Mind Games (FIRST DRAFT)
Ray

Florence left me there in the hall. I would’ve been nicer if she were to me. I huffed, then went on my way. I haven’t had a real place to rest since the other’s kicked me out the main room, so I’ve been sleeping near the always out fireplace. My arms were sore from constantly pushing myself around. There were no electrical wheelchairs in Mother’s abode, she didn’t allow it.

Hoisting myself off my wheelchair, I wobbled to my chair by the fireplace. My balance hadn’t improved a bit, even after losing my foot about a month ago. My sense of time hadn’t changed, as Mother’s magic doesn’t affect me anymore. Even since I became her slave, her spy, whatever you want to call me, I’ve been safe. That’s what matters right now.

When I was taken from Melissa, my sister, I had just come out as nonbinary. I dealt with a bunch of shit since then, and even throughout the trials I met Mike, the dude who refused to even look at me before in our shared Psychology class. He asked me out, and we started hanging out a lot more. The day we left we decided to talk about taking things a step further. But when Mother was added in, he grew cold. I don’t know what happened, but my stubborn ass decided to be cold right back. Mother separated us. I can’t forgive her for that, but it set my priorities straight. Melissa and her daughter, June, came first.

Melissa got pregnant with June at 18, which was right after my mother died. I guess it was too much for my other mother, and she abandoned us both. Melissa married the wrong guy, who treated her like shit. I was always the one who had to protect her from her husband. I hated his name and anyone else who shared it with him. Melissa says he’s a good guy, and she tries to fight against him going to jail over and over again, but we all know it’s so he won’t hurt June.

I needed to leave. I needed to escape and see them again. I felt my chest getting tight and my hands becoming cold and clammy. I squeezed them into a fist until you could see the white dents my nails made in them. I tried to control my breath, in for 6, out for 8. In for 6, out for 8. In for 6, out for 8. My heart beat slower, but it took many breaths for it to go back to normal. Sniffling, I slid to the floor and laid myself down by the charcoals.

...

“Up, up, get up!” I heard Mother yell. It was about 8 am, due to the smell of the air. Even if it always smelled a little like dead people.

I stretched, and willed myself to get up. Hopping on one leg, I jumped to my chair. I cracked my fingers, then began to wheel myself to the door. Yawning and crusty eyed, glasses askew on my small nose, I rolled to the kitchen.

“Where have you been?” Mother shouted, red faced.

“Sleeping,” I said, “We normally sleep til 9. What happened?”

“What happened,” Mother said sarcastically, “is that you’re late. Our big race is today, did you forget?”

I was shocked. I knew nothing about a race. Did Florence know? I looked at her, and she was pink cheeked, picking at her pink chipped nails. Mother must of allowed her to paint her nails. Hm.

“You never told me anything of the sort, Mother.” I said matter-of-factly. Mother stared at me, then huffed.

“Let’s go.” She said, clearly upset. She led me and a still embarrassed Florence out to the back, which held tall hedges, taller than Mother.

“Today,” she said, hands clasped, “we’ll be doing a hedge maze. This is our last game, sadly.” She frowned expressively. “Whoever wins in my eyes will get the grand prize of going home.”

I readied my hands on the steel outer ring on my chair. Florence got into a pose I’ve seen marathon runners do before a race an eternity ago.

“Ready,” Mother slowly stated, squatted on the ground.

“Set,” she lifted herself a bit more off the ground, hands higher.

“GO!” She shouted, hands pointed toward the sky. Florence ran and I rolled as fast as we could into the maze. I could hear Mother say “... one to the center wins!” I couldn’t hear what the first word was, but there could only be one answer. First one to the center wins, and I was going to win.

...

...

...

It seemed like forever, but I felt like I was going to win. Sweating, I turned left and rolled, turned right and rolled, went straight and rolled. The sky got darker and darker, yet I still rolled. It began to drizzle, but I needed to get to the middle first. I just had to. June needed somebody. I’d go to school everyday, I’d never complain about June’s constant talk about dinosaurs, I’d watch Pinkfong videos with her, just please. Let me win.

Soon, I saw a glisten of gold through the leaves. I went faster than I ever had on my wheelchair. Accidentally, though, I ran into a bush. Nevermind, I thought, I’ll just hop there. But that’s when I saw it. A huge gold trophy stool in a large square of hedge. I saw Florence in the far distance. I wasn’t about to let her win. Hopping faster and almost slipping on the wet ground, I reached my hand out, almost touching the trophy.

That’s when, before my eyes, the trophy morphed. It’s gold became flesh, handles arms. It was Mother, She grabbed my in a tight embrace, and it was breaking all my bones. All I felt was pain, and I couldn’t breathe. I’m dying, and I know it. I just wish I could see June one last time.

End of Chapter Twelve.

Word Count: 1026

Character Count: 2