Savage Run

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The cabin hostess waits by the open door and smiles at me as if I'm the most important person in the world. Entering the aircraft, I see the other participants pausing to size me up. Some of them laugh. A few nods greet me with sincere expressions, but most frown and scoff, rolling their eyes as I squeeze by them.

"Welcome aboard, young man. Let me show you to your seat." The cabin hostess beams and guides me to one of four black, inward-facing, leather chairs. Mai is already sitting in one of them, holding a small mirror, and applying red lipstick. Next to her sits a black-haired muscle head. He stares at me as I sit down. Each seat has its own set of buttons to select movies or listen to music, and the cabin hostess proceeds to show me which button to push to make the chair open up into a full-length bed. "And if you need anything at all, press this button." She gestures to a red knob above my seat.

I thank her, and she walks to the back of the aircraft.

"Just get me out of this godforsaken place," Mai grumbles to herself more than to us.

I'm about to ask her why she would call Culmination a godforsaken place, but the guy sitting across from me says, "Couldn't get a job shoveling manure?"

I squint my eyes. "What?"

"You think you have a chance against all of us out there?" He pops a grape into his mouth, the juice squirting out as he bites down on it.

Mai rolls her eyes, but remains silent.

"No, I just..."

"Good, then we agree." He pops another grape in and chomps on it with his mouth open, the smacking sound unbearably irritating.

Nicholas takes the seat next to mine and nods to the grape guy. "Johnny, this is Joseph. Joseph, Johnny. I trust we'll be able to have a pleasant flight together?" His eyebrows rise.

"Doubtful," Johnny says at exactly the same time I say, "Of course." I sink in my seat.

"The flight to Volkov Village is just over two hours. Let's make it a pleasant one." Nicholas straps himself in, and seeing that I have problems figuring out how to fasten my seatbelt, he reaches across my lap and secures the buckle. His forearm brushes mine, and his skin is surprisingly warm. The captain announces that we'll be taking off shortly, and before I know it, the aircraft speeds down the runway. I dig my nails into the armrests, my stomach tightening as we lift off the ground. I feel dizzy. As the bumpy ascent calms, my grip loosens a little.

"The numbers are in, and there are two thousand and thirty-nine contenders in the Savage Run," Mai says, reading a report on an electronic device. She glances at me, I think with pity. "Well, I'm exhausted." She puts a cheetah-print sleeping mask on and pulls a blanket up to her shoulders. Johnny extends his seat into a bed and shuts his eyes.

I rest my forehead against the window and look outside. I can't see anything at all, only bright whiteness. I wonder what happened to my father, if the Unifers imprisoned him or let him go. I don't really know why he came after me; I was always in the way—eating too much or not doing enough. Lazy. Ungrateful. But, he wasn't all bad. Once in a while he would compliment me about how well I was doing my job or tell me I had exceeded his expectations. I savored those words because pleasing him used to be everything. In time I came to learn that whenever he was friendly, he wanted me to do something for him—give him a back rub, or fetch him something across town, or deliver a message to one of the people he counseled. Praise was never just given for its own sake. There was always a long string attached.

Nicholas nudges me with his knee. "You should get some sleep, too."

I'm tired, but I don't think it will be possible for me to sleep—too many memories are creeping to the surface. I sit in silence for a while, but what I really need is something to distract myself from my thoughts. I try to think of something to ask Nicholas. I don't want to give the impression that I want special treatment, so I stick to safe personal questions. "So, does anyone ever call you Nick?"