Alea Ludo

The fourth game of the competition concluded. The crowned victor was the old man, Salomon Sanders. Some of the other players in the lobby room couldn't stop talking about how surprised they were about his victory. The old man still had a lot left to teach us youngsters.

The moment Henrika and Salomon were led back into the lobby room by Caius; Darius, Elena, Iris, and Wyatt rushed over to them. They all kept their attention on Henrika. They wanted to make sure that her injuries weren't so severe. A few broken ribs were considered lukewarm compared to the injuries some of the other players obtained throughout the games. However, one couldn't be too careful.

"You suffered a nasty fall, Henrika. Let us go to the medical room. I will take care of you in there." Wyatt offered.

"Thank you, Wyatt." Henrika accepted the offer. "Salomon, can you help me get to the medical room?"

"Of course." Salomon nodded.

"Hey, Fatass," Melanie called from the couch. "How'd it feel, losing to an old man?"

"From Flower Girl to Fatass? Seriously, Melanie, your nicknames are improving as the days go by." Henrika sarcastically responded before she flashed the teenager her warm, soothing smile.

Albeit, the blood in my body, turned cold when I saw it. Women were frightening when angered. Hell had no fury like a woman scorned.

"Just trying it out. I meant no harm by it." Melanie blatantly lied before she made herself more comfortable on the furniture.

No other words exchanged between the two of them. Unlike some of the other players, Melanie attempted to intimidate; Henrika wouldn't fall for her tricks. She was far too m.a.t.u.r.e and intelligent for that.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Elena and Iris embraced Henrika in a group hug.

"My ribs! My ribs, remember?!" Henrika winced. The two girls immediately backed away and sincerely apologized.

"We thought you were going to die! We were so worried about you!" Elena revealed with watery eyes.

"I told you that Salomon wasn't a bad guy! He saved Henrika just in the nick of time!" Iris proudly boasted before she patted the old man on the back.

"I can't take all the credit. I just put my life in Fate's hands and hoped for the best." Salomon revealed.

"Whatever the case, we are glad that we went another day without anyone dying," Nicholas said.

"Don't go putting words in my mouth, Shades." Melanie stood from the couch then headed toward the door. "You're all only delaying the inevitable. Someone else is gonna die sooner or later."

With those words of wisdom, Melanie left the room. I didn't want to agree with her. At least not out loud. I kept those foreboding thoughts buried in the back of my mind. Another day passed without a death.

Sure, there were some close calls. But, that was beside the point.

"If everyone is done, I would like to get to the medical room and see to it that Henrika is not suffering from internal bleeding," Wyatt announced.

No one had any complaints and allowed the doctor to take his patient out of the room. One by one, the other players went their separate ways. I headed back to my room and slept there for the rest of the night. As usual, I awoke hours later to the annoying sound of my doorbell. With great reluctance, I opened the door then greeted the one responsible for waking me—Iris.

"Morning, Ambrose." Iris waved at me.

"Morning," I said.

"Today's breakfast will be French toast and eggs."

"Sounds delicious."

"It will be once you taste it. I've put a lot of work into making it."

"The others and I appreciate it. I'll be in the cafeteria in a moment." I moved to close the door, but Iris stuck her foot out and blocked it. "Something wrong, Iris?"

"You didn't come to visit Henrika in the medical room last night. Why?" Her usual cheerful and lighthearted tone had vanished. Even her gaze that brightened the darkest of rooms turned cold and dim as she stared at me.

"I was tired." I gave my answer.

Her eyebrows furrowed in response. "So was everyone else. But, most of us waited then visited her once Wyatt said we could."

"The diagnosis?"

"She has a few broken ribs. Other than that, she'll make a full recovery in a couple of weeks."

"Hopefully, we won't be here for that long."

"Anyway, make sure you find the time to visit Henrika. I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Iris leaned forward, then winked at me. Afterward, she skipped down the hallway.

I didn't know everything that went through that girl's mind. But, one thing was for sure, she concocted some half-baked scheme that I had no intention of being a part of. I closed the door to my room and got cleaned up for the day. Afterward, I left my room and headed for the cafeteria. But, of course, my path had to be blocked by yet again another roadblock.

