by Peach, Hanna
“When you’ve chosen your box, touch it to start your game.”
Alyx eyed the three boxes. There were no visible markings or any way of distinguishing the differences between them. It was all chance, then. She reached out and tapped the middle box. The wooden box disintegrated and blew away like sand.
Underneath was a square board and on each corner of the board was a wooden pole about six inches high. The pole nearest to Alyx on her right was marked with a painted blue circle around the base. Slid onto the pole to Alyx’s furthest left were five wooden rings of increasingly smaller circumference from base to tip making the shape of a cone. In the middle of the board sat a small iron statue with the body and face of a man but with teeth and claws and long pointed ears like a hairless wolf. His eyes were closed. One of his claws curled around the top of a glass sand timer.
“So,” Alyx said, “how do I win this thing?”
“I will show you how to play, little girl,” a creaky hiss of a voice said. “Whether you can win or not is yet to be seen.”
Alyx eyes widened when she realized that the iron statue was the one that was speaking. She stared down at the animate creature whose eyes, now open, were alive with a sharp sapphire light.
The creature uncurled the claws of the hand not holding the glass timer and pointed to the tower of rings. “You must move this tower from the pole it is currently on, to this pole.” He pointed to the pole with the blue painted circle around the base of the post. “You may only move one ring at a time to another post. You may only place a smaller ring on a larger ring. You may use all four poles. You may not ask for help.” The creature stared at Jordan pointedly.
“Are these rules clear?” The creature turned his face towards her. Alyx could see the wrinkles carved into his face around his eyes and around his mouth. “Is this clear?” he repeated.
“Oh... Yes.”
“Then you have until the last grain of sand slips to the bottom of the timer.” And with that he turned the sand timer upside-down and became still.
Wait! But… Crap. The game was starting and she was already running out of time. Not a second to waste.
Alyx pulled the smallest ring off the pole and dropped it down on the blue pole. She pulled off the second ring and… stared at the smaller ring. She slipped the second ring onto one of the spare poles, then pulled off the third ring and slipped it onto the last spare pole. Alyx’ gaze flicked around the board. What now?
She pulled the smallest ring off the blue pole and slipped it down over the third ring. She pulled the fourth ring off the starting pole and slipped it down over the blue pole. She grabbed the fifth ring and… dammit, this wouldn’t work either.
Alyx glanced at the sand timer. Her heart began to thud louder when she realized that she had less than half her time left.
Out of frustration she slammed the fifth ring down onto a smaller ring. Immediately the ring broke apart like sugar granules, sucked across the board and reformed around the starting pole. You can’t place a larger ring on a smaller ring.
She looked back at the timer, grains trickling away into the bottom glass section. Think. Think, Alyx.
She glanced back at the board and stared. Her mind emptied of all other things. She forgot the whispered urging of Jordan behind her. She forgot about Argyll’s amused stare. About the arena they were in, about the chambers, about Uriel and Urielos. Her world centered on the board as her mind calculated her next move.
A spark of inspiration lit within her.
Her fingers flew across the board, pulling ring by ring off and resetting them down on another pole. Always smaller on bigger. She got the biggest ring onto the blue pole.
“Yes,” she heard Jordan cry softly from behind her.
She kept going. The fourth ring went down, then third, then second. Finally… her finger gripped the last ring. But it wouldn’t budge. It wouldn’t pull from the pole.
“You’re out of time, I’m afraid,” said the iron creature, grinning at her, his fangs extending below his bottom lip. Alyx looked to where his claws were tapping on the timer on the outside of the empty top chamber of glass.
No. Alyx let the ring slip from her fingers as she shrank back from the board. A sudden tearing pain flashed across her back as if someone were ripping a part of her away. She felt her knees give way and her vision dimmed from the pain.
“What have you done to her?” She could barely hear Jordan speaking from what seemed to be a distance, as if he were lost through a great fog.
Thankfully the pain faded just as quickly and she found herself being held upright by Jordan’s strong arms.
“I’m okay,” she croaked out and tried to hold herself up on her feet.
Jordan studied her face, but he didn’t let her go. “What happened?”
But they both knew what had just happened. Flight had been ripped from her. She gently pulled Jordan’s arms off her and tested the air with a low jump. She felt gravity pulling at her even as she pushed up off the ground. It was a sensation she had only felt before in Michael’s DreamScape maze. Her flight was gone.
“I can’t fly.” She bit back the bitter taste in her mouth that these words left behind.
Jordan rubbed her back softly. “It’ll be okay. It’s only for the time in the Game, remember?”
Alyx nodded, taking solace in his touch. Her mind was whirring. She had never been without flight before. How would this affect her fighting skills? What if she failed another test because she had lost her flight? A chilling thought came over her. What if that was the purpose of this arena? To take away the things that would help them the most in the tests – flight, hearing, sight. Alyx shuddered and Jordan drew her closer.
“It looks like you got your wish, sir,” said Argyll, reminding them that they were not alone. They broke apart. “You have a chance to risk and play.”
Alyx could see Jordan biting back a remark. “I’ll risk flight as well,” he said.
