Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men or The Hunger Games.
Note: Happy Halloween! And Happy NaNoWriMo to anyone participating!
The map on the website has been expanded since there are a couple contestants who have moved past the edge of what was originally up there. More details will be added as needed.
Together
Diana Pierri
March 21st, 04:17 MST
It was getting easier to bring them together.
Diana held Linda's hand as she reached out across the dreamworld, looking for Anita. Over the last few months, she'd gotten rather good at this. She had thought that would be enough, really – that as long as the two of them could communicate, they would be able to come up with a plan, a way to stop the Games. If not this year's Games, then at least a way to expose what was going on and stop future Games.
And it had worked, but only to a point. More people knew about the Games now, yes, but that didn't matter unless they cared. Oh, some people cared. Some people would always care. But not enough. Not yet.
"We still have time," Linda said gently, as if she'd been able to tell what Diana was thinking.
"It's been almost a whole day," Diana pointed out. "By this time last year, I was…" She trailed off. The end of that sentence still sounded strange, but she finished it anyway. "I was dead."
If the words made Linda uncomfortable, it didn't show. It was true, after all. She'd been the third contestant to die last year, barely a few hours into the Games. The fact that she was still alive, after a fashion, was nothing more than a fluke. A glitch, maybe, in her power. She'd been asleep, in the dreamworld, when she had died, so a part of her had stayed here. How much of her, she had never been certain, but she still felt like her. Well, except for all the feeling that came with having a real body, of being hungry or thirsty or tired, of being able to interact with the real world. She could still communicate, but only with people who were asleep, and it was always easier to find people that she already knew.
Maybe that was why it was getting easier to find Linda and Anita. Piper was the easiest, but she was probably busy, even at this time of night. She hadn't been getting as much sleep recently, Diana had noticed. Of course, she was an important part of the plan, but people still needed a little shut-eye every now and then, didn't they?
"Things are moving a bit slower this year," Linda offered, as if that made it better. "Only four dead so far. That's something."
Diana nodded. Something, but not much. It meant they had more time to change people's minds, but the truth was, if people hadn't been shocked into action initially, it would be harder and harder to convince them to act as the Games went on. It was amazing, really, how quickly people got used to things, accepted them as normal. The longer they waited, the more likely it was that people would simply stop caring. They would get tired. They would get bored. And they would get annoyed with the few people who wouldn't just shut up and get over it.
But she didn't say that, because Linda still believed that this would work. She needed to believe it. She had spent her whole life trying to believe the best in people, providing a place where they could live together in peace. And it had taken a while, but she had finally managed to talk Anita around, convince her to help. It was a stroke of luck, really, that her daughter had just so happened to end up being recruited by the MAAB.
And it was luck, she was pretty sure. If the MAAB had known that Anita had a connection to the mutants who had found Piper, there was no way they would have let her stay. Was there? Unless they were really that certain that their plan was foolproof, that there was nothing that could be done to stop the Games.
Diana shook the thought from her head and pointed to a figure in the distance. "There." Anita was finally asleep, which meant they would get some answers about how the MAAB was going to respond to what they were doing.
But from Anita's expression, she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer.
Evelyn Hong, 17
She didn't like just sitting there.
Evelyn stood up, stretched a little, and then compressed herself again. The smaller she was, the easier it was to stay warm. That made the cold more manageable, but it did nothing for the boredom. She was supposed to be keeping watch, but if all went well, there would be nothing to watch. There was nothing to see – nothing but a darkness that was growing as the moon dipped lower in the sky. In the dim light, Evelyn glanced at her watch again. Almost four-thirty, only a few minutes later than the last time she'd checked. Still half an hour before she could wake Kylena and finally get some more sleep.
'More.' Right. As if she'd really gotten much sleep while Jaime was keeping watch. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Jaime, but she just hadn't been able to stay asleep for long. Her whole body was tense, as if waiting for something to happen. But nothing had happened. And nothing was happening now. That just made the waiting even worse.
Then she saw it. Or at least, she was pretty sure she saw it. A flicker of motion in the distance. A shape. No, three shapes, she realized, headed more or less in their direction. Well, not exactly. If they kept going the direction they were headed, they would pass right on by. As long as the three of them stayed still, the other group probably wouldn't even notice them.
Probably.
Unless they weren't navigating by sight. If they were still on the move this late at night, then maybe they could see in the dark. Or maybe they were navigating by hearing or smell or … well, anything, really. Aside from the contestants who had participated in the talent show, they didn't really have any idea of what the others could do. Night vision certainly wasn't out of the question.
Evelyn gave the other two a gentle shake, careful not to make any sudden movements. She pointed silently at the group in the distance, then whispered to Kylena. "Can you send a few bubbles their way, but not from this direction? Just sort of drop them out of the sky on top of them?"
Kylena's confused expression was readable even in the dim light. "Why?"
Because I'm bored. But that wasn't a good answer – not good enough for the others, certainly. "To see what they do," she suggested. "If they turn around and run, they're probably not a threat, and maybe we can even go after them. If they try to fight, at least we'll have some idea of what they can do, and we know to avoid them if they're too dangerous. You can float me a little closer – close enough to see without getting in the way." Kylena looked uncertain, so Evelyn shook her head. "Look, if you don't want to, that's fine, but if we're going to, we should do it before they get too close."
That did the trick. Kylena nodded. "All right. I'll float you closer first, then drop a few bubbles. But if things go wrong, I'm bringing you right back."
Evelyn was already starting to compress before Kylena had finished her sentence. Soon, a bubble surrounded her, and she was floating towards the other group, close to the ground so as not to be too obvious. She could see a few smaller bubbles overhead, making their way towards the group, higher in the air. But they were wavering a little. Maybe she shouldn't have asked Kylena to send her, too. Maybe that was too many bubbles to control. Maybe—
The bubbles dropped before they reached the other group, but not too far away. Something shot through the air, and it took a moment for Evelyn to realize it was a bolt of lightning. No, not just a bolt of lightning, she realized as the bubble burst and she tumbled to the ground, grateful she hadn't been floating all that high. It was a whole stream of bolts, zapping out in every direction.
They weren't close enough to hit her; the bubble had probably burst because Kylena had been distracted. But the lightning was close enough to light up the immediate area. Close enough for the other group to see her.
Immediately, they took off running.
Savannah Kingston, 19
She started running immediately.
Savannah gripped Lilith's hand as they ran, which was the only reason the lightning bolts had stopped. Well, mostly stopped. As they ran back the way they had come, little bolts of lightning flickered around her, shooting out a few feet. It was all she could do to keep them from hitting Coburn or Lilith; even with Lilith's help, stopping them entirely was out of the question. She had been too startled, and she had already been on edge. She was exhausted from hours of walking, and had actually been about to suggest that maybe it was time they stopped for the night. Or morning. Or whatever it was now.
