Chapter Five
………………………….
Ily
“WHICH WAY, PETER?” RACHEL TAPPED OUR broken friend on his pasty cheek.
Peter mumbled something and tried to lift his head, but unlike all the other moments when he’d been able to power through his pain…he no longer had the strength.
With the softest groan, he tumbled sideways where we’d placed him against the wall.
“Oh no.” I caught him before his head cracked against stone, gently lowering his cheek to the cave floor. “Peter?” I shook his lax shoulder. “Jaagate raho, Paavak. Chalo bhee. Aap theek hain.” (Stay awake, Paavak. Come on. You’re okay.)
Nothing.
None of us spoke for the longest time, all of us hoping for a miracle where Peter opened his eyes, sprang to his feet, and led us to victory.
When none of that happened, our small group of nine—our diligent, brave little group that’d bonded with trust and hope—fractured like crystals shattering under too much pressure.
“I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.” Caishen scratched his arms as if he’d grown allergic to the weighted dark. “I never thought I was claustrophobic but knowing tonnes of rock are above me? That any moment it could bury me alive…fuck.”
“Me too.” Kaya—a girl I hadn’t spoken to before today—nodded. “It’s taking everything I have not to run off screaming.”
Caishen gave her a sympathetic smile, his face almost sinister thanks to the fading torch and its inability to banish the night.
“How long do you think we’ve been in here?” Catherine—the other girl I hadn’t known—shivered. “Because I’m literally seconds away from losing it.”
“No one is losing anything,” Rachel muttered.
“Keep it together, guys,” Mollie said, tucking dark blonde hair behind her ear. “If one of us snaps, we all snap.”
Pressing the back of my hand against Peter’s forehead, I hissed at his blazing fever. “If we don’t find a way out soon, I’m afraid he’ll die down here.”
“No one is dying either,” Rachel snapped. Rubbing her sore middle where Victor had repeatedly kicked her, she sighed heavily. “You asked how long we’ve been down here, Cath?” Shooting Catherine a look, she shrugged. “I’m guessing about five hours—”
“Five hours?” Caishen shot to his feet, almost bashing his head on a stalactite. The small cave we’d tumbled into barely gave enough room for all of us. “Right, that’s it. I can’t do this anymore. I need to leave.” He clawed at this throat. “I-I can’t breathe anymore.” He jumped as if something stalked him in the shadows. “I-I’m seeing things, and I’m sick of fucking shivering. The game has to be over now, surely?”
“It has to be.” Kaya sprang up from her crouch. “Victor said we all had to return before dusk. By the time we make our way out, it will probably be dark.”
“Alright.” Caishen nodded. “New plan. We retrace our steps and—”
“Peter’s unconscious,” I said quietly. “Are you proposing we leave him?”
“Course not. We’ll carry him.”
“Through all those narrow cracks?” I shook my head. “There’s no way—”
“Leave him in here much longer and like you just said…he’ll die.”
“Yes, but perhaps there’s a way out up ahead. We just need to—”
“Peter said it himself.” Caishen crossed his arms, trying his best not to tremble from the ice that’d settled into all our bones. “Ever since we left that cave with the glow worms, he didn’t have a clue which way to go.”
My shoulders slouched.
For approximately five hours, we’d travelled as one, heading deeper and deeper into the island. At one point, Peter said we were directly beneath the fortress. A staircase and tunnel led from the dungeons to the cave system, but Victor had stopped using it two years ago because a rockfall had shut off the main path to the Temple of Facets.
We’d kept going, even when Peter admitted he’d reached the end of his knowledge and every choice was now guesswork.
He’d glanced at all of us, ready to pass up the leadership mantel. The wistful longing in his eyes said he wanted someone else to forge ahead and take responsibility, but…as awful as it was to keep the pressure on someone so wounded—none of us stepped up.
With unanimous, unspoken decision, we all rested a little and gave Peter a breather before hauling him to his feet and helping him hobble through puddled seawater and continue crawling into smaller and darker caves.
