by Platt, Sean
Dread slivered down Jonah’s spine.
He wondered how they would use the orb to torture him. Egan cracked a panel on the orb’s back, then flicked a switch inside the robot. Moments later, its screen lit like a parade, showing the familiar, always-on feed of The Darwin Games.
The display showed a green nighttime image of a young girl with long dark hair, crouching low behind a tree as a group of zombies ambled by in the midnight black.
“Why are you showing me this?” Jonah asked, confused.
“Patience,” Egan said, smiling for the first time. “Just watch.”
Jonah waited another minute, wondering what the hell could be so important that Egan had to show him. Suddenly, the scene on the screen changed, showing him what Egan wanted him to see — his daughter, in The Games, racing along a bridge.
Jonah screamed, then bucked and shook, trying to tear himself from the chair and its bindings.
“What the fuck!” he screamed. “Why is she in The Games?”
“They said she was with the Underground,” Egan shrugged. “Isn’t that…interesting?”
Jonah stared at the screen, his mouth wide open as Ana hopped on top of a kid and began to bash his skull in. Jonah was equally horrified and relieved as Ana screamed, slapped her hand on the button, then took the elevator to the forest above.
Egan raised his eyebrows.
“Congratulations,” he said. “Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree.”
CHAPTER 15 — Liam Harrow
Liam finally arrived at the end of the Fire Wall and was about to double back on the other side to search for Ana. Then one of the network orbs hovered down directly next to him.
He turned, wondering what the orb’s screen was going to show him. As the orb took a moment to do anything other than hover, a sense of dread began to fill him, certain he was going to be shown a recording of Ana being slaughtered.
The screen flickered on, and Liam swallowed, preparing for the worst.
Kirkman’s face filled the screen. “Well, well, well, it’s Underground Scum, Liam Harrow.”
Liam kept his tongue in check, waiting to see what Kirkman would say next.
“Liam Harrow is one of the oddest competitors in The Games, folks. Most people try to avoid The Darwin Games, but Crazy Liam practically begged to be put in, isn’t that right, young man?”
Liam grit his teeth and lied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Maybe this will refresh your memory.”
Kirkman’s face faded from the screen, replaced with a recording of Liam storming into Keller’s office. A recording that Liam had no idea even existed.
“What the fuck?” Liam shouted, swiping his gun at the orb.
The orb zipped up, then back down, just inches above Liam’s reach, forcing him to watch the recording.
Liam had stormed into Keller’s office. “I’m done. I want out.”
“What?” Keller said.
“I’m through spying for you! You got — ” the video conveniently lost audio when Liam accused Keller’s goons of killing the woman and child in the church. “I’m not gonna be your spy anymore. It’s over.”
“No,” Keller said, standing up, glaring at Liam. “You’ve got a job to do, and you’re gonna get your ass back out there and do it.”
“Find someone else,” Liam shouted, swiping at Keller’s desk, violently knocking his paperwork and mug of coffee to the ground.
Keller jumped from his chair and slammed Liam against the wall, barking into his face, “Are you out of your fucking mind, boy? You get your ass back out there now, or I’ll hold you for treason!”
“Do it!” Liam shouted.
“Don’t tempt me, child.”
“I’m not tempting you, I’m daring you! Because otherwise, I’m walking out right now, and the first thing I’m gonna do is tell everyone that I’ve been spying for City Watch. How do you think that would affect your operations?”
Keller spun Liam around, slapped handcuffs on his wrists, shoved his face into the wall, and then the video cut back to Kirkman.
“What the hell were you thinking, kid? It’s almost like you wanted to be in The Games or something.”
Liam ignored Kirkman and kept walking, closing in on the end of the Fire Wall.
He raced to the end of the seam and then turned back up on the other side of the Fire Wall, searching for any sign of Ana.
“Who are you looking for?” Kirkman asked. “Oh, wait a second…you’re looking for Ana Lovecraft, aren’t you?”
