End Game/Start over

Word count: 11,651

Pages: 38

I started the brainstorming for this book thanksgiving day of 2014 and three years later I only have 10 chapters. After a lot of thought I have decided to make this a short story. This book idea started after reading a book that inspired me so much I knew I had to write a book that would do that same thing for others. I over brainstormed this book though and I have only come back to it recently. I had to make some big changes but now I am really happy with where it is going. 

The main character in the Book is Scarlet who is 17 when the book starts. She has been the hardest character to write because she doesn't have my personality. I find myself writing myself into her much more then I intended though. 

On the other hand, the second main character in the book is a boy named Reve. He is pretty much a male version of me, very much a dreamer and creative.  This book is also hard to write because part of the book is about honesty. And so the characters have to be very honest. So I would defiantly call it a young adult book considering I intend on talking about some very serious subjects.

 

I hope you love this book as much as I do.

Marci

End game

Written by Marciella Asi

I dedicate this book to all the people who wanted to give up but decided to fight.. To the people who made the choice to be the last to die.

And to my Dad who did that, I admire you and the way you never give up.

i

            You couldn’t breathe.  Everything around you froze as your little sister lay dead on the ground. The hardness of her lips stayed firm and you watched them as if they would come alive again. You were begging them to. Her mouth was open as if she was trying to say something but it was filled with water holding her back from everything unspoken.. Water; the thing that kept us alive had killed her. Her arm was twisted in a terrible way and no one seemed to care. The workers hustled her quickly into a glass case as you watched in horror.  She was wearing her favorite dress, pure white like her beautiful little soul. Starting to regain control of your limbs you walked toward one of workers.

“Ma'am what happened to her?”, you asked one small lady.

"She drowned", was her curt reply.

"How?", your voice held no emotion.

"She must have fallen in and her circuits blew".

Pausing for a second you recollected all your thoughts.   "She was my sister…Vaela…”

The small woman turned to you and quickly called out to a 67, "Comfort needed right here".

A man came up and immediately reassured you everything was going to be ok. You watched his mouth move the soft lines of his skin open and close and his breath frosty from the brisk morning air and for the first time in your life you did not believe it.  You did not believe any of them or any of this mess. Turning away the only thing you wanted was to get closer to your sister but as you took the step forward you turned again and ran. It was then a boy grabbed your arm and pulled you toward him.. Collapsing to the ground he let you fall as you slipped out of his arms. If they could hear your whispers then they would break your heart. When you had calmed down, he pulled you up and stared in your deep red eyes. They were dry as a stone. No one would ever say they had seen you cry. He was not surprised. They probably thought you couldn't.  

"Kai", you said. That was all you could manage.

"Yes, come on, I have something that will help you".

You followed without looking back at your sister. You wish you had. If only you had.. The only thing left you would ever see, was her blood.

           

Reve smeared more of the blood on the canvas as tears streamed down his face. This was normal for him. The painting, the blood, and the tears. Except this time he knew the dead person he painted. He had never spoken a word to her but he saw her every single day by the Water. Vaela's face stared at him, haunting his being. He did not need the picture to curve her fragile frame. He knew the little freckle on her cheek and the wave of her snow white hair. She was so young. Too young. Because at fourteen you are not supposed to kill yourself.. You had watched her die. And you couldn't save her. Oh how you tried that morning. You had watched them pick her up out of the water and praying that she was still alive. She had to be because when you saw a glimpse of her face there was a small smile. The first smile you had ever seen from her.  But here you were painting her figure into the grave. Staring at the name she would never introduce herself to you with. You would just say at least she wasn’t a coward. You would ask what you did wrong. You would say you were the best mother you could be for being just her sister.  You would tell her to come back.  You would cry because your father never did. But you did it alone. because I don’t think you can cry with people in the room. It's ok though because Reve used enough tears for you and your father.

            Kai called you to come faster, and faster you came. You wanted to leave every memory of what just happened in the wind but like the smoke it clung to you. “Scarlet, be careful”,  He called ahead. “ 3 o'clock”. Ducking behind a huge building you waited until the path was clear. Their pure white outfits were not made for all the soot of the factories.  Kai was already gone and you knew he would be waiting around the corner. When you moved to where you knew he was to your surprise a young lady was handcuffing him. She saw you and you gave Kai a look of disgust.

“Sorry”, he winked, “I don’t hit ladies”.

“Of course you don’t but that doesn’t mean you had to get caught”, you winked back.

The lady now turned for you. “Excuse me”, she said , “but you and your friend have to come with me.. This is a private area.”

But you were not listening. Just waiting.

Just then Kai gave you the signal. He was out of the cuffs, don’t ask how, he always told you not to share your survival secrets , and you turned on her. It would have been more interesting if she had even known what had hit her.

"We better go you warned, those new trackers are going to tell them right where we are".

"Oh yeah”, Kai said,” I forgot about that".  