One of our torches had failed on the first hour.
The second only minutes ago.
If the third went, we’d be trapped in here. Completely lost with the very real fear of starving to death or drowning. That fear now overshadowed even the terror that the Masters would find us.
Catching Rachel’s haunted blue eyes, I—
“Don’t.” She shook her head and bared her teeth. “Don’t even say it.”
“Caishen might be right,” I whispered. “By the time we get out of here, the gong will go, and we’ll be safe.”
“Safe?” Her nose wrinkled. “Do you honestly think the Masters will obey Vic? After a day of chaos? Fuck that.” She paced the small space, bumping into Sonya. “We go out there, and we’re at their mercy.”
“I say we take a vote.” Caishen held up his hand. “Our fearless leader is out cold. We have no idea where we’re going, and it’s idiotic to think we’re skilled enough to find a way out. I’m not even certain we can retrace our steps before that torch dies, but if we’re gonna try, we have to go now.”
Making eye contact with all of us, he demanded, “All those who want out, hands up.”
Everyone but Rachel and Mollie swung up their arms.
Lowering my own, I glanced at the two girls. “I know you don’t want Victor or Roland to find you, but…we can’t stay here.” I arched my chin at Peter. He barely breathed. His burned hands and feet covered in grit and dirt; his dusky skin far too pale in the dark. “We need to get him to Dr Belford…before it’s too late.”
Mollie sighed, her green eyes flashing. “How about a compromise? We’ll wait here for an hour or two. Peter will hopefully wake by then, and we can help him walk rather than drag him. It should be nightfall in a couple of hours and Victor will have rounded everyone up, thanks to his guards. We stand a better chance of avoiding this game altogether if we let Victor wrangle his guests into order rather than go out there while they’re being absolute maniacs.”
“Peter might not have two hours.” I stood too, balling my hands.
“Ily,” Rachel muttered under her breath. “You have to understand. Roland is a fucking creep. If he knows he can get away with shit and finds Mollie…he’ll kill her.”
“He’s a necrophiliac.” Caishen shuddered. “I’ve seen him kill before. I was with a Master in the same room. Yumeko only survived because the guards dragged Dr Mel in with her resuscitation kit before it was too late.”
The torch dimmed as if taking part in our debate and adding a fresh layer of panic.
Caishen’s tolerance snapped. “Right, that’s it. The batteries are dying. I’m leaving. All those who want to follow. Let’s go.”
“Go then if you’re that afraid. I’m going to wait for Pete to wake.” Rachel slid down the wall and sat beside Peter.
“Me too.” Mollie sat beside her.
I stood in a dank, chilly cave and was absolutely torn in two.
I understood why they wanted to wait for him to revive. I was on board with that plan—none of us would have the strength to drag him for long—but…every minute was a minute he couldn’t afford to spend.
“Just wait thirty minutes, Caishen.” I stepped toward him. “Surely, you can—”
“If he’s not going, we are.” Sonya snatched the torch from Caishen’s hands, sending the beam bouncing around the cave. “I’m done. How about you, Citra?” She arched her eyebrow at the Indonesian girl.
Citra rolled her shoulders. “I don’t want to leave anyone behind, but…” She sniffed and rubbed her nose as tears dripped from her eyes. “I’m struggling. I feel as if I’m moments away from a full-blown panic attack and…I don’t think I can stay.”
Caishen grabbed his hair and tugged. “Fuck, I need air.”
Almost as if the allure of sky and wind became too much, the jewels moved as one.
“Sorry, Ily. Follow us when you’re ready.” Caishen hung his head. “We’ll go slow. We’ll yell when we get out so you can follow our voices, okay? We won’t stop shouting until you’re with us on the beach.”
“See you soon, guys,” Citra whispered. “Please forgive us.”
With apologetic winces, the five jewels all turned their backs and squeezed into the crack we’d just come from.
