Page 36 of Obsession

“Exactly.” I stopped so she could walk beside me now that the foliage wasn’t so thick. "What did you eat for breakfast as a child?”

"Lucky Charms cereal," she said immediately. "Pure sugar and artificial colors. My mom hated it, but my dad always bought it for me. Well, the generic version, at least.” Her smile softened. “He got it in big bags and poured it into a real Lucky Charms box for me.”

I did not knew what any of that meant. “Lucky Charms? What a strange name for a food.”

She eyed me, one eyebrow lifting. “And padwump isn’t?”

“What is strange about padwump?”

She didn’t answer that. “Is padwump the name of an animal? Please tell me tiny Kann was stalking fluffy padwumps through the forest."

I could sense she was teasing me, although I was not sure how she knew that padwumps were fluffy. “Not as a young Drexian, but—”

I didn’t get to tell her about my first padwump hunt because the sound of running silenced me.

Without thinking, I grabbed Britta's hand and broke into a sprint, pulling her with me. We needed to find a place to hide, and all the tall trees to climb were behind us.

“Now would be a great time to deactivate the simulation,” I muttered to the air or anyone who might be on the other side of the holochamber doors, wherever those might be. I held my breath and willed the simulation to vanish around us and the shouts and footfall closing in on us to disappear. But nothing changed.

Grek.I tightened my grip on Britta’s hand as we raced toward the rocky base of the holographic mountains.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Britta

My lungs burned as we ran, the forest thinning around us until we were running past scraggly bushes and clusters of rocks. The temperature dropped with each step toward the mountains, the air growing icier. The cloak provided some protection from the cold, but I couldn’t run and hold it closed, so it whipped around me.

Behind us, the sound of pursuit grew closer—heavy Drexian boots stamping the ground and deep voices booming out orders. I tried to remind myself that the hunters weren’t real, but if the safety protocols weren’t activated, it didn’t matter if they were real or holographic. They were dangerous either way.

Kann's hand was warm around mine as he led us up a rocky path, loose stones skittering beneath our feet. My legs trembled and my stomach was hollow, but I forced myself to keep pace with his longer strides.

The footsteps were getting closer. Too close.

Kann's head swiveled back and forth, searching for something. My heart thundered in my chest. We were exposed here, with nowhere to—

He yanked me sideways, pulling me through a gap behind a massive boulder. We stumbled into darkness, the hidden tunnel barely wide enough for his broad shoulders. We crouched in the shadows, my back pressed against his chest as we waited.

I took shallow breaths, but even those told me we were in a cave of some kind. The air smelled dank and moist, and the soft sound of our breath was magnified.

Kann drew in a sharp breath and held it as shadows passed the entrance to our hiding place. I followed his lead, not exhaling as the hunters wandered close to our hiding spot.

I thought about what Kann had said about our friends trying to get us out. I could almost envision Jess and Morgan coming up with strategies to try while Ariana got frustrated that she couldn’t help.

Finally, the voices and footsteps faded, and I allowed myself to breathe out. Kann did the same, his breath warm against my ear.

I slumped against the rough stone wall, my legs shaking with relief as I slid to a sitting position. I might not be fond of tight spaces, but I could deal with it if it meant a break from running.

Kann moved to the tunnel entrance, reaching for something growing along the edges. When he turned back, his palm was filled with dark-purple berries. He inspected them carefully, and then held them out to me.

They weren’t chidi berries, so I gave him a questioning look. “Are they safe to eat?”

He nodded. “Trust me.”

I didn’t trust easily, but I did trust Kann. I took a few and nodded for him to eat the rest.

I tentatively ate one, flinching at their tartness, but my empty stomach didn't care. We ate in silence, the juice staining our fingers purple in the dim light filtering through the tunnel entrance.

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