Volunteer (Selected Book 3)

by Robin Roseau

  "Thank you, Jasmine."

  "You see?" Appeared more words. "One day, and she thanks me for relieving boredom. Imagine a week."

  "I got it," I said.

  "Got what?" Violet asked.

  "Nothing."

  "Very good," said Jasmine. "We must now determine the nature of the competition. The first decision is to choose the size of the playing area and the nature of the area. I will allow medium, large, and very large. Medium is the arena. The others are one of the much larger battlefields we use. Territory, if not the arena, can be jungle, savannah, desert, and we recently added a coastal range. You have all seen how we normally make these decisions, but I will allow negotiation, and if there is unanimous consent, then I will accept your choices."

  "I have a preference," I said, "But I'm afraid if I voice it, that it will get used against me."

  "Does anyone else have a similar concern?" Jasmine asked. "No one? Does anyone understand why Skye might have that concern?"

  Violet and Audra both laughed. "Because she knows both of us well."

  "Audra, I am sending some choices to your visor. No one else will be able to tell what you're doing. Let's see what you want."

  I was immediately presented with two sets of check boxes, one for size and one for venue. All the boxes were checked. I found the one labeled desert and unchecked it.

  "Can you see that, Jasmine?"

  "Let's see how it plays," she said.

  "I have a preference for large or very large," said Violet. "Will you let me have it?"

  Posey and I conversed. Neither of us had a problem with it. So I said, "We won't object if you agree not to use what I want against me."

  "Agreed," Violet and Audra said together. So Jasmine sent to their visors my request for no desert. "We agree to that, too," Audra said.

  "We tentatively agree to the size of the battleground," Azalea said. "We would like to know if Skye is making a specific choice or ruling something out?"

  "I am trying to rule one choice of venue out."

  "I bet it's desert. No one likes a desert," said Bluebell. "Although perhaps you're afraid of the jungle. Either way, we will agree, subject to one condition from each team."

  "Oh?" Violet and Posey both asked. "What condition?"

  "We want to pick the prize the grand winner receives."

  "I want to clarify," said Jasmine. "There is a grand winner, but the choice of games will also involve sub-winners, so to speak, based on points earned against another team. So there will still be negotiation over those."

  Posey and I turned to each other, then she whispered into my ear, "What venue don't you want?"

  "Desert," I whispered back.

  "We agree," Posey said. A moment later, Violet echoed her.

  "Very good," said Bluebell. "The grand winner gets to pick our vacation destination for this trip and the next one we can arrange for all of us. That one might only be a long weekend, or even much longer. Everyone agrees to accept that person's choice and engage wholeheartedly and joyfully in the attendant activities."

  "Oh, so if Violet and I win," said Audra, "then we could decide to go skiing again."

  "We could," said Violet. "But what if we can't agree?"

  "Then I will devise a small challenge to decide the grand winner," Jasmine said. "We have eliminated the arena. We will be using one of the larger venues. Do you wish to negotiate further on that choice or allow me to pick once we see the game?" We agreed she should pick. "And we have eliminated the desert, which I think makes everyone happy. Very few participants want to play in the desert."

  "I would suggest we voluntarily eliminate the coast, as that offers too great a species advantage," said Violet. "Catseye can't swim."

  "What do you think about that, Audra?" I said. "Your partner is trying to eliminate your strength." Audra was every bit as good a swimmer as I was.

  "If they fell into the ocean and can't swim," she said, "they could drown."

  "I wouldn't let that happen," Jasmine said. "Do not consider that in your decision process."

  Audra leaned towards Violet, who lowered her ear to her. My sister whispered quietly for a moment or two, and Violet nodded. "Agreed."

  "I won't interfere if Violet doesn't want to use the coast," Audra declared.

  "The coast was my first choice," I said.

  "It's my last," said my partner. "Are you going to ask me to bribe you?"

  I laughed. "No. All right."

  Bluebell and Azalea were just as happy to eliminate the coast. "We're getting closer."

  "I have no preference," I said.

