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76. Best-Laid Plans
🕑 Added 2021-09-14 20:01:00 +0000 UTCRowan kicked a clone in the back. The clone staggered and fell, and he finished it with a quick rake-blow to the back of the head. He stared at the clone, waiting. A few long seconds passed. The body faded away.
Ugh, killing myself repeatedly is not good for my psyche. Rowan pushed back his bangs and looked around.
Down the street, one of Ikara’s clones struggled weakly in the grip of her threads, then went limp. She maintained her hold on it as it fell. A few seconds later, it vanished, and her threads loosened. Satisfied, Ikara murmured to herself, and the threads retreated into her pockets.
Rowan walked over to her, hands in his pockets. “How many is that?”
“Thirty-some,” Ikara said.
“About twenty-five for me,” Rowan said, mock-frowning.
“Get destroyed!” Ikara trilled, pleased with herself.
Rowan snorted. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced down the road at the plaza and the ruined fountain. No sign yet. Still waiting.
A shadow darted from the sky and slammed into a clone. He glanced over, expecting to see white, but found Katy’s pink awaiting him instead. Rowan nodded. “Hey.”
She hopped off her spear and yanked it from the body as the clone faded away. “Hello.”
“Still nothing?”
Katy shook her head. She glanced at the plaza, the same as he had. “You think they’ve moved their hunting grounds?”
“I doubt it. All the water around is good for Amy, and Jeff is lazy. He said it himself. I don’t think he’s going to range around looking for a new spot, especially not when he’s crushing everyone with no effort like he’s been doing. Plus, he’s got a concealment skill. If he doesn’t want us to find him, he could be right under our noses and we’d never know.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just, like… ugh. If we’re hanging out in the wrong place, and we totally miss him, it’ll be so annoying.”
Rowan nodded. “I feel that. But we’ve got plenty of people out looking. We’ll find him.”
Katy pushed her hair over her shoulder. Limp and saggy in the unending rain, it fell in a clump against her neck. “I hope you’re right.”
Ikara yawned. “What if they don’t hunt anyone else until tomorrow? We’re screwed if we don’t get a hundred points. And we aren’t going to get a hundred points hunting only clones—you know that, Rowan.”
“We’ve still got plenty of time,” Rowan said, glancing up at the sky. When the gray clouds offered no hints, he turned to his wrist instead. “Another three hours.”
“That’s cutting it close. We might not even find another team in that time,” Ikara muttered.
Katy tightened her grip on her spear and glanced at the two of them. Her eyes flitted from Ikara to Rowan and back again, nervous. “The longer we wait…”
Rowan pressed his lips together. She didn’t have to finish. It was obvious. The more likely one team betrays another. There were only so many points. With so many hanging around, walking right next to them… Rowan flicked his eyes at Katy. If she has seventy points, that’s all we need for the day, right there.
He shook his head. No. It’s Katy. If I’d betray anyone, or anyone would betray me, it’d be Terry and his team.
Should I make the first move? No… it’s not a guarantee they betray us. Jude would, Terry absolutely, and Morgan seems to lack a spine, but Lancelot is a decent person, and she seems to be the team’s real leader, ‘Hero’s Team’ or no. I’ll stay on guard, but I won’t make the first move. Not this time.
“We have to stick together, we smaller teams,” Katy said suddenly. She nodded back at the plaza. “The Hero’s team could beat both of us, especially since they’re the only ones with a Medic. They can heal, whereas any single injury could take one of us out completely. Plus, they have four members, better than Jenna and I, and they’re all combat classes, unlike, no offense, you four. Our only advantage is our numbers.”
Rowan nodded. “Especially once we succeed. We’ve got to stick together.”
“Right.” Katy nodded.
An awkward silence fell between them. Rowan fiddled with his rake, not knowing what to say. No one looked at anyone else.
Ikara squinted up. “Where is Kaidu, anyways? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Me either. He’s probably up there, bouncing around the rooftops or whatever he does,” Rowan said, gesturing vaguely upward.
In the distance, something crashed. The three of them exchanged a look. Rowan tipped his head. “Let’s go.”
Ikara sprinted off. Katy took to the sky. With a last fruitless glance upward in hopes of catching a glimpse of white leather, Rowan chased after Ikara.
