by Azalea Ellis
I dressed quickly and opened my door to find my brother standing outside it.
We both jumped, and he smiled ruefully. “Hey, sorry. I was just going to ask, do you want some food? I made enough for both of us…”
“Um, I’m going out. But I am starving. I’ll grab some to go, thanks.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see a…friend.” Vaughn was the farthest thing from a friend, but I couldn’t say ‘Oh, I’m going to see someone who I hate, even after only knowing him for ten minutes total, because I need information he might have about how to stay alive. After all, he may be a sociopath, but I’m dealing with a whole organization of sociopaths, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend…’ now, could I?
“You’ve got a lot of new friends, lately,” Zed said.
I frowned. “Yeah. I do.” His suspicion was understandable, but it was just one more burden, one more thing to deal with, and I didn’t have the strength to carry it.
“I’d like to meet them, if that’s okay with you,” he said, relenting in the face of my stare.
“Yeah, maybe sometime.” I slipped past him, grabbed some food to sate my now constantly ravenous appetite, and left the house.
Adam sent me the location where the video had been taken, and I headed straight there at a loping run I never could have sustained when I was normal. Before the Game.
I arrived a half-hour later at an out-of-the-way, rundown building. It was in the jobless slum section, and despite knowing I could handle myself better than any normal girl, I couldn’t help the wariness that prickled as I felt hungry, despairing eyes follow my running form. Before the attempted terrorist air strikes seven years ago, the area had been normal, if slightly lower income. Now even the air was bitter and faintly slimy. My breathing was heavy, and I was covered in sweat, so I stopped to compose myself before going further, and got bowled over by a large golden blur.
My first instinct was panic, followed instantaneously by the urge to attack, but the feel of a wet tongue on my face and the stink of an unbrushed mouth calmed me. It was only a dog.
But the dog was followed close on its heels by a laughing Vaughn. When he saw me, his eyes widened in surprise, and he hesitated a second, then reached out one hand to pull the dog back, and the other to help me up. “Well, if it isn’t Little Miss Spirit-Type. Come to join me? If it’s for you, I’ve got space in my ranks anytime.”
I ignored his hand and rose unaided to my feet. “Vaughn. You know my name. Please use it.”
He chuckled. “Eve. What brings you here? And how did you find me?”
“I found you through that video you posted online. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Hardly. I’m not revealing anything that I shouldn’t. I’m simply…drawing attention. I’m surprised to have a response so quickly, though I somehow doubt you’re here to answer my summons. That video only went up hours ago. How did you find me?”
“I’ve got resources. Not unlike yourself, I think?” I tilted my head to the side and forced a smile. “Though why you would want to draw attention to yourself, I still don’t understand.”
“Ooh. Charm and flattery will get you…” he trailed off suggestively.
“Your attention?” I supplied.
“But you already have that. Why are you here, Eve?”
I nibbled on the inside of my lip. “When we first met, you told me that you were aiming to become God. That the Trial was weeding out the weak from the strong. What did you mean by that?”
“Ah, you’re here because you want information. I meant exactly what I said. Though I didn’t mean God with a capital ‘G.’ ” He winked at me. “You’ll have to ask more specific questions if you want more specific answers, Eve.”
The subtle smirk twisting one corner of his mouth made me want to claw his face. He hadn’t really done anything to cause my current ire, but perhaps it was the fact I saw myself in his eyes, and didn’t like the reflection. “Tell me about NIX. And how do the Seeds work?”
“You go right for the jugular. You’ve toughened up a bit since that Trial, burned off some softness. I like it.” He looked me up and down, obviously giving his statement double meaning.
“Please, just answer the question.”
“Now why would I do that? You obviously understand that information is valuable. What would I get in return, of sufficient value to match the knowledge I’d be sharing with you?”
Dammit. “What do you want?” What could I offer him that he didn’t already have? And more important, what was I willing to give?
“Information would be good, but if you’re coming to me, I assume you don’t have anything I don’t already know.” He quirked an eyebrow, silently asking if he was right.
I wasn’t so sure he was right, but I didn’t want to test that by comparing notes. Any information I had that he didn’t was likely specific to my team, and would only make us vulnerable to him. So I kept my voice silent and my face impassive.
“If you agreed to join me, I’d tell you everything I know, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he continued. “So, I think I’ll have to settle for one favor, the specifics of which are to be determined at a later date.”
“One small favor.”
“Those questions you asked weren’t small. One large favor.”
“You’re only giving me words, which I have to take at face value. It’s not big enough to qualify for a large favor. I’ll do small-to-medium, and that’s it. And whatever you tell me better be good and thorough.”
He laughed. “Okay, I’ll take it. NIX, though I don’t know how you found out that name, is an organization searching for strength, for excellence. A type of power you can’t find on Earth in this day and age. The Seeds allow them to search it out. A catalyst, you know? Those things separate you from all the other mere humans on the planet. They’re like limit disablers. When you wish on them, they change your current self irreversibly from what you were before, but they also augment the bounds of what you can become. Eventually, if we prove ourselves worthy, we’ll pass certain limits. The ones that separate humans from gods. The way—”
He stopped talking abruptly and looked over my shoulder. “You brought backup, I see.”
