Game Over

Kiaras p.o.v


My face lit with the energy of the sparks. It was like we were behind an explosion-proof glass, yet we could still see through the portal as the ashes and sparks banged in terror against the portal’s opening, before the portal disappeared for good. We all floated around, mindlessly and emotionless. While everyone else was sort of panicking, I had received the weirdest feeling. The feeling of peace….. floating around like that made me feel like I was floating in heaven, with every inch around us eggshell white, gravity defying itself.

I felt an ice cold tingle bite at my heart, a numbing sensation swirl at a hundred miles an hour in circles in my belly, making me bend over and clutch my gut. It felt like hours for what had been only a few minutes before everyone disappeared, including Anya. I was dropped harshly on the ground and my gut flew up like a songbird to the sun before I crashed into the ground. It was a dark forest, a place that looked like a devil’s head quarters.

It was dark and mysterious, night time and eerily quiet. I sighed; feeling the most hideous surge of anger hit me. This game didn’t give a rat’s ass about what just happened to me, they just wanted a game. I curled my small hands into fists, my fingernails digging into my skin, I didn’t care. Whoever made this game was a monster. The creators were ruthless and horrible. I shot out my machete and gripped the handle until it made my fingernail nuts sting like the handle was made of sea salt.

“Come out you little devils…” I laughed bitterly to myself, tasting the salt on my tongue. I felt the true devil, my monstrous self bust out of the far side of my brain and intoxicate my whole being. I felt the anger infect every cell in my muscles. I bit my tongue hard until I tasted not only the salt but the blood. I continued to step forward, wanting to just rip something apart, but my walking pattern was a little woozy from the head hit from Tori.

I couldn’t take it anymore, a monster was inside my chest wanting to get out, it was banging on the walls of my chest in anger. I lifted my head to the moon and screamed bloody murder. I screamed for as long as my lungs bared, screaming at the top of my lungs, to the root of my voice box. I melted to the ground, and felt the cold tears fall down my shaking cheeks. I was all alone in this forest, all alone. I mindlessly balled my hands into fists and punched the ground. It sent a frilly tender pain up my arm and mostly to the joints, and I kept to it. I screamed, got up and punched my fists as hard as I could into a tree trunk. The pain rippled up to my mind so fast until it fell numb. All anger zapped from me as I stood back in numbness and shaking freezing pain. I felt as I tried to move my fingers, it was useless. I sat down hopelessly, and with pained bloody tears, took out my inventory and got out healing potions. I mixed certain ones together like you would any food dish, and took the bitter mixture like any medicine, down the throat.

I felt my hands become alive again, my broken and bloody fingers slowly becoming stronger until I could freely move them like I’d never abused them. The tears fell in pouring mode. What was I doing? Breaking my hand wasn’t going to help, screaming bloody murder wasn’t helping anybody, and if I killed myself, what would I leave Anya with? Anya… I had to find her in this wrenched forest.

I got up and took a few steps forward, the dizziness still present even after I took the healing potion. The dizziness eventually was shook off as I mindlessly walked through the forest, and that precious feeling of complete peace and non-fright relaxed my injured mental mind.
A soft tone of music coming from a music box touched my ears as my head whipped to that direction. At first a sense of chill ran up my spine, but I felt the relaxing emotion again once I realized how soothing the music was. It was so easily a trap, and I was so easily paranoid and suspicious now, but at this point, I didn’t care. I walked through the forest, my eyes scanning the area. The forest was dark and covered in dirty moss, the trees reaching over with demonic hands of tree limbs and the trees of autumn, not one green, just dead, orange or brown.

Until I followed the music box. I opened a thick bush when a blinding light split through the cracks. I automatically shielded my sensitive pupils from the light as my eyes tried to corporate with the sudden change. I walked through the dark forest and into the light when I found out it was really just a sunny place, no blinding light or anything.

The sun was so hot and shining; it felt good on the goose bumps on my chilled bear arms. The ground was dry, but along it swayed long golden brown grasses, like a field, like a magic land. The clouded night sky was now a cloudless sunny day. I walked forward, to this beautiful music box that teased my curiosity. I could see it, a cylinder-shaped stone pillar right ahead, clear as day it was my destination. I walked forward, my armor making me sweat buckets in the sun that felt so good before. I quickened my pace until I was able to touch the stone pillar. On top of it was a small box. It had scarlet colored fury lining on the box, with hand-carved wood markings on the corners. On the very edge of the wooden carvings were a sharp blue, turquoise painting. The box was opened, inside was a small plastic tiny dancer.

