20. Carey
Carey
At eleven-thirty, all ten remaining players were gathered in the drawing room.
Maverick and I had agreed to come separately, partly because of the ten o’clock curfew, and also figuring we might raise suspicions if we suddenly arrived together arm-in-arm after despising each other for so long. However, he hadn’t let me leave his room without a lingering, passionate kiss first. Ever since, my entire body had been enveloped in a comforting warmth. It was almost enough to drown out the fear of what our next game might entail… but not quite.
Nothing could trump that terror.
April smothered a yawn and spoke up. “I’m glad those phones are automatically set to loud, because I was already asleep when the game was announced,” she said. “Imagine if I slept through it. I could die for failing to take part.”
“I guess that’s why the phones are set up like that,” Brooke said, absentmindedly rubbing her nose. “I only got half an hour of sleep. I feel totally fucked.”
“I didn’t get any at all. This place is too fucking stressful for me to fall asleep before midnight.” Zach glanced at me. “How about you, Carey? Manage to get any shuteye?”
A hot flush instantly went up my neck and face. I was sure everyone would see the redness in my cheeks and sense what I’d spent half the night doing, but they stared at me blankly instead, awaiting my answer.
I shook my head. “No sleep. Same as Zach.”
I felt bad for lying to my friends, but I knew that Maverick and I were right earlier—if we revealed our sudden lust and affection for each other to anyone here, they might begin to suspect that something else was up with the two of us. They’d probably never believe we made up so fast, given our previous bad blood, and then they’d start to wonder if we were secretly together all along and totally faking the hatred.
From there, they’d wonder what else we’d been hiding and lying about, and then it was only a short step until wild accusations were thrown at us about our potential association with the Game Master.
A familiar robotic voice rang out from a nearby speaker. “Thank you for arriving so promptly, players. Please exit the drawing room and head into the foyer. Arrows will guide you from there to Gaming Room 4.”
As if drawn by a magnet, my eyes locked with Maverick’s from across the room. He dipped his chin in the briefest of nods, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. That small expression, coupled with the intensity of his gaze, told me that he’d do his best to protect me tonight, no matter what happened in the upcoming game.
The ten of us exited the room and marched toward the foyer. All the lights in the space were off, and a series of purple glow-in-the-dark arrows marked out a path through a newly opened hallway on the left.
The narrow hall led to a steep set of concrete stairs that descended downward. The air on the lower level was cooler, and I had to rub my arms to stop myself from shivering.
“I didn’t even know Babylon had a basement level,” Jasmine grumbled, rubbing her arms as well. “It’s fucking freezing.”
“All the buildings at school have basement levels. That’s where the cleaning equipment and maintenance stuff is kept,” Rhys replied from up ahead. “So it makes sense that Icarus Hall had one built in too.”
“How do you know that?” Kiara asked in a sharp tone.
“I’d love to know the answer to that too,” Jasmine said. “I mean, why would you need to know everything about the exact layout of all the Babylon buildings unless you planned this whole thing?”
Rhys sighed. “I occasionally help the janitors after nightly curfew for some extra money. The school doesn’t know about it, obviously, but the cleaners are glad for the help, and it’s tax-free for me because it’s cash. So that’s how I know about it. Not because I’m the Game Master and set all this shit up for you guys.”
Jasmine scoffed. “Wow. You really are poor.”
“Shut the fuck up,” April snapped. “I actually think it’s admirable that Rhys manages to work on top of studying, unlike your lazy ass.”
Jasmine turned and glared at her. “Yeah? How much work do you do, April? Or do Mommy and Daddy pay for everything?”
April’s lips tightened. “I’m fortunate, but at least I’m willing to admit it,” she said. “It wouldn’t kill you to acknowledge that you’re lucky too, instead of tearing people down for having less than you.”
“Okay, Little Miss Social Justice Warrior.” Jasmine turned back to face the front. “Jesus, how far does this basement level go? We’ve been walking for ages.”
Zach lifted a shaky finger. “It ends down there, where the arrows stop.”
“Is that a door?” I squinted into the darkness ahead. “I can’t tell. It’s too dark.”
Rhys ran up ahead to see what lay at the end of the frigid passage. “Yup, it’s a door,” he called back to the rest of us. He rapped on it, producing a clanging sound. “Seems like reinforced steel.”
