She’d been grown and raised in a lab.
Her dark thoughts were cut short by the screams and cheers of the crowd as their volume increased tenfold. Earning the loudest ovation yet, Viper sauntered into the Dome and waved webbed four-fingered hands at her adoring fans. Without the latex covering her body, Finn could finally see her fully. Her skin was covered from bald head to webbed toes in dark scales of varying shades of blue and green.
Viper’s yellow, reptilian eyes scanned the space around them before they landed on Finn and narrowed. She stopped next to the half-Kreetian and whispered something to the tall hybrid that caused his sneer to widen.
“This next competitor is somewhat of a mystery. Despite some significant prodding, he has been mum on his parentage. The authorities upstairs tell me he is quite dangerous, but you’ll have to decide for yourselves.”
A hush of wonder fell over the crowd as a door opened and Gray Matter stepped into the Dome. He took casual, sure-footed strides until he came to stop in between AJ, Viper, and Rock. His curious gaze flitted through the Dome with mild disinterest.
Slowly, more and more members of the crowd began to giggle and whisper to one another about the strange-looking hybrid, but the subject of their interest seemed unaffected.
“This next half-breed needs no introduction. You love to watch him annihilate his opponents. His death count exceeds hundreds. Too dangerous to live, but too entertaining to kill, give it up for our half-Solidarian.”
The Dome exploded in pandemonium. The roar of the crowd became deafening as the last door to the left opened and the Solidarian stepped into the light. At the sight of his massive, imposing frame, the crowd jumped to their feet and cheered even harder. The Solidarian’s bored yellow eyes scanned over them, obviously accustomed to the display.
In the light of Aquarii’s suns, he looked even bigger outside of his cell; his sheer mass rivaled that of Grim’s.
Supersonic was a wild card, and Finn wasn’t quite sure what to make of Gray Matter yet, but she knew she could handle them both. Viper and Rock had made no secret of the fact that they would be gunning for Finn once the games began, and based on what she knew, both could prove to be difficult.
Despite all of this, it was the Solidarian and his dead eyes that scared Finn the most.
“Our final half-breed of the day is a bit . . . unpredictable, which is why we saved him for last. I have a feeling some lucky member of the Reliance will be snatching him up soon. Give a big, warm welcome to our half-Khaleerian.”
A loud boom turned Finn’s attention to the final door yet to be opened. As she watched, the hybrid on the other side battered against the steel frame over and over until the steel began to push outward.
Slowly, and with some difficulty after being pummeled, it opened. Almost immediately, the giant Supersonic had aptly nicknamed Bedlam, came storming through. He’d grown several inches in mass and his musculature, which had increased to at least three times its normal size, now bulged and stretched beneath thick red skin.
He dragged one of his horns against the hard-light interior of the Dome to little effect, his ripped and frayed jumpsuit trailing behind him in certain places like the train of a gown. The audience abandoned their applause in light of the delightful display and instead erupted in a chorus of laughter and jeers. Bedlam’s feet pounded against the ground as he beat his chest with giant red fists and roared.
“It looks like someone is ready to get the games started,” the announcer joked nervously. “Today’s obstacle course has our competitors facing three challenges.”
Bedlam roared and pounded his fists against the underside of the Dome, snapping his jaws at the audience on the other side. The hard-light projection remained in place, and the riveted onlookers appeared to be terrified and thrilled in equal measure.
“I guess we better get a move on before he starts without us.” The announcer chuckled. “First, our competitors must make it through the fan favorite, No Man’s Land, a section of the Dome surrounded on all sides by autotracking lasers. The turrets are set to fire in random intervals. Those who make it through unscathed will have to face the Wall of Death. As you can see, this rock wall has blue and red holds for our half-breeds to use on their journey to the top. The red holds are on a timer, set to release one hundred and ten volts of direct-current electricity. Only the blue holds are safe to use, but as you can see there are a limited number of them. Our half-breed contenders will have to fight if they hope to make it over.” The irritating voice paused for applause before continuing. “But the danger doesn’t end there. The final challenge they must face is the Moat of Pain. As you can see, we have several small pedestals elevated above a vat of boiling water. The liquid maintains atmospheric pressure, keeping its temperature at two-hundred and fifty degrees Celsius. I pity the half-breed who falls into that hot water.” The audience laughed in appreciation at the man’s play on words. “They will need to make it across the moat to the levers on the other side. There are four levers in total which, when pushed, provide a speedy exit for four of our surviving half-breeds. I hope you’re ready for a gruesome show because the games start in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .”
At the end of the macabre countdown, a piercing horn blared, leaving Finn’s ears ringing as the crowd rose to their feet and the hybrids scattered around the Dome began to sprint to the first challenge. A cloud of dust and dirt kicked up by the race surrounded Finn on all sides.
Chaos.
Her mind raced as she squinted through the dust to find AJ and Carrow.
Finally, she spotted them and moved to their sides. They both watched her with eyes wide with dread.
“Stay close,” she ordered.
THIRTY-ONE
Shots rang out in the distance, kicking up more dirt as lasers fired all around the Dome. Finn grabbed the sleeve of AJ’s jumpsuit in one hand and the sleeve of Carrow’s in the other, steering them toward the madness. When a few feet separated them from No Man’s Land, Finn pulled them both to a halt.
Ahead of them, Rock and Viper had almost made it halfway through the endless rows of auto turrets.
Finn held AJ and Carrow steady at her sides and dropped down to a knee next to the base of the nearest turret. She didn’t have the time to study the firing patterns firsthand. Hopefully, any information she could glean from the Dome using her abilities would be enough to get them through unscathed.
Without the faint scent of Conrad’s oil, Finn worried her abilities wouldn’t be of much use. Instead, she focused on the musty earth, letting the scent of dirt and stale air anchor her. Finn inhaled deeply.
As she touched the weapon, hazy images flashed through her mind.
A soldier checking the turrets for efficiency.
An assembly line of workers putting the turrets together piece by piece.
Nothing useful she needed to survive this.
“Finn, what do we do?” AJ’s eyes darted around the Dome in fear before returning to her. Her mind raced with fear and adrenaline.
An idea hit her suddenly.
She had no clue if it would work but she had to try something.
Finn pressed her palm against the well-trodden dirt, doing her best to drown out the sounds of laser fire and the rowdy crowd. Her head throbbed as countless images of carnage swarmed behind her lids. Everywhere she looked, she found dead hybrids, their sightless eyes open in shock and terror.
She had to fight down nausea at the sight and urged herself to move past the images. It took a few seconds of searching, but she finally found one of No Man’s Land, and focused on it.
“Finn,” AJ yelled. “We need to do something soon!”
She squeezed her eyes shut even harder as she shouted back.
“I’m working on it!”
Several hybrids sprint through the dirt past endless rows of artillery. As they pass, the first three rows on the right begin to fire, filling the closest hybrids with smoking holes. The remaining group keep running, zigz
agging until one row of turrets on the right and one on the left fire simultaneously, trapping two more of them within the crossfire.
The final four hybrids maintain their speed. Some push others to gain a few inches lead. Less than a second passes before the next three rows of turrets on the left rain fire over them. Two more fall into bloody, smoking heaps. Finn counts seconds as she watches. When she makes it to five, the final row of artillery on the left and right fire in a chorus of death.
Finn stood up and locked eyes with first AJ, then Carrow.
“Stay behind me,” she told them sharply.
There was every chance the information she’d just gleaned was outdated. For all Finn knew, the Reliance recalibrated the turrets after every game. She could be leading two children to their deaths, but if they didn’t try, they were as good as dead anyway.
She watched the turrets carefully as she counted.
Finn felt Carrow grasp the material at the hem of her shirt and sent a silent prayer up to the Gods for their survival.
