by S. J. West
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I was surprised by the outfit Freddy sent over the next morning. It was strangely conservative. A red cashmere sweater with a sweetheart bow at the lowest point of the V-neckline, skin tight black leather pants, black lace-up combat style boots, and a gray wool military style coat with decorative gold buttons on the side and red lining along the edges.
Kirk styled my hair simply, only using a flat iron to smooth it so that the layers from the hair cut he gave me when I first arrived were more defined and laid against the side of my face like a frame. Teegan applied a minimal amount of makeup to my skin, making me appear young and fresh faced. I felt like they were both doing their best to make me look my age, so whoever won me might be reminded I was only eighteen and extremely inexperienced. Their thoughtfulness wasn’t lost on me, and I gave them each a big hug before I left my room. They put on brave faces while I said my goodbyes to them. As I walked down the hallway with my guards, I faintly heard Kirk start to weep.
The guards drove us down the street where Freddy’s house was, but we didn’t turn down his driveway. Instead, we drove farther north until we reached a large lake. As we drove closer to the lake, I noticed a crowd of more than three hundred people standing near the shoreline. In the middle of the crowd stood a wooden platform approximately twelve feet high made of two-by-fours painted black. I could see Freddy sitting at the top of the platform with a Hole guard stationed at each corner. The female guard driving the SUV we were in honked the horn to move people out of our way as she drove up along the side of the platform. The guard sitting in the back with me ordered me to stay close to her. She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the SUV, keeping me as close to her side as she could as we were jostled by the eager onlookers of the tournament. The guard who had been the driver appeared by my side, shoving people out of the way as they escorted me up to the platform, presumably to sit by Freddy for the duration of the contest.
When we reached the stairs of the platform, I felt my knees buckle. Only the strong arms of the guards at my sides prevented me from falling to the ground at the sight that welcomed me. Three stakes, about six feet tall, stood in front of the platform—each topped with a severed head dripping blood. Two of the heads belonged to the male guards who had left their posts by my door at Meg’s, allowing Marvin free access to my room.
The third was Meg.
I couldn’t stop staring at her vacant face, once so beautiful but now slack with death. Her eyelids were open, showing glassy, dead eyes looking out across the lake for help that was too late.
My new guards pulled me up the stairs to where Freddy was lounging in one of the two large wooden chairs at the top. The guards deposited me in the empty chair beside Freddy, like they were glad to be rid of the burden of watching over me. Considering what happened to their comrades on pikes, I couldn’t blame them.
Freddy was dressed just as he was the first night I met him: brown leather coat, round brimmed hat, and colorful paisley shirt.
I looked over at him and asked, “Why did you do that to them?”
Freddy looked at me like he didn’t understand why I was asking him such a question. “I thought you of all people would be happy to see them dead considering what they almost let happen last night.”
“I’m not sure they deserved to die for it, and they certainly didn’t need to have their bodies desecrated for your amusement.”
Freddy smiled, but it was empty of humor. “My little demonstration sends a message to the others, love: don’t fail to do what I ask and don’t ever go against my orders. Everyone knew you were under my protection until this tournament was over. Meg took her chances and lost. She deserved what she got. Besides, it’ll give Ian more of an incentive.”
“Incentive?” I asked, at a loss. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, he knows if he wants to keep you safe he and lover boy need to win this match, but seeing Meg’s head stuck on a pike will send him into a vengeful frenzy. At least that’s what I’m bettin’.” Freddy smiled, pleased with his own cleverness. “He’ll fight to get out first, just to have a go at me.”
“Get out first? Out of what?”
Freddy’s smile turned genuine. “Watch and see.”
Freddy motioned to one of the guards as he stood from his seat. The guard walked to the front of the platform where a black control panel with numerous knobs, buttons, and levers stood with a microphone coming out of the side of it.
“Ladies and gentleman,” Freddy said into the mic, his voice echoing across the lake from the speakers underneath the platform. “Are you ready to watch a good fight?” The crowd roared, thirsty for the tournament to begin. “Then let me introduce you all to my latest invention.” Freddy nodded to the guard standing in front of the control panel. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I saw his arms move as he presumably pushed buttons on the console.
From the direction of the lake there came a loud mechanical sound, like a multitude of gears shifting all at once. I stood from my chair and walked closer to Freddy to get a better view of the lake. About two hundred yards out from the shoreline, the surface of the water began to bubble. Slowly, a metal structure broke through the placid surface. In only a matter of minutes, a dome constructed of black metal bars woven together emerged from the depths of the water.
“I call it,” Freddy said, pausing for dramatic effect, “the Spider’s Web.”
The Harvester crowd cheered as though they were congratulating Freddy on his cleverness.
Two speed boats from opposite ends of the lake converged on the dome. I couldn’t quite make out everyone, but I did see Jace sitting at the back of the one coming from the west. The only clothing he seemed to be wearing were a pair of blue swimming trunks. I involuntarily pulled my coat closer to my body, wondering how he could bear to be so naked against the cold. I noticed the other men were dressed similarly, and that the women were wearing swimsuits as well.
