Page 34 of Wonder

Stillwith that fucking attitude. I glance at Buck’s bed, considering, and he crosses his arms. “Not a fucking chance. Yourallocatedbed. Follow the instructions.”

The guy on her other side is sleeping. I start for him, planning on pushing him off, but Alyss grabs my arm. “Nothim. Just – we’ll sort it out later. Go, Chess.”

“Thirty seconds.”

A beeping noise sounds.

“Get on a fucking bed,” Buck hisses. “Quickly.”

Twisting, I eye the unconscious man with suspicion, even as Lyss pushes at me. “Ishethe one?”

“You are fucking infuriating,” she snaps. But her cheeks flush. “Later,Chess.”

I stalk to the end of the room, perching on the fucking tiny cot I woke up on.

This is insane.

Whatever is happening here… it’sinsane.

The guy opposite sneers at me, still standing. He tugs on his rumpled blazer, clearly custom-made, and tries to fix his floppy, prep-asshole hair. “This is bullshit. I paid a lot of fucking money for my ticket, expecting a damn party, andthisis what I get? I expect a refund—,”

Red spatters the gray walls behind him.

Noise erupts around me as his eyes dim, his body crumpling to the ground with a bullet through his forehead.

Crackling. That voice sounds over the intercom again. “Silence.”

The whole room goes silent, eyes darting to the door as it creaks open. There are two men standing there, dressed in black. One lifts his gun back up as the other tosses filled brown paper lunch bags to the floor, followed by bottles of water. “One per participant. Stealing food is not permitted.”

Nobody argues over the bags. I snag one for Lyss too, taking it over to her and handing her a bottle of water.

She thanks me with a nod. And then—

“What the hell, Lyss?”

She pats my shoulder, ducking past me after leaving the bagIgot for her next to the sleeping asshole I’m pretty sure she chose over me the other night. “You saved me carrying an extra one. Thanks.”

I glower at the male.Definitely the one. “Do they care if you kill someone in here?”

Clearly whoever runs this place has no qualms about it.

Buck’s voice sounds strained behind me. “I wouldn’t recommend it. Outside of approved activities, that is.”

I sit on the end of Lyssa’s bed, daring her to argue as she returns. She eyes me warily, but she still sits next to me as we open up the bags.

Her nose wrinkles. “I hate—,”

My sandwich is in her hands before she finishes speaking. “—uh, tuna.”

I fucking hate tuna too.

She eats the turkey quietly before nudging me. “Thanks.”

My chest tightens as I glance at her. “What the fuck are we going to do?”

“Survive.” We both look over at Buck. He crumples up his sandwich wrapper, aiming for the trash can placed just inside the door. “Or try to. Assuming Alyss here actuallywantsto, of course.”

I whip my head to her. “What the hell is he talking about?”