The Forsaken

count as we continue to lock spears and fake like we’re fighting.
    A million thoughts race through my mind in those final seconds. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I spin around and plunge my weapon into the nearest drone behind me. I’ve never stabbed anyone, let alone killed someone! Will I be able to do it?
    Gadya said that Markus and the others will rise up, but I know they don’t have weapons. There’s just too many drones, and way too few of us.
    “Three!” I hear Gadya scream, and all thought leaves my mind as I transform into a creature of pure action. I twirl around and lunge at the long-haired drone behind me.
    He’s taken off guard.
    He is careless.
    The tip of my spear disappears right into his stomach, making him wail. He topples back into the crowd, screaming as I yank the weapon out. I hear cries behind me. I spin and see that Gadya has skewered her drone too. The shaft of her spear sticks right through his chest. When she jerks it out, a geyser of blood spews from the hole.
    Markus and Sinxen are leaping on the other drones. I see Markus grab a knife and begin stabbing the very person he took it from.
    The glee of the drones at seeing me and Gadya battle each other has now turned into terror. Some run screaming. Some stand there openmouthed. I know that any second, they’re going to recover their wits and end our lives. But for one brief moment, we’re in control again.
    Then a blow hits me hard between my shoulder blades, and I drop to the ground. As I roll onto my back, I see the fat boy coming at me. He has dropped his chunk of raw meat along the way. He doesn’t have a spear, just two big pummeling fists.
    I slide sideways as the boy’s right fist slams into the dirt, an inch from my face. He’s big but he’s slow. He comes at me again. I clamber to my feet, clutching my bloody spear. He hesitates.
    “Touch me and I’ll kill you!” I scream, baring my teeth and brandishing the spear.
    He starts backing away.
    I hear Gadya call my name. She’s right behind me. We move into formation, each of us getting the other person’s back. Markus, Sinxen, and Rika stand with us now, clutching bloodstained weapons. This was obviously not the kind of death battle the drones expected.
    Of course we’re still massively outnumbered. We’ve injured or killed about ten drones at most. But hundreds more surround us in every direction. There’s no chance to run into the forest.
    I feel Gadya’s hand grasp my arm. “You did good.”
    “So did you.”
    Our group gathers even closer together. It’s clear we’ll be overwhelmed soon. These are probably our final moments together.
    “I’m sorry I blamed you for Liam,” Gadya whispers, gripping me even tighter. “It’s not your fault, I know. Friends?”
    “Friends,” I whisper back. “I’m sorry for everything too.”
    In these last seconds, I need her more than ever.
    At least after they kill us, we won’t be on the wheel anymore, I think bleakly. Who knows. Maybe death is the only solution. That’s something I never considered when my dad told me about Sisyphus. Maybe death is what Sisyphus spent his time daydreaming about; maybe death was the only thing that could truly set him free.
    “Come get us, you cowards!” Markus screams at the assembled throng. There are no more fireworks. The drones just stare at us in outrage.
    Sinxen notches an arrow into a stolen bow. He takes aim at the crowd. All of our weapons are drawn.
    “Attack, why don’t you?” Gadya yells.
    But they don’t attack, and I don’t understand why. The drones have the advantage. And they don’t really seem like cowards. They’re too stupid, drunk, and brainwashed to be scared of death.
    There’s total quiet now. I hear only the crackling of the fire pits. And then I hear a lone, strange sound.
    The sound of laughter.
    I peer past the flames into the darkness and see the crowd parting reverently, as a drifting object moves toward us. I realize it’s the Monk in his cushioned chair, carried by his drones. He practically floats through the air, like he’s defying gravity.
    He draws closer, clapping his crippled hands together in unabashed delight. All the drones stand silent in his presence. He glides up to us, his mask looking ghoulish in the firelight.
    “You betrayed us!” Markus cries out. “We trusted you!”
    His laugh gives way to a hacking cough. His men lower his platform, so he can gaze at us at eye level. I have never hated anyone so