Thirteen's finger never left the comms since the counter started. He watched from the live feed captured by the pins. The fighting unit was doing a good job with the task. Section R only has five members left, and they have suffered a lot from Section H's barrage at the last counter. Perhaps he'd help alleviate their feelings by offering them the same deal he proposed to the sleeper unit.
"Report status," Thirteen said to the comms, eyeing the clump of active chips on the middle left screen. "Any sign of the hostiles?"
Five's voice crackled through. "Seventeen has minimal damage. Fifteen is lightly injured. Left arm. Projectiles hit her on miscalculation. One is fine. Sixteen is Sixteen."
Even if Karrel tried stabbing the girl a thousand times, Sixteen would survive. But she didn't need to tell them it would hurt. "And you?" Thirteen asked, noticing how she never reported herself. "Still good?"
A scoff. "That's the first time you asked about me, Thirteen," Five replied. "But I'm fine. Two rogues escaped. The rest are dealt with."
"A rundown of abilities?" Thirteen prodded.
"Cloning and Darkness Manipulation," Five replied. Something scuffled in the background, as if her foot brushed against the grass. "They are tough to handle."
Thirteen stored that tidbit at the back of his head. "I see two people at lock fire, east. You think that's them?"
"They couldn't have gotten far, yeah," Five said. "Do we get orders to pursue?"
He shook his head even though he was alone in the command room. "Head back down. Wait for the counter to finish. You've done enough for now," he said. "I'll cover you from here."
Five switched the comms off, the click echoing in his ear with such finality. Thirteen switched links. "Nine," he called. "Mission status?"
"Two hostiles engaged," a scratchy voice bled back through the line. "Metal and Blade."
He checked the screens. Correct. Ikerne, the bladed-arm guy, and Caden were in the stealth unit's vicinity. The rest of Section H were...
"Shit." The curse word flew out of Thirteen's lips before he could stop himself. The line was still open. Nine must have heard it. "Change of plans. Leave Fourteen and Seven. The rest, move to mountain fire, east. Stat. Karrel's coming."
A couple of grunts and similar curses bounced along the soundwaves. "Are we to draw Caden and Ikerne there?" Nine asked through the loud claps of air dappling the line.
"No," Thirteen answered. "Focus on helping the fighter unit. They will follow."
He switched lines and found Fourteen's. "I will count three seconds. At three, cover fire," he said. "Seven will have his orders. Stay where you are until I tell you to move."
"Copy," Fourteen said.
Then, to Seven's line. "Keep Caden busy," Thirteen ordered. "If you can, disable him."
"Not eliminate?" Seven's casual and flat tone rivaled Thirteen's indifference. The guy was laid-back, but sometimes, a little too much for Thirteen's liking. "I can end him."
Thirteen surmised the same. "Not now," he said. "I need him for something."
Seven huffed. "Copy," he replied. "Moving to position."
Thirteen glanced at the screen. He tweaked the zoom settings, showing the simulated but approximated distance between the active chips. Seven's chip didn't move until half a minute later from the time he said he would, suggesting an equal time delay. Thirteen ought to fix that. Not now. But soon.
He flipped the line to fetch everyone in the stealth unit. "I will count to three. Those who didn't receive specific orders, focus on getting to mountain fire, east. Merge with the fighter unit. One. Two. Three."
A burst of movement rumbled from the other side. Gunshots rang in the air, signaling Fourteen's open fire. An electric whizz slashed across the soundwaves, as if Ikerne was attacking Thirteen's ear. He flipped open Five's line. "Hostiles incoming," he reported.
Five's answer was immediate. "How many?"
"All of them."
She cursed, not missing a beat. "How far?"
"Karrel's crossing mountain essence, east," he replied. "Close. Ikerne will be coming from the border of the east quadrant. I've sent the rest of the stealth unit to you. Make sure you're prepared. Three's coming."
"Seven?" Five asked.
"Dealing with Caden." Thirteen pushed off his desk and stretched.
Five snorted from the other side. "Fair," she said. "When would the stealth unit arrive?"
"An estimated average of three to seven minutes upon Karrel's entry," Thirteen said.
"We can last that long," she said. "See you at dinner."
Thirteen didn't bother replying, clicking his comms shut. He plucked it off his ear, and from the top drawer of his desk, he drew a different bud. Slotting it into his ear, he cast one lingering glance at the screens. The counter has more than fifteen minutes left on average. Plenty of time for Karrel to get her revenge.
Section H went all out for this counter, and lucky for them, Thirteen was too.
He turned away from the screens, taking comfort in the portable one he brought with him. This time, he yanked the second drawer open and snatched the gun. Then, he stepped out of the command room, shutting the door behind him.
