CHAPTER 4

MAYA

"Attention, players!" the voice boomed. "Please gather in the center of the room. It's time for your evening briefing."

We all moved toward the center, forming a loose crowd. The giant screen flickered to life, showing our faces again. But this time, some of the squares were red with X marks through them.

The dead ones.

I quickly counted the green squares. Two thousand and twelve survivors out of four thousand.

Almost two thousand people had died today.

"Congratulations on surviving Day One!" the voice chirped. "You've proven you have what it takes to compete. Now, let me tell you about tomorrow's game."

Everyone held their breath, waiting.

The screen changed to show children playing in a circle, passing something between them.

"Tomorrow, you will play a classic game," the voice announced. "Hot Potato! I'm sure you all remember this one. You stand in circles and pass a ball. When the music stops, whoever is holding the ball is out. Simple, right?"

Nobody responded. We all knew there would be a catch.

"Here's how it works," the voice continued. "You will be divided into four groups of approximately five hundred players each. Each group will form large circles and play at the same time. You will pass foam balls around your circles. When the music stops, whoever is holding a ball is eliminated. We'll play ten rounds. The three groups with the most survivors after ten rounds win and move forward. The group with the least survivors... well, you know the drill."

My stomach dropped. An entire group of five hundred people could die.

"But wait, there's more!" the voice said cheerfully. "Within the winning three groups, the players who were eliminated during the rounds will also be eliminated. So you need your group to win, and you need to not be holding the ball when the music stops. Double the fun!"

Fear rippled through the crowd like a wave.

"The game begins at 8 a.m. tomorrow," the voice said. "Get plenty of rest. You'll need quick hands and good luck. Good night!"

The screen went black, and the room fell into a heavy silence. Everyone was thinking the same thing. Tomorrow, hundreds more people will die.

The crowd slowly broke apart, people returning to their bunks with worried faces. I walked back to mine and sat down heavily.

Sarah climbed onto the bunk above me. "I hope we're in the same group tomorrow."

"Me too," I said quietly.

The lights dimmed to a soft glow. People settled into their bunks, but nobody was really sleeping. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

I lay down and stared at the bottom of Sarah's bunk above me. My mind was racing. Hot Potato. Four groups. One entire group would die. What were the chances I'd be in the losing group?

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing heart. Tomorrow would come whether I was ready or not.

About an hour passed. Most people seemed to have finally fallen asleep, their soft snores filling the dormitory. But I was still wide awake, my mind refusing to shut off.

I heard footsteps approaching my bunk. I opened my eyes to see Damien standing there in the dim light.

"Maya," he whispered. "Can we talk?"

"No," I said flatly. 

"Please. Just five minutes."

"I said no."

But he didn't leave. Instead, he sat on the floor next to my bunk, his back against the wall. "I need to explain about Veronica and Lily."

"I don't care, Damien."

"Yes, you do. You wouldn't be this angry if you didn't care."

I sat up and glared at him. "Fine. You want to talk? Let's talk, and be quick about it."

He nodded.

"After you left, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. About the pregnancy test. So I had the DNA test redone. A different lab. A real one this time."

"And?"

"Lily isn't my daughter. Veronica paid someone to fake the first test. She found out I was rich and saw an opportunity. The whole thing was a scam."

I stared at him. Part of me wanted to feel happy that he'd figured it out. But a bigger part of me was just angry.

"So what?" I said. "You want a medal for finally using your brain?"

"No. I just want you to know that I was wrong. About everything," he said with a hint of sadness in his tone.

"You think knowing that makes it better?" I felt my voice rising and forced it back down to a whisper. "You brought them into our home and kicked me out like garbage."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything, Damien. Sorry, doesn't give me back those years. Sorry, doesn't..." I stopped myself before I said too much.

But Damien was looking at me with those sharp eyes that missed nothing. "The pregnancy test. Was it real?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I need to know. If you were pregnant with my child..."

"If you're coming here to prove you're some great father, don't bother," I cut him off, my voice hard. "I already lost the baby. Thanks for killing your child without even trying."

