They were halfway through their hike when a voice piped in through Gemma’s biochip. “You have a five-minute rest. Use it wisely.”
The thanks and groans of the contestants echoed off the stony landscape. Some flopped on the ground while others, like Gemma, took the time to stretch their fatigued muscles.
Working in the mines was nothing like hiking outdoors. She should have spent more nights running outside and less time working, but then she never would’ve been able to afford the extra food needed to replace the calories burned.
She’d been bound to be unprepared one way or another.
The voice spoke through her biochip again, alerting her it was time to move. After a final, large gulp of water, Gemma tightened her jaw and plowed forward.
Flare gun shots continued to ring out behind her during the second half of the trek. By the time they passed nine kilometers, her legs burned, and her lungs ached, but there was no turning back for her. Sweat rolled down every crevice of her body despite the cool temperature, and her heavy breaths were more like groans than anything else.
A loud yelp and thump to Gemma’s right jolted her out of her exhausted stupor. The black-haired girl she’d had theopportunityto meet earlier had fallen onto the red dirt of Reva’s surface, hands first. She rolled onto her back and cradled her arm, crying out in pain.
Gemma’s steps faltered. Part of her wanted to say forget it and keep going, but another part told her to stop and help. Gemma had worked in the infirmary for ten years, after all, andcouldhelp. No one should be resigned to spend the rest of their life in Perileos.
With a growl, Gemma halted before spinning around and backtracking. She crouched next to the injured girl. “Are you okay?”
“What do you think?” she snapped at Gemma.
Rolling her eyes, Gemma grabbed the girl’s arm.
The girl swore at her, attempting to yank her arm away. “What in the hells do you think you’re doing?”
Gemma forced down her smirk and gripped tighter. “Well, it doesn’t look broken. Probably just a sprain. You’re lucky.” She flung her backsack off and dug around for the extra tape she’d stored. “Don’t move.”
Gemma wrapped the girl’s wrist, working quickly but carefully and ignoring all the curse words being thrown at her in between winces and groans. The last thing either of them needed was to fall too far behind the guides and be lost in the middle of nowhere, trying to find their own way to Zion.
And Gemma definitely did not want to be stuck withher.
Once the wrap was sufficiently secured, Gemma stuffed what remained of the roll of tape back into her sack before throwing it over her shoulders.
As they both rose to their feet, the girl side-eyed Gemma. “You some kind of medical trainee?”
Gemma swallowed, the memory of her mother teaching her to sew a wound flashing through her mind. She’d been seven years old, and just one year later, her mother was gone. “Something like that.”
The girl raised an eyebrow. “Whatever.” She pushed past Gemma, knocking shoulders.
Gemma’s nostrils flared, irritation burning in her chest.I never should’ve stopped for her.She was here to avenge her sister, not help other people.
Gemma and her new archenemy hurried to catch up with the group, the red and green ultralights of their guides’ uniforms glinting in the distance. Loose stones slid beneath her hurrying feet, and Gemma scanned the ground, cautious about where she planted her feet.
She refused to go back to Perileos.
When they hit a level patch of sand, they broke out into a sprint until they settled at the back of the pack of contestants. Gemma’s lungs were on fire, and her legs burned more than ever. She rested her hands on her head and sucked in deep breaths as she continued to march, praying the hike wouldn’t last much longer.
As they crested the top of a steep hill, a mighty white tower glistened in the distance. Reaching into the sky, it seemed to touch the very edges of Reva’s atmosphere, its sleek architecture straining toward the stars above. Bathed in the gentle glow of the planet’s twin moons, the tower cast an ethereal radiance, illuminating the surrounding landscape.
Anger boiled hot in Gemma’s stomach. If the Systems’ government could build this for a yearly tournament and the delivery of off-world goods, it was no wonder the Dissent had grown such a following. All of the people on Reva deserved to live like this, regardless if the people were descendants of criminals and murderers. Their ancestors, who’d been exiled here over two centuries ago, had long since died off.
Gemma clenched her fists. This is what she was here to do.
She would be the harbinger who would bring about the change this planet desperately needed.
Gemma shielded her eyes as she entered. After traveling in near darkness for eleven kilometers, it felt like someone shined a torchlight in her face.
Once her eyes adjusted, she glanced around and found the inside of Zion was not what she expected. Given the dazzling beauty of its exterior, Gemma assumed the interior would have a similar ambiance, but Zion was just gray and white. Everywhere.
The only splashes of color were on the signs above doorways, keylocks next to door frames, and decorative, light blue ultralights inlaid into the polished white floor. Compared to Perileos, Zion was so...
