Free The 17 by Mike Kilroy Page B

lavishly. This is beyond anything they have ever given us before. I mean, we’re getting our favorite foods, our favorite activities. We have plush surroundings and we want for nothing. It’s too good.”
    The others rolled their eyes and let out long exhales of frustration aimed at Brock. Well, all but Mizuki, who just sat in her own little corner of the cosmos and stared at them blankly.
    Cass set her controller down sullenly. “You know, he’s right. I have a bloody bad feeling about this.”
    Harness growled. “Relax. Maybe they were so shocked Zack pulled it out for us, they wanted to do something awesome.”
    The group seemed to accept that explanation. Zack knew better, however.
    He couldn’t keep it in any longer. He didn’t have a name for what he was feeling—maybe it was guilt or shame or dishonor—but it was building inside him like steam in a kettle. It needed to whistle out.
    Zack whistled. “We didn’t win, exactly.”
    All the eyes in the room expectantly turned to him.
    “What do you mean?” Brock asked.
    “I didn’t kill the German girl. She didn’t kill me either. We just sort of laid there until we passed out. I mean, I guess she could have awakened and killed me, but I don’t think so. I think it was basically a draw.”
    Harness cocked his head and his shoulders slumped. “What. The. Hell. You loser. You goddamned loser.”
    “What does it matter?” Zill was fond of asking that question. “We’re here, obviously. They must have been okay with it.”
    “They’re just going to screw us later. Screw us big time in our puckered butt holes because of this pansy-ass screw-up. He screwed us. We’re just all screwed.” Harness certainly had a way with words.
    Brock was the voice of reason. “Not necessarily. This may be what it appears to be: an elaborate reward.” Brock then bowed his head and winced. “Then again, this could be like a last meal before an execution.”
    Jenai looked lovingly into Zack’s eyes and smiled big and wide. Zack wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to hurt her. “I don’t care that he didn’t avenge me.”
    He didn’t want to hurt anyone, it seemed, even if that was the best and right thing to do. He knew it and most of the others knew it. As weak as his position was before, it was even weaker now. One by one, except for the doting Jenai, the others rose from their comfort and peered down at Zack, some with disdain and some with loathsome disregard, as they left to retire to their spacious rooms, knowing they would pay dearly in the next battle for their leisure.
    Jenai just clutched his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “Don’t pay any attention to them. You’re still my hero.”
    Zack disliked Jenai’s reaction most of all.
    Alone isn’t so bad.
     

Part I
    Chapter Seven
    Gorn Free
    Zack stood in a flat field that stretched for as far as the eye could see in every direction.
    The grasses swayed in a breeze and a milky sun hung above him. It was cold, but not exceedingly so, and he wore a wool coat, dark jeans and boots and black gloves that were skin tight on his hands.
    He removed dark sunglasses from the bridge of his nose and squinted at Jenai. She was spinning to survey in all directions.
    She also wore dark sunglasses, a wool coat that fit her perfectly and black jeans and boots.
    Harness, Brock, Zill and Cass stood a football field away and once they spotted Zack and Jenai, walked briskly toward them.
    Once again Mizuki was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Mizuki?”
    No one spoke; no one knew the answer anyway. They were all in the same dress, which wasn’t particularly shocking. They all had appeared in the arena with similar clothing before.
    Zill broke the silence as Zill was known to do. “Well, this is awk. I mean more awk than usual.”
    Harness held his hands up and peered at his gloves, then slipped them off angrily. “This is bullcrap.”
    “I think we are in Kansas,” Brock quipped.
    Zack