by Devin Hunter
Finn knocked down Trevor.
“Two down,” Finn said as he thirsted Trevor on the spot. “Two to go.”
“Not for long,” Tae Min said. “Hurry, these two are trying to run.”
“Impulse grenade coming at Finn and Grey!” Kiri announced now that she had made her way down the mountain. She threw the grenade at Finn and Grey, and they went flying toward the houses. Since they were low to the ground, they wouldn’t take fall damage, so Grey prepared himself for the chase. Lam and Pilar could not survive to late game—the lower their rank this game, the better.
“They’re gonna launch pad,” Tae Min said.
“No they won’t!” Grey built up to the top of the house where a build battle had started. He could see the platform where Lam and Pilar were, and he threw C4 at it. The launch pad went down, but Grey exploded everything before Lam and Pilar could use it. They fell to the ground.
Grey eliminated Lam.
Grey eliminated Pilar.
Lam’s squad was eliminated in the fifties for rank. It would definitely hurt their overall score, maybe even bump another of Grey’s squad to the top five.
“Perfect,” Tae Min said. “You can handle it from here, right, Grey?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“I get to eliminate you! I have the impulse ’nades!” Kiri said.
After Tae Min had his customary “great fall,” the rest of the battle wasn’t much of a struggle. No one but Lam’s squad could face them at their full force, and even then they didn’t have much chance anymore.
Grey’s squad took the Victory Royale easily, and when they appeared back in the battle warehouse, Grey immediately looked at the rankings on the wall. His heart sped up as he took in what he saw.
He was ranked number five.
Kiri was now four, and Hazel had fallen to six.
Grey had finally achieved what he had worked for the entire time he’d been stuck in virtual reality. He was in the top five. He could go home if he kept it for a handful of days. He couldn’t help but smile as that truth sank in.
“Thanks a lot, Grey,” Hazel said as she burst into tears and ran out of the warehouse.
Grey’s elation vanished as he watched her go. It was hard to be happy for his own success when it came at the expense of a friend.
CHAPTER 5
While Hazel had run from the warehouse, her new squad was still there. They glared at Grey and his friends. This was swiftly becoming a battle between them alone, and it would be fierce.
Lam said, “Are you happy now?”
“I’m happy for myself and sad for Hazel,” Grey said.
“You did that to her,” Lam said. “Because you’re a bunch of selfish kids who can’t wait your turn. You know how much Hazel needs this.”
“I’ve waited plenty of turns and never got moved up to the front of the line,” Tristan said. “You know this isn’t about waiting your turn—it’s about taking your turn.”
“Yeah,” Ben said. “Don’t guilt-trip Grey for doing exactly what you would do. Why don’t you give up your spot for Hazel? Or are you selfish too?”
Lam glared at him, but she didn’t jump at the chance to sacrifice her spot, either. Instead, she walked away with Trevor and Pilar. Grey hoped they would go and comfort Hazel, but he had a feeling they didn’t care that much. It wouldn’t be right for him to do it.
“I know that look,” Finn said. “You’re worried about Hazel.”
Grey sighed. “Is that so wrong?”
Finn shook his head. “No. I’ll go talk to her, okay? We both started in the squad at the same time, so we’re buddies.”
“Thanks,” Grey said. Finn would be able to help. He and Hazel got along well—they had similar personalities. Though they bickered, they seemed to understand each other like they were siblings.
“You guys did well in Tilted,” Tae Min said as if nothing happened. “Think you’ll be okay if I squad with Ben and Tristan after a couple more battles?”
Grey nodded. “I don’t have to land in Tilted, right?”
“No,” Tae Min said. “I’ll take Ben and Tristan there instead.”
“Good.” Grey had a feeling that after two more Tilted Towers landings, he would need a break from the fast-paced starts. “Practice?”
“Of course.” Tae Min led them back to their usual practice area, and this time he built the twin apartments that were to the south of the construction site in Tilted Towers. They didn’t have time to study more than that.
