by Devin Hunter
Ben sighed. “Don’t promise things you don’t have control over. I know it’s all in the rank averages now. It might not be enough.”
“Don’t give up yet,” Kiri said.
“I’m not,” Ben said. “I’m just trying to prepare myself in case I don’t make it.”
“That’s not right,” Finn said. “You gotta think positive, dude.”
“It’s not that . . .” Ben shook his head. “I need some time alone.”
“You sure?” Grey didn’t want to leave his friend to worry on his own, but Grey understood that sometimes people needed a break. Grey took many when he was stressed.
“Yeah.” Ben walked off, probably to the forest many took solace in. He didn’t come back until it was almost time for the next battle, and he still wasn’t very talkative.
The next three battles went as they all hoped—Grey, Kiri, Ben, and Tristan took the Victory Royales, and Hazel was able to hide out and take the fifth spot each time. Tae Min, Finn, and Hazel had found Lam early every battle. Lam was eliminated ranking in the eighties each time.
But still she remained in the fifth overall rank.
Grey couldn’t believe it as he stared at the list in the battle warehouse. There was just one game left, and Ben was still in sixth place even after all those victories.
Lam let out a sigh of a relief. “Still in this.”
She walked to a table to sit and wait out the hour before the last battle. Her teammates joined her, but Grey turned his focus to Ben.
“See?” Ben said quietly. Tears began to form in his eyes. “I knew it. I could feel it. I’m gonna be stuck here again.”
“It’s not over yet . . .” Grey said. “There’s one more battle.”
“If four victories didn’t do it, how could one more help?” Ben turned to hide his crying.
“It could,” Tae Min said. “Please don’t give up now.”
“I hate this,” Ben said. “How am I supposed to stay here another season when all my best friends are going home?”
In that moment, Grey wished he could trade places with Ben. He didn’t think he could give up his spot, but suddenly it was all he wanted. Except it was impossible now. Even if Grey played badly and got a low rank in this game, he was ranked second. He wouldn’t drop low enough to help Ben.
Could he ask the Admin to take Ben home instead?
He had a feeling it wouldn’t work, but if the worst happened Grey might have to give it a try. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to. They could all still get home if this battle went as well as the rest in the day.
Grey put his hand on Ben’s shoulder, trying to be strong for his friend. “I wish I could trade places and it was me waiting in sixth, but it’s not. We don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m sorry, but you gotta suck it up and play your best until the very end. We all do. Worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet won’t get us anywhere. All we can do now is fight for you and not think about the rest.”
Ben’s crying slowed, and he wiped at his eyes. “I’ll try.”
“That’s all we can do,” Kiri said as she stood at Ben’s side. “I think it’ll be okay. I can feel it in my bones.”
“Why can’t I?” Ben asked.
“Just rely on us to feel it for you,” Tristan chimed in. “Grey always said he wanted to play to the end with us. And look, here we are, even after all the drama.”
That made Ben crack a smile. “True.”
“He also said we could make top five together,” Tristan continued. “So let’s believe it’ll all come true. No one thought Grey was any good—”
“Wow, thanks,” Grey said with a laugh.
“But they were wrong,” Tristan said. “Grey worked hard and learned, and though he probably won’t agree, he believed in himself this whole time. He would have given up weeks ago if he didn’t. So if he believes we can all make it, then we have to believe it, too. He hasn’t been wrong yet.”
“No pressure or anything,” Kiri added.
For some reason, that made Grey laugh and all the pressure in the group dissolved. Tristan was right—Grey wouldn’t have said he had confidence in himself—but looking back on the entire season, he must have. Or at least he had enough to keep going even when it seemed impossible.
So Grey simply chose to believe Ben would make it until the very end. The last battle would determine everything.
CHAPTER 10
It was the last time Grey would be sitting in the Battle Bus. After this, he would be able to go home, see his family, and get back to normal life. But he couldn’t think of that yet—not until they won and he saw that Ben would get to go home too.
Grey took a look at the map to check the bus’s path. It was flying east to west, almost right over the middle. “How about Fatal Fields, for old time’s sake?”