“Can you open it?”
“With some help, yeah. Maverick, Zach, Hudson… get up here.”
“April can help too! She loves working,” Jasmine cut in.
“Oh my god, Jasmine, shut up,” Zach snapped. “How many of these fucked up games do we have to go through together to make you stop shitting on everyone?”
Weirdly enough, I was no longer angry at Jasmine for her constant snide remarks. Instead, I pitied her. She was obviously trying to cope with the stress and dread of being in a place like this, and the only way she knew how to deal with that stress was to take it out on everyone around her. It didn’t excuse her behavior, but it at least made it easier for me to ignore it.
The boys got the thick metal door open with a few strained pushes, and we stepped inside. A series of lights instantly went on overhead, and the door closed behind us with a heavy thud.
The first thing in the room that caught my attention was the vast expanse of water stretching out before us. It shimmered under the lights, its surface reflecting the room’s surroundings like a mirror. A series of thick wooden beams jutted over the edge like makeshift piers. Each beam led off into a maze of smaller beams, crisscrossing in every direction like a chaotic web, creating a daunting obstacle course that stood between us and the other side of the pool. Along the edge of the other side were twelve wooden targets standing on slightly elevated platforms. Two were marked with red crosses.
“I’m guessing those two were for Tate and Evan if they survived this far,” Maverick said, pointing to the red crosses. I murmured my agreement alongside the others.
“Guys, look over here,” Brooke called out. She was standing by a large table near the door. “Our names are on these shapes.”
We turned and examined the large wooden blocks on the table. As Brooke said, each one was labeled with a name. Each was also a different shape.
“Here, Carey. Yours is a star,” Zach said, picking up the closest one. “April, you’re a heart. Rhys, you’re a triangle.”
He kept handing out the blocks until we all had one in hand.
“I’m guessing these have something to do with those targets on the other side of the water,” April said, frowning over at the enormous pool. “Each one has a shape right on the bullseye.”
I squinted to see better. She was right. Each target had a different shape carved into the center.
“So, like… do we just walk across and stick our blocks in the correct target?” Kiara asked, brows knitting.
The objective seemed simple enough—make it across the water from one of the starting beams to a platform with a corresponding puzzle piece. However, the reality was far more complex. There were no straight or clear paths from any starting point to any of the platforms, meaning each step required careful strategy and calculation. I also had an awful sinking feeling in my stomach that told me we were all missing something. Something the Game Master was about to smugly inform us of at any second.
Just as I suspected, the same old artificial voice boomed out of a speaker just a moment later. “Welcome to the fourth game, everyone! This one is called ‘Never Have I Ever Drowned’.”
There was a lengthy pause for dramatic effect, and a resounding groan went through the group.
“Really?” April muttered, rolling her eyes. “This is so fucking stupid.”
“No shit.” Jasmine snickered. “All we have to do is cross a pool and fit some shapes in a hole like we’re in kindergarten. Like… seriously?”
“I have a feeling there’s something else coming,” I said, heart thudding. “Something really bad.”
The speaker crackled to life again. “As you’ve probably already realized, the objective of the game is for each of you to make it over the water to the target that matches your personal puzzle piece. Once you arrive at the target, you must put your piece in the matching bullseye to register your presence. All puzzle pieces in play must be registered at their corresponding targets for the game to be cleared. Simple enough, yes?”
There was another dramatic pause before the voice went on.
“However, the water will begin to rise soon. Not only will it make the wooden beams slippery and therefore hard to walk on, it will also eventually fill the whole room. Now that the door has been shut and sealed, the room is watertight. That means every single one of you will drown unless you complete the game within the specified time limit, which will unlock the door. Oh, and another thing—the water will be electrified until it reaches the very top of the pool, so don’t fall in unless you have a death wish.”
“Well, that’s fucked up,” Jasmine muttered.
“If one of you does fall in,” the voice went on. “Their puzzle piece is eliminated from play and no longer counts toward the end, giving the rest of you a chance to continue and survive. The mechanism for this is simple. When someone falls in, sensors in the water detect the sudden weight change, and a notification is automatically sent to everyone’s phones. At least one player must open the notification and select the dead player to eliminate them from the game.”
“Wow, how generous of you to give us all a chance to survive,” Zach muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm.