Liam ignored the carnival barker and kept walking north, searching for any sign of Ana. The orb floated behind. “Ah, I think I know what’s going on here, ladies and gentlemen. Our young Liam was spying for City Watch and had infiltrated the Underground, where he met the lovely Underground traitor, Anastasia Lovecraft. And when she got picked up, our young lover decided he’d get himself arrested to be with her.”
The audience oohed and ahed as Kirkman tried to play up a possible romantic angle.
Liam spun toward the orb, raising the pistol and taking aim at it. “You don’t know the first fucking thing about me, so back the fuck off!”
“Ah,” Kirkman said, syrupy sweet. “I think we found a love story here at The Darwin Games! Of course, as we all know, the only romances in The Games are tragedies.”
Liam kept walking, and Kirkman finally shut up. The orb floated back up to its usual spot, 40 or so feet in the sky.
After 15 minutes of walking, Liam wondered if it was possible for Ana to have beaten him to the seam.
She wouldn’t have kept going, would she? She would’ve waited, I’d think.
He stopped, looking in both directions, seeing nothing but fire on one side and darkness on the other.
She ran into trouble. She’s out there alone, with no weapons, and she ran into zombies or other players!
He thought about calling out to her, but with no bullets left in his gun, he didn’t dare risk drawing zombies to him. He was no good to her if he were dead. He began running north, never straying more than a hundred or so feet from the seam, desperate for any sign of her, hoping that each new shadow in the woods would be her emerging.
Liam was running so fast, he failed to notice a large rock that caught him off balance and sent him straight to the ground so hard it knocked the wind from his chest.
He rose slowly, gasping for air, and was about to continue his search when he saw that he was no longer alone.
Liam was surrounded by a trio of players: A blonde-haired girl with a crossbow; a six-foot-six guy with a unibrow, a large hanging jaw, and a metal pipe; and — a foot in front of the other two — a skinny, dark-haired guy, sleeved with tattoos running up and down his exposed arms where he’d cut his coveralls away. Blood covered most of the ink. The tattooed guy held a long, curved blade and a smile that said he knew how to use it.
Liam pulled the gun from his waistband and aimed it in a circle.
The man with the pipe said, “I’d put that down if I were you.”
EPISODE 3
CHAPTER 16 — Liam Harrow
Liam turned in a circle, gun drawn on the three players, all with their own weapons ready — a pipe, a sword, and a crossbow. The man with the pipe was a giant with teeth like broken rocks in his open maw. His throat birthed a thunderous roll as he stepped forward, pipe swinging in slow arcs, readying to dispatch Liam’s head from his body.
Liam, instead of retreating, stepped forward, gun right in the big man’s face. The chamber was empty, but Goliath didn’t know that.
“Back off!” Liam shouted, stepping into the giant’s space and forcing the man to take three tentative steps back.
As the big man stumbled back off balance, Liam quickly darted past him, then spun around, putting all three of the players in front of himself. He took a few steps back, his gun still on the big man.
The blonde, her crossbow still trained on Liam, said, “Think you’re gonna sh
oot all three of us?”
Her snarl was so sexy Liam wanted to lick it. He tried to shake the image, surprised he could be turned on considering the danger.
Blondie was short but seemed especially so standing a half-step to the side of Goliath. She could have been nineteen, or twenty-nine; it was tough to tell under the makeup, which she’d somehow maintained despite the conditions. She wasn’t just a knockout, the blonde was Medusa, turning him to stone.
Liam couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a contestant appearing so confident or wearing her sexuality so obviously. In a game with criminals where rape was an ever-present threat — and practically a selling point for the premium-priced “uncensored version” of the show — women usually tried to fly under the radar, not call attention to themselves with makeup and shirts unbuttoned to show off cleavage.
There was something admirable about such raw confidence.
Blondie played to the three orbs hovering above her as if she were trying to woo the viewers back home. “You can try pulling your trigger,” she purred. “But the second you flinch, I’m squeezing mine. You might get a shot off before my bolt slams into your forehead, but I doubt it.”
