At least, I hope it is.
Tone.
Willis sprang through the gate and raced up the platform. The cube had been rotating the entire countdown and for the moment was frozen in place. He had tried to track the number of rotations to adjust the map in his mind, but he’d lost count.
“Jez and I will go left,” he yelled to the team, taking his best guess.
“Gotcha.” Toad gave a small salute.
Kane nodded.
Darting through the cube’s opening, he turned left immediately and ran the length of the passage. Moving from the light of the room to the relative dark passage of the cube required a second to adjust, but he could not risk slowing down. Rounding the corner at full speed, he guessed the passage doubled back on itself. Instead, the corner revealed an unexpected opening in the floor. He fell to his backside to slow himself, but he couldn’t stop his momentum. Grabbing for the edge, his fingers caught their grip right as his feet and body fell in the open air and then slammed into the side of the opening. Jez was a few steps behind and managed to slide to a stop. He hung there catching his breath.
“Yikes. Wasn’t expecting that,” he said.
“Looks like there’s a raised portion of the floor below you,” she said. “You can drop down onto it.”
Glancing down, he saw what she meant and let go of the wall. It was a bigger drop than he was comfortable with, but he managed to land without injury. Jez hung herself over the side of the hole and landed next to him.
“Lefts and rights might now be ups and downs,” he said. Indeed, the floors, walls, and ceilings all appeared the same. There was no way to tell which part of the passage had been the original floor of the track.
Jez nodded. “I think we should take it slower.”
Whirrr! The passage shifted, and the two of them slammed into each other as the metal wall suddenly became the floor. Willis sucked in a deep breath trying to refill his lungs after the air was forced from his chest. Jez rubbed at her knee which had hit the floor next to him.
“Definitely slower.” Willis frowned. The two of them recovered and moved in a direction they hoped was forward.
“You okay?” Jaden gawked at Perryn who was holding her side. They’d barely entered their part of the cube, taking a cautious approach, when the maze had moved.
“I’m not sure.” She emitted a soft groan. The last shift had moved their left turn upward causing her to fall backward into an obstacle in the middle of the floor. Jaden leaned over and gently pressed her ribs.
“Nothing seems broken as best I can tell. Probably badly bruised.” He helped Perryn to her feet, opting for the passage to their right that was currently level.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t stop it from hurting with every step. Go on ahead.” She couldn’t hide her frustrated tears.
“No way,” he said as he put his arm around her for support. “There’s no way you’ll be able to climb without help, and if this thing shifts again, climbing may be the way to keep from falling.”
“Jaden, come on. You’re not thinking straight.”
“Yes, I am. I don’t know what has happened to my mother, so I don’t intend to go to the Chase without you. I leave you here, and you’ll get tossed around like a rag doll in these hallways. Besides, maybe Dex and Amber are already way ahead of everyone.”
“Fine, but don’t slow down.” She winced as she raised her arm to stretch out the spot. At least taking care of me has focused him a bit.
“We’re not going to let you idiots follow us.” Jez glowered at the hallway’s other occupants.
Willis had been the first to hear Amber and Dex coming, and he’d tried to steer clear of them to keep moving. Presently, all four of them were in a standoff, not making any progress.
“Can’t stop us,” Amber said. The two sets of partners stared at each other at a crossroads. As best as Willis could tell, they were near the center of the cube.
“Amber, l-l-let’s g-go left.” Dex pointed with a trembling finger.
“But I’m pretty sure the way out is to the right.”
“That’s why you’re not going that way.” Jez squared her shoulders.
“Everyone, listen!” Willis shouted over them. “This thing keeps turning. None of us knows the way out. Jez, let them go that way. We’ll take the other hallway.”
Amber and Jez circled the center of the intersection, not willing to turn their backs on each other. Jez slowly backed down the passage Willis indicated. Amber suddenly turned, and grabbing Dex’s sleeve, dragged him into the passage and around the corner.
Whirrr! The way that Amber and Dex had gone started to lower beneath them. Willis turned and threw himself toward the corner that was quickly becoming the edge of a drop-off. Hauling himself up to the top, he clasped Jez’s hand and pulled her to safety. The two of them knelt at the edge looking down the drop.
“That’s it,” Jaden encouraged, “a little higher.” Perryn grimaced as she reached her arms for Jaden’s hand. A moment ago, this had been a simple right turn near a barrier that jutted out from the left wall. She stood on her toes atop the barrier to reach Jaden who had managed to get over the edge before the turn was completed.
“How about next time you get hurt, and I’ll help you.” She allowed herself a small smile. She let out a grunt as her hands found Jaden’s, and he hauled her up.
“Deal,” he said between breaths.
“Perryn?” came a new voice. It was Willis. They looked up at him standing at the corner of two passages. From behind him came Jez, whose eyes narrowed at the sight of them.
This is it. Willis froze. Whatever she was planning, this would be the time to do it. He moved to his left, so he could see Jez out of the corner of his eye. His hands trembled with the adrenaline coursing through him. He would have to move quickly.
“Stay out of our way.” Jez balled her hands into fists.