The smell of ozone filled the air as the lasers fired. The last row of turrets had just fired. If her vision was to be believed, they would need to wait for the ones at their right to fire before going forward.
“Get ready to run,” she told them, as she swallowed down her anxiety.
Blessedly true to the images she’d gleaned, the first three rows of artillery to their right began to fire in front of them. As soon as the last laser let loose, Finn sprinted past them, stopping in the space before the next row of turrets. AJ and Carrow followed closely behind, halting when she did.
Before they could make another move, a swirl of motion zoomed past them, cutting them off and kicking dust up into their faces. Supersonic stopped running abruptly, pausing by the next row of artillery set to go off.
She shot Finn an alarmingly cheerful grin.
“Don’t take it personally, Brain-Dead. Every half-breed for themselves,” she called out the reminder.
Putting her weight behind her shoulders, Supersonic pushed the muzzle of one of the turrets until its barrel was aimed squarely at Finn.
Shit.
Ignoring the roars of approval from the crowd, Finn grabbed AJ and Carrow and pulled them to ground, rolling with them in the dirt just as the laser fired. She bit her cheek in anger and pulled the kids to their feet, sprinting to the next space between turrets. They were almost halfway there. Finn panted from exertion and her limbs shook with the rush of adrenaline.
Her eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of Gray Matter, casually making his way past the turrets with ease. He seemed to know exactly when the next gun would fire, easily avoiding being maimed by the waves of laser fire.
The ground beneath them began to shake and a primal bellow rang out through the air. Finn turned to see Bedlam, all seven and a half feet and four hundred pounds of him, heading straight for them.
His dark eyes were crazed as he took a laser to the shoulder, but it barely fazed him. Instead, it seemed to only enrage him further. He bellowed and uprooted the nearest turret from the ground, launching it to the other side of the Dome.
Finn remained frozen as she watched the Solidarian follow closely behind the raging Khaleerian, using him to clear a pathway. He shot Finn a look that almost appeared amused, before refocusing and diving past the next wave. Bedlam tore another gun from the ground and launched it. It continued to fire wildly as it flew through the air.
Finn grabbed AJ and Carrow and pulled them along past the next row of artillery, doing her best to stay out of the Khaleerian’s way. Movement caught her attention as a shadow was cast over their trio. Belatedly, her eyes flicked up to track another turret flying through air and headed straight for them.
“Get down!” she yelled, pushing the kids out of the way as she dived in front of them. The turret landed on its side in the spot where they had just been standing. The barrel was pointed directly at Finn’s face, inches from where she lay. Time seemed to move in slow motion as the gun fired. Finn’s eyes closed of their own accord and she braced for the searing pain.
It never came.
Finn opened her eyes to see the laser bolt had curved to the right, avoiding her by several inches. On a deep exhale, she jumped to her feet and found Carrow staring at her, her blue eyes glowing brightly as she focused on angling the beam away from Finn.
Finn ran to her and AJ, grabbing them once again and pushing them forward.
“I owe you one,” she told the little girl with a gentle squeeze and a grim smile.
From across the field, Supersonic pointed in their direction and yelled, “Check out Micro! Sometimes my speedy little ass!”
Finn bared her teeth and growled at the woman from across the field. Supersonic merely waved and blew them a kiss before disappearing in a whir of motion.
The Solidarian had stopped moving to watch their little trio with an inquisitive, red-eyed stare. Finn didn’t have time to ponder the meaning behind the strange shift in the mysterious hybrid. Instead, she waited for the last row of guns to fire and pulled AJ and Carrow to safety.
Bedlam remained in No Man’s Land, tearing up the earth in his rage. The audience ate it up, jeering and yelling.
Finn bent at the waist and panted, giving them all a second to catch their breath. AJ caught her gaze and she smiled at the boy.
“See? That wasn’t so bad.”
He shook his head and returned her smile with a weak one of his own.
