25: Day Five
Shortly after breakfast, Blaise’s minions come to usher the Top Ten to the hallway they will wait in for the Second Race, the simulated one. Anything could be waiting for the Runner behind the door. One year there was a girl who was chased down by a deluge of water. She told someone she couldn’t swim and they used that against her, even though it made her come in second. Another year, there was a boy whose finish line was at the top of a volcano that was about to erupt. He got there before the lava ever started spewing over the edge, but he still only got Fourth Place.
Anything could happen.
Everyone stands in line, Daniel stretching and jogging in place, his jacket seeming to bounce like an extra layer of skin around him. All he has to do is run straight, no matter what happens inside of there.
He hears the cameras around the hallway click on.
It’s time.
“Daniel,” one of the men calls him up. He had come in last place in the First Race. He gets to go first.
Daniel can’t tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
He nods and walks over to the white door that stands in front of him. A shiver works its way down his spine as there’s a sound like air being released from behind the door. It’s air-locked.
“You can go in now,” the gruff man to Daniel’s left says, pulling the heavy door open. It scrapes along the floor and the hinges make a loud metallic screeching noise, making the Runner cringe and his heart rate pick up.
He reminds himself to breathe.
As he steps through the door, a chill sends goose bumps raising all over his skin. He has to run faster than he ever has, no matter what it is that he faces.
The room he’s in is long, longer than he would have ever thought possible of a room, even though he’s seen it on television for many years now. The end of it is enshrouded in darkness.
“Once you finish, exit out the first door you see. Someone will escort you to where you need to be,” the big man says. “Good luck.”
The door shuts, leaving Daniel in utter and uncomfortable darkness and silence. They’re generating his track.
He starts to count the seconds to keep himself calm. Reaching thirty, he wonders what’s taking so long.
And then the room springs to life.
Before him is a checkered line that says Begin on it. Around him are ruined trees and rusted buildings, looking as if it had been sitting there to rust for centuries. He hears animals roaming about and things moving over the grassy floor around him. His path is a narrow strip of dirt, and, from the feel of it, it’s thick enough to easily push off of it with his shoes.
Bang!
Daniel takes off running, glad he didn’t hesitate like Stark had last year. Had it only been last year?
At first, the run is easy. His feet seem to make no noise as the trees whip by him and dirt and dust stir in the air behind him. He looks at the path ahead of him, knowing it’s too easy. He doesn’t know how long he has to run for, but by the looks of it, it’s a good distance. The longer runs take longer for obstacles to appear, Daniel has noticed over the years watching the Competitions. He’s just trying not to worry about what’s to come.
The sounds of the forest are barely heard over his breath as he tries to control it. The air seems a bit heavy, much like the weather throughout this year, but, instead of it being dry, it’s more humid than anything. He really has to focus on his breathing if he wants to make a good time, or, well, if he wants to make it to First Place…
There’s crackling up ahead, and a tree starts to lean over onto the Runner’s path. He draws in a short breath and pedals his feet harder to get past it. His hands swat away falling leaves and branches as he ducks below the tree. One of the twigs still attached to it slaps him in the back of the calf, making it sting more than it should have. He sighs once and goes back to focusing on his breathing. Never before had the Runner’s Competition had a tree almost fall onto them in the middle of their race. Daniel feels a prickle of fear to think of what else could happen.
Is Blaise setting up some of these obstacles? Daniel finds himself wondering. No one but the Elites know who it is that sets up this part of the Competition, and Daniel has a feeling that it’s mostly Blaise the Elite Runner that comes up with these things, meaning things will probably happen that don’t normally happen here.
The Runner clears his mind and readies himself for anything that might come his way.
It’s only a few seconds before something else happens.
The earth starts quaking, animals crying out and moving around hurriedly. Daniel tries to keep his feet beneath him as he moves on, furrowing his brow to try and keep him concentrated. It’s just a simulation, and nothing will deter him from getting higher than sixth place.
Just then, the ground before him splits into two.
It’s perpendicular to his path as it spreads out, and it’s maybe one hundred feet ahead of him, the Runner approaching fast. There’s no way he could stop. He needs to jump over it, simulation or not.
He counts down as he draws nearer.
3… 2… 1…
He jumps.
Fire flares up on the other side just as he reaches the half point of the split in the ground. His eyes widen as he gets closer, not so worried about the crack in the earth now that he’s almost over it, but for the red and orange flames that dance before him, taunting him. They seem to grow and thicken as he lands on the ground. He covers his face and pushes through it, the flames burning every inch of his skin.
Why does it hurt? He asks himself as he runs through it, crying aloud and sucking in dirt and ash floating in the air. It’s supposed to only be a hologram…
He reaches the end of the flames, his dark skin even darker and bubbling around him. He breathes heavily, trying to regain some control over his lungs as he coughs, still pedaling hard over the dirt path.
The trees seem to squeeze together over the path, making the branches and bark scrape and slap at his now charred skin. He cries out as the blistering wounds open, the branches seeming to sharpen with every blow as the trees crowd the path. He can barely keep his eyes open and his legs start to go numb.
A tree falls into the path. Daniel leaps over it, the tip of his shoe catching on the upper part of it. He stumbles a little but regains his pace, the smell of burned flesh and hair circling him for a moment before he speeds up again. He just needs to make it to the finish line…
Another tree falls. Another. Then, they all seem to be coming down at once. The Runner ducks and leaps, using up all his strength. Then it begins to rain.
