None of this made any sense.
And we had no time to contemplate.
The sun had risen, and the haze finally lifted. Kate and I followed the winding footpath until we came across an abandoned fire pit filled with charred firewood. Half-drunk Capri Suns and full beer bottles littered the area. Crushed graham crackers, trodden marshmallows, and unopened chocolate bars were strewn across the dirt. What kind of monstrous people would abandon their s’mores?
More alarm bells rang in my head when we discovered trampled canisters of sunscreen, bug repellent, and unused sleeping bags farther down in the woods.
“Maybe zombies?” Kate asked.
I popped a straw in an unopened Capri Sun and sipped while we surveyed more of the grounds. The sugary water coated my dry mouth and throat, relieving the dehydration I didn’t know I had.
Kate picked up a few things and stuck them in her pack.
“Snacks?” I asked.
She handed me some Black Cat firecrackers, a fancy lighter engraved with initial “H,” and a foil condom single-pack. I lifted my eyebrows, making her laugh.
“You think they ran off, and these guys are maybe still in the game? Or you think, you know, they were—?” I made the universal “finger slit across throat” signal.
“Hard to say,” she said, chewing her bottom lip. “Whatever happened here, it took place in the night. These ashes are damp.”
Walking on the far perimeter of the campfire area, there was more evidence of struggle. Broken branches. Trees with large, chipped-off chunks of bark. Stampeded brand-new cigarettes and joints ground into the dirt. No way someone would willingly leave unsmoked weed lying around.
Scattered footprints made it look like a wild dance party had taken place. By the looks of the sleeping bags and quantity of food and drinks, though, there were five, maybe six people there tops, hardly enough to make all those prints.
“Okay, let’s move on,” I announced. “This place is creeping me out. It’s like the aftermath of a shitty dystopian movie.”
We walked ahead, finding broken glass bottles, torn clothes covered with zombie flesh goo, and four inactive wristbands just past the campsite. Another quarter-mile down, we came across the two gladiators on the side of the road. Assholes Natalie and No Mo’ Bo Staff Guy. Their once pristine jackets were filthy and torn, but physically, they were picture-perfect. Infuriating.
They raised their hands in the air.
“We’re out of the game. No wristbands, see?” Natalie took a step forward. “We just want some water and any food while we wait for pickup. The game officials are on their way to get us.”
I threw them two juice packs we’d taken from the campsite. “But the bo staff’s mine.”
They agreed to the terms with eager nods. I gave them each a Pop-Tart. A modern-day olive branch.
Kate glared at me. “You’re helping them? That guy tried to whack your head off.”
“I believe in karma,” I said, shrugging. “Plus, I like the staff.” In a low voice so only she could hear, I whispered, “And I gave them the unfrosted ones.”
Natalie took a cigarette from her pocket. “You guys have a light?”
Kate rolled her eyes when I pulled out the fancy lighter from my pants pocket and threw it at Natalie. “You can have that too. We found it at the campsite back there.”
Natalie squinted at it. “Hey, this is the lighter that guy had.” Natalie lifted it so her partner got a better look. “The one who gave us the flyer. He was with that really pretty blond girl.”
Kate’s shoulders stiffened at the words pretty blond girl. She turned and stormed back to the main path, pushing through tall ferns to reach the clearing.
I ran to catch up to her, my bulky pack growing heavier with each step.
A gentle breeze carried Natalie’s voice our way. “Watch out for that guy, though. You think we were bad? He’s a real primo asshole.”
* * *
“Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese?”
It was my third time trying to start up a conversation with Miss Grumpy McGrumpface, who continued marching in silence, eyes locked forward, making it a mission of hers to avoid all eye contact.
A message flashed on our wristbands. 24 HOURS REMAINING. 70 CONTESTANTS ELIMINATED. 30 PARTICIPANTS STILL IN THE COMPETITION. GOOD LUCK!
I marked the message as “read.” Kate glanced at her watch and continued down the trail.
“Kate, we need to stop. I have to piss! Too many Capri Suns.” One last try to get her to slow down and talk to me.
Please, just talk to me.
She shouted over her shoulder. “Hurry!” Slowing her pace, she added, “I have a rock in my shoe anyway.” Hallelujah! No more silent treatment.
