The White Games

5) Chapter Five

#5 Tristan Kaplan - Day One - 6:59 PM

Chris smiles as he aims his bow at the tall, blue-haired boy. His sister's face pales as she crowds around him, watching the three of us with wide eyes. In contrast to her brothers hair, hers is bright red. Honestly, the two of them don't look all that much like twins, so I guess they are fraternal rather than identical.

"A chat about what?" The boy—Felix Leonard, if the rankings are to be believed—retorts, eyes narrowing against the tip of Chris' arrow. I don't know how they were so hard to find. Even with them appearing on Chris' map every hour, they still somehow managed to elude us until now.

I feel bad for them. Especially since they have no idea what's going on. They don't know that Chris doesn't really plan on killing them. That Nic and I aren't just some hired goons. They don't know any of this. They're just terrified out of their minds, frightened that we're about to kill them.

In short, they're reacting just like I did when Chris and Nic cornered me in the forest and forced me to join their "family".

Chris smiles again. Really, he should stop doing that. It just makes him look evil, or maybe constipated. Both. Constipated evil. "About you two joining our group."

"Group?" The girl, Justine, shifts her gaze from Chris to Nic to me and then back to Chris. "You guys are working together?"

I stifle a scornful laugh. What else would she think we were? A boy band? Chris merely cocks his head. "Yes, we are. And I am offering you a chance to join..."

And thus begins his proposition. I've heard it before, when he was offering me the chance to join him. It's not really a choice though, when your only options are "join me or die." Would anyone choose to die? Maybe someone suicidal, but no sane person would.

So I chose to join them. Usually I'd never let someone control my actions like this, I hate being bossed around, but this is a special case. Chris made it very clear that my only chance at survival was at his side.

But herein lies a problem. I'm stuck at Chris' side. His plan is for us to hunt down the other Challengers as a group, to use our combined might and privileged ranks as a security buffer between us and our victims. Sounds good, right? Well, not if you dislike the thought of killing innocent people as I do. Then this "family" is anything but good. Not that I let the others know that.

Chris continues his sales pitch and the Leonard siblings watch him with curious eyes. They like what they hear, but I don't know if it's because they relish the thought of running roughshod over the island or are just glad he's letting them live.

I glance sideways at Nic. The other member of our alliance, he had already been recruited by Chris before I met him. As such, I don't know how he reacted to the idea. What I do know is that he harbors a very obvious grudge against Chris. Anytime the taller boy looks away, I catch him glaring ominously at him, or rolling his eyes, and clenching his fists together whenever Chris asserts his authority.

But I don't think it's the implications of violence that upset him. Anytime fighting or killing is mentioned, I think I see a sinister light flicker on in his eyes. Nic reminds me of Dominic Frato, a small-time criminal I knew back in Detroit. Only, Nic seems way more dangerous. Which is a very frightening thing.

"That's a great idea!" Felix says once Chris finishes with his offer.

"Yeah!" His sister nods her head quickly. "Brilliant!"

Once again I don't know if they're just telling him what he wants to hear or if they actually mean it. I guess it doesn't really matter.

"Then welcome to the team!" Chris slings the bow across his back and smiles broadly. "Meet Nic and Tristan!"