In the distance, the hunt in the forest was still raging.

It was too far away to hear any screams, but the roars of wild beasts echoed through the trees.

Tarquin glanced down at the numbers glowing on his wristband.

Over fifty illegal poachers had slipped into these woods-now, more than half of them were dead.

Only twenty-two left.

Not a flicker of surprise or sympathy crossed Tarquin's face.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, he thought. They brought this on themselves.

He tapped his wristband, switching to the navigation screen, and started trekking toward the lodge. There were still a few dozen poachers back at the house waiting to be dealt with.

The forest was wild and thick. No trails, just tangled roots and brambles everywhere.

Lucky for him, Tarquin was no stranger to the wilderness. With his digital map guiding him, he found the old cabins soon enough.

The elders' cabins were a circle of eight wooden lodges, each one snug against the next.

All two-story, all built from sturdy oak, all practically identical.

Six of the elders had a place of their own. Elysia and the kids shared another. The last was a communal storeroom, stacked with supplies and food-canned beans, jerky, crackers, peanut butter, and all sorts of homey essentials.

a waist-high picket fence strung with twinkling fairy lights. The

fireflies, wrapping the cabins in a gentle

the heart of the deep woods, the sight gave Tarquin a sense

Elysia and the

ready to

Suddenly-

creased. He stopped dead, frozen

he'd just stepped

he'd be blown to

elders were all

planted it. Waiting for him to step

darted

was quiet. Too quiet. He stood there, one foot pressing down on the hidden explosive, not

wasn't scared-just a

a very numb leg), he finally spotted two

wore a crisp white tracksuit; the other, a sharp dark

about

one asked,

about it," the

they were. He called out, "Hey

second he triggered the mine. Walter was a notorious tinkerer-loved inventing weapons

woods at the moment, and he'd

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