But now … now they couldn't stop. Someone knew where they were. Someone who hadn't been afraid to make a move against three contestants working together. That meant they were either confident or desperate, and it was a bit early for them to be that desperate, wasn't it? It wasn't as if they would have been able to tell, at that distance, that the three of them had some supplies. Which meant they were just attacking … why? Because they could? Because they were bored? Because they wanted the Games to be over with as quickly as possible?
Savannah gasped for breath as they ran. Finally, she risked a glance behind them. "It doesn't look like they're following us," she realized. The little flashes of lightning were still illuminating the area every so often, providing a clearer picture now that the moon had almost disappeared, leaving only the stars to provide some light.
Lilith slowed a little, then a little more, and finally came to a stop, holding Savannah's hand tightly, helping bring the lightning bolts under control. Beside them, she could see little flames flickering on the tips of Coburn's fingers, but he clenched his fists tightly, glancing around. "I think you're right," he agreed. "But we probably shouldn't go back that way."
Savannah nodded. In their panic, they'd run back the way they had come, which just felt so counterproductive now that she actually had a chance to stop and think about it. They'd spent most of the night trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the other contestants. But somehow they'd managed to run straight into another group. "Maybe that way, then?" she suggested, gesturing off to their right. East. They had been heading south, and she was fairly certain the circle they'd started from was a bit to their west, so maybe east was the best option.
"Okay," Lilith agreed, but her voice was tired. Savannah relaxed her grip on Lilith's hand, and when there were no bursts of lightning, let go completely. Savannah took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. No one was coming after them. Yes, some of the contestants probably knew where they were now, but as soon as they started moving again, no one would know which way they had gone. They just had to keep moving.
But they couldn't keep going forever.
Rick Clifton, 19
He couldn't put off waking Vi forever.
Rick rubbed his eyes as the last of the lightning disappeared. It had absolutely ruined his night vision, but that wasn't the important thing. His eyes would readjust soon enough. The important thing was which direction the lightning had come from – and it wasn't the way they'd been headed. For at least an hour or two before they'd gone to sleep, they'd been heading in the direction they'd thought would lead them to the group with the lightning. But either there were two people who could control lightning, or they'd been wrong.
Or more accurately, they had been right, but the other group had decided to start moving in a different direction. That made sense, of course. They'd probably realized that they'd given their position away and decided to change course. Rick stood up and stretched a little. He knew he should probably wake Vi and tell him what he'd seen, but…
But there was a part of him that didn't want to. A part that wanted to just keep heading in the wrong direction, away from the lightning and away from everyone else. He didn't want to find another group, because that would mean he would have to fight, and he would have to kill. And while he'd already proven that he could, the truth was, he didn't want to do it again. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing the face of the little boy he'd killed, without hearing him pleading for his life, begging for Rick to just let him go. He could have just let him go. He should have just let him go.
But he hadn't.
Rick took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. The last thing they needed was another storm, especially if they were going to try to follow the other group. That was what Vi would want to do, certainly. He had been the one to suggest going after them in the first place. He wouldn't want to give up now. Vi couldn't just give up – not if he wanted the MAAB to keep his collar turned on.
But if he didn't know…
If he didn't know, they couldn't blame him. If Rick was the one to keep the information a secret, they wouldn't take it out on Vi for not going after them. Would they?
Rick's stomach churned. He couldn't be certain of that. Sure, it wouldn't be fair of them to take it out on Vi, but if they were interested in being fair, none of them would be here in the first place. The thirty of them wouldn't be trying to kill each other. They'd never done anything to deserve this. Or at least, he knew he hadn't. Probably most of the others hadn't, either. But they were all here anyway, because the MAAB didn't care about being fair.
Damn. That meant he had to tell Vi. Because the MAAB would obviously be able to tell that he had seen the lightning. He couldn't exactly pretend he'd been asleep now. Even when Vi had been keeping watch, he hadn't been able to sleep much. He kept hearing screams. Sometimes they belonged to the boy he had killed, but sometimes they were Vi's, and sometimes they were his.
He wasn't sure which ones were worse.
As gently as he could, Rick gave Vi a shake. Nothing. He shook a little harder, and Vi finally stirred. How had he been able to sleep? Then again, after all the crap he'd been through, he'd probably learned to sleep no matter what the circumstances. "What happened?" Vi asked groggily. "Did you see someone?"
Rick rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Not someone, exactly, but something." Vi said nothing, patiently waiting for the rest to come out. He knew it was going to. Maybe he even had a good idea already of what it was. But instead of guessing, he let Rick get the words out.
"We're going the wrong way."
Vi Voclain, 18
"We're going the wrong way."
Vi nodded a little as Rick explained what he had seen – lightning off to the south, definitely not the direction they'd been headed. But it had seemed different, somehow, than last time, Rick explained. "Last time, it was all shooting up – more or less. This was going off to the sides, branching out as if—"
"As if they were trying to hit something," Vi finished, "rather than just letting off some steam."
"Yeah."
"So they were fighting someone."
"Probably."
"So you think we should head south?"
"No."
Vi tensed. He wasn't exactly surprised that Rick didn't want to go after the other group, but he hadn't expected him to come out and say it – not this soon, at least. But maybe it made sense. If the other group was fighting, that meant they were willing to fight. Willing to kill. And even if they didn't necessarily mean to kill, it was probably hard to tell exactly how much of a jolt would kill a person and what would be enough to stop them from attacking.
Vi nodded. "I get it. If you don't want to follow them, that is. I mean, just because I'm not a walking bad luck charm anymore doesn't mean I'm good luck. If we're outmatched, we're outmatched, and lightning … well, maybe we could pick an easier target."
But Rick was shaking his head. "That's not … not what I meant."
"What?"
"If we want to catch up with them, then we shouldn't head south. The same thing will just happen again. They'll change direction, and we'll have no idea which way they're really going until we see some more lightning. They're not stupid; they have to know that shooting a bunch of lightning into the night is going to give away their position. So they'll start heading a different direction. If we want to catch up to them rather than staying a few steps behind, we have to figure out where they're going to be, not where they are right now."
Vi nodded. Smart. Judah had said something during training about anticipating their opponent's next move. He'd meant it in the context of a fistfight, blocking where the opponent was going to strike or making a move for where an opening would be. Rick was simply applying the concept to a larger scale. "All right," Vi agreed. "So where are they going to be?"