The rain is cold and heavy, and it weighs him down. He pushes through it, feeling his muscles wanting to lock up and find warmth. They begin to ache.
Daniel feels the earth shiver again and he stumbles, falling to the ground. He gets up, but his movements seem slow and clumsy. He feels as if he’s not going to win.
Bang!
The Runner looks around as he picks his pace back up. He’s not at the end. Why would he hear a gun shot?
Bang!
Something wizzes by the Runner’s ear and adrenaline starts to wake up his tortured body. He looks around as another shot is sounded.
Bang!
There’s a figure dressed in blue standing to the left of the path, right next to the finish line. Daniel feels his heart race quicken, and not from running. This is the end of the race.
Bang!
A bullet hits him in the hand and he cries out, still managing to sprint at full speed towards the black and white line on the ground. Blood drips from his wound.
Daniel looks up at the man in blue. This is real. This isn’t just a simulation. That person is real. He’s trying to kill me.
The Runner uses all of his strength that’s left, alternating his feet as they collide with the ground one at a time. He lets out a cry as he plows into the man, both of them sailing over the line.
“Why are you trying to kill me?” The Ru
nner shouts to the man, whose face is hidden by a black ski mask.
With that, the simulation flickers out, distracting Daniel for a moment. The man beneath him shoves him off as a door opens up. Daniel watches as the man gets away, slipping through the door. The Runner lies there for a moment, letting his brain catch up to everything he just went to.
The fire was real. The bullets were real. He looks at his hand, wincing at the pain that suddenly slams through his body. It had made a clean, bloody hole right through the center of it. He takes in a ragged breath as he tries to sit up, crying out as he does so. He finally finds the strength to stand up and limp out the door.
+ + +
The hallway had led outside, where a poster on a pole says: Congratulations on finishing the Second Race! Wait here please.
So Daniel does as he is instructed to do, sitting down on the brownish grass and resting his head on the wall. His body is in so much pain… He tries to sleep, but it doesn’t come. Instead, there is a constant aching in his bones and a steady burning with every breath he breathes. He thinks about giving up, about not even trying to beat Blaise the Elite Runner in the Final Race. It’s not worth his life.
But even if he doesn’t win, he’ll die at the hands of the Unnamed.
Frustration takes him over and forms tears of hatred in his eyes. One rolls down his cheek, hot and moving over his face like a summer’s breeze.
This Competition will be the end of him.
The door opens and someone steps out. The boy that came in ninth place. He pays no mind to the Runner and curls up into a ball on the other side of the sign.
A girl comes out, looking at the Runner funny for a moment before stretching out her body from her run.
And then Rose comes out.
“Okay, now I feel better having that out of my system,” she smiles as she stretches her arms behind her. “How’d you do, D—holy—what in the World…?”
She bends down beside Daniel, who winces at her closeness. He wants her to go away, to leave him to his misery and his last thoughts.
“What happened?” She asks.
Daniel’s frustration grows and he snaps, “It was real. Mine was real.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” the Runner breathes acidly. “That I ran through real fire. I was shot at by a real gun with real bullets,” he winces as he lifts up his hand to show her, “and I could have really died.”
“What the…?” Rose looks around at the other people. “Did none of you think to help him?”
The girl looks up for a moment and then back down, leaning forward to stretch her legs out.
Jim bursts through the opening door. He looks down at Rose with a smile before realizing what’s happening. “What happened?”
Daniel, tired of explaining, only grunts and repositions himself. Rose decides to tell him what happened as the Runner closes his eyes and wills them away. He just wants to be left alone. Tomorrow is the last race and he doesn’t stand a chance. He’s too beat up and burned to win. The Unnamed will kill him without a second thought once he crosses that finish line behind the Elite Runner. He’s done-for.
+ + +
Eventually the Doctor arrived after one of Blaise’s henchmen sent for him. He joked that Daniel attracted danger and trouble. It was a joke, yes, but Daniel took it to heart, bitterness feeding the flame inside of him.
The doctor used a stronger cream that would help him mostly heal overnight, but the Runner knows it won’t help anything. The damage is done and there’s no reversing it. If he doesn’t die in his sleep from one of the henchmen then he’ll surely die tomorrow.
What a silver lining, he tells himself sarcastically as he and the other nine Newly Named Runners stand behind the stage set up at the track, waiting to see their rankings.
“Hello Runners and Elites!” The Announcer from last year says into the microphone as she faces the cameras before her. “My name is Karen the Announcer, and I will be giving out the points and placement of our Competitors. The Top Five will move on to the next round, the Final Race!”
She opens an envelope, just like last year, and Daniel sees Rose tense up. She and Jim want to make it in the top five and have a chance to beat the Elite Runner. Between the two of them, the Unnamed would be in business, but they don’t know what Daniel is really doing going into the next race, should he even place.
“I will start with Fifth Place and work my way up from there. These lucky Runners will officially earn their Title as a Runner, and will have a solid job inside of the World. For the ones who do not receive a Title, they will go back to working for their Elite Master, unless they are Mortimer’s Servant, may he rest in piece. Those Named will be sorted out right after this Ceremony. Also, they will be able to raise a family and have no threat of becoming one of the Unnamed.
