Lightning Bringer: (Lighting Seeker Book 2)

The Vote

"The rules are simple..." Kebar began as small screens were placed in front of each person.

Dash's voice filled Vale's mind... You'll have to play. You'll have to survive the game.

Kebar's voice echoed through the room. "Each of you will have one vote. One chance to save someone from being thrown out."

You'll have to watch your back, Dash's warning cut through.

Everyone stared down at the tech before them. "You cannot vote for yourself. But you can refuse to vote."

Kebar is a master of emotional torture...

"Each table is their own group. Vote for each other, or don't. That is up to you. The people with zero votes are out. If no one receives zero votes, you all move on to the next round." Kebar waved his hand dismissing the idea of fair play as ludicrous.

"It won't come to that. You aren't here to play nice." His smile grew sinister. "Your prize is far too valuable for that."

Kebar held out his arms, his brow raised as if announcing a fun secret. "You have thirty seconds to make your choice... starting now." 

Vale mentally began to count as she yanked her screen off the table and scanned the names. She looked over at Fox. Reading her expression Fox answered her unspoken question. "Fae Foxinilla." Twenty seconds left.

Vale nodded and turned to look at the blond girl. "Are you Reign?"

She blinked back at Vale, confused. "Are you seriously voting for me?" Fifteen Seconds.

"Just making sure I know the names. I'll take that as a yes." She looked at each face. "Look, we can save everyone at this table, we just each vote for the person to our left-." Ten seconds.

Reign began to laugh. "Are you deaf? You heard what he said. We are here to win! Not play nice!" Her voice was shrill and full of wild panic. "I say we vote you out. Cee, Osti, Reddy, and I will vote for each other." Fox stared at her with a raised brow, clearly irritated by the girl's assumption.

Fox turned back to Vale. Five seconds. Reign began to bark out orders, but Vale put it out of her mind and focused on Fox. With a quick nod, Vale turned down to her screen and found Fox's name, submitting her vote with two seconds to spare, hoping that Fox had voted for her in turn.

The screen went dark and a moment later a unanimous chirp rang out from each screen declaring the end of the game.

Vale dropped the screen on the table with a loud clack, doing her best to hide her sudden anger. Those three better have voted for each other or they have no one to blame but themselves.

"Well done!" Kebar said, his eyes on a small screen before him. "We have quite a few people going home. Two hundred to be precise." Vale let out an uneasy breath. That was twenty percent of the girls in the room.

She swore, only to receive several dirty looks from the next table over. Right, cool it with the sailors' language. The sudden wild fear that filled her was surprising. It wasn't that she didn't want to move forward, to survive. But the look on Kebar's face told her that the ones that were cut may not be leaving alive.

Vale turned to look at the girls at her table. "Please tell me you guys voted," she hissed.

Reign shot her a wicked smile. "What's it to you?" Vale turned to look at Fox, who refused to meet her eyes. Panic began to bubble inside. Did she not vote for me? Did anyone vote?

"Let's see the results!" Kebar declared with a wave of his arm. 

Vale's screen flickered to life on the table. She began to hear cries of protest and despair from other tables, but she felt frozen, unable to move, unable to look at the results. Fox couldn't look at her, and the others had voted for each other. No one voted for me... I lost. I came here to die. I can't die. I have to end this on my terms.

Girls began to jump to their feet, clutching the screens like a lifeline, relief coloring their expressions. Others wept openly in their chairs. Finally, her limbs full of iron, Vale reached for her screen and stared down at her fate, and a wild, angry scream split through the air.