They walked and she stayed patient, allowing him to reveal his story at his own pace.
“My people learned about the games from crashed ships on our planet. The tech was salvaged.”
“It must have been a culture shock, to see other species and other worlds.”
“It was at first. We watched more visuals than the games. There were other aliens, fighting in wars, in hospitals healing, couples together who did not have a bond. Some of my people became obsessed. Some refused to watch any of the visuals claiming it was harmful.”
“There was great tension between the clan. I was asked as a clan leader to decide on whether to ban the visuals altogether. I told the group to limit the visuals to what would be beneficial to our clan.”
“And they chose to keep watching the games?”
“No. They decided to select visuals on gardening, tech tutorials, plumbing, and transportation.”
“You have plumbing underneath the surface of your planet?”
“We do.”
“And the games?”
“The pirates were coming more frequently during the warm season, making it harder and harder for our hunters to search for food. A couple of bad crops put our clan in jeopardy. Something had to be done. Then I remembered the visuals of the games.”
He touched his arm to stop him from moving.
“You coming here for your people is a very noble cause.”
He cleared his throat. “You are too for coming here for your father.”
“Only one of us can win,” she reminded him.
“I know. But as long as it is one of us, not the others, I’m okay with however things turn out.”
She didn’t respond but felt the exact same way he did. They needed to make it to the last challenge—one of them needed to win.
They continued their careful walking when a scream up ahead had both of them freeze in place.
“Who was that?” Mara asked.
“It sounded like a female.”
“Gora.”
Fear for her new friend filled her. “We need to help her.”
“We have to concentrate on ourselves and get through this challenge safely.”
She knew he was right, but it didn’t feel right to her. They kept going.
Pretty soon, she couldn’t tell how far they had gone. But it felt like they had traveled a couple of miles. Something shiny appeared ahead of them.
As they walked about twenty feet, she made the mistake of glancing down. Stars from the sky were beaming up at her. Then she glanced up, and more stars stared down. Mara felt the most overwhelming wave of dizziness come over her.
“What is happening?” she groaned.
Chapter 22
Vaelor
He stood at the boundary with the other players, the cold biting through even his Crytharian resilience. Jagged ice pillars rose like the ribs of some ancient beast, and between them lay sudden drops that could swallow a person whole. If a player stopped moving, the cold would freeze them in place. Disqualification by deathly stillness.