Rick shrugged. "Search me. But I doubt they'll keep heading south. And they probably won't want to just come back the way they came in the first place. So either east or west. Either back towards the circle, more or less, or away from it. What do you think?"
"Probably depends on what they got as far as supplies the first time," Vi reasoned. "It's only been a day. If they grabbed a bag or two, they probably aren't running low yet. And we passed quite a few little lakes earlier, so even if they run out of food, there's plenty of water. So probably away from the circle."
Rick nodded. "East it is, then. So if we want to catch them, we should head southeast." His voice was shaking a little. Maybe he was even hoping that they were wrong. But he'd figured out what Vi had known all along – that they had to at least seem like they were trying to make progress. The trouble was, of course, that in order to seem like they were making progress, at least occasionally, they had to actually make some.
He just hoped it wouldn't get them killed.
Fae Tomasini, 13
She could have gotten them all killed.
Fae wiped the tears from her eyes as she stumbled forward blindly in the dark, putting one foot in front of the other but not really caring which way she went. Away. She just wanted to get away. That would be safer for everyone. It had been a stupid thing to do – starting to sing in the middle of the night, when they had no way of knowing who could be nearby. But singing had always made her feel better.
And it made everyone else feel better, too. Everyone who could hear it, anyway. That thought sent another wave of guilt churning in her stomach. Iola hadn't been able to hear her singing, and she was the one who really needed to feel better. And not only had the singing not done her any good; it had almost gotten both Iola and Kiara killed.
Almost. Not quite. They'd been lucky this time. Lucky that only one person had found them rather than a group. Lucky that whoever he was, he hadn't been able to use his power from a distance. He'd snuck close enough for Kiara to get ahold of him, and she had done … something. Brought back some sort of injury, probably. And then Iola had finished him off with the knife.
She should have been the one to do that, Fae knew. That was why they'd given her the knife in the first place, when they'd let her keep watch. She was supposed to be able to defend herself, to defend all of them, and she had done nothing. She had just stood there, terrified, frozen. And then she had run.
Suddenly, Fae's foot caught on something – probably a rock. Fae bit back a scream as she tumbled to the ground, her ankle twisting. She couldn't afford for anyone to find her like this – no weapons, no supplies, no friends. But maybe … well, maybe that was what she deserved for ruining her allies' chances of survival. Iola…
Except Iola had killed the boy who was attacking them.
Even deaf and disoriented, Iola had been more useful than she had.
Fae sat on the ground, her knees tucked to her chest, trying to ignore the pain in her ankle. Iola had fought to defend Kiara. Kiara had fought to defend herself. Fae had run. Whatever happened to her now, she deserved it. She deserved—
"Fae?" The voice caught her by surprise. She looked up to see a shape in the dark – a shape with Kiara's voice. "I thought I'd never catch up to you. Twisted your ankle, huh?"
Fae nodded. She didn't trust her voice not to break if she tried to say something. Kiara knelt down beside her and made a move to touch her ankle, but Fae drew back. Kiara shook her head. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to fix it."
Fae brushed away more tears. Kiara had wanted to help Iola, too. She'd done nothing but try to help the rest of them, and what had it gotten her? It had almost gotten her killed, that was what.
Almost. Fae took a deep breath. Kiara was still alive. But if she was here—
"Where's Iola?" she asked softly.
"Back at the camp," Kiara answered. "Where you should be. We wouldn't have been able to catch up to you if she came, too."
"You left her?"
"To come after you. To bring you back. The boy who attacked us … I think he did something to you. He wanted you to run away."
Fae shook her head. "I wanted to run away."
"I'm sure you think that. But there's no reason to go. We're both fine – me and Iola."
"I shouldn't have been singing."
"Yeah."
Fae blinked. She hadn't expected Kiara to agree. She'd expected her to say that it wasn't her fault, that she hadn't meant to attract attention. Kiara sighed, as if she could tell what Fae was thinking. "Look, we got lucky this time. No one was hurt. Not seriously, at least. But we're going to have to be more careful if we're going to get through this."
We. She said it so easily. Fae looked up through tears, through darkness, and tried to smile.
"You really want me to come back?"
Kiara Moore, 15
"You really want me to come back?"
Kiara nodded. "Of course." The response was immediate. Automatic. Exactly what Fae needed to hear. But the truth was … well, it was more complicated than that. She liked Fae. She really did. But the girl was right that she had been the one to attract attention. If she hadn't been singing, they wouldn't have been found – not as quickly, certainly. They'd gotten lucky this time. They'd dodged a bullet. They couldn't count on that happening again.
The worst part was, of course, that she hadn't meant to draw attention. She just hadn't been thinking. And she probably would be more careful now. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.
But she might make a different one.
Kiara laid a hand gently on Fae's ankle, and this time, the younger girl didn't squirm away. Twisted ankles were easy; this would only take a moment or two. Fae's eyes were shining with tears. "I'll do better this time."
"Good," Kiara answered, probably a little too bluntly. But she was tired, and sore, and she'd been chasing Fae ever since she'd left them, and her arm still stung where the wolf had bitten her, and she'd almost been killed by Fae's careless mistake. But she didn't dare say any of that, because she did want Fae to come back. She and Iola would need Fae if it came down to a fight.
Except they hadn't earlier. Fae hadn't fought; she had run. And Iola had killed their attacker, but she'd been able to get the upper hand because the boy had been distracted by Kiara. If they came up against more than one person at a time…
Kiara stood up. Not for the first time, she wondered if maybe Henry had had the right idea going off on their own. Sure, one person could still make mistakes, but at least they would be their mistakes. If Henry got killed now, it would be their own fault, and no one else's. Maybe that was the right way to play this.
But she couldn't leave now, not when they still needed her help. For better or worse, she'd agreed to help them, to work with them. Besides, if two people could survive, it made sense to work with someone. Kiara shook her head, knowing how weak that argument really sounded. The truth – the plain, simple truth – was that if she left, and something happened, she would feel guilty knowing that she could have helped. That was it. That was all.
But it was enough. It was what had convinced her to keep helping people, time after time, healing them even though they never offered her anything in return, curing the very same people who thought of mutants as freaks and monsters, hoping that maybe this would be the time her actions convinced them that they were wrong. She couldn't just not help. It was what she did. As much as she hated it, maybe that was just who she was.
She would just have to hope it wouldn't get her killed.
Jaime Sanchez, 20
At least Evelyn hadn't gotten them killed.
