Page 101 of The Hunt

“Did you know you’re at the top of the leaderboard now? For the most kills.”

“Yup.”

I heard a couple of faint mouse clicks. “I just checked the odds,” he said. “You’re still the favorite to win the whole game too.”

“Nice.”

“It’s better thannice, man. This’ll be the first time a brand-new hunter wins the game.Ever.It’s fucking awesome.” He paused for a beat and let out a groan of frustration. “I really wish my application was accepted. It looks so fucking fun out there.”

“Maybe next year.” I cleared my throat. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“You know player 50? Everly Marlowe?”

“Yup. She was originally tipped to be one of the first out, but she’s actually doing really well,” he replied. “A lot of people think she might even win the player prize.”

“Right. Anyway, I know I already asked you this a while back, but do you know her personally?”

“Personally?” Jake sounded confused. When I didn’t respond, he went on. “No, I don’t think I’ve ever met her. How come?”

I chewed on the protein bar as I considered his answer. There hadn’t been the slightest hint of falseness in his voice, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t lying. But it was hard to know for sure when I couldn’t see his eyes.

“Can I ask you something else?” I finally said. “Something personal?”

Jake laughed. “Dude, you cleaned me up in freshman year after I got that food poisoning thing and passed out in a pile of shit and vomit,” he said. “In my book, that means you have a free pass to ask meanypersonal shit for the rest of your life.”

“I wanted to know—before you came out, did you ever date any girls?”

“Nope. People always pushed me to do it back in high school, because a lot of girls liked me, but I always knew I wasn’t interested in them. So I never did,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

Once again, he sounded like he was telling the truth. Not a hint of deception in his tone—just confusion as to why I was questioning him about the subject.

“Just wondering.”

“That’swhat you’re wondering about in the middle of the fucking Hunt?” Jake said, laughing again. “You’ve got some weird priorities, dude.”

“True. I should probably get back to it.”

“I put a ton of money on you to win, so don’t let me down, okay?”

I ended the call and finished my snack. I was just about to put the sat phone away when it rang. It was JJ.

I pressed the green answer button. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Hey, man. Are you anywhere near sector G3? And do you happen to have any food on you?”

“Yup. I’m in G2, and I’ve got protein bars and coffee. Why?”

“I’m empty, but someone already raided the supply cache here. There’s literally nothing left,” he said. “Any chance you could share some stuff? I don’t want to walk all the way back to the fucking Lodge.”

“Sure. Send me your coordinates. I’ll come meet you,” I said, rising to my feet.

I arrived at the spot twenty minutes later, finding JJ perched on a large rock. “Oh, thankfuck,” he muttered as I approached with a handful of snacks. “Thanks, man. I’m starving. I really should’ve packed more shit earlier.”

I raised a brow as he tore open a protein bar. “I don’t rely on the supply caches. I’m pretty sure players find them and raid them all the time.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said through his mouthful of food.

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