The artificial voice piped up again. “Oh, and one more thing to make this game even more fun for you—your time limit is ten minutes, and it begins right now. Good luck!”
A large digital clock switched on across the room, displaying the time in minutes, seconds, and milliseconds.
“What the fuck?” Jasmine screeched. “Ten minutes for all of us to get across? That’s nothing!”
“Stop complaining and figure it out!” Brooke said, hurrying forward. “I can see a way across to my platform, so I’ll go first. One at a time is probably safest anyway.”
I had a feeling Brooke’s newfound bravery stemmed from her guilt over the Tag game, because I’d noticed she was still having trouble meeting my eyes, even though I didn’t begrudge her for not helping me.
As she stepped onto a beam somewhere in the middle, the rest of us hung back, warily watching. She made it across to her target in one minute and thirty-eight seconds, jammed her puzzle piece in the bullseye, and turned to us with a thumbs-up. “See? Easy!” she called out. “But you need to hurry!”
She was right. We were already down to eight minutes, and there were still nine of us on the wrong side. Going one at a time simply wasn’t an option, even if it was safer.
Maverick briskly clapped his hands to snap everyone’s attention to him. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s going to be easier to see the correct paths from here on the edge, rather than when we’re out on the water. So Zach, April, and I will hang back and direct Kiara, Rhys, and Carey over to their platforms. Then we’ll do Courteney, Hudson, and Jasmine. Once they’re across, we’ll come over ourselves. April, Zach… that okay with you?”
Both of them nodded. “It’s a good idea,” April said. “Three at a time on the water isn’t too crowded, and it means we’ll all get across with time to spare.”
“Hopefully,” Zach added.
Maverick cast his intense gaze across the rest of the group. “Everyone understand what’s happening?”
We all nodded and hurried to the edge. Maverick directed me to begin from the farthest beam on the left and go forward until I reached a T-junction. With a deep breath, I took a tentative step, feeling the unstable wooden surface sway beneath my weight. One wrong move could send me plunging into the water below, so I had to concentrate on keeping my balance while simultaneously listening for Maverick’s shouted instructions.
“Right, then immediately left!” he called out. “Good! Now right again, and follow that one until I say stop!”
Under his direction, I made it over to my target in a mere forty-three seconds. Kiara made it to her platform under Zach’s direction just a few seconds after me. Rhys was still somewhere in the middle, nervously looking down at the water before each faltering step.
“Stop looking at the water!” April said. “Just concentrate on the beams, okay? Now go left!”
“No, go right!” Hudson shouted at the same time.
Rhys took one step forward and then doubled back, foot hovering between the two different beams in question. “What did you say?” he asked, turning his head over his shoulder.
“Left!” April shouted. “Hurry!”
At the same time, Hudson called out again. “It’s the right one, dumbass!”
The conflicting instructions made Rhys hesitate again. It was all the time needed for disaster to strike. With his foot hovering between the two different beams, his whole body began to teeter. He slipped a second later, and with a heart-wrenching splash, he disappeared beneath the water.
My jaw dropped as a shockwave of horror smashed through me. “No!”
Panic erupted in the rest of the group, their screams mingling with the crackling of electricity in the water. The sense of calm and order that Maverick had forged moments ago devolved into chaos in the blink of an eye, with furious accusations flying like sparks.
“You sabotaged him, you psycho freak!” April screamed, hands balling into fists at her side.
“No, you were wrong! He was supposed to go left!” Hudson shot back.
“That’s what she fucking said!” Kiara yelled over the water. “You were the one telling him to go right!”
Amidst the turmoil, Maverick’s voice rang out again. “Listen!” he said. “We can argue later. Right now, we need to rally and focus on getting through this. We either work together or die together!”
The shouting instantly died down as his words sank in. We’d already wasted so much time screaming and panicking over Rhys’s demise that we were only six minutes away from failing the game and drowning together as the room eventually flooded.
“Carey, deal with the text thing!” Maverick shouted across the water. “Courteney, I’ll direct you. Zach, do Hudson. April, do Jasmine. Focus and try to stay calm. We can do this, guys.”
With a shaky hand, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. As expected, there was a message on the screen with a series of prompts below it. Weight change detected. Eliminate a player?
