Z 2134

Liam.
    No straight line; no right, wrong, or easy decision.
    She had to decide.
    Who to kill? Man or child? Friend or stranger?
    New friend or traitor?
    45…44…43…
    A broth of rage bubbled inside her as Ana turned her head from one screen to the other, hating Kirkman, The Games and the universe for thrusting the awful choice upon her.
    Liam had betrayed her father. But he had saved her as well. It also seemed that he had purposely surrendered his freedom at the exact moment she was losing hers, thrusting himself into The Games.
    Why would he do that?
    Did he do it for me?
    34…33…32…
    Would a traitor do that?
    29…28…27…
    She stared at Charlotte’s monitor and the girl’s sad eyes. She’d been through so much in her short life.
    How can I do this to her?
    She’s so young. So innocent.
    And Liam is so guilty.
    17…16…15…
    Maybe there’s more to the story than what Kirkman is showing?
    10…9…8…
    There has to be some logical explanation. Maybe it’s what Liam is trying to scream, and that’s why they’re silencing his monitor.
    But The Games left few seconds for details.
    5…4…3…2…
    Ana swallowed hard as she slammed her hand onto Charlotte’s monitor, collapsing to her knees in a flood of tears and staring up at the screen rather than at the little girl’s box, unable to look directly into her decision, but unwilling to grant herself full pardon from the horror.
    Her speaker screamed and crackled as Charlotte curdled her lungs at the zombies bursting into the safety of her cell.
    Most of the carnage was buried beneath a sea of undead bodies, swarming in front of the lens as Charlotte drowned in their waves. Ana heard every sound and imagined what was happening under the ripping flesh as it echoed against the plastic walls, one zombie after another reaching into her twitching body — as evidenced by her visible and still shaking feet — and pulling handfuls of gore from the little girl’s body before shoving her pieces into their mouths, groaning and growling and moaning from their bloody maws as blood painted the inside of the plastic box.
    One zombie pawed at another, tearing Charlotte’s intestines from its hands, then violently stuffing the pile into its mouth. Ana lost her vomit. She turned, splattering plastic with green-and-yellow paint as she held her side and retched again.
    Charlotte’s box disappeared on the monitor above, along with Liam’s and the expired countdown, then Kirkman’s face filled every screen, along with his cackling voice.
    “Ah, folks, we’ve got a coldhearted killer here — no mercy from this one! Look out, players, the apple does NOT fall far from the murdering tree! Anastasia Lovecraft will kill anyone in her way, including teeny tiny little girls, and even after they saved her miserable life! I’d boo if this Game wasn’t SO MUCH FUN!”
    The audience laughed, then Kirkman grew mock serious: “Can Ana kill her lover when she must? Will she be able to forgive him before one of them dies, or are things between them different forever?”
    Ana looked over to Liam’s box. He was staring down at the ground, away from the camera.
    Good, hide your face in shame. Asshole.
    Both of their boxes began to descend into the tunnels below.
    Ana forced herself to look back at the carnage that had been a child 60 seconds before.
    Oh God, what have I done?

CHAPTER 27 — Jonah Lovecraft
    J onah had no idea how long he was alone before Calla finally came into his room with food and water. Like before, she shoved bites into his mouth, chasing each swallow with a roughly poured stream of water, more of which got onto Jonah’s coveralls than down his throat. He noticed almost immediately, however, that something was different.
    Calla seemed gentler. More than that, there seemed to be a new and odd understanding in her eyes. He said nothing as she fed him, but once finished, Jonah asked Calla if she had seen The Games. After two minutes of awkward small talk, he followed his first question with the one on his mind, almost painful as he pushed it from his throat.
    “Is Ana still alive?”
    “Yes,” Calla nodded. “For now. She was put into a barn with her lover, Liam, and a lil’ girl, Charlotte.”
    “ Lover? Liam Harrow? From City 6?”
    “Yes, they’re workin’ together. They’re lovers, both workin’ in The City 6 Underground.”
    Nothing made sense. So many things must have happened since he was framed and cast out from his City. How was it