“You can’t take the only light source!” I wriggled behind them, grabbing hold of Sonya’s wrist. “We won’t have any light to find our way out.”
“Then I suggest you start walking,” Caishen said sadly. “I’m sorry, Ily. I really am…but we voted, and this is what everyone needs.”
“Peter didn’t get a vote.”
“Peter would want us to do whatever we can to survive, and right now…I’m gonna lose my ever-loving mind if I stay down here another second.” Grabbing something from the back of his nude underwear, he passed me the knife he’d taken from the Temple of Facets. “Here. Just in case.”
My hand shook as I accepted the knife.
And then…they were gone.
Rachel and Mollie didn’t say a word as I fell back into the small cave.
The sounds of bare feet on stone faded with every heartbeat.
The pressure of the earth crushed my bones until I collapsed to my knees beside two awake jewels and one unconscious.
Thick, dank silence.
Heavy, hungry darkness.
And just our shallow breathing for company.
* * * * *
Water.
Icy, salty water lapping at my toes.
“Rachel,” I hissed. “Rachel.”
Patting along Peter’s feverishly hot body, I found Rachel’s hand on his hip.
After the shock of being left behind, the three of us had agreed to rest for an hour and then leave. We’d do whatever it took to wake Peter and help him hobble back home.
Our plan was cruel, and terror whispered that he wouldn’t make it, but…if he slept for an hour, hopefully he’d have the strength to get back to the castle so Dr Belford could heal him.
We’d all agreed to give him the best chance of recovery by sitting in a row and hauling Peter’s dead weight onto our laps to protect him from the wet stone. With his head and shoulders on my legs, his torso on Mollie’s, and his thighs on Rachel’s, we’d done the best we could to stop him from dying any faster than he already was.
“Do you feel that?” I kicked my feet. The faintest splash answered. “Where’s the water coming from?”
Mollie shifted beside me, removing some of her body heat. “Victor did say some of the caves fill up with water at high tide.”
“I’m guessing the tide is coming in.” Rachel sighed and upturned her hand to squeeze mine. She sounded exhausted and deflated and at the edge of her limits.
I blinked, willing the absolute darkness to fade. No glow worms like some of the other caves. No luminescent algae or light sources of any kind. We were blind. Completely and utterly blind and we needed to run.
Rocking Peter on my lap, I stole my hand back from Rachel’s and raked my fingers through his sweat-wet hair. “Peter. Time to wake up, okay? We need to leave.”
We’d been smart.
The game wouldn’t be entirely over, but at least we were one hour closer to dusk. By the time we found our way out, Emerald Bruises would be finished and Victor’s rules firmly back in place.
Giving Peter a few seconds to rally, I looked in Mollie’s direction. “Did you mean what you said, Mollie?” I chewed on rising panic. “You sure you remember the way we came?”
A rustle as she nodded. “I’ve gone through the turns twice with you. I kept track of every direction we took. I can get us out, even without a torch.”
“Mols has a bachelor in quantum physics,” Rachel said with a stronger tone. “She’s beyond smart.”
“Didn’t stop me from being snatched at a party, though, did it?” Mollie huffed. “I know how one particle can be in two locations at the same time, yet I couldn’t see the pill dropped into my drink.”
Rachel continued as if Mollie hadn’t spoken. “Mols and I became friends through our shared love of science. I’m a research chemist turned war chemist, but Mols? She’s on a whole other level. She can get us out. I have no doubt.”
Mollie scoffed. “If I could get my hands on some household cleaning products, I could make a bomb big enough to blow up Victor’s beloved Joyero. Then we’d really be out. We’d be free...”
Even with the tide creeping over my feet.
Even with Peter unconscious and barely alive on my lap…sheer blinding hope found me all over again.
“Wait. You could do that?” I asked on a sharp inhale. “Y-You have those skills?”
“Rachel does too.” Mollie laughed sadly. “Between the two of us, we could destroy this entire island, but…knowledge is worthless without ingredients and action.”
“Speaking of action, I agree with Ily,” Rachel said. “The water is rising quickly. It’s time to go.”
It took some organisation and a lot of achy, chilly bones, but we managed to clamber to our feet and bring Peter with us. Among the three of us, we held him dangling in our shaking embrace.
Slipping the knife Caishen had given me into the back of my underwear, I hoped to God I wouldn’t have to use it.
“Should we be worried that he’s not waking up?” Rachel whispered.
“His system has shut down. A person can only survive in shock for so long.” Mollie shifted her hold on him. “He might rally, he might not. I hope you girls are feeling strong.”
“We need to talk about blowing up this island,” I said, refusing to think about a scenario where Peter never woke up.
Rachel snickered. “Yeah, okay. Can we get out of the caves first?”
“The caves might be the best place to plan an uprising.”
“Not if we drown, it isn’t,” she snapped.
“Everyone ready?” Mollie asked. “Focus.”
Her voice seemed too loud in the pitch black, but her strength bolstered me.
We were moving. Finally.
We would be safe. Hopefully.
Today is almost over.
And tomorrow…we’ll build a bomb.
“Lead the way.” Rachel sniffed. “I’m so ready for a hot shower. I don’t even care if I get raped for the privilege.”
“Let’s go.” Mollie tugged on her part of Peter, guiding us toward the crack where the others had vanished.
We walked slowly, gingerly, blindly.
It took an age.
It took all our waning strength to half-carry, half-drag Peter, but we would make it.
None of us would give up.
I’d been lucky enough to find two of the strongest girls I’d ever met and—
“Oh shit.” Mollie slammed to a stop, sending a ripple down our chain.
“Oh shit, what?” Rachel asked. “You know I don’t like it when you say things like that, Mols. Makes my imagination go into overdrive.”
I shivered as water lapped up my ankles, freezing my toes with insidious frostbite.
“The water is coming from the direction we need to go in,” Mollie muttered. “And it’s coming in fast.”
“So…what does that mean?” Rachel asked.
“It means…we can’t go that way.”
“But that’s the only way out.” I did my best to stay calm. “If we hurry, surely we can make it. The tide doesn’t come in that quickly.”
“You obviously don’t have a lot of experience with the sea. It can rise fast, and I’m not willing to take that chance.” Mollie turned, taking us all with her. “Damn.”
“Well, we can’t stay here,” Rachel gasped. “If the water is coming in that quickly, then…”
“We’ll drown,” Mollie snapped. “Yes, I’m aware.”
“Well, what the hell are we going to do?!” Rachel shouted. “I can’t…we can’t just stand here and die!”
“Shut up and let me think!”
“We don’t have time to think! We have to run.”
“Run to where?”
“I don’t fucking know, but—”
“Quiet, Rach. Your screeching is not helping—”
“Screeching? We’re running out of time, and you’re telling me to calm down?!”
“Perhaps the caves won’t fill completely,” Mollie mused aloud. “We could swim—”
“Swim?” Rachel’s voice turned brittle with horror. “That’s your plan? You study the damn universe, and the best you can come up with is—”
I shut them out.
I couldn’t listen.
Their energy fed into mine, braiding our panic into a living, gnawing thing. My lungs threatened to stop working. Every fear, every terror, every horror, pain, despair, and loss strangled me like a monster.
My ears rang as they fought.
My arms ached as I held Peter.
I was so, so close to snapping.
So…I did the only thing I could.
I pressed my toes against cold stone.
I ignored the rapidly rising water level as it kissed my calves and travelled higher, higher, higher.
I begged that quiet, wiser part of my soul to take charge.
Images of us swimming and clawing at the ceiling as the ocean suffocated us played behind my closed eyes. Nightmares of us taking our last breath without ever seeing the sun again.
Focus.
I ordered every muscle to relax.
I went against every instinct and compelled my nervous system to choose calmness instead of adrenaline.