“Sure,” Tristan said.
“It feels like yesterday that I was eliminating you first on day one,” Ben said.
“That was the most miserable day,” Kiri chimed in. “I still can’t believe Grey took me in.”
“Was a good thing he did,” Tristan said. “Now you’re ranked first.”
“Nuts, ay?” Kiri laughed. “It should be Grey.”
“You have more eliminations by a lot,” Grey said as the bus’s door opened. “Okay, here we go!”
As Grey jumped out, he felt like he might miss the island after all. Maybe not the stress of competition, but he would miss his new friends. He would miss Finn until he decided to come back to the real world.
“I want the big red barn,” Tristan called out. “Ben, come with me.”
“Sure,” Ben replied.
“I’ll take the farmhouse,” Kiri said.
“Then I’ll grab the gray barn side.” Grey smiled at the thought. That was the first place he ever landed.
There were several people landing with them, but Grey wasn’t concerned. Most of the players were just messing around at this point. Sure enough, as Grey landed on the gray barn’s roof, he watched the three players touch ground in the open field where they proceeded to start a dance party.
“Should I take them out?” Kiri asked. “I already have a sniper.”
“Just knock one,” Grey said as he opened his first chest. “Then we can know who they are. If it’s not Lam’s squad, leave them. If they’re eliminated, that just helps Lam’s rank.”
“True,” Kiri said. A loud sniper shot went off.
Kiri knocked down Guang.
“Hazel’s old squad,” Ben said. “They’re reviving Guang in the open now.”
“Leaving them to their dance, then,” Kiri said. “They haven’t even grabbed weapons.”
Grey kept gathering his loot and materials, occasionally checking to make sure the dancers didn’t decide to fight. They seemed harmless enough, but Grey wasn’t about to get complacent now. He watched the notifications, waiting to see Lam’s squad go down at the hands of Tae Min, Finn, and Hazel. It usually happened after looting the first area.
Lorenzo eliminated Martine.
Hans eliminated Dan.
Selena eliminated Mayumi.
From the looks of the quick succession of notifications, Grey guessed they were all in Tilted Towers. He hoped he’d see the eliminations he needed to see soon, because every minute that went by improved Lam’s rank.
Lam knocked down Tae Min.
Grey froze in place as he read the notification in his vision again. That couldn’t be right.
Lam eliminated Tae Min.
“Guys? I’m not hallucinating that notification, am I?” Ben’s voice was already laced with fear.
“I see it, too . . .” Kiri said.
Finn knocked down Trevor.
Hazel knocked down Pilar.
“No . . .” Tristan’s voice was a whisper.
Grey began to panic. He had no idea where they were, and even if he did, there was no way he could help his friends in time.
Lam knocked down Finn.
Lam eliminated Finn.
“What?” Kiri said. “This can’t be happening! Did she find a full stack of C4 or something?”
“Maybe,” Grey said. He tried to get a grip, but it was hard to focus when Finn and Tae Min were eliminated and Lam was still fighting Hazel. He hated that he couldn’t even see what was happening, but he tried to remind himself that Tae Min was coaching Hazel. It could still turn around.
Hazel eliminated Trevor.
Hazel eliminated Pilar.
“Yes!” Kiri cheered. “Go Hazel!”
“It’s not over yet . . .” Ben said. As they all waited to see what the notifications would say next, it felt like the suspense would never end. No other words came up in Grey’s vision except:
The storm is moving in two minutes and thirty seconds!
“Did they both run?” Tristan asked.
“That’s a good bet,” Kiri said. “Shoot, Lam’s still alive. Her rank will only go up . . .”
Ben let out a groan. “I’m doomed. I’m so doomed.”
“Don’t say that. Maybe Hazel will get her.” Grey tried to shake off his worry about Ben as he looked at the map. The next storm circle was zoning in over the west side of the island. “We gotta move toward Shifty Shafts soon.”
They started moving to the northwest, but Grey kept an eye on his notifications in hopes to see Hazel eliminate Lam. But the notification that came was worse:
Lam eliminated Hazel.