“And for fifth place… with two-hundred and three points… Jim!”
He leaps forward, heaving a sigh of relief as he shakes the Announcer’s hand. “Congratulations, Jim. You are now Titled as Jim the Runner.”
He walks off stage after nodding to her and stands at the front of the stage, smiling. He made it in.
Karen the Announcer makes it all the way to number three without calling Daniel or Rose. Five others stand beside them, trembling with nervousness and trying not to talk about anything. Don’t speak unless spoken to.
Daniel feels only a bit of nervousness covered in a deluge of drowsiness. He’s so tired… He wishes he could just lie down here and sleep.
“And for second place… with four-hundred points, our second highest score ever…”
Karen seems to take her sweet, ever-loving time announcing it, the words seeming to wake the Runner up for a moment as his heart pumps a bit of adrenaline into his system.
“Is…”
Daniel tries to stifle a groan as his annoyance level increases. He just wants to sleep.
“Rose!”
The Runner’s heart falls as she gives him a cocky smile and struts onto the stage. That’s it. The Runner lost. He’s going to die.
He sits on the ground and buries his head in his hands. Take me now, he thinks. I’ve failed.
“Congratulations, Rose.” Daniel can hear Karen the Announcer’s voice echoing through the field. He just wants it to go away, he doesn’t want to be here anymore. “You are now Titled as Rose the Runner.”
The Runner’s body hurts and he looks at his bandaged hand. Blood has soaked through, staining the white fabric red. He might as well be one of the Unnamed now… It’s not like he has any purpose anymore.
“And for first place…”
Her voice seems to drag on again, the sound echoing in Daniel’s mind.
“With four-hundred and fifty points…”
He can just hear her smile over the speakers. Why is she so happy? This race paved out the way for his doom. He’s a walking corpse with burned flesh and a hole in his hand.
“This is our highest score since before Blaise the Elite Runner, who had acquired four-hundred and thirty points.” Karen the Announcer takes a dramatic pause, making Daniel look up. Around him, the other Runners move or bounce awkwardly as if they have to use the bathroom.
“You watched in awe at this race. The norms of Race Simulations were surpassed and brought to life. This strong Runner, as I welcome him to the stage, is Named Daniel.”
The Runner’s heart skips a beat and his breath catches in his throat. Him? He got First?
He feels a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he stands up, the pain seeming to almost disintegrate as he walks up the stage to the clapping Announcer. He can barely hear her over the pounding of his heart as she congratulates him and gives him his Title. He looks up at the camera, his reflection staring back at him in the lens. He smiles.
He got First Place in the Second Race. Joy overwhelms him. At least until he looks down at Rose and Jim and out at the track. He’d have to race Blaise tomorrow.
He has to stay at his mansion tonight.
He feels the color drain from his face. He’ll be under the same roof as Blaise the Elite Runner, between the same walls. He looks down at his hands, his arms. Blaise is the one that did this to him.
Daniel is frozen in place, eventually told to get off and follow the rest of the Officially Titled Names.
To race tomorrow, to beat Blaise, to stay alive, Daniel will have to survive the night.
26: Blaise’s Mansion
Jim, Rose, Daniel, and the other two Officially Named Runners follow a male Leader down to Blaise’s mansion. It stands tall, seeming bigger than the night Daniel went to confront the Elite Runner. He feels a shiver slip down his shoulder blades as the sun begins to set.
The Leader in the front of the pack calmly walks up the steps and slips the doors open. The group of Runners behind him make their way into the room, looking exactly like Mortimer the Elite Solver and the Elite Leader’s mansions, only in black and blue. Even the chandelier above them gives off a slight blue glow, making the black seem even blacker than black.
They line up, Daniel in the middle and Rose on his left while Jim is on his right. The other two Officially Named stand on either side of them.
“Elite Runner Blaise,” the Leader calls up the stairs. There’s the sound of a door opening and closing and the echoing of shoes touching the floor repetitively. Blaise comes into view at the top of the stairs, Daniel’s heart racing at the thought of spending the night in the man’s mansion. If he could do what he did while Daniel was in that building, he can only imagine what he can get away with in his own house.
Daniel shudders.
“Welcome,” Blaise says sharply, his eyes darting over to Daniel coldly. “You’ve come a long way and being an Unnamed is no longer a threat to your future. However, I am.”
Daniel watches as the man makes his way down the stairs, his frame seeming to grow as he nears. Haughtiness radiates from every inch of his skin as he reaches the floor and places his hands behind his back like a Protector, the people of the military for the World, Planet, and Base.
“You’re going to spend the night here, as well as eat both dinner and breakfast. But I must warn you, my Chefs like me as an Elite Leader. They might accidently slip something into your food, so eat with caution.” The smile he wears spreads guilefully as he says this. “Also, don’t expect to sleep soundly tonight. My Protectors will not be guarding the mansion, so who knows what could crawl through your window or out from under your bed.”
“Why are you doing this?” The girl on the other side of Jim asks, her hands held close to her chest and her lip quivering with fear.
Blaise laughs at her fear. “Because I don’t lose. I never lose. I’m the only person on record that has made first place in all of my races.”
“So then you shouldn’t be worried about little old us then,” Daniel hears Rose say, shifting her weight and crossing her arms. “None of us made it in first place in all of our races.”
