Companion

Chapter 24: Winners and Losers

"HUNTER!" Edge yells. I can just barely hear him through the deafening cheers of the crowd. Edge runs forward toward the rope wall.

"HUNTER YOU CAN GET DOWN NOW!"

"WHAT?"

"WE WON!"

"SERIOUSLY?"

"YEAH!" Edge holds out his arms and gives me a reassuring look, probably in response to my panicked one. I lightly jump the relatively short distance down and Edge catches me, making the crowd cheer even louder. He sets me on my feet, grabs my hand, and yanks it into the air. We wave to the crowd as Maddy and Matthew are escorted out of the Arena.

I steal a look at Edge's face and I swear, no matter where we end up in our lives, I will never forget it. For the first time, I see Edge genuinely happy. His smile is the biggest I've ever seen it. His eyes are creasing at the sides which seems to make them sparkle. And then I realize that, for the first time since we first met on the library steps, he is being loved and appreciated by practically the entire population. He is no longer the boy who killed his Companion. It's quite possible no one would believe it after seeing his panic and heroism. And I can tell there's a bit of relief mixed in with that joy and it almost reduces me to happy tears.

To save myself from embarrassment, I drop my hands and throw my arms around Edge. I hope this communicates all that I want it to. And by the way he hugs me back, I think it does.

Finally, we are also escorted out of the Arena by the security guards, and into the room where we started. A new group of guards then escorts us to the van we were brought in. Edge and I hop in, the doors are shut, and we take off.

But Edge looks infinitely less excited than he was just a mere minute ago.

"You okay?" I ask. Edge looks straight ahead, probably thinking about something troubling. I nudge him.

"Hunter..." He begins to tell me something, but trails off like he can't bring himself to say it.

"What is it?" I prod.

"You were awesome today," he says finally. I smile weakly, knowing that's not what he originally meant to say, but accepting it nonetheless.

"Thanks."

"Seriously. The way you handled...everything. Those puzzles, the pressure...my whole thing. The way you took charge when I was being useless, all of it. Thank you. You were great. You...you deserve this."

"Thanks, Edge. And thanks for shooting Maddy and actually winning for us. I know it couldn't have been easy."

Edge absentmindedly shakes his head. A full minute passes in silence as we stare at the painted-over window.

"Do you know where we're going? Are we going home?" I ask.

"Not us. They would never dare take us home," Edge says almost cryptically.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are we going straight to our Mission, then? How are we going to know what to do? Hell, how does this even work?" I start to panic. I'm not prepared for this! I just finished the Tournament! How am I supposed to handle any sort of Mission after finishing a Tournament?

"Hunter, there's a lot you need to know," Edge says darkly.

"You're damn right there is!" I snap. But Edge's focus is completely unaffected by my energy.

"I need you to calm down. Breathe. This is not going to be easy to hear."

Terrified by the darkness and intensity in his voice, I follow his instructions. I physically feel my muscles relax as I suck in a deep breath of stale, back-of-van air and exhale. Then I focus on whatever difficult thing Edge is about to say.