Page 55 of Galaxy Games Four-Book Box Set (Galaxy Games)

55

The Next Challenge

S adie

Terrified. I’m terrified. I’ve been scared before. I thought I was terrified when I was abducted, then sold at auction, then forced into a bedroom with a jackal-man. But no, that was a walk in the park compared to this.

There are dinosaurs down there. I watched the whole franchise of those movies. People usually don’t make it out alive when they tangle with fucking dinosaurs .

The eighty people on this ridge are silent. No murmuring. No praying. Nothing. I imagine they’re all as wide-eyed and horrified as I am.

“We promised you challenges. We delivered!” Zedd announces triumphantly, playing to the camera. I have to remember this is being televised throughout the galaxy. People are paying to watch us go up against humongous prehistoric reptiles. She mentioned letting children watch this. Awful.

“Welcome to planet Ultera. Our eighty contestants have survived their first challenge, arriving at the first flag. Let me tell you a secret.” She looks into the camera and gives an exaggerated wink. “This was the easy one.”

After sliding off 1213’s back, I thread my fingers through his as I stand at his side. I know he barely tolerates me, so I give him credit for letting me keep our connection. I don’t care if we’re friends or not, I just need to hold on to another person right now.

“Final sunset is in eight hours, ten minutes and eleven seconds,” she says.

Final sunset? When I glance into the sky, I realize this delightful planet has two weak suns.

“You have until then to arrive through the front doors of the hotel.”

Hotel? It looks like Armageddon down there.

“It’s the building with The Game flag on it. We’ve made up your rooms and will keep the light on for you. If you haven’t slipped through the door by 7:57 tonight, you’ll spend the night out there alone. It will be just you… and the predators.” She smiles.

I get it now. She’s a complete psychopath.

“The hotel is protected from the animals with an invisible fence and game wardens who have controllers. Pointed at any animal, the controller can activate a stunner in their brain that immobilizes them for an hour. Don’t worry. Our engineers are confident they’ve worked out all the glitches that caused this park to have so many mishaps the Feds ordered it closed years ago. Special thanks to Federation Commander Pleer who granted the permit giving us exclusive use during The Game .”

She smiles at the camera, looking perky and as dangerously beautiful as she did during the gala last night. She shuffles the papers in front of her on her glass desk with her perfectly manicured emerald green nails that match the blouse she’s wearing. “Remember, it all comes Down. To. Two.”

I’ve always considered myself a smart woman. I got decent grades in school without a great deal of effort. Sadly, it took me until just this moment to put two and two together—literally. When they told me the winners would get acreage and a stipend, I took it as in winners, multiple winners—everyone who crossed the finish line.

Now I understand it means winners as in a finite number—two. One couple is going to cross whatever arbitrary finish line they designate. The other 49? I think they’re all going to be dead. Maybe not. I mean five couples arrived at the flag too late to continue the quest. Maybe they were escorted off the planet to watch the game on TV while drinking Mai Tais with their feet up. I’ll just hang onto that belief, however slim the chances.

I move toward the steep cliff, following the herd of 78 others, when 1213 tightens his grip on my hand and shakes his head.

“Bad idea. Wait.”

When I look up at him, a questioning look on my face, he just turns his attention to the free-for-all making their way down the steep embankment.

“There.” He points.

Someone lost their footing and is crashing down like a giant bowling ball, knocking over several people in front of him.

“We’ll be the last ones down, but we won’t have any broken bones,” he says as he moves to pull me onto his back.

“I’ve got this,” I tell him. “You go first. I’ll keep up.”

He starts to argue, but I shake my head. “Nope. Thanks for the ride earlier. I couldn’t have made it without you, but this? This I can do.”

He shrugs, rearranges his pack to his back, and, after waiting until the coast is clear, lopes downhill. The male’s legs are bent, lowering his center of gravity, as he quickly picks his way down the loosened soil. I follow along a different trajectory, leaping and jumping.

I wasn’t on my way to international competition as a gymnast for nothing. I’ve kept in shape even after my growth spurt smashed my Olympic dreams. I have strength, skill, and amazing balance. I’m even the right height for competition. Nobody expected me to morph from flat as a board to overflowing a C cup in one year.

My boobs may have crushed my Olympic dreams, but as a consolation prize, I get to see amazed appreciation on Twelve’s face when he turns to make sure I’m coming and I pass him in a flash.

“Hurry up,” I tease as I make my way to the flat canyon below.

1213

It’s good to know she has some skills. Tiny as she is, she could have never kept up on that run this morning. Others would have overtaken us and possibly pushed her to the ground and trampled her. I wondered if I’d have to carry her through the entire competition.

After she cried earlier, I decided she was both physically and mentally weak. Watching her, I see she’s not only fit, but has emotional strength. Now that I’m closer to the giant reptiles, it’s clear she’s going to need it.