“True,” the Elite Runner coos. “But I like pulling the strong from the weak.” His eyes flit to Daniel, who feels his face grow hot.
“Dude, paranoia’s got you bad,” Jim says, smiling jokingly. “I can help you with that. You see, I’ve been a victim of paranoid fantasies as well and—”
Blaise interrupts Jim with a laugh. “Get back in line,” he hisses suddenly, his face falling short of humor. “Another reason for this is so that I can catch the weasels before they destroy me. So if anyone here is part of the Unnamed Rebellion, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”
No one says a word, no one moves a muscle. Daniel can feel his own fear bubble up from the depths of his stomach, as well as Rose’s unsettled anger at the circumstances of the night and Jim’s uncomfortableness at the situation happening before him.
“Okay, suit yourselves,” Blaise smiles again, making Daniel’s stomach twist into a knot. “It’s time for dinner.”
They follow the Elite Runner through the kitchen, where the Chefs look back and forth from what they’re doing to the Officially Titled walking through. The room seems to be filled with fear, and not just from the five Runners.
“Sit,” Blaise says as he makes his way to the end of the long table. The Runners all sit down, leaving at least one seat between each other on both sides of the table. Daniel goes to sit down, but Blaise stops him, saying, “Not you, Daniel the Runner. You sit opposite of me. Down there at the other end of the table, First.”
He nods, adrenaline making his hands shake as he walks to the seat. The Runners all watch him, except for Rose, who looks beneath the table cloth, probably checking to see if anyone is under there that could harm her.
Once he sits in the chair, Blaise looks out over the five teenagers. “Bring in the food,” he calls to his Chefs.
They scuffle out quickly and set the plates down hastily. The girl who places the plate in front of Daniel hesitates and almost drops the plate. She stands back up, her Chef’s hat slipping down a bit and making a strand of blonde hair fall to her forehead. She gives him a slight smile and hurries out, as if the room were on fire.
“Eat,” Blaise says, picking up his fork and shoveling food into his mouth. Daniel looks around at everyone else. They all stare down at their food, afraid to eat it and meet their fate.
The Runner’s stomach growls.
He looks down at his own plate and sniffs it. It looks like spaghetti, but what if something else is in the mix other than noodles and sauce? He looks up one more time to see that the boy whose name he does not know is bravely eating his, trying not to look up at anyone else. Rose is twisting it around with her fork and looking at it curiously. Jim still hasn’t moved, still staring at it, worry on his face.
Daniel looks down again and pulls the napkin out from under the plate to set it down in his lap. As he opens it, something blue catches his eye. He brings it down below the tables’ top to see what it is.
They’re words. Written in blue ink.
It’s safe. You can eat. You have a lot of people counting on you, Daniel. Come to the kitchen once everyone is asleep tonight. It’ll save your life.
Daniel looks up again, everyone still in the same position they were a moment ago. Blaise still digs into his food, almost finished.
Once again, he glances down at the words on the napkin, unsure on if they’re true or not.
“Water!” Blaise suddenly shouts, wiping the sauce from his face with his arm. “Water now, Chefs!”
The Chefs reappear, carrying different shaped glasses. Each Runner gets a glass, and the same girl comes over to Daniel. She looks at him and nods toward the pasta.
“It’s okay,” she whispers. “I promise.”
“Chef!” Blaise shouts, and the girl jumps, almost knocking over the water she was in the process of setting down. “Kitchen.”
She nods and scurries out once again.
Blaise gives the Runner an evil stare. “What did she say, Runner?”
“Nothing,” Daniel sputters.
“What did she say, Daniel the Runner?” Blaise’s fist tightens around the glass he holds.
Daniel thinks fast. “The glass she gave me is leaky. That’s what she said.”
The cup in Blaise’s hand breaks, and he smiles tensely, blood seeping into the blue tablecloth. “Very well then, whatever you say.”
Blaise takes his napkin and wipes his hand, not removing his eyes from Daniel’s face. The burst of heightening of fear inside of Daniel is suddenly too much to take. He looks down at his food and begins to eat, his stomach happy for the food. Once finished, he looks up, only to see Blaise still glaring at him and the other Runners at the table glancing nervously back and forth from the Elite to Daniel and back down at their plates.
“Let’s go see your rooms, shall we?” Blaise growls and forces a smile, still looking at Daniel with hardened eyes. Everyone obeys immediately.
Everyone has their own room. Six doors, d
irectly across from each other in sets of threes. Rose is just across from the Runner, and Jim is right next to him. The other two are in two of the last three rooms.
Blaise’s room is all the way across the hall, and they had heard him lock it behind him. No one will be getting in his room tonight, especially if Blaise was telling the truth about the Protectors guarding him and not his house.
Daniel shuts the door behind him and sits on his bed, waiting until everyone is asleep. Then he will make his way back down to the kitchen to see what’s going on, why they want him down there, hoping it’s safe.
He lays down as he hears heavy footsteps out in the hall. A low voice makes its way under the door. Blaise’s voice.
“Sweet dreams, Runners,” he chuckles, and makes his way back towards his room.
It feels like an eternity as Daniel waits until everything is silent.
And then there’s screaming.