A nearby Douglas fir, over a hundred feet tall with a green, thick, moss-covered bottom akin to Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings, was as good a place as any for a long watering. I unzipped and relieved myself for a full minute, honest to God. Eyes firmly closed, I basked momentarily in my man versus nature glory moment.
“Hey! Bruce Lee. How’s the karate coming along?”
Terror jolted through my entire body, and a voice inside me screamed for me to run. But I couldn’t—Pete was standing only a few feet behind me, my pants were unzipped, and my guy parts were hanging out.
This encounter wasn’t going to go well.
“Give me a second,” I said. Think, Nate. Think.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen your skid dick before in the locker room, Natey boy.”
Hands shaking, I zipped up quickly and turned around.
Pete wasn’t alone. Annie was standing right next to him, eyes wet with tears.
“Annie, did he do anything to you? Are you okay?”
Pete barked out a laugh. “Me, hurt Annie? Nah, Nate. You got it all wrong. She’s been instrumental in this whole plan.”
“What plan?” I asked, panning my glare from Pete to Annie.
She sighed. “Why couldn’t you just take the money? If you’d done that, we wouldn’t even be here.”
“What plan? Why are you here?” I repeated. “I don’t understa—”
Pete cut me off. “I thought you were a smart skid, but apparently I have to spell it out for you. Guess you were too dumb to see the coincidence of your dad losing his consulting gig at the company where my dad’s a VP. What was supposed to happen was you would tank your grades, take our generous skid donation, and it would be a win-win for everyone. But now look.” He pulled something out of his pocket that was sort of like a stun gun, but more pistol-shaped.
Shit, a Taser. One of those expensive high-voltage ones that shot needles AND electricity at you. “Now we have to make sure you lose this competition. Then you’ll have to take my money.”
I turned to Annie. “You knew about this? You were in on it?”
She took a step closer. “I wasn’t at first. You have to believe me.”
“So…you mean, you at the roller-skating rink?” Nate, you fucking moron, don’t make her answer that. I knew couples’ skate was all bullshit, way too good to be true.
It was a ruse.
She scammed me in the worst way possible.
Using my pathetic skid heart.
I instinctively recoiled with her next step forward. Acid reflux kicked in just thinking about that night at the rink. It was one of my best memories too. And it was a lie.
She wiped her eyes. “Pete recruited me that night, on skate day, when he drove me home. He saw me with you at the rink and thought I could help you change your mind.” Eyes pleading, she added, “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, and he recruited me after we hung out that night. I swear. He said you were already on board with everything, I just needed to help pull you over the line.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. “He said he’d pay me what he paid you. I needed the money for college.”
Pete had his Taser pointed right at me. The neon-green laser dot danced across my chest. “You’re an econ whiz, right, Natey? It’s simple, really. You have something I want, and I’m willing to pay top dollar for it. I still am because I’m a charitable guy. It’s not personal, skid. No hard feelings.” His cold eyes searched my face for a reaction.
I winced. “But how’d you know…I’d be here? How’d you get in?”
Annie’s face went pale, revealing so much.
She’d video chatted with me.
She knew I’d be at this competition instead of the track meet.
Damn it.
Pete snorted like an angry bull. “My dad’s a big deal, you idiot. He knows everyone on the board at Zeneration. He pulled a few strings. Now, hand over your stupid fucking wristband. Let’s not let this get ugly.” His green laser dot traveled down to my crotch.
Sadistic son of a bitch.
I had nothing on me to protect myself. My bo staff was by my backpack, near where I’d taken a leak. Good job, Nate. Bringing bare hands to a Taser fight. Pete had a good two inches and twenty pounds on me, and he was quick as fuck in every school sport. I didn’t see a way out of this.
“C’mon, Bruce Lee. Show me some karate moves first, though. How do you say skid in Korean? Or does that not translate?”
Something inside me snapped.
Fuck you, Pete.
You.
Fucking.
Asshole!
The voice inside my head cheered, Beat the living shit out of that privileged, racist, silver-spoon-fed mufuckaaaaaaa!
Adrenaline-fueled, I lunged straight into him, in brute-force tackle mode.
“Oooof!” Pete coughed as I rammed his upper body, smacking the Taser out of his hand, and knocking the wind out of both of us as we crashed to the ground.
I wheezed and stumbled onto my feet. Pete played football and was used to tackles worse than this. Child’s play. He cracked a smile before he rushed me.