Two dancing ballerina’s, some sort of electronic mechanism inside, for the ballerina’s were dancing around inside. On the side was a moving metal piece that signaled the music box was working, making poetic sounds. I gingerly picked up the small toy, looking under and around the object as the music continued loud and clear, until it stopped. I felt an edge of panic for the candy-sweet instrumental had ended, I quickly moved the object around in my hands and re-set the metal piece, feeling relieved to hear the tender sound whisk onto the wind from the machine. I smiled, listening to the tune until it ran out of fumes again.

The quiet pieced my ears, but I stood immobile, hypnotized. I heard crunching from behind the place I was sitting. It was see-through, and it looked at me with scared eyes. I immediately took action and stood up, taking out my machete and pointing at it.

It just stared at me, and I realized it was a small cat. But it really was no cat, it was all white and see through, like a ghost… it was a ghost. “What are you waiting for, aren’t you going to turn into some bigger monster and ‘surprise’ me and kill me off?” I asked, pointing the tip of the machete at its frail body. It trotted forward and I whipped out my shot gun at its sudden movements.

“Take a break, kid,” it laughed. An animal talking was nothing near to surprising in here. “Get back or I’ll slaughter you.” I spit at it.

It laughed, “You’re too tense.” I didn’t hesitate, clogging the machete straight into its stomach. It went right through, and I leaped back stunned. It walked forward, the machete doing nothing to it. “No knife can hurt me kid, for I am a ghost.” I felt my heart start pumping at the realization I couldn’t hurt it, but it could hurt me.

It smiled sweetly, “This is where all animals go once they die Kiara, I am no enemy. Just an old cat with nothing but a sore memory of what I was.” I looked away, “You’re a game character, you’re an animation.” I mumbled. “Am I?” It asked, chuckling slightly. “Maybe you’re the one who’s animated, the one with no soul or control over your body.” I bit my lip, “Don’t try to confuse me, just leave me alone…”

He looked away, “Or am I an angel?” I looked at crazily. “I don’t have an angel, if I did it would have protected me from this hell,” I yelled at it. The cat smiled, before walking on air to the sky. “A pity, you have such slender beautiful angel wings, yet you don’t know how to use them.” His voice echoed before he disappeared, leaving me in silence.

I took no interest in his words, slinging my machete back in its proper place and stuffing my gun in its holder as well before walking off. I felt an edge of terror as the elegant fields of golden grass disappeared into the black forest. I smiled to myself, “Animal heaven my ass.” I laughed, walking forward. I heard the slender musical tone of the music box behind me, making me turn. The box was behind some forest trees where I couldn’t see it, and not wanting to push my luck, I strode forward.

The music became loud, and moved towards me. Instead of running which would probably be useless, I took out my machete and prepared to defend myself. I felt relief as Anya walked through, and watched with heartfelt curiosity at her glowing hand, the music playing softly from the scar.

“Anya,” I shouted. She turned her eyes wide before sighing and running to hug me. I took the embrace and hugged her back, before tears tumbled down her cheeks. “Tori…” She mumbled. “I’m losing it Kiara…” She looked away, “I thought the game killed you when we were separated too.”

I took her hand in mine, “We’ll get through this… how did you get that marking on your hand to play that music?” She looked into my ears, “What music? I didn’t hear a single note.” I bit my lip and smiled weakly, “Must have been Percy helping us, where ever he is anyway.” I mumbled as we both got up from the ground and walked forward. “This game likes playing with our emotions,” I said aloud as Anya nodded. “Let’s just try not to get separated in this forest; I don’t need you alone again.”

I nodded, traveling behind her, before I saw a flicker of light in the forest. I looked to see a ghostly figure of Tori. I was getting ready to scream when I saw her friendly smile, something I missed so much and didn’t want to miss. She waved from behind a tree, smiling and mouthing the words ‘Thank you’ as she looked at me. I noticed a clear as day halo on top her head, and long slender angelic wings behind her.

“Hey Kiara, didn’t you hear me? Stay with me!” Anya shouted as I gasped and looked at her, she had walked some distance ahead of me. I quickly changed my stare back to the tree, Tori’s ghost was gone.

“Hey, are you okay?” Anya asked, “Do you see something…” She took out her sword automatically as I nodded my head no. “This games dirty.”