It’s piercing and gut-wrenching as it howls through the night. Daniel jerks up and runs out his door. The scream echoes to his ears again and he snaps his head in the direction it came from. Others have popped themselves from their rooms, afraid of what’s happening but curious as to what possible fates lie ahead for them.
Daniel makes his way to the door, the one at the corner of the hall and two doors down from Rose’s. Another scream erupts from it as he turns the handle and pushes the door aside.
The boy that had scarfed down his food arches his back in pain as he lets out another wail. His veins are sticking out from under every inch of his skin and his body is bright red. The whites of his eyes are solid red as he cries out one more bloodcurdling scream, and he falls to the mattress, unmoving, with blood dripping from his nose and the corner of his mouth.
The girl who’s name he doesn’t know pushes herself through the door and to the boy’s side, touching his face and crying loudly, calling out his name. Fin. That had been his name.
Daniel’s heart races in his chest as he looks at the other Runners. They all seem pale with fear. The food. That’s what had killed him.
Daniel’s gut aches. He had eaten the food. What if the note had been misleading?
Once back in his room, he sits with his back to the window, staring at the door. His brain almost begins to wander, when he hears a small knock. The door slides open slightly, and before Daniel can cry for help, Rose pops her head in.
The Runner feels a rush of cool relief run through his body.
“Are you okay?” She whispers. Daniel nods and she walks the rest of the way into the room, Jim following behind her. “We think it’s best to stick together. You’re the best shot we have at winning and we’d rather not let anything happen to you.”
I look at Jim, who shrugs. “I know. She had a change of heart or something.”
She hits him in the stomach as she makes a ticking sound with her tongue. “Shut up. I just don’t want what happened to him to happen to any of us…”
Jim nods. “Well, I call the bed since you’re not using it.”
Daniel cracks a nervous smile. Maybe he’ll be okay. Maybe he doesn’t need to go to the kitchen after all to see what’s going on down there.
+ + +
Daniel starts to fall asleep, sitting in the chair in the back corner of the room. Jim is fast asleep on the bed and Rose sits in the other chair, breathing slowly and about to drift off to sleep as well.
That’s when the glass window breaks.
The three bolt upright, Jim still a little groggy as he stumbles out of the bed and falls to the ground. A long container is thrown into the room, spewing out smoke.
“What is that?” Jim cries.
“Don’t breathe!” Rose shouts as she trips over the fallen bed sheets to the door.
“Why—” Jim lurches into a fit of coughs.
“Get out of here!” Rose yells as she yanks the door open. She and Daniel step into the hallway just as a fire is lit. The Runner and Rose are thrown up against the opposite wall, Jim’s body laying in the doorway. He writhes and wriggles, tries to get away from the flames that have engulfed his figure. His cries make the other Runner come out into the hall as well.
And then he’s gone. The cackling of the fire takes over the sounds of the night and Daniel watches as he sees a side of Rose he’s never seen before. She rushes over to Jim, trying to put out the flames with her own jacket. She says his name over and over, as if he were to come back to life should she say it at the right time. Rose rolls him over onto his back, his flesh charred and peeling away, and she slumps back onto her heels, muffling her sobs with her arm. She leans over to the floor and rests her head on it, her body trembling.
Daniel makes his way over to her to try and comfort her. He feels a pang of sadness for the two Unnamed Rebels, but the rest of him is mostly numb. He still hates the Unnamed and what they’re doing, but this—what happened just now… That wasn’t necessary, let alone right… Mortimer the Elite Solver warned the Runner that Blaise wouldn’t play fair.
And Daniel decides he won’t either.
He gives Rose one last rub on her back before helping her stand up. “Come with me,” he says, taking her wrist.
“But Jim…”
“He’s gone, Rose the Runner.”
She nods, stifling another sob. It’s strange to the Runner how she’s acting. She always seemed so hard and uncaring to him.
They make their way down to the kitchen in the dark, the chandelier seeming to make eerie shadows on the walls through the moonlight slipping past the glass of the windows. The room is empty.
“Hello?” Daniel whispers.
“Hello, Daniel,” the Runner hears. The girl that had spoke to him earlier stands next to an aged woman. “Don’t worry, you’re safe,” the woman says, her voice deep and mature.
“Why did you want me down here?”
“To give you an encouragement boost.”
“That’s it?” Rose snaps. She’s back to her normal self.
“That’s it,” the woman smiles at them in the dark, the shadows playing creepily on her face. “And one more thing. I know you two work with the Unnamed, and I want you to make a deal with me.”
The Runner looks at Rose, her face hard. If looks could kill, the woman before them would be six feet under six minutes ago.
“The Unnamed want the Elites to fall. The Elites want the Unnamed to disappear. Blaise is on a paranoid rampage, destroying anything that seems like a threat to him.”
“Get to the point, lady,” Rose hisses.
The woman smiles politely, her eyes gleaming with something dark. “If you win the race tomorrow, you make me the head of the Unnamed, the official Leader.”
Rose scoffs. “Yeah, right. And what if we don’t agree with you?”
The woman looks down at the younger girl, who looks down at the floor. She’s afraid of the woman. That sends little red flags flying up in Daniel’s brain. There’s something about this woman that isn’t right.
“Tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night, anything could happen. Anyone could die. Anyone could live.”
“So what are you saying?” Rose begins to ask, sternness present in her voice. “You’re going to try to kill us off?”