I fell back into piles of rocks, landing backward on big, jagged, skin-puncturing, skin-scraping limestone. A lot of it.
Shit, I think I burst my own appendix.
There was minor blood spill on the limestone, presumably mine.
“Just give me the wristband, Nate,” Pete said, wiping his bleeding lip with his left hand as he picked up the Taser on the ground with his right one. I wished he looked as battered as I did, but no, he looked great. Fantastic, in fact. I’d tousled his hair and made his shirt a little askew, and that was it. He looked manly with that cut lip. Somehow, I’d made Pete look hotter.
Fucking asshole.
I scrambled to my feet again.
He charged, and I reacted faster this time. I grabbed his arm, twisted it, and struck him hard in the side of the face with a headbutt. A basic Krav Maga move, one I’d never imagined using. I’d added the headbutt at the end, just because he pissed me off.
He collided into Kate, who appeared right in time to zap him in the ass with her stun gun. As he crumpled and fell, she blew the top of the stun gun and put it in her holster. “I was aiming for his lower back, I promise.” She shrugged at me.
I burst out laughing, then replied with a pun, because I couldn’t stop myself. “What a total pain in the ass.”
She smiled in return.
I loved this.
Kate took away his Taser. “I’ll admit, I eavesdropped on that whole exchange between you two. Your bathroom break was way longer than it should have been, so I had to come back to investigate.” She moved in closer. “What you did, turning down his money? When he almost Tasered your nuts? That was pretty brave.”
Our eyes locked again. Nate. Don’t be a moron. And don’t you dare say what you’re thinking: not all heroes wear capes.
Annie interjected, exploding our bubble of happiness. “Nate, I hope we can still be friends. I’m so sorry about all of this.” With a five-digit code, she disabled her wristband, and Pete’s, and put them both on the ground. Pete was still in fetal position, lying in a bed of brown leaves, semiconscious. Some drool trickled from his parted mouth.
Kate spun me around to look for any injuries. “Lift your shirt,” she ordered, and I complied. “Some scrapes and bruising, a tiny bit of blood, but not as bad as it seemed.” She side-eyed Annie. “Let’s go, partner. The crew will come get them.”
I glanced down at Pete again. “But I kinda want to show him some Bruce Lee moves.”
“Not advisable.” Kate tugged my arm, adding a squeeze. Her arm hooked into mine, and we began our walk.
Annie shouted to me, “Hey, Nate?”
Over my shoulder, I asked, “Yeah?”
“I really did like you. At the skate place. That was all real for me.” A soft sigh escaped her mouth. “And…I really hope you win.”
So many years I’d pined after Annie. Years. Jaxon told me to get over her because she wasn’t all that. And Zach never said much but he nodded in agreement when Jaxon urged me to move on. It was infatuation, not love. Annie wasn’t right for me, or better than me. I knew that now.
“Goodbye, Annie.” I hesitated. “Uh, and one more thing.”
“Yeah?” she brightened.
“I fucking hate Maroon 5. Cannot. Stand. Them.”
Kate snorted and unhooked her arm from mine. She held out her hand for me to grab.
I reached for it, but she giggled and ran ahead of me. We did this over and over. A simple game of “Kate keep away” that ended with me sneaking up to her, grabbing her backpack waist strap, and pulling her right toward me.
A scream from Annie ruined the mood. “Nate, run! Zombies! Headed your way!”
I’d limped a little before from my stiffened ankle, but had no problem breaking into a full-blown panic sprint after Annie’s zombie alert.
Adrenaline was a funny thing. It usually signaled mind-blowing excitement or outright terror. Two ends of a spectrum, same bodily reaction. In this case, it was terror. Definitely terror.
* * *
Our boots pounded into the dirt and gravel path like sledgehammers. A zombie herd had formed behind us and kept adding new members to their undead tribe. No time to contemplate a safe place to hide. Or rest. Running was our only option.
Kate tripped on a tree root and tumbled to the ground. “Shit! My ankle!”
I backtracked to her and hoisted her up under her arms. “We need to keep going. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I twisted it, but let’s go.” She continued jogging with a slight limp. Her fall looked pretty bad. We needed to elevate her leg, stat.
But of course, we had no time for that.
