the arena.

As we headed towards the hall, we got many strange glances from the other people, especially the others from the different sectors. I was baffled and asked Kailey if she knew anything, but she said no. I had a feeling that she wasn't telling the truth. I suspected that it was because our sector was far away from the others and they knew something that I didn't. I kept that at the back of my mind and reminded myself to ask Kailey.

We rounded a corner and arrived at our destination. The automatic doors opened and we entered a grand training room. It looked more like a ball room than a training hall. There were sculptures of dragons and other mythical creatures. Statues of famous soldiers and rangers from each district and of course, in the middle of the room lay a big statue of President Enzo.

"This place is huge!" I exclaimed. "I have seen bigger you know?" Kailey replied with a slight smile. Again I wondered If something was suspicious. How did she know all those things and I have no idea. A man appeared at the balcony at the end of the hall. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am the leader of the Elimination program, but call me Mr grey." Even though he seemed like a mean person I had this feeling that he was someone I could trust.

"Today we will just be going over some important rules and then we will find out what your special power is." At this I thought he had looked at me and smiled. Or was that even a smile. I knew something was wrong at this point. I had to ask Kailey. Then we walked through some of the rules and important information but I was barely listening. I tried to figure out what was so special about me but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't make it out.

We moved on to the next station. We tested out some other weapon but we rather stick to our own weapons. Then next we entered a grand hallway to the next room. Here is where we will train for the next two weeks. There were animal manikins, monster ones and for some reason human ones too. We picked up our weapons and started practicing.

I picked up my bow and Kailey picked up her throwing knives. We practiced for several hours and when the clock rained for lunch we both headed towards the grand hall down the lobby into a cafeteria dining room. We were covered with sweat from the exercise and we're starving. There was a huge variety of foods for us to choose. I chose french fries and a beef burger . Kailey picked out a few steamed buns and sausage.

I figured this wasn't the right time to ask Kailey about the questions I had in my mind. "That was tiring," I said. "Sure was" replied Kailey. After we gobbled down our food and just as I was about to get going Kailey stopped me and she led me into a medical storage room. "Ok alex listen up" she said in a flurry. "We don't have much time left and I need to tell you something." I had never seen her so serious. "They might be listening to our conversation so we have to make it quick. The reason everyone was staring at us, you is because you, we are special and we are here becau-" before Kailey could finish five guards armed to the teeth stormed inside the small room and pointed their guns and tasers at us. "Freeze" they yelled.

CHAPTER 14

We were shocked and stood still as they inspected us for weapons. "One small move and you two are both dead." They approached us and put us in handcuffs. In all this commotion most of the people that were still eating gathered around, chattering until several more guards with electric batons pushed them away and the crowd slowly separated.

We were both blindfolded and led through corridor after corridor until we were pushed in what seemed like an interrogation room. The blindfolds came off and no surprise, we were in a bare white room with no windows. Two metal chairs, two wooden ones, and a large table with cuffs on it. Kailey looked scared to death and looked pale as a sheet of paper. I tried to look steady and calm for the sake of Kailey but inside I felt as if I was being stepped on by a herd of buffaloes.

After the police did their job they left the room information. We were left there for quite a long time, they took my watch and gagged us so we couldn't talk. We were faced back to back so we couldn't even use eyes to blink with morse code. After many countless hours, a man wearing black came in and sat down in the big leather chair. Our hands were numb from the chains and we couldn't move a single bit. The man in was black was wearing a big hat, covering his whole face and he wore a fancy black suit with diamond shining on it.

He checked his gold pocket watch and said, "Gosh it's been five hours, so Kailey aren't you gonna tell us what happened back there?" With that, he leaned forwards and took our gags and blindfolds off. His breath smelled of mint. Kailey shook her head firmly. "No? Well, I guess we will have to do this the hard way." He said with a smirk.

With a snap of his fingers, the police squad came in and started to drag Kailey out of the room. I looked, helplessly as they pulled her bit by bit out of the room. I could not bear to think about what was going to happen to her. I blinked at her, meaning to tell them whatever she wanted to tell me. But with a slight shake of her head, she meant no. The group disappeared down the hallway and I watched helplessly as her screams grew fainter and fainter.

CHAPTER 15

"Now now," said the man in black. "It would be much, much easier if you would just tell us your little secret, and it would be all over. I promise we won't do anything to your friend." I thought about attacking him right there and then, but on second thoughts that didn't seem like such a good idea. I decided to go along with his plan for now.

