Page 78 of They're Watching You

In stumbles Polly, hands bound behind her back. Dallis follows closely, gripping the back of her black dress and shoving her farther inside the chamber. My insides go cold. I’m looking at a ghost.

“Polly!” I scream, rushing toward her, swatting at anyone who challenges me with my empty chalice. Remington is in tow, but we’re blocked by Paul and the other minions.

Before me, Polly has managed to stand upright. Her face is stoic, head held high. I feel a tiny burst of pride that she hasn’t allowed these people to break her.

Jane staggers in next, also bound as Donella prods her along. A pink gown flutters in stark contrast to the ratty gag around Jane’s mouth. At my side, Remington’s tension is palpable.

The gags are removed. The girls seem remarkably sturdy, considering how long they’ve been kept underground with little light, food, or warmth. Unease trickles through me as I track Polly’s movements, noting the muscles that I’d assumed had atrophied after so much disuse in that tiny cell.

The feeling intensifies. Because even the pallor to her skin has suddenly vanished, replaced by a rosy glow.

The bindings on both girls’ hands are removed next, but Polly makes no effort to push through the guards to get to me. Off to their left, Gavin crosses his arms.

There’s a tap on my shoulder. Reluctantly, I wrench my eyes off the girls to find Annabelle behind me. “What the hell is going on?” I hiss at her.

But she only grins, and when I turn my attention back to the front, Jane’s newly freed hands glide down to her dress. She pinches the pink fringe and curtsies to the crowd, sending a wave of dizziness through me.

The chamber bursts into applause. Polly, somewhat stiffly, performs a bow. The goblet falls from my grip with a crash, glass shattering against the stone floor.

My vision swerves and staggers. When the noise finally dies down, Gavin’s eerie laugh drifts through. “Lovely,” he says, gazing at the girls admiringly. “One of these beautiful ladies will be announced Gamemaster Elect before sunrise.”

“What is he talking about?” I whisper to Annabelle.

“You still think we were holding these girls captive?” Annabelle asks, words muffled by chatter. “Polly and Jane are your patrons. They selected the two of you to champion them. They believed in you, that you’d fight for them. So that one of them could become the next Gamemaster.”

“But you—” Beside me, Remington glances at Jane, his expression pained. “They didn’t choose this. They were kept in a cell!”

“Were they?” Annabelle’s head tilts. “Or was that simply the story we chose to tell?” This time, when she sneers, I have to resist the urge to slap her pretty face. “Do Polly and Jane look like they’ve been kept in a cell?” she asks. “They’ve been living in a vacant faculty cottage.”

No. “But she—I heard Polly scream. I saw blood.”

“You certainly saw something,” Annabelle says, her gaze veering to Polly.

“You tricked me?” I say to my best friend, who still can’t look me in the eye. I reach out, slamming my open palm against the display table, rattling the glasses. “I thought I was fighting for your life. And you were hiding out, enjoying some sort of sick vacation in faculty housing?”

“Youwerefighting for a life,” Annabelle says, frowning. “Your own.”

Polly couldn’t have tricked me. Shewouldn’thave.

But a terrible thought claws its way into my brain.Unless it was all contrived.Unless Polly was simply playing the ultimate part.I think back to her skittishness that day at the Commons. Her nonsensical words:Chess isn’t going so well. It’s not just pieces and a board. It’s…more. Too much, maybe. She knew I’d recognize the fear in her eyes, that I wouldn’t be able to let her disappearance go.

I want to show you something. Meet me at the fountain.I missed her. I hoped that meeting at our fountain held meaning, and she knew it. She used it to reel me in, and like a hungry, desperate fish, I clamped right onto her pointy hook.

Beside me, Polly stirs. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I—I did something bad a couple weeks into the school year. In chemistry. I was caught. They were going to expel me. But Annabelle rescued me. She made the school forget everything, and she showed me that things could be even better if I became a member.” Her voice carries a dreamy lilt. “When I showed promise in the Games, Gavin showed me the possibilities if I became Gamemaster.” She finally looks at me, her face glowing with a delirious glee. “Maren, Hollywood—my dream since I can remember—would be one blip on my timeline if I became Gamemaster. If we win tonight, I’ll be a god.”

I stare because I don’t know what else to do. An image from the photo collage flashes in my mind—Polly, auburn hair tied up in a messy bun. Sitting on a dirty bench downtown, chomping on a pack of off-brand potato chips from the dollar store, fingers covered in salt. When I speak, my voice is empty, weak. “Polly, what did they do to you?”

“They didn’tdoanything to me!” she shouts, her body shaking. “They rescued me! They gave me a future!” Defiantly, she reaches toward the display, tearing off a hunk of bread. “They’re my family.”

“They’re going to kill me.”

Polly shakes her head, too fast, too hard. “I knew you could make it this far,” she says, still chewing her bread. “I knew you’d do it and that we’d rule the society—the entire school—together. I’ve been making sure. Gavin’s been making sure. You’re our champion.”

“But Annabelle is helpingthem.” I flick my chin to where Remington stands stiffly beside Jane. “Yourfriendhas been doing everything in her power to get me to fail. She doesn’t care if I die, Polly.”

“You won’t,” she says, still shaking her head maniacally. “You can’t.”

I back up, and the crowd begins to part. Remington takes three, large, cautious strides backward. I cast a glance at the trapdoor, and the members are so caught up in awestruck wonder that it seems like they may let us wander right out of here.

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