“We ran tests on many inmates.”
“I wasn’t an inmate.”
“No. I expected to find a latent ability buried deep inside you like the stories I told you about once. But it wasn’t to be. They only turned out to be stories.”
I wet my lips and considered my next few words carefully. Did I want to do this? I could jump on the shuttlecraft right now, leave, and never have to see this place again. But what was the use when I didn’t have Ivy on my arm?
“What if I told you the stories weren’t wrong?” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“What if I told you there was a reason I’ve never been defeated in the pit? That I do have an ability that allows me to win?”
The Supervisor looked me over, unsure whether or not to believe me.
“What ability?”
Oh, no. I wasn’t about to give that away for nothing.
“I could show you. But only if you let me have Ivy.”
“How do I know you’re not only saying this to get what you want?”
“I’m not a liar.”
“You fraternize with liars and rule breakers. You might have learned a thing or two.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
The Supervisor thought for a moment, running his eyes over me.
“We’ve watched your fights many times. And we’ve never seen any evidence of your ability.”
“Perhaps you weren’t looking closely enough. But you won’t have to. If you let me have Ivy and give us the use of your shuttlecraft so we can leave this place, I’ll show you everything.”
The Supervisor pursed his lips.
“Very well. I’ll speak with the warden. In the meantime, I’ll discuss the idea with Ivy. If she agrees, she may leave with you. If she doesn’t then you will still show me this ability of yours. Agreed?”
Without Ivy, I was as good as useless in this place now. I needed her. I would either leave with or without her. This place would never feel the same for me.
“Deal,” I said.
“You need to head downstairs. I believe it’s your turn to fight soon.”
A shiver ran up my spine. I was on track to getting what I wanted. The only thing I ever wanted.
Then why did it feel like I’d just made a deal with the devil?
Ivy
“No!” I screamed, beating against the wall.
Kren turned and left the science lab. I hammered against it with the fleshy part of my fists but it was no good.
He hadn’t heard me screaming and cursing.
When he’d first appeared, my heart soared at the sight of him. To think he might know I was there, being held captive against my will, that he had come to rescue me, was intoxicating.
He stood there talking with the Supervisor and I began to pound on the wall. He didn’t hear me. Still, it didn’t stop me from trying to get his attention.
I paced up and down my padded cell, knowing that at any moment, any second, Kren was going to turn to me and take action.
He would destroy the traitorous scientist and his guards and bust me out of there. We would hug and kiss passionately. Then I would lead him up to the Supervisor’s residence. Kren would figure out a way of getting onto the shuttlecraft and away from there.
But the seconds stretched into minutes and then…
He turned to leave.
No…
Finally, he was gone. He’d agreed to a deal with the Supervisor… but he was going to get shafted the same way I had been.
The Supervisor wasn’t going to keep his word.
The chief scientist stood with his hands behind his back, peering out the window and looking down, watching, as Kren left.
Once he was gone, he turned to the guards and issued them an order. They left their positions beside the door and marched over to the wall where I’d been hidden.
I hadn’t seen it from their vantage point outside but I imagined it looked identical to the rest of the room.
A plain white wall.
How else could Kren miss seeing me right there in front of him?
The guards stood before the wall, their large frames taking up the entire space.
I backed away and bumped into the chair where I’d awoken that morning. The rest of the room was covered with square pads to prevent me from harming myself.
As if I would do that when I was pregnant.
Pregnant.
Me.
It both amazed and horrified me. I mean, getting pregnant had been the goal. That was, until I fell in love with Kren.
And now with the deal he made with the Supervisor to reveal his trump card in the pit, his advantage that everyone in the prison would learn of, making it infinitely harder for him to remain champ, he’d proven his love for me.
It didn’t come as a surprise. If I needed more proof, there it was. Not only in the way he looked at me, the way he touched and caressed me, the way his kiss always lingered a moment after he pressed his lips to mine as if taking a moment to savor the sensation.
I knew now more than ever I wanted to be with him. I wanted to jump on that shuttlecraft and get the hell out of dodge.
The Supervisor stood behind the two guards facing me.
“Don’t struggle. You will only get hurt and that is not my intention.”
He paused a moment to watch my reaction. There was none. Taking that as confirmation I wasn’t about to do anything stupid, he looked up at the ceiling.
“Computer,” he said. “Disable the door.”
The wall glowed bright and then faded as if a filter had been removed from it.
The guards didn’t attempt to enter the room and restrain me the way I expected. I peered at them. They were broad across the chest and it was unlikely I could slip between them but still, decided I had to make a break for it.
I dashed toward one, immediately changed course, and dropped to my knees to slide under the second guard.
A firm hand grabbed me by the shoulder and pinned me in place.
My legs slipped out from
