I didn't think heading to a burning building was a smart idea, but I trusted Saris enough to believe he had reasons for wanting to go there. It couldn't be that dangerous, right? I mean, it had clearly been burning for a while but I didn't see any flames. And, there would be no reason for anyone to stay there anymore. If it was the result of a fight, anyone who survived would be long gone; at least, that's what I hoped.

"Saris, what do you think happened?" I asked.

Saris didn't say anything at first. I thought he was in awe of the charred building but when I looked at him, he was looking up and around to other buildings, not at the one we were headed to. "I dunno, but we're gonna find out." He said. "Keep your guard up." Quietly and slowly, he made his way down the street. It was impressive to watch, he walked carefully and intentionally, but also very naturally. To anyone else he would probably appear to be going on a very relaxed stroll, but he naturally stepped in a way that avoided any litter, pebbles or anything that would make any noise. He was completely silent.

I followed, trying to be quiet but probably looking awkward, like I was a wannabe ninja or something. I studied what Saris did. When he looked up, I looked up. But I didn't see anything and I wondered if he saw more than I did. He turned his head, looking towards the opposite building's roof, I did the same, finding nothing again. Every so often, he would look at our destination, but usually, only for a moment. He seemed to be more interested in the area around us or around our goal. The building was no longer on fire and the smoke was escaping through open windows on the top floor and ventilation shafts throughout the building. We should be able to enter without worrying too much about the smoke. I was more concerned about the lingering heat, the stability of the building and whether or not there were any enemies hanging around.

"Saris?" My curiosity got the better of me and I heard him grunt softly in response. "Why are you looking at the other buildings?"

"Could be a trap." Saris whispered. "Lure us in and attack us while we're in a confined space. Or bring the building down on us."

I suddenly did not want to go inside. "We don't have to check it out." I said nervously. "We can just head to the park like you planned."

"No." Saris said calmly. "I don't see anyone waiting for us. Besides, it's a good idea to see what made the fire. Or if we're lucky, see if someone survived the fire." He shrugged and added, "Unless they're not friendly."

"Even if they are, wouldn't they be injured?"

"We're a week into the game. Most people will have teams by now. Injured help is still help. We're too far behind to be picky." He turned to reassure me, "It's not your fault. It's just the facts."

This did not calm my nerves but I followed anyway. Saris was my best chance of survival right now. I had to keep telling myself that every few steps. Soon we were in front of the building. Saris had scoped the area multiple times before he gestured for me to follow and he stepped inside the open door. "Saris is my best chance for survival." I mumbled to myself as I followed him in.

It was hot inside and it smelled like burnt plastic and ash. The room was likely a receptionist area for some business; maybe a doctors office or something. Everything was blackened and I dared not to touch it for fear of burning myself or making whatever I touched crumble to pieces. But this was a rather large room and it looked like it had several chairs lined up against the walls, though they were now melted and unusable. I wouldn't trust any of them to carry any weight and several of them were already too broken to attempt to sit on.

Saris walked calmly through the room, inspecting every detail. He didn't seem concerned about the safety of the building, but I assumed that he simply wanted to get in and out quickly and efficiently. No use in being slow and cautious. After a moment, he quietly said, "This way."

I followed him down a hallway. Definitely a doctors office. We passed an area for checkout and through an open door a few steps down the hallway I saw a small sink set into a counter and a raised patient bed. The flames had burnt almost every inch of the hallway. That, coupled with fewer windows, made this area much darker than the waiting room. Saris kept searching for something. Eventually he found whatever it was he was looking for and motioned for me to come to him. He opened a door and breathed in sharply, waving his gloved hand around. He gave me a wry smile and observed, "fire makes things hot."

The small room had the same features as the first one I had looked into, except for one detail. The entire room was charred black except a small patch in the corner, which drew my eye immediately as it was so much brighter than anything else. It was still the off white that the room had been painted and the floor there was a grey marble that also looked untouched. Saris bent down, examining the patch, then looked at me.