“I’m afraid you can’t do that.”
“What?”
“She has already risked flight. The risk is now off the table. You can choose to risk your sight or your hearing.”
Alyx’s eyes widened. She could see the small spark of fear cross Jordan’s face before he quickly covered it up. What would he choose? Which sense would they need the most for the rest of the arena. Alyx was beginning to wish they had just walked through the doorway.
“I’ll risk my hearing,” said Jordan finally.
“Very well. Choose your game.”
Alyx chewed at her lip as she watched Jordan reach out for the box on the left. It disintegrated as soon as he touched it.
Underneath was another board, but this one was thicker. In the center of the board was a rectangular hole. In the hole were four small iron men standing in a row. One of these men was separated from the others by a stone wall that rose up higher than their heads. Upon their heads were feathered headdresses, two of them silver, two of them blue. In order, they were blue, silver, blue, silver.
Alyx peered closer. These men were wearing loincloths, their bare chests painted in bright colors. Then she stared in shock as she realized that they were all struggling, faces strained. They were chained to the ground by the ankles, wrists and neck, all forced to face the wall. For some reason, Alyx was reminded of Sparrow. Small and helpless and shackled.
“Why, howdy partner.”
Alyx had been so focused on the four men she didn’t notice the single iron cowboy, grinning at Jordan. He was standing on the higher ground of the board next to a large barrel sitting on the edge of the hole. He reminded Alyx of a feral cat, stringy and dirty and with a wildness to his eyes.
What kind of sick game was this?
“Let them go,” Alyx said.
The cowboy turned his beady eyes towards her. “Well, little lady, that all depends on the success of your boyfriend here. You just stay well on back and let us men-folk do the talking.”
Alyx bristled. The chauvinistic condesc
ending little… “Don’t call me little lady.”
The cowboy tsked at her. “A trouble maker, I see.” He turned to Jordan. “As you can’t seem to keep your lady under control, we’ll just have to take extra precautions to make sure she don’t interfere.”
Alyx was shoved away from the board by an invisible force. She felt something grasp her wrists and her ankles. Shackles had risen up from the ground and were now anchoring her down, similar to the shackles that held the four bare-chested men.
“Let her go,” growled Jordan and she could see his fists curling into tight balls at his sides.
“No can do, buddy. Those are just for the duration of the game. So, the quicker you play the quicker she is set free.”
Alyx could see Jordan’s jaw twitching as he considered his options. “Fine. Let’s begin.”
The cowboy cocked his head at Alyx as she muttered obscenities at him. “Don’t make me gag you as well.”
This shut Alyx up.
The cowboy turned back to Jordan. “Each of these men can only face forward. To be clear, the odd one out can only see the wall as can the first man on the other side. The second man can only see the first man and the third man can see the first and second. They all know where each of the others is. They all know that they are all wearing headdresses and that there are two of each color, but they can’t see what color headdress they themselves are wearing. Follow me so far?”
Jordan nodded.
“You see, these men have been condemned. Lucky for them, I love puzzles so I’ve given them a chance to live. If one of the men can correctly determine, without guessing or talking to each other, the color headdress that he is wearing, they will all be set free. Your game is this: if you can tell me, before the time is up, who is the only man who can determine what color headdress he is wearing and how, you win the game.”
The cowboy pulled out a gun from his holster and shot a hole in the barrel. Alyx flinched. Water began to pour from the hole, filling the hole that the prisoners were in. The four men began to struggle again as the water pooled around their feet.
“Your time has started.”
Jordan stared at the game board. She narrowed her focus to the board, too. But all she could see was the water filling up the hole around their knees now.
She shook her head. This was impossible. And she could tell that Jordan thought so, too, because she could hear him muttering under his breath. Maybe this was a trick question?
No. There had to be a way. It was just a matter of logical thinking. She looked at the first man. Well, it was obvious he couldn’t tell what headdress he was wearing as he could only see the wall. Same went for the second man.
Alyx stared at the fourth man. He could see that the second man was wearing a silver headdress and the third man was wearing a blue headdress… this didn’t help him determine whether the headdress he was wearing was blue or silver.
It must be the third man… but why?
Imagine yourself as the third man. Alyx closed her eyes and imagined. In front of her she could see the second man and his silver headdress. She knew that there was the fourth man behind her who could see the second man and her…
So… if she were wearing a silver headdress then the fourth man could see this and he would call out that his headdress was blue. Because the fourth man didn’t call out… he must be seeing one silver headdress and one blue headdress.
So her headdress was definitely blue.
Yes! She opened her eyes and caught the cowboy staring at her with narrowed eyes. She ignored him and focused on Jordan, who had begun to run his fingers though his hair.
“Jordan,” she hissed.
He turned. But before she could speak an invisible hand closed over her throat rendering her silent. She struggled against this new force, trying to call out the answer to Jordan but her words were lost.
The cowboy shook his head. “I knew you’d be trouble. No interference. Them’s the rules.”
The water was up to the prisoners’ necks now and they were lifting up their chins in order to keep breathing for just a little bit longer. Come on Jordan, she urged in her head. Come on.
