Page 22 of Cut Her Strings (Fractured Puppets #1)
Chapter 21
Special Bird
I couldn’t find Jayce anywhere. After his trench’s number lit up, he went suspiciously missing, but I took solace in the fact I was still alive. Several more rounds passed, and now 197’s entire team, Maverick, 33, and 34, all stood in pit number three, a unified front. But I still couldn’t find Jayce. My heart began to pound uncomfortably in my chest. I hadn’t seen Enzo or Levi either, but since I had eyes on Maverick, I knew they were at least breathing. The pit on the opposite side already held nine people; ours wasn’t far behind with seven. Were we going to all make it out of this? I did my best to keep my emotions under control, but even with all my training, I had never had so many people’s lives on the line that I cared about.
“Missing your boy?” 189 taunted in my ear. I had done my best to stay away from him, but he kept lurking.
“What do you want?” I hissed, whipping around.
He put a finger to his chin in a sarcastically thoughtful gesture. “Oh, my Shadow,” he whispered the words fervently. “That’s a difficult question to answer. Because it’s not what I want, but what’s going to happen.” He tapped his chin with pale fingers. “You are going to beg. You are going to pray for me to stop.” He bared his teeth. “And when you are finally a broken shadow, I am going to be your god. I am going to own you, body and soul.” He paused, shifting closer, and wrapped clammy, cold hands around my scarred wrists. “I am going to remind you what happens when you don’t do as you’re told, my special bird.”
Special bird, I tensed at the nickname. I finally knew what my subconscious had been warning me of. My blood chilled in my veins; I knew this man. From the last mission I was on. “Ivan,” I rasped out. “That’s why you tormented me? You knew who I was? Then why did you keep me alive?” I spit out, yanking my wrist from him.
“Oh, so you do remember me? I was afraid I would have to spend more time reminding you of what happens when you forget your lessons, Raven . Of course I knew. Everything you learned came from my experiences first.” He paused, licking his lips. “Why did I keep you alive? That’s easy. You wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun dead.”
I tucked my hands behind my back, hiding the scars. The scars he had put there. The mission that I couldn’t take any more of, the one that made me make the rash decision that ended with me here. Never in my wildest imagination had I expected him to be here. I doubted I would recognize him even if he wasn’t purposefully an enigma. But I was right in my observation of the Faction he belonged to, he had not only been in my Faction, but the founder of it. Until he deserted and turned into another corrupt Official. I was meant to retrieve his head. Instead, I fell into his clutches. He held me for months.
“Did you know that you can volunteer to join these games if you know the right people?” 189, correction, Ivan continued. “I couldn’t let my Shadow get herself killed when I wasn’t even done with her yet. So don’t worry about your boy, but you need to prove yourself to me. Show me you’re the woman I remember—the only one I couldn’t break. I won’t help you, my Shadow, but we will not stand in your way.”
He put himself in this game? For me? Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I was so lost in my turmoil that I didn’t realize a new round had started until I heard the rush of feet. The number two was illuminated, and the arrow pointed in our direction.
I quickly snapped into gear, putting myself in a defensive posture. I found 32 and 41 running straight towards me, doing their best to stay undetected. 32 reached me first, and I used myself as leverage, swinging her past me, up to the ledge. I sighed in relief as she jumped into the end, number eight. I turned my attention back to 41 and couldn’t stop the cry that left my lips. 189 had her head in his hands as she struggled against him.
“Please don’t!” she bawled, begging. Tears streaked down her face as she continued her futile efforts.
“You don’t need these; they’ll be dead weight.” 189 flashed his teeth in a beastly smile. He ignored her entirely, directing his words to me. Less than a moment later, the unmistakable crack of her neck echoed in our pit. He dropped her corpse to the ground.
A sob threatened to escape my throat, but I choked it down. I pushed it deep into my body, where the memories of Ivan lived.
A beep signaled the round’s end, and I looked back to see one more person after 32 had made it through. The number was now nine. Unlike most of the other pits, the second trench was entirely empty now. The proximity to the end had caused everyone to at least try. It hadn’t gone well. The evidence was in the several unconscious bodies strewn throughout the ground around me. Everyone was getting more desperate as the ending neared.
The next sound rang through, and I found that for the first time, my light illuminated. The arrow pointed in the direction of the opposite end. Would it even be worth it to move the eight spaces? I caught Maverick’s stare while deep in thought. He put his hands up in stop signs, and I found 197 next to him doing the same.
189 gave me one more cursory look. “Those are the allies you want.” He jerked his head towards Maverick and 197. “Just don’t make me too jealous, and don’t forget who your master is.” On those ominous parting words, he left our pit.
All the other contestants in one had already exited to the next, most likely thinking this was their only chance. It left me as the only person standing, surrounded by several bodies of dead or unconscious players. Unfortunately for them, the other players didn’t seem to realize the third pit would be practically impassable. It only held my allies. 189 stopped in the second and didn’t bother to go further. Why was he still playing anyway? I had seen his teammate, 190, make it as the very first winner on our side. When the chaos settled down, Maverick flicked his hand in a come-hither motion, and I hightailed it to their pit. 189 watched as I ran past him but made no moves to stop me, and I made it to number three just as the period ended.
A few more rounds passed, and we gained a few additions to our pit, but no one was able to make it past our group in three. Our side’s winning trench still held nine and on the opposite wall the number was ten. We didn’t have much leeway. We couldn’t hold off everyone. Many of the players were coming, too, and the game was becoming more and more dangerous.
The number three illuminated, but the arrow pointed in the opposite direction. We needed three spots, and there were only two left. Now what?
“Trust me?” 197 whispered in my ear.
I inclined my head. What choice did I have? Even though I didn’t really know the man, he hadn’t misled me yet.
We watched as everyone besides our allies left our pit. It took less than a minute.
When they were gone, Maverick yelled out, “Now!”
197 grabbed my hand, spun us, and we all sprinted in the opposite direction of the arrow. As I hit the second pit, I waited for my death, but when nothing happened, I broke free of 197 and ran beside him. At this point, I could hear the yelling of others and the sound of other contestants changing direction.
We could do this. We would all make it. I made it to the first pit, not daring to look behind me. I watched Maverick go first, scaling the wall, and the number clicked to 10. 197 was lifting himself out of the first pit, but there would still be a spot for me.
That was my thought as something reached up from the pile of bodies and tugged me down, causing me to crash. Hard. I whimpered at the impact and saw a man I didn’t know sinisterly smiling up at me. “Not you!”
In my periphery, I saw movement and watched in abject horror as a small, lean man with his collar illuminated skirted past our allies, diving through 196’s legs.
197, who had turned to help me up, could do nothing as the man made it to the end ten feet away. The number eleven lit up.
I stilled my fight and accepted that this was it. Within arm's reach of 197, almost to the very end, this was where I would die.
I’m sorry Jayce, I couldn’t save us. Just like I couldn’t save myself or Sparrow.