  Azalea requested jungle, and no one said "no", so jungle it would be.

  "Now, the nature of the game," said Jasmine. "I already know both Catseye sisters want a capture game. Has that changed?"

  "No."

  "Another capture game?" I asked.

  "To be specific, they want the goal to be to capture their opponents."

  "Not unlike yesterday?"

  "The goal yesterday was to capture the baton. Capturing an opponent was simply a strategy."

  "Skye and Audra, do you wish to fight them on this choice?"

  Audra and I looked at each other. The thing was, this was turning into my fantasy, and I learned then that Jasmine was right. I wasn't over this part. "I have no objections."

  "Posey wants to catch Violet and me?" Audra asked.

  "Yes," Posey said. "I do."

  "All right," Audra said. "No objections. So far."

  "What are we offered?" Azalea asked.

  I laughed. "Nothing from me."

  Posey and Violet changed languages, and it wasn't Catseye. They each made an offer of some sort, and their mothers accepted.

  "So not fair," I muttered.

  "At this point," Jasmine said. "We can continue to negotiate the nature of the game. Or you can ask me to select a game based on the basic criteria expressed here. I can do so, and then we can negotiate handicaps and winning prizes."

  I leaned to Posey. "Whatever you want."

  Violet leaned to Audra and spoke into her ear. Audra nodded.

  "We'll let you pick, Jasmine," Violet said. Posey agreed, and again we turned to The Moms.

  "All right," Azalea said. "That leaves more points to handicap all of you and pick what else we can win."

  "This will be the game," Jasmine said. "We will play in one of the large, hexagonal arenas. Each team will own one third of the region. This afternoon, you will be released to set traps in your region. You will be collected for dinner. Tomorrow morning, we begin."

  "Traps?" Mom asked. "That sounds dangerous."

  "It won't be," Jasmine said. "I do not allow dangerous traps. The game tomorrow is simple. You will each receive maps of the arena, accessed from your visors. You will begin together as you were yesterday. You will travel from your main base to the base of the opposing team most immediately to your right. Once you reach their base, your hands will be freed. At that point, one of you becomes prey to be captured. The other becomes a hunter. The hunter should return to her territory and attempt to in some way capture her two prey opponents. She can attempt to drive her opponent into a trap or capture her more directly. In the meantime, the prey must proceed to the third base, collect a token I place there, and then return to her home base with the token."

  Violet and Posey both began to quiver with pleasure.

  "This is not a timed event," Jasmine added. "It is possible all three prey will win. Any prey who is captured represents a loss for her team. If two or three prey make it back to base, then we will have another game after this one." Then she smiled. "However, I will be offering some degree of assistance to the hunters."

  "What if we're all caught?" I asked. "Who is the grand winner?"

  "If one team captures two, then that team is the grand winner. Otherwise it will be the prey that is captured last. Other questions?"

  "Who is prey?" Audra asked.

  "We'll come to that next," Jasmine said. There weren't
other questions, so they she said, "Prey should not engage physically with a hunter or other prey. You will all be wearing clothing to protect you, but I can stiffen the clothing. A touch from a hunter will stiffen that portion of your clothing. So you can run away, but if they touch you, a portion of your clothing will grow stiff. It will wear off if you still manage to free yourself, but if I see anything that looks like combat, I will stiffen your entire body and handicap your hunter besides."

  "Got it," I said.

  "All right. Let's choose prey." Jasmine grinned.

  "Violet, I know you want to catch me."

  "I sure do," she said.

  "Then we make this offer. You will make one attempt to force me to be prey, and we will either let you spend the points or counter. But no bidding war."

  "Agreed," she said. "Jasmine, you'll enforce that agreement?"

  "Of course."

  "One point," Violet said.

  "What?" I screeched. "You're supposed to spend more than that."

  "One point," Violet said. Her tentacles waved at me. "You'll never convince your partner to spend points to counteract me."

  Posey laughed. "She's right, Skye. Nice try though."

  I slumped. "Fine. I guess I'm prey."

  "Not so quick," Bluebell said. "Two points for Posey to be prey."

