69. Tess
TESS
Later that night, Cyrus trudged through the living room, letting us know she was making a stop at the local university and would be home late. Which meant that Blade, Nash, and I were clear to play.
She wasn’t long out the door before I was dressed in my black running suit, stretching my quads in front of the apartment. The prospect of a chase didn’t feel nearly as daunting with Cyrus gone. In fact, it was kind of thrilling.
What is wrong with me?
“Same rules as usual,” Blade slipped on her paint-splattered clown mask. “Minus the money and the cards.”
They’d decided upstairs that it felt wrong to draw without Cyrus. But if you asked me, it seemed like they were convinced they’d find me faster without Cyrus’ cryptic rules in place.
Nash cracked her neck. “You get a five minute start. If we catch you, you're ours. And you’d better stay within the park limits. You don’t want to see what happens if you test the boundary.”
Not sure I quite believe that.
If the torture they doled out on a victory felt that good, what would a punishment when they were actually mad feel like?
“Any questions?” Nash tilted her head.
“Nope,” I swallowed down my perverted thoughts. The placid expression on her painted mask should have sent chills down my spine. But not being able to see her face opened my imagination to endless possibilities of how she might be looking at me.
Okay seriously, get a grip. The drool-trail will give me away if the heavy breathing doesn’t.
“Then get running, Trinket.”
With the click of a remote, Blade plunged the park into total darkness. Only the thin hum of carnival music over the speakers told me that the power was on.
On her signal, my body knew exactly what to do. As I sprinted toward Colossal Kitchen, Nash called out advice from behind me. “Remember to leave yourself an escape route!”
Why is she helping me?
I couldn’t tell if it was genuine advice, or if the lowered stakes had invited a sense of collaboration. But while my mind knew this was just for practice, my body felt as anxious as ever.
I can’t afford to get in my head about her intentions.
Keeping my strides long, I ran past the stacks of plates and the cutlery and those evil teacups. There was no point slowing down when I had no intention of hiding here. The stop in Colossal Kitchen was just a detour to help cover my true path.
Coupled with the extra dance sessions in my new studio, my daily runs had improved my speed and stamina. I could cover twice as much ground in five minutes than I could when I’d first entered Feverpoint, and that made all the difference.
Finally sprinting through the last arch of plates, I made my way out of Colossal Kitchen and into Stellar Station to the south. By my count, I still had about half of my time left, but I didn’t dare stop to breathe.
Running past the crater field and the big rocket, I hopped the gate of the Alien Assault ride. The track ran in a big, winding circuit full of glowing lights and animatronic aliens waiting to be shot down.
The rider cabins were well insulated. But I’d learned my lesson about moving rides from those fucking teacups.
Instead, I ducked into the admissions booth, tucking myself into a tight ball under the desk. It was dark enough to obscure me, but, with a door on either end that led directly outside, I’d still have a couple of escape routes.
It’s as good of a spot as I’m finding tonight.
But was it good enough to evade the two Freaks working together?
Tonight, we might not be playing for money, but I stood a chance to leave with knowledge that was nearly as valuable. Did I have a shot against Cyrus’ wrath? And had I gotten good enough at this game to finally win my freedom?