I barely feel my body skidding across the polished marble floor. My hair catches under the weight of my arms and back, a burn forming on my skin from the pull of intense momentum.

Low screams and grunts are torn from my throat in a messy rhythm of impacts with gravity.

My eyes blur with tears, unfocused on the spinning room overhead. Dark shadows stand tall all over the room. One more than there were Reapers.

Death.

He stood for once, towering over everyone else in the room, posture strong and erect. His legs move first, slowly drifting in my general direction as I stop. In my vision, he squats down beside me.

Gloved hands gently grab my limp arms and check for injury very gently. He swipes his hand over the burns, healing everything in a matter of seconds and standing once again. "Congratulations Holiday Warren. You are the first to find your way out of the simulation."

I blink rapidly and throw myself into a sitting position.

Demetri closes the distance between us, eyes bright with concern and something more mysterious and unreadable. He hovers protectively almost, watching as each and every eye is turned away from them.

In fact, it appeared he was ordering it be done.

"I'm really the first? I manage to say, lightly running fingers over my throat. "How? I didn't see Seb anywhere and the others-"

"Holly breathe," Demetri whispers. "You know what kind of contest this is, you know what some of these people have done to get here. Not everyone is going to make it out of this alive."

I nod, ignoring the fear and concern building in my chest over Noah and David.

While my guess is that Noah has a good shot, David's idiocy will cost him dearly. I knew nothing of the color he is supposedly drawn to. He didn't either. Even with all the fighting and no matter how hard I tried, I started caring about their well being too.

It will be the death of me.

Go figure.

The others were nothing but a mystery. The only assurance I feel is in knowing Noah's inches from his own escape.

"This could take hours," Demetri adds. "We should get you rested."

The other Reapers wait, expressionless. None display anything similar to care or concern. Perhaps Demetri is bold or unique, which it is I doubt I'll ever figure out. For his open emotions, he still guards any answers close.

I can't help but wonder how he was with Seth all those years ago.

"Let me wait a bit," I say, looking at the glowing orbs we likely come from. The one I'd come from is solid white and slowly lowering itself onto the ground. Another five or so down is shattered on the floor. "Demetri, who's dead?"

"Holly, I really don't want you to worry ab-"

"Please," I beg, my eyes flashing to align with his.

The golden irises soften and he lets out an empty sigh. "Connor is dead."

"Oh," I say rather calmly. It astonishes even me to realize how little I fretted over the dumb boy. He resembled nothing but the contents of a box of rocks and asked the stupidest questions.

Demetri pulls me off the floor and walks me closer to the portals. We stop beside Atticus, whose crossed arms and scrunched up features were almost amusing. The two Reapers share a look and a nod, before Atticus sighs and runs a hand through his hair loosely.

We stand in silence, noticing that no one else is coming through their exits.

This could be the end.

What happens if I'm the only one who makes it out?

Do I win?

One of the Reapers behind us scoffs and marches out of the room like he's over something going on.

Atticus looks down at me. "Was Noah alive?"

I nod quickly. "Only a few yards away from his escape... I don't know what's taking him so long, to be honest."

The Reaper nods again and goes back to spacing out as if nothing were really happening.

Demetri takes a deep breathe and palms my shoulder. "We'd know if anything was terribly wrong. Those orbs you're looking at, they are the counterparts to your crystals. If they begin to crack and change color, we'll know someone is in general danger."

Seconds later Noah jumps through his and lands on his feet. He's graceful and well balanced, but sweat is still dripping from every inch of his being.

He looks at me for a minute and smirks. "Oh good, you're not dead."

I chuckle softly and watch as Atticus leaves my side and goes over to inspect him, seeing the lack of injury. A face follows this and the gothic blonde scowls. "You're showering," he mutters, before walking off.

I sidestep Demetri and walk up to Noah slowly. "What took you so long?"

"I was trying to help the idiot find his exit. I only ditched his ass when we were about to get eaten by that mutt."

A full laugh is shared between the two of us, but I feel the nagging pull of fear when no one else comes in the next few minutes.

Demetri's gaze is set on us for at least ten minutes before he comes up and gestures towards the door. "You need to eat, Holly. Not to mention, we don't know how many hours this is going to take."

"Why are you in such a hurry to get me out of here?" I ask, eyes narrowing slightly.

He frowns. "Please, let's just go."

