He fell to the ground, his body vanishing within seconds as the arena booted him from the area.
Without his protection, the energy arrows pierced the backs of his companions.
They fell face first toward the ground, their bodies vanishing before they could hit.
“You see now why I wanted to wait?” Kira asked the two beside her.
They nodded their heads in tandem.
Kira moved past them toward Raider. “What do you see?”
“It’s going to be tough.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Kira really wished they still had Selene in their party. The other woman’s shields were better than Joule’s. With her, there would be little issue of reaching the other side of this killing field.
“My calculations say the next circle to be chosen will likely be on the opposite side of the arena,” Jin inserted.
Great.
That meant a trip back through the maze and its warren of traps and drones while hoping there was enough time to reach their destination before it changed again.
Everything in Kira rebelled at that plan. Her instincts said she and the rest needed to stay on this side of the arena.
That this was where they would find success.
“This isn’t a test. It’s a battle royale,” Kira muttered unhappily.
“You are correct,” a voice said from the side.
Kira and the rest peered to their right to find Alexander resting against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the circle.
Selene perched on top of the wall, kicking her feet.
“I count twenty along the perimeter,” Alexander said as if his and Selene’s presence wasn’t a total shock.
“Twenty? Is that all?” Raider asked sarcastically.
“I thought you went ahead,” Kira said, ignoring the human.
“As you can see, you were wrong.” Alexander unfolded his arms and straightened. “It took you long enough to reach this point. Have your skills lapsed?”
Kira’s glare grew heated.
Not that Alexander seemed to notice as he turned to help Selene down, gentle as he lowered her to the ground.
“What’s wrong? Are we keeping you?” Raider asked with a taunting note in his voice.
“It’s good that you know.”
Kira grabbed Raider before he could do anything stupid. “Later.”
Raider’s shoulder relaxed under Kira’s hand as he backed off. “Sure. Later works for me.”
Joule looked between the two men, reading the atmosphere. “Do we have a plan?”
A low tone sounded, causing them to look up.
