Chapter twelve:
"Good morning tributes," says an emotionless, feminine, computerized voice over the intercom. "Welcome to second day of the seventy-fifth annual Force Games. The first day was very eventful, involving the deaths of no less than thirty-seven tributes. There are only thirteen of you left. This is where endurance and luck really kick in. May the odds of course be ever in your favor. The fallen consist of…"
I open my eyes to see, just for an instant, exactly what I saw when I closed them. My hands, palms down, splayed before me, inches from the floor. In fact my entire body doesn't touch the metal. It's as if I'm suspended in midair by invisible strings.
Those strings are now severed. I slam down onto the metal. But it doesn't burn me. The heat has gone out of the hallway. I can see no force fields ahead or behind.
That was strange, exceedingly strange. I tap at the pendant at my throat, pull it out of the front of my clothes to wear it on display. I remember it flying forward, ripping through Fen, blasted out of my hands. Made about as much sense as what had just happened. Not that I'm complaining.
Thirteen left! That was quick. I'd made it to the final stretch. Or semi-final at least. I could win! Sure, the Empire might gun me down as soon as the last tribute lay dead at my feet, but I was going to keep fighting, keep surviving, as long as I could.
I set off at a brisk pace. It wouldn't do to be caught in that furnace again. Or in a cloud of black mist. I listen for Fenric's name among the list of the fallen, but I don't hear it. I didn't pay attention to the first part, so I assume they listed him there.
My skin is red and raw; it peels off the bottom of my feet like refresher tissue. Every step stings. I delve into the medicine in my pack and apply bacta. It helps. I steadily drink through half a water bottle. That helps alleviate my headache.
The forks and dead ends of the maze are seemingly random, however the halls tend to curve to the side, inspiring me to imagine the entire building as a wheel shape, with the artificial lake at the center. Me, I'm just looking to see the sun.
Maybe everyone else had made it out, and I alone am trapped in the maze. I wonder how large the arena is. The larger it is, the more room for tributes to spread out and the more the Gamesmasters will fill the urge to force us together, using little tricks like, say, force fields.
I guess it works. I don't see any more force fields, but I do start to hear voices. I creep toward the sound, my sword out. There's a junction in the hall ahead, and I hesitate before turning the corner. Am I really ready for a fight?
Thirteen tributes left, including myself. Might as well do my best.
I sneak a peek around the corner, and almost sigh in relief. Vaynich is ahead, leaning against the wall, deep in conversation with Preteet and the old woman from Naboo. I can kill all three of them easily, even on a bad day.
Three in one go, nine more to die. Maybe this was a good day.
Surprise and speed, I decide. That will be my tactic. It should work. The trio is without weaponry and I had my sword.
I wait for Vaynich to speak. He's focused on his conversation; the other two tributes have their back to me. A good enough opportunity on all accounts; I go for it.
I turn the corner and sprint down the hall towards them. I see Vaynich's eyes widen in surprise as he sees and recognizes me-
I sense something behind me, I feel the danger, and I put my trust in my instincts as I hunch. The axe blade whistles over my head as I dance aside.
I whip my sword around and a strong hand grabs my by the wrist, forcing it away. Nails dig into my skin like claws, drawing blood. Zanna brings the shaft of her axe, a hatchet really, down onto my wrist, my sword goes clattering away. I can't help it.
I punch, but Zanna dodges and smashes her palm into my face, straight on. I see splotches of black. She rams me against the wall, pressing my arms down between ups, forcing the blade of her axe up under my neck. I cease struggling, it would only lead to her cutting my throat.
"No," Vaynich bellows, "Stop." He bustles toward us, the two aged tributes in his wake.
"Why should I?" Zanna hisses, flicking her tongue across her sharp teeth. She has a point, it beats the hell out of me too.
"Because…" Vaynich takes a long look at me, a long look at Zanna and back at me. "She's not totally useless."
"Sure you didn't get a little fond of her, training the girl?" Preteet begins to chuckle which turns into a racking cough that has him double over against the wall/
"Fond?" Vaynich rolls his eyes, "Have you met this girl?"
"Yeah" I whisper at Zanna, "He just loves me for my sweet disposition." In spite of herself, Zanna smirks a little. She backs off and lets me slide to a sitting position on the floor, although she's still got her hatchet at the ready.
"So what do you want my help with?" I say, massaging my scraped neck. "I mean, we're all getting killed off anyway, right?"
"Not necessarily," says the Naboo tribute, and Vaynich glares her into silence.
"How can we trust her," Zanna asks.
"She wants to live," says Vaynich He kneels beside me. I note his suit isn't nearly as formfitting as mine, although it still accentuates his gut and complements his general prevalent body hair (I figure the prep team decided it would have been even less aesthetically pleasing to remove it).
Vaynich whispers in my ear. "We're escaping."
"I'd love to," I say, "But how?"
"We've got friends," says Vaynich, "Like-minded people."
"In high places," says Zanna.
Vaynich shakes a finger at her, "They're always listening," he snaps.
"What, you think they can't read lips," she says flippantly.
"We don't know how exactly," Vaynich answers me, "But our friend left us a clue. We've been looking for it."
"Maybe its outside," I say.
"Outside?" The Naboo woman asks.
"You know," I say, outside of this maze, the complex? The rest of the arena."
"What're you talking about?" asks Zanna.
"Not to worry," says Preteet, "Not everyone is as intellectually gifted as I." To me he says, "The thing is this, sweetness. This isn't just an arena, it's a space station."