They obliged, getting close enough that we could see the word ‘la mort’ written in ink. The ’t’ matching the one on the wall. Upside-down.
“Can we hurry up? I don’t know how much longer I can keep this fire going,” the Pyro warned.
“What do you think it means?” Odessa asked.
“Not sure.” My brain whirled, wondering what the significance was. If we didn’t solve this soon, the small quarters were sure to send me into an all-out panic, and I couldn’t slip up with the persona I’d been so careful to convey. If my fellow contestants saw me as weak, I’d be made into their target instead of the other way around. With two powers now permanently out of the games, I couldn’t afford for any more mistakes. It was vital I secured as many as possible.
“Hey, what did you guys find?La Mort?” Regis asked grabbing the paper from my hands.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the wall shook sending dirt and bones collapsing into a heap. The casket disappeared through a trap door and the ceiling began to lower. The only way out was through a small door that had appeared with the toppling of the bones.
“Quick! Through here!” Odessa exclaimed, grabbing my arm on instinct.
She pulled me through the panicking throng of contestants. Each of us trying all at once to get to the same exit. With every second that passed the ceiling grew closer and the room grew smaller.
One of the contestants shoved us hard, and suddenly a deluge of spiders began crawling all over us. Screams erupted as something bit my leg, causing instant numbness.
“I-I can’t. I can’t move.” Every muscle in my body seized up on me, as I was shoved hard onto the ground. Odessa’s grip on me was lost and she was swept through the door, her brown eyes catching mine as she disappeared. More spiders crawled over my skin, as the numbness spread up my body.
I glanced above me and watched in horror as the ceiling dropped closer. The very real possibility of being crushed to death was staring me in the face. No matter how much I willed my muscles to move, they refused.
Suddenly, hands were on my shirt, and I was being dragged through.
My vision swam and I could barely make out who was helping me. Though the soft scent of jasmine clued me in.
Odessa had come back for me, even when I hadn’t done the same for her. Even when I’d been actively plotting her demise along with everyone else here. She came back to save me.
I couldn’t form words, but if I could I’d be expressing my gratitude.
“Holy fucking gods, you’re so much heavier than I thought you’d be,” she groaned, finally getting me safely through the door.
She fell back and it was then that I’d realized we were back in the tunnels.
“Congratulations, Team Spade. You’ve earned yourself a five-minute head start. As for the rest of you, you’ll be starting at the normal time. Now, you have one more day of training, so rest up and refuel. You’ll need all the strength you can get.”
Our team had won, but I could barely find it in me to care. Not when the effects of the spider’s bite were churning through my veins at an alarming rate. I think I could feel my heart rate slowing.
“Let’s get you a healer,” Odessa said.
Her face was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.
Chapter 12
Odessa
Iwas in desperate need of a shower, but with only three available I had to wait my turn. Just like back home, I thought with a pang. Every muscle in my body ached and my head swam from the harrowing experience in the tomb. I needed the feel of dirt and bones scrubbed from my skin.
There was a moment when I didn’t think I would make it out of there, and for the second day in a row, I walked away with my life— grateful to still be here. Most unexpectedly, though, was the way Dex handled the challenge. I didn’t know why it ate at me so. Maybe it was the humanizing aspect. I’d grown so accustomed to hating him, that seeing a vulnerable, mortal side to him did funny things to my insides. Shameful things. Things I shouldn’t even be thinking about or feeling. Try as I might to stuff that down, it kept popping back up again.
They’d whisked him away to be seen by a healer, and that’s the last I heard. We went straight to dinner and then back to our rooms. But he hadn’t shown.
In truth, I’d never met anyone like him before, and my feelings surrounding him confused me. Maybe I’d been more sheltered than I realized growing up, because while there was a dangerous energy about him, I kept finding myself intrigued,and almost drawn to it. Though, I wondered if saving him would end up biting me in the ass.
I’d forgotten that we were all out for ourselves here.
There could only be one winner after all.
I don’t know what possessed me to go back for him. Maybe I was too soft like Theo claimed, but I didn’t think I could live with myself if I just left him there to be crushed.