“Maybe you really are Brain-Dead,” he scoffed.
Finn chuckled and rolled her neck, tracking the Solidarian as he jogged past. He stopped a few feet away from them but said nothing.
If he tried anything, she would be ready.
Looking past him, Finn eyed the fifty-foot rock wall before them with unease.
One down, two to go, she thought darkly.
THIRTY-TWO
Viper and Rock were already suspended on the wall and doing their best to avoid the red handholds. Viper’s webbed hands and feet seemed to be hindering her progress. Using her speed to her advantage, Supersonic had already made her way to the top. Gray Matter was just beginning his ascent, his small, ashen frame dwarfed by the sheer size of the wall. He used both red and blue holds indiscriminately, seemingly unperturbed at the idea of being barbequed should one of the red holds go off.
“I forgot to mention one little rule about the Wall of Death.” The announcer’s amused voice filled the stadium. “Our half-breeds are on a time limit. In five minutes, all handholds, blue and red alike, will become live, electrocuting anyone still holding on. And for those of you who still haven’t made it to the wall yet,” he continued, “you best make haste unless you’d like us to provide you with some incentive.”
The crowd laughed and shouted their approval as the Dome’s mounted laser guns turned to take aim.
They weren’t even giving her time to use her abilities. She was going to have to make a break for it and hope for the best.
Finn turned to AJ and Carrow.
“We work together to get up. Only touch the blue handholds, steer clear of the red.”
“How are we going to do that? There are three blue ones for every ten red ones,” AJ barked, wringing his pale hands nervously.
“We only have five minutes,” Carrow whimpered.
“Just stay close and do as I say,” Finn ordered as she made her way to the wall.
Belatedly, she noticed the Solidarian had followed them and taken a place on the wall near Carrow. His red eyes watched them carefully. She gave the giant hybrid a look that promised pain should he try to sabotage the little girl, but the big man showed no reaction.
Carrow reached up to take a blue handhold just out of her grasp. Finn motioned for AJ to start climbing and ran over to give the little girl a boost.
“Hold tight,” she told the child.
The Solidarian watched them as he began to climb, grabbing both blue and red holds as he did. She supposed with his abilities, electrocution didn’t
carry the same threat as it did for the rest of them.
Finn ignored the commotion within the crowd and found a blue hold a few feet away from Carrow and AJ. She began to climb, hoisting the weight of her body upward with as much speed as she could manage.
As she guided the children to the nearest blue holds, she had no choice but to grab any available red ones and hope for the best.
She narrowly escaped a few as they zapped to life just after she’d removed her hand.
So far so good.
“Three minutes left,” the announcer proclaimed excitedly.
The spectators began to stomp in unison, their frantic beat providing a manic soundtrack to the hybrids’ race against death. Above, Finn could see Gray Matter making his way over the top.
“We’re halfway there,” she told the kids. “Keep going as fast as you can.”
“Finn!”
She turned to find AJ frantically pointing below her just as a high-pitched shriek rang out. Carrow hung a few feet below Rock, struggling to hold on and desperately looking for a blue hold as the tall, blue-haired hybrid kicked at her hands. One of the red holds next to the small child zapped with electricity.
Distracted by the struggle with the hybrid above her, the sound surprised the girl and she lost her grip, leaving her hanging one-handed from a single hold. Her frightened blue eyes bore into Finn’s.
The crowd screamed in delight as Rock shot them a grin and hustled to follow Viper over the top of the wall.
Finn moved quickly, making her way down to the girl as fast as she could. She didn’t pay attention to the holds she grabbed, too desperate to get to her.
“Hold on, Carrow!”
She lunged for the child’s forearm just as Carrow’s grip slipped and she began to fall. Finn’s fingers dug into the hold above her as she struggled to bear the child’s weight and maintain her balance. She ignored the flood of images flowing through her at the child’s touch. Grimacing, she held on with every ounce of strength she possessed, fighting gravity and her growing fatigue.
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