Karrel tore across the ceiling, her hand resting on her sword. If her memory of the map was correct, Section M's fighting unit would pass through this region on their way back to the fortress. She let them have their fun with Section R. Not a lot of sections have more than ten people left, and she saw through Thirteen's tactic of picking off those fewer ones first. It was as if he was going through a hit list.
Funny enough, Karrel was too. She couldn't care less with those small flies. She could always go back and deal with them as soon as she was done with Section M. These heathens just kept finding new ways to annoy her. Them having fourteen people remaining from the original twenty-two was enough of an insult. They have killed three of Karrel's comrades. She couldn't have that. One loss for her was equivalent to a thousand hurts. These people were her friends. They would get out of this game together, or they wouldn't.
At least, that was what she made them believe.
So, she gathered all of them, including the remaining sections she could rally to their cause. Since the last counter, none of them went after each other. Everyone simply focused on cornering Section M. Thirteen would be a fool to never realize that.
With everyone against them and Karrel's threat proving more real, how did he think his usual tactics would hold? Karrel could read his moves as easily as plopping on a lounge chair with her favorite book. She'd bet her hand to say he would send the full force of his section the moment he heard Section H was coming. Even if he didn't outright say it, Karrel knew. The boy was scared of her and the uncertainty she posed.
Now, she would see how far Thirteen would bend to save his friends. At the end of this counter, there might even be a clear victor declared.
A bullet whizzed to her left, her periphery catching it too late. Verez's arm shot out, stopping her in her tracks. His ability must have allowed him to see it coming. Something metal embedded itself on the spot between Karrel's boots, smoke rising from between the affected roots and blades of grass.
That ability. Again.
Thirteen dared, didn't he? Oh, this counter would be something to look forward to.
"Karrel, enemies closing from west and east," Verez reported. "A pincer attack."
Instead of fear, elation blossomed in her gut. Not only did Thirteen serve his comrades on a silver platter, he had given her the perfect chance to gather everything she could about his enigmatic friends. Today, all secrets would be revealed. Thirteen had better calculated every possibility to understand and be prepared for the consequences of this move. Should Karrel have warned him?
"Get ready," Karrel said to her team. Together with Abelle and Jason, they should be able to take them on, no matter what the other enemy unit was capable of. "Abelle, deal with the new shoots."
She faced west where her favorite enemies came from. "I'll deal with the rest," she said. "Verez?"
The second-in-command grinned, pushing his spectacles up his nose. "On it, boss." He gave her a quick and crooked salute before nodding at Abelle and Jason. They peeled off, leaving her alone on an empty field. She clenched her fists. Let them come.
And when they did, they came prepared. Armed with active abilities and sharpened weapons, they thought they could win. A litany of fools.
Karrel lowered herself to a stance and launched forward to meet them. Her eyes focused on the most destructive ability around. There. Across the sky. She squinted, focusing solely on the black-haired girl zipping through the expanse of blue and white. The girl's face contorted as her body wobbled. Within seconds, she rocketed to the ground—a bird with clipped wings. Karrel didn't wait for her to hit the grass, but judging from the loud thud and a hearty crack behind her, the girl did land.
Next up, the fire girl. The loud shouts annoyed the hell out of Karrel whenever they crossed paths. Plus, Farzad and almost everyone in Section H experienced painful burns for weeks due to that burning touch.
And there she was, barreling across the distance between them with her hands alight. Karrel narrowed her eyes at her and watched the flames snuff. Like a candle being exposed to a storm. Confusion colored Fire Girl's face as she tried to ignite her fists only to fail. Karrel closed the space, drawing her sword and slashing up. Blood complimented the howl Fire Girl gave as she stumbled back, clutching her arm to her chest.
The others perked up, driven to protect each other by some pretense of camaraderie. Those watching them probably thought they would die for each other just because they got put in the same sections and told they would have to win as one. Well, muck that. If Karrel has to win this thing alone, she would. But that didn't mean she would feed her comrades to the fire like Thirteen did his.
Karrel sensed a blast coming from the left, and she swerved. A boy with cheese-colored hair rushed towards her, arms outstretched. She glared at him, forcing his ability to recede to the lowest depths of his body. His forceful blasts slid out of control even as he sent them with solid intention. Some scissored towards another girl who bore only knives and wasn't Five. She flew a yard away when one hit.
Trunks and other melee weapons zipped across the sky, sent by the girl who dropped the world on them a few counters ago. Because of her, Farzad and Jess died. She was on Karrel's hit list, for sure, but not today. The focus was a girl called Five. She has always been. Thirteen seemed fond of her, and if Karrel took his second-in-command, what would he do then?