"They're dead." Saris said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Whoever did this." He pointed to the clean spots on the floor and wall. "See? This is where they crouched down." Saris positioned himself against the wall, sitting on the floor and with his knees up, mimicking the pose that the figure likely had when he had died. "He probably had some kind of fire power. That's why the wall behind him and the floor here isn't charred." Saris continued, standing back up. "Not sure what or who killed him but they don't seem to have stuck around."

"We probably shouldn't either," I said, more than ready to leave. This 'game', as Saris called it, was getting a bit too real for me. I kept imagining myself in a bad horror film and soon, a serial killer would come out and eat me alive or something.

"Yeah," Saris agreed, sounding much less disturbed than I was. "No use staying here."

"So, what do you think happened?" I asked as we walked down the hallway towards the waiting room. "It seems weird if someone just sat down to die while someone was trying to kill them."

Saris thought for a moment. "I agree. It is strange. Maybe they were being chased, found that room, sat down and set it on fire. Maybe the power takes concentration and the attacker killed them before they could put up much of a fight. Fire abilities are pretty common, but if someone had something specific they wanted to do with it, they might have a different fire ability than others do." The hair on my skin raised. "We're not alone." Saris looked around and we slowly walked into the front room.

"Well, look who it is."A voice greeted us as we entered the reception area. Three figures stood in the doorway, effectively blocking our exit.. The one in the center spoke. "Saris." He greeted with an unfriendly grin. Saris said nothing but he summoned his large blade and readied it.

The man was taller than Saris by several inches. He had a brown goatee, a round, shaved head and wore dark clothing. He leisurely twirled a long scythe that had a curved blade on both ends. The ally on his right was a thin woman with short blonde hair that poked out from the baseball cap she wore. Her clothes were dirty and holy in places. She had a dagger in each hand, each the length of my forearm. The third person was short, though not as short as I was. He was clean shaven with a buzz cut. His broad shoulders aggressively stretched his green tee and I wouldn't be surprised if his muscles were essential to his job in his previous life. Maybe he was a bouncer or a bodyguard. Either way, I wasn't keen on getting too close to him, especially with the brass knuckles that he wore. I might have missed them, if not for the long spikes poking out.

The three intruders were waiting for us to make the first move. I didn't know what to do. They were blocking our exit. Saris grabbed my arm and dragged me back into the hallway with the patient's rooms. I could hear the three of them follow us. Saris ducked into the first room, dragging me with him and he shut the door, being careful not to slam it. He stood just inside the door, tight against the wall with his massive sword ready. I stood a step or two behind him, being careful not to bump into a crispy magazine rack hanging on the wall.

I couldn't stop shaking. The fear of being caught and killed overwhelmed me and I wanted to make a run for it. My heart was hammering in my chest like a drum and I could feel it beating in my ears. I felt like the murderer in the Tell Tale Heart, thinking they would hear my heart beating if it didn't quiet down.

"Calm down." He whispered, noticing my unease.

His words brought me back to reality. I was still scared, but I was able to keep my wits about me. 'Saris is my best chance for survival,' I reminded myself. Not knowing what to say or if I should make any noise at all, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. When I opened them again, I saw a faint bubble come out of my chest and into Saris. At first, I panicked. But then I remembered seeing this in the fight with Saris and the man who could stop time. This was Saris' power but what did he take from me? I didn't have a power yet.

The door slammed open and Saris moved in a blurr. He was so fast that I could barely make out his movements. I saw a flash of metal enter the room from the outside, but it didn't connect with anything. Then I heard a strained grunt and a body drop. I peered out and saw the short bouncer-looking man fade from existence. Saris had killed him, but he wasn't looking at the body. Saris had moved over and had cut into the woman that carried the two long daggers. Shock filled her eyes and she fell wordlessly, dropping her weapons. She never hit the ground, fading as she fell. I crept out of my hiding spot and looked out of the room, not daring to get too close to the murder-filled hallway. Where was the leader? Had Saris killed him before I even noticed?

