Just A Game

Chapter five

Will had never thought about it that way. He glanced around at the other dead bodies; a woman in a black dress with her eyes wide open and rope burns on her neck, a blond man with a bullet wound in the side of his head and a freckled red-head with a missing hand. Will thought about family and friends they might've had before they were forced to play this game, people who would never have closure, who would always wonder what happened to that missing person they'd cared for.

"You were looking for Andrea, weren't you?" Ash interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah." Will straightened. "You said she's out here?"

Ash gestured behind Will. He glanced back and saw Andrea talking to the dark-haired boy who'd punched him earlier that day.

"Why the hesitation?" Asked Ash. "Go talk to your girlfriend."

"That kid hit me this morning." Will replied. "I don't want to get too close to him."

"Are you really scared of a seventeen year old?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"No, I just don't want to get into a fight."

"It was probably just his task; Clem is one of the least violent people here. I can't see him starting a fight."

"I'd still like to be safe."

"Fine. I'll go inform her that you wish to speak with her but were too afraid of a kid to approach her yourself."

"Screw off!" Will gritted his teeth. He had been struggling to figure out if he hated Ash or not, but in this moment, he sincerely believed he did. Shoving Ash aside, he approached Andrea, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

After he'd only taken a few steps forward, Andrea glimpsed Will out of the corner of her eye and waved him over. Clem glanced over to see who she was gesturing to and a look of anxiousness briefly crossed his face when he saw Will. He was able to cover it up, but not fast enough for it to go unnoticed.

"Hey." Will mumbled, once he reached Andrea.

"Hi?" She tilted her head back to make eye contact with him.

"Look, Andie, I'm sorry about this morning. I should've talked to you, I know I'm being...kinda weird right now." Will awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I just...I don't really know what to do. I'm trying to figure things out at my own pace, I can't just immediately be okay and ready to talk about everything. I'll try to be more available, but I'm really not ready to talk about what happened."

"We only have so much time, Will." Andrea whispered. She gently took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry I was so harsh about it. I understand that this...isn't easy for anyone. I appreciate that you apologised, I wasn't entirely expecting it. Look, as soon as you feel ready, please come to me. And please don't wait too long."

"I won't. I promise." Will wouldn't break his promise. After all, he didn't tell her which part he was promising.

Will turned to Clem. "So, I suppose you're Clem?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Clem blinked in confusion. "How did you...know that?"

"Ash told me." Will extended his hand. The fact that Clem hadn't tried to fight so far was enough for Will to feel relatively safe. "I'm Will."

Clem shook his hand, but clearly wasn't comfortable. "I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I guess it's not really nice to meet anyone here. I wouldn't wish this place on my worst enemies."

"Neither would I." Andrea glanced sadly at the nearby corpses. Will wondered how long it would be before the two of them joined them.

Realistically, neither of us will win. But I hope she will.

"Do you wanna...like, try to stick together?" Will asked Andrea. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"You think I won't survive without you?" Andrea raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's not what I was saying...but you are right." Will admitted. "You're too good for this, Andrea. Seriously, I don't think you could be violent if you tried. If you don't have help, I'm not too confident you'll make it far."

"Will, you wouldn't begin to understand some of the things I've experienced. Whether I want to be or not, I'm perfectly capable of being violent if I have to be." 

Will happened to glance up and notice that Clem had slowly crept away from them while they were talking. It only then occured to Will that he'd interrupted the conversation and made it his own, and he couldn't help feeling slightly guilty.

"I think we scared your friend off." He gestured to Clem, who was now talking to Isaiah a small distance away.

"'We'?" Despite the undertones of her question, she smiled. 

"Fine, I scared your friend away." Will sighed. "Sorry for intruding."

"No worries, Will. I'm glad you're okay...and I'm glad you came looking for me."

Will smiled. "Anytime. Are we gonna try to stick together for now, like I suggested? Or would you rather not?"

"It would be smart, since we already know each other." Andrea hesitated.

"But?" Will egged her on.

"To be honest, I still haven't completely processed the situation we're currently in. I think I need to be alone for a bit, just to get my thoughts together."

"That's completely fair. Just, please, stay safe."