Finn showed up with only a few minutes before the next battle. He looked tired. Grey couldn’t imagine what he talked to Hazel about for nearly an hour.
“Everything okay?” he asked his best friend.
Finn shrugged. “Not really. She’s majorly upset you took her spot.”
Grey frowned. “I feel horrible.”
“Don’t,” Finn said as he put a hand on Grey’s shoulder. “It’ll work out however it works out. You can’t control the Admin’s rules.”
“Exactly,” Kiri said. “You aren’t responsible for this, Grey. She shouldn’t be mad at you—she should be mad at whoever made this place we’re stuck in.”
The next battle begins in thirty seconds!
“Everyone get your heads in the game,” Tae Min said as they all prepared for the teleport. “This is the reality of making top five. If you want it, that means other people lose it. The end.”
Grey tried his best to accept the truth of Tae Min’s words. He knew this would be hard. He knew people would get hurt. He couldn’t fix every bad thing about the game no matter how much he wanted to.
He and his squad appeared in the Battle Bus, and this time the bus’s path wasn’t as ideal for Tilted Towers. It was flying from south to north over the east side of the map.
“We’re jumping early so we can get there,” Tae Min said. “Right when the door opens.”
Grey readied himself, though he was nervous they wouldn’t land in their ideal places at Tilted Towers. “What do we do if we mess up the landing?”
“Well, don’t mess up, but get a gun and make do if you land badly,” Tae Min said. “At least hit a tower we’ve studied.”
“Okay.” The moment the bus’s door opened, Grey and his squad leaped out. They were so high up he could see the entire island in his view. He tried to stick close to Tae Min for the time being, just so he could get the right height when he pulled out his glider to soar into Tilted Towers.
The only good thing about going to Tilted Towers from this bus path was that fewer people flew their direction. Instead of fifteen extra players, it looked like it would only be ten of them total. They could manage that.
Just as Grey feared, he was too low in the air to land at Grandma’s house by the clock tower. He would be lucky to hit the twin apartments they had just studied instead.
“I’m gonna have to hit first floor of the castle,” Kiri said.
“Same on construction,” Finn said.
“Roof of twin here,” Grey reported as his feet hit the flat black roof. He was right by a pistol and he grabbed it before breaking the roof. There was someone on the other side of the buildings doing the same thing—they would definitely meet inside. Grey had to hope he found better gear before they did.
He dropped right onto a chest and opened it. There was a gray shotgun, ammo, and small shields, but it was something. After drinking the shield potions, he broke down all the furniture and moved to the next room and the next. The deeper he moved inside, the louder the other player’s footsteps grew. Grey wished he had a trap for extra protection, but so far he hadn’t been that lucky.
Once Grey opened the next door, he found the enemy. He fired his shotgun out of instinct, and he hit the enemy for head shot damage. It wasn’t enough, since the shotgun was only a basic one, but the girl had to be low on health. Instead of ducking behind the wall, he gambled and took some damage. But it paid off.
You eliminated Martine by head shot.
“Nice one, Grey!”
Finn called over the comms.
“She had a purple scar, too. Sweet,” Grey said as he picked up the loot. She also had bandages, but he hadn’t taken enough damage to use them since they could only fill you up to seventy-five health.
“I’m gonna need backup,” Finn said before Grey could loot the rest of the twin apartments. “There’s three in here with me.”
“On my way,” Grey said.
“In the basement,” Finn said. So much for this being an easier land in Tilted Towers. As Grey ran to help his best friend, Finn took a big chunk of damage. Grey wished his avatar could run faster, but he was stuck going the same speed as everyone else.
Finn’s health bar turned red before Grey could even get in the building. “Don’t come! There’s no way . . .”
Jamar knocked down Finn.
“No!” Grey yelled. It was only the beginning of the game. If Finn was eliminated now, he’d take a ranking in the eighties for the game. Finn couldn’t afford such a bad loss if they were to get him in the top five.
“They’re gonna thirst,” Finn said. “Don’t come, Grey. I’m serious.”
Jamar eliminated Finn by head shot.
