Z 2134

through the speaker in her box, as if to answer her immediate fear. “Are you all ready to play The Killing Choice? I hope SO, because the members in our studio audience are hanging by the edges of their seats! Let’s go over the rules, both for you and the fine folks watching at home. First, the good news, Anastasia. You’re gonna live through this game. Isn’t that GREAT?”
    Kirkman laughed as if the planet spun on an axis made of his ego. Ana stared at the monitor, narrowing her eyes and letting Kirkman know how much she hated him, as she waited for the other shoe to drop.
    “But,” Kirkman said, about to drop said shoe, “and you just KNEW there’d be a BIG but, now didn’t ya, Ana? BUT…one of your friends will NEVER make it out of the barn — at least not alive.”
    Kirkman cackled again.
    Liam screamed, “You fuck–” getting his audio cut before he finished his tirade.
    “Such filthy language,” Kirkman tutted. “Good LORD, young man, don’t you know there are children watching back in The City? Now,” he said, as The Darwin Game’s sweeping score swelled behind him. “On with the rules! Ana, you’re responsible for choosing who lives and who dies. In a few minutes you’ll be asked to push the monitor above you — either Liam’s or Charlotte’s.”
    So, that’s her name.
    “The choice is yours, but the killing is theirs!” Kirkman laughed, and Ana wondered if he actually thought that was funny. “The box you choose will be opened and exposed to the 3o zombies swarming in the barn! That unlucky ‘winner’ isn’t likely to make it, though we suppose anything is possible. However, you and whoever you spare will then be escorted under the barn to an escape tunnel leading straight to safety!”
    The score crescendoed, and Ana stared at the screen. Charlotte’s eyes welled with tears, knowing her odds were slim. Charlotte wasn’t only new to their group, but she was young and couldn’t protect her like Liam, even if she’d already saved her life once.
    “This isn’t fair!” Ana screamed. “She’s only a child.”
    Kirkman said, “Awwww, such compassion from a murderer’s little girl. Well, let’s see how compassionate you truly are, Anastasia Lovecraft. Because there IS a third option.”
    Yes, what is it? Give me another option.
    Ana dared to hope, though she knew a tease when she heard it.
    “Not picking either box within the 60 seconds given means automatically selecting your own box. This will instantly spare your opponents, taking them down to the tunnel below the barn while you stay topside and earn your survival from more than two dozen zombies!”
    Ana didn’t want Kirkman to have the joy of breaking her, and didn’t want the audience to see it. She tried everything to keep from crying, screaming, or showing any expression at all, but another zombie ran at her box, forgetting about the translucent wall between her and the rest of the world. The zombie slammed hard enough against the plastic to splatter it with a bloody smear. She swallowed her rising bile as the box swayed, making her wonder how much longer she had before it fell, or worse, broke apart.
    She wondered if her cell would even sustain 60 seconds of zombies smashing into it.
    “Now,” Kirkman said, “I’m going to give each player a chance to beg for their life. First, your City 6 mate and secret Underground lover boy, Liam!”
    Ana was already crying out as his monitor went live. “I don’t know what to do, Liam.”
    His face was serious, eyes meeting hers. “I know it’s a tough call, Ana, but you’ve gotta open the girl’s box. I’m not saying this to spare my life; believe me, I don’t give a fuck. I’m dead anyway. Until that happens, I’m the best chance you have at staying alive. Choose the girl and you’re both dead.”
    Kirkman interrupted. “And they say chivalry is dead, ladies and gentleman. ‘Kill the child, spare me instead.’ Ah, Liam Harrow is a knight in shining armor!” Kirkman cackled. “Do you kiss the ladies with those slippery lips? I tell ya, folks, these Underground scum have NO decency!”
    The audience, being the eager sheep they were, booed. The camera panned across the crowd, and Ana saw the rage etched in their faces. She wondered how people could feel so much hate and rage toward strangers.
    “Fu — ” Liam started to say before his audio went dead.
    “Charlotte Gray,” Kirkman commanded, “plead your case!”
    The girl looked up to her