Welcome to the Games

Nick was at my side immediately. “You see the locks?”

“Yeah,” I said fingering my necklace as I looked up at him.

Because of the close proximity, I realized that he was only about one or two inches taller than me. And that he really was fairly muscular. And that, despite being in this place for hours, he still smell really good. I think I must have been staring because he tapped my shoulder- startling me. He wore a small smile on his face as his eyes bore into mine.

“Oh, um, sorry,” I said, suddenly flustered, turning red. I knew I was crushing hard- which a leader shouldn’t be doing… right?

“It’s okay,” he said gently, almost as if he was used to that sort of thing. But he didn’t mind. “Do you want me to take off your necklace for you?” I nodded and we went through the routine of me lifting my hair up as he undid the chain.

I mumbled a thank you as he handed it back to me and got down on my knees to examine the three very small locks. I wiped the thin layer of dust that coated the top of them and could, very faintly make out the numbers above the locks. A two, than a one than a three.

I smiled and inserted the correct key with the correct lock- then turned each one; smiling a little wider every time I heard the small satisfying ‘click’ that came with opening a door. After unlocking each one, I took the keys and put them back on the chain.

Since the Nick had joined Joe and Taylor in trying to open the trap door, Swifty offered to retie the chain around my neck- to which I obliged. I watched as the three guys struggled to open the door, and, when Kevin came to help them, open it successfully.

The door landed on the ground with a huge thud as everyone gathered around to see what was underneath the trap door. Needless to say, we were a tad surprised when we saw that it was water. Black and bottomless, but rocking due to the commotion- it lay undisturbed.

I looked around, and everyone’s faces were impassive. I think I had a good idea as to what they were thinking- is that water safe? Is it a trap? Is it our only way out? But then all of their faces turned to me, practically asking me what to do. I was stunned for a moment before remembering I was supposed to be in charge of this sort of thing.

“Well?” Miley asked, rather impatiently. “What are we supposed to do?” Liam, who was standing rather close to her, nodded in succession.

I took a deep breath; looking at the trap door, then to all of the tired faces around me. They all seemed dependant, as if they all needed to be given orders before being told what to do.

Like they weren’t allowed to make any decisions by themselves.

“Close the door,” I said wearily, and watched as Kevin and Joe hurried to close it again. “How about we all get some well deserved sleep- okay? Boys one side, and girls on the other- got to keep this PG.”

The nine people around me nodded, and they all split off into groups and slunk to the ground. I saw Liam give Miley a quick kiss on the lips before going to the boys’ side and Taylor brush his lips against Selena’s hand before going the same was as Liam. I allowed my lips a small smile.

Joining Miley, Demi, Selena and Swifty- I law down on the ground next to Swifty. I grabbed my deserted water bottle and drank a swig before settling down; I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep well because the light was still on in the room, but there was no way I was turning it off. I too afraid to. But I couldn’t let the others know that.

“You okay?” Swifty asked me in a whisper as I heard light breathing from the girls around.

“Yeah,” I whispered back, “just had a long day… or hours… how long has it been?”

She looked down at her wrist, but didn’t see the watch she expected to see. “I… I don’t know. Good job, by the way. For being leader. Especially so young.”

“I’m sure I’m not the youngest here.”

“You may not be. But you’re one of the youngest- and you have an even harder time since you don’t seem to know anyone.”

I nodded. “I guess. I just wish I recognized somebody! The rest of you seem to…”

“But maybe,” said Swifty, “that’s what makes you better- you have no prior judgments. You’re like a clean slate… You’re like a unicorn, like the Nurse. You have to get us out of these games Zoe. Don’t tell anyone- I’ll know. We’ll all know…You’re being paranoid- you just have to look a little deeper… oh, the company won’t like this… Zoe- wake up.

Wake up.

“Zoe, wake up!” Someone said as they nudged me gently.

“Huh?” I mumbled groggily, wiping my eyes and blinking a few times as everyone came into focus. I guess I must have fallen asleep while Swifty was talking to me. “What’s up?”

Demi had woken me up. She flashed me a toothy smile, “Everyone else is up already! C’mon!”

I got up slowly, still tired, and tore off a small chunk of granola bar to eat- followed by a sip of water. Demi was right, everyone else was already up- playing with the guitar (since the other one had been smashed) and looking reasonably happy.

Swifty wandered over to me as Demi went back over to the group. “What’s up, Zoe?”

“Fatigue,” I answered dully.

She smiled playfully and rolled her eyes. “Very funny. I meant, did you think up any good ideas or plans while you were in that peaceful slumber of yours?”

I knew it would be foolish to tell her of the dream full of different voices- mostly because I was still trying to make it out myself. I shook my head. “No. This leader thing is harder than I thought it was going to be. Did you think of anything?”

“Yeah,” she said, “but I don’t want to take over…”

“No, it’s fine!” I reassured her. “I seriously don’t mind- what was your idea?”

“Okay guys!” I said, clapping my hands together, “Before we go into the pool, Swifty and I came up with an idea- for safety reasons. It may sound childish, but… we’re having a buddy system.”

“A what?” asked Joe, wrinkling his brow.

“A buddy system,” I repeated. “It’s where you basically have a ‘buddy’ which you have to watch out for. You are responsible for that one person. And since we may be delving into something dangerous- we think it necessary for everyone to have a safety partner.”

“Do we get to choose pairs?” asked Taylor, who quickly glanced at Selena.

I did my own side glance at Swifty. She did a quick nod and I said, “Yes, you can.”

Excitement filled the air and I found the partners predictable; Selena and Taylor, Liam and Miley, Demi and Joe.

“Hey leader,” said Swifty, ruffling my hair, “wanna be my buddy?”

I chuckled. “Sure Swifty.”

I looked around and saw Nick looking at me before doing a knuckle touch with Kevin. If only he knew how much I wanted him to ask me to be his partner first. If only he knew.

“Well,” said Taylor, “should we check out the pool?”

Everyone nodded or shouted their agreement, and the boys went to open the door again- which hadn’t been locked.

Now, the only remaining question was:

Who was going to go in and test the water first?