No…no…no!
I go for Red again, for his belt and—
Red screams and backhands me at the exact moment my fingers wrap around the gun’s handle. His slap sends waves of pain through me, and I fall back, pulling the gun with me. I spring into a crouching position and…the gun—I’ve got the gun!
He rears over me, but he stops when he sees the gun pointed at his chest. Slowly, a smile unfolds across his face. A smile.
“Come on! You love me,” he says. “You wouldn’t shoot me.”
He’s right! A gun isn’t your weapon!
I flick the safety off and pull the trigger.
He ducks. The bullet hits the wall, bounces back just as I jump up. A fresh wave of energy fuels me.
“No, K—no.” Red holds his hands up, takes several steps back. I try not to look at his muscles, his tattoos. “I love you. And you love me. We love each other.”
“We don’t,” I say. “I loved the Untamed you. Not when you’re Enhanced. You’re not there anymore. It’s not you, Red. You’re just… It’s not you.”
“But it is,” he cries, and he produces another augmenter. I don’t see where he gets it from. It’s just suddenly there, in his hand. He grins. “I was a Chosen One, Enhanced all along. I was never Untamed out here.”
“What?” I stare at him. And it’s what he wants. To distract me. When I should be using the gun, when I should be killing him and getting out of here.
“I’m a good actor, K,” he says, spreading his arms wide. My eyes follow the movement of the augmenter. “And you fell in love. I was saved ten years ago. And you fell in love with me—a Chosen One—during this last month, because it’s me. Because it doesn’t matter what our state is. Love surpasses all.”
There is a clicking in my head, and it won’t shut up, no matter how much I shake it. And I keep staring at Red. Because it can’t be true.
It just can’t.
Enhanced all along?
“How does it feel, eh?” His mirrors flash. “Feel betrayed, right?”
Betrayed.
He lets out a bitter laugh, and I know—I know what he’s referring to.
I hold onto the gun tighter, try and stop it from shaking. “I’m sorry, Red, I—”
“You were my best friend, Keelie. My best friend. And you left. And I’m not even angry about it.” But he sounds angry. “Not really,” he says. “Because I became a Chosen One. In leaving me, you saved me. Saved many of us.” He steps slowly toward me. “But I remember the betrayal. The horror I felt when I heard you tell Owen there was no one left. Yes, I heard that! And, although I don’t feel the negative emotion of betrayal anymore, I can remember what it felt like. Tell me, Keelie. How does it feel for you to be betrayed?”
I get the gun ready, try and line it up, try not to shake.
Red just laughs—laughs in the face of death. “Don’t worry, you won’t feel this betrayal for long. I’ll save you. But you’ll feel it temporarily, the betrayal. And you’ll remember. I’ll make sure you remember—because it’s a shared experience now, isn’t it? You betrayed me. And I’ve betrayed you.” He licks his lips. “The perfect couple. Oh, aren’t we similar? Aren’t we just meant to be together?”
I shake my head. “I’m not joining you.”
“You don’t have a choice, Keelie. And it’s the only way—you’re resisting now because you’re scared. But I’m here. I’m still me. Don’t resist. And I’m sorry that this went on for so long. But Owen told me he had to save his daughters himself. If I brought them to him, Untamed, so he could save them, he’d have my augmenters upgraded to the strongest level and get me a bigger house. I thought he wanted you, so I kept you alive and Untamed until he was back from Section One.”
My heart pounds. “What?”
And I don’t know why I’m still talking, why I’m not just finishing this.
“He had to go to Section One,” Red says. “Mariella and Lìxúe were in an accident.”
“Mariella?”
“His four-year-old daughter.”
His…my…my sister? I’ve got another sister. My hands shake. The gun shakes. And why aren’t I using it? I love killing Enhanced.
