Contest

Holly sat away from the door, up against the cyclone fence. Hawkins put Balthazar on the floor beneath the windows and scanned the maintenance room, nodding. 'We should be safe here.'

'For a while, yes,' Swain said.

Selexin asked, 'How long do you think we should stay here?'

'As long as we can,' Swain said.

'Hooray,' Hawkins said blandly.

'And how long is that?' Selexin again.

'I don't know. Maybe right up till the end. At the moment I'm not quite sure.'

'You cannot forget that there will always be something out there,' Selexin said. 'Even when all the contestants are dead, you will still have the Karanadon to face.'

'I don't have to face anything,' Swain said harshly.

'What does that mean?'

'It means, I'm not here to fight. It means I'm not here to win your stupid contest. It means that at the moment all I'm worried about is getting my daughter and the rest of us out of here alive.'

'But you can't do that unless you win,' Selexin said angrily.

Swain looked hard at the little man. He was silent for a few seconds.

'I wouldn't be so sure of that,' he said softly, almost to himself.

'What was that?' Selexin said. It was an argument now.

'I said, I wouldn't be so sure of that.'

'You believe you can get out of the labyrinth?' Selexin challenged.

Swain was silent. He looked over at Holly by the cyclone fence, sucking her thumb.

Selexin said again, 'Do you seriously think you can get out of the labyrinth?'

Swain was silent.

Hawkins whispered to him, 'You think we can get out?'

Swain looked at the windows near the ceiling, thinking to himself. At last he spoke. 'Yes.'

'Impossible.' Balthazar's guide stepped forward. 'Absolutely impossible.'

'You stay out of this,' Selexin snapped angrily.

Swain stared at Selexin. The little man had been indignant before, distressed even, but he had never been downright angry.

Balthazar's guide stepped back immediately. Selexin spun back to face Swain.

'How?' he demanded.

'How?'

'Yes, how do you propose we get out?'

'You want to get out?' Swain couldn't believe it. After the lecture he had received before about the grandeur and honour associated with the Presidian, he found it difficult to believe that Selexin would want to get out.

'As a matter of fact I do.'

Balthazar's guide interrupted again, 'Oh, you do, do you? Well forgive me for reminding you of an unpleasant fact, Selexin, but you can't!'

Selexin didn't say anything.

Balthazar's guide went on. 'Selexin, the Presidian has begun. It cannot and will not be stopped until a winner has been found. It is the only honourable way.'

'I think any honour this thing had went flying out the window when your friend Bellos brought his bloodhounds along,' Swain said.

'I agree,' Selexin said, glaring at Balthazar's guide. 'Bellos has broken the rules. And with hoodaya, he cannot and will not be stopped. We must get out.'

'And do what?' the other guide sneered, 'use our witnessing teleports to call for help? They transmit vision only, Selexin, not sound.'

'Then anything,' Selexin said. 'If two contestants leave the labyrinth and initialise their witnessing teleports and wave for the cameras, the controllers of the Presidian will have to realise that something is amiss.'

The other guide stared at Selexin. 'I do not think our two contestants will last very long outside the labyrinth,' he said smugly.

'Why?'

'As a matter of fact,' the other guide smiled, 'I would say that they would not last any longer than exactly fifteen minutes.'

'Oh,' Selexin frowned, remembering. 'Yes.'

Swain was bewildered. It was as if Selexin and Balthazar's guide were speaking in another language.

'What does that mean?' he asked Selexin.

Selexin spoke sadly. 'Do you remember what I told you before about your wristband?'

Swain looked down at the heavy grey band around his wrist. He'd forgotten about it entirely.

The little green light still glowed brightly. The display now read:

INITIALISED--6

Six? Swain thought. He remembered the contestant on the Ground Floor -- the Konda -- that had been killed by the hoods. The wristband, it appeared, was counting down now. Striking out a number as each contestant was eliminated. Until only one remained.

And when only one was left, then came the Karanadon that Selexin kept talking about. Whatever that was.

'Do you remember?' Selexin said again.

'Yes, I think I remember.'

'Do you recall that if your wristband detects that it is outside the electronic field surrounding the labyrinth, it will automatically set itself to detonate?'

Swain frowned. It all suddenly made sense. 'And I get fifteen minutes to get back inside.'

'Exactly.' Balthazar's guide spat.

Nobody spoke. There was silence for a full minute. Someone took a long, deep breath.

Balthazar's guide spoke: 'So even if you get out, you are still a dead man.'

Swain looked at him and snorted. 'Thanks.'

'You know, you're a real great help,' Hawkins said to the little man.

'At least I am realistic about my situation.'

'At least I give a shit about somebody else's life,' Hawkins said.

'I would be more concerned about taking care of my own if I were you.'

'Yeah, well you're not me--'

'All right. All right,' Swain said. 'Settle down. We've got to find a way out of this, not fight among ourselves.' He turned to Selexin. 'Is there any way we can get this thing off my wrist?'

Selexin shook his head. 'No. It doesn't come off... unless you...' he shrugged.

'I know, I know. Unless I win the Presidian, right?'

Selexin nodded. 'Only the officials at the other end have the proper equipment to remove it.'

'Can we break it open?' Hawkins suggested.

'Can anyone here break down that door?' Balthazar's guide asked, pointing to the maintenance room's heavy hydraulic door, knowing the answer. 'If not, then no-one here can break open that wristband. It's too strong.'

The group went silent.

Swain looked down at the wristband again. In the last minute it had suddenly begun to feel a lot heavier. He crossed the room and sat next to Holly, resting his back up against the cyclone fence.

'How are you doing?' he asked softly.

She didn't answer.

'Holly? What's up?'

Still no answer. Holly was staring vacantly straight ahead.