I tapped on Rhys’s profile picture with a heavy heart. As much as I’d disliked the guy at first—he was besties with Hudson, for God’s sake—I’d developed the tiniest soft spot for him after he helped me during the Tag game. He didn’t have to do it, but he did anyway.
Jasmine made it to her platform in a mere thirty-seven seconds under April’s direction. Courteney arrived at her target ten seconds later, and Hudson followed twenty seconds later.
“Okay, final three!” Maverick shouted. “We’ve still got four and a half minutes left, so we’ll go one at a time to be safe. April, you go first.”
April stepped out onto the closest beam. Maverick and Zach directed her over, and she made it onto her platform in forty-seven seconds. Zach went next under Maverick’s direction, and he stepped onto his platform with two minutes left on the clock.
Maverick was up last. He looked at me across the water and dipped his chin in the briefest of nods. Then he made his way to the starting beam on the far right of the pool and stared out at the wooden labyrinth, eyes narrowing as he silently plotted his path.
As I watched him take his first precarious step, my heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing the palpable tension that hung in the air. The water had risen higher, its surface lapping at the bottom of the beams. Rhys’s fall had also splashed a lot of water onto the exact beams that Maverick needed to walk across, making them slick and treacherous.
My stomach churned as he stepped onto another wet beam. He moved with a cautious yet resolute pace, determination etched on his handsome face. With every new beam he stepped onto, my breath hitched in my throat, a silent plea lingering on my lips. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please, please, please…
The water surged upward again, splashing the beams with relentless fury. Maverick faltered, and my heart clenched with a vise-like grip, a surge of fear coursing through my veins. I desperately wanted to cry out and beg him to maintain his composure, but I knew any sound from me—or anyone else—could mentally throw him off and cause him to fall. We’d all seen it happen to Rhys when April and Hudson were arguing over his path. I couldn’t bear to see it happen to Maverick too.
He righted himself on the beam, set his jaw, and narrowed his eyes on a fork in the path ahead. He chose the beam branching toward the left. Then, in another heartbeat, he was finally all the way across the water, leaping onto his platform with a satisfied grunt.
Relief flooded me like a tidal wave, washing away the fear that had gripped me only seconds before.
“Twenty seconds to spare!” Zach called out. “Good job, man!”
Maverick grinned and slotted his hexagonal block into the target in front of him, and a loud beep echoed through the room, followed by an automated message on the speaker. “Game cleared.”
We all turned and stared at each other with wide eyes, wondering what to do next. Another beep echoed throughout the space, and the speaker went on again.
“Congratulations to those of you who succeeded in the game,” the voice said. “I hope it wasn’t too shocking for you. The water is no longer rising or electrified, so you can go back across without concern. You’ll find the door is now unlocked, so you can head upstairs and go back to bed. Sleep well!”
Brooke stooped by the edge and peered down at the dark water. “What if this is just part of the game?” she asked.
April stared at her, forehead creasing. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what if it’s not really over? What if we try to go back across, thinking it’s totally okay if we slip and fall in, and the water is actually still electrified?”
Hudson knelt by the edge and stuck his hand in the water. “It’s fine. See?” he said tersely. “Now can we get the fuck out of here?”
One by one, we made our way back over to the other side. The simple knowledge that the water was no longer electrified somehow made it seem ten times easier to traverse the beams, even though most of them were wet. Only one person slipped—Zach—and he managed to right himself before he fell in the pool.
Once we were out of the gaming room and back in the dim basement passage, the group splintered. I hung back with April, Brooke, and Zach, while Jasmine and Kiara whispered to each other a few feet ahead. Hudson trudged alone ahead of them, and Maverick and Courteney were also walking solo.
“So our theory about Rhys was totally wrong,” Zach muttered, nudging Brooke. “Obviously he’s not the Game Master.”
I nodded. “I was starting to think he was innocent anyway. He helped me in the Tag game.”
“Really?” Brooke looked over at me, eyes filled with a haunted mixture of guilt, regret, and sadness. “God, Carey, I’m so sorry. I totally froze, and—”
I lifted a palm and cut her off. “It’s fine. No need to explain or apologize. I get it.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too,” Zach said. “I froze too. But it’s no excuse. I should’ve helped you.”
“Really, guys. It’s okay. Let’s talk about something else.” I raised a brow. “For example—Hudson. You guys all saw what happened in there, right?”