Red advances toward me. “I’m so sorry I’ve let you suffer. I…I thought I was doing the right thing. I blocked Marlon’s broadcasts of your village’s location the whole time he was with you—I was keeping you safe. They couldn’t find where you were! I even ran lean to protect you, to make sure I knew where you were. And I’m sorry I ran away. I needed augmenters. You’ve no idea what it’s like. I should’ve told you about Marlon then, but I wasn’t thinking straight.”
I frown. “You stopped the Enhanced from finding out our location?” I breathe deeply. My vision blurs a little, then rights itself. Red knew all along?
“Yes! I was playing the long game, don’t you understand?”
My breathing quickens. Suddenly, it’s so hot in here. Is Red still the only one who knows Nbutai’s location? My eyes narrow. Or are others on their way to the village now?
“No, I don’t understand.” My words are slow. “Explain it. Explain it all.”
He chuckles to himself. “And this will make you feel better when I convert you? Knowing all this? Because you’re not going to shoot me, K—you’ve had plenty of opportunities. But you feel it too, I know you do. And this will make your conversion easier?”
Slowly, I nod. “Talk.”
“Fine.” He passes the augmenter from one hand to the other. “I heard Raleigh talking about it: the long game can be the best conversion technique at times, gives the biggest results. And we’ll still get everyone, all of your friends—but I thought I could get my reward from Owen first.” His shoulders seem to droop a little. “We came up with the undercover story—me and Owen. Then he had to go. And I didn’t expect you to walk into my office so soon. But you did, and then some guys found out I’d slept with you, an Untamed, and reported me. Reconverted me. And I nearly lost the plan, nearly converted you as soon as I saw you, because the mind-conversion was so fresh and…” He grins widely. “But my love for you is stronger! I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve tried stronger augmenters to not feel anything for you, but they never work. I need you, Keelie.”
I stare at him, feel a jolt in my body. “You really kept my village safe—for me?”
“Of course.”
“And no one else knows?” My voice breaks. I look up at him, then quickly down at the gun. It’s pointing at him, but he’s moved a bit. I reposition the firearm slightly, hear my heart pounding in my ears.
“No. Just me,” Red says. “I told you, K. I was keeping you safe—making sure only I knew, so I could get the timing right for when Owen was back.”
“And you’re definitely the only one here who knows? No one else does?”
“Only I know the co-ordinates.”
But he’s not the only one here who knows now. Katya’s here somewhere, and she knows. And Seven.
I breathe in too quickly and nearly choke.
Rahn’s team has to get both of them back. Hell—the Enhanced could’ve already got the location out of either of them.
Only Rahn won’t rescue Katya….
Suddenly, Red walks over to the wall near me. I keep the gun on him, feel strange.
“I’ll send a team over now for them.” He presses a button, and, too late, I realize there’s a small communications panel on the wall. Red clears his throat. “I’m reporting the location of an Untamed village for immediate—”
I fire the gun.
The bang resounds through me, makes my ears ring, and I don’t see where I hit him. More pain pulls through me, and my bad arm’s going numb. And then Red’s right in front of me, standing—how is he standing?—shouting at me and….
Blood…blood on me. Splattered. His blood.
Shoot again!
“No, Keelie, no!” he screams, and he grabs the gun, but I don’t let go.
He yells for help, shouts at me to put it
down, not to fight him, that he’ll save me. That he knows I’m angry because he should’ve saved me weeks ago, but—
“It’s called Nbutai!” Red yells, twisting around. “Its co-ordinates are—”
I pull the trigger again. The sound is deafening. But I’ve missed. Missed him.
Because you shouldn’t use a gun. A gun is cheating. A gun isn’t safe. Drop the gun!
“No!”
I twist around. In one fluid movement, I pull him with me, against me, and then his back is against my chest. Practically the same position we were in before, but with our roles reversed, and it emphasizes the height difference. His hands drop to his sides, and I have full command of the gun. For a moment, I falter, listen to the voice in my head that tells me to drop the gun, but then another cuts in, screams at me that I’m too exhausted to kill him with my hands. That this time, a gun is okay.
