by Robin Roseau
"Style matters."
"It certainly does."
And then she stepped away. And then damn, but the visor hid her from me.
"Cheater!" I called out.
I heard her laugh.
* * * *
It was perhaps two minutes later when the pillar released my hands. I immediately turned to the backpack, sitting on the ground.
The bell clanked. It was loud, and it clanked with every movement I gave it.
"Oh hell," I said. I used a hand to try to silence it, but even holding the clapper tightly, the bell clanked.
"Not funny, Administrator!"
And I heard more laughter.
There wasn't anything to be done about it, and I wasn't going to fight with it. I dived onto the backpack, the damned bell clanging and clanging. That was going to get annoying. Then I stopped and accessed the visor setup menu. I paged through the sound options. It took me five minutes, but I figured out how to get the visor to deaden the sound of my bell. I hoped I had done it in a fashion that it wouldn't also deaden Bronze's. Oh, I didn't make mine any quieter; I just got the visor to make it sound quieter to me.
I wondered if the people watching had access to my visor and knew what I was doing. I decided if I thought of that, so had the aliens, and I bet they had some sort of view that matched what I could see.
I dug through the backpack. It had everything Jasmine had indicated. I pulled out the map and studied it. It was... detailed. Very detailed.
I found my start location. I found Bronze's start location. I found the location of the nearest equipment stash.
"If I were chasing her, I'd either head to her starting place, or I would assume she was heading for equipment. I bet if I head there, I run into her."
The closest was south from my location. I turned north, looked for the marked trail leading away, and began running.
* * * *
I wasn't an athlete, and it wasn't long before I slowed to a jog and then, panting heavily, a walk. I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. I'd maybe traveled a half-mile, probably no more. While catching my breath, I took some water then poked through the map again.
According to the map, the arena was crisscrossed with trails through the thick jungle. I was sure by later today, the trails would be exceedingly dangerous for me, but for now, they were my fastest way to put distance between us. Later though, if Bronze was going to set traps, they'd be on the trails and perhaps at the equipment sheds.
I wondered how good Bronze was at tracking. I didn't have a clue how to obscure my trail.
The land was rugged, and the hills were marked on the map. I wasn't sure, but I thought perhaps I could use them. Later.
I identified the equipment sheds. There were six spread throughout the arena.
If Bronze went to one first, she would have picked one of the closest. If she were looking for me she would check the ones closest to me. Or she might think I would think of that and would go for the ones second closest or furthest, in an attempt to confuse her.
That line of thought didn't get me anywhere.
There were four in the north and two further south. I headed for the third closest.
* * * *
I moved as quickly as I could, but I knew I wouldn't last if I kept running. And so I walked quickly, as quickly as I could sustain. And then a mile from my destination, I turned directly north, diving into the dense jungle.
I immediately decided it was a mistake. I could barely work my way through the vegetation, and if I was ringing the bell a lot before, now I couldn't take a step without ringing it.
But I was convinced the trails would be a trap, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was already one waiting for me on the trail I was using. I needed to learn to work my way through the jungle, because no way could I stay on the trails. I'd be far too easy to find.
I traveled north for twenty-five minutes until I reached a cross trail heading northeast. It would have been three minutes if I'd just taken a trail. I turned right and tried to hurry.
I counted my steps, and when I had traveled three thousand steps, I left the trail again, heading south. I thought I might have traveled about a mile and a half.
I kept an eye on the compass and worked as straight a line as I could. The jungle was thick, but the ground was solid, and so far I hadn't seen anything more dangerous than scratching tree branches.
It took an hour to find the trail I wanted. I'd been free for two hours. I wouldn't have thought I could stay free that long. I was sure she'd find me right away. Was she even looking for me yet? Maybe she was running all over setting traps and not even trying to find me. I came to a stop and listened carefully. I didn't hear any bells except, occasionally, my own.
I turned right, heading west again. And seven minutes later, I could see the corner of the equipment shed.
I stilled, crouching down, and waited. Was she lying somewhere, just waiting for me to pass by? Was she inside, searching for something she wanted? I didn't know.
As carefully as I could, I crept closer, but the bell gave me away, it gave me away constantly, so finally I gave up.
I rushed for the shed.
I stopped before the door, crouching down to search through the grass. I couldn't find any footprints. I decided she hadn't been here yet. So I moved to the door, listened for a moment, then opened it carefully. Nothing happened.
Nothing happened until I stepped inside. I pulled the door closed and turned into the room in time to see something swinging for my head. I screeched and threw up my hands reflexively, catching whatever it was.
It was just a soft, leather bag hanging from a rope. But when I tried to drop it, I couldn't. The bag was soaked, just absolutely soaked, in something very thick and sticky. I couldn't tell if it was molasses or tree sap or glue, but it seemed stickier than any of those.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
And I hate having sticky hands. I absolutely hate it. It wasn't hard to free one hand from the bag. It wasn't so sticky I was permanently stuck to it. But when I tried to free the second hand, pulling on the rope to pull away from the bag, the rope broke and came tumbling down around me.
