Page 69 of The Hunt

Beneath that, there was a pair of sneakers, three pairs of socks, underwear, a khaki long-sleeved sweater, and matching pants. All of them were in my exact size. I frowned, wondering how they knew that information about me, before deciding it wasn’t even close to the most important question I had right now.

“Seriously,” I muttered to myself, head spinning. “Why the hell am I here?”

I sifted through everything carefully, mentally checking off what I thought I’d need the most. Then I spotted the small black box at the bottom of the bag.

I pulled it out, examining the sleek surface, and popped it open. Inside, there was a tiny radio, complete with a matching earbud. I placed the earbud in my right ear, testing the fit. It felt fine, but I couldn’t ignore the faint static that buzzed through it, followed by the sound of a voice, crackling softly.

"Test one, two… can you hear me?"

I froze, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. The voice was faint but clear, as if someone was speaking directly into my ear.

"Test one, two… can you hear me?" the voice repeated. “Nod your head if you can. We’ll catch you on the cameras.”

Oh, great, we’re under constant surveillance here,I thought bitterly. As if this shit wasn’t already weird enough.

I nodded to confirm the earbud was working and slipped the box back into my bag. Then I peered up at the tree behind me, looking for the camera. I couldn’t see it anywhere, but I knew it had to be there somewhere. There were probably thousands of them all over the island.

I glanced over at the other contestants, trying to get a read on their reactions. No one seemed worried, but fear was starting to settle in my chest anyway; a dark knot that I couldn’t untangle.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my attention back to my map, checking out the various landmarks.

“There you are.” Nikki appeared in front of me. “You totally disappeared.”

“Sorry.” I smiled weakly and patted the ground next to me, gesturing for her to sit. “I just needed a few minutes to process all of this.”

“It’s pretty hectic, right?”

“Yeah, but…” I trailed off and sighed, shaking my head. “I didn’t sign up for this thing, so I’m really confused. It feels like it’s not even real.”

“Wait,what?”

I ran through the story—or what I knew of it, anyway, considering how much I couldn’t recall—and Nikki’s eyes widened more and more with each passing minute.

“Holy shit,” she said breathlessly. “Can’t you say something?”

“To who?”

“The game organizers. I’m pretty sure there’s cameras everywhere, so they must be listening to us, right?”

“I don’t think the cameras pick up sound,” I said, shrugging listlessly. “Besides, I’ve already talked about it to other peopleearlier. So if the organizersarelistening, they already know I’m not meant to be here, and they don’t care.”

“That’s fucking crazy.” She shook her head, frowning, and leaned back against the tree. “I guess all you can really do is play. But hey… you might win. So that’s a silver lining.”

“I doubt I could ever win something like this,” I said. “Maybe I should just let myself get tagged at the start. Then I can go home right away.”

“I think you should at leasttry.I mean, it’s five million dollars.”

“I guess so.” I cocked my head. “Why did you sign up, anyway?”

“I’m drowning in debt, like half the others here,” she said with a rueful half-smile. “I know it sounds ridiculous, because I literally work at a loan center. So you’d think I could get it all under control, right? But everything is just so fucking expensive.And every month, it seems to get even worse.”

“I hear you,” I muttered, mentally cringing as I recalled the amount of student debt in my name. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe Ishouldtry to win.”

Cheryl joined us a moment later. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” she said, giving me a tight smile. “Did you get your earpiece working?”

I nodded. So did Nikki, who then jumped to her feet. “Sorry to be rude and run away the second you arrive, but I really need to pee,” she said. “I’m going to go find a bush to squat behind.”

Cheryl watched her go. Then she crouched next to me. “I’m glad I’ve got you alone again,” she said. “No offense to Nikki. She seems nice. But I don’t know who I can trust yet, apart from you.”

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