It came in the form of Darius.

The teenager called out and approached me. He sn.a.k.e.d his arm around my shoulder then forced me down the hallway toward the medical room. He spouted nonsense about how our meeting was a coincidence and how we had to visit Henrika. I didn't need to be an ace detective to figure out that Darius and Iris were in on something.

I was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y led into the medical room, where Wyatt, Klara, and Henrika were gathered. An awkward tension hung in the air. It was no secret that Wyatt hated Klara and that Henrika didn't like Wyatt because of it. However, the three of them found themselves together. I understood why Wyatt was there. He was a doctor, and Henrika was injured. But, what shocked me most of all was that Klara was there. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she would be in that room.

She spent most of the time in the corner of rooms, staying silent and not interacting with anyone. Sure, she hadn't said anything. She left the room the moment we entered.

"That woman still worries me," Darius admitted once he made sure that Klara was gone.

"Ignore her." I moved over to Wyatt and Henrika.

"What are you two doing here?" Henrika inquired.

"We're here to make sure that you're okay, beautiful." Darius used an amorous tone as he took a seat next to her.

The kid was something else. Just the other day, he told me how he fell madly in love with Elena. But, when another woman caught his eyes, he had moved on. Teenage hormones were indeed an oddity.

Of course, he had no chance of getting with any of them. But, it was amusing to watch him try.

"Oh? Is that so?" Henrika looked at Darius with apparent disdain.

However, the kid either ignored or didn't seem to notice it. "Yeah, I even came across Ambrose along the way. We just wanted to stop by."

"What's the real story?" Henrika turned her gaze of skepticism towards me.

"Darius and Iris made some half-baked scheme to get me here," I answered.

"How'd you know?!" Darius exclaimed.

"Subtly isn't your strong suit," Henrika answered.

"Well, at least I didn't lie about wanting to make sure that you were okay."

"Thank you very much, Darius. I appreciate the sentiment." She sent Darius her trademark smile. However, that soon changed as the corners of her lips twitched. "Also, I was told that you made quite a scene during the game yesterday."

"A scene?" Darius averted his eyes from her. He nervously laughed and feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?"

"Elena and Iris said that you and Caius made a big deal about staring at my a.s.s." Henrika's eyes narrowed.

At that point, beads of sweat poured down his face. The pressure from Henrika's sharp gaze of judgment overwhelmed the poor kid.

"Well, you know, it was just out there. It'd be rude of me not to look." Darius stammered.

"Goodbye, Darius." Henrika gently waved. Her order came through to him, loud and clear. He stood up from his chair, then quickly ran out of the room.

"Henrika, you should not mess with him like that," Wyatt said.

"Kid deserves it," I stated.

"If not for the no physical violence rule, I would've hit him," Henrika grumbled. "Yesterday was so embarrassing."

"It's not a big deal." I said, "yeah, Caius teased you by saying that you had a fat a.s.s, so what? At least you're alive."

Silence hung in the air once more as Wyatt and Henrika stared at me as if something were on my face.

"Wow." They said in unison.

"What?" I asked.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that Ambrose is beginning to warm up to us." Henrika looked at Wyatt then smiled.

"Yes. That appears to be the case." Wyatt agreed.

"You think he'll want to start hanging out with us too?"

"I think that would be pushing it."

"That's a shame."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," I demanded.

"We're just messing with you, Ambrose. Lighten up a little." Henrika patted my shoulder.

"Anyway, if you're feeling alright, Iris said that she made French toast and eggs for today's breakfast." I brushed her hand off my shoulder then stood up.

"That sounds delicious. I'll be there in a moment."

Just when I turned to leave the room, I found Zoey by the door. Oddly enough, she had a grim expression on her face.

"Something wrong, Zoey?" Wyatt nervously questioned.

"I need everyone over by the women's restroom right now," Zoey ordered. "Something's happened."

She didn't say anything else after that. She gave us one last suspicious glance before she left the room — a knot formed in my stomach. No one had any idea what had happened. But, if it made someone as hardened as Zoey make such an expression—then it couldn't have been good.