For a few moments, nothing happened.
The cave bounced Rachel and Mollie’s argument like a megaphone.
But slowly…thankfully…
My attention turned inward.
Light and sanctity, I found a pocket of peace.
I wasn’t this form.
This form could be cut, bled, raped, and drowned, but I was just the watcher within. Panic came from not accepting the situation. Suffering came from railing against certain fate.
But thanks to a lifetime of schooling my chaotic mind, I opened my eyes to a tranquil reality and smiled as the grounding cord of light that’d granted such salvation continued to glow up ahead.
Subtle.
Barely there.
But…
Wait.
I froze.
T-That’s not imaginary.
From this angle, I could see around the shadow of a stalagmite.
A shadow caused by the barest hint of deliverance.
“There’s another way out,” I whispered in shock, awe, disbelief.
Tugging Peter, I sloshed forward, sending water waking around our shins. The girls tripped with me.
“There’s light.” My arms shook with Peter’s weight. “The ground slopes up. It’s higher ground.”
Mollie and Rachel stopped fighting.
Rachel sniffed back tears. “W-What are you saying? I don’t see anything.”
A surge of energy filled me. I finally donned the mantel of leadership that Peter had always worn. “It’s faint. But trust me. It’s there. Come on.”
I expected Mollie to disagree. I tensed for Rachel to argue.
But…as I stepped into my role of guardian, they slipped into following.
Without a word, the two girls mirrored my steps.
We made a wet, slow procession through the small cave.
I bumped my toes multiple times, my heart pounded from carrying my share of a person.
Finally, we stopped outside the small chasm.
Peering inside, I willed the light to get brighter.
It didn’t.
It was just enough to see how hard this journey would be.
It veered up steeply, mimicking the longest tunnel I’d ever seen.
But…it was dry.
“It’s narrow to start with, but I think it widens.”
Rachel squished closer. “We can make it. We don’t have a choice.”
Mollie pressed her cheek to mine, looking at our unfortunate climb.
She sighed, but then…
…the faintest breeze.
A lick of cool.
A kiss of freshness.
I gasped on a sob.
Not dank and cave stagnant.
But alive.
Bracken and soil and trees.
We glanced at each other.
Without a word, we wriggled into the crack.
I went first and dragged Peter with me.
They went second and pushed.
Together, we inched our way into the light.
* * * * *
I’d endured some horrible things since Henri targeted me and brought me here.
I’d had to dig deep to stay sane and draw from strength I didn’t know I had.
But that journey…good God, it was hard.
Time lost all meaning as we climbed and crawled, tugged and dragged each other up and up and up. At one point, it felt as if we traversed a ladder made of rock and pebbles. The next we were in a chute made of stone.
Everything hurt.
Every muscle engaged to pull Peter behind me all while the two girls shoved him just a little each time.
The knife dug into my lower back, and cuts decorated every part of us.
Little slices as we travelled as if the cave demanded a cost in the currency of our blood.
Peter flickered in and out of consciousness.
At one point, he woke with a start and fought our hold.
The next, he woke up screaming.
Luckily or unluckily, he didn’t remain conscious for long.
And we had no choice but to keep going.
Climbing higher and higher.
Light growing brighter and brighter.
The air cleaner and cleaner.
Until eventually…freedom.
* * * * *
“I want to kiss you, Ily.” Rachel laughed with pure giddiness as we limped, shuffled, and practically fell out of the widening crack and into the largest cave so far.
Not that it was a cave.
With a heavy exhale, I raised my face to the darkening twilight above.
Seagulls flew in the greying sky, squawking their daily news and getting ready to roost.
Greenery framed the scene above like a gorgeous painting.
The earth trapped us but the ceiling had fallen, creating the most wonderful skylight.
I would never take fresh air for granted ever, ever again.
I longed for rain.
I begged for the sun.
I craved the moon and stars and—
I gasped as soft lips slammed over mine.