Arms grabbed me from behind and the large scythe appeared in my view. How had the man snuck up on me? Fear grabbed at me and I began to panic again. My mind didn't know what to do. But I hadn't been training with Saris for nothing. My body reacted before my mind could. I twisted down and around, my arm came up to block the man's coming blow and I was lucky enough to block his scythe without getting cut. I punched the tall man in his throat with my free hand and he reared back but I grabbed him by his free hand and shoved him with all of my might into the hallway, keeping my leg extended. He tripped over my foot and fell out of the room with a thud. Saris finished him off, his heavy blade sliding through the man's chest and into the floor. The man choked, then faded from sight a moment later.

Saris smiled at me. "Good work." He said and he gave me a thumbs up. His raised thumb looked awkward and strange on the end of his arm. He wasn't the type of guy to give thumbs up and it was clear by the way he held it that he didn't do it often. It was certainly the first time I've witnessed it, but him forcing the awkward motion in order to praise my contribution immediately brought a smile to my face.

My heart was still racing, but I managed to nod. "Who were they?"

"No one to worry about anymore. They were just part of the game. Come on." Saris beckoned me over and we walked past the checkout area towards the entrance once again. I was expecting more people to show up and try to kill us but none arrived.

"How did that one guy sneak up on me?" I asked.

"His power is to walk in shadows. He doesn't have a physical body when he does, so he can't hurt you. But he can get behind you without you realizing it." Saris explained. "But let's get moving. We really should try to go to the park before nightfall."

The bright sun was a welcome change from the dark and blackened building. The open air and blue sky helped to melt my fears and anxiety. Still, I could not stop thinking about how much life had changed. I was no longer in my old world and the new world that I had been forced to enter appeared the same but was much more dangerous. Now that I had been in my first fight, I realized more than ever that we needed more allies. Next time, we might not have areas to fall back into and gain the element of surprise against our attackers. At the same time, a part of me felt excited. Adrenaline filled my body and I no longer felt like I was hopelessly outmatched. I had never once hit Saris, but I had not only connected an attack with the tall, dark stanger, but I had also forced him to the ground.

Saris looked at me, "Don't get full of yourself." He said, guessing my thoughts.

"Right." I said, checking my elation. Then I chanced a glance at Saris. He was smiling. "What?"

"You did better than I expected." Then he turned and put a finger to my chest. "But don't let it go to your head." He said seriously. "You'll make more mistakes if you get cocky."

I nodded and we made our way down the alleyway towards the park, both of us feeling more confident. Mentally reviewing the fight, I realized that Saris seems to constantly be one step ahead. Even caught by surprise, he immediately knew to retreat to a safer area and wait for them to come in one by one. It made me wonder who Saris was. He makes everyone he fights look incompetent and slow. He has razor sharp focus and he reacts to attacks faster than what seems possible.

"Saris?" He grunted. "What did you do before..." I tried to think of what to call this. I didn't really want to call it a 'game' like he did. I settled on "this?"

Saris slowed as if considering how to answer but then shrugged and said "I was an assassin for the US government."

"Woah, for real?" I knew he was a good fighter, but a real life assassin? Crazy!

He chuckled and for a moment I thought he was joking, but then he nodded. "Yeah. I was actually on a mission when I got pulled into this."

"What happened?"

"I had a shot against a target. I was all set up, gun was bolted down and my finger was on the trigger. But I never took the shot. I got the chills, then heard something behind me and turned around just in time to see someone about to attack me from behind. Instinct took hold and I fought him off." He chuckled as he recalled the detail. "Obviously, I wasn't familiar with the game yet, so his sword took me off guard. It was seriously huge." He held his hands far apart to demonstrate. "Larger than mine if you want something to compare it to."