“Oh no!” Kiri said. “Your ranking.”
“Just think about yourselves for now,” Finn said. “That’s the luck of Tilted sometimes.”
“We’ll come and avenge you,” Tae Min said. “They’re the only ones left here anyway.”
Grey didn’t want to wait for Kiri and Tae Min, but he knew he should. So he crouched to walk quietly and found a place to wait. He could hear the footsteps of Hazel’s old squad. Jamar, Sandhya, and Guang may not have been the top ten, but they were usually in the top thirty even now. Grey might have been angry, but he wasn’t stupid enough to go in one versus three.
Grey spotted Tae Min building to the top of the construction site. Kiri broke out of the castle tower and built her own floors to meet Tae Min.
“They’re first floor,” Grey said as one of them walked right by his hiding spot. He took a deep breath and stood, shooting the player from behind. They spun around and shot back. Grey crouched under his natural cover to avoid the first hit, and then he built walls around himself.
He knew pretending to box in would be great bait for this squad.
Sure enough, they all showed up to try and eliminate him. Kiri and Tae Min pounced on the enemies from above, and they were finished.
“Good job, guys!” Finn said. “That’ll teach them. You better win this one in my honor.”
“We will,” Kiri said.
The rest of the battle went smoothly, although Grey hated that Finn was out the entire time. Tae Min stayed with them longer than usual, only going out after they eliminated Lam’s squad. That was right before they hit the top ten for the battle.
Grey and Kiri managed to pull off the Victory Royale, but it didn’t feel the same without Finn there with them.
With the battle finished, all of Grey’s friends appeared back at their practice site. The duplicate twin apartment from Tilted Tower was still there, and they gathered in front of it.
“Sorry about that loss, Finn,” Tae Min said. “We shouldn’t have let that happen.”
“Don’t worry about it, seriously,” Finn replied. “We’re still doing great.”
Tae Min nodded. “I’m gonna work on the next building. You guys keep on twin practice while I work. You good for me to switch squads next battle, Grey?”
Grey nodded. “Sure. Just give us the landing location and I can deal.”
“Go for Lucky Landing,” Tae Min said.
Tae Min switched squads and started building while the others practiced in the twin apartment. Soon enough, it was time for the third battle of the day. Everything went smoothly in Lucky Landing because Grey’s squad was the only one there, but it was still strange not to have Tae Min around telling them what to do.
“It’s quiet,” Finn said as they ran up to Fatal Fields to get into the next storm circle. “Too quiet.”
“Yeah,” Kiri said.
Fatal Fields looked like it hadn’t been touched. Grey kept an eye out as they looted some of it on their way, but he was paying more attention to the notifications of who was being eliminated. So far Tae Min, Ben, and Tristan must have been surviving in Tilted Towers because Grey only saw their names on the good side of the elimination announcements.
“Ah!” Finn yelled as he took damage out of nowhere. “Sniped!”
Grey began to build walls around himself while his teammates did the same thing. He peered through the slats and spotted the enemies pushing them. “Looks like two.”
“Going in!” Finn yelled as he began ramping up aggressively.
“Wait!” Grey said. They had to be careful without Tae Min to back them up. While they had grown more skilled, Grey wasn’t about to be overly confident.
More shots fired, and before Grey could even act, Finn’s health bar went red again.
Vlad knocked down Finn.
“Shoot!” Finn yelled. “They didn’t look like a top team.”
“Push, Kiri!” Grey said as he aimed at the walls Vlad and Yuri had built to protect themselves. They were definitely going to eliminate Finn if Grey and Kiri didn’t push hard—Grey couldn’t let his friend take yet another low ranking.
“Using my minigun,” Kiri said as the bullets began to fly nonstop.
Grey built higher to get above them, and he aimed for the player who wasn’t rebuilding the walls. The yellow numbers showed on Grey’s screen, indicating the head shot. The player built a roof, and Grey knew what would come next though he wanted desperately to stop it.
Vlad eliminated Finn.
“Sorry, man,” Finn said. “My play is way off today.”