“Not sure we’re in your way, Jez.” Perryn’s voice creaked. “I’m pretty sure the way we came isn’t the way out.”
“All the same, you stay there until we move out of here.”
Willis chanced a glance at Jez, but he didn’t see her usual look of hatred. She’s nervous. Her dark eyes were riveted on the other two. Her hands gripped the sides of her uniform, and her weight shifted backward as if her feet intended to take flight. She didn’t have the appearance of someone about to do something horrible. Maybe separating her from Toad unraveled all her plans.
It was then that Willis noticed the strange silence in the passage. Jaden hadn’t spoken, which wasn’t like him. Glancing over, he understood Jez’s hesitation. His eyes were filled with a righteous anger that filled the space between him and Jez. If she’d wanted to do anything to Jaden, his expression was enough to make her think twice.
“Okay. There’s a passage to the right and left here.” Willis gestured in both directions. “Which way were you going?”
“Does either of them have any climbing?” grunted Perryn. She winced as Jaden helped her to her feet, clasping her arm.
“You all right?”
“Not stopping if that’s what you mean.” Her comment hurt him. He was genuine in his concern, but in that instant, they weren’t on the same side. He chose to let it go. She was the one in pain, after all.
“I’ll tell you what. We’ll go right, which climbs up a level. Left looks flat at least until the corner.”
“Got it.”
“We need to go, Will,” Jez said softly. She started to inch forward to the passage on the right, never taking her eyes off Jaden. Jaden’s gaze never wavered, and Willis hoped he’d never hurt anyone in a way that earned such intense anger.
“See you at the finish line, Willis.” Perryn tried to smile.
“The finish line. See you there.”
This track was so unlike anything they’d experienced. The slow pace and the surprise encounters with other teams had Willis forgetting he was racing. He was used to the breathless running and climbing of the other tracks.
This race was as much in the head as it was the body. He breathed a sigh of relief that Jez hadn’t followed through on her plans with Jaden. For the first time since the starting tone, he could focus.
Whirr! The track rotated right as they climbed to the next level. He braced himself against the wall until the rotation was complete. Brushing floor dust off his uniform, he studied his surroundings. It was then that something clicked in his mind.
“Jez, I got it!” Willis blurted.
“Got what?” Jez glanced behind her where Jaden had gone.
“I’ve been here. This looks familiar. The track must be upright again.”
“Where do we go?”
“A couple turns from now is a junction where several possible passages converge. From there you go up one level and to the left. Any other direction returns you where you came from. We’d better move. I bet we run into others there.”
“Show me.” She was suddenly serious. They took off at a jog.
Willis was himself again. He could see the solution clearly in his mind. Right. Left. Down one level. Right again. He prayed the track wouldn’t rotate.
“The junction is right around this corner,” Willis said, excited. “This thing is almost over, Jez.” He turned to see her reaction, which he hoped was more positive. They were going to win this thing, and that had to lift her spirits. “I bet you thought we’d be lost in here for—”
He searched the passage for Jez, but all that met him was the cold steel reflection of the low lights.
“Jez?”
Nothing.
“Jez, you there?”
“How could you betray me, Will?” Jez’s voice sounded like a distant echo. Willis couldn’t tell where it was coming from. He made his way back the way they’d come.
“What do you mean? Where are you?”
His feet froze to the floor as he turned the corner. Jez was standing there. Toad was next to her.
“Toad, where’d you come from?” Willis pointed at him.
“I ditched Kane way at the beginning. He’s too big for these passages anyway. That dufus is probably stuck somewhere.” He chuckled at his own joke. “I’ve been shadowing you guys the whole time.”
“But why?” Willis’s mind raced as he contemplated the scenario. It didn’t make sense. Why would Toad leave Kane? Why would Jez stop when they were so close to finishing? She missed her chance with Jaden, so why not finish the race?
“Why?” Jez said hatefully. “Because he sees what I see.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You, Willis. You aren’t for us anymore.” She looked at Toad, and he nodded in agreement. “You’re for them. You want them to win.”
Willis held his hands up in surrender. “If you think I—”
“Shut up!” she snapped. She stepped forward. “I’ve seen how you look at her. I know what is going through your mind. You’re going to win this thing and take them instead of us. You are going to betray us and leave us to rot on this station.”
“I never—Jez, the finish line—” Willis stammered. He pointed toward the exit, which was so close.
Willis stepped backward. Something about all this made him uneasy. Maybe it was the almost calm demeanor of Jez’s face that never wavered, even when she screamed at him. Maybe it was how Toad had slowly inched down the passage and was working his way behind him. Maybe it was the realization that Jez was with the person she’d plotted with, and he alone was the recipient of that plot.
“Don’t talk to me about the finish. Amber and Dex are imbeciles, who couldn’t figure this track out if they had a map. Perryn is hurt, so there’s no way she and the newbie have moved as fast as us.”
“So we’re going to stand here and chat? About what?” Willis scoffed.
“No, Will. I’m going to win this race—but not with you.”
He watched as she reached her hand into the left sleeve of her uniform. With a tug, she produced something that appeared to Willis like a small roll of plastic. The light reflected off the glossy surface. She unrolled it silently as she walked toward him. Toad was behind him.