Her icy eyes were still on Liam’s, absorbing every detail. Liam knew the look well, and had his own polished version. Back in City 6, in a place like The Social, that first look would be followed by fast banter and teasing heat, followed by a long night of lust and thrust.
But he wasn’t in The Social, or even behind The Wall. He was in The Barrens playing The Darwin Games, where thinking with your dick got you killed more often than not. While he hadn’t seen many overtly sexual players, he had seen many femme fatales eliminate far stronger players by slithering into their best intentions, then striking like a serpent once the players’ dropped their guard.
Knowing the other players was how you stayed alive in The Games. Even the best of alliances were temporary and ever shifting. No way Liam would be dumb enough to let any player get the drop on him, but that didn’t mean Blondie had to know he was onto her game. No reason he couldn’t play the dumb guy to buy himself a few minutes.
Liam grinned, ignoring Goliath and the tattooed skinny guy with the sword, while giving Blondie the same well-worn smile that had worked so well back home.
“Nope,” he shook his head. “You’re right. There’s no way I can hit all three of you, and my daddy taught me to never be stupid when it’s easy to be smart.” His grin went wider. “But I sure as shit will shoot one of you, and since I’ve been practicing out in the hunting yards since I was six, I’m certain I’ll manage to get two shots off before I’m finished, and positive I won’t miss either one.”
As Liam expected, the men shifted uncomfortably on their feet. Neither wanted dialogue, and both wanted him dead. But they were following Blondie’s lead, and she was clearly calling the shots, even if the men hadn’t realized it or were lying to themselves that they were in control.
Liam laughed as Blondie held her stare and the two guys beside her blinked in confusion, wondering what sort of crazy bastard would be laughing while surrounded by three armed players.
Goliath moved in, pushing Blondie gently to the side as he stepped up to Liam, grunting and twisting the pipe in his hand as if readying another go at Liam.
Liam should have retreated, at least a step, but he didn’t. Instead, he moved forward.
“Did you forget the gun already?” Liam screamed, thrusting his empty gun into the giant’s face and freezing Goliath in his steps.
“Ha,” Liam said, testing fate and holding Goliath’s eyes.
Tattoo looked back at Blondie for direction, but she was looking straight at Liam, her crossbow trained right at his head.
Liam laughed out loud, further confusing his attackers. “Which of you is calling the shots?” he said, daring Goliath to claim the title. When he didn’t, Liam turned to Tattoo: “Call off your dog, or I’ll blow his head off!”
The giant snarled, took a step back without being ordered, then said, “It’s cool, Keb.”
Keb, the man with the tattoo sleeves, nodded at the giant while keeping most of his gaze pinned to Liam.
Liam nodded at Keb and said, “Thanks. Now if y’all don’t mind, I’m gonna get outta here before shit gets ugly.”
Liam took two long steps back, keeping his gun steady so everyone understood he was being smart rather than retreating — hoping the trio would see the wisdom in parting on friendly terms. He kept holding Blondie’s eye like it was her hand, wanting to wink but feeling safer with his crooked smile. He took another couple of steps back.
“Wait,” Blondie called, exactly as expected. She turned to her teammates. “He has a gun. Maybe he can help.”
Keb looked at Blondie as if she’d suggested surrendering their weapons and crowning Liam King of The Barrens. “We don’t need no one else, least of all a pretty boy with a pea shooter.”
The giant was still looking at Liam like an angry dog waiting to be unleashed.
“Maybe the ink from your tattoos messed up your hearing, so you didn’t hear when I said it the first time,” Liam laughed, “but I’ve been shootin’ my entire life. Dad and I used to hit the yards before I had hair on my balls, hunting game when rations thinned. I’ve killed more zombies than all three of you combined.”
Goliath grunted again.
Liam figured he’d push his luck and play hard to get. Eyes still on Blondie, he shook his head and said, “But hell, I wasn’t even looking to partner with anyone, today, tomorrow, or ever. I plan to win this thing, and I figure I’m better on my own.”
