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Chapter 2

{{ Xander's POV đŸș }}

Xander could barely stand. Running for miles without stopping had that effect on people. He could barely make out the sound of footsteps over his heavy breathing. Catching one final breath, he began to run again. He had previously considered himself athletic, at least compared to most guys his age and he was good at running, but not nearly this hard for this long.

He took a sharp left and turned down an alley and started to slow slightly. He turned his head to get a look at the stretch of alley behind him. He couldn't hear footsteps anymore, although it was hard to tell when he was breathing so loudly.

He strained to see if he could hear any signs of danger, trying with all his remaining strength to quiet his breathing.

All of a sudden a crash echoed from the street ahead of him. Xander started to turn back, away from the entrance to the street when something hit him hard on his temple and he fell into darkness.

{{ Rayne's POV 😋 }}

"Renesmee! Renesmee!"

Where could she be? Why was she always so far away when she needed her?

Rayne Binet, the Governor of Amaria, sat behind a large wooden desk in a straight-backed chair. She was usually quite cool-headed, but today her patience was running short.

"I'm so sorry ma'am. What do you need?" Renesmee Aguirre opened the thick oak door that led into the Governor's office and stepped inside.

Renesmee was a beautiful girl in her mid-twenties. She was short and petite, with perfect amber skin and black ringlets that cascaded over her shoulders. Her jade green eyes and freckle-covered nose were always basked with a soft, shy smile.

"Ah, there you are. I would like you to retrieve all recent feeds from the personal cams and put them on the main screen. I want to see how our contestants are fairing."

"Yes ma'am. We have retrieved several new contestants, would you like to see their files?"

"Yes, that would be perfect, thank you."

As Renesmee was leaving a man walked past her and into the spacious office. "Good afternoon Ms. Binet. I wanted to ask which contestants you would like to use as replacements. We just abstained seven new replacements and there are several openings to fill."

"Good afternoon to you as well, Thomas," Rayne nodded to the tall thin man that now stood in front of her desk.

"Renesmee just went to get me the feeds for the personal cams and the new contestants’ files. If you could wait just a moment then we can decide together." Thomas nodded in consent, quiet starting to creep through the room.

Thomas Ralfen was one of the nicest people that Rayne knew. He had the bright, bubbly sort of personality that lit up any room that he entered. He was very tall, with neat brown hair and bright blue eyes. His skin was tan and flawless, blending nicely with his dark hair. He always wore a crisp white collared shirt with blue suit pants and shiny black dress shoes.

They continued to wait in silence until someone knocked on the door. Renesmee opened the door, slipped inside, and shut it behind her. In her arms, she carried a glass sheet with holographic images flashing across its surface. She turned to face the wall opposite the large desk and swiped, flinging several images onto the large replica of the glass that she was holding.

The glass showed seven profiles, accompanied by pictures of children, ranging from ages twelve to seventeen. The first image was of a girl with brilliant blue eyes and long, golden hair with red-pink tips.

The second was another girl, smaller than the first but just as pale. She had flowing brown hair and deep brown eyes.

The next was another girl much paler than the first two. She had dark, amber eyes and long wavy black hair with a blue stripe running down one side of her bang that swept across half of her face.

The fourth girl looked much younger than the others and was sneering in her profile. She too had pale skin and brown hair, but her eyes were a rough brown.

The fifth girl had short dirty blond hair and kind green eyes, with skin much tanner than the previous four.

The sixth person was, once again, a girl. She was skinny but attractive. Her light blond hair was up in two messy space buns and her green eyes sparkled.

The last picture was of a boy who had light brown eyes, which matched the color of his hair. A small scar was visible just above his eyelashes and his skin was a handsome bronze.

"Only one boy," Rayne sighed to no one in particular.

There was a shortage of boys in the arena. For one reason or another, the pool of boys on the streets had dwindled so that the female contestants far outweighed the males.

None, except for the one younger girl, looked like they had the makings of a killer. Rayne knew life on the streets of Gravara was hard, which usually resulted in tougher contestants. But, nevertheless, she never thought of the children they acquired as murderers. The Infinity Games forced them to kill, but that didn't make them murderers. But no matter how she felt, she knew there was no other option. They must continue the Infinity Games and if there were no contestants then that would be impossible.

The government had to retain order and it was Rayne's job as governor to keep that order. The world that they knew would not have been possible if it weren't for Palitia and its previous rulers.

"Ma'am? Are you ready to pick the next contestants?" Rayne was snapped out of her thoughts by Thomas’s inquiry.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Renesmee, please read me the name and age of each contestant."

"Of course. The first girl is Coryn Anderson, age seventeen. Next is Sophie Winters, age seventeen. The next is Alexis Moon, age seventeen. The next-," Renesmee was cut off by Rayne.

"You don't have to say 'the next', Renesmee. Just name them left to right."

"Yes Ma'am. I apologize," Renesmee responded, then continued, a little slower than before. "Sonya Ebony, age twelve. Willow Beech, age sixteen. Kiara Walters, age sixteen. And lastly, Xander RĂ€cher, age seventeen."

Rayne was quiet for a moment before saying, "Mr. Ralfen, exactly how many spots are open?"

"I don't know the exact number off the top of my head, but I believe it's seven."

"Perfect," Rayne smiled to herself. "Let's put them all in tomorrow. Now with that done, Renesmee please show me the personal cam feeds." Renesmee nodded, tapped a few times on the tablet, and then the large screen changed.

"Thank you, Renesmee. Mr. Ralfen, I won't hold you any longer."

"Actually, if you don't mind, I would like to see the feeds. I haven't been paying them much attention lately."

"Oh, then by all means, please stay," Rayne smiled and returned her attention to the large piece of glass attached to the wall.

She sat behind her desk scanning the moving frames of the contestants. Not much was happening, except for two contestants, a boy, and a girl, who were fighting.

After studying the different scenes for a few minutes, Rayne turned to Thomas, "Mr. Ralfen, please prepare our new contestants. I want them ready by tomorrow."

"Absolutely Ma'am, I'll go right now to set the arrangements in order," Thomas answered. "If you'll excuse me."

Rayne smiled at Thomas’s eagerness to please. Whenever she asked him to do something, no matter what it was, he always went right to it.

"Ma'am, I have to go make sure dinner is ready. If you'll excuse me." Rayne nodded at Renesmee and she too left the office, closing the door behind her.

Rayne closed her eyes, attempting to quiet the buzzing in her head. She opened them again and turned her chair around to face the large stretch of the window that sat behind her desk. The window gave a magnificent view of the outstretched city below.

The bell outside of the office rang. Time for dinner.

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