Chapter 23

{{ Rayne's POV 😋 }}
Rayne walked briskly until she made it to her clearly agitated assistant. Renesmee's pretty copper face had turned a startling white and her hands were trembling.
"Renesmee, what on earth happened? Are you alright?"
Renesmee turned her pale face towards Rayne and after taking a shaky breath responded, "Oh, um, yes I'm fine, thank you. Those horrible things," she shuddered before continuing. "Those horrible things just... startled me. Do you know what Mr. Ralfen could possibly be doing with them?"
"No, but I believe he was about to explain to me what his plan was. If you're really alright you should come back in with me. Thomas is worried that he did something to make you upset,” Rayne cautiously placed her hand on Renesmee’s shoulder, not wanting to startle her more than she already was.
Although Rayne was younger and smaller than her assistant, she still felt a responsibility to watch over her. From what time she had spent with her, Rayne could tell how kind and considerate Renesmee was. She had a soft heart. She didn't want to pressure her to come back in with her because she knew what horrors sat behind those white sliding doors. What was displayed on those screens was not for the faint of heart, that was for sure.
"Yes, I'll go back in with you. I'm sorry for making a scene, I didn't mean to worry Mr. Ralfen."
"I know that and I'm sure he does too. Now, let's not keep him waiting any longer," Rayne smiled and started back down the hallway, the thick carpet silencing the noise of her footsteps.
When Rayne was once again seated comfortably on her sofa she glanced back at Renesmee to make sure she was still alright. After confirming that she was fine, she shifted her body to look at Thomas.
"Thomas I know you wanted to show me something, but I would like to observe all of our contestants for a little while longer, first."
Thomas smiled and nodded, "Of course. If either you or Ms. Aguirre have any questions please just ask. Take all the time you need and tell me when you're ready."
Rayne nodded, a small smile playing on her lips as she turned back around to face the large screens.
↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔
After about half an hour of watching the numerous screens, the contestant's reactions to their new abilities, and the monstrous banshees, Rayne was thoroughly confused. She figured Thomas had a very good plan for his creations and the pure terror that was instilled by them but didn’t have the slightest idea what it could be.
She turned around to face Thomas again, "Thomas, would you please explain to me what the purpose of these creatures is? I'm afraid I don't see anything being accomplished aside from the mass chaos that seems to be ensuing."
"Oh, of course! You’ll notice how each banshee was placed near at least one contestant?" He paused waiting for Rayne's answer. She nodded and he continued, "Well at first they were just a new way to eliminate contestants, but then I gave each contestant an ability. The banshees are practically unkillable, although one of our contestants has already managed to kill one. I thought that since they are so impenetrable, what better way to see how powerful the contestant's new abilities really are? So in order to properly observe the largest amount of abilities at once, I'm instructing each banshee to force their contestant, or contestants, towards the valley where a group was already camped."
"However barbaric that plan may be, I suppose it does sound like a good one."
"With all due respect ma'am, we are in the business of barbarism," Thomas interjected, his statement fringed with almost imperceptible regret.
"Touché," Rayne agreed. "When do you plan on executing this plan?"
"Oh, I gave the green light right after Ms. Aguirre stepped out."
"Good, that means we should begin to see the effects soon, correct?"
Thomas nodded, "Yes ma'am, sometime in the next half an hour to an hour the targeted contestants should be in the valley."
Rayne turned to Renesmee, who was standing a few paces between her couch and Thomas’ table. She was trying and failing to disguise the look of horror and pity spread across her features.
"Renesmee, if I don't have anything on my schedule I think I'm going to wait and see the results of Thomas' plan. If you don't feel alright or have something else you need to do, there's no need for you to stay."
It took Renesmee a few moments to respond but she finally shook her head. "No ma'am, your schedule is all clear. And I'm fine, so I think I'll stay here if that's alright with you and Mr. Ralfen."
"That's perfectly fine with me. Thomas?"
"Oh, of course! Let me get you a chair to sit in," he smiled and strode out of the room, the large doors shutting behind him.
A moment later, Thomas returned carrying a plush chair which he placed where Renesmee had just been standing. Renesmee gingerly sat on it with a polite nod at Thomas and turned her attention to the screen.
Although her assistant had assured her that she was alright, Rayne had an uncomfortable feeling that there was something going on with her. She too turned back to the screen, but her mind remained on the woman sitting behind her.

