“I don’t know why they call it a game,” Lily said. Worry and annoyance dripped from the words as she spoke. “It seems rather understated for something that is so absolutely horrific.” Reina looked up from her desk, frowning as she watched Lily pace back and forth. “Maybe he will take one of the elderly this time,” she offered up half heartedly. Lily rolled her eyes, “he hasn’t taken anyone over the age of twenty-six in the last one hundred and forty-seven years!” “Means we only need to last another 2 years and we are in the clear then,” Reina replied with a faint smirk. Lily smiled back, then they both went quiet again as the weight of the day returned to the air around them. It had hung heavily on the souls of everyone in Bright Haven for the last month leading up to this day. Just as it did around this time every year. Reina looked back down to her desk, her eyes skimming the half penned letter before her. “You should probably go,” she said to Lily with a soft sigh. “I still have two more of my letters to write.” Lily nodded solemnly and reached out wrapping her arms around Reinas shoulders from behind, squeezing her into a tight hug. Reina wasn’t all that big on physical affection but tolerated it all the same. It was important to let the people around you show their love for you, especially at this time of the year. If only for their sake, so they would know that nothing was left unsaid or not shown before you went to face the dark. Lily moved to the doorway and paused to look back, “good luck today, may time be on your side,” she said. The concern in her voice showing once more. “You too,” Reina replied softly, and then Lily was gone. Once Reina was done writing, she closed up the letters and then added them to the pile of neatly laid envelopes which sat at the end of her bed. It was a requirement that everyone write their last words to loved ones before Game Day just incase they never came back. Game Day... Lily was right, it really did seem far too kind a term to attach to this particular event. Though perhaps it was a game, to him at least. Mr Wolf had never chosen anyone over the age of twenty-six, however he still required everyone over the age of ten to attend. Sometimes Reina wondered whether he was just toying with everyone. Just reminding them of their place in the line of power, which would be forever beneath him. DING! DING! DING! The sound of the bell pierced through the quiet that had wrapped itself around the town. Bringing with it all of the all too familiar feeling of dread. It was time to head to the Glade. ————- Most of the town was there already. Several thousand sat around the stone amphitheatre. To the north of the central clearing, against the side of a tall cliff there was a large open entryway with steps descending down into the dark. Reina had made her way down those stairs every year since the age of ten. And it had never gotten any easier. Once everyone had been accounted for the speaker finally stood, his voice boomed against the stone as he spoke. “One hundred and forty-seven years ago Mr Wolf came to us. We were one of the last remaining pockets of humanity in the world, and he came to us offering a gift. He would keep us safe from the hollows beyond our borders. He only asked for one thing in return. That we also offer him a gift on the first day of each winter. A soul of his choosing. Today we honor that deal for the greater good of the human race. The chosen will live on through him and his protection of us all. May time be on your side.” Hours passed and people came and went from the dark. Reina had to remind herself to breathe as she watched Lily go in and re-emerge a few minutes later. Lily looked around catching Reina’s gaze and gave a subtle nod of encouragement. “REINA WATTS.” The words struck Reina hard in the pit of her stomach, but she forced herself to stand and made her way to the entrance. She took a deep breath and began her descent, fear rising with every step that she took down towards the darkness. Eventually there were no more steps. She looked to the small torch that stood in the open ahead of her. She was always in awe of how big it was down here, she could not see any walls or even the ceiling. Everything beyond the small amount of light that the torch provided was just darkness. She had never seen Mr. Wolf before, no one ever had beyond perhaps seeing streak or flash of black beyond the borders every once in a while, then hearing the shrieks of the hollows that soon followed. He usually remained in the dark on game day. Reina approached the torch and coughed lightly to clear her throat. She could almost hear her the thumping as the blood rushed through her head. “What’s the time, Mr Wolf?” Reina asked with a voice that was betrayed by her shakiness. A low growl rumbled through the chamber making Reina step back. She felt the air of something moving around her and within a moment there he was. He towered above her, dwarfing her. Each paw bigger than the entirety of her body. His hot breath washed over her. His fur was blacker than black, and seemed to trail out and fade away in almost mist-like tendrils. His teeth gleamed in the torchlight and some kind of black substance dripped from his mouth as his intense eyes fixed upon Reina. “Dinner time” she heard him say.