And it was coated in the sticky material, too!
"Very funny," I said. "I don't know if this was you, Jasmine, or if Bronze has already been here, but this isn't funny."
Words appeared in the air, courtesy of the visor.
It's pretty funny, Sapphire.
"Yeah, yeah."
The rope was sticking to my shoulders and down my back. The bag was dangling from one hand. And I didn't dare touch anything with my other hand, either.
And I didn't just have sap on the touching surfaces of my hands. The bag had been absolutely drenched in it, and my hands were largely covered in it.
I managed to unpeel the rope from around my shoulders, wrapping it around the bag as I went. I got more of the sap -- that's what I decided it was -- all over my front. But I managed to corral the rope. And that made the entire bag heavy enough that when I flung it from my hands, it flew to the ground.
I stared at my hands. I tried picking at the sap, but it was tenacious.
I looked around the shed. I didn't see a light, but there were two windows letting in enough light for me to see. There were shelves lining two walls, and Bronze hadn't taken everything. I had no idea what she had taken. Maybe she stayed only long enough to leave her little trick. But I crossed to the shelves and began trying to scrape off the sap. I got some, and I even avoided splinters in the process, but the sap remained tenacious.
"I can't stay here. She may be on her way back."
You have time, Sapphire. She's distracted for now.
"Distracted setting up more surprises for me, I bet."
Jasmine didn't respond to that.
I did what I could about the sap. My hands were still covered, and my fingers kept sticking to each other. I just knew they were going to stick to everything else, too.
I began digging thro
ugh the supplies. I found no rope, no nets. There was more food, two jugs of water, matches, dry kindling, and a variety of tools.
And sitting in open sight, a bar of soap and a scrub brush.
She called these a gift.
"You're being awfully helpful."
I grabbed a little more of the food, drank some of the water, and stashed the soap and brush in my pack.
I left sticky fingerprints on everything I touched.
I eyed the tools. In the end, I left them where they were. I wouldn't know what to do with them, anyway.
I thought about rigging her own trap for her. In the end, I decided I didn't know how, and it would take forever to figure something out. I'd probably just catch myself if I tried.
I didn't want to risk ruining the map, so as much as I wanted to look at it, I didn't try to pull it from my pack. I grabbed a jug of water, slipped out the door, turned south, and hurried away.
* * * *
I was a mile or mile and a half from the equipment shed when I heard the brush on either side of the trail rustle. I startled, causing significant ringing from the damned bell, but nothing attacked.
I moved forward, and the rustling happened again. And then I felt my leg tangle in something.
I froze again, sure I'd stumbled across a trap. I was getting paranoid about traps. I knelt down and found a string stretched across the trail just above ankle height, and it was stretched well out of position.
"Fuck," I whispered.
Nothing had happened except the brush rustled. I backed up slowly, very slowly, and let the string grow slack. I waited. Nothing happened.
I thought about fleeing, and at the time, I was sure I was making a huge mistake. But I followed the string to the left. It was tied around a piece of bush. That was it. I followed it the other way to find the same.
I had no idea what it was doing there, but I stepped over it and kept moving.
I reached a branch and turned east. Five steps later, I heard more rustling and then felt a small snap.
I cowered, but nothing happened. And so I went looking, and I found a string, broken, lying partly across the trail.
"Shit. How many of these have I already broken?"
Several.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
I was tempted to flee, but I stayed there, studying the string. Then I carefully took each strand and stretched them the other way. The way it had broken, perhaps the ends pointed north. I pointed them south.
Then I ran.
* * * *
I stepped off the trail, heading south for exactly forty steps. Then I knelt down, shrugged out of the pack, and went digging for the soap and scrub brush.
My hands were already filthy, absolutely filthy, with dirt, grass, cobwebs, and I didn't know what else. At least I didn't have bugs crawling over them.
I wet my hands, lathered up, and attacked the sap with the brush, scrubbing furiously.
"Not funny," I muttered. The sap remained tenacious, but the soap and water were working.
It took the entire jug of water and quite a bit of soap. And I lost my outer layer of skin. But finally I decided my hands were as clean as they were going to get.
I threw everything in the bag, dried my hands against my sides, and then carefully withdrew the map. I wasn't quite sure where I was. I hadn't been able to look at the map in some time. But I considered my options.
I decided the equipment sheds were easy targets. Early on, they were tempting, but Bronze beat me to the one I visited, and by now, she'd probably been to each of them. They were now far too dangerous to visit.
I ate a little food and looked at the map.
"I need to figure out where I am. Any chance you're willing to tell me?"
Africa.
"You're in a good mood today."
I wish I were the one chasing you.
I stared at those words. "I thought you didn't like these challenges."
I don't like combat. That is not my way. If I were chasing you, you would probably win, but the rules would be different to give me an edge. Maybe I could win.
