Page 154 of Ignite

“I’d assume it’s key six. And if so…”

He zooms out on the drone.

“She’s less than fifty meters from it.”

I nod.

“Who is manning that cabin?” I ask, and Drago pulls up the time schedules on the other screen. I scan to find cabin six.

“Reggie.”

“Oh.”

That is a difficult cabin to complete. A true survival task.

“Let’s see if she makes it first. Contestant Nine is right on her tail.”

I squint as I lean in on Contestant Nine.

“Is she holding a bat?”

How the hell?

He zooms in closer.

“No. But that’s a huge fucking branch.”

Anger fizzles inside of me, I don’t know why.

“I’ll take care of her. No weapons is quite clearly in the rules. We gotta stop her.”

I can tell by the way she’s stomping through the dirt that she means business. And I’d take a bet she is willing to kill to survive. That is the risk of this game, that is why we have to monitor it so closely.

It looks like she will be reminded why it’s important to listen to the Hunter of Inferno.

And for some strange reason, I want Contestant Ten to make it to phase two.

Chapter 55

HALLIE

Abranch snaps under my boot.

I freeze.

The air shifts around me. My hand instinctively clicks off the flashlight. The cabin is just ahead. Close enough to taste.

But there’s a prickle crawling up my spine, a whisper behind me that doesn’t belong to the wind. I don’t know if it’s paranoia or instinct screaming, but I press myself to the tree beside me and hold my breath, eyes locked on the cabin like it's my salvation.

Just one more sprint.

I launch forward.

The scream tears from me as something slams into the backs of my legs, sending me crashing down into the dirt. My palms sting. My knees burn. I brace, heart racing, waiting for another blow… but it doesn’t come.

One eye cracks open.

She’s there. But then I seehim, standing behind her. Towering. A shadow carved in armor and menace.

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