  "What?" Violet and Posey screeched together.

  "We never agreed to remain neutral," Bluebell said. "Two points overrides your one point, Violet. Four points to counter us, Posey."

  "Wait," I said. "Does that mean Violet paid one point and Bluebell spent two? We didn't have to spend any?"

  "That's correct," said Jasmine.

  I leaned back, stretching my arms to the table, where they were still bound. "Excellent. Welcome to being prey, Posey."

  "Oh, that's not happening," she said. "Four points."

  "Wait!" I said. "We're a team. You can't just spend those points."

  She leaned down and whispered into my ear. "You don't want to be the hunter, anyway."

  "But-" I sighed. "Fine." Then I turned to look at Bluebell. "Eight points and you can catch Posey instead of me."

  "I guess we'll let you be prey," Bluebell said with a little wave of her tentacles.

  "Perfect!" said Violet.

  "Four points for Violet to be prey," Bluebell said.

  "What?" Violet said. She began speaking rapid Catseye. Bluebell and Azalea leaned back and let Violet mutter.

  When she ran down, Azalea said, "For the remainder of your points you can reverse that. No one has enough to reverse it again."

  Violet sighed and whispered to Audra for a minute. And it was Audra who said, "Eight points."

  "Thank you," said Violet.

  "Yes. Thank you, Audra," Bluebell said. "It cost us six points, but we've pulled four from one team and all the points from the other."

  And I decided we came out ahead on the exchange.

  "What about them?" Audra asked, pointing with her nose to The Moms.

  "Is anyone going to spend points to force a decision on us?" Azalea asked.

  No one wanted to spend points, so they both turned to Jasmine. "We believe that means they don't get to know which until they either catch one of us or are caught by one of us."

  "I agree," Jasmine said. "Last chance."

  Violet had no points, and neither Posey nor I cared to spend any just to find out.

  "Handicaps," Jasmine declared. "Then prize negotiation." She fed the handicap system to us.

  "We feel that the teams are not entirely fair," said Posey.

  "Two teams are mixed Catseye and human," Violet pointed out. "And our extra limbs are a significant advantage."

  "We do not believe it will matter for this competition," said Bluebell.

  "Oh come on, Mom," Posey said. "Either of you can climb a tree far better than a human can."

  "I don't hear a proposal."

  "We believe one of you should willingly submit to having her tentacles bound to her sides," Violet said.

  "And yet, we aren't offering," Bluebell said. "I didn't hear any of you offering an advantage due to youth."

  "Oh please. You're both in your prime," I said. "Audra has a distinct disadvantage."

  "Yeah! I have a crappy sister who has to remind me." She stuck her tongue out.

  "Shh," I said. "We're working on the sympathy vote." But she stuck out her tongue again.

  "If you want to handicap us," Bluebell said, "Then you have to spend the points to do it."

  Posey and I discussed quietly. Then Posey said, "Four points to bind the tentacles of the prey." Binding the hunter would have been better, but that was eight points, and if they allowed it, we wouldn't have enough to counteract any of their attempts to handicap us.

  "Accepted," said Bluebell. That meant they still had seven points and we had eight. "Four points to bind Skye's limbs."

  "What?" I said. "Is that there?"

  Jasmine highlighted it for me.

  "That isn't fair," I said. "If we spent four points to bind their prey's limbs, then it should be all of them, if they can do the same thing to me."

  "You know," Jasmine said. "She has a fair point."

  "I'm almost helpless without my arms," I added. "I'll lose for sure. I wouldn't even be able to pick up the token I'm supposed to collect."

  "You can cancel it," Bluebell said. "You have enough points."

  "Jasmine?" I said.

  "Bluebell," Jasmine said. "How about if the binding is only while she is in your territory, but it is released when she is in Violet's or her own?"

  "We will accept that if you significantly stiffen her limbs otherwise, but not bound to her sides."

  I leaned into Posey. "I'm almost sure to lose."

  She nodded. "We will accept this as a legal handicap if Moms agree to offer no other handicap to us."

