Page 42 of Knight Moves

Where the heck was she?

Maybe she had gotten shot too many times and was already out. Or maybe she was hiding. Either way, she’d never make it without help. I looked down at my watch. Four minutes and ten points. I could afford to take a look.

I changed direction and headed back to the trapdoor. The bell rang, signaling another player was through. Probably Bo.

The trapdoor to the level below was open and deserted. I had no idea who had come through and who hadn’t. I waited for a few seconds and crept toward the door.

Mike popped up from behind a rock and shot at me, but I moved sideways at the last second and it missed. Hala leaped out from an adjoining rock and hit Mike in the shoulder box. His vest lit up as they both sprinted away from me.

I checked the time. We had less than two minutes.

Throwing caution to the wind, I shouted down, “Frankie. Where are you?”

“Angel, is that you?”

“Yes! The exit is up here. There’s a ladder. You need to follow my voice to find it and climb it now.”

“I know. I’m on the ladder right now. But thank you for helping me. That’s really kind of you.”

“Will you stop being nice and move it?” I yelled.

I looked around but didn’t see anyone else.

“Hurry, Frankie!” I shouted as the seconds ticked past. “How many points do you have left?”

“Five,” she said.

She was puffing by the time she finally got to the top and I pulled her to her feet. We turned to run for the exit when a shot fired from the trapdoor. We dived for cover separately as Kira leaped through the trapdoor, rolled once, and shot me in the back.

My vest lit up, but my hand with the gun was steady. I fired and hit her on the shoulder. She fell, her gun slipping from of her hand and skittering a few feet away. I lifted my gun, ready to finish her off, when she held up her hands.

“No, don’t shoot,” she said. “Please, I only have five points left.”

“You didn’t ask me how many points I had before you shot me,” I pointed out.

Frankie stepped out from behind me. “Don’t shoot her, Angel. We can all go across together.”

“What?”I said incredulously. “You’re helping her? Why? She doesn’t even like you.”

As we were arguing, Kira rolled to her side, grabbed her gun, and aimed at Frankie’s back. Without thinking, I pushed Frankie out of the way and took the shot instead.

The laser gun went dead in my hand, and my chest plate turned from green to red.

Both Kira and Frankie stared at me, frozen in shock. After a moment, Kira scrambled to her feet and bolted for the exit.

“What did you just do?” Frankie shouted at me.

“I saved you. Run, Frankie. You can’t save me. I’m already dead. You have seventeen seconds to get out. Come on, let’s go.”

I pulled her to the exit, pushing her across. Half stumbling, she made it through just as a loud klaxon sounded and the lights abruptly came on.

Shielding my eyes against the sudden light, I walked out of the cavern and into a waiting room. Everyone stood staring at me, mouths agape. A glance at the wall showed a scoreboard on a television screen bolted to the wall. It flashed our final scores, including points made for accurate shots.

Wally had come in first, obviously helped by the bonus of finishing first, followed by Jax, Hala, Bo, Kira, Mike, and Frankie. The lettersDNFwere posted after my name. Did not finish.

Wally looked stricken. “Angel, what happened? Why didn’t you go through after me?”

“He shot at me,” I said, dipping my head toward Jax, who wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I had to take cover. Then I lost Bo’s position, so I was trying to be careful coming out.”

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