Laughter spilled into my mouth as Mollie kissed me with great smacking affection before pulling away and kissing Rachel.
Rachel threw her free arm around her friend and kissed her back.
It wasn’t romantic or lustful but pure emotion bubbling free in the only way it could…love and gratitude.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Rachel flung her head back, basking in the dusk as if it was the hottest summer day. “Goddamn, it’s good to be out of there!”
Mollie chuckled and gave me a soft smile. “Good spotting, Ily. You saved our lives.”
I blushed. “Just luck.”
“Whatever it was, I’m grateful.” Hoisting Peter higher in her arms, she added, “Let’s put him down, and then we’ll figure out what’s next.”
We eyed up the driest part—a tussock padded undergrowth in the centre of this strange natural amphitheatre. Together, we half-carried, half-dragged Peter and gently lowered him as carefully as we could.
Rachel ensured his head was pillowed on the thickest part of the tussock while I rested his arms by his sides, careful to keep his oozy, charcoal hands from falling face down. Mollie arranged his legs and squeezed his knee as if telling him it was okay.
With streaks of paint from his bullseye and cave-smeared skin, he looked as if he’d been burned by a dragon and now lay cursed like some reversed Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale.
I studied his face, waiting for him to wake.
When he didn’t, we all stood and stretched.
Our moans were identical as we worked out our many kinks.
My shoulders throbbed.
My spine blazed.
Every bone and muscle ached with a thousand bruises, but I would’ve carried Peter for days if it meant we ended up here…together and alive.
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go back down there if we can help it.” Mollie spun in place, glancing at every side of the bowl we’d found ourselves in.
The sides soared as high as a two-story building, the walls covered in twisted plants and stunted, ugly trees. No vines to climb. No convenient rope to scale. Unless we were rock climbers, getting out of here would be almost impossible.
And with Peter…
Almost as if the thought struck all of us at the same time, we made eye contact and slouched.
We could get out…possibly.
We could clamber to the top…maybe.
But Peter?
Even if he woke again, he wouldn’t be able to use his hands and feet to scale anything, let alone a freaking mountain.
“Well, crap.” Rachel scrubbed her face. “Perhaps one of us gets out and finds Victor? The gong will have gone by now.” She pointed at the rapidly darkening sky. “It’s past twilight, and he’s a stickler for rules. The Masters will have to be on their best behaviour again.”
“You could go.” Mollie cocked her chin at me, her shoulder length blonde hair swinging. “Find Master H. He’s Victor’s latest pet project. He could bring a few guards to haul Peter out.”
Henri.
The instant his name soaked into my ears, my dead heart fisted and came alive again. Its unwillingness to thump since we’d entered the Temple of Facets was now replaced with a very real, very annoying pounding.
I hated that it thrummed in longing.
That it turned traitor by whispering he could fix this.
I scowled.
He wouldn’t fix this.
He would make this worse.
He hated Peter.
He tolerated nothing and no one.
I crossed my achy arms.
He tolerates you.
He kissed you…
I froze as our kiss exploded in my head.
My lips tingled.
My insides melted.
How had a simple kiss become the hottest thing we’d shared?
That damn kiss burned my blood and turned me into an addict for more.
“I hate to say it, Ily, but Mols is right. If you found Henri, he’d have to obey the rules. Victor’s agreed to let him live here permanently, but that graciousness only goes as far as Master H’s obedience.”
“Did I hear someone mention Master H?”
All three of us spun around.
My heart leapt into my mouth.
Rachel cursed.
Mollie froze.
And I brandished the knife on instinct as four Masters appeared.
Sprigs of leaves and foliage debris caped their shoulders as if they’d brushed through an autumn garden. My eyes narrowed as I looked past them, studying the cave walls for a hidden exit.
They hadn’t come in the way we had.
That means…there’s another way.
Mollie and Rachel squished closer to me, forming a wall before Peter on the ground.