"You forget everything" you yelled back to him but by then he was almost at your side.

"Hey red, slow down" he shouted as he passed you.

Then they came, silently, but the bullets have to make noise at some point. You just hope it's not when they hit you. And at that point it's not the bullet that  makes the most noise. In a matter of seconds you could say you were being chased. The gears grinding around you and him helped hide your pounding footsteps as you swung through the many buildings..

You caught up with Kai again when he asked you painting, "How did you even hear about those trackers in the first place?"

"Oh I heard one of the police talking a couple weeks ago," I panted. "They should be more careful if they don’t want people to know". Oh you lied so well. Even to your best friend.. All of a sudden everything went silent and you started to fall. The world went dark.

            The next thing you knew, the ceiling was staring at you. “Hello Scarlet, thank you for joining us. Were there any issues in your arriving?”

“You thought of a couple things to say but held your tongue. What happened to kai?”

“Oh,  he is fine my dear, when he wakes up he won't remember what happened. And you won't tell him ”.

Your mind twisted around and you tried to stay focused on the voice.

“How do you know my name?”,  You asked.

Your sister told us. At that you shot up and looked around the room.

Your eyes didn't get far in examining the small room when you saw it. Your sister's dead body lay on the table across from you. You broke and pulled your face in position almost too fast for a normal human to see.

“Scarlet, we brought you here about your sister. She died as you know. Drowned. Do you know how she died?”

You answered swiftly and calmly as it was your job to act calm.

“The Cax said that she fell in and her circuits-”

“No scarlet”,.The voice harshly stopped you, “She killed herself…. It was suicide”, the voice choked as if in tears. . She lost hope and found that to be the most peaceful way to go. Really though it wasn't at all peaceful the voice chippered up. With all the thrashing i'm surprised no one noticed sooner. One boy was seen on our cameras and he was what we saw.

STOP! you yelled out all of a sudden. Get to the point.. Why did you bring me here and why is my sister here.

The point, the voice grew sharp, is She knew how to die by the water that she loved. Because Scarlet, she knew the things she loved the most would be the only thing able to killed her. You told us about your family, your mother.. Our… People are concerned that you are getting too attached to friends. ANd scarlet Friends are the only thing that are able to destroy you,

Why haven't you then killed me You asked.

Ha the voice laughed,. You think i am your enemy? I am better your friend.

You just sat there and the voice let you ponder everything.

Scarlet I will let you go now but we thought you should know how your sister died. Just before you go, think about what has happened. Your sister is dead. There is nothing you can do about that. Or maybe there is. Scarlet we need you to go into the stimulator, we need to do some tests.  I'm sorry about your sister. Comfor-

You interrupted this time," No I don’t need comfort"…sitting up you walked over to your sister and took her cold hand. And what if i don't do it. We will Kill someone close to you. Someone like Kai. Well my specialty is staying alive you muttered. Your head started to hurt and the world started to go black again but you happened to catch the voice say one more thing. I know scarlett. But this time i need you to do something a little different then stay alive.

You opened your eyes and it was as if not a second had passed. Bullets were flying ahead but you knew they would not hit you.  You stumbled to keep your mind at ease. But there was Kai and they did not care about him alive. Your brain went back into action and you ran until you lost all thought. I'll see Kai tonight you thought. He knows I need to be alone.

            Home to you was not at all like home. You hated being home alone. In fact you hated being alone at all. There was a reason that men seemed to always be in your bed. Tonight was that way but you needed to cry. And that meant you had to be alone.  It was not until you barricaded the door and pulled the one curtain window that you went into the bathroom faced the wall and let your thoughts kill you.

When you could breathe again you stood up and looked in the mirror. You hated mirrors but kai gave it to you. It was cracked but you felt like you could not smash it like your last one. Your face had pain etched into it. Your wrists were bloody from your own fingernails. Your eyes bore through every soul as people said. Maybe that’s why you never looked people in the eye, unless you trusted or loved them. That number was almost nonexistent. Kai said you had the best smile but you haven't seen it real in a while. So you smiled and that was the end of the transformation. The shadows disappeared and your mysterious smile caught every single eye. Show time Scarlet you told yourself. And were you about to put up a show. You threw on a tank top that brought your chin length hair on its perfect edge. And some ripped black jeans.  In 5 minutes you were there and ready for the first fight.