“Nooooooo!” Ben cried. He stopped right in the middle of an open area, and Grey hurried to build a box around them in case someone decided to take a shot.
“We can still win, Ben,” Grey said as he tried to hold in his own panic. “Lam can’t beat us all!”
“But her rank won’t drop now . . .” Ben’s avatar used the crying emote.
“It will, just not as much,” Tristan pointed out.
Grey’s mind raced through their options, and none of them seemed that great. They could just go forward and win the game—Lam would probably make it to the top five with her turtling skills. They could try to hunt Lam down—that could put them in a bad position if they focused too much on her. Or they could split up and do both—that would potentially make them weaker and they could lose the whole thing.
“We need to focus on how we can save this,” Grey said. “The game isn’t over yet.”
“No matter what we do, we need better loot,” Tristan said. “Maybe we should just go Tilted instead of Shifty.”
“What does it matter anymore?” Ben sounded like he’d officially given up. “I’m staying here.”
“No, you’re not!” Kiri yelled. “Snap out of it right now, Ben. We’re fighting until the very end, and I won’t let you do anything else.”
“Kiri’s right,” Grey said as he opened the box and began to run. They still needed to get in the safe zone, and the storm was nearly upon them. “We gotta keep going, okay?”
“Fine,” Ben said, though he sounded resigned.
As they approached Shifty Shafts, a plan formed in Grey’s mind. It was risky, but he had to try for Ben’s sake. “Okay, this is the best I’ve got. Since me and Kiri have the top ranks, I say we go after Lam and try to take her down. Tristan, you protect Ben and stay in the safe zone. What do you guys think?”
“I can do that,” Tristan said. “But how will you find Lam?”
Grey sighed. “I’ve been hunting her for a few days, I’ll just have to do my best guessing. My bet is she landed around Haunted Hills, since it’s on the outskirts and was near the end of the bus’s path. So she’ll be moving south. We’ll be moving north.”
“We’d eventually meet in Tilted Towers,” Kiri said. “It looks like the storm will be shrinking around there.”
“Okay,” Grey said. “Then that’s the—”
Shots fired their way. Another pair of players was running toward Shifty Shafts from Greasy Grove. Tristan threw up walls, and Grey went into fight mode. Using ramps to get the high ground, Grey fired down on them. They blocked with a few walls of their own and began to build up as well.
By the way they used their materials, Grey was certain they were a good duo. He would guess it was Zach and Hui Yin by their aggressive style. “Protect Ben at all costs!”
“On it!” Kiri said as she fortified their position and built a tower. She fired two shots from her sniper rifle. “The pink-haired girl is one shot!”
“My turn!” Tristan said as he equipped his shotgun and pushed over the ramp.
Tristan knocked down Hui Yin.
“Get Zach!” Grey said as he unloaded his tommy gun on his enemy.
Zach didn’t build or shoot at that point. He stopped and used an emote to bow before them. Tristan shot him once in reply.
Tristan eliminated Zach.
Tristan eliminated Hui Yin.
“Sweet revenge,” Tristan said. “You and Kiri better get moving, Grey. You have a lot of ground to cover, and we’re already down to fifty players.”
“Right.” Grey reloaded all his weapons.
Ben whimpered. “Lam’s gonna get top five this game. You can’t just find her. She is the queen of turtling.”
“Well, we have to try,” Kiri said. “Because we want you to get home, too, Ben.”
“Hang in there,” Grey said. “Take it slow. Don’t take a fight if you don’t have to.”
“You sound like Tae Min,” Tristan said. “Go already! I got this!”
Grey and Kiri began their run, passing right through Shifty Shafts even though it looked like it hadn’t been looted yet. They had to find Lam as soon as possible if they wanted to give Ben the best chance possible to make top five.
CHAPTER 11
As Grey kept his eyes out for any movement in the distance, he tried to think about where Lam might go after she eliminated Hazel. If she had really landed in the northwest area of the island, then the most likely spots were the soccer stadium, Snobby Shores, and Pleasant Park.
