Nothing More Shocking Than This!

But even Eligh wasn’t ready for what happened next.

“Eligh, come this way!” Mara whispered urgently and grabbed for his hand. He gave it to her and the feeling of her soft skin against his made goosebumps bristle up his body like porcupine quills disguised as butterflies. He was so excited for this moment, it hurt.

Ducking low, they rushed through the dense jungle underbrush and tried different paths to throw off their pursuers. Of course, these pursuers were mechanically engineered birds with cameras for eyes and speedy wings, so it was taking some effort to lose them.

Eligh took a shot in the dark. “This way!” He made a sharp right, pulling Mara with him.

And ended up running to an area where there was nowhere else to go.

Their feet skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff that looked down over a deep basin. They were up at a remarkable height. Rocks skittering over the side of the cliff fell with a tiny pluck into rushing waters below. A river approximately three hundred meters in width separated them from another portion of the vast jungle, with no visible bridge to get them to the other side.

Damn, Eligh thought. It wasn’t lost on him that he stood now, hand-in-hand with the most beautiful girl in the world, at the edge of an absolute dreamscape. This magnificent view wasn’t for the two of them to take in together; instead, it was likely where they’d be eliminated from the Games.

And possibly never speak again. Things might return to the way they were before…

This sobering thought made Eligh look over at Mara who was already gazing at him. He choked on a surprised gasp, caught up in how her round eyes reflected a sadness he would be dumb to miss. Is she… thinking the same thing?! He wondered.

Then, the hard flapping of wings could be heard approaching them from behind. Eligh knew it was only a matter of seconds before the birds were on them. They didn’t want to go backwards when there was still so much at stake. Eligh and Mara had to consider everyone else.

It was possible the others had escaped the birds and had re-hidden themselves well. Turning back and getting caught despite the team’s individual efforts would ruin Eligh.

“We can’t go back.” He said, and Mara nodded.

“What do we do?” She asked and squeezed Eligh’s hand.

Eligh had no real ideas. Just loose thoughts, pinging off one another like pinballs, one more useless or crazier than the next. He decided to commit to something and, “Just jump,” spilled from his lips. “We’ll activate our gear on the way down!”

They had at most three seconds to make a move.

He let go of Mara’s hand and encouraged her with his eyes. He didn’t want to pull her down with him. He wanted the decision to be hers.

Mara looked at him like he was crazy, the inner turmoil of her choice spinning behind her eyes. But then, the birds arrived. “Eligh Persil, Mara Ono. Located. Located—”

Eligh didn’t want to wait for the ten-second countdown to start. “Jump!” He cried and jumped forward, hoping Mara would jump with him.

Fear worked through his veins like blood and seized his heart on the way down. If I don’t time this properly, he thought, tapping his right wrist cuff and waking his gear from standby mode, it’ll be the end of me.

The exact second he finished that thought, he felt his feet plunge into something suspiciously… gelatinous? “Oh, my—” God! He tried to yell as his body slipped right under the surface of this substance. It was like being in quicksand, sinking straight into what appeared and felt like a pool’s worth of Jell-o, the wobbly treat he’d eaten often as a kid. Panicked, he tried to wriggle his body around, but of course, the gelatin encased him entirely, holding his body still as he slid downward through it.

After about eleven seconds, he oozed out through the bottom of the substance like he’d just been birthed, and fell with a clatter onto a loud, metallic floor.

“Eeeew.” He moaned as he peeled himself off the floor. The green, gooey substance made him slick as slime all over, sticking his clothes to his body and greasing his hair to his head.

A moment later, Mara could be seen sliding through the clear but thick gelatinous goo. Immediately, Eligh felt relief flutter through his chest at the sight of her. She jumped with me, he thought. He forced himself to not acknowledge that she’d basically had no other choice. Ignorance sure was bliss.

Then, he caught her as she was also released from the goo like a newborn. Her body, slimy and flush against his, was a sensation he could enjoy for merely an instant because Mara was in no way okay with any of this.

“WHAT. IS. THIS?!” Mara screamed so loudly that Eligh shoved her away on reflex to slap his hands over his ears. This appeared to be the start of a mental breakdown. Mara was busy rubbing her hands over her face and hair screaming, “Nooooooo!!” while Eligh slinked away on tiptoe.