Jaime was silent as the three of them finished one of the packages of graham crackers. The sun was beginning to peek over the mountains in the distance, and they were still here. They'd made it through the first day – and the first night. And thanks to Evelyn, at least they had some idea of where one group of contestants were, and which group they were. That was something, at least. If they could keep track of where the other group was, then they could decide whether to keep their distance or…
Or attack. That was the other option, wasn't it? Jaime tucked the wrapper from the graham crackers back into the pack they were carrying. The thought of attacking one of the other groups – of killing some of the other contestants – made their stomach churn, but it was what they were going to have to do eventually. And after what had happened at the start of the Games, Evelyn seemed to want to fight. She had been the one to suggest following the other group.
But no one had argued, either. Jaime certainly hadn't, and Kylena seemed content to follow Evelyn's lead. Evelyn, for her part, had been quick to point out that the other group had run at the first sign of trouble, even though that 'trouble' had consisted of only bubbles. If they could catch the others at the right moment, she reasoned, it wouldn't be much of a fight. They just had to make sure they caught the other group off-guard.
All in all, that seemed like a good plan, but … well, it had only been dumb luck that the other group had turned and run. If they'd decided they wanted a fight, and had figured out which direction the bubbles had come from, things could have turned out very differently. One of them could shoot lightning, and they had no idea what the others could do. Evelyn was pretty sure she had seen three of them; there was no way of knowing who the others were.
Because whoever they were, they hadn't done anything. Maybe that meant they couldn't do anything – or at least, not anything useful in a fight.
Maybe.
"Maybe we should get going again." The words had left Jaime's mouth before they had a chance to realize what they were saying. But now that Evelyn and Kylena were listening, there was no choice but to keep plowing on. "Well, we know they went that way. If they kept moving during the rest of the night, we'll have to keep going if we want to catch up."
If we want to catch up. Was that even what they wanted? Jaime wasn't really sure, but Kylena was already nodding along, and Evelyn clapped them on the back. "That's the spirit! The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get out of here."
Jaime nodded. Evelyn had hit the nail on the head. Jaime didn't want to attack the other group. They didn't really want to fight, and they certainly didn't want to kill. But they also didn't want to die. And in order for them to get out of here, whoever they were following would have to die eventually. Maybe it was better to just buckle down and get the job done as quickly as possible. That was what their father always said. Do the job in front of you.
Jaime's stomach churned. Would he still say that, if he knew what this job was? If he knew that they were going to have to kill in order to go home to him, would he want that? He would want them back, wouldn't he? Except even if they won, they wouldn't really be going back home. They would be going … somewhere.
Jaime shook the thought from their head. That wasn't important right now. Even if they never saw each other again, Jaime knew their father would want them to survive. Even if they couldn't live with him, he would want them to live.
And they meant to do just that.
Caihong Lee, 25
He hadn't meant to sleep that long.
Lee rolled over as the sleeping bag rustled again. Someone waking up, maybe, or perhaps climbing back in. Lee's eyes flickered open, revealing the light of the sunrise. Sunrise. That wasn't right. Ansel should have woken him at four. Lee sat up a little, blinking in the pale light. Liv was waking, too, and glanced over at him accusingly. "Weren't you supposed to be keeping watch?"
Lee shook his head as he made his way out from under the sleeping bag. "Ansel never woke me up. Maybe he fell asleep." As soon as he said it, though, he realized the other obvious alternative: Ansel was gone. He hadn't woken Lee because he had left. But why? Sure, Liv had been a little snappy with him the night before, but that was no reason to just get up and leave.
No. No, that wasn't it. If he had meant to leave them permanently, he would have taken some of the supplies. But a quick investigation of the backpacks revealed that everything was still there. Liv barely hid a scoff. "Well, that's good, at least."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"
"It means he didn't take anything."
"Exactly. And why wouldn't he take anything?"
Liv shrugged. "Probably because he thought we'd come after him if he did."
"Maybe. But he could be miles away by now, and we'd have no way of knowing which way he went."
"So you think he's coming back?" Liv asked.
"Or was planning to," Lee reasoned. "If someone else found him…"
"But why would he go off like that?"
"Like what?" came Elena's muffled voice from under the sleeping bag.
Liv helped her out of the sleeping bag. "Ansel's gone, and we were damn lucky that no one found us while we were all asleep."
Elena shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense. He just left?"
Lee nodded. "Looks like it."
"Are you sure he didn't just wander off to use the bathroom and … get lost?" Elena asked, clearly grasping at straws. And from the way she'd trailed off at the end of her sentence, she knew it, too.
"For three hours?" Lee asked skeptically.
"Three hours?"
"At least. He never woke me for my shift. Something must have happened."
Something. None of them wanted to be the one to say it – to suggest that Ansel might be dead. That someone might have found him and … what? Lured him away from the group? Drawn him into a trap?
"So what do we do?" Elena asked, glancing from Liv to Lee and back again.
Lee waited for Liv to answer. "Let's have some breakfast," she suggested. "We wait an hour or two, see if he comes back. If so, no harm done. If not, we keep going the way we've been going."
"You don't think anyone will find us?" Elena asked nervously. "If they found Ansel…"
"That would have to have been hours ago," Lee pointed out. "If they haven't found us by now, they probably aren't looking. Besides, taking on one person alone is one thing. Taking on three is another matter."
"Maybe, but we have no idea what they can do," Liv pointed out. "One person or three might not make much difference if they can kill us without getting close."
"They're probably saying the same thing about us," Lee pointed out. "Even if they remember who Ansel was working with, Elena and I showed off at the talent show, but you didn't. They have no idea what you might be able to do. That might be enough to make them think twice."
For a while, maybe. Not forever. But Lee kept that thought to himself as the three of them opened one of the backpacks and opened the box of granola bars. Eventually, regardless of what they could – or couldn't – do, and regardless of what anyone else could do, they would have to fight. They couldn't put it off forever.
But they could wait a little longer.
Elio Haines, 16
He could let her rest a little longer.
Elio yawned and stretched a little, breathing in the early morning air. When they had finally decided to stop for the night, Lea had insisted on taking the first shift. He had a feeling she was still worried that she might have some sort of concussion, but if she did … well, it wasn't as if they had access to any real medical treatment out here, anyway. Probably the best thing she could do was sleep it off.
And she was still breathing. That was the big thing, wasn't it – to make sure that someone who had a concussion was still breathing if they were asleep? That sounded like something he'd read somewhere, but he wasn't sure. It wasn't exactly something he'd ever planned on using. He lived in Buffalo, for goodness' sake. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been more than a mile or two away from a hospital if he needed one.
