It clicks, lowering down a few inches as the walls shake dust loose. A few more steps and she’s at the platform’s edge, determining which one she goes for next. But as women farther ahead of us land on a new podium, the entire chessboard-like floor rises and falls like a wave as the walls shake harder. Beatrice hops onto the platform to the right of Marcella’s.
Click, click, click.
As the dust settles, gleaming pointed triangles shine on both sides of the walls.
“Come on, we have to get through quickly!” Aelia pulls me forward.
We launch. Barely landing on the first square as it shifts up and down. Partnered with clicks that trigger the spiked walls to inch in closer.
“Wait!” I scream on shaking legs as Marcella jumps to a new podium and lands, Beatrice crouching and ready to move forward. “The walls are triggered by each step. We have to move together if we all want to make it through!”
Marcella and Beatrice turn back to look at Aelia and me on the same platform. They both exchange a look, and once they see each inch gained by the spiked walls in their hesitation, Marcella extends a hand out to Beatrice, behind and below her.
Based on Beatrice’s position, she would have to go two squares to the right before she can advance. That is, if there aren’t drastic changes in height by the time she moves.
Beatrice backs up and gets a running start, leaping for Marcella’soutstretched hand. Marcella catches her and hauls her up onto the platform. It shifts down a few inches. Aelia and I, hand in hand, make our way to them. Eventually, enough has shifted that we make the leap easily.
When we turn to face the finish, some of the women ahead of us join hands, following our lead. Though, considering our positioning, we four will be the dead last to finish this arena. There are five other groups of women joining together, with those further along not bothering to slow down and work together.
No time to grow frustrated, I scan the three platforms in front of us. Each of them rising and falling. Spiked walls grow closer in my periphery.
“We’ll have to move together!” I call as I watch each podium and grab Beatrice’s hand, with Aelia’s in my other. Beatrice grabs Marcella’s. “Ready? Now!”
All together, we race forward to the platform directly in front of us. It lowers a few inches, and we leap—those of us with longer legs landing first. I stumble as our disjointed heights keep me from finding balance when we land, though I’m caught by either woman on my sides.
Together, we stand hand in hand, all wavering under the shifting platforms.
“Well done!” Aelia smiles at all of us. “Again!”
She picks the next one, and we leap. Beatrice stumbles on the landing, taking me down with her. But Aelia and Marcella help us both up.
At least five more platforms.
One of the platforms with a lone woman—Stella—sinks completely out of our view as she screams. The other groups are jumping together, stumbling along just as we are. Some of the individuals who decided not to partner together get to the last platforms. Even with the constant change of height, the woman whose platform dropped doesn’t rise again.
“Stella!” Moe screeches from the tallest platform in front of the one Stella was on.
“We have to keep moving!” Willow barks at her on the same square, pulling her elbow.
We jump to the next platform. Then the next.
“Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me,please!” Stella’s echoed scream rips through the arena from somewhere out of view, as Moe fights againstWillow to stay and help.
“Fine, stay then!” Willow snaps, then lets go of Moe and jumps onto another platform.
Moe, shaking, lowers herself to lie chest down on the platform. She reaches a hand down. It’s a futile attempt with the stretch of space between her fingertips and Stella who leaps up from the dark space below. Swiping and missing her by at least a foot before she disappears into the space below again.
We four jump ahead. To our left is the sunken platform, and perhaps eight feet down is Stella, who leaps up for Moe’s hand again as she calls, “Again, again! You have to try again!”
Beatrice tugs me forward for the next platform.
I pull my hand out of hers. “We can’t leave her.”
“She couldn’t be bothered to slow down, so why should we help her if she wanted to riskourlives by racing forward?” Beatrice tosses back.
I rip my gaze out of hers as I look down at Stella. I’m certainly not made for the cutthroat nature of this competition. Unable to stomach the guilt to come with leaving her, I say, “Then you all can go ahead. But I won’t. Not until I’m sure there’s nothing else I can do to help her.”
“Then you’ll die,” Beatrice hisses.
