Z 2134

Games. Not seeing them, she ran toward the trees as fast as she could, ignoring the sounds of gunshots and the screams of players and zombies alike.
    She reached the woods, her heart pounding while her eyes scanned ahead for signs of others, not daring to stop or even slow until she felt as if her lungs were on fire. A lifetime of nowhere to run behind The Wall of City 6 turned a few hundred yards into a gauntlet she was not in shape to run.
    Ana made it a hundred more yards into the forest before she halted in her tracks to catch her breath. She leaned forward, hands on knees, looking around. The snow gave way here and there to bits of brown earth, branches, rocks, and undergrowth, with the trees spaced closer and the canopy casting the woods into cold shadows. On the plus side, there were plenty of places for her to hide while she waited for Liam to return. On the negative side, that meant more places for the other players to hide, and perhaps attack her from.
    As if worrying about the other players wasn’t bad enough, the woods were always crawling with zombies. A lifetime of previous games strobed through Ana’s mind as she pictured one gory surprise kill after another. The network loved the gory kills, routinely airing specials such as “The Top 10 Most Surprising Kills!” during downtime of the live Games.
    Ana didn’t want to make that kind of highlights show.
    After watching who knew how many seasons of Darwin, Ana was certain the producers had ways of keeping zombies from the forest and elongating tension. Her father had speculated a few times that he was sure the network had laid out hidden gates, false walls, and other obstacles, which it used to funnel zombies and players to the spots they most wanted them. When the games began, most of the nearby zombies were already in the Halo, meaning players were usually safe in the woods until after the initial battle for weapons took place.
    Still, the most consistent thing about the Games was their inconsistency.
    Ana looked around, trying to decide where to go. She could head back toward the Halo, but that seemed like the stupid option seeing how fast she had run from that direction. She could climb a tree and hide, which might keep her safe while waiting for Liam, or she could keep going just in case Liam didn’t make it back with weapons.
    The longer she waited where she was, the more danger she was putting herself in. Soon enough, other players or zombies would start heading into the woods. And without a weapon, she was as good as dead.
    Paralyzed by indecision, Ana begged her body to move.
    Most of her wanted to wait for Liam. He said he’d find her and she believed him, but it wasn’t like they’d coordinated a plan. The Barrens were sprawling, and sudden danger could send you running in any direction, and at any time.
    Suddenly, a thought bubbled to the surface, which made it even harder to decide what to do.
    What if Liam was lying? Maybe he just told me to go so he wouldn’t have to be saddled with me. Maybe he’s already off on the other side of the Halo.
    The Games were about survival of the fittest, after all. There was always exactly one winner. Sure, people formed alliances, especially in the beginning, but those alliances always ended in bloodshed. Maybe he was doing her a small mercy, she figured, by leaving her now, before it was too hard.
    Run.
    Forget about Liam.
    Cut the cord and run, girl.
    NOW!
    Her mind flashed back to hiding under the floorboards in the church as The Watchers stormed in and murdered the woman and child. How Liam had held his hand over her mouth and kept her safe — for a bit, anyway.
    If he was risking his life to get weapons for them, she owed it to him to wait like she said she would.
    FUCK!
    She shook her head, feeling stupid, as she ignored her first instincts and began to trace her path back towards the Halo.
    He’s not gonna be there.
    He’s probably gone.
    Or dead.
    Ana ignored her inner voice and pushed herself forward until she reached the edge of the woods, staying hidden behind a cluster of trees, as she peeked out at the Halo.
    The shed at the center of the Halo was on fire, smoke pouring from it and trailing into the sky. Ana could make out several players surrounding the shed and fighting off zombies, of which there were even more than when the cannon went off. There were at least 30 surrounding the players, and that didn’t include the 20 or so dead in the snow.
    By Ana’s count, there were