Still, he had to admit there was something peaceful about the wilderness, something beautiful about the way the sun was slowly creeping over the top of the mountains in the distance. Something right about this, despite the reason they were there in the first place. Elio stretched his arms, a smile spreading across his face as the light appeared, warm and bright and beautiful. He laid a gentle hand on Lea, willing the light to keep her warm, just as he had done several times during the night. The air was still chilly, but it wouldn't take long for the sun to warm them. Once it was light enough that it wouldn't be noticed, maybe they could even start a fire.
Maybe. They had a small box of matches, but there wasn't much else to start a fire with. There were a few trees in the distance, but any wood would almost certainly still be wet from the storm the day before, just like everything else.
Well, almost everything else. The supplies in their backpack had been kept dry, which had meant they'd at least had something to change into once the rain had stopped. The extra shirt and pants were a dull grey, but even that was better, somehow, than the color-coded outfits they'd been given at the start. This way, no one would know what 'team' they were supposed to be on.
You aren't on anyone's team. Elio couldn't help a smile as the words coursed through him. No one's team but Mine. Yes. Yes, he couldn't lose sight of that. For all their talk about different groups working together, for all the MAAB's efforts to split them up into different colors, for all that the contestants were being forced to think of each other as opponents, the truth was much, much simpler than that. There were no teams. There was only right and wrong.
And he meant to do the right thing.
Elio gave Lea's shoulder a gentle shake, and her eyes fluttered open. "Morning. Thought you might want a little breakfast."
Lea sat up groggily. "Eggs and bacon?"
Elio chuckled. "Granola bars and bagels?"
Lea nodded. "Better than nothing. Count our blessings, I suppose?"
"Exactly." They could be much worse off. They could have grabbed bags that didn't have as much food, maybe, or come away with no bags at all. Or they could be dead.
Like Makenzie.
Elio tried to shake the thought away. There was nothing either of them could have done for Makenzie. They'd done their best. The only thing they could have done was stayed there and died, too. And he didn't want to die. That was what the coaches didn't seem to understand; he had never wanted to die. He just didn't want to kill, either.
And as long as they kept moving, he wouldn't have to. He and Lea could keep going – together – as long and as far as they wanted, and there was nothing the MAAB could do about it.
He just had to hold onto that thought.
Lilith Haywood, 23
She couldn't just keep holding onto them forever.
Lilith stretched a little, fighting back a yawn as she stared out into the distance. Now that the sun was rising, the three of them had finally decided to stop and get some rest. Coburn had fallen asleep almost immediately, and after Lilith had assured her that she could keep watch for a little while, Savannah had done the same. They needed the rest, of course; they had kept moving through most of the night.
The trouble was, she was tired, too, and she wasn't sure how long she could keep her eyes open. Lilith blinked, turning to face away from the sun. That was a little better, at least. After all, if anyone was following them, they wouldn't be coming from the east. Not unless they'd managed to head that direction quicker than the three of them had, and then decided to turn around and come back. No, if someone was coming after them, it would probably be from one of the other directions.
Probably. There were several contestants, she knew, who could move that fast. Three of the boys at the talent show had shown off how quickly they could run, and she knew two of them were working together. But would the two of them really want to attack a group of three, when their only advantage seemed to be that they could move faster? Unless they had some sort of weapons, there was only so much speed could do in a fight. Especially against opponents who could shoot fire or lightning bolts.
But if the two who could do those things were both asleep…
Stop it. She couldn't expect one of them to stay awake all the time. Eventually, they would all need some rest. Eventually, she would need rest. Lilith stood up, stretching, and walked around a little. That would probably help her stay awake, but it wouldn't help the fact that her legs already ached. They'd been walking all night, and it was starting to catch up with her.
Finally, she sat back down, trying to find a comfortable position. But the ground was still wet from the storm, and there hadn't been much in their backpacks to keep them dry. There had been two pillows – which Coburn and Savannah were using – but no blankets, no sleeping bags, and not even much as far as extra clothes. Maybe if they went back towards the circle where they had started…
Lilith shook her head, trying to shake away the thought. They were already headed in the opposite direction – or at least, they were as far as the three of them could tell. They had been heading east, and they were pretty certain the circle was back to the west. Besides, there was no guarantee that there was anything better in the other backpacks. And some of the other groups might very well have had the same idea. If they went back to get more supplies now, there was no telling who else might be back there.
The other groups were probably wondering the same thing, of course, trying to figure out their opponents' next move. There might already be a few groups who knew where they were. If anyone had been close enough to tell where the lightning was coming from, that would give them a pretty good idea of where they had been a few hours ago, at least. Which was why they had changed course and decided to head east. But if someone else figured out that was what they were doing…
So I clearly cannot choose the wine in front of me. Lilith sighed. At some point, it was pointless trying to figure out what the other groups might do, or what they might have figured out about what the three of them were doing. Every decision they made was a risk; there was no way around that. Even if they hadn't given away their position a few times, there was still a chance of running into another group because of pure, dumb luck. There was no way to be certain of avoiding anyone.
Even if another group did know where they were, of course, that was no guarantee that they would attack. The group that had sent some bubbles at them earlier hadn't attacked. They hadn't really done anything. Savannah had panicked, and the three of them had run because that had seemed like the best thing to do at the time, but had they really been in any danger? Maybe. Maybe not. Who had been working with the girl who had made bubbles at the talent show? Lilith tried to remember, but nothing was coming to mind.
She was probably just tired. Lilith rubbed her eyes again, trying her best to stop them from closing. How long had it been since they'd settled down to rest? Five minutes? Ten, maybe? How was she supposed to know when to wake the others, anyway? It wasn't as if any of them had a watch.
She would just have to wake them when she got too tired. When she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. Lilith pulled one of the water bottles from a backpack and took a long drink. They'd refilled them several times during the night when they'd found water; there didn't exactly seem to be a shortage of tiny lakes. Maybe a little water would help her stay awake. Just a little longer. Then a little more.
Then she would wake the others.
Seb Krause, 16
It was already morning by the time he woke.
Seb groaned and rolled over a little. It was either morning, at least, or Alphonso and Frederick had figured out how to get electricity. He could tell there was light even through his eyelids. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and immediately regretted it. The light was practically blinding, and his head was already pounding. Was this what a hangover felt like? Maybe. He'd never had one before. He'd never really had a drink before. Niklas had given him something last New Year, but he hadn't even drunk most of it.
Seb groaned a little, closing his eyes again as it all came rushing back. Niklas. Uncle Niklas was dead. He was in the Games. He was supposed to be fighting for his life, and here he was, barely able to open his eyes.
"Lightweight," mumbled a voice nearby. Alphonso. Immediately, Seb felt at least a little better. Alphonso would know what to do. From what Seb remembered of the previous night, this probably hadn't been Alphonso's first time drinking a bit too much.
