Corn, Cows, and the Apocalypse

And the Winner is...

The competition for second place in the final round was tough. Haden had already earned first place since there was no chance of beating her. Garrett was among the second-place competitors, and despite what I told him, I did cheer for him. I was secretly hoping that he would look over and smile at me, but that wasn't so much a fantasy as a delusion.

Devin and August seemed a little baffled that I would cheer for him after what happened, but they didn't understand. Been there, done that. If I had forgiven him for the first fifty punches, there was no point in holding a grudge against one more. It was the mantra of the battered wife, but it applied here as well. If they were surprised by my cheers, they would have had heart attacks if they knew I had sex with him on a toilet a few hours ago.

However, in hindsight, that did sound a little shameful. And gross.

The three competitors tied for second place were blindfolded and spun for their competitive round of pin the bullet on the grim. They were then released one by one in the center of the arena where four grim were fast approaching. They were to use their remaining ammo to shoot the grim—easier said than done in light of the dizzy spell.

The first man didn't have enough bullets, and he had to use the butt of his gun to kill his fourth grim. It wasn't worth as many points since he should have conserved his ammunition, but the crowd loved it.

The second man was so dizzy he shot one of the handlers. Without question, he was immediately disqualified. Shooting innocent people was apparently frowned upon. Given the efforts the mayor had taken to ensure safety, that was no surprise.

Haden didn't seem to take any time to recover from her dizzy spell. Her shots were accurate and quick. Compared to her second round, it was almost boring, but still a triumph.

Garrett was the last up, and he had plenty of bullets. Assuming he didn't miss, he would win second place. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but I did find myself wiggling my foot a little too enthusiastically. August looked at me, trying to discern my thoughts. I leaned over to her, keeping my eyes on the arena. "Is it wrong to kind of hope he misses?"

"I don't imagine that it is, from your perspective."

I chuckled and sat back in my seat to procure a yawn. When all four of Garrett's bullets hit dead-on in the heads of the grim, I cheered and clapped. I shrugged at August, pretending I was a little disappointed that he hadn't lost.

Haden and Garrett took their places alongside the third-place winner—the guy who didn't shoot a civilian. The master of ceremonies, AKA Jimmy the Card himself—who was apparently broadcasting live from the event—announced them as champions. I couldn't help but laugh at the radio personality. He was a scrawny freckled redhead with no business operating the voice box he had.

Garrett seemed a little perturbed at taking second place, but he could hardly argue with how cool Haden's shot was. Either way, he would be in the grand finale in ten months, so there was no reason to be pouty, except for his wounded pride. That was one area I had very little sympathy for.