One boat held five people while the other held only four. It seemed as though one of the combatants didn’t have a partner. Once the boats reached the dome, they were moored to either side of it and their occupants let out onto a metal platform, which encircled the perimeter of the dome. A door, hidden by the maze of metal bars in the Spider’s Web, opened at the front of the dome and the tournament participants entered the interior. Once everyone was inside, the door slid back into place, becoming hidden once more, and the people within seemed to pair off with their partners. It was then I saw who chose not to bring a teammate. It was Langdon, the man Ian had introduced me to the night before. I could only assume his strategy was to win this first part of the tournament solo and not have to bother with a second fight. Smart if it worked.
I switched my attention back to Jace, who was standing in the center of the dome and saw Ian join him. Ian leaned into Jace and said something. Neither of them had looked toward the platform yet, and I was concerned about Ian’s reaction when he did.
“Now, ladies and gentleman,” Freddy said into the mic for the benefit of the crowd and presumably those inside the dome.
For the first time, Ian and Jace turned their full attention to the platform. I watched as Ian slowly walked away from Jace to where the door had been at the front of the dome. He grabbed the bars and stared straight at us. Even from a distance, I could see his muscles strain as his grip tightened on the bars in front of him. I thought I heard a faint rattling of metal.
“Instead of having an all-out brawl, I thought it would be more interesting to see who can outsmart the Spider’s Web and each other. Maybe it’ll give our lovesick human hero a chance at actually winning. Plus, I doubt any of you really want to fight one another after paying so nicely for the honor of winning our fair Skye. I wouldn’t want the winner to miss out on any fun with her because of an injury sustained here.” People in the crowd laughed. “Now, the object of the game is to reach the trapdoor at the top of the dome, dive off the platform there, and be the one who swims to shore first. It
may sound simple, but watch out. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I won’t ruin the fun by telling you what the Spider’s Web can do. You will have to learn her deceptive ways for yourself! And don’t think you’ll be able to bend the bars to get out either. Anyone who tries to do that will immediately be disqualified. You can’t win unless you physically go through the trapdoor, so no cheating. Besides, the bars are made out of tungsten carbide. I doubt any of you can bend them fast enough to win that way. Now, take your positions. On the third blow on my whistle,” Freddy pulled out a regular looking silver whistle from an inner pocket of his coat, “you may start. If anyone takes a step forward before the third blow, you and your partner will automatically be disqualified.”
I watched the nine combatants walk to different points around the inside perimeter of the dome. Besides Langdon, Jace, and Ian, the only other person I recognized inside the dome was the woman I had dubbed the Amazon princess when Freddy first presented me at the courthouse. I saw her nod to another woman and presumed they were partners. That left three men and one woman I didn’t recognize at all.
Ian let go of the bars he was holding and took a step back, not wanting to take the chance of being disqualified, but he kept a hard stare on Freddy. Jace walked up to Ian and asked him a question, undoubtedly concerned about his partner’s sudden intensity. There wasn’t any way Jace could have known what Meg meant to Ian. I wasn’t even sure he knew who she was and felt certain he didn’t know about the part she had played in my attempted rape of the night before. I knew if Jace were made aware of the circumstances leading to Meg’s death, he would think her demise was justified because of his feelings for me. I just hoped the truth wouldn’t come out until they won this first match. Otherwise, they might end up arguing with each other instead of trying to beat the other groups in the dome.
I kept my eyes on Jace and Ian as Freddy blew his whistle the first time, neither of them moved. Freddy took a long pause before blowing a second time.
You would have thought the people inside the dome were statues they were so still.
Just as Freddy took a deep breath to blow for the third and final time, the sound of a single shot being fired came from somewhere in the crowd around the platform, causing me and quite a few others to fall to the ground automatically.
I heard Freddy laugh, only then realizing the shot had been staged to trip up the people inside the dome and cause one or more of them to act on instinct, expecting the next sound they heard to be the third whistle blow.
“You’re out Charles!” Freddy crowed, pointing a finger toward the dome as though taunting the person for their carelessness.
Two of the men I didn’t recognize walked toward the opening door at the front of the Spider’s Web. Once they were out and walking toward one of the boats, the door closed. I breathed a sigh of relief: one group down, two groups and Langdon to go.
“All right, now,” Freddy said in a low, dramatic voice into the mic, “get ready.”
He lifted the whistle to his lips and blew.
I kept my eyes on Jace and Ian as they both scrambled up the lattice work of the dome. I didn’t pay much attention to anyone else’s progress because in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter. They were my only hope for survival.
Jace was keeping up with Ian far better than I expected, but he still wasn’t able to match Ian’s speed as a Harvester.
Out of nowhere, I heard one of the women in the dome scream, yanking her hand away from the metal bar she had just touched.
“Ah, looks like Nala just found a bar hotter than she is!” Freddy told the crowd.
I watched as the woman, identified as Nala and the partner of the Amazon princess, jumped back to the floor of the dome, cradling her injured hand.
Almost everyone inside the Spider’s Web stopped their ascent and began to cautiously touch each bar before grabbing ahold of it, at least everyone except Ian. Ian ripped off his swim trunks, thankfully wearing a pair of underwear underneath, with one hand and tore them into two parts. He wrapped his hands with the fabric and made his ascent to the upper level of the dome. Only the Amazon princess didn’t bother to test each bar she touched, gaining time over everyone except Ian.