"Did you kill him?" I asked. I was still uneasy about killing others. I think I took it so well while we were in the burnt doctor's office because I had not actually done the killing blow. I wasn't sure what I'd do when it finally came time to get my hands dirty.

"Nope."

"So, he got you." I said.

"No." Saris replied. "He became my first ally, taught me about the game, explained what was happening." He shrugged, "The works."

"He trained you like you did me?"

"Not really. He's not that kind of guy. He just told me what was happening and we were off."

"So, you just teamed up with someone who attacked you from behind?" I asked.

"There's a bit more to it than that but, yeah, basically." He stopped and turned to me. "You do realize that you teamed up with someone who killed someone right in front of you and led you to a house only to break into it, don't you?"

"Well, you did save my life. Then you trained me. And, ya know, didn't kill me." I said.

"Ha! Yeah." Saris said, chuckling. I didn't think it was that funny. He stopped abruptly, remaining in the shadows of the alleyway as he pointed ahead. We had reached the park and his finger was trained on a large tree near the center. "See that tree?"

"The one with the bushes by it?"

"Yeah. That's where we're going to go to scope the park for allies. You ready to make a mad dash?"

I pulled myself together. "Yes."

"Okay," he poked his head around the corner of the building, glancing up and down the street. "Let's go!" He took off and I was close on his heels.

I didn't know how many people were a part of this 'game' but I wasn't willing to let someone take an easy shot at me. I didn't pace myself, I bolted. Still, Saris was faster than my top speed and reached the tree first. When I finally touched the bark of the tree, I was breathing hard but not too bad. All of the training I had done with Saris had really helped me get in better shape.

Saris motioned for me to crouch down like he was. "The bushes and the trees are decent cover, but only if we use them." We looked around together, searching for someone that might have spotted us but no the lack of chills was a comforting sign that we were alone. "Looks like the park's empty. Now we wait." Saris said, taking a seat on the ground, his back against the tree.

While we weren't in the center of the park, we were pretty close and had a lot of field behind us, so there was a possibility of someone sneaking up from behind. Saris pointed this out and explained that we should check behind us every so often.

"What if we sat on both sides of the tree?" I suggested. "We'd get rid of our blindside that way."

"If a team sees you on this side of the tree and a team sees me at the other side of the tree, we'll have to fend off two teams at once. Sound fun?"

"No," I conceded.

The area behind us had less cover and it was unlikely that anyone would try to sneak up on us from that direction, unless they wanted to make the run through the longest part of the park. There was a jungle gym for kids and a swing set on that side, but was otherwise nothing but grass until the street. On our side of the park, there were several hills going up and down. There was also a tennis court to the far left and several trees scattered around. This was the more dangerous route that we had to keep an eye on. We made ourselves comfortable, sitting shoulder to shoulder between the two bushes, against the thick tree.

We waited for what seemed like a long time and I mentally went over some of the things Saris had told me, tips on fighting and how to survive. Thinking back on the house we had left, I suddenly felt bad for whoever lived there. We had broken into their house and eaten their food. The more I thought about it, the more strange it seemed. "Hey, Saris. Why did we not see anyone in the house while we were staying there?"

"Probably on vacation or something." Saris said dully. "Besides, after one or two days in, you wouldn't have seen them unless you were looking for them. That's when they change into shades."

"I hope they don't freak out too much. We did break their door lock and eat their food. Not to mention what you did to their bed."

"The door lock and bed will probably upset them more than the food. But I wouldn't worry about it. People like us can't afford to be too considerate. It is a matter of life and death." Saris explained.

"What about that fire?" I thought about the building where we fought the shadow walker. "Won't people be suspicious about a fire starting from nothing?"

"Powers are different. They don't seem to affect the shades. Didn't you notice?" I shook my head and Saris continued, "There were shades in the building. You can't really tell what they're doing, but they weren't running around scared."

"That's weird."

