Battle of the Killers

26 | New Knowledge

I tried putting my sweatpants back on, but it hurt to lift my legs. "I couldn't do it. It felt...wrong to request things."

"Why?" he asked, staring into my eyes. "I consider it all payment for what they're putting us through. Consider this game a job. And requesting things is how they pay us."

"I guess."

"Or consider requesting things as a tool for survival," he said with a shrug. "If I didn't have this kit, you'd be in serious trouble by now."

True.

"You only have to do it until you win the game," he said.

I snorted. "Yeah, winning. Escaping would be much better."

"That's impossible," he said, nodding his head for me to follow him. He sat at the glass desk, turning to the giant computer monitors.

The bright lights of the three monitors hit me in the face, blinding me for a second until the black booting up screen came on. Once that faded, he clicked on something and the middle screen mimicked the screen of my iPad. Same apps.

"How'd you do that?"

A mischievous smirk spread across his thick lips. "I'm a professional hacker — I can do anything." He clicked on the live camera app and started circling the house.

As he shifted through the different cameras, I spotted Gmie, Demo and the third figure stalking the halls, still looking for me.

How the hell was I going to get back to my room?

"Stay here tonight," he said, answering my question. "There's no way you're getting to your room tonight. Not without some bloodshed."

"You don't mind?" I asked, brushing a long curl behind my ear.

"No. You can take my bed."

"I'm not kicking you out of your bed. I'll sleep on the floor," I said.

He stared at me, making me feel like I just said that two plus two equaled sandwiches. "You're taking the bed. I have an air mattress."

"You really are prepared for everything," I said. "I'll take the air mattress then."

He narrowed his eyes, blinking at me slowly. "No. You need your rest. We have a new challenge in a few hours."

I forgot about that. Fuck. "Fine," I said, watching him continue to shift through the live feed. "Are you sure there's no escape?"

He shook his head, causing his thick hair to move carelessly. "I've been around and around. Nothing. But from looking at the wiring, I can tell that we're underground."

I thought about telling him about the hidden room I found in the pantry, but we were on camera at the moment. But Khan was smart. He was probably telling me things that weren't important, things he didn't care that the people/viewers knew.

"Find out anything else?"

"We're not the first bunch of contestants," he said, typing away on his keyboard. "They do this in seasons. And we're at least season two or higher."

"How'd you find that out?"

"My fans," he said, clicking on the chatting app. Thousands upon thousands of comments flowed in. Kissy faces from girls. Love letters. Fan art.

I looked at him, dumbfounded. "You have fan art? Really?"

He gave me a grin. "The ladies love me. Which is beneficial because many of them like to talk. Really talk. I talked to this one girl for hours, and she told me that I was her favorite this season."