{{ Devon's POV 🎪 }}
Devon really, really wished he hadn't run off and left all of his stuff. Really, really, really wished. He had managed to snag a dagger earlier in the game and he guessed that a dagger would have really come in handy right about now.
Not ten feet in front of him stood -- more like hunched -- a boney, pale, sickly, beast. Its shark-like teeth were bared causing the air escaping its mouth to come out in a hiss. Then it screamed. It screamed so loud Devon clamped his hands over his ears and curled up into a ball on the ground.
You can't die like this, Devon. You've made it this far, defeated everything they've thrown at you so far, why is this thing any different? The screaming had stopped, thankfully, so Devon uncurled himself and stood up on shaky legs. Breathe, he told himself.
Then he began to run. The trees blew by him in a blur and he could barely feel the leaf-covered ground beneath his feet.
He tried to stop but the momentum forced him to fall on his face. He pushed off the ground and dusted himself off. He nearly choked when he saw the horrendous demon streaking through the woods, supported on boney legs stretched with dead skin. Its long legs aided in its advancement towards Devon, its huge strides probably the reason it was able to keep up with him.
Devon scrambled off the forest floor, trying to wrack his brain for any useful ideas on how to get rid of the monster. The idea hit him smack in the face. It was so obvious that he wondered why he hadn't thought of it in the first place.
He took off running through the trees, unable to make out anything distinct. He didn't want to check if the monster was following him for fear of face-planting again but was reassured when the deafening scream echoed around him. He ran, not focusing on anything but the constant movement of his legs. He knew what he was looking for but didn't know exactly how he was going to find it.
When Devon had made sure that the creature was far enough behind him, he started to slow down but was cautious of easing into the slower pace. Checking the distance of the creature one last time he bent down and picked up a handful of dead leaves. He flipped his head up and flowed the stream of light that was melting through the forest canopy all the way down until it abruptly cut off. Perfect. He blew the leaves where the light cut off and the dead foliage was instantly turned to dust.
He turned to see how much progress the monster had made. It was no longer running at full speed but was still running nonetheless. If Devon was going to get this to work, his timing and footwork would have to be impeccable.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. "Almost there," he whispered, poising himself to run. The creature took one more stride, reached out a skeletal arm, and Devon was gone. He would have thought that his plan had failed but the single agonized ear-splitting shriek told him otherwise.
The dome that encased the spacious arena was invisible and was charged with enough electricity to wipe out the entire arena twice over. Devon had always thought of himself as smarter than most and right now he knew it. He had made sure the beast would chase him until he was dead and used it to his advantage, using the monster's vendetta and momentum against it.
Devon hadn't stopped running for about ten minutes and for all ten of those minutes he never stopped thinking about the horrible beast he had just killed. He smiled to himself as he pictured the chard grotesque corpse lying in a heap and his lack of focus aided him in nearly running head-on into a tree. He started to slow down as the surrounding woods began to thin, opening out onto a large grass-covered valley.
All his previous joy from killing his creature left him as he watched the chaos down in the valley. Two more monsters were mixed into the handful of contestants. One lay in a burnt heap and the other was running out of the valley. Of course, there were more.

{{ Andrew's POV 🌊 }}
Andrew dropped his arms and fell to his knees. He was exhausted but with his last reserve of strength he threw out his hands and a sloping mountain of rock erupted from the ground. Once Carrie's and K.C.'s limp bodies had made it down the majority of the make-shift slide, Andrew crumpled into a heap on the grassy earth. He couldn't think, couldn't move. All he could think of was catching his breath and the indescribable ache he felt where his heart was pounding against his ribcage.
Once he was certain that he would be able to stay standing he hauled himself off the ground and scanned the valley for K.C. and the others. Ash was kneeling next to Carrie who looked like she was barely clinging onto life. Mackenzie was a few feet ahead of the others and stood looking at the corps of the monster that she had stuck with lightning.
When his eyes fell on K.C. he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding in. She was safe. Maybe his sad attempt at a slide had worked after all. He strode past Ash and Carrie to where K.C. lay sprawled out on her back, breathing heavily.
"That was actually kinda brilliant," K.C. smirked, still trying to catch her breath. She was probably just as tired as Andrew was. After all, she was the one who had held the creature at bay and she had used her ability just as long as he had.
The corner of Andrew's mouth twitched up slightly, "You're welcome for catching you."
She pushed up onto her elbows and grinned, "After you dropped me."
She had a point. He opened his mouth to say something back but thought better of it and closed it again. He bent down and stretched out his arm, offering the small girl his hand. After pulling her to her feet, K.C. tilted her head up to look at his face.
"Thanks. I really wasn't kidding when I said the slide was brilliant."
Andrew was about to respond when Mackenzie called out. "Guys where did the other one go? It was standing right over there," she pointed to a part of the incline, her voice tinged with the slightest hint of fear.
Andrew, Ash, and K.C. All turned to look where Mackenzie had pointed. He didn't remember ever seeing another monster.
Ash was the first to speak up, "I don't remember seeing any other creepy monsters. And if it was here, don't you think it would have attacked us by now?"
"Well of course you didn't see it, you were too busy hiding behind Andrew's wall like a coward to notice anything," Mackenzie spat back at Ash. "Why would I lie about something like this? It's not like I would gain anything from alerting you lot about the missing psycho thing."
Andrew had to admit she had a point. Mackenzie had never been particularly nice to any of them, but she hadn't done anything to harm them yet either. He was about to say what he was thinking but was cut off again.
"Ok so say there was another one of those things and it just happened to disappear. Who cares where it went? It's clearly not hiding somewhere nearby, there aren’t any spots big enough for it to hide. So why does it matter where it is? As long as it isn't trying to kill us, we really shouldn’t worry," K.C. huffed.
"Just because it isn't near us right now doesn't mean it won't come back, genius. I had enough trouble killing that one as it is, I don't think I can kill another one right now," Mackenzie glared at K.C., her words dripping with condescension.
That was Andrew's last straw, "Hey, you weren't the only one who killed it. Carrie is unconscious right now because of her effort in killing that thing. You may have struck the final blow but that doesn't mean you were the one to bring it to its knees. All of us had a part in killing it. With that said, I believe you about the other creature but I think K.C. is right. It's not here anymore and that's really all that should matter right now."
"Fine. You idiots stay here and get yourselves killed, less work for me," Mackenzie spun to face the monster again, took one long look at the motionless body, and walked over to one of the black crates that were now scattered across the valley.
"I'm leaving this stupid valley. There's no cover, we're easily trapped down here, and I'm sure every person in this whole arena knows there's a group here. Have fun dying," she finished as she slung a newly-filled backpack over her shoulder.
And then she was gone. Andrew watched her walk up the east side of the incline and disappear into the thick trunks of the forest. No one bothered to stop her and he knew it was because no one really wanted her to stay. He thought he heard K.C. say something like 'good riddance' under her breath.
Well, that went splendidly.