Underland(26)

“Not yet,” Den argued. “We brought you here so you can watch old events and see what you are up against. Ferb knows everything there is to know about the past and current champions. He can tell you their weaknesses and strengths. He’s able to find out things about the courses that know else knows. He is your biggest asset, when you have nothing else.”

“Are you trying to say I’m weak?” Kira argued.

“No, I’m saying you’re human.” As he walked towards Kira, she backed up. “So you are going to sit here, listen, and learn.”

“Why do you care?”

Warrick spoke up. He looked at her, emotion splayed across his face—dignity, sorrow, and compassion. “Because,” he let out a breath slowly and looked at Den. “Not all of us are heartless monsters.”

Kira felt something soft brush against the back of her knees, and she fell onto the seat of the chair that Ferb had vacated seconds before. He crawled up onto her shoulder, and Den pushed her in front of the largest screen imaginable.

Ferb held the remote control. He began playing through years of tapes and droning on about the rules of the game. He would grab her head when he wanted her to pay attention to a small detail, and she quickly learned what a valuable asset he was. He didn’t miss a thing.

Kira made it three minutes before she started to puke.

Warrick already had a bucket on hand and deftly slipped it in front of her. Ferb just patted her head and rewound the scene again. “You missed it; this is where a machine called the eliminator is hidden—usually in the second leg. If you aren’t careful, it’ll chop off your head.” He said it so nonchalantly that Kira tried very carefully not to heave again, but to concentrate on the scene. If Ferb was going to make her watch every scene she missed because she was otherwise engaged, then she had better do her best to catch it the first time around.

It didn’t work. Kira emptied her stomach three more times before the day was over, and then she passed out sometime during the last leg of the championship. Apparently there were various events. Then each quarter there were separate mini-games the runners entered before the playoffs—the semifinals and finally the Labyrinth.

First up was the gauntlet: a type of obstacle course where runners were released in teams. The goal was to try and make it to the finish line with as many team members intact as possible. There were many courses just to keep things fresh. The gauntlet was apparently one of the more popular games in the circuit.

She learned that there were underground games called the ring and monsterball. But for her, for today, Ferb focused on how the gauntlet worked, and the jobs of the runners. Clearly, no one thought she would survive to compete in the Labyrinth, so she wisely kept her mouth shut.

***

Kira looked exhausted by the time they made it back to the compound. And her mood reflected that clearly. Den had stayed in the city and asked Warrick to escort her back. She had been quiet, lost in her inner thoughts, clearly disturbed by what she’d seen.

“There’s one more stop I’d like you to make with me.” Warrick turned and entered the infirmary wing. His tail swished behind him, and when he opened the door, he inhaled deeply of the mingling scents of disinfectant and cloves. Kira followed him into the infirmary, but she kept to the edge of the room.

He tried to picture this familiar place through her eyes. He’d tried to spruce up the sterile environment with potted plants that he’d found. A large metal table stood off to one side. While it was similar to the one in his home, due to the size of his patients, this one was twice as large. There were glass cabinets with various medicines, ointments, and salves, but nothing threatening. No mangled body parts or torture devices. Just a hallway that led to the operating room and the recovery rooms.

He headed back toward those now. Kira followed and he paused in front of his destination, listening carefully to the healing occupant on the other side. There were no sounds of distress. It would be safe for her.

The boy had sacrificed so much to help Kira, but Warrick had a feeling there was more to it than that. Warrick suspected their fates were somehow intertwined. Maybe they just needed another nudge. He was more than capable of offering that.

He handed Kira a small pouch. “Here. You need to start making more friends and less enemies.”

She took the pouch from him and eyed the door warily. Warrick opened the door and physically pushed her into the room.

Kira stiffened and pushed against him, but she was no match for his strength. With another swift nudge, he propelled her into the room.

***

The door closed with a click. Warrick peeked through the glass pane and motioned with his hands for her to move forward.

A thin blue curtain separated her from the room, and the shadow of someone or something moved behind it. The smell of disinfectant and the sterile décor brought back unwanted memories of trips to the hospital with her mother. Of sitting idly by, while her mother spun outrageous lies about how she got her injuries. Whether it was tripping down a flight of stairs or falling out of a tree, the lies came smoothly. The nurses barely blinked at Ellie’s excuses, and the whole time Kira hoped they would challenge her mother, ask if she lived with an abusive husband. No one bothered, no one cared, and so Kira kept silent, living with the abuse.

But she wasn’t that little girl anymore. She could take care of herself.

Gathering her courage, Kira gripped the pouch Warrick had given her. She didn’t know what it was or what to do with it, but she wasn’t alone. And she needed to know whose room she’d invaded. She moved forward and pulled the curtain to the side. The sight of a half-naked person took her aback.