Chapter 21
Caden
“You seem bored.”
I take a sip of beer. “Could be because I am.”
“I can think of less boring things than watching men and women fighting for their lives.”
“I didn’t ask to be here.”
“You’ve reached a point where your presence is enough to get the crowd excited.”
“Then why did you bring the others?” I glance around me at the fighters from the other houses, each of us wearing different colors. I’m the one sitting next to Hector.
“You’re smart enough to figure it out,” Hector says, his eyes never leaving the bloodbath below us.
Masked prisoners desperately search for a victim to kill in hopes of remaining the last survivor.
The biggest cowards—or maybe they’re the smartest ones—try to stay low next to the surrounding walls, while others walk across the arena waving their little knives.
When I start to feel bad for them, I remind myself that they are all Raiders, and I should save my pity. I’ve also seen enough death and gore in the weeks I’ve been here to turn apathetic about these games, though this one seems crueler than usual.
“You’ve brought the others here so it wouldn’t look like you’re playing favorites,” I say before taking another sip of beer. “But you’re only letting me sit next to you because you do play favorites.”
“Correct.”
“Flattered.”
“You’re not, but that’s fine. We can leave the petty politics to me. Let’s see… we’re left with the ones who were smart enough to hide, but it’s time to speed things up.” He takes the microphone and turns it on. “It seems we have eight… hmm, brave contestants left!”
The crowd laughs, and I put down my empty bottle of beer, wishing for this to be over so I can grab something to eat.
Hector will likely invite me to his apartment so he can prepare something, and that’s fine since he’s a good cook.
Besides, I’m in no hurry to return to my uncomfortable bed with dozens of snoring men.
“Since we don’t have all night,” Hector continues, “it’s time to take off your masks and start proving you are worthy of freedom!”
The smarter ones get rid of their masks in an instant.
A woman who struggles with hers is jumped by a man who stabs her a dozen times before she finally dies.
On the other side of the arena, two men are fighting on the ground and stabbing each other.
Another man is smart enough to take advantage of the situation and runs toward them.
He slices the throat of the man on top right when he stabs the one below him through the heart.
The smart killer looks around in search of other opponents, his eyes wide in fear.
A bomb goes off in my chest.
There’s no way in hell.
I stand up, blinking hard because there must be something wrong with my vision, but I’d recognize that bruised face anywhere.
“What’s wrong?” Hector asks. “Your heart is about to burst.”
I ignore him and focus on the two men running toward Finn. He tries to run between them, but the man whose throat he sliced isn’t dead yet. He grabs Finn’s ankle, making him trip and fall to the ground.
Even though I’m not supposed to fight today, Hector’s gift is still in my system.
With only seconds to react, I jump down onto the arena floor.
The crowd gasps as I sprint forward and slam into one of the running men.
He flies through the air, landing hard enough to break his arm and maybe his neck.
The other man hasn’t seen me yet. He’s about to reach Finn, who’s dumbstruck enough to stare at me instead of defending himself.
I’m not going to make it in time.
I scream, “Kill him!”
Finn shakes his head, and right when the man is about to reach him, he pulls the knife from the heart of the dead man next to him and shoots his hand up, stabbing his attacker in the stomach. The man drops his knife and stumbles onto Finn. The two of them struggle on the ground.
I reach them in time to pull the man back from Finn, but right when I’m about to break his neck, Hector’s voice appears in my head. If you want him to win, let him do it properly.
It takes me a moment to understand what he means. I’ve already sabotaged the game, but I haven’t officially broken any rules. The only rule is that the winner be the last one alive after killing his final opponents.
“Get up,” I tell Finn. “You need to kill them.”
“What?”
“If you don’t kill them, you can’t be the winner. Get up and finish this.”
He struggles to his feet, bruised and shaken, covered in blood that likely isn’t his.
With cold efficiency, he stabs the man on the ground in the throat, not waiting for him to stop thrashing before rushing to the other man I sent flying earlier.
That one proves more of a challenge, but with a broken arm and without a knife, Finn ends him quickly as well.
The crowd remains dead silent despite the gory display.