Then the voices are arguing, and I stretch my neck out to the side, so I can see around Red a little. And I point the gun at him, feel him tremble against my body as we both look at the barrel. I hold my injured arm tighter across his chest, begging it to work, to keep him there so I can pull the—
Shit.
My heart pounds as I realize what’s going to happen. No! I need to get him away from me before I—
But you can’t stop this, Keelie.
Red slams his foot down onto mine. I scream into his ear, and he struggles against me.
The communications panel bleeps and flashes, spits words out.
“Yes!” Red cries. “Co-ordinates are—”
My finger moves.
I hear the sound—the bang—and—
Pain. My stomach.
I gasp. Red slumps against me. We both crash down against the wall, him on top of me, but my back catches something, and then my torso’s wedged partly upright, my legs under him. The back of my head hits something hard, and—
Can’t….
Gurgles escape my mouth, and my left hand and the gun are spasming. I see the movement out of the corner of my eye. Red’s breaths rasp loudly, and he tries to move in the pool of blood that we’re becoming. Pain screams through me. My head pounds. I can’t see well, there’s just a hazy fogginess.
I shot myself. Shot myself through him.
Told you not to use the gun.
The bullet—I can feel it. In my stomach. A hardness that’s hot and cold and screaming and screaming and screaming. Shot straight through Red, into me and—
Red’s head jolts back, ramming against my shoulder, but his gaze is on me. I try to push him away from me, but I can’t get the strength. I’m trapped between him and the wall, and my legs are still under him. Blood trickles from the corners of his mouth, and I scrabble again, try to move, need to get away. But I’m bleeding too much, aren’t I? Or is it all his blood that’s gushing out?
My stomach burns.
“Please repeat the co-ordinates. We did not get that.”
Red opens his mouth, makes a gurgling sound. Then he says a number. One digit. He wheezes, tries again and—
And the Untamed all fall down.
No…no…no….
Blood pounds in my ears.
“Please repeat the co-ordinates. We did not get that.”
Red tries to speak again. Hissing sounds fill my ears, block his words from me—if they even are words—and….
Shoot him! Else they’ll get Nbutai! Mila cries.
Mila. I look around, can’t see her. My breaths burst from me, savage and broken. White spots hover in front of my eyes.
Shoot him!
I manage to grip the gun tightly again. My hand’s stopped spasming, but I’m sure it’s only temporary. Need to do it now. And I try to slide him away from me—need to! But I can’t. Too much pain.
Shoot him!
Red laughs, the sounds becoming manic, and he’s so heavy, squashing me. Can’t… A jolt runs through me.
“Please repeat the co-ordinates. We did not get that.”
My fingers click as I angle the gun.
“No!” Red gasps, and he struggles against me, his legs moving, as if he’s running—but he’s not. He just flails on top of me, emitting a strange, high-pitched sound.
“This game’s over,” I whisper.
I pull the firearm’s trigger again, shoot a bullet through Red.
Mila says my name as the bullet slices into me again.
The pain…no… Something clicks… Wetness, running down my side, bleeding, and….
My knees lock up, and Mila’s here, next to me, turning a key, like I’m a clockwork doll.
My body twists, and Red finally slides down, away from me, and I see his tattooed arms slipping away. I try to listen…need to… Is he…breathing…is….
My head hits the floor…the blood…my blood…my stomach… I see the mass of tissue and muscle. My throat clenches. I smell something sour.
The gun goes off again as I drop it…and I’m… I’m… I press my hands to my stomach, breathing deeply. Need to apply pressure. My head turns and….
“Please repeat the co-ordinates. We did not get that.”
Red writhes on the floor next to me. His limbs are moving, jerking out.
Shoes—heavy boots, by his head—so suddenly there and—
Elf is above him, with a gun. Elf…and then Yani….
My vision blurs as another shot sounds.
I close my eyes, feel the liquid still pouring from my stomach. So much of it. But everything’s dark.
And darkness is good.
Darkness is….
“Kee! Keelie, no!”
It’s all right, Mila says.