I tensed and turned around slowly, following the direction of his gaze. I took three steps forward and looked around the corner of the building.
My brother stood there, eyes wide and mouth open, but no sound escaping.
“What the hell are you doing here, Zed?” I said, my voice low and grating.
He looked back and forth between Vaughn and me, still wordless.
“How long have you been standing there?” I said.
Vaughn stepped forward and touched the back of my elbow. “Please tell me he’s a Player.”
My heart paused for a minute as I took in the meaning of his words, and then crashed against my chest in a painful thump. My eyes snapped to his in wordless fear.
Reading my expression, Vaughn’s face twisted in a way that almost ruined his handsomeness. “You set me up. Trying to get NIX to take me out for revealing information? Screw you.”
I shook my head. “What? No. No, they can’t know. I’ve got to get him out of here.” I strode forward, grabbed Zed’s arm, and yanked him away. “This never happened, Vaughn.” I called desperately over my shoulder.
“What—what was going on back there, Eve?” Zed said. “What did he mean, ‘take him out’? Are you in trouble? I mean, is something going on?”
I yanked harder on his arm, looking around in paranoia. Had they been monitoring our conversation? Did they know what Zed had heard? How soon could NIX’s cleaners track him down? “How long were you there?” I snapped.
He looked around in confusion, following my darting eyes. “I’m sorry I followed you. I was just worried. You’ve been different lately, Eve. You don’t talk to me anymore, and every time you think no one’s looking, you’ve got this look on your face like…I can’t even explain i
t.” He pried my fingers off his arm and tugged to slow me down. “Scared, angry, exhausted, I don’t know. But you’re not happy, Eve. Please talk to me.”
I grabbed him by the arm again and kept dragging. “Zed, what the hell?! What did you think you were doing? Following me, sneaking around, spying on me?” My voice got louder as I went, and I took a deep breath to calm myself.
I dragged him the rest of the way home, ignoring his worried pestering at me to talk to him. When we arrived, I slammed the door behind us, did a frantic search through the house to make sure no one had broken in, and then turned on him. “You’ve got to mind your own business. It’s not cool to…do what you did!” I sighed, stepped forward and placed my hands on his shoulders, level with my own. “Please. I’m absolutely fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m doing great. I’ve been working out as part of a group, sort of an exclusive club of friends. You just snooped on a private meeting.”
He looked at me as if he didn’t recognize me and shook his head. “Just talk to me. Let me help you.”
“I don’t need your help, Zed. Because nothing’s wrong! Well, one thing’s wrong, and it’s you, acting like this. Why can’t you just accept that for once I might have some friends? For once, I’m not the invisible girl. Just. Back. Off, okay?” I wished I was still the invisible girl, the one nothing extraordinary ever happened to. I’d been bitter, not even knowing how wonderfully good I had it.
He stared at me a while longer, and then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize that’s what I was doing. Of course you should have friends. I’m just not used to not being a part of every aspect of your life. I’ll give you some space.” His voice was contrite and sincere, but I couldn’t see his face, and didn’t catch the look in his eyes.
Later, I went back to find Vaughn again, but he was gone, with no trace that he or any of his fanatic followers had ever been there.
Chapter 17
Corruption, do not take it gently. You must rip it out and burn it. Then spit on the ashes.
— Kaiser Fell
I jerked from sleep to the sound of my alarm before the sun rose all the way over the horizon. Seniors didn’t have school that week as we’d already taken our exit tests, and I needed every spare second to prepare. I stood and dressed, thinking wistfully of my soft, comfortable bed. Then I thought of the Trial in a few days and suddenly rest seemed much less alluring. “I can rest when I’m dead,” I croaked in a sleep-roughened voice. “And if I live, sleep is something I’m willing to give up indefinitely in return.”
After the incident with Vaughn, I’d been extra wary of NIX. I supposed Vaughn might have just changed locations, but I thought it more likely NIX’s cleaners had something to do with it. But they hadn’t come for me or Zed, and I could only hope that meant they weren’t going to. I’d questioned Bunny as subtly as possible, but he didn’t seem aware of any danger to either myself or my family. I would have liked to keep watch over Zed constantly, but he would have grown even more suspicious, and I had other obligations.
But it made me think hard about how I would keep my family safe, because my team and I weren’t the only ones in danger from NIX.
I ran to Blaine’s house again, arriving drenched in sweat but feeling surprisingly good. I’d leveled up my Stamina twice.
A gratifying scene greeted me when I walked into the basement room I’d commandeered. Jacky and Sam were already there, moving furniture in. The windows high above were clean, and the extra light shining through them brightened the room.
Training mats covered a large portion of the cement floor. Weights and bands sat in one corner, and in another stood a swiveling upright cylinder of wood with rods sticking out of it all around, the kind I’d seen people training with in kung-fu movies. Large punching bags hung by huge chains from two big hooks in the ceiling. Smaller bags hung under the loft, and large mirrors had been attached to the long wall so we could keep an eye on our form while training.