The woman shrugs and shifts her weight.
“All because you want to be the leader of a rebellion you have no knowledge of? And who’s to say that we’re even a part of it? Come on, Daniel. Let’s go.”
“Are you declining my offer?” The woman calls to them, her voice still low and calm, no desperation in her voice whatsoever.
“That’s what us walking away means,” Rose replies rudely.
“Don’t be surprised if you don’t wake up in the morning,” the woman says again as Daniel and Rose make their way out of the kitchen.
“Get in line lady,” Rose calls out, making a profane gesture towards the woman. They make their way back up the stairs, hesitating in front of Daniel’s door, where Jim lies. Rose closes h
er eyes and looks away, turning to go to her room. She hesitates at the door and partially looks over her shoulder. “Come on,” she says to Daniel, who follows her into her room. Rose sits in a chair in the back of the room and pulls her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. The Runner stands awkwardly in the center of the room, not knowing where to sit or possibly lay down.
“There are only three of us,” Rose mutters to herself, sniffling. “How are they going to do the Final Race tomorrow with only three of us?”
Daniel makes up his mind to sit on the side of the bed closest to her, no matter how much he wants to pull away. He can’t get attached to her, to Jim, no matter what they’ve been through, no matter what he sees… but he can’t help but feel bad for her.
“Get away from me,” she whispers.
He looks at her, puzzled.
“Go sit on the other side. Don’t come near me.”
“Why?” He asks, his heart pounding and his head telling him to do as she says.
“Because I’m weak right now. Mentally. Physically I’m alright and if you come any closer, so-help-me, I’ll—” She gives up, burying her head in the space between her chest and her knees. “Just get some sleep. I’ll make sure we stay alive, don’t worry.”
Daniel hesitates, the times she’s tried to kill him flashing through his mind.
“Go,” she says again. “Forget what I’ve done in the past. This is now. I took a bullet for you once, and I’ll do it again if it means bringing the Elites down.”
The Runner nods and stands up.
“I’m sorry,” is all he says before laying down on the bed. He doesn’t fall asleep right away, the silent cries of Rose the Runner making his heart hurt. But soon he drifts off to sleep, worries of the Final Race becoming silent cries of his subconscious, sinking into his dreams.
27: the Final Race
Painful silence falls upon the room as Daniel wakes up. Rose has left.
He bolts upright, afraid something had happened to her while he was asleep. There’s no sign of her at all as he uncovers himself and steps onto the cool, wooden floor. He opens the door and looks out, the hall silent as can be.
“Runner Rose?” Daniel calls quietly out into the hallway. Silence once again greets his ears.
He looks up and down the long hall. All the doors are still shut tight, including Blaise’s.
Daniel steps out onto the blue carpet of the hallway, calling quietly for her again. He makes it all the way to the stairs before he’s startled by the sound of footsteps coming up them. He ducks behind the wall next to them, hoping whoever it was didn’t see him.
The steps finally reach the top of the stairs. Daniel holds his breath as the figure slips past him in the dim lighting of the hallway.
And he recognizes who it is.
“Runner Rose,” he whispers. She jumps around, clearly startled, as her hands fly out in front of her. Last night had set everyone’s nerves on edge, apparently hers too.
She sighs. “Don’t do that, Runner Daniel.” Rose shakes her head and motions for him to follow her. He does so and she opens the door to the room they had braved together.
Once he’s inside, she shuts the door, crosses her arms, and leans against the frame, chewing on her cheek.
“So, I talked to One. That’s why I was gone. Sorry I didn’t wake you, I had to do this alone. She’s in the Elite Leader’s building, and her new name is Harley the Leader. But that doesn’t matter.” Rose swallows the saliva in her mouth and looks down at her fingers as they move strangely. “I told her about last night. This has never happened before, and she thinks everything going on is because of you. Elite Runner Blaise is paranoid. He hasn’t been an Elite for that long and then here you come to take it away.”
The Runner nods as he sits down on the edge of the bed, waiting to hear what’s going on.
“She still wants Elite Runner Blaise dead. And then you know that if you don’t beat him you’re dead. So good luck with that.”
“Any news? Anything happening that we didn’t know about?” Daniel asks, trying to change the subject. He knows the stakes for today; he doesn’t need to be reminded, especially when people are lining up to kill him if he doesn’t win the race. Just like Rachel last year.
Rose nods a bit. “We have more Unnamed in the last stretch of the Competitions than we thought we would. If someone doesn’t make it to being an Elite this year, then we have no chance for the years after this. But we’ll have someone. You’ll make it into being an Elite.”
The words startle Daniel. “Why the sudden change of heart?” He asks before he can stop himself. “I mean, I thought you hated me.
She shrugs. “It’s not that I hated you, exactly. I thought you were a spy, is all. I was just covering all my bases. But as the days went on, I realized you weren’t. If you were you wouldn’t care as much as you do, especially when Runner Jim…” She trails off and looks down at the floor, biting on both her cheeks for a moment. Her eyes close as she rests her head against the door and open as she looks out into the room. “There were so many opportunities you could get away and go tell someone, but you didn’t. I know you’re not now. It’s why I took the bullet for you, and why I stayed up all night to make sure you were okay. Well, that, and because you’re the Unnamed’s ticket into Elitehood.” A smile cracks on her face for a moment. “But enough sappy stuff. I wanna stretch.”
