Page 167 of Ignite

“Great,” I say sarcastically, handing it back to her.

The first thing I do is take off my mask; it feels so nice on my skin to let the air in.

“Why aren’t you taking your mask off? It says we can,” I question.

She doesn’t look up from prodding at the fire.

“I don’t trust them.”

“Oh.”

Yeah, maybe she is right.

She looks up, the fire reflecting in her eyes.

“But then, you didn’t die or get eliminated for doing it. So, I guess I’ll join.”

That was clever. Waiting for someone else to take the fall. She’s very calculated.

When she pulls off her mask, I smile. She’s pretty. She shakes out her auburn hair and rubs her hands over her cheeks.

“My skin is so dry,” she complains, and I laugh.

“Yeah. I didn’t see any moisturizer in the rucksack.”

Another girl creeps over and joins us, also revealing her face. This girl is blonde with bright blue eyes, almost similar to Lily. Tall and slim and a sweet smile.

“Hey,” she greets us, sitting on the opposite end of this log bench from me.

“Can we just address the elephant in the room?” the auburn haired girl asks.

“Sure?” I shrug.

“What in the actual fuck is this? Like, how did we all land up here? There has to be some sort of link or reason.”

I scratch at my scalp. She has a point.

“Should we maybe share details of our lives? See if we can find a common denominator?” I suggest.

“Yes. Good idea,” the blonde chimes in.

“Okay. I guess I can go first.” I pause. Should I be truthful? These girls aren’t my teammates, they are my competition.

But they are all I have in here right now that could be a potential ally.

“I’m Hallie. I’m from Pennsylvania. Born and Raised. I’m a cardiac nurse at the hospital. My dad is dead. My mom is otherwise occupied far away from me. I have a dog.”

I stop.

I also have potential links to the mafia.

“Any boyfriends or husbands?” The blonde asks.

“No,” I reply quickly.

“I’m Chelsea. But my work name is Red. I work for Big Dave.” I blink at her blankly.

“I work at a sex club, Hallie. That’s my job. Dave is my boss. I service only wealthy individuals. I guess a lot of them have shady backgrounds. But they don’t ever know my real name. I’m from New York.”

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