“Where are we going?” Kiri asked. “Not to be dramatic, but your choice sort of determines the fate of Ben’s rank.”
“I know.” Grey also knew Ben could still hear him, so he forced himself to stay calm. “Lam’s gonna be playing it super safe, so I bet she’s at Snobby. It’s remote, still in the circle, and she probably has her pick of loot.”
“Sounds like the best choice to me,” Kiri replied.
They headed for the houses on the west side of the island, which sat right near the ocean. The area was still neat and clean as if no one had touched it from the outside. But that didn’t deter Grey. Lam was smart—she wouldn’t touch anything on the outside because it would be suspicious.
“Let’s split and check the houses,” Grey said.
“I’ll start at the north,” Kiri replied. “Meet you in the middle.”
“Perfect.” Grey moved to the southernmost house and opened the door. Everything was still intact. Weapons still lay on the ground and not a single piece of furniture was gone. The chests still glowed, unopened.
The whole house was like that, so Grey grabbed the good loot and moved on to the next building. It was the exact same as the first. Since Kiri hadn’t mentioned seeing anything, he began to worry he’d guessed wrong. Lam would survive longer, and Ben’s ranking would be in more danger of staying at sixth place. They were now down to under forty players left. Grey had to hurry.
“Ben and I have to move to Tilted,” Tristan said. “The storm is pushing us there.”
“Yeah,” Grey said as he looked at the storm timer. He and Kiri would need to get moving soon, too. “We’ll meet you there. Hopefully after we find Lam.”
Kiri arrived at the middle house about the same time as Grey. He opened the front door first, and his heart stopped when he looked up.
There was a trap on the ceiling.
“Kiri, look up,” Grey said quietly, as if Lam could hear them.
“She’s here,” Kiri said in a whisper. “She has to be.”
“We gotta be careful. That can’t be the only tr
ap,” Grey said. “Lam always has a plan.”
“She’s already heard the door open. She knows we’re here,” Kiri replied as she equipped clinger grenades. “I picked these up in the other houses. I say we go in with a bang.”
“Good idea.” Grey used his AR to break down the trap. “You first.”
Kiri walked inside and threw the grenades deeper into the house, then she backed out to avoid taking damage. The walls, floors, and ceilings broke from the explosions, and Grey held his shotgun at ready. His eyes waited to see movement, but there was still no sign of her.
That’s when he heard the sound of building.
“Outside!” Kiri yelled as she ran back through the door.
Grey followed, and his jaw dropped as he took in the large ramp Lam was building. She must have gone through the back of the house. Grey almost shot at the ramp, but then Lam dropped a launch pad and flew into the sky on her glider.
Kiri and Grey opened fire, and Grey was able to hit Lam once as she flew. But then she glided over the mountain ridge and out of sight.
“She launched!” Grey announced. “We’re following, but she’s headed for Tilted.”
“Of course she is,” Ben said.
The storm is approaching!
The circle began to close on Grey and Kiri as they built up to the launch pad Lam had left for them. Grey jumped on it and flew into the air. To his surprise, shots flew his way. “She’s trying to shoot us down! She’s still on the mountain!”
That was when Grey realized Lam might not know who he was because he and Kiri looked like a duo at the moment. Grey changed his skins often, so it wasn’t as if Lam would recognize him.
“She burned my shield!” Kiri said. “I might be in trouble.”
“Hold on!” Grey said. “Tristan, Ben, build up from Tilted. She’s on the north cliff and she doesn’t know who we are. You could take her by surprise!”
“What if she shoots us?” Ben said. “I can’t get eliminated now.”
“You won’t!” Grey insisted. “We have her surrounded!”
Lam began to build as Grey and Kiri got closer to landing by her. She knew they would soon have their weapons out. The moment Grey hit the ground, he began to build up in hopes to meet Lam at the top. Kiri built from another angle. Grey let off a round from his tommy gun, hoping to be enough of a distraction that Lam wouldn’t spot Tristan and Ben on the other side.