The Masters chuckled, their eyes skating over our bloody, dirty bodies.
An older one said, “Well, well, you have been in the wars.”
A younger one with a thin chin strap and oily brown hair snickered. “Where on earth did you get a knife? It looks kinda cute on you.”
My arm trembled, but I didn’t lower the weapon. “Leave us alone.”
The men all laughed, their amusement like sick music.
“I lost my blade somewhere in the caves.” The Master with brown hair grinned like a jackal. “Thank you for giving me one. I would’ve hated to miss out on claiming my prize.”
“Fuck you and fuck your friends.” I bared my teeth. “It’s over. The game is over. You lost.”
“Oh, I never lose, little jewel.” He cocked his head. “Besides, you look as if you’ve been warmed up nicely. Rather…tenderised.” He laughed quietly. “I do love the sight of blood in the evening.”
Chills scattered over my skin.
Mollie shivered just once.
Licking his lips, the Master kept his eyes locked on us, refusing to look at his companions. He stood alone as if he’d led the party but wanted nothing to do with those who’d followed him.
Hefting his paintball gun, he clucked his tongue. “Because you’ve done me a favour by bringing a knife to our party, I’ll give you a favour right back.” He pouted. “I do so hate being the bearer of bad news, but…if you’re looking for Master H, he’s not coming. Your worthless Master took a beating from a blowhole at the start of the game. He left, I’m afraid. I hear he’s back at the castle, enjoying a beer at this very moment, all while sticking his dick in some other slut.”
I wasn’t prepared for how violently that picture hurt.
How the thought of Henri touching another made my insides knot into thorns.
He chuckled as I braced myself against such a ridiculous response. “A little possessive, are we? Fancy that you’re his only plaything?” He shook his head and clucked his tongue again. “You poor deluded little thing.” Raising his gun, he aimed directly between my breasts. “Tell you what, I’ll put you out of your misery. I’ll be the Master he never could and release you from all this pain.”
The nude-coloured underwear barely covered me.
The bullseye on my skin distorted and smeared.
But the lines were still visible.
Marking the spot for his bullet.
Mollie and Rachel looked at one another.
The comradery between us faltered with fear.
We could’ve fought off one Master together.
Maybe even two.
But four?
God…
My knife seemed utterly useless against four Masters with guns—even just paintball ones.
If I charge them, I might be able to stab one…
I shifted, ready to run.
The other three Masters behind the scary dead-eyed one raised their guns too. “You can have that one, Kyle, but we’re taking the others.”
Kyle snarled and whirled on them. “No one else fires. You can do whatever the fuck you want to the others, but I’m the only winner, do you hear me?”
I waited for a battle to break out.
The whiffs of testosterone choked me.
But whatever they saw in Kyle’s face made them lower their weapons and nod. “Fine.”
“Good boys.” Kyle blew them a kiss.
And that was my cue.
I bolted.
On silent aching feet, I threw all efforts of survival into attacking first.
“Kyle.” Two of the Masters feinted back, arching their chins in my flying direction.
Kyle spun to face me.
Metres separated us.
Too many metres.
With a surprised, far too gleeful laugh, Kyle swung up his gun and grinned. “Time for some fun, little jewel.”
I feinted to the side.
I tried to get close enough to kill him.
Bang.
The punch of the paintball shot all the air from my lungs.
A burning pain feathered from my sternum.
Choking, I reeled back.
Bang.
This time in my belly.
I doubled over.
Bang.
Pain in my shoulder.
I stumbled sideways.
Bang.
A wallop on my wrist.
I dropped the knife.
Bang.
Agony in my thigh.
I tripped.
And then…there were too many to count.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
I fell backward.
My feet tangled with Peter’s.
I collapsed.
In a blur of speed, Kyle ran toward me, kicked away my knife, and towered over me on the ground.
With an evil smile, he emptied his entire clip into me.
Pain.
Everywhere.
Pain.
All over.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain!
I screamed—