Goliath seemed indifferent, Blondie curious, and Keb downright pissed.
Keb said, “You’re not going anywhere. If you’re not with us, you’re against us. That means you die. We’re giving you one chance to keep breathing. I suggest you take it.”
Liam stayed quiet as if contemplating the offer.
“Well, my daddy always said I ought to play better with others, and maybe walking The Barrens together isn’t a bad idea.” He shifted his glance from Keb to the girl. “And if Blondie’s any good with that crossbow, I figure the four of us could lay a helluva lotta hurt on the rest of the herd.” He shrugged his shoulders but kept his weapon steady. “I guess I’m game if you are.”
Liam smiled wider, his false grin now stretching far enough to break his face.
“The name’s Chloe, not Blondie.” Her expression was maybe a wink but likely a scowl. “Call me Blondie again and I’ll put a bolt in your balls.”
Something in Liam was begging for a bit of back and forth, but he wasn’t about to risk pissing off the alpha male of the pack or the walking mountain. No use getting into anything that could get him killed, especially if one, or both of the men, thought Blondie wanted to get with them, which was how Blondie, or Chloe, was probably playing it.
“Way I see it, a team of four could go far,” Keb said. “That gives us great odds if we stick together through the Final Four. I say we walk as one, then battle shit out at the Mesa.”
Goliath didn’t seem convinced yet, though, probably still wanting a chance to swing his pipe at Liam’s smart mouth.
Liam relaxed his gun and looked down as if thinking the offer over one last time. After a half-minute of nearly painful silence, he said, “OK, I’m game if Goliath here agrees to shake and make up. I don’t wanna be walking around wondering when big man is gonna snap.”
Liam took a chance, in its own way the biggest of his life, and lowered his weapon with one hand while extending the other in peace. Goliath turned to Keb, then to Chloe as if seeking permission.
Just like a big dumb dog.
“Shake it, and let’s get on with this,” Chloe said.
Keb went first, reaching out and shaking Liam’s hand, stronger than necessary. Liam stared at his arms, trying to untangle the patterns beneath the blood.
“I’m Liam,” Liam said, meeting the man’s eyes, appearing confident and respectful but not threatening.
“Keb,” the man said, then dropped his palm.
Goliath went next, offering Liam a surprisingly relaxed handshake. “The name’s Marcus.”
“Liam,” he repeated, trying not to get lost in staring at the man’s forest of misshapen teeth. As they shook, Liam caught a kindness in the man mountain’s eyes and realized the man was probably only gruff due to years of abuse from others. He was the kind of guy who’d make a loyal partner once you’d earned his trust.
Chloe lowered her crossbow and offered her palm. “Good to meet you, Liam,” she said. “Don’t make us regret this.”
Liam shook Chloe’s hand, her fingers gently teasing his skin as they parted. He turned, wondering if she could tell he was semi-hard. Probably. She was good at working people, maybe better than him. While Liam wasn’t fool enough to fall for her charms, he’d play whatever game he had to in order to survive.
He hoped Marcus and Keb could hold their tempers once Chloe started flirting overtly, trying to turn them against one another once it suited her to do so. He’d bet his balls that was part of her plan. She would expect the stronger to take out the weaker, and it didn’t matter who was left.
“I promise you won’t regret it,” Liam said to Chloe with a wink, then turned to Keb. “So, where we headed?”
“North,” Keb said, nodding up and along the seam. “We heard from another player that there’s a weapons stash near the river.”
“Another player?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, he didn’t make it,” Marcus grinned awkwardly.
“All right then, to the north,” Liam said, grateful they’d be heading toward where he hoped Ana was.
However, he still had to figure out how to handle the situation once they ran into her. Without any bullets, he had zero chance of stopping them from killing her. While it made sense for the trio to partner with Liam and his advertised sharpshooting skills, there was no way in hell this would ever be a party of five.