I nodded. "What you do to us is wrong. Don't think I haven't forgotten that. But now I know we're nothing but a source of amusement to you. And slaves. And all along, I thought you were good, moral creatures. Way to burst my bubble. You're no better than humans. Moirai said humans could be immature, but this takes the cake. Fucking hypocrites."
She didn't respond to that.
"I need to find a landmark." I looked at the map and smiled. I made my way out to the trail, and from there, I took the trails south and east, always south and east. I encountered no traps and no space aliens intent on catching me. But I did find the perimeter fence for the park. I used the compass to determine the angle at this location, consulted the map, and decided I knew where I was.
"Where is the last place she'd look for me?" And then I smiled. I turned northeast and began to jog.
* * * *
The sun was hot. I was sweating miserably, and I thought the sunblock had long worn off. But I stared through the trees at Bronze's starting point. She might be able to track me, but she wouldn't expect me to come here.
I moved against the lee of a tree, pulled off the hat, stripped the body suit from my arms and shoulders, and began to slather on the sunblock. Protected again, I pulled everything back into my hiding place then sat down with my back to the tree. I had a bite to eat, more water, and then leaned back and closed my eyes.
* * * *
The visor woke me, and in the air before me were two words.
Listen carefully.
I did, and after a moment I heard a clang, the clang of a cowbell. And it wasn't my cowbell.
"Shit. She's close."
Very carefully, I made myself as small as I could, huddled in the shadows at the base of the massive tree. And I listened.
Running wouldn't do me any good. She'd hear me, and I knew she was faster than I was. She'd have me easily.
Clang.
The sound came closer. I thought it was from my north, perhaps on the path leading west from here. And then it was closer, and closer.
My heart was pounding in my chest. I didn't know if she had a way to find me, but I hunkered down and waited. If I ran, she'd catch me. If I hid, she might not.
Clang. Clang.
It was close. It couldn't come closer and still be on the trail.
Clang.
It hadn't moved. I put my hand over my mouth, trying to keep any sound from escaping. I held as still as I could. If my own bell went off, she'd be on me before I could move.
Clang.
It still hadn't moved. What was she doing? Could she sense I was close?
Clang. Clang. Clang.
She was moving away. I sighed.
Clang.
That was my bell. The other bell grew still, and I froze. Please don't ring again. Please don't ring again.
Neither of us made a single sound for five minutes. Ten minutes. It was hard for me, but Bronze had been walking, and now she was holding so still her bell didn't ring.
Fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes exactly, and then she began to clang, moving away from me.
I didn't relax until ten minutes had passed after the last time I heard her.
"She knows I'm here. She just doesn't know where. She's going to try to cut me off. Where?"
I carefully drew out the map. I only clanged three times. But there were no answering clangs, so I was sure she hadn't heard me.
But then I realized something simple. She hadn't found me here, and she'd been very close. Even after hearing my bell, she hadn't found me. I was as safe here as I was anywhere.
* * * *
Time passed. Dusk arrived. I'd been free for seven hours. I had seventeen more to go. While it was boring, I could spend all seventeen right where I was.
Let's play a game.
"I don't think so."
Come on. You're bored. And frankly, you're being boring. Let's play a game.
Bronze has agreed to play.
"Of course she has."
If you agree to play, I'll tell you how far away she is.
"Did you already tell her how far I am?"
No, but she agreed to play, so I'm about to. Decide.
"What game?"
You learn the rules after you agree to play, but I promise it's fair for both of you. Every time you earn a point, I'll tell you how far she is. But every time she earns a point, I tell her. You are playing against me, not each other.
"You're going to lead her straight to me!"
Six points maximum per hour. If you play, she can't win more than three per hour.
"I'll play."
You are currently five and a half kilometers apart.
I thought quickly. That put her on an arc from northwest of me, to west, to southwest. That was fine. I pulled out the map and calculated the arc. Then I picked random places and calculated backwards. She was probably in the western half of the arena. I stared.
"You suck! She knows exactly where I am."
Maybe you should run.
I broke cover, picked a direction, and headed south. If I encountered Bronze, so be it. I didn't run, but I moved as quickly as I could and I silently thanked Bronze for giving me the visor.
The bell made a heck of a racket, and moving through the brush was slow, so I moved to the perimeter again, and then I followed the fence.
I thought while I hurried. The chance of her having my location depended upon where she had been. If she was near the middle of the arena, then it was a fairly small arc where I could be. If she was in the far south or north, then the arc covered the entire middle of the arena.
First chance for a point is in five minutes. And points are easy.
I could run for five minutes, even in the dim light. I began to run, following the fence. Unless something occurred to change my mind, I was going to just follow it around the circle.
Time for a point. We're playing a question game. I'll ask a question, and if you get the answer right, you win a point.
"What do you get if I miss a point?"
Nothing.
"How many points is this game?"
I'll let you find another place to hide. Eventually. If she doesn't catch you first. For a price.