“Toad may be a weasel, but he has his talents.” She smiled, unnerving Willis.
“Thanks, Jez,” Toad said smugly.
“He swiped this from your newbie friend’s tray last night. He was so upset about his poor mommy that he never noticed it missing, fingerprints and all.”
The roll of plastic reached its end and the glint of metal caught Willis’s eye. Gripped in her fingers, the handle still wrapped in plastic, was the sharp blade of a dinner knife like they’d used the night before. She was a couple feet away from him.
She tightened her grip on the knife. “I told you I wouldn’t lose.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
As Willis saw the twitch in Jez’s arm, he was acutely aware that he had two choices. Toad was behind him, so he was sure backing up would be met with resistance. He could duck to the left or to the right. One way would save him. The other would help plunge the knife further into his body.
He chose and moved.
Whirr! For a moment, it didn’t register what was happening. Jez had anticipated his leftward movement, and Willis could see the knife headed straight for his abdomen when its path suddenly curved upward and to the side catching his shoulder as it swung wildly. Jez cried out as she fell backward, the rotation of the moving track throwing her against the far wall. Having thrown his weight against the direction of the rotation, Willis’s feet held their place a critical second longer than Jez’s.
His head smacked the new floor beneath him. He grabbed at the side of his skull, wincing at the pain as he scrambled to a seated position. Jez was on her hands and knees and swung wildly with the blade. Willis pushed backward with his feet, barely dodging the knife. The warm sensation of another human body was suddenly behind him, and Willis realized he’d pushed himself right toward Toad. In an instant, Toad had thrown an arm around his neck, choking the air from his lungs. Jez, seeing his capture, slowly stood to her feet.
“J-Jez.” Willis choked. “You don’t have to. P-please.”
“Willis, you disappoint me.” Her words came out on as a snarl. “I didn’t take you for a beggar.”
Willis strained at Toad’s grip. He was much smaller than Willis, but he’d locked his hands together. Spots started to appear in Willis’s vision as the lack of blood to his head took its toll.
Jez was going to kill him here where no one could see.
Jaden would get the blame.
No one would know about the slaves, and he would never see his parents.
Jez switched the grip on the knife for a downward blow and raised her arm to bring her entire weight down with the strike.
“Goodbye, Will,” she said flatly. With that, her arm descended.
Willis squashed his eyelids together and waited for the searing pain of the knife entering his chest cavity. It never came. It was when he heard Jez’s grunt that he dared open his eyes.
A huge, dark hand wrapped around Jez’s still raised arm. She pulled against it, unable to move as she turned and looked into Kane’s forceful eyes. He stared down at her, the pressure of his grip causing her to drop the blade.
Her eyes filled with fear as Kane’s lip curled. In one motion, he twisted her arm and threw her entire body into the corner of the wall. The sound of the bone breaking in her arm could be heard an instant before her scream filled the passage.
Kane ripped Toad’s arm away from Willis’s throat, and he rolled over gasping for air. With two powerful hands, Kane lifted him to his feet and met his eyes inches away.
“Go. Win. They won’t touch you. We’ve got to take care of each other if we’re going to make the Chase.” Kane whispered Willis’s words from months ago to him. It was the first he’d ever heard him truly speak.
Willis staggered as Kane let go of him. Metal scraped as Toad picked up the knife, glaring at Kane with wild eyes.
“Go!” Kane shouted as he lunged at Toad.<
br />
Willis saw the glint of the swinging blade and Kane’s huge mass come together. He turned and stumbled toward the passage junction. A couple of turns later, Willis saw the brighter light of the station reflected off the passage wall ahead, broadcasting the exit from the cube.
The bright lights of the sphere blinded him as he emerged onto a downward ramp. His feet tangled as he adjusted to the decline of the track, and his body tumbled forward. Somersaulting twice, Willis caught himself, scrambling on all fours until he could get his feet beneath him again.
Running in a panicked fury, he crashed through the finish gate and fell to the floor. The tone sounded, announcing the end of the race, and Willis pressed his forehead to the cold floor. He jerked at the sudden presence of a hand on his shoulder.
“Welcome to the winner’s circle, Red Leader,” Blacc announced, bending over him. His smile vanished as he saw the tears in Willis’s eyes. “What’s going on?”
Willis turned his gaze to the cube. Emerging from the exit were several figures. Perryn and Jaden had stopped as they realized Willis was already through the gate. Their attention was turned to the blackness of the passage behind them. Kane’s giant outline took shape as he stepped into the light. His enormous hands were wrapped around Jez and Toad’s necks, who he half-dragged to the finish line.
“What’s going on?” came Amber’s voice as she and Dex emerged from the exit.
“I don’t know.” Jaden’s soft reply could barely be heard.
They were the lone words in the vast silence of the room as Kane brought his two prisoners to the finish. Willis could see the wetness of blood on his red uniform from where Toad’s blade had done what little it could before Kane overwhelmed him. Jez was clasping her shattered arm and crying. Toad was barely conscious, his face already swelling from the beating he’d received.
“What is the meaning of this?” Blacc barked sharply.
The Chase Page 18