Daniel smiles at her as she walks to the other side of the room where she can get ready for the race. He catches himself genuinely smiling and turns back around, shoving the feelings away.
+ + +
Blaise the Elite Runner came just out a bit later than sunrise, making the last three Runners stand out in the hall. He had said there were more than he thought there would be, throwing a confused glare at Daniel.
They made their way to the track, where they all warmed up. Blaise disappeared for a while.
The Directors that film the Competition finally show up, as well as the Announcer that announces what’s going on in the Runner’s Category. But this time it’s the Elite Leader, not one of the Titled. He gives a slight nod to Daniel, reminding him of their deal. Beat Blaise the Elite Runner or die.
They’re told to line up, Blaise coming through and radiating power. No questions are asked about the two missing Runners, and they won’t be asked until after the race, when everyone gets interviewed.
Blaise lines up in between Daniel and Rose, a smirk on face.
“See you at the finish line, Runner Daniel,” he says.
Bang!
They all run.
The girl Daniel doesn’t know sprints ahead of both him and Rose. He looks over at Rose, worry in her eyes. This is the race where the Unnamed will either be in power or will be lost forever.
Daniel pushes forward, coming side-by-side with the girl. She looks at him and pedals faster, not giving up so easily. But Daniel can see the strain as she does this and he smiles.
He still has a lot of power he’s holding back.
Blaise is way ahead of the Runners, probably just as cocky as before when Daniel had been practicing and beat him.
But this isn’t practice.
This is the real thing.
He pulls ahead, leaving the two girls in the dust. It’s almost like he has tunnel vision as his feet pound on the ground and he nears Blaise. In less than a minute, he’s right behind him, letting him take on the pressure from the wind. Blaise is doing all the work.
Suddenly, Blaise stops, making the Runner bump into him and fall to the ground. The Elite laughs and begins to run again.
Daniel grimaces as the girls come closer, Rose in front. He gets up quickly, losing ground by the second.
Before he knows it, he sees the finish line. Blaise is still a ways away, and Daniel starts to feel the dread of losing.
“Run!” He hears Rose shout. Is it to him? “Go!”
His spikes beat the ground and his arms swing lik
e crazy as he gains on Blaise. The Elite notices this and starts to pedal faster, but Daniel still gains on him.
He’s right behind him as the finish line approaches.
And then he’s in front.
Daniel passes it.
And then Rose passes it.
And then Blaise.
Daniel looks at Rose, confused, and she shrugs. “I doubted you,” she laughs. “If you weren’t going to make it, I was. Good job, Runner.”
Daniel laughs, pure adrenaline rushing through him. He had beaten the Elite. He had gotten First.
Blaise glares at him, his chest heaving.
“Good race?” Daniel says, not expecting it to come out as a question.
“Die,” Blaise hisses as he moves closer to him and one of his huge fists connects with the side of Daniel’s head.
Daniel falls to the ground, dizzy and disoriented. He feels another blow to his head. Another. Another.
The weight he didn’t realize was placed on him is lifted, the pounding stopping as his vision fails him.
Daniel the Elite Runner, he hears himself think as he drifts into unconsciousness. I did it.
28: the Elite
About than an hour after he’s woken, from a hospital bed no less, Daniel finds himself being escorted to the Elite Building. It’s the biggest mansion of them all, and the color of every symbol for the Categories are painted on it, one by one each in a single stripe. Blaise is being dragged more than escorted as every Elite marches to the building.
Daniel looks back at the former Elite, and he glares back, muscles tense, veins poking out, mouth covered, and fire in his eyes. The Runner’s heart speeds up as he turns back around. Blaise isn’t leaving without a fight.
They walk up the front steps and through the massive double doors. The room they walk into is large and round, and there are chairs placed behind half walls a story up. Below each chair is a single door, each a different color. Daniel guesses it’s for the Categories. He spots a blue one and looks at the chair above it. It matches.
“Welcome, Elite Runner Daniel,” the Elite Leader says as he strides to the center of the cylindrical room, the dome roof stretching high above him. “To the Elite.”
The Elites around him cheer, covering the angry muffled cries of Blaise.
“This is where you will spend your time every Friday, when you aren’t training or training your Servants. You will get to choose them tomorrow, when everything is settled down.”
The Elite Leader nods to the group, who disperses and each person goes through a specific door. Daniel was right. The only two doors not gone through by the time everyone has left are the blue and red. The Runner and Leader Categories.
“This is the Judgment Room,” the Elite Leader says as the other Elites of various ages take their places. “And it is where you will make your First Judgment. Through your door, Daniel.”
Daniel walks to the blue door and steps through, a room to his left and a winding staircase in front of him. He makes his way up and stands atop the steps, looking down onto the wooden floor, Blaise tied up and gagged in the middle. The Elite Leader is straight across from him, and tells him to sit.
“You have beaten the Former Elite Runner, Blaise. Daniel, you have two choices.”
“What are they?” Daniel asks from across the room. He thought all of the Elites just died after being beaten, if they didn’t die first. What is the other option?
“Your first choice would be immediate execution, one that has been favorable over the years due to the Former Elites being hysterical and blood-thirsty like Blaise here.”
