Page 8

LOSERS LIKE ME

HUCKLEBERRY

When they gesture for our group to approach, I flank Sydney’s left side while Thad takes the right. The drugged looking supes at the table we’re sent to are older students. The female wolf looks up at me with dull eyes as she asks for our names and I wince. Based on the bruises I can see, she must be one of the fillies who trades ‘favors’ for perks.

I suppose I’d need to be blitzed out of my noggin, too.

“Sydney Jolie, Thaddeus Calvin, and Huckleberry Monroe,” she says. Her voice is confident, despite the fear I’m practically licking off of her. “We have a bear, a fear demon, and unknown magic.”

The wolf girl nods robotically, taking three clipboards from the equally zoned out eagle shifters sitting next to her. That guy has a nicer uniform, makeup, and less marks where they could be seen. His sugar human has money and wants the merchandise to look appealing from the outside. It says woman to me, but that kind of preference got much more flexible after the camps.

“Take these. Fill them out. No lies or the form will know. All deception will result in punishment.”

I frown as I take mine, walking with my friends to the chairs against the wall the wolf pointed out. They’re using a fuck ton of magic users for this damn sideshow. Usually, the humans stay away from supes unless they’re getting something they need. As I fill out the stupid information, I wonder how many supes they’ve bought off or enchanted to make the games happen.

That feels like an important piece of intel and I’m going to find the people I need to get it.

“Huck, why the fuck do they want to know this?” Sydney points to a question on her form and panic fills me.

If she lies, the form will know—supposedly. But I’m not at all comfortable with these dickheads knowing how her fertility cycle runs. My eyes drift to Thad’s and his eyes widen when he sees where she’s pointing. We communicate our fears silently, and I ponder the situation for a moment.

“Put a date but set it way back. It’s truthful, but if you don’t say why it’s that far back, it might not trigger the spell,” I finally say. Picking at the wording is a Fae trick and I have no idea who created these things.

Hell, they could be normal paper and I might not know because of the fucking Markers.

“Skirt the truth because it’s none of their fucking business. Got it,” Syd mumbles as she continues working on the questions.

Relief floods me as I scribble a bunch of shit on my own, finishing it quickly so I can watch our girl. I know the bear is doing the same because this shit just got very real. Deathmatch games have no goddamn use for information on fertility unless they’re trafficking losers or… I don’t want to imagine what else they might have planned. Angus’ description of the ‘new student’ camp didn’t fill me with hope that we’ll get teammates who are trustworthy.

In fact, it made me worry about Syd and Thad even more. Tempest Seven doesn’t have a huge criminal element—not like the bigger camps on the coasts and borders. They’re not used to the darkest parts of Taterman’s takeover and I’d like to allow them to keep their innocence in regards to the depravity. These Games may prevent that, though, especially with the species they’ve brought in.

“Are you done?” Sydney asks as her pen hovers on the page. “I want to go back together.”

Thad nods, rising to his feet and holding his hand out to her. “C’mon, Vicious. We’ve got music to face.”

I wait until both of them are turned away before I let the frown settle on my features. Thad is incredibly worried; he used the nickname for Syd that he never uses in public. The last time I heard it was when she got sick with the virus for three weeks after I first arrived. He was scared to death that she was going to die. It seems like he’s similarly afraid for her now.

“We’re going to be okay, you know,” I say casually. “Syd’s smarter’n a room full of clocks and the humans’ porch lights are on, but no one’s home. We can outwit them, and if we’re very good, we can wing this thing. We just have to stick together and make sure our new ‘friends’ understand the goal.”

Sydney frowns as I get even with them. “You’re a ray of sunshine all the sudden.”

I shrug, winking at her. “I don’t see the point in letting these fuckers see they’ve affected me.”

That comment works because Thad straightens up, looking big and intimidating once more, even if it's a lie. Our girl straightens her spine and her gait changes to an annoyed stomp as she heads for the table with the high supes. When we get there, she slams her clipboard down and glares at them until their bleary eyes focus on us.

“Take us to our fucking team. I’m ready to play.”

You’d think that kind of statement would jerk these idiots out of their stupor, but it doesn’t. They must be so doped up they don’t even know their names. I slam my board down, making the eagle jump a little, and Thad follows suit. The wolf grabs the papers and hands the empty boards to the fancy bird, who hands them off to yet another cranked out supe.

“Step over to the door numbered 3. Stand at the door until it opens. When it opens, walk inside in a single file line. At the end of the hall, a team building assistant will greet you. They will take you to an intake room and when we have your extra players selected, they will meet you in the monitored team intake space you’ve been assigned.”

I rub my temples, hoping to hell I can keep us all calm until this ridiculously long and bureaucratic nightmare ends. “Okay, darlin’. We’ll stick to your boundaries for the moment.”

