Page 94 of The Truths We Burn

Adrenaline masks my fear, keeping me moving even when my brain starts to panic. We are three girls split off from the group in enemy territory. Enemies that are ready to go as far as they need to in order to defeat us.

I try not to think about it, letting the drive to win fuel me.

My breath comes out in visible puffs, and these layers of clothing only make me sweat more. The Drop Zone is within sight, the winding wooden stairs that lead to the enormous slide standing out from the rest of the rides.

It has to be there.

“Hey,” Briar whispers. “What’s that?”

She points to our left, where the wave pool sits stagnant. It’s probably the only thing with water inside this place during this season. The structure starts wide, tapering in the closer you get to the concrete wall that keeps all the water inside, and stores the machinery that makes the waves. Barely any water is left in the shallow entry of the pool; all of it has gathered to the deeper portion, where it sits dark and murky.

It’s then I notice the large sign that sits atop the concrete wall ledge, reading Wave Lagoon. Streaming across the top of the sign is a banner with ribbons flapping in the air, and in the center is a tied orange flag.

“Holy shit, we found it,” I breathe, a smile on my face, too overcome with pride to notice incoming danger.

“Thank the gods,” Lyra wheezes.

“Gods?” I laugh.

“I’m agnostic.” She shrugs. “It feels wrong to say just one.”

Before we can start towards the flag, I hear a sharp whistle pierce the air, followed by a bright red light flying through the sky before it rolls in front of us. The flare spews sparks and smoke that burns my eyes.

The group of guys from earlier walks from the shadows, each from a different direction, surrounding us in a circle. Two more flares are lit and sent our way. The irritating smoke makes me cough as I cover my nose with my arm.

“I was hoping I’d find you again tonight,” One of them says, swinging a hockey stick threateningly in a circle. “We did warn you girls.”

We were so close, and now it feels so far away.

“What do we do?” Lyra says, her voice nervous as they loom closer.

I hate not having an answer. Whatcouldwe do? There are three of them and three of us, but they’re also holding weapons. There isn’t much we can do except run.

“We have to split up. We gotta run,” Briar says, coughing as she does. “Sage, go for the flag. Lyra, run the opposite direction.”

“And you?” I ask, nervous for her answer.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go.”

It’s a risky move, a gamble, and I don’t like it. They could catch us before we even get away—they could catch us in general. But we have to take that chance. We have to do something.

We each take a breath, this moment standing still in time, the predators closing in.

I sprint first, hitting the gap between two of them while Lyra does the same in the opposite direction. My feet push me forward, my boots slamming into the ground as I ignore any logic and just let my body propel me. It’s pure adrenaline, and all I can think about is grasping that flag.

Ending this.

Winning this.

It’s only when I’m several feet away that I turn around, catching a glimpse of Briar, who hadn’t run at all. She’d stayed there like bait. The guy with the hockey stick pulls back, clipping her in the back of the legs with the blunt end. Her cry of pain makes me stop, and I immediately want to run back to her.

As she falls to her knees, her blonde hair swaying in front of her face, she screams, “Sage,go!”

It’s a shot of motivation, knowing if I can reach the flag, all of this will be over. One of the other guys heads towards me, and it’s then I begin running again.

“Don’t let her get the flag!”

I pump my arms, forcing my legs to work faster, to move past the burn in my lungs.