With one word, Daniel could send Blaise off to his death. But would he have the guts to do it?
“And the second one?” He gulps, unable to take his eyes from the squirming man down below.
“Exile out into Earth, far away where he will never be seen again.”
“Exile? Where would he go? How would he survive?”
The Elite Leader shrugs, the other Elites watching Daniel closely. He feels as if he’s the one being judged, not Blaise.
“He wouldn’t, from what we’ve gathered. But he might. You can give him the chance to survive.”
Daniel continues to stare at Blaise, who fumes, unmoving. His eyes seem to burn holes into Daniel.
No matter how much Daniel wants to be away from Blaise, he can’t send him off to his death. But he can’t say the word to send him off to his death, whether it’s immediate or stretched out.
“Is there a third option?” He asks, and chuckles circle around them as the Elites shake their heads.
The Elite Leader smirks and leans back in his chair. “There is one other option,” he says. “And you’re the first to ask.”
Murmurs surround Daniel as he awaits the answer.
“In our handbook, yes there is a handbook which obviously everyone but me in here hasn’t looked over, it gives three options for the Retirement of the Elite. Execution, Exile, and a third choice. Resignation.”
“What do you mean?” The Runner asks, leaning forward.
“You step down to give him back his spot.”
To Daniel, it sounds easy enough. Giving up the pressure of being an Elite to go and have a family and a normal life. But he’s wanted to be here, to sit here in this spot since he was five. He didn’t work his butt off for nothing.
“Choose,” the Elite Leader says, watching Daniel with amusement filling his eyes to the brim.
Daniel looks down at Blaise once more. Blaise did so many horrible things to him, to the other Runners… If he stepped down and let Blaise return to power nothing would change.
And if he exiles him, Daniel has a feeling he would find him again. He can’t take that chance.
“Execution,” Daniel says, and lets his gaze fall to the wooden desk sticking out from the wall in front of him. His heart screams out to him, bleeding and sobbing for the word he had uttered. But Daniel knows it was the right thing to do. He can’t be an Elite again.
Several minutes pass, everything seeming silent to Daniel as he tries to push his guilt from his stomach, the sounds of Blaise disappearing shouts ringing in his ears.
Then movement catches his eye. He looks up, thankful for the distraction. A man, another Elite, walks over to the Elite Leader and hands him a manila folder. The Elite Leader looks up at Daniel and smirks.
“Well, Elite Runner Daniel,” he says slowly as he passes the folder to the Elite next to him, who passes it to the next, and the next, until it makes it all the way around to Daniel. “Looks like you have another case already. I’m curious to see what you decide. Open the folder.”
He says something to the Elite next to him, but Daniel can’t hear it.
The doors open as Daniel looks down at the folder. He opens it. There lies a picture of a girl with a paper shoved behind it. The Elites will fall, it says.
Daniel looks up.
Rose stands in the center of the room now, staring up at him and trying to break free from the man holding her, her hair falling in her face.
“Runner Rose,” the Elite Leader says out loud, still looking at Daniel. “You are a suspected ally of the Unnamed. Tell us all you know or I leave your fate in Elite Runner Daniel’s hands.”
She elbows the man behind her, making him stumble back and let go. She spits in his direction and looks back up, this time at the Elite Leader.
“Suck a toe,” she says, and the Runner can’t help but crack a small smile through his nervousness. His hands shake and he’s itching to just walk out of the room. She said wait for her signal. What’s her signal?
She looks back at Daniel and takes a deep breath. “The Elites will fall,” she says slowly. She nods to Daniel. That’s the signal. That’s her signal.
Who does he choose to betray?
Daniel stares at the girl before him, unable to move, unable to speak. All he does is stand there, not remembering standing up.
Who will he cho
ose to betray?
“Claiming that she’s innocent will let her leave with a warning. Claiming that she’s guilty will send her deeper into the building and lock her up until we vote on whether or not she should be executed or exiled. For her there is no third option.”
Rose grimaces and begins to get antsy down on the floor. She looks at the Elite Leader and back at Daniel, her eyes pleading.
“The Elites will fall,” she says louder, harsher, dread starting to inch its way into her voice.
“Tell us about the Unnamed, or we leave your fate in his hands,” the Elite Leader says calmly, not hiding his smile.
She cusses at him quickly, and then repeats in a desperate tone, “The Elites will fall. Runner Daniel. They. Will. Fall.”
Daniel closes his eyes and shakes his throbbing head.
“Tell us, Runner Rose,” the Elite Leader demands again, enjoying this cat-and-mouse game. He was full in control. The determining factor would be the new Elite Runner.
“No,” Daniel suddenly says, Rose changing her stance. She’s taken off guard with this word. “She’s innocent.”
“Runner,” Rose says quietly, not understanding what’s happening.
The Elite Leader nods as the men begin to escort her back out.
“She can’t tell you about the Unnamed because she’ll be killed if she does. But I can. You all chose me to go in there and figure them out, and now I have.”
“Runner!” Rose calls, anger pouring into the word as she says it.
“They’re all around. They’re about to attack. They just needed my say-so. Rachel would have alerted them. Take. Them. Out. Now.”
Rose is pulled the rest of the way out of the building, leaving Daniel to reveal the secrets of the rebellion infecting the World, the Planet, and the Base.
The Unnamed
By K. Weikel