Page 93 of Galaxy Games Four-Book Box Set (Galaxy Games)

93

Preparing to Cross

J ahzara Zedd

Shit! I was watching the live vid feed from the planet in the main area of TGN’s space vessel, The Eye in the Sky, but I retired to my private room for a moment to gather my thoughts.

I believed I’d considered every conceivable possibility. I sabotaged the bridge when they prepped the planet for The Game a month ago. Several weeks ago, I woke up worrying. What if there weren’t enough contestants at this stage of the game to make the bridge fall? That’s when I studied the stats we’d gathered about the planet and began chumming the waters near the bridge.

For weeks now, bigger and bigger fish have been heading to that spot. Bigger fish ate smaller fish until I got the daddies of them all. The Leviathans as the network’s zoologist affectionately nicknamed them.

If the engineers didn’t rig the bridge to fail, the sea monsters would do the job.

I watch on the screen in my room as the three females braid vines. Not that I think their pitiful plot will prevail against mine, which was months in the making, but I don’t want anything to go wrong.

My future is riding on this. Commander Pleer felt strongly about that ugly geneslave’s death. Evidently, he’s allowing all his mutants to watch it. I believe he called it “motivational.”

I take one sniff of the illegal bottled Synth I keep for emergencies. I normally do not touch this stuff on the job, but I don’t want to broadcast live when I’m anxious.

Sadie

We’re all silent, still looking toward the chasm although the beast has dived back into the water below. My heart is thumping wildly in my chest. The sight of that monster, its huge maw open, then snapping shut, fills me with terror.

When I finally turn to look at everyone else, it’s obvious we’re all wondering how we can get out of this alive.

“Keep working,” I urge. “We’ve got to get across that gap or the drones will kill us. The way I see it, trying to cross the bridge is the only chance we have.”

Anubis pulls me close, leans, and presses his forehead to mine. He chuffs in my ear, then kisses my cheek.

“I love you, too,” I say, wishing he could talk.

When I turn, I see the other couples are hugging each other. I think we all just saw our lives flashing before us.

Then we redouble our efforts and braid the vines in record time.

“We all know the bridge is rigged. It only makes sense that the lightest person goes across,” I say levelly. I don’t mention the added weight of the vines themselves. If Anubis hasn’t considered that fact, I don’t want to give him another reason to protest.

He protests anyway, but how can he win any fight when the poor male can’t talk? Everyone tries to get him to agree, but he keeps shaking his head.

“Anubis, we’re burning daylight. We have to push forward. You’re the heaviest person here. You can’t go in my place, and everyone else is smart enough to know it should be me.” I rise and square my shoulders. “I’m going.”

He growls, but nods his head. Then he puts up one finger, motions for the males to go with him, and communicates that he wants me to wait.

I stand there, baffled, as the three males run toward the forest. We have about three hours left when the males return, their arms piled with… something.

“I don’t know how he managed to tell us what he wanted, but it’s a good plan,” Erwann says. “We’re going to make good use of these dead primates.”

He thrusts out the cache of dead monkey-things in his arms. Yuck.