Once at the top of the dome, Ian was swinging from bar to bar like they were monkey bars on a school playground just as the loud sound of metal gears filled the air once more. I watched as the dome sank back into the lake causing the onlookers to gasp in shock.
Freddy laughed. “I don’t think they expected that, do you?” he asked the crowd.
Seeing that it wasn’t an accident, the people began to laugh, realizing it was just part of Freddy’s game.
“Lift it back up,” Freddy said to the guard at the control panel a few seconds later.
I watched the guard lift one of the levers and heard the rattle of gears as the dome emerged from the depths of the lake.
Freddy’s surprise caused almost everyone who was near the top of the dome to lose their grasp, everyone except Ian and the Amazon princess. They were directly across from each other and an equal distance away from the trapdoor. Ian continued to swing toward the door, just as the woman did, realizing they were the only ones who had a ghost of a chance of winning now that everyone else would have to start over. I took my eyes off of Ian for a split second to find Jace. He was just getting to his feet, trying to catch his breath.
Ian was five feet away from the trapdoor when he stopped moving. Actually, he didn’t exactly stop moving, but it seemed like every time he tried to grasp the next bar, his hand found nothing but air.
Freddy laughed. “The bars aren’t really there, Ian. It’s a hologram. There’s only one set of bars around the door that are real, and it looks like Alice has found them!”
Freddy was right, the Amazon princess, or Alice, was rapidly closing in on the door.
Ian began to swing his body back and forth, gathering momentum. Just as Alice reached the trapdoor and swung it open, Ian flung his body toward Alice. The lower half of his body flew out the opening of the dome where the holographic bars were. Like an acrobat you might see at a circus, Ian reached out with his arms and upper torso to grab Alice around the waist, making the woman’s body jerk in response.
It had been a calculated risk on Ian’s part that Alice would keep her hold on the bars with his added weight. With one hand around the bars over her head, Alice used her free hand to try and pry Ian off her. Before Alice could even touch him, Ian scrambled up her body, using it like a ladder and propelled himself out of the trapdoor like a mad man trying to escape a burning building. He ran up the steps leading to the diving platform and dove off, arching his body just before it hit the water. Alice was only a couple of seconds behind him, moving just as fast.
Once Ian’s body pierced the surface of the water, I didn’t see him resurface. Alice swam on top, slicing through the water like a dolphin. Not knowing Ian’s progress, I became worried something might have happened to him. Could he have hit his head on a rock beneath the water’s surface? Did Freddy plant something in the water as part of his games? Was he drowning?
Alice was twenty yards away from the shoreline when I finally saw Ian’s head break the surface. He used the water as much as he could to reach the shore before he planted his feet in the muddy soil of the lake. Even with the strength of a Harvester, you could see he was having trouble working against the quicksand quality of the mud surrounding his feet. Finally, he reached the sandy beach along the shore. It was only then I realized I had been holding my breath since he dove into the water and finally let myself relax enough to take in a deep cleansing breath.
The crowd chanted Ian’s name, but he wasn’t interested in their accolades. Ian ran up to the platform, head down. Before I knew what was happening, he raced by me, almost knocking me over and jumped on Freddy, swinging his fists into the other man’s face and body. The Hole guards were quick to react, but not before Ian got in a couple of good hits to Freddy’s head and torso. It took all s
ix of the Hole guards to get Ian off of Freddy and keep him restrained while other man rose to his feet, one hand testing to make sure his jaw still worked and one hand wrapped around his rib cage.
“Blimey, Ian. You damn near broke my jaw you ungrateful git!”
Ian growled, still trying to break free of the guards. “I’m going to kill you, Freddy!”
“For what? Putting your little girlfriend’s head on a pike? Well, maybe you should have thought about the consequences of telling me what she tried to do to Skye last night. What did you think would happen? I’d slap her wrist and tell her to be a good girl from here on out? You, of all people, should know me better than that.”
Freddy’s words seemed to take some of the steam out of Ian’s anger, possibly because part of it was now directed inwards. I could see it in his eyes. The blame for Meg’s death was settling around his shoulders like a dark shroud, clouding his eyes and most likely his thoughts.
Freddy stepped closer to Ian and spoke in a low voice.
“Just remember the plan and stick to it, or do you really want to force me to put your head on a pike beside Meg’s for insubordination?”
I watched as Ian’s anger slowly slipped away and his body relaxed against the guards’ hold on him.
Freddy stepped back toward me before turning to face Ian again.
“Let him go,” Freddy told the guards.
Reluctantly, the guards dropped their arms to their sides, letting Ian stand free of their restraint.
Freddy turned to the microphone and said to the crowd, “Well, now that the excitement’s over, do you think I should still let the winner of the first match kiss our fair damsel?”
The crowd seemed mixed in their responses. Some said no and some said yes.
“I think I’ll let Ian’s transgressions pass, this time.” Freddy turned his body toward Ian and waved him forward. “Come on Ian, take a small taste of what you might be winning later this evening.”