The shifter looks at me with an empty expression. “I don’t have boundaries. But you should follow their instructions or it will not end well.”

Baphomet’s big hairy goat balls, that scares me more than anything I’ve heard today so far.

Door three opens slowly, and I jerk my head at Thad as I walk in first. I’m the least destructible of us all, so I’ll play the hero demons rarely get to be. Nothing comes whizzing out to kill me and I gesture behind my back for Sydney to follow me. The bear will have her back and when I hear the sound of the latch clicking, I know we’re all inside. We’ve only been attending the university level of F.E.A.R. for a short time, so not recognizing this area isn’t surprising; it’s a huge complex and I’m sure there are lots of places in the building we don’t ever want to witness.

The self-awareness rooms are only one example, but they spring to mind first.

As instructed, we walk down the barren, sterile path quietly in a single file line. My eyes skitter around, taking in the structure of the building, looking for cameras, and generally memorizing the place for future reference. It’s cool, which means well-ventilated, and other than that, unremarkable. Unmarked doors are evenly spaced along the inner walls, so this is used for something, but who the hell knows what.

The lack of detail makes my horns itch to break free. I don’t like situations I can’t gauge and this is definitely in that category. The junkie wolf said to walk forward and meet the person at the other end, though, and I don’t see as how we have a choice to do anything but. There’s nowhere to escape to and I’d wager my last spur those doors are all locked up tight.

“Fucking creepy,” Syd mutters and I shake my head a tiny bit.

We don’t know who’s listening or watching.

When we finally reach the door at the end, a loud buzzer sounds and it opens to reveal a woman who could be Melinda’s double dressed in a bright pink pantsuit. She beams at us in a clueless way, her white teeth shining as brightly as her platinum hair.

“Welcome, brave competitors! My name is Krista Philbert and I’m here to guide you on your personal journey to fame and fortune!”

Syd’s eyes widen and the abject horror streaming from her fills my tank. I have to smother a chuckle when I realize this Barbie-style bimbette’s enthusiasm scares her more than the thought of teaming up with imprisoned supes. Our girl is nothing if not fiercely independent and down to earth, so the idea of someone so opposite being tied to us is making her teeth grind.

“Good mornin’, Miss Krista. I’m Huck, that’s Sydney, and the big guy is Thaddeus. Pleased to meet you,” I say. I’m laying the accent on thick because it charms most humans and if this woman holds the keys to the kingdom in any way, I want her on our side. I don’t trust humans— ever —but I’ll use them for my own needs.

She beams wider, pushing the door open and gesturing for us to walk inside. “That’s the spirit, Huck! Now, we’re going to an intake room. Don’t you worry about that name—what we do is have doctors examine you in privacy pods, then a mage will assess your powers, and after that, we’ll have a tailor measure you for the base uniform for the games. You’ll get five of those, but any other clothing or decorations will have to be won through various methods during the training period.”

Thad frowns. “What about weapons?”

“Same!” she chirps. “Everything you could ever want will be yours if you’re smart and brave enough to get it. That’s a win-win for everyone, you see, because it gives the hard workers advantages and the viewers a treat.”

That’s… not good—to put it lightly.

“After we get you suited up, you’ll take your packets, clothes, and information we give you from our medical and magical assessors with you to meet your new teammates. The algorithm uses that data to pair the teams appropriately and we’ve been assured its artificial intelligence is state-of-the-art. I’m certain my team will be on top quickly!”

“Mother Morgana,” Sydney mutters and I imagine she’s rubbing her temples in absolute misery.

I’ll admit, this much sunshine in one go is going to make me puke soon, too. Clearing my throat, I attempt to ward off the woman’s sudden death and our execution by walking faster. “Miss Krista, I imagine there will be some sort of orientation. Am I right?”

Her blond head bobs as she claps her hands. “Yes, indeed, Huck. We’re having a big fancy party in five days to introduce all of our fierce competitors to the world. Your team—and all the others—will have that length of time to get what you’ll need to shine for the cameras. Best to keep those ears and eyes open!”

“Things we need?” Thad echoes. “Like… clothes?”

Krista stops in front of a door marked with a three again, nodding. “That’s right! The coordinators have lined up a series of starter challenges to get the blood pumping. Those who win will be dressed to the nines and those who fail will wear their uniforms. Support from fans is imminently necessary in future months and trials, so you should put your all into winning them over early!”

The amount of bubbly exclamations this woman uttered in the five minutes since we met her is egregious for anyone not wearing a cheerleader outfit.

“Fine. Win people over. We get it.” Sydney growls as she glares at the human. “It’s all a big dog-and-pony-show and we’re the livestock. We understand.”

I roll my eyes to the ceiling as she stomps into the room, leaving Thad and I behind to give Krista sheepish smiles.

We’re going to have to work on her people skills for certain.