"She didn't have time to say anything before your soldiers charged in and took us over here, wherever here is." I said. "Oh really," He asked in a questioning tone. "Yes" I said as calmly as I could. "Oh well, then have a good night. Guards will escort you back to your room." He said."Oh and remember my name, Quintin Sovage. You will be hearing it soon." With that, he vanished into the darkness. Before I had the chance to ask where Kailey was.

I tried asking the guards where she was but after one of them waved his taser at me, I knew better than to shut up. Still thinking about what she said about us being special, and what they were doing to her at this moment. Suddenly, I felt a prickle of pain on my arm, and realized that one of the guards had injected a needle inside my area. My eyelids felt so heavy, and I drifted of into unconsciousness.

BANG…..Suddenly, i was in a white room. Equipment filled the room and three doctors worked on a...a brain. I stepped backwards. What were these people doing with someone's brain? My mind swirled in confusion and I looked for a way out. I found the door and rushed to it, pushing it open. I found myself in an open corridor, in what looked to be a laboratory. I cautiously wandered down the hall, still disgusted at what I just saw.

Doctors, surgeons and other medical staff walked in and out of the rooms. I saw a room containing several blueprints and a complicated model of different parts of a human brain. Peeking into another room, there was a huge rectangular table with seats around it and a hologram projector. It was projecting a hologram of a map, with 13 floating islands. A group of people walked right past me, so I realized they could see me. Exploring even further, I saw a gym, pool and even a wreck room.

Then, I saw something that made me stop in my tracks. Inside the wreckroom along with several other kids, including Kailey, was me.

CHAPTER 16

I was sitting on the sofa, playing with these other kids and kailey, finishing her food, changed and just straight into the olympic sized swimming pool. I, or the other me jumped in the pool with her and started dunking each other. I just stood there, flabbergasted at what was happening in front of me. Just as I was going in to take a better look, a sering pain ripped across my brain and the scene in front of me faded away, leaving me in total darkness.

Then, images started flashing through my mind. Slowly at first, and then faster and faster until I couldn't make out what it was anymore. I saw pictures of me and Kailey, as toddlers playing in the grass. A woman and a man carried me like an airplane in the sky. Me on my 11th birthday, some kids and kailey beside me singing happy birthday. Then they started to get blurry, fading into a flash of dazzling light.

Darkness surrounded me, like I was swallowed by a huge bear and trapped forever. I felt like I couldn't breath and I gasped for and. I felt trapped and started to feel around me, trying to find an exit. I slowly reached up and felt that the ceiling was right above me, so I could stand straight up. I bent over and started to crawl to my right, feeling for the wall. With a slight bump my shoulder touched the right wall and feeling around, I realized that I was in some sort of maze.

Underground. Musty and dark. I scrambled forwards. Looking for a way out. Actually, since I could see anything I was using my senses and instinct to guide myself along the stony, rocky maze. Suddenly, a screech came from down the maze. uh-oh. This could be good. Still thinking about what Kaily told me and what I had just seen, I slowly felt my way down the stone pathway. Then, at the far edge, I saw a glimpse of light.

Quickening my pace, I walked down the path and nearly tripped over a rock in the middle of it. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally reached the light. Turned out it was a crack in the rocks, and I could see a bit of the outside world. Jade green grass, blossoming, red flowers and even a small stream running down the edge, forming a waterfall.

Then, I looked on the ground and to my utter surprise, there was a torch, and matches. I grabbed them and hurriedly tried to stick a match. I used too much force and it broke. I took out another one and forced myself to stay calm and lit it. Touching it with the torch, it instantly lit on fire. This was a great improvement to a few minutes ago, soaked in water, shivering from coldness and with no source of heat or light at all.

Thinking about my possibilities, I decided to stay put for a bit and warm myself up before wandering down the maze. Just as I was sitting down on a stone, I saw a small, round hole in the wall. I knew it wasn't natural, because it was perfectly round and it was metal. Looking around I spotted several more holes on the wall.

Wanting to investigate further I looked at the hallway and found a dozen more around the maze. Looking in one of them, I wanted to see if it would contain a way out. INstead, I was greeted with a full blast of water. Ten, looking down the hall, each one of the pipes was activating and each of them was starting to blast water out. The water level started rising quickly, and I realized that if I didn't do something, and fast, I would be drowned in the murky death of this horrible stone maze.

CHAPTER 17

I ran forwards and reached a cross path. Three ways lay ahead of me. On each of the sonte doors lay a plack. Three different inmagies was carved into the stone.

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