She squinted at the blob of white hair bouncing in the air as Five lunged at her. The girl had no active ability whenever she fought, but Karrel had glanced at it once during that fateful counter when two of her comrades died. It was something that didn't require full activation every counter, and when they crossed, Five proved to be the same level of skill with Karrel. If not, more. Thirteen must have known it: Five was the only one who could keep Karrel in line.
Karrel dodged left and met Fire Girl there. Perfect. Just as Five's blade bit the air where Karrel's hair had just been, Karrel shot an arm towards Fire Girl and activated her real ability. From the ground where Fire Girl stood, flames spread from the grass until it licked her legs, arms, and hair. A pained scream ripped through the clearing, stopping everyone from their battles.
Karrel stepped back, letting her hold on Fire Girl's ability slip. The girl's brown hair spilled all over the ground as she flopped forward. She didn't move. Burned by her own fire—how quaint. Karrel even gave her the barest mercy. Quick and painless. She'd bet the girl didn't even feel the fire tear her skin from her flesh.
She whirled to where Five stood, shocked to the core. Now, it was her turn. Karrel better work up a sweat this time.
Their weapons clashed. Five's comrades tried to help, but before they could, Karrel sent them to the sidelines, broken and battered by the abilities they thought they possessed. By now, Five had a perfect idea of what Karrel was capable of. She wouldn't let her ability loose without care.
Sparks flitted into the air with every clang her sword made against Five's daggers. Slash. Duck. Parry. Thrust. Block. It was a deadly dance, and one made of steel and fire. Five feinted left, and Karrel blocked it. A boot rushed to Karrel's exposed side. Pain ripped through her gut as she skidded sideways.
Five pursued, keeping her offense tight. Karrel glanced at the cheese-haired boy struggling to his feet. His ability glinted in his eyes. Got it. She caught Five's blade with a ball of condensed energy, stopping it from piercing her ribs. Five's eyes widened. Karrel slashed her hand up, still fresh with the boy's ability. A wall of compressed force folded in on itself before launching towards Five. It hit her chest, sending her flying.
When she landed, Karrel was there, ready to catch her prey in time. Her sword slashed down—
"Karrel from Section H, I would advise you to stand down," a familiar voice blared through the grounds, cutting the counter's alarm at its height. Without it, could they still hurt each other? Who was this?
Five groaned by her feet, bracing an arm on the ground. Her confusion mixed with a sense of familiarity betrayed her thoughts to Karrel. Thirteen. Did that son of a bitch hack through the counter's system and hijack the broadcast alerts?
"Make me," Karrel hissed under her breath. She doubted Five heard her, wherever he was. How did he even manage to do it this fast? She gripped her sword tighter and moved to plunge it deep, deep into Five's neck.
"Karrel!" Kalyani's voice fizzled through the sound system, all hoarse and tinged with unbridled panic. "He tricked us! He—"
Loud thuds of someone beating the hell out of a person rang across the grounds in morbid and vivid detail. At some point, Kalyani blubbered and begged for mercy before being silenced with a hearty hit. Maybe a knee to the gut or a boot across the face. Was this Thirteen...?
Then, a gun clicked. "You have five seconds to decide which of us would live," he said. "I'd wager you'd let your comrade here be killed in exchange for my second-in-command. That's a great deal, isn't it?"
Karrel's grip tightened around the hilt further. Kalyani was just another person who belonged to her section. She shouldn't be used against Karrel like this. Thirteen was right. She wouldn't lose anything from letting Kalyani be killed. She would have free reign to kill Five too—he implied that.
But it would turn her to the person threatening her right now. She would be someone who traded lives for survival. She'd be no better than that criminal.
Kalyani's sweet smile and innocent laugh flashed in Karrel's mind. When they were all down after a counter, she would be there to cheer them up with her delicious meals. She'd be down in the garden most of the time, humming to herself some silly tune. To encourage the plants, she would say, whenever someone asked why she needed to sing every time she worked.
Then, Daylin's disapproving look shot through Karrel's memory. She wouldn't want Karrel to be a villain. Always do what feels right for you, Daylin had said before. And for her, being a tyrant wasn't right. She had all the time to win the Game. There was no need to sacrifice one of her friends for it.
The end wouldn't ever justify the means.
"Fine." Karrel stepped away from Five and stuck her sword into the ground. She raised her arms as a gesture of surrender.
Thirteen had the nerve to chuckle. "Thank you for proving me wrong," he said. "Let my comrades go, and I will, yours. I am known to keep my end of the deal. Do not worry."
Oh, he better be. Karrel would hunt him down and make his death be so slow and painful if he didn't.
Thus, as Section M hauled ass back to their beloved fortress, Karrel stood still and did the only thing she could. She watched.