Saris chuckled. "Yeah. You can't hurt shades, not directly anyway. You've noticed that there are no cars driving around either, right?" I hadn't even noticed but he was right, we hadn't come across anyone driving. "I have a theory. I think this is a sort of in between world. Sounds crazy but this place is crazy. We can see the shades, but they can't interact with us."

"They can't see us, can they?"

"I think some of them do, sometimes. But they'd probably call it a trick of the light or something. That, or ghosts."

I thought about Michael's car. "But we can affect them, can't we? My friend's car was damaged because of that guy you saved me from outside of the pizza place."

"To some extent. We can scare them more than anything else. Maybe it's a glitch of some kind. I dunno." Saris digressed, continuing to elaborate on his theory. The more in depth he got, the more confused I got. "Sorry. It's just a theory. It's probably best not to think about it too much."

It was getting late and my stomach rumbled, not for the first time today. Saris took something out of his pocket. He had two plastic bags with fruit inside. He handed me one of the bags. "Eat up."

"You've had food this whole time?" I said, incredulously. I had been hungry since before we had seen the burning building. It felt like ages ago. "Any idea what time it is?" I asked, taking a bite out of an apple.

Saris looked up. "Mmm. It's probably after seven."

"How are we supposed to do this?"

"Hmm?" He shot me a questioning look as he chewed his food.

"We have to outlive everyone else but we haven't eaten all day and we haven't found anyone who isn't trying to kill us." My confidence in our likelihood of succeeding was sinking fast, faster than the sun, and my mood was close behind.

Saris looked at me apologetically and swallowed. "Sorry, I'm used to going without eating or eating very little for long periods of time. I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you."

I sighed. "Where is everyone? I was expecting a lot more people than the few we've ran into so far."

"It is odd," Saris agreed, sitting taller as he slowly scanned the park again. "We should have seen a lot more people." He paused, thinking. "I guess a lot might have happened in the week we took to train.."

"Maybe we're the only two left." I suggested.

"No." Saris said confidently. "You know when you're one of the last few. You get a strange feeling that builds every time another player is taken out of the game. It's hard to describe. It's sort of like you're subconsciously aware of how many are left, like your mind is taking count without you needing to focus on it." Saris winced. "That's not a very good explanation though. The point is, you would know if we were the last two." Saris sighed and handed me another apple. "Keep an eye out, will you?"

"What?" I asked, taking the fruit.

"I'm gonna get some sleep." He said. "We'll need to keep our strength up and we both need rest. You take the first watch and I'll take the rest of the night."

"When do I wake you up?" I asked anxiously, not very confident in myself to keep watch over both of us.

"Oh. Sometime in the night. Just go as long as you can." He said, lying on the ground.

"What if someone shows up?"

"Wake me up if you see anyone." He closed his eyes and before I could think of any other questions to ask, his breathing became deep and regular.

I'm glad that I wasn't sleepy. I was too anxious, nervous and frightened to fall asleep. I stared into the open, empty park as it grew darker and darker, changing my position around the tree frequently to keep eyes on all sides of the park. No chills came and there was no sign of movement in any direction and after the first couple of hours I began to relax, changing my position less frequently and staring less nervously. Sometimes I saw shadowy figures illuminated by the moon or streetlights along the park's edge. They seemed to walk boldly along the path, and I envied their freedom to take a leisurely walk. It was a stark contrast to the mad dash Saris and I made into the park earlier, and the crouching in bushes I was presently doing. Seeing a pair of them together I wondered if it might be Tommy and Trisha. Then I remembered that my phone still worked. The first was from my sister, it read:

Bummer. Well, don't work too hard. Knowing you, your brain will explode

I tried to think of a snarky retort, but all I could think about was the possibility of someone having the power to explode heads. I replied:

How's the roommate trouble going?

To my surprise, she answered quickly.

Better. Actually, she's been really nice recently. Wonder what she's up to...