The dark room played many tricks with your eyes but the smoke floating and dust on everyone's face reminded you of how this was your real home. But every home had its pain. At least this one was physical and you could fight it. Kai was the first one to see you and you knew the news had reached everyone, their sad whispers and eyes told you everything. You did not even to bother at the paper that was the size of a book. Her death was buried in one of the thousand pages of the news.  A few people came up to say a few words. You knew they had to though. We were good and the rule sign was hung up on every empty spot in the room. You swore they had that just so we could remember why we were the rebellious. Honesty is the number one rule. Honesty is the best policy. The cliché words were deadly though. You break them you die. How are you feeling Scarlet, Serenity asked her eyes huge and terrified. She was one of the three people in the world you trusted the most. I am alive and that is all that really matters you replied with a smile starting to wrap your hands for the first fight. . Kitty was not far behind. I knew this would happen! The world is falling and who is going to be next…" Kitty..", you started to say. It seemed that Kitty was the one always needing cheering up no matter what happened. She was the second person you trusted and thankfully Serenity had lots of cheer to share. While Serenity comforted Kitty you saw Kai watching you from across the room. When he saw you see him he started to walk over. I did not think you would come he said. Don’t think about me you said. "Scar look at me", he pulled my jaw so I looked into his eyes. He was the third person, You knew he truly cared and you were not quite sure why. "What are you doing?" he asked. What are you going to do with your life? You can't stay here..I know you aren't. Why don’t you run? Do something." "I know, you said trying to look down again. "Kai I have decided", then you interrupted yourself, "and don’t try to stop me! You can't. They want me to go anyway but I can't tell you that." "Oh Kai, you looked up willingly, I have to go". "I am going to join the Stimulator".

            Pain. You loved the feeling of this pain. Oh you craved it and you breathed from it. Slam, you gave him pain also. Words spewed from your mouth and you hit again. People screaming your name and you felt alive. The bandages on your hands were red with his blood and his with yours. Blood for blood was the second rule, everyone owes the other. Pain flooded your stomach and you almost screamed. Except you couldn’t scream. I think you just have trouble showing your true emotions. You’re an actor so it's what you do best. Backing up from the last blow you tried to clear your head from all the screaming. The round was almost done and you needed to win.  Griffin was about to do another blow. You could not give up. Then you remembered something you always told yourself. When you feel like giving up increase the feeling so you can never be stopped.  "Griffin!" you yelled louder than all the yelling around you. "I am giving you a empty fight. Do your worse." Everyone went silent as if they were not sure if they heard right. Kai almost said something but he stayed quiet. Your hands were tied behind you in seconds and in less time Griffin pounded you down. Blood was now running down your chin and that is the thing you did you not like. Pain was nothing but the blood was your weakness. You never had gotten used to it. Time seemed to slow and it felt like an eternity. You were silent and took the pain without a flinch. You had a plan. Because fighting without someone fighting back throws off your senses and you had 11 seconds to defeat him before the round ended.

The buzzer rang and you did not even feel the ropes being cut. Watching him like he was your next victim, you barely waited for the people to leave the floor when you sprang into action. It was now your turn to beat him without a fight. You had a way with pain. You made it hurt and you knew just where to hit. Some said you fought yourself in your sleep. It was really not yourself you fought though, It was the demons that tried to kill you in your sleep. Griffin was not much different. You hated each other and every hit he took felt so good. No one had fought empty in a long time but you knew tonight would be the last fight you had so you gave him everything. He was your rival. He always seemed better than you. Winning everything when you came in second. You just waited for the day he would fall under you. You had to time it perfectly. ANd you did. Within seconds you had nearly every hit and with 2 seconds left you K.O him.

 Kai was at your side with Kitty in seconds. They tried helping you off the platform but you threw their hands away.

“Oh Scarlett, you have not looked this bad in a long time!", Kitty cried!

Kai echoed her reply.

"Hey!", you cried punching Kai playfully in the arm, "you don’t look so bad yourself." His black eye showed that he had some fun too.

"Scarlet how did you do that! I thought for sure he had you?", Serenity called running up to you almost knocking you over.

Kitty was wiping away as much of the blood she could.

"Thanks for the confidence Serenity!" you laughed. I just had to let him clear my head.  

He couldn’t handle you!"Kai said proudly. And a guinness idea with letting him fight empty.  

You looked over at him with all his friends around him. His silver hair glinted in the low lights as he lay on the ground just starting to come to.

"You may have broken his jaw", Kai told you bringing you back to earth. "It's hard to tell yet but that hit you gave him was not meant for anything but to break something."

"I need fresh air was all you said." Kai followed you into the darkness of the night. You both stood in silence. The only sound was you breathing deeply still feeling Griffins choking grasp around your neck. Finally you spoke," Kai, I wanted to kill him.. I never wanted to kill someone like that before"..

"Scarlet, You are angry because of your sister ", he said.

"What is the meaning of life.. What is the meaning when your own sister kills herself. We have all given up..".

            Serenity walked you home through the dark, quiet streets.  She did not mention Vaela at all, just keeping up her small chatter and it comforted you. In a way you wanted to talk about Vaela but you could not mention her. Today you knew was just a nightmare and waking up tomorrow would make everything better. Because in your right mind you would never go to training or even consider the Stimulator. It was something you told yourself you would never do. But then seeing your sister now gone. Lost and broken without knowing what to expect. But then again when were you ever in your right mind.