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When the countdown hit zero, a siren blared to life along with flashing red lights as the door rose. The noise echoed through the small area and into the desolate park. It went on as they entered. Sounding more like an apocalyptic tornado warning, warning everyone in the area that danger was coming.
I had heard the siren time and time again, but it was nothing compared to hearing it in person and knowing that in a few more minutes one of those Ghosts would be dying at my hands.
Quick-footed Ghosts crawled on their bellies for a couple of precious seconds of extra time, others ducking under the door to get into the arena as quickly as possible. The sound of feet hitting the ground made my heart rate skyrocket, my instincts starting to kick in.
The blood rushed through my veins. The adrenaline pushing me to go after them.
My head was spinning by the time my tracker flashed, alerting me I’d been paired with a Ghost.
My eyes narrowed at the screen name.
bl@ck_r4bb1t.
It scraped uncomfortably at the back of my mind, not quite a memory as much as an impression. But where had I heard it before? I wasn’t one to remember usernames, but something rang important about this one.
It didn’t matter, copycat username or not, that bitch was as good as dead.
My eyes lingered on the tiny photo of her black mask. She’d been with the blue-haired girl.
Maybe if I got to her, I could go after the other one.
I shook myself, trying to push away the revulsion I felt at the thought.
So, this is what they meant. That once you entered the game, you became someone else.
I hadn’t even picked up a weapon yet, and my mind was already trying to normalize this for me. I was already starting tochange.
To lose myself.
But I didn’t have time to worry about my humanity. The only thing that mattered from now until sunrise was how many points I could score.
It was time to get creative.
I’m coming for you, little rabbit.
Vic
It was better to be no one.
Ijumped the turnstile, sprinting to catch the train as the doors were closing.
Just my fucking luck that I’d miscounted my change. There wasn’t even enough for me to make it to Paradise Pier—but I wasn’t going to let something as trivial astrain farestop me. Not today.
This shit was do or die.
Emphasis on the die part.
The train was packed like sardines, bodies pressed together as we rumbled down the tracks. The smell of sweat hung in the air along with the stickiness forming on my skin at the heat. I was significantly shorter than most of the other passengers, making me an easy target for jostling as they swayed with every bump and turn. People talked loudly, their phones in hand as they watched the live entrant coverage on the high-definition screens.
I adjusted the bracelet on my wrist, trying and failing not to be upset that it’d turned from white to soft teal. My own damn fault for forgetting to take it off while I rinsed out my hair, butstill.
It was my good luck charm.
And Ineededa fucking good luck charm.
Above me, the usual advertisements for cosmetics, insurance, and antidepressants had been changed to fit a single theme,The Games. Faces of Legacies—players with a parent who’d won in a previous year—stared down at me with picture-perfect smiles and carefully coiffed hair.
Too perfect.