"What happened?" Seb mumbled back, his own voice sounding too loud through the pounding in his head.
"You passed out. Think I did, too, eventually."
Yeah. Yeah, that made sense. He didn't remember it, but it made sense. "Still alive, though," he pointed out.
"Yep," Alphonso agreed. "Frederick's gone, though. Couldn't hold his drink."
"Should've used both hands," Seb muttered.
"What?"
"To hold his drink."
"Right." There was a pause. "Hey, look at this."
Seb groaned. He didn't want to look at anything. But after Alphonso prodded him in the side a little, he finally opened his eyes. Alphonso was holding a piece of paper, squinting. "What's a … guldfesh?" he asked, handing the paper to Seb. "And did it show up?"
Seb peered at the piece of paper, trying to block out as much light as possible. It did look like his handwriting, if a bit shakier than usual. "Goldfish," he realized. "I just misspelled it. Oh."
"Oh?"
"Makes sense now," Seb muttered, rubbing his head.
"It does?"
"Yeah. Misspelling things … that's not good." It had happened a few times before, but not for quite a while. He'd gotten pretty good at spelling things right.
Alphonso still seemed confused. "So if you misspell something, you … what? Pass out?"
"Not usually. The drinking probably helped with that. But headaches, yeah. Bit of nausea." He sat up slowly, carefully, fighting the urge to throw up.
"Sounds like a hangover to me," Alphonso shrugged.
"Similar, I guess."
"You guess?"
"This is my first one."
Alphonso laughed a bit too loudly for Seb's liking. "You're kidding."
"Not really much of a partyer back home." Seb rubbed his temples, trying to think. Back home. No, he would never have done this back home. So why was he doing it here, in the Games, when passing out could be more dangerous than it ever was back home? If someone had found them…
But they hadn't. The two of them were still alive, and Frederick… "Where's Frederick?" he asked, almost absent-mindedly.
Alphonso glanced around, as if maybe he were somewhere in the room and they simply hadn't noticed him. "Dunno. When'd you see him last?"
Seb tried to concentrate. "Sometime last night?"
Alphonso rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously. But when last night?"
"I don't know. When did you see him? You were awake longer."
Alphonso's forehead creased with concentration. "I think he left before we started drinking."
"Why?"
"Because he's a party pooper."
"No, I mean…" What did he mean? "I mean, why did we start drinking? Isn't that dangerous, attracting attention like that?"
"Maybe, but it's more fun than sitting around waiting to see what happens." Alphonso shook his head. "What's gotten into you? You weren't such a scaredy-cat last night."
Seb shook his head. Something had changed. Things were a bit fuzzier around the edges, but the middle of the picture … it was clearer than it had been in days. Why had Alphonso thought it was a good idea to throw a party in the middle of a fight to the death?
And why had he gone along with it?
Alphonso Bell-Garcia, 15
Why wasn't he just going along with it?
Alphonso rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head as Seb stood up and started to pace the room. What was wrong with him? He'd gone along with everything Alphonso had suggested so far. Not that he'd had much choice in the matter, of course, but Alphonso had gotten the impression that he would have gone along with whatever he'd suggested even if Alphonso hadn't been deliberately influencing him. Some people just naturally needed someone to come along and tell them what to do, and Seb was one one them.
Or at least, Alphonso had thought he was. But now he was pacing, worried that they might be found, when that was the furthest thing from Alphonso's mind. Maybe it had something to do with being drunk. But he would have noticed before if drinking dampened his abilities, wouldn't he?
Unless it was because Seb was drunk. Or had been drunk. Maybe that made him harder to influence, or was bringing his anxieties to the surface and making them harder to ignore. Alphonso leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. It didn't matter, really. All he had to do in either case was wait for the effects to wear off. Once they were completely sober again, things would go back to normal, and Seb would be just as easy to influence as he had been from the start.
Except he didn't want to be completely sober. The drinking helped a bit – helped take his mind off the fact that they might be dead soon. Alphonso reached for another can of beer, but this one was empty. So was the next one. Maybe they had drunk more than he'd thought. And eaten something too, apparently; there were orangish-yellow crumbs scattered around the table. Some sort of crackers, maybe?
"Breakfast!" Alphonso announced, a bit louder than he'd intended. "That's what we need. A little breakfast to get us going."
"Going? Where?"
Alphonso blinked. "I dunno, really. Wherever we want. Or we could just stay here. We can do anything we like. You can do anything you like. So what do you want for breakfast?" He started to stand up, but thought better of it. "Maybe something easy to spell."
Seb finally smiled a little. There we go. Whatever else might be spinning through his head, he was definitely hungry. "Eggs?" he suggested hesitantly. "Pretty sure I can manage to spell eggs."
Alphonso grinned. "Think you can spell toast? And maybe bacon?"
"That's with a 'c,' not a 'k,' right?"
"Right!" At least, he was pretty sure that was right, if a bit odd. Bake was spelled with a k, but bacon was spelled with a c. How was anyone supposed to remember this stuff?
But Seb was already writing. Almost instantly, the smell of eggs, bacon, and toast filled the house. Alphonso relaxed as Seb wrote two glasses of juice into existence.
Wherever Frederick had gone, he was missing out.
Marcus Del Rio, 19
He must have missed something.
Marcus opened his eyes slowly, taking in the light. Light. It was daylight. He didn't remember falling asleep, and he certainly didn't remember Manaka waking him for his next shift. Marcus turned his gaze to the shape beside him under the blankets. Manaka was still fast asleep, but began to stir a little as Marcus crawled out from underneath the blankets. "What happened?" Manaka asked groggily.
Marcus yawned. "I think you fell asleep."
Manaka immediately bolted upright. "I didn't mean to do that! I was supposed to be watching. I just closed my eyes for a moment, and—"
"It's okay," Marcus insisted. "We're fine. Nothing happened. We're probably far enough away from the others that there wasn't really a chance of them finding us."
"This time." Manaka's voice was shaky, as if he'd been terrified that Marcus would scold him for letting his guard down.
Marcus shrugged. "So we'll be more careful next time, stop before we get that tired. Now we know. No harm done."
No harm done this time. They'd gotten lucky, something they couldn't count on happening again. But Marcus also knew that Manaka wouldn't make the same mistake again. The younger boy was still apologizing as Marcus shuffled around in the backpacks and found what he was looking for. "How about breakfast?" he suggested, holding up the bag of bagels. "We can each have a bagel, refill our water bottles, and then cover some more ground. What do you say?"
Manaka nodded. "You're really not upset?" he asked nervously.
