Chapter Fifteen:

Really? Gareth asked. You think we have to watch out for that guy? If you ask me, Siren is the one we need to look out for.

"Goliath is big, which means he'll be good defense," Olban responded. "He's strong, and he's ruthless."

Guys? What are you even talking about? They all look terrifying to me!

Goliath is slow, Gareth continued, ignoring Eloise, which means that once we get past him he won't be an issue. But Siren is fast and strong, the perfect combination. She's the real threat.

Eloise looked out at the opposing team, and suddenly she felt very small. Goliath is big and strong, Siren is fast and agile. How could she compete against any of them? She was just a girl in someone else's body, scared, lonely, and trapped with two strange guys. How could she do anything useful when obviously everything was so far out of her league?

Think, Eloise, think. You have to figure this out. You have to prove that you're not the annoying little spoiled brat they think you are.

But how?

"I'm telling you, Goliath is the biggest threat!" Olban says, nearly yelling now. "It's impossible to top his strength."

Siren is fast. She can catch us even before we cross into their territory, and she'd get to the king before we'd even be able to start moving.

Eloise shuts them out. There must be something that they're missing. A piece of the puzzle that hasn't been considered.

Naga.

That's it. Gareth and Olban have each focused so much on their individual that Naga has slipped through the cracks. If they were going to create an effective strategy, they needed to account for all the variables.

Guys, Eloise says.

Olban and Gareth keep arguing.

GUYS, Eloise says, nearly screaming. The last few days had taken a toll on her. She was tired, scared, angry, and alone. All she needed was a break, but the universe didn't seem to want to offer her one.

"What, Eloise? Can't you see we're busy?" Olban snapped. "Unlike you, we're actually trying to get something done."

The words stung, but Eloise brushed them off.

You guys need to stop focusing on one person. If we want to have an effective strategy, we need to account for all their strengths and weaknesses. That means Siren, Goliath, and Naga. Goliath is the brawn, Siren is the speed, then it stands to reason that Naga is probably the brains. We can use that. Plan for it, even. And here's the thing. Each of us has a king who's going to be basically out of commission. We have three minds, but one body. They have three bodies, but they also have three minds. When it comes to skill, agility, and strength, we're outmatched. But brains? We can do it. We just need to focus.

"So, what do you propose, oh-wise-princess?" Olban said, rolling his eyes. "Surrender? Run away? Like you did to your real body?"

Eloise couldn't stop a vile hiss from breaking its way out of her thoughts, but she didn't say the words she wanted to.

Dude, that was too far, Gareth said. Eloise swallowed her surprise. Gareth? Sticking up for her? That was new.

"Fine," Olban muttered. "Teamwork, don't fail me now. What's your plan?"

Maybe the best way to have teamwork is to be separate, Eloise said, feeling more confident now that she had their attention.

"What do you mean?" Olban asked. He was annoyed, but at least he was trying to hide it. That was progress.

I mean, instead of all of us focