Underland(37)

She listened to its fading howl.

***

“Nooo!” Remus rose from his chair screaming in outrage. His own cry echoed that of his boggart. “That can’t be!” He couldn’t believe that the human girl killed his boggart. He spun around to give Den a piece of his mind, but his trainer had vanished. The door was slowly swinging close at his hasty departure.

Well, that was smart. It probably saved his life. Now Remus hoped that someone—maybe Den’s zeke—would finish killing the girl. If it miraculously crossed the line, he’d make sure it would have an accident.

An annoying high pitch staccato laugh erupted from the only other occupied chair. Peter, the rabbit, spun his chair around easily and taunted Remus, “And to think, I almost bought that one.”

***

Kira pulled herself up and struggled down the path toward the finish line. Her feet were dragging, her arm hanging loosely at her side. The diamonds were everywhere, and she tried to close her eyes, but her brain wouldn’t obey. She just wanted one—no. No. She had to stop it. She fell to her knees and used the edge of a broken diamond to tear off part of her uniform. With everything she had left, she focused on the finish line, then tied the scrap of material around her eyes.

It took a few precious seconds before the insane desire to rip it off faded. Kira pushed herself to her knees and jogged forward.

Blindly, she choked down her fear, and ran. Her brain tried to guess how, exactly, she would die.

Focus.

She ignored the sound of running footsteps catching up to her. Forward. Someone pushed her down, and she tumbled to the ground. Her palms took the brunt of the fall and the cuts from the diamonds.

Now she was turned around, unsure where to go. Trembling, she walked her hands out in front of her like a blind person, feeling, in case she got turned around and was about to run into a jagged crystal or go over the cliff.

But even without seeing the crystals for more than a few seconds, the madness began to worm its way into her mind. It was worse than she had feared. She wanted that blindfold off. Her hand itched to reach for it. Both hands tingled, and she raised one to take off the blindfold. Give up.

A warm hand grabbed hers and pulled. Kira started to scream, but a familiar and impatient voice cut her off. “This way.”

Zeke.

She lifted the blindfold and saw his crazed hunger-filled eyes. She tried to pull her hand from his grip.

“No, keep going. You have to cross. Can’t you hear it?” he asked.

Hear what? The only thing she heard now was the pounding of her own blood in her ears.

“I can’t.” Her mouth felt like it was swollen. She was losing control of her limbs.

“Here.” He pulled something out of a pouch that looked very familiar. Wait, she had given him that pouch. He shoved a piece of chocolate into her mouth. It melted across her tongue, and she almost moaned in pleasure. Her mind started to clear, and even though her legs still weren’t working, she was able to direct herself.

“Run, I’ll guide you. If anyone tries to stop you, I’ll take care of them.” He gently pushed her blindfold back down over her eyes and turned her toward the finish line. “That way.”

He pushed her roughly from behind, and she was jarred back into a run. She couldn’t help but feel like Creeper was chasing her again.

A strange rhythm kept her moving forward.

A hiss came from her right, and a loud scuffle followed.

Zeke’s voice sounded farther off. “Keep going!” he yelled.

Then Kira heard it. Heard what he had been hearing when all she could make out was the call of madness. Now she heard the crowd. Heard the thrum of their voices, mingling as one. She’d only thought it was a drum. It was actually her name.

They were chanting her name.

Kira Lier…Kira Lier.

She couldn’t help the smile that crept up on her face. It was painful, her lip swollen. The chanting became louder, faster, and she knew she was almost to the finish line.

Over and over she heard her name. A thundering rush of applause—for her. She knew she had crossed. She heard her name over the speakers, and she slowed. Took off the blindfold.

She blinked painfully. The lights burned her eyes. She turned and looked behind her just as Zeke took out a reptilian monster. His hands were deft and quick. The kill fast. He jogged a few more paces and crossed the finish line as well, but he wasn’t received with the same applause.

His eyes narrowed and he bowed his head in her direction, acknowledging her victory. He looked up and pointed. Kira craned her neck and was puzzled by what she saw.

Someone stood there in a dirt-covered, blood-covered uniform. Their eyes looked a little feral—the person seemed on edge.

She froze. It was her.

Kira Lier appeared on a banner, and next to her name a ranking and her kill stat. She was surprised to see a slash mark at all by her name.

But it was there. One horrible slash mark.

Her name chanted over and over began to blur in her ears. She didn’t hear Kira Lier coming from the fans around her. In her head, as guilt wrecked her mind, the chant slowly morphed.

Kira Lier

Kiralier

Killer.

Killer.





Chapter 16

Kira bent over, her hands on her knees as her stomach rolled in protest at what she had done. Zeke handed her a bucket, and she moved to the side of the course as bile erupted.