I shifted my position at the base of the tree, scanning the park as I tried to focus on her joke. It was hard to do when I was swept up in the madness of my situation. Having to fight, having to kill, having to survive. I was scared and a piece of my family was right here, in my hands. I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell her that I love her and I miss her and that I wish I could see her. I started to type what was on my mind. I was going to tell her everything; about the dream, about the crazy man who could stop someone in time, about Saris and me. But then I decided against it. I didn't want her to think I was crazy. I erased my message and typed in a new one.

Be careful. She's probably planning something diabolical. Anyway, I gotta go. Love you, sis.

I rarely told her that I loved her. It was just something I didn't add to my messages. I had hoped that she wouldn't think anything of it or that she would think that I was tired or something. She just responded with a:

Love you too

My spirits lifted slightly with these words from my sister. We hadn't been particularly close as kids, but I was finding a new appreciation for her friendship as an adult, and especially in this nightmare. Even if the majority of the relationship was via my phone. I didn't want to worry her and I didn't want her texts to start being more serious or worried. I know that I should have told her, but I needed to be selfish. I needed our texts to be something that stayed the same. I couldn't lose that feeling of normalcy.

I sat for a while, thinking. I wondered if the roles were reversed, if Sidra would have told me. I hoped so, but also, I hoped not. Then I decided I would tell Tommy. I took my phone out again and typed everything in. It was a long text. I rambled a bit too. When it was done, I sent it before I could change my mind. My heart was racing. I wanted him to believe me. I wasn't sure what I'd do if he didn't.

While I waited for the reply, I reread the message I had sent and grimaced. How was anyone supposed to understand this? I had tried to tell him how I had felt invisible the day I left and how freaked out I had been. I told him about the man who wrecked Michaels car and his fight with Saris. How afraid I was during the whole thing. How exhausted I was from training and what I was expected to do in this game. I relayed everything we had been up to since leaving the house. The problem was that the entire text was completely unreadable. Then I got his reply:

Dude. You spelled almost every word wrong. Autocorrect didn't even know what you wanted to say. But I think I got the jist of it. It sounds ridiculous, but it's not like you to pull a prank like this. Plus, I kind of felt like I was walking alone when we were headed for the pizza place, so I get it when you say that you felt like you weren't really here... What are you going to do?

He believes me! I was so relieved that I nearly stood up, but then thought better of it, looked around again and after seeing no one, said:

I don't know. I guess I'll have to play this 'game', even though I would REALLY rather not. And, you were talking to me the whole time! What do you mean you felt like you were walking alone?

A moment passed, then I got Tommy's reply:

I talk about Trisha all the time. Yes, sometimes alone. You would too if you were dating someone as great as she is.This doesn't seem like a game to me. It sounds crazy.

I replied:

I know. Games should be fun. This is not. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Tommy said:

Stick with this Saris guy. He seems to know what's going on. He's your best chance for this. Just don't die, ok? Do you want me to let Mike in on this?

I didn't know what to say. Michael was one of my two best friends. Would it be a bad thing to have him in on this too? Michael was much more of a realist than Tommy. I wasn't sure if he would believe me. I sent my message:

Sure. I don't know if he'll buy it though. I don't really know if I can prove anything either.

Tommy replied:

Don't worry about it. Leave it to me. Just focus on staying alive. Gotta go. Keep in touch when you can. Tommy out.

I sent my farewell in return, then turned off my phone. I hoped that I could do this. Hoped I would be strong enough and lucky enough to survive. Hoped that Saris was strong enough to help me survive. But even if he was, what then? Die by Saris' hand? No. I couldn't think about it that way. I had to take each day, each moment one step at a time. Survival. That was all I needed to think about.

I don't know how much time passed but there was no movement in the park whatsoever. Saris woke on his own. He asked me how the watch went, then told me to get some sleep. The ground was hard and cold but I tried to not let it bother me. The air was still warm and I was too tired to think anymore. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.