Grossed out but more curious about their new surroundings, Eligh turned this way and that, observing that they stood in a hallway of some type of facility. The walls were the same metallic silver as a refrigerator door. The ceiling, which they had fallen from, was seemingly made of this greenish gelatin substance. Eligh could see straight through it to the sky.

As for the floor, it seemed to be a shiny steel, linear shower drain that stretched from wall to wall both width and lengthways in the long hallway. Eligh recognized that when he walked, the clack of his shoes echoed down the hall. It was a bit eerie, but the pristine and shiny walls and floor made the place seem very upscale; important.

“Where are we?” He couldn’t help asking, “And how did we even end up here?”

Normally, jumping from a cliff in the jungle wouldn’t land a person somewhere like this.

Although her voice matched the energy of a slasher film victim using their last few breaths to reveal the name of their murderer, Mara informed Eligh of what she’d seen jumping in after him. “I… saw you… melt right through the river… like it was nothing… but a… holograph.”

Eligh turned to her. She was drifting toward him like an apparition, holding her arms up and hanging her hands downward. Her goopy hair was somehow plastered over her face.

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise. He fought not to take a step back as Mara continued. “Everything happened… too quickly… especially the river… It was shocking.”

Nothing more shocking than her appearance right now, guaranteed.

Hesitant, Eligh asked, “A-Are you okay?” Mara breathed a hard, shuddering breath that gave ‘end of my life’ vibes. “I am so concerned.” He stressed.

“Let’s… just get out of here.” Mara mumbled, moving past Eligh and slithering down the lengthy hallway. Eligh imagined her leaving a trail of slime behind like a slug and snickered a little. Mara immediately snapped her head behind her in his direction, whipping chunks of gelatin at his face.

“Ew, Mara!” He cried, and she was the one snickering as she smoothed her hair to the side and straightened her posture.

“I suddenly feel much better.” She said.

Up at the end of the hallway, they found themselves at a junction where the hallway broke off into two directions. Eligh made a fleeting observation that the shower-drain flooring stopped here, while the other hallways had shiny, solid metallic flooring.

Probably to drain all the goop, he thought. Though he didn’t see how it was possible considering the drain’s holes were so narrow. He shrugged.

“Right or left?” He asked Mara.

“Anywhere but here,” was her immediate answer.

Eligh agreed. The thick, gelatin substance was cold and felt heavier every second they stood covered in it, like it was hardening as it dried. Eligh was not having fun feeling like he was growing a second skin.

“Let’s just go right.” Eligh decided, and they stepped out into the joining hallway. The moment their feet left the drain-dotted floor, they were scared shitless by the explosive and searing heat of flames blasting the hallway behind them to utter destruction.

They screamed bloody murder, feeling the heat on their backs, and dashed away from the chaos, hearts racing. The pair spun around to see the area they had just exited and were unable to believe their eyes. The greenish clumps of gelatin had been torched, reduced to running liquid spilling into the drains.

“They’re really trying to kill us!” Eligh breathed, exasperated.

Mara didn’t comment right away. Instead, she turned on her heel and marched down the chosen hallway. “They’re cleaning hallways; but us? Ha! I’ll be damned if I stay like this any longer.”

Oh, she’s mad. Eligh thought to himself and hurried after her. Best keep to myself for a—

“Eligh.”

“YES?!”

“Why are you screaming?!” Mara ticked her teeth at him and continued. “Do you hear that?”

Eligh strained his ears, slowing down to listen. Meanwhile, Mara sped up. “That. Cheering, I think.”

Eligh had to jog to keep up with her. Mara was still increasing her speed. “Wait, maybe? I’m not sure.” He said and started full-out sprinting as Mara took off running in the direction of the assumed cheers.

They dashed, slimy and heavy, through the still empty, mysterious silver hallways until a voice or few finally pierced Eligh’s ears. He heard it! As they got closer, it was the unmistakable sound of chatter and cheers growing louder.

“We’re close,” Mara said and about fifty speedy paces later skidded to a halt outside a majestic set of double doors with gold trim around them. It was totally out of place inside of the overly silver and serious-looking facility.

She stepped back to admire it fully and Eligh cozied up beside her. “What do you think we’ll find in there?” Mara pondered aloud.

An explosion of cheers blew through the doors, capturing Eligh and Mara’s full attention. Anticipation seized Eligh’s heart. He really wanted to go in.

“Only one way to find out.” He said.