"Really. Everybody makes mistakes. Just don't make the same one twice. That's what my coach always used to say."
Manaka finally smiled a little as Marcus handed him a bagel. "Okay then, coach."
Marcus blinked. The remark could easily have come across as teasing, but it wasn't. There was something in Manaka's tone – the same respect that Marcus had always had for his coaches. The sort of respect his younger teammates had always had for him – at least, until they had all found out who and what he really was.
But Manaka knew what he really was, and it didn't matter. "Sorry," Manaka blurted out when he saw how flustered Marcus was. "I didn't mean … I just …"
"No, it's all right," Marcus insisted. "It's just … I never really thought of myself as a coach, I guess."
"You'd be good at it." Manaka took a long drink of water. "If we get out of here, that is."
Marcus shook his head. "This isn't exactly the sort of coaching I had in mind." Truth was, he'd never really thought about coaching. He'd always wanted to be in the spotlight, to be the one leading their team to victory. But coaching … well, that was a different sort of leading. Even if it weren't for these Games, he would never have been allowed to play sports again, but coaching … Would anyone really object to that?
Except they would. Because people would object to mutants doing anything. That was why he was here, after all. For the past year, he hadn't even been playing sports. He'd been sitting around the house, mostly, taking a few online classes. But even that hadn't been enough to satisfy the government. They didn't care what he might do – not really. They just didn't want to deal with what he was.
And he couldn't change what he was.
Florence Roos, 114
She couldn't change what had happened.
Florence snuggled up close to Emery's fur, trying to ignore the fact that it still felt like Emery was running. She wasn't; they'd stopped hours ago, judging by the fact that the sun was starting to rise. But even now that they had stopped, it felt like she was rocking back and forth. She'd finally been able to get to sleep, but now that she was awake, it all came rushing back. The dizziness. The disorientation. In the dark, bats relied on their hearing to navigate, and that was gone now. It would be easier now that it was light, but that didn't stop the dizziness every time she tried to stand up.
Slowly, Florence shifted back to her human shape. Kenji passed her one of the beef sticks, and they each ate a bit of the applesauce, but Florence didn't even have to tell the others that they needed to ration the food. They were doing it on their own. She'd assumed before the Games that she and Emery would be able to hunt enough to provide some food, but even if she was up to it, there didn't seem to be much around to hunt. She'd seen a few birds and some insects, and there had been some small fish in one of the lakes they'd found, but that wouldn't be nearly enough if they were going to survive out here for any length of time.
And it probably would be a considerable length of time, if the wide open area was anything to go by. Yes, there were mountains, but there was plenty of room to navigate around them. The mountains weren't fencing them in at all, and even if they were, that wouldn't pose much of a problem for some of the contestants. Particularly ones who could fly.
Florence fought back a churning in her stomach. Could she even fly anymore? She hadn't tried since the little girl's scream had sent her spiraling out of the sky. She could barely manage to walk straight for any length of time, so flying had seemed to be out of the question. How long would that last? Was it permanent? If it hadn't gone away by now…
Florence shook the thought from her head. There was nothing she could do about it. Nothing any of them could do about it.
Unless there was.
No. No, she couldn't ask him to do that. Kenji had told them that he'd made a promise not to go back in time. Besides – and maybe more importantly – what would she ask him to do once he was there? There wasn't really anything he could have done to help her, even if he'd stayed with the two of them and attacked the other group. There was no telling what he might do if he went back in time. He might even make things worse. One of them could end up getting killed. She could end up getting killed.
And the worst part was, she would never know the difference. Kenji had explained that after he'd traveled back in time before, no one had been able to tell the difference when he'd returned. He'd noticed the changes, but for everyone else, the most recent set of events was simply the way things had always been. If he went back and she died, everyone would think that she had always died.
Everyone except Kenji.
Florence sank her teeth into the beef stick. It wasn't enough. She wanted something fresh. She wanted to hunt. The beef sticks were dry, salty, lacking in everything that made meat good. She would be able to think better if she could find something warm, something to satisfy the thirst. That always made things clearer.
Emery gave her shoulder a squeeze and mouthed something. Well, said something, probably, but Florence couldn't tell the difference. She glanced over at Kenji, and managed to catch 'find' and something she was pretty sure was 'more.' Florence nodded. It wasn't entirely clear whether he'd meant that they needed to find more food, or that he was certain they would be able to, but both were true. The MAAB wouldn't have left them here with enough supplies for only a few days if there weren't going to be other opportunities to find food.
Not because they were being kind, of course, but because it would undermine the point of the Games. Watching a bunch of mutants starve to death in the wilderness wouldn't make their point. They wanted the contestants to kill each other, and they couldn't do that if they were too weak from hunger to fight. No, there would be something to hunt eventually; it was just a matter of finding it. And they had enough food to last them a little while, at least.
They could afford to wait.
Manaka Shizue, 16
"We could wait a little longer if you want."
Manaka shook his head. They'd already waited long enough, considering he'd accidentally fallen asleep, and they hadn't actually woken up until after sunrise. According to his watch, it was almost nine. They might as well get moving.
Of course, Marcus was right that they probably could wait a bit longer. The chances that anyone had caught up with them – or even come close – seemed pretty slim. There wasn't really any reason to hurry. But by the same token, there wasn't much of a reason to wait. It wasn't as if they'd found the perfect place to settle down or anything; it had simply been a good enough place to stop for the night. There wasn't much around – a few small lakes, a few sparse trees, the same mountains they'd seen the day before. A few were closer, sloping upwards in the distance, but there seemed to be enough distance between most of the mountains to avoid climbing unless they decided they wanted to.
And as far as he could tell, there wasn't much of a reason to want to. They might be able to see better from higher up, but what was there to see? They knew which direction the other contestants were probably still in – back the way they had come. As long as they kept heading in the opposite direction…
Then what? Something had to happen eventually. The MAAB wouldn't just let them keep going forever, would they? But how were they planning to stop them? As long as they had enough food to last the journey, what was to stop them from simply walking – or running, as the case might be – until they found a road, or a town? Why couldn't they simply run away?
Manaka shook the thought from his head. That was what a few of the contestants had suggested at the start – just getting away from the others and refusing to fight. And it wasn't that he wanted to refuse to fight. Not really. If they were attacked, he would fight back. Anyone would. But if they kept going, who would be able to catch up to them to attack them in the first place? For that matter, how was anyone supposed to find anyone else if they all spread apart at the beginning?
Manaka stood up, shouldering one of the backpacks, trying to tell himself that it wasn't his problem. It was the MAAB's. It was their job to figure out how to get them to fight. His job was to survive as long as possible, and right now, that meant getting far away from everyone else, as quickly as they could. "I'm ready if you are."
