Page 379 of Hunters and Prey

Chapter 11

“Unit eight, stand back and prepare for two-man extraction. Unit eight, stand back and prepare for two-man extraction.”

“What does that mean?” Bran asked.

“I think it means not all of us are going,” Dante said, jaw tight.

“No. We need to stall,” Helgi insisted, her voice tight with panic. “We all need to be here when the power goes out.”

She was right. If we were in the arena when the power cut happened, how the heck would we escape with all those eyes on us?

“There’s nothing we can do,” Bran said. “If we kick up a fuss, then we risk jeopardizing escape for everyone.”

Helgi’s gaze tangled with mine and we were thinking the same thing—this isn’t how our story goes. We can’t be the ones in the arena when the power goes down. But then how could I wish that fate on Bran and Dante in our place? Two of us were going to be trapped when the time came to run, and in a moment we were going to find out who.

Helgi and I gravitated toward each other, standing side by side. She lifted her chin, her expression screaming that we do this together or not at all. My stomach quivered in premonition.

The doors behind unit seven’s cell opened and four guards toting weapons strode in. They stopped outside our cell and waited. A buzz and a click and the doors slid open.

“You.” The nearest guard pointed his gun at Dante.

My heart sank.

Helgi gripped my wrist, her nails digging into my skin.

The guard swung his gun my way. “And you.”

A pit opened up inside me, all hope sinking into the chasm. There would be no escape for me. Shake it off, Anya. Do not lose it.

Helgi’s grip tightened. “No. Take me instead. Please.”

The guard ignored her. “Out. Now,” he said to me.

Dante stepped out of our prison, and I made to follow, but Helgi tugged me back and pulled me into a hug.

“I’m not leaving without you,” she hissed in my ear.

“Yes, you are. Promise me you’ll get out and find my dad. Promise me you’ll take care of him and the kids. You need to keep them safe and get them to the Furtherlands. Promise me.”

She squeezed me tight. “How can I just ... I can’t ...”

I pulled back and smoothed my expression into something hard and unforgiving. “If you don’t, then I’ll never fucking forgive you.”

Her brows snapped into a frown, and she pressed her lips together and nodded.

“Move it!” The guard was getting impatient.

Blinking back the burn of tears, I stepped out of the cell. It was time to go play in the arena.

Gustov’s voice filled the stairwell as we made our way up. It blasted through speakers hidden in the walls and assaulted my ears with its sickly, honeyed tones.

“Today we begin a purge. We begin to root out and remove a taint,” he said. “This resistance will not be allowed to flourish. These traitors will be shown no mercy.”

An inhuman scream pierced past Gustov’s smooth, smarmy voice.

What had just happened? What was he talking about? Dante’s step faltered and our guards urged us forward. This time we were fielded into separate cages. These were smaller cells stationed side by side, made of vertical bars and not the usual grill. Plastic was draped over the front of the cages so we couldn’t see out. This game would be different. They wanted to separate us. What was in store? Panic hovered on the edges of my consciousness, held back only by the knowledge that whatever happened to us, the others would escape. Helgi would get to Dad and the kids. He’d know the truth.

“It will be okay,” Dante said. “We just need to stay focused and alert to any opportunity.”

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