When it’s all said and done, Finn stands up and watches me with tears cutting paths through the blood on his cheeks. I should go to him, but something tells me to stand still. I’ve already given Hector ammunition by showing how much I care, and I don’t wish to make it even worse.
“Well,” Hector says through the loudspeakers, “it seems we have our winner tonight. Don’t ever say I don’t keep things interesting!”
People laugh and clap, but I can sense their confusion.
Word of this will quickly spread. The lights go dimmer, indicating to everyone it’s time to leave.
As people get up from their seats and make their way to the entrances, a group of Hector’s personal guard enters the arena and hurries toward Finn.
“Hey!” I move to get in their way, but a sudden pain at the center of my skull stops me.
Don’t, Hector says in my head, not angry but decisive.
The guards grab Finn and drag him away as he struggles and calls my name.
I fight every instinct in my body to remain still, watching until he’s out of my sight.
I look up at Hector, trying to convey with my eyes that he better not hurt Finn.
He looks back at me with contentment, as though the only true winner here tonight is him.
*
“Calm down.”
I can’t stop pacing back and forth, furious at Finn and whoever helped him get into Denver, because I’m sure he didn’t do it alone.
After they took him away, I checked every corpse in the arena to make sure none of them were Josh.
If I weren’t there last night, Finn would have died without me ever knowing about it.
I can’t stop thinking of those crucial seconds, how close he was to brutal death in front of all those cheering assholes.
“I need to see Hector,” I tell Elijah, who’s sitting on his couch.
“You know it’s up to him to decide that. Now, assuming that your friend survives the interrogation—”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He gives me a hard look. “On your knees.”
I do as he says, kicking myself for stepping out of line. A few blowjobs don’t make us friends or even allies, and I’d be wise to remember that. Maybe I should tell him what is happening with Hector, but I don’t trust him enough, nor do I hate him enough to put him in danger.
“You have made it obvious you care about that Finn,” Elijah says, “which can only mean he’s someone from your Hive who came here to find you. And if he’s here, others might be as well. Hector will want to find out everything he can, hence my comment about the interrogation.”
I hate that his words make sense.
He touches my chin to raise my face. “Who is Finn to you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“A lover?”
“I need to speak with Hector. Please send him a message.”
“No, Caden. It doesn’t work like that. You may go.”
“I’ll blow you.”
He smacks the side of my head. “You’re trying to bribe me? You think I can’t fuck you on this floor right now if I want to?”
I shake my head. “Sorry.”
He smacks my head again. “Get the hell out of here. Hector knows where to find his toy.”
*
I barely sleep, and when the sun begins to rise, I trudge to take a cold shower.
I have hours of training ahead of me, but I don’t dread them like I used to.
On the way to breakfast, I return a polite “Good morning” to those who greet me.
I have no friends around here, but after all these weeks, I’m no longer looked at as dirt, just as an anomaly.
I eat with the rest, ignoring the conversations around me since my mind is occupied with thoughts of Finn at the hands of Hector.
Not knowing what is happening gives room for horrible ideas to haunt me.
Once I’m done eating, I walk to the training area, but I stop when I notice Elijah. He signals me to come over.
“What is it?” I ask, trying not to get my hopes up.
“There’s a car here for you. Get dressed.” Before I can turn to leave, he grabs my arm. “Whatever happens, follow your head before you follow your heart.”
“I know.” I hurry to change out of my training shorts, then I run to the main gate and climb into a fancy black car, where two of Hector’s personal guards are waiting.
We drive toward the heart of the city and it takes me a while to notice we’re not taking the same route I’m used to. “This isn’t the way to Hector’s.”
“Who said you were going there?”
“Where then?”
They don't answer, and I try to keep my temper in check. We finally stop next to a large industrial structure in an area of the city I haven’t seen before.
“Go inside.”
I climb out and look around, only seeing more industrial structures while hearing loud machines at work.
Perhaps this is where they manufacture their drones and weapons.
I walk toward the large structure, stepping through the high entrance into a wide hallway.
The farther I go, the more I notice the sound of people struggling, as if they’re training.
I enter a wide space, realizing the people I thought I heard are just one person. No, not a person. A New-Human.