The Game by Ayanna Bilberry
Belle tore through the forest, her feet crunching under the pine needles. Her face stung from the
branches that had whipped her face leaving open cuts all over her pale face. Her arms were bleeding as
were her legs from the cuts she got from the trees. Her midnight black hair was knotted and in tangles,
with twigs and leafs clinging to her hair.
A gun shot rung through the once quiet still night air. Belle bit her lip to keep from screaming as the
bullet flew past her and hit a trunk of an oak tree. Breathing hard, Belle tripped on a root. Falling to the
ground she struggled to get back on her feet but couldn't muster up enough strength. She heard a shout
of a man's voice, taunting her, willing her to come out of hiding. But Belle wouldn't give up. He was not
going to have her.
Belle grunted and pulled herself up. She turned to face her head where the shout came from, her eyes
scanning the dark haunting trees. There was no one there. For now. Belle knew she had to keep moving,
to avoid being caught by him. The 'him' being the same guy that kidnapped her two days ago from
school, he had told her while she was tied up and gagged that they were going to play a 'game'. If he
couldn't find her after 24 hours in the forest, she won the game and earned her freedom. If she got
caught, she would be his.
Belle began to run again not really knowing where she was going. Every few seconds, out of fear, her
dark grey eyes would glance behind her for a quick second before she would look to see where she was
going again. How long had she been running? 2 hours? Three? No, it must've been longer then that
because she started to play the 'game' in the morning.
Belle was desperate for the night to be over, so she could win the game and her freedom. She knew she
could only run for so long before she passed out from exhaustion. Then she would either die from the
cold or the man would find her and bring her back to where he was staying. Belle didn't want either of
those things to happen, but if she couldn't find shelter soon it would come to that.
Belle after awhile began to fast walk, instead of run. Owls hooted over head every time she passed their
tree. Her throat burned. She needed water, but where to get it? Belle hadn't found a stream or seen any
signs that there was a stream. Belle pondered about how she was supposed to get water, when she
noticed a strange light.
Belle stopped walking and realized she was standing in front of a building. She cocked her head to the
side. Why would there be a building in the middle of the forest? Belle shook her head, shivering. She
shouldn't be worrying about how it got there. It was there and she needed shelter. Belle walked into the
room without a second more of hesitation. She gazed around the room full of...fish tanks?
The fish tanks were full of exotic looking fish. Big and small. There was no labels on their tanks though.
In one tank there was two mayo sharks, swimming around back and forth. Belle looked around in awe,
though she was afraid. How did these fish get here? Why were they here anyways? Belle walked up to
the tank that held the two mayo sharks, and stared at them.
One came face to face with her, giving her a toothy grin. If that grin wasn't scary enough, Belle saw
something horrifying and impossible. The shark had human eyes. The eyes were an emerald green, with
golden flecks in them. Belle's heart started to race. Were these fish test subjects? Belle placed a hand on
her heart, taking a step back when she heard a rough voice behind her.
Belle whipped her head around, and saw the man that started this 'game'. Belle gulped, and started to
back away from him.
"Hello sweetheart. Thought you could win this game?" The man said, grinning at Belle like she was a
prize he won at a carnival. "You thought wrong. I always win."