Blaine stepped up beside me and said, “Jacky said you’d need these things, so I bought them and had them delivered last night. They’ve been unpacking the whole morning.”
“You paid for this?” I asked.
“Yes. But it is no big deal. I have money, and you needed things that money buys. Easy solution.”
I nodded. “Nice.” The type of wealth my new ally had might come in extremely useful. Money created opportunities where none had existed before. I stepped in to help move the rest of the furniture to the upstairs loft and set up the training equipment. While we were working, Adam and China joined us, and Blaine ordered Chinese takeout for everyone, joking that he wouldn’t be getting pizza delivered again for a long time.
I stuffed my stomach in silence, like the others, while Blaine watched in amazement. Something about being a Player seemed to ramp up our metabolisms so we were always hungry. When the hunger had subsided somewhat, I said, “We need to set up training regimens for everyone. Get stronger before the Trial.”
With her mouth stuffed full of chicken, Jacky said, “I’m the best fighter here, so I’ll be in charge of training and exercise.”
I nodded. “Anyone else have something?”
China looked around, and then raised her hand. “I can teach everyone how to throw knives. And I don’t know if it’s important enough, but I do yoga and meditation, and it helps to increase Grace and Perception. If you want, I’d be happy to help with that.”
I wasn’t sure how useful that would be, but any increase in Attributes was a bonus, and I knew I for one could do with some relaxation. “That sounds great.”
I looked to Adam and he snorted. “Sam of the Second Coming may have helped, but my arm’s still fractured. Fight training’s out for me. And I can’t teach you guys to be smarter.” He ignored Jacky’s scowl and continued, “I can draw and do magic tricks. Not exactly something you guys need. But,” he conceded, “I might be able to show you and the doc how my computer monitoring programs work. That way, in case I die you’ll still be able to get updates.”
Sam said, “I can’t really teach how to heal people, but I could give some basic first aid and trauma stabilization training. In case something happened and I…wasn’t there,” he finished, obviously uncomfortable with the thought of his own death.
Blaine cleared his throat. “Umm…it would take years to teach you guys to do what I do, but I’ve got some ideas for things I could make to help you in the Trials.”
I nodded. “Okay, wonderful. I don’t have any skills to share that you don’t already have, but I have ideas, and a plan for getting out of all this. I’m working with Blaine to figure out exactly what the things they put into us are. I’m still working on getting more information and figuring out fine details, but I'll share my plan with you all when I've got something more complete. If we survive till then, that is.”
Jacky raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “On that note, I need to see everyone spar so I can figure out a good training plan for each of you. Don’t use no special Skills, just your natural abilities. I don’t wanna get someone killed.” She glanced at China.
Adam and China both tried to question me about my plan, but I fended them off. I was still trying to figure it out myself, and my ideas and the snippets of things I'd learned hadn't formed into something solid I could share. Giving them hope was enough for now. If I explained what little “plan” I actually had, it might take that hope away.
After explaining what she wanted, Jacky paired me up against Adam, and Sam against China. The latter two went first, China dancing around Sam and throwing playing cards at him in place of her knives, along with darting in and “stabbing” him with them. He refused to attack her, but nevertheless failed to properly defend himself.
Adam and I were next. Despite the handicap of his healing arm, he seemed more than confident enough in his ability to fight me. “You’re going down, Eve Redding.”
I raised an eyebrow and grinned at him. “Go
ahead and try.” I was fully aware that I didn’t know how to fight. And without my claws, I would be just a slightly uncoordinated girl flailing against a guy who’d been in his first street fight long before ever becoming a Player. So I steeled myself for pain and humiliation and tried to imitate his loose, ready stance.
Jacky grunted to herself, but I didn’t take my eyes off Adam and the way he held his legs, arms, feet, and back.
He shot forward, I felt a tap on my chest, and then the world was tilting off its axis. I slammed hard into the floor, half knocking my breath out. I groaned and rolled over, ignoring a tap on my side as he showed me he could have kicked me while I was down.
I got to my feet, and readied myself. My subconscious had responded to my instinctual fear, and though I held my claws in, focus sharpened all my senses. I could smell the new plastic of the pads under my feet, my own sweat, and the scent of my opponent.
He lunged forward again without warning, tapped me on the side of the head and the side of my left knee, and then kicked my legs out from under me.
I didn’t lose my breath when I landed on my back that time.
He stretched out a hand to help me up, and a mischievous thought popped into my head. I didn’t pause to think long enough to seem suspicious, but reached out my hand to him. As soon as I had a good grip on him, I braced myself against the floor with my other arm and swung my leg around low to the mat and fast.
His eyes widened as my leg made contact with his calf and I felt a flicker of satisfaction as he started to fall.
But then my grip on his hand was broken, and he half-jumped, half-twisted over my head and behind me, wrapped an arm around my throat, and squeezed. While not painful, it was definitely uncomfortable.
I tapped his arm twice and he released me. I grinned and turned to look up at him. “Sorry. I just couldn’t resist.”
Jacky started laughing. “You did well, Eve. Next time isn’t gonna be so easy, I think.”
Adam pushed his hair off his forehead. “No, it won’t.”
