Page 47 of The Wild Zone

I finally managed to claw it off my index finger, and the flashback evaporated, leaving me shaking and weak.

I was kneeling in the dirt, the ring clenched in my left hand. My right hand was a bloody mess of scrapes and cuts, bristling with wood splinters. I looked at the tree I’d been leaning against.

I’d literally punched a hole right through the trunk.

Oh, gods…I hoped the tree wasn’t the home of some dryad.

I stared at the ring. The sapphires gleamed cheerfully on the silver band like it was just a pretty bauble. Maybe the ring could turn me invisible, but those images, those emotions it had dredged from the darkest parts of my soul…This was definitely the kind of ring you’d throw into a volcano.

And yet…

Go back. You’ve only scratched the surface.

There was more to discover in the woods. There was Grant to find. The ring would be useful for both, if I could learn to master it.

A champion among champions, I recalled Mom saying. Always besting my opponents.

I had no more room for mistakes. I had to succeed.

I shoved the ring in my pocket and staggered back to my cabin. I was going to need as much sleep as possible for the day ahead.

11

I Chuck Things at Other Things

My dreams that night were…Is trashtastic a word? In the worst of them, I destroyed my house with a scythe, prompting Olivia to challenge me to a duel with pickles. I lost because I ate mine in under a minute. Then Dad and Mom, who’d been watching the match, left in disgust.

No hidden meanings there.

When I woke, the cabin was still in darkness. Around me, my cabinmates were muttering, whimpering, and even fighting in their sleep. I wondered if Ares kids ever had sweet dreams.

I rolled over and stared out the window next to my bunk, trying to formulate a plan as the rising sun colored the sky a sleepy pink.

Argus had said the baton race would start in the forest at a place called Zeus’s Fist. I didn’t know where that was, but I figured if I were the first runner for Ares cabin, I would start deep in the woods. After I handed off the baton to the next runner, I’d have time to look around the Wild Zone. Or if I weren’t picked for the race at all, I might be able to wander off and explore without anyone noticing. What I didn’t want was to be stuck on the later legs of the relay, with no opportunity to sneak away. I needed to know more about the route and the rules, and to position myself in the best spot. That meant I needed to talk to Clarisse.

I sat up and glanced at her bunk. It was already empty and made. On the off chance she was showering—and because I needed one anyway—I got up as quietly as I could and headed to the bathhouse. Clarisse wasn’t there either, but I was pretty sure the stall next to mine was being used by a naiad singing scales (the musical kind, not the fish kind). I did my best to out-sing her with some of Hate Faction’s thrash lullabies.

Clarisse didn’t show up until roll call. When she did, she had this distant look in her eyes. The only time she seemed present was when Silena called Grant’s name. Clarisse shot Silena a warning look and then returned to her horizon-gazing.

At breakfast, I tried to get Clarisse’s attention, but since she was seated at the far end of the table, she either couldn’t hear me or was pretending she couldn’t. I didn’t exactly want to broadcast my question to the whole table, so I waited until the end of the meal to try again. Before I could even open my mouth, she pointed toward the archery range.

“Work on your shooting skills,” she said. “I heard you embarrassed us yesterday.”

“But—”

“Do you want more KP time?”

“No,” I said. “I wanted to talk to you about the baton race.”

“Clarisse!” called a voice from across the pavilion. I turned to see Silas standing with a group of counselors, all wearing concerned expressions. Silas gestured for Clarisse to join them. “A word?”

My skin prickled.

Was Silas going to confront her about the hazing incident in the Wild Zone? Had he already ratted me out to the other counselors?

But no…Silas wasn’t the type to call someone out in front of other people, and I couldn’t believe he would betray me….

Clarisse sighed and strode away.