But he didn’t call out. He kept shaking his head and running his hand through his hair.
Finally the last few drops fell from the barrel. The water had swallowed up the tops of the headdresses and the prisoners had stopped struggling. The feathers of their headdresses looked like shiny fish under the water.
“Sorry, boy. You failed.”
Alyx’s chest hurt as she watched Jordan clamp his hand over his ears and his face screw up with pain. Alyx felt the pressure over her mouth release. The chains around her snapped open and sucked back into the ground like tentacles. She rushed to Jordan’s side.
“Make it stop,” she yelled at Argyll, but he merely shrugged as if to say, What can I do?
Mercifully, Jordan’s hands slipped from his ears and his face showed relief. Alyx slipped her hands and clasped them around Jordan neck forcing him to look at her.
“It’s okay, Jordan. We’ll get through this. Together,” she said. But from the look of fear that crossed his face she knew, he couldn’t hear what she had said. How do you comfort someone without speaking?
Without thinking she closed the distance between them and pressed her body to his in a close hug. He stilled against her. Then buried his face in her hair.
“Last risk. Last game,” Argyll said. Alyx pulled away from Jordan and they both turned to face him. Alyx slipped her hand in Jordan’s and he squeezed it.
Argyll looked at Jordan and pointed to the last box with a questioning glance as if to ask, Did you still want to risk it?
Sight. The last risk was sight. Jordan lifted his chin and reached out a hand to touch the last box.
A sense of panic filled Alyx. No. What if Jordan lost his hearing and his sight? He would be completely helpless. No. She couldn’t let him risk it.
Alyx knocked his hand away and touched the last box, calling, “I’m playing and I risk my sight.” The box began to disintegrate.
Alyx found herself being snatched from the ground by two strong hands clasping her arms. Jordan’s hand. He was livid, so much so that he was shaking her.
“Why the hell did you do that?” he yelled, his lack of hearing obviously making it hard for him to gage how loud he was being.
Alyx cringed at the violence of his voice. He saw her reaction and it seemed to bring him to his senses – at least the ones that were left. The anger fell out of him and his shoulders collapsed. He lowered her to the ground.
“Oh my God, Alyx.” His voice was softer now. He brushed hair out of her eyes and cupped the sides of her face gently as he leaned his forehead on hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, I just… dammit, why would you take that risk for me?”
She didn’t say anything. Whatever she said he wouldn’t hear it anyway. She just reached around to clasp his neck with her hands and closed her eyes.
“When you’ve quite finished.” A stern female voice from beside her snapped her back to the task at hand. The last game.
Alyx pulled away from Jordan and looked to the counter where the last game had been revealed. On a board lay eight sparkling sapphire gems, all identical. Behind it was an iron statuette of a slim elegant lady in a matching sapphire dress that draped in creases across the board like roots of a tree. Across her neck was a metal arm, the ends upon which two curved plates hung by a set of chains. This lady was a set of weighing scales.
The statuette tilted her head and gave Alyx a scathing look. “Oh no, don’t mind me. Some of us have nothing better to do then to just hang around all day.”
Alyx ignored her sarcasm. “What do I need to do?”
The statuette cleared her throat, took a deep breath and began to sing;
“Pick the odd one out,
And ye shall win the game.
There is one that is heavier,
Tho these gems may look the same.
Pick the
odd one out,
Using only my scales
You only get two weightings.
So pray that ye don’t fail.”
The lady ended her morose tune. Then set her cold eyes upon Alyx’s face. “Any questions?”
Only two weightings. Eight gems. But that was impossible. Perhaps if she had another two or three goes at the weighing scales…
“Is there a time limit for this game?” asked Alyx, realizing that she couldn’t see a timer.
“No time limit. But you only get two goes to weigh. And once you’ve started you can’t take the weighing back, so… think about this carefully.”
Alyx took a deep breath to try and relax herself. She had to remain calm if she were to figure this one out. She blocked out everything she could except for the board.
Eight gems. Two goes at the scales…
Think logically, Alyx. Okay, so she needed to separate them into groups. If she weighed four gems against four gems, than she would narrow the heaviest gem down to one of four… but then it would take two more weightings to determine the heaviest out of two versus two, then one versus one. And she only had two weightings… If only she had three weightings it would work… or only six gems…
Think, Alyx. There is a way.
Wait… the beginnings of an idea began to stir in her mind. What if she weighed three against three… and left two gems on the table? If the gems on the scales matched, then the heavier one would be one of the two on the table and a second weighing would determine the heavier of the two. If the heavier one was on the scale, than she could take that group of three gems and weigh two against the other. Yes!
She couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face. She glanced at Jordan. His face was creased with concern, but when he saw her expression, his face pulled into a smile.
Argyll spoke, “You look like you’re onto something.”
Alyx held her tongue. She would rather show this sneaky salesman than gloat before she had succeeded. She picked up three gems and placed them on one side of the scales. She picked up another three and placed them on the other. The scales swung up and down against the weight until it eased into its equilibrium. The scales on the right hand side of the scales were lower than the left side.