The moans grew louder by the second. They were barely visible, and their god-awful stench hadn’t reached us, but with Kate’s bum leg we’d be under siege in a few minutes. Not even a hundred stun guns would help us then.
Panic climbed its way up my chest, and I choked out a nervous, high-pitched cough. It almost came out as a shriek, but I stifled it, because there was no way I was going to freak out in front of Kate.
We’d slowed down to a casual jog.
We were as good as dead.
The trees surrounding us were too high to climb, especially when one of us had a twisted ankle. There were no bushes, or brush, or anything to hide behind. No miraculously placed hollow tree logs large enough for two that always appeared in fantasy movies with forest adventures.
Up in the distance, there were a bunch of boulders and…could it be? A cave? The first one we’d come across the entire competition.
I motioned toward it, and through her long winces, Kate nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hide there.”
The cave turned out to be great, except for one critical thing. Nothing covered the cave opening, so zombies could stream inside and trap us in there with no way out. In all the books and movies and shows, regular zombies could smell live humans. And their sweat. And possibly, their terror. Zero clue what robot zombies could do.
We needed a diversion.
Down in the side pocket of my backpack, I slid my hand in and pulled out the string of Black Cat firecrackers Kate had given me. They were shitty, unspectacular fireworks for the Fourth of July, but perfect for creating a distraction for a zombie herd.
Kate’s eyes grew wide. “Oh wow, good idea. I found some matches.”
“Of course you did, fire goddess,” I said.
She handed me a small box, along with a roll of tape. “Tape them to a rock.” She winced. “Physics, to get some more distance.”
I nodded. “Here’s hoping my shot-putting for track comes in handy.”
I MacGyvered the shit out of the firecracker rock and lit the green wick. Immediately, I launched the Black Cats down the path, past the cave by about seventy feet. “Okay, let’s go in.”
Crouched silently in the darkness, we waited.
POW! P-P-P-P-POW! POWPOWPOWPOWPOWBAMPOW!
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, fighting the urge to throw up. Between the exhaustion from sleep deprivation and dehydration, a wave of nausea passed. Kate nuzzled into me, and I wrapped my shaking arm around her quivering shoulder.
Over the next few minutes, maybe twenty zombies staggered by. Not as many as I’d anticipated, but still more than two people could’ve handled in an undead ambush. When the groans and moans tapered, Kate flicked her flashlight on and off and let out a deep breath.
“I nearly peed in my pants,” she said in a trembling voice. “I’m so glad we’re in this together.”
“Me too.” I exhaled. “We got lucky. That was way too close.”
While the zombie swarm thinned, Kate’s body remained pressed against mine. My heart hammered faster and harder and with more force than from our adrenaline-fueled zombie chase moments before.
Kate tilted her head upward, her lips parting to say something. But at that moment, our eyes locked. She stayed quiet. Her brown eyes glinted with the reflection of the light from outside the cave. I could look at her face every day, all day, until the end of time. I lifted my hand to sweep her hair from her cheek, and she responded by rubbing her cheek up against my fingers, slowly and softly. The warmth of her skin against mine lit a fire inside me. Intense heat ignited through my entire body.
My hands trembled. This was all pretty new to me, and there was so much at stake.
I gently lifted her chin, and Kate breathed deeply. Focusing on her soft, full lips, I brushed mine against hers. Kate leaned in, sending electric currents straight through me. Our mouths met again, this time with a single dizzying kiss that made my entire body float in the air, like a kite soaring in perfect wind conditions.
I took a deep breath and kissed her again. And again. “Damn, I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”
Her hands ran down my chest and wrapped around my waist. “Yeah?” To my surprise, she kissed me right back, long and hard.
A couple of zombies passed the cave entrance, and we hugged each other tight. Once we were in the clear, Kate looked at me. “Maybe we could stay here a little while longer. To rest.”
I nodded.
She loosened her grip and turned on her flashlight again, aiming it toward the back of the cave. “Might as well explore, right? Make sure it’s safe for a quick nap?”
And hopefully for kissing. Maybe more than kissing.
She added, “You stay here in case we need another diversion.” Hobbling, she moved deeper into the cavern.
After a minute of silence, I called out, “Kate?”
No response.
“Kate?” I repeated with more urgency, trying to be loud enough for her to hear, but not so loud that the zombies came for us.
I paused. Listening, breathing, panicking.
“NATE! Help!”