Between Two Worlds

“Third place belongs to Myzana and Wynn.” Altair calls out.

What? Is this really happening? They didn’t call our names. How? Why? It’s over? It’s really over? I’m gonna die? I start to hyperventilate, and my heart starts to pound in my chest. Breathing feels impossible; like I am back in the lake surrounded by water that I must not breathe in. Everything starts to spin really fast, I close my eyes and put my hands on the side of my head to try and stop the spinning. We lost. We are going to experience the Cleansing.

“Congratulations to all of the winners, tomorrow will begin the induction ceremonies and then, after that, you are all free to marry whomever you choose. There will be several parties happening tonight, go and enjoy yourselves, I only ask that you don’t overindulge and that you don’t cause any destruction.

As for our losing team, Katrina and Rayanna, I ask that you return to your own apartment and await further instructions. Someone will be there to inform you of the proper Cleansing procedures. I suggest that you follow my instructions. Do not try to run or hide. As you might have noticed, this is a dangerous place for those who venture outside of the city. But just to be on the safe side, Duncan and one of his men will walk you to your rooms.”

A tall, muscular, dark-skinned man and a shorter, scrawnier, lighter-skinned man both extricate themselves, from the crowd to our left.

“Come on let’s go.” Says the darker man, as soon as he gets close. Duncan. Altair called him that when we first met.

I’m still having trouble breathing and my feet are refusing to move. “I...I...”

“Come on. It will be okay. I promise.” He whispers to me. He gently grabs my arm and leads me to the apartments.

With the pressure of his grip on my arm, my feet finally decide to move. Duncan opens the door with one hand and then leads me inside. As we pass by the fountain and towards the elevators, panic reaches its icy fingers out and squeezes my chest. Where’s Kat? I don’t want to die alone. “Kat?” I call out.

“Don’t worry.” She says from somewhere to my right. I twist around in that direction and see she is being strong-armed by the other man.

“I don’t want to die!” I call out. Duncan mashes the elevator call button, soon I hear the ding and the swooshing noise as the doors slide open.

“We will get out of this somehow!” she calls out right before the other guy pulls her into a separate elevator. The doors clang shut, blocking her from my view.

Duncan pulls me into an elevator, punches the button for my floor, the doors clang shut, I feel a familiar jump and then we are shooting up toward my floor. “Why are you doing this?” I cry out.

“I don’t have a choice.” He replies.

“What do you mean? Of course, you have a choice! You could choose not to help have us killed!”

“Would you rather I died instead? Because that’s exactly what would happen if I didn’t do what Altair asked of me.”

“Well, no. I would rather no one at all had to die. I don’t understand why this is happening! I did everything I was supposed to do. I thought he liked me. I thought he wanted to get married!” The elevator dings and the doors slide open once again, just as my tears begin to flow.

“I’m sorry, really, I am. I don’t know why he changed his mind.” Duncan calmly says, as he pulls me out of the elevator and drags me down the hall.

“What’s going to happen to me? I mean, I know I’m going to be killed, but how? When? Will I at least get to say goodbye to my friend Kat?” I ask.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that question for you. The Cleansing is one of those things we just don’t talk about. It’s better forgotten.” He says as we approach my door.

Just the sight of my door causes something inside of me to snap. I feel him loosen his grip as he tries to remember the handprint override code. I jerk my arm away, hard, and take off running down the hall. I don’t know where I’ll go or how I will survive but I have to do something. I can’t just willingly go off to my death. Adrenalin is pumping through my veins, making every sense feel as if it’s ten times more sensitive than it was before.

The hall is quiet, except for the tap, tap, tap sound of my footsteps as I run, and the much heavier clomp, clomp, clomp of Duncan’s footsteps behind me. I can sense him behind me, closing in, and my mind starts to panic like a small animal caught in a trap. Where do I go? Where do I go? The door for the emergency stairs looms in front of me, promising freedom, and I jerk the door open. I’m not sure how, but I sense a hand reaching for me moments before I feel it clamp down hard on my upper right arm. So close!

“Nice try but I’m afraid you are going to have to wait in your room, as per Altair’s request.” Duncan says as he drags me back down the hall. He drags me to my, now open door, and sort of slings me inside. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, but orders are orders, and they must be followed. Please just wait here for further instructions.” And with that he shuts the door.

I’m not done fighting, yet! I count to sixty in my head, and then count to sixty, one more time. That should be long enough. I put my hand on the scanner and prepare to take off running again. But nothing happens. The scanner will not light up, it will not scan, it will not do anything. I’m trapped!