I step forward. Buck glances between them, then to the twins with a nod.
But he doesn’t lunge again. Lyss lifts up his head, cradling him. She murmurs as his sobbing fades into something more coherent.
A name. Two names. He chokes on the sound of them, his face contorting.
Myra.
Erin.
Lyss’s face is dark when she looks up at Buck. “Who?”
He swallows, but her gaze doesn’t move. “You should—.”
“Tell me.” It’s almost a plea. “Please.”
Buck sighs. “His wife. And his daughter.”
We all fall silent. Lyss nods slowly, before she looks down at him. Her fingers brush tears off his cheeks. “It’s alright.”
Her fingers tremble, but she doesn’t stop.
A shout comes out from behind us.
Twisting, I look to the end of the passage. The other remaining participant stares at us, tall and sallow.
He takes a hesitant step in our direction.
Another.
Alyss ignores him, her attention on Hatter, but the twins come to stand at my side as the guy makes his way toward us.
He looks like a mess. His shirt is ripped, blood around his mouth.
He looks broken.
He’s around thirty feet from us when his foot crunches on a clock face.
The explosion knocks me off my feet. I’m thrown sideways, landing in a tangle with one of the twins – Kayden. He pushes me off, his face already turning to check on the others.
Aiden rolls to his feet. Behind him, Buck has his arms wrapped around Alyss. Shielding her.
And Alyss has her arms wrapped around Hatter.
She raises her head, eyes wide.
“So,” Buck straightens. “Turns out one of them did goboomafter all.”
The alarm begins to blare before he’s even finished speaking.
32 – Hatter
Alyss is kneeling over me when my eyes open. Her gray eyes skate over my face, tightening. Her hand squeezes mine. “Hatter? It’s over.”
Discombobulated, I blink at her.
“The game,” she says gently. “The game is finished for tonight.”
My brows crease. When I speak, my voice sounds as though my vocal chords have been dancing along broken glass. “Already?”