  "Are you going to erase it?" Bluebell asked.

  "If you agree."

  "Agreed," she said.

  "We use our eight points to erase this handicap," Posey said.

  "Thank you," I whispered to Posey.

  "For our last three points," Bluebell said, "GPS location information to our hunter, overlaying her position and heading on the map. We don't want her getting lost."

  "Very good," said Jasmine. "You may now negotiate for prizes."

  Words appeared on my screen. "Remember our agreement, Skye."

  "Audra," said Bluebell. "If you make it home without being captured, then our offer to you is a college scholarship, but you will listen to our advice where you should go, and you know we're going to try to steer you somewhere near our home."

  Audra dropped her jaw, and when I looked at Mom, so did she. "Bluebell," Mom said slowly.

  "Carmen, do you forget what we said about family?"

  Mom shut her mouth. Bluebell glanced at me, but I had my mouth shut.

  "You just offered to pay for my college if I win?" Audra asked. "And you'll try to get me to go to something in Boston, but it's my choice?"

  "That's right."

  "What if I lose?"

  "If we catch you," Bluebell said, "Then when you go to school, we will listen to your wishes, but we get to pick the school."

  "I won't be able to go anywhere," Audra replied. "Unless I get a scholarship."

  "That is not true," Bluebell said. "Most schools provide tuition assistance based on need. If you are accepted somewhere, you will receive enough assistance you can attend. It might be difficult for your mom to pay, but it won't be impossible, and you would come out of it with loans to pay off."

  I said nothing. I already was sure that Bluebell intended to pay for Audra somehow, anyway, and I'd be working, at least after her freshman year. I'd help as much as I could. But I wasn't allowed to speak, per my agreement with Jasmine.

  But I glanced at the Catseye, and the words from earlier appeared. "Remember our agreement." I nodded understanding to her.

  "Are there good schools in Boston?"

  "I would c
onsider Mount Holyoke to be near our home," Bluebell said. "If you want a technical degree, there is MIT. And, of course, Harvard. So yes, very good schools, some in Boston. Some not far."

  "There are others," Violet said. "Wellesley for instance. Audra, you should accept."

  She looked at Mom, who nodded.

  "All right," Audra said. "Thank you."

  "Audra," said Posey. "What do you want from me if you win?"

  Audra smiled. "You have to answer any question I ask."

  "I can't."

  "Why not?"

  "There are things we're not allowed to tell you. You could ask me how our jumpers work. I can't teach you."

  "Oh. Okay. Then anything you're allowed to tell me."

  "Give me an example."

  "I might ask how much you weigh."

  Posey laughed. "For an hour?"

  "Forever."

  Posey stilled. "Maybe," she said slowly. "If I win... You are old enough to start dating, casually, but old enough. We are going to introduce you to other ETs, and if any ask you out that you like, you will agree. We won't let anyone ask you out who won't treat you very well."

  "I don't have to be anyone's girlfriend? I just have to accept a date or two?"

  "That's right. And only people we specifically tell you fall under this agreement."

  Audra considered carefully. "What if I become someone's girlfriend?"

  "We would never make you go out with someone else, nor would we make you go out immediately after breaking up. But we might after a shorter break than you would prefer."

  "Who would ever break up with me?" Audra asked with a smile.

  "Maybe you'd break up with them."

  "True. I'm picky. You'll really answer my questions?"

  "Except the ones I can't."

  "Then I agree.

  "Your turn, Skye," Azalea said. "If our hunter captures you, then for the next ten years, at any time we need a daughter to attend an event with us, except when it would interfere with other commitments, we can call on you."

  "Really?" I asked. "That's what you want?" I was pretty sure I'd already agree if they asked me.

  "At times, these two refuse to attend an event because it's too boring," Azalea said. "You won't have that excuse."

  I laughed and agreed. "And if I go uncaptured?"

  "Then what do you want from us?" she asked.

  "I don't know," I said. I thought about it for a while. Then I smiled. "If I win, then I want you to make an offer to Mom."