I notice his entire body vibrating just barely, though the cloak masks anything obvious. One of his hands is even curled up in some strange position I can't quite see. The only thing I can tell is with each passing moment, I'm making it slightly worse.

Without bothering to say anything else, I wave slightly at Noah and disappear out into the hallway with my handler. He takes long strides, rushing through all the halls and skipping the door I know leads to the cafeteria.

I still don't question it.

We get to the corridor with all ten rooms and he bursts into mine without even asking, waiting by the door and shutting it behind me.

Time ceases to exist when I'm wrapped in a suffocating grip. So tight I wonder if my head will pop off or burst with the pressure. Silence fills the room while Demetri holds me, his breathing even and gentle.

Without thinking, I hug him back and lean against the warm muscles and soft fabric. It feels safe. Safer than running through a field of deadly vicious monsters and people I can't trust or depend on with anything.

Demetri is the only one here with the capacity and luxury of caring for me. Something I didn't realize he'd taken to doing until these few seconds of solace.

"I'm glad you're safe," he whispers in my hair, little wisps tickling my neck. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Bewildered, I pull away slightly and look at him. "Is everything okay?"

He gets a cat-like confusion on his face. "Of course?"

"You looked like something was wrong, Demetri."

He takes a deep breath and goes into the kitchen to pull out a few pots and pans. My brows pull together in confusion but he doesn't mind me, getting out some steak and vegetables.

While washing his hands and forearms, he glances back at me.

"You've said it yourself from the very beginning, I'm a tad different. I'm sure you see it as more bold, less refined, perhaps more partial even."

I nod a little bit, moving to take a seat at the bar.

"I used to be the coldest if you can believe that," he says, salting a pan and turning on the oven. "I'm the one who broke Seth, both mentally and emotionally. I didn't understand, I wanted a perfect soldier, I wanted to win this competition. Not for anything more than the glory of course, but neglecting him cost us both dearly. Me the tournament and my place as Second in Command, but Seth lost his soul."

Demetri continues to cook things, washing pots and pans as he used them and finding a rhythm with things. I just sat with my arms up, holding my head. Listening. Watching.

Something glazes over and his eyes drift to the floor. "You play Russian Roulette with each and every soul you interact with here. I'd lost sight of that, lost sight of the purpose compassion had. The importance of trust was completely foreign to me as if I'd never been human to begin with. I was an Asshole, Holly. That's why it was my nickname."

"You're not faking caring for me," I argue, sitting up. "I can see it, more than anyone else here at the very least."

"Of course," he nods, sliding a plate in front of me with delicious, steaming food. "I spent a decade fulfilling duties in the outreaches of our Tragedies Department, forcing myself to process each and every human to come before me and grieve. To see once again, the true meaning of pain."

Digging in, I shove mouthfuls of meat into my face and swallowing. The heat filled my body and repaired a lot of the fear and energy loss I'd been forced to endure.

"But now you're the other extreme," I elaborate softly.

Once again, Demetri agrees. "I care more than the rest, but I'm also infinitely more inclined to show it now. Which as I'm sure as you're aware, has more than a stigma with someone inferior."

I frown on the word. "Inferior?"

"That's how they're trained to believe, even when most of them have at one point been human themselves."

I finish my food wordlessly as we stare at one another. "So you were human once?"

"Yes."

Demetri starts to shut down, a darker look consuming his face and even body. His posture melts away and that lazy, careless demeanor starts to come back.

I stand up and walk around, placing my plate in the sink and take his from where it lay discarded in front of him. Running the sink for a minute, I let it fill up and cover all the dishes, dropping some soap in.

"I promise you'll get a full night's rest tonight," he murmurs after, giving me a sad, tired look. "No dangerous murderers or crazy dungeons."

"Thank you..."

"Sleep well, Holly. I'll be out here if you need anything."

I smile, feeling an intense safety and exhaustion wash over me.

Stumbling lifelessly into my room and slamming the door shut behind me, it takes me a heartbeat to throw my pants on the floor and crawl into bed. My eyes are heavy, in fact, all my muscles are.

It takes me a few shuffles to settle in, another few kicks and squirms to find the perfect position, but I get there.

Blurry eyes lock onto a colorful change in the closet, but I'm unconscious in mere seconds. 

Total Word Count: 16,265

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to the ninth chapter! I'm so super happy to say that we're almost at the end of the book, but don't get too comfortable just because this chapter was so laid back. There is so much more to come. 

And it'll hit you all at once XD.

Have a great night everyone!