With Finn gone, the players turned on Grey and Kiri. Vlad was already low, so Grey was able to get him down without much trouble. Yuri almost knocked Grey down, but Kiri came through with the relentless minigun fire.
In all the chaos, Grey only had time to look at the remaining players after Vlad and Yuri were eliminated. There were fifty players left. Another bad rank for Finn. Grey and Kiri were still able to get to the final four, and this time they gave the Victory Royale to Ben and Tristan.
When they got to the final battle of the day and Finn took yet another early elimination, Grey finally lost it.
“What is wrong with you?” he yelled over the comms. “You know better than to run into five players!”
“Sorry,” Finn said. “I guess we’re not that strong without Tae Min, are we?”
“You played better than this before he was ever in our squad,” Grey said.
“Calm down, Grey,” Kiri said. “Everyone has bad days. Getting mad at him won’t help.”
“He hasn’t had a day like this since he got here!” Grey replied. “He came here a good player. It’s almost like he’s . . .”
That’s when it clicked in Grey’s mind. Finn wasn’t just getting eliminated from bad luck or hard battles. Finn knew what he was doing—he was taking early losses on purpose.
And he started doing it after he talked to Hazel.
Finn was tanking his rank so Hazel could have the final spot in the top five.
“Are you gonna finish that thought, Grey?” Kiri asked as they backed out of the fight before they were eliminated like Finn.
“Never mind,” Grey said. “Just focus on the game. You’re right. I’m getting too worked up over this.”
This wasn’t the time to talk about what Finn was doing. Grey still had to do well, even if his friend was losing on purpose. Grey would have to confront Finn about it once the battle was over.
CHAPTER 6
When Grey and his squad appeared in the warehouse after the last battle of the day, Grey didn’t even hear what the Admin was saying as he took in the rankings on the wall. Kiri and Grey had stayed in the top five, but Finn had gone down two ranks so that he was now behind Ben and Tristan. Hazel was still right behind Grey.
If Finn kept getting elim
inated early . . . it wouldn’t be long until the top five was out of reach for him.
Grey had to convince Finn to stop this before it was too late.
“Me and Finn gotta talk,” Grey said the moment the Admin disappeared. He grabbed Finn by the arm and dragged him out of the battle warehouse.
“Ow, ow, ow!” Finn cried as he squirmed out of Grey’s grasp. “What the heck are you doing? Why are you so mad about one bad day?”
Grey pointed to the forest. “Not here.”
“Fine.” Finn stomped into the forest, and when they got to the barrier, he turned around on Grey. “Now will you tell me why you’re being such a jerk?”
“How about you tell me why you’re giving up your spot for Hazel?” Grey demanded.
Finn’s eyes went wide. “Oh. You figured it out.”
“Of course I did!” Grey threw his hands up in the air. “You made it completely obvious! All those bad games in a row. Throwing fights I know you could take solo if you wanted. Not sneaky at all.”
Finn cringed. “I thought it was. I forget you’re smart.”
“I just don’t get it,” Grey said. “What did Hazel bribe you with? How could you try to give up your spot without even talking to me?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t listen!” Finn’s voice burst out of him.
“I listen to you!” Grey replied.
Finn shook his head. “You hear my words, sure, but you haven’t really taken in anything I’ve said this whole time. You think I want exactly what you want.”
Grey’s anger began to wane, replaced with a sense of fear. “I don’t get what you’re saying.”
“I know.” Finn let out a short, sad laugh. “You can tell I’m throwing battles, but you can’t see all the hints I’ve given this entire month I’ve been here. I knew you’d be upset . . . so I’ve just been avoiding it. I figured if Hazel beat me out for the top five then it would be fine. We’d both get what we wanted without me having to face you.”
A lump grew in Grey’s throat as he began to connect the dots. “You don’t want to go home.”
“No, I don’t,” Finn said flatly. “I’ve told you a million times that I like being here. I like seeing all the events in person. I like fighting as if I’m really in the game. But still you’ve been set on getting me to go home at the same time as you!”