A knife whooshes past my ear, cutting my skin.
Tyson.
Flint lies on the ground. His neck twisted at a terrible angle. Everything narrows in on that horrible image. I feel faint.
“Flint!” I cry.
But he does not respond, and I don’t get the chance to check on him. Tyson attacks me with brute force. The stub of his arm was replaced with a bionic one, and he uses it to wrap around my throat, crushing my windpipe. My fingers claw at the metal, a screech tearing through the air.
“I don’t need to steal your air to kill you,” Tyson sneers.
My vision grows blurry. I’m going to die. My eyes dart around, flying up for a heartbeat.
Ender leans forward, gripping the rail so tightly it’s a wonder it doesn’t snap.
“Fight,”he mouths. “Fight back.”
I grapple for my second blade, fingers grasping hungrily along the floor. Finally, I capture the hilt and stick it into his side. Tyson howls, toppling over. I use the opportunity to stick the knife in his throat and twist hard. Blood pools down my hands, hot and viscous.
“No!” Aric calls.
He probably hates that he’s outnumbered and not the fact that his friend’s dead. He is incapable of caring.
Tyson took Flint from me. One of my closest friends. He deserves to die for the offense.
Aric charges at me, anger flashing across his face. Rei is after him; she tries to knock him over, but he vanishes. Aric appears behind me, aiming for my head. I duck, and the weapon cracks against my shoulder, making my arm go numb. I bite back a cry.
I drop and attempt to sweep his legs out from under him, but he vanishes before my aim strikes true.
Rei lands on his chest, punching his face with brutal blows. Aric elbows Rei in the throat, making her choke and stagger back. He tosses his baton and unsheathes two knives from his belt. He flings them in opposite directions. One aimed for me, and the other for Rei, who is bent over, still recovering from his assault.
I step aside from mine, but Rei isn’t so fortunate. It flies towards her chest. The noise drops away, and I react without thinking about the consequences. I know the point of this test. I know that only one of us walks away from this arena alive, but I am not a monster. I won’t watch my friend die.
I slow down time. I don’t freeze it, but make it trickle like water down the sink. It isn’t something that I’ve done before. My eyes widen in surprise as I walk towards Rei, who stands to my left. The blade is still moving, Aric’s arm is lowering back to his side, and Rei is unaware of the threat. I grab Rei by the collar and drag her back. I return to my spot as time lurches forward again.
Aric’s knife plunges into empty air.
Knox, Clover, Orion, and Spider are all watching us with rapt attention, and they straighten, surprised that Rei is alive and standing. They must have thought his blade would hit its mark.
Aric stares at Rei. Confusion shadows his expression.
“What—”
Rei doesn’t waste time. She drives her knee into Aric’s stomach, hard, then slams her shield into Aric’s face.
Aric stumbles back, dazed.
I brush past Rei and hold my knife to his throat. I don’t want Rei to die. Maybe if I force Aric to surrender and she does the same to me, we may be spared. Rei can win. I’ve already lost Flint, and I refuse to lose anyone else. The grief would crush me. I am not strong enough to weather the storm. Even if it costsme my spot on the unit. It isn’t worth it if I lose my soul in the process.
“Yield,” I growl.
Aric laughs weakly, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.
“You think they’ll let us all live?”
I open my mouth to respond when Aric takes advantage of my hesitation and slips out from under me. A blade whizzes through the air, crashing down towards me.
Rei shoves me out of the way, and the serrated end sinks into her side. A terrible, squelching sound fills the air.