April’s eyes widened. “Yes! He totally sabotaged Rhys! I mean, I definitely told him to go left, didn’t I?”
“Yes. Hudson said right, and I checked afterwards. You were correct. Rhys should’ve gone left. It was the easiest path.”
“But Rhys was Hudson’s best friend. His only friend here, really. Why would he sabotage him like that?”
I hugged my arms around myself as I felt goosebumps cropping up beneath my sweater. “Revenge.”
“For what?”
“The Truth or Die thing. The Game Master had to learn the information about all the girls Hudson has attacked from somewhere, right? Rhys is the most likely source, because they were best friends, so he’d probably know everything that’s going on in his life. At least that’s what I’d assume.”
“Yeah, maybe Rhys got drunk at a party and spilled the whole nasty story to someone,” Brooke said, nodding slowly. “Hudson must’ve realized he was the source, and he’s been stewing on it ever since the game.”
“Yep. So I bet he killed him partly out of revenge, and partly to tie up loose ends in case he survives this place,” I said. “I mean, if Rhys is dead, he can’t spill that info to anyone else, can he?”
“That means we’re all in danger from his sabotage,” April said. “Because we all know what he did to those girls now. So if he’s getting rid of loose ends… that means every single one of us.”
“Shit,” Zach muttered. “You’re right.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Hold on,” I said, grabbing April’s sleeve to stop her too. “I just realized something.”
The others turned and peered at me. “What?”
“If we’re right about this, then that means Hudson can’t possibly be the Game Master.”
“Oh, shit. Good point,” Brooke said, eyes widening.
“What do you mean?” Zach asked.
I lifted a brow. “If Hudson was angry at Rhys for spilling his dark secrets to the Game Master, then he can’t possibly be the Game Master himself.”
“I’m still not following.” Zach yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry, I’m half-asleep.”
Brooke let out an impatient sigh. “If Hudson was the Game Master, then that would mean he wrote those Truth or Die questions himself, including the one about his own dark secret. That means the information wouldn’t have come from Rhys. So he would’ve had no reason to be mad at Rhys or want revenge on him.”
“Oh.” Comprehension finally dawned on Zach’s tired face. “Shit. You’re right. He’s not the Game Master.”
“Well... I guess he could be,” April said. “He could’ve had some other reason to get rid of Rhys in that last game, right?”
“Maybe.” Zach frowned. “Also, he was the first one to test the water a minute ago. Almost like he knew for sure that it was no longer electrified. Only the Game Master would know for sure.”
“Honestly, I think he was just showing off. Proving how brave and masculine he is,” Brooke said. “I agree with Carey’s first theory. Hudson isn’tthe Game Master. I mean, he was so mad about his secret being exposed during Truth or Die.”
I nodded slowly. “Either way, we need to watch out for him. Like April said, he might sabotage all of us to save his own skin and reputation.”
“Agreed.”
April chewed the inside of her cheek as her brows knitted in a frown. “So, if we think Hudson isn’t the Game Master, then who is?” she asked. “Who’s the most likely candidate?”
The four of us turned and cast our gazes toward the others in the passage.
“If it’s out of Courteney, Maverick, Kiara, and Jasmine, I think we can safely knock Courteney out of the running,” Brooke said. “She’s pretty nice, and I can’t think of any reason for her to do something like this.”
Zach lowered his gaze to the floor and shifted his feet, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
April let out an exasperated sigh. “For fuck’s sake, Zach. Just say what you’re thinking. I won’t leap at you and tear your throat out,” she said, folding her arms. “I am still mad that you cheated on my sister, but I think we can put that aside for now, considering our current situation.”
Zach took a deep breath and looked up again. “I was just going to say, obviously I know Courteney pretty well, given that I… well, you know.” He paused and nervously coughed, pointedly avoiding April’s narrowed eyes. “Anyway, I just don’t think she could pull off something like this. She’s not smart enough.”
I raised a brow. “I thought you told me she was the top student in one of her classes. Geography, or something like that.”
“Well, I mean, she isn’t stupid. She does have that one good class. But for everything else, she’s just… average.”
“I agree,” Brooke replied. “She was my lab partner in chem last year, and I had to help her with everything. I’m still not sure what she was even doing in the class, to be honest.”
