Page 52 of Edge of Wonder

The announcer’s voice rang out across the field. “And that’s the end of round one! Congratulations to the survivors.” Claps and whistles reverberated in the air. “Now take a minute—relax.” The announcer laughed. “And get ready for round two.”

Scarface emptied an entire canteen over his head. Shaking off the water, mingling with the blood on his skin, he smirked and popped a grape into his mouth.

“Oh, sorry. Did you want one?” He tossed a grape at my shoulder and it bounced off, rolling to the edge of the floor. “Guess not.”

It took everything in me not to shove him off the ledge. Maybe I should. There were no rules against it, and he was a danger to us going forward. But before I acted on my murderous fantasy, a tremor shook the platform.

A series of stone pillars rose from the pit. They were spaced apart and would require us to jump from stone to stone to reach the other side.

Alice gripped the back of my shirt. “Now is probably not a great time to tell you I’m scared of heights. Think there’s another way across? Maybe a nice steady catwalk?”

“I doubt it.”

The announcer raised his megaphone. “Players, once you get to the other side, the final round of the challenge will start. Move through the tunnel, fast or slow. It’s up to you. But watch out for the traps!” He cackled into his device, the sound echoing through the stands. “Oh, and I forgot to mention, you only have a few minutes until the pillars in front of you fall. So I’d hurry.”

“After you,” I said, motioning for Scarface to go first.

The man shrugged and ate another grape. “I’m not waiting for you to cross.” He jumped to the first pillar, stretching out his arms to stabilize himself when he landed on his wounded leg.

“Follow me, Alice. Don’t listen to anything else. Just my voice.” I moved on to the first stone, then the next. “And don’t look down.”

“You mean into the dark pit of death? Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Alice kept up, jumping from the first stone to the second. Halfway across, she landed awkwardly on the pillar and teetered precariously until she regained her balance.

“Sebastian!” she shrieked.

“You’re okay. Stay calm. Only a few more steps.”

Scarface had made it across and waited, arms slung over his chest as I crossed the last pillar.

“Move any closer to us, and I’ll take pleasure in shoving you off this cliff,” I said, making sure he kept his distance.

The man winked.

Alice jumped toward the ledge, and I caught her around the waist. Secure in my grip, she glanced over her shoulder into the pit.

“Is that a skull skewered on a spike?”

I followed her gaze. “Yup. Poor guy. Bet you’re glad you listened to me and didn’t look down while you were crossing, huh? Go ahead, extol my wisdom.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Let’s just keep moving.”

We approached the start of the obstacle. A light wind flowed through the trench, bringing with it dust and the odor of something faintly metallic. The sun cast its light on the stone, making it hot to the touch and the air smolder.

I nudged Alice in the side. “So, what do you think? Should we just chance it and walk through?”

“I think that’s an excellent way to die.” Alice searched around her feet until she found a rock the size of her fist. She pitched it down the tunnel.

On the other side of a stone outcropping, something snapped, and a spiked ball on a chain swung across the channel. It latched itself on the other side, hidden behind another outcropping. It happened so quickly, there wasn’t time to react. Anyone walking past would end up not unlike the man in the pit. And I did not relish a spike through the head.

“Do that again,” I said.

Alice picked up another stone and tossed it through. The ball swung back the other way. I did some quick measurements, and the lowest spike reached about four feet from the ground. Scanning the area, I searched for some sort of trigger and spotted a tile embedded in the floor. It was slightly off-color from the rest. You wouldn’t notice it at first glance, but it didn’t match.

“One more time.”

A stone whizzed through the tunnel, and I finally made the connection. When the stone crossed over the tile, it activated the chain. There must be some sort of sensory field. We couldn’t bypass it, but if we ducked at exactly the right moment, the spikes would sail over our heads.

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