THE WILD CAT
Sodhaevil
have found me so fast. She shoved the thought down. Hard. Across the yard, Jasmine and Kika were locked in a brutal spar. Jasmine—wild cat number 89—was dominating, landing elbow strikes and knee drives that had Kika (101) staggering. Serial stood at the edge of the mat, arms crossed, shouting critiques. “Too slow, 101! You fight like you’re scared of pain—newsflash, it’s coming anyway!” Jasmine swept Kika’s legs; Kika hit the mat hard. Serial barked a laugh. Then her gaze shifted. Landed on Riley. A slow, predatory smile curled her lips. “Oh look who we have here,” Serial called, loud enough to draw eyes from every corner of the yard. “The runaway wild cat. Quite surprising how out of the ten that went on that mission, number 100 was the only one who survived. Lucky, I guess.” She scoffed, the sound dripping disdain. Serial was number one—untouchable, legendary, the girl who’d clawed her way to the top and never looked back. “You know what?” Serial continued, stepping onto the mat. “Why don’t we spar together.” A ripple of