Marcus smiled and clapped him on the back. "All right, then, eager beaver. Let's get going."
Eager beaver. Except he wasn't eager. Not really. It was just that the idea of doing something, of staying active, was more appealing than the idea of just sitting around and waiting for a while. Eventually, they could stop to rest again, but they'd had plenty of rest for the moment. Manaka smiled up at Marcus as the two of them took off again.
All things considered, they were doing pretty well.
Sybil Herveaux, 21
Maybe she was doing well enough on her own.
Sybil rubbed her eyes in the early morning light. She was tired, but she'd made pretty good time. She'd stopped a few times during the night to get a bit of rest, but every time she'd tried to lie down to get some sleep, something had woken her. A voice in the distance, the way the wind was blowing, or a sound that was probably just an animal scurrying by. There probably wasn't anything out here that was big enough to worry about, but better safe than sorry. She could sleep more once she found somewhere safer.
Or once she found someone. Someone she could trust to keep watch. But that was seeming less and less likely. What were the odds that she was going to just stumble across someone else? She was heading towards one of the mountains, hoping that maybe some of the other contestants might decide that was a good place to look for food, but there were plenty of mountains around. What were the odds anyone else would really choose the same one?
Probably pretty slim, but it was as good a plan as anything else she could come up with, and at least it gave her something to navigate by. At least, she was pretty sure she was still heading for the same mountain. They all looked pretty much alike. She had passed a few small lakes along the way, but that didn't mean they were the same lake, did it? Sybil kicked a pebble absent-mindedly. They really should have included navigation along with the weapons skills and first aid they'd offered to teach. She was pretty quick to pick up directions in a city, but there were no landmarks out here, no reference points besides 'that tree' or 'that rock.'
Sybil shook her head. What did the MAAB expect them to do? She was supposed to kill the other contestants, yes, but how was she supposed to do that if she couldn't find any of them? She fingered the knife in her pocket. All she needed was a chance to use it. The first time had felt … well, almost good. Holding someone else's life in her hands – that was real power. It made the sort of power and influence she'd been chasing all her life pale in comparison. She wanted that feeling again.
And the first time, she hadn't even had a weapon. Sybil flexed her fingers. She had choked the life out of the other girl with her bare hands. It wasn't the sort of power she was used to. The power to influence people, to manipulate them to get what she wanted – that was heady stuff, but it was nothing compared to this.
Sybil flicked her wrist, sending a little starlight glistening through the morning air. It was beautiful, really. It made everything so … so clear. Despite the bleakness of the landscape, despite how disorienting it was, there was a certain beauty to it. Maybe it was a good thing she was here, after all. Maybe everything would work out to her advantage in the end. Maybe—
Sybil's thoughts stopped short as she saw something. Some sort of … creature. At least, she assumed it was alive, because it was moving, but it seemed to be made out of rocks. But it wasn't moving as much as swaying back and forth, as if it was about to topple over, but it never quite did so. It looked almost sleepy, but that didn't make sense. How could a rock be sleepy?
Sybil rubbed her eyes. She was probably just projecting. She was sleepy, after all. But something stronger than drowsiness kept her moving forward. Adrenaline. She could practically feel it pulsing through her. If a rock creature looked alive, it was probably because there was a contestant ahead who could make it look alive. That meant she had found someone, after all.
Now she just had to find out who.
Maria Nanami, 26
She probably had no idea who she had found.
Maria glanced over at Vincent, who gave a noncommittal shrug as the four of them watched the screens. "Could go either way," he reasoned. "Depends on whether Henry wakes up in time to tell the golem what to do."
Maria nodded. He was probably right. With the golem fully under Henry's control, Sybil wouldn't stand a chance. Henry could instruct it to fight, and there would be nothing she could do about it. A knife wouldn't do her much good against a creature made of rock. She'd been practicing using her starlight to block someone's vision, but did the golem really see? She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling the answer was no.
But Henry wasn't awake, and the golem was … well, certainly less alert than when Henry had first gone to sleep. It had kept watch for about an hour or so, pacing back and forth while Henry slept. But as the night had worn on, it had begun to … maybe 'droop' was the right word. It was more hunched than it had been, less human-shaped and more of a lump of rocks that only vaguely looked like it might have arms and legs. Pacing had become swaying, and it didn't seem to have noticed Sybil yet.
Sybil, for her part, didn't seem to have caught sight of Henry, either. If nothing else, the golem was doing a good job of blocking Henry from view, but that wouldn't do Henry much good if they didn't wake up in time. It was only a matter of time before Sybil figured out where they were, and from the look of things, she had plenty of time.
What she probably didn't have was any real idea of who she was looking for. During the talent show, Henry had kept their golems small, almost playful. Would it even occur to Sybil that the same person had created the huge rock figure in front of her? Probably not. After all, if she had figured it out, she would probably assume that Henry was still working with Fae, Kiara, and Iola. She wouldn't think about attacking four people at once, would she?
On the other hand, if Henry had still been working with the three of them, there would be no reason to leave a golem keeping watch. Most of the larger groups had worked out some sort of schedule for who was keeping watch, and for how long, so most of them had gotten a reasonable amount of sleep. There were certainly advantages to having someone to work with.
Huh. Maria reached for the notebook and quickly scribbled, What if they decide not to fight?
She passed the notebook to Vincent, who raised an eyebrow. "You mean, what if they decide to work together?"
Maria nodded as Vincent handed the notebook back. I told her it was a good idea to keep her options open, she wrote. I guess we'll see if she listened.
It wasn't the option Sybil had had in mind, Maria knew. She'd had her eyes on Frederick, pegging him as … what? One of the more powerful contestants? Maybe. But it had struck Maria as something else. Something more like a crush. Something that was almost an obsession. But Sybil hadn't gone after Frederick when he had run from the fight at the start of the Games. If she had given up on teaming up with him…
Maybe. Henry certainly wasn't what Sybil had been looking for, but maybe they were what Sybil needed, if she could convince them that she had something to offer in return. But would it even occur to her to offer an alliance when she could simply attack instead?
Vincent shrugged. "I guess we'll find out." That was all there was to it, really. There was nothing she could do to help Sybil now, and nothing Vincent could do to help Henry. They would just have to hope that the advice they had offered before the Games would be enough. Maybe that would be enough for at least one of them to realize that they stood a better chance together. Maria held her breath as Sybil crept closer to the golem, which still hadn't taken any notice of her.
They would just have to wait and see.
"We go together, or we don't go at all."