Damien's face went completely white. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He looked like I'd physically hit him.

"Maya... I..." His voice cracked. "When?"

"Two weeks after the divorce. The doctor said it was stress. So congratulations, Damien. You got exactly what you wanted. No wife, no baby, no problems."

"That's not what I wanted," he whispered. His hands were shaking. "I never wanted that."

"Well, that's what you got."

Damien reached out and grabbed my hand tightly. Too tightly. "Maya, please. I didn't know. If I had known..."

"You would have what? Suddenly loved me? Suddenly cared?" I tried to pull my hand away, but his grip was strong. "Let go of me."

"Not until you listen to me."

"Is everything okay here?"

We both froze. A man had walked up to us. He was maybe in his early thirties, tall and handsome with dark hair and kind eyes. His orange jumpsuit had the number 4000 on it, and I could almost see his abs through it.

"We're fine," Damien said coldly, not letting go of my hand.

"Doesn't look fine to me," the man said. His voice was calm but firm. "The lady asked you to let go."

"This is none of your business," Damien said.

"I'm making it my business." The man looked at me. "Do you want him to let go?"

"Yes," I said immediately.

The man's eyes hardened. He stepped closer to Damien. "You heard her. Let go."

For a moment, I thought Damien might actually fight him. His jaw was tight, and his eyes were angry. But then he released my hand and stood up.

"We're not done talking," Damien said to me.

"Yes, we are," I replied.

Damien glared at the stranger, then walked back to his own bunk without another word.

The man watched him go, then turned to me with a gentle smile. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Thank you for that."

"No problem. I'm Kai, by the way." He held out his hand.

"Maya," I said, shaking it. His hand was warm and his grip was gentle, nothing like Damien's angry hold.

"I couldn't help but overhear a little bit," Kai said quietly. "That guy is your ex-husband?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"He seems like a piece of work."

"You have no idea."

Kai smiled. "Well, if he bothers you again, just let me know. I used to be a boxer before... You know. Before this." He gestured around the dormitory.

"A boxer? Really?"

"Yeah. Lightweight champion for three years. Not that it matters much here." He laughed, but it was a sad sound. "Punching doesn't help much against lasers and bullets."

Despite everything, I smiled a little. "No, I guess it doesn't."

"Listen, tomorrow's game sounds rough," Kai said. "If we end up in the same group, stick near me, okay? I've got fast hands. I can help make sure the ball doesn't land on you."

"Why would you do that? You don't even know me." I said.

"Because we're all in this together, right? The more of us who survive, the better our chances." He shrugged. "Plus, you seem nice. And your ex-husband seems like a jerk. That's enough reason for me."

I couldn't help but laugh quietly. "He is a jerk. A big one."

"Thought so. I've met enough guys like him in the ring. All ego, no heart."

"That describes him perfectly."

Kai smiled again. "Well, try to get some sleep, Maya. Tomorrow's going to be hard. But we'll get through it."

"Thanks, Kai."

He nodded and walked back to his bunk across the room. I watched him go, feeling a little bit lighter than I had all day.

I lay back down and closed my eyes. For the first time since this nightmare started, I felt like maybe I had a friend. Someone who didn't want anything from me. Someone who just wanted to help.

From across the aisle, I could feel Damien staring at me. I knew he was angry about Kai interrupting us. But I didn't care. Damien didn't get to control my life anymore. 

"That was nice of that guy." Sarah's voice came from above me. 

"I thought you were asleep."

"Hard to sleep with all that drama happening." I could hear the smile in her voice. "He seems sweet, and he's hot."

"He's just being nice."

"Uh-huh. And your ex-husband looked ready to murder him."

"Damien can deal with it."

"Good for you," Sarah said. "Standing up to him like that. That took guts."

"I'm tired of being scared of him."

"You should be. We're all probably going to die anyway. Might as well speak our truth while we can."

Her words made my chest tight. She was right. We might not survive tomorrow. Any of us could be in the losing group.

"Sarah?" I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"If we're not in the same group tomorrow... good luck."

"You too, Maya. You too."