“So it’s down to Maverick, Jasmine, or Kiara.” April frowned again. “Or one of us.”
Brooke let out a sardonic laugh. “Yeah, it’s totally me,” she said, lifting her palms. “You finally figured it out.”
“Very funny,” Zach said, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, which of those three is the most likely?”
“Maverick,” Brooke said.
I raised a brow. “Care to elaborate?”
“He’s a guy,” she said. “Men are way more likely to commit violent crimes. I think they’re more likely to be psychopaths too. So it tracks that the Game Master is male.”
“Okay, fair point, but I don’t think we should blame Maverick and let the girls off the hook based on that alone,” I said. “Women can still be psychopaths.”
“True,” April said, nodding slowly. “My money’s actually on Kiara.”
“Why?”
“Well, we’ve all been assuming that the Game Master brought us here as part of a revenge scheme, right? But none of us can figure out what we supposedly did to deserve it.”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“We could be totally wrong about revenge being the motive. I mean, remember what Tate said the other day?” she said. “About Kiara’s influencer stuff. I know she bought a ton of followers at the start to kick off her career, but she’s super famous now. Fame can be addictive. People like that always want more likes, more followers… more attention.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” I said. “She could’ve set this whole thing up so that she ends up as one of the only survivors. Or even the only survivor. Then she’d get a ton of attention and build her career even more, because she’d be the most famous influencer in the world after surviving something like this.”
“Also, remember her birthday party last year?” Zach chimed in.
April’s eyes widened. “Yes! Oh my god, I totally forgot about that.”
“What happened at the party?” I asked.
“She invited the entire grade to a gigantic escape room,” Brooke explained. “It was really fun. But now it’s kind of suspicious.”
“No shit. She’s obviously into that sort of stuff, and this place is basically a giant escape room,” April said. “So yeah… she’s my number one pick right now.”
“Me too,” Zach said. “Jasmine is a total bitch, but I don’t think that’s enough of a motive to make her the Game Master.”
“So we’re pretty much agreed, then?” Brooke said. “We need to keep a really close eye on Hudson and Kiara. Hudson because he’s sabotaging everyone, and Kiara because she’s the most likely suspect for the Game Master.”
“Hold on.” April frowned. “I just thought of something else. Even if Kiara didn’t bring us here for revenge, and it’s just an attention-grabbing scheme… why us?”
“Good point,” I murmured. “She’d know from the start that we’re all going to die here if she intends on being the only survivor. So why pick us over anyone else from school? What did we do to deserve it?”
“Maybe she just went through a class list and picked eleven people at random,” Brooke suggested. “A psychopath wouldn’t care who got picked, because they don’t feel remorse, so there wouldn’t need to be any real reason behind it.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s possible.”
“No, it’s not random enough,” April declared, shaking her head. “Like, what are the odds that the four of us are here together? When there’s over two hundred students in our grade alone.”
“I might have an idea that explains it,” Zach said. “What if the people Kiara brought here were just the only people in school that she could find bad or embarrassing information on? For the Truth or Die game.”
“Huh?” Brooke’s forehead wrinkled. “Why would that matter?”
“Well, that game was clearly designed to make everyone dislike and distrust each other for however long we’re trapped here, presumably to add an extra layer of drama to the rest of the games over the next few days. It also makes for a juicy story when Kiara’s telling the media all the sordid details afterwards. So it makes sense that she’d want people with the worst possible secrets, right?”
“Okay, yeah, that makes a lot of sense,” April replied, slowly nodding. “Also, it means that she’d have no problem letting us know that she bought followers in the Truth or Die game, because I bet none of us are supposed to survive at all, like Carey said a minute ago. That means we won’t be able to reveal her secret to the outside world when it’s all over. Her version of the story will be the only narrative.”
“Uhh… hold on. I just realized we’ve blown right past a major point,” I said, heart thudding in my chest. “If Kiara is the Game Master, and she doesn’t intend for any of us to survive this thing, then that means some of the games have to be rigged against us. I mean, we were told at the start that we can survive to the very end if we play the games properly. But that’s just not possible if she wants to be the only survivor, is it?”
“So it doesn’t even matter how well we play the games,” April said. Her shoulders had begun to quiver. “We’re all going to die here.”