Something pokes me, and I open my eyes, can’t see….
“Keelie—I’m here!”
And then there’s a sound I don’t like. An inhuman sound. A sound that no one should make. Least of all my brother.
“Elf…” I whisper, but his name’s too difficult, and I don’t know if he hears me… I don’t know if I hear myself…
Maybe…maybe I didn’t say it…maybe….
Elf.
Elf….
I try to move my lips. And there’s something…something….
I try to move my head… If I could just move my head out of this pain, I’d be able to….
“Elf….”
“What?” I see his eyes—my eyes…and Rahn’s eyes? Rahn’s eyes under those dark glasses….
Elf.
Elf.
Elf… What was it?
“Get Seven…” I mumble. “She’s… She’ll keep you safe….”
Corin charges into the room. I see the look of horror on his face as he stands behind Elf, as he sees me.
“Have you got Seven?” I croak.
“We can’t find her!” Corin yells. His arms fly out. “Come on, we’ve got to get back to—”
“We can’t leave her!” Elf shouts, and I stare at his face. See the way tears run down his cheeks, feel them drip onto me.
“South Meg…” I struggle to say the words. “I think…it’s round the side of… She’s at South Meg Wing… Not the… Get her…go! You can’t survive…without her… She’s….”
“She said go!” Yani shouts. But his words echo to me in a different place, and the world’s getting quieter. “She’s…she’s gone, Elf. But we’ve got to get out of here. Get Seven and go.”
Gone?
Where’ve I gone?
I’m still here….
And I open my eyes.
See the ceiling.
But there’s no ceiling.
There are only stars.
Bright and knowledgeable.
And a shape hurtling toward me. A mass of silvery threads with a lone eye in the middle that’s bloodshot. A spirit.
And the spirit takes me to Mila, it takes us to the lights, for the sky is a playing field, and we’re shining brightly even though there’s no darkness.
Mila holds my hand. And, together, we look down at the motorbike tearing over the hard
desert land, at our beautiful sister as she weaves her own destiny toward the group of Untamed who, far away, do not yet know they are waiting for her.
A Dangerous Game has certainly been a fun book to write, and, as always, so many people have assisted me in its production.
To Kelley York, Rachael Bundy, Tessa Elwood, S.E. Anderson, Tam Lee, E. Mitchell, and Janelle Alexander: thank you for your amazing critiques and countless (re)reads of this manuscript. Your advice has been invaluable. And a special thank you goes to Kelley York, S.E. Anderson, and Ashleigh Neame at The Literature Hub for blurbing this book.
To everyone in the YA Story Sisters, AAYAA, and the YA Writers’ Critique Group HQ: thank you. You’re all amazing.
To Elizabeth Huxley-Jones and Moriah Gemel: thank you for your guidance and advice regarding the portrayal of autism in A Dangerous Game and for checking the manuscript for any issues of representation. Any errors are mine.
To Michelle Dunbar, my amazing editor: I’m so pleased I was able to work with you on this manuscript. Your comments were spot-on! Thank you.
To Molly Phipps: thank you for creating such an awesome cover and the beautiful interior designs. You’ve really made A Dangerous Game come alive!
To Megan Crewe, Jenna Beacom, Tessa Gratton, Ragini Bhaumik, A’ishah H. Amatullah, Asha Groves, Rachel Hurdle, Alice Varah, Natalie Jones, Naomi Hill, Nicky Wynne, and Tom Wija: thank you for your advice and support.
And, finally, to my parents, my brother, the rest of my family, and my friends: thank you for believing in me.
MADELINE DYER lives on a farm in the southwest of England, where she hangs out with her Shetland ponies and writes young adult books—sometimes, at the same time. She holds a BA Honors degree in English from the University of Exeter, and several presses have published her fiction. Madeline has a strong love for anything dystopian, ghostly, or paranormal, and she can frequently be found exploring wild places. At least one notebook is known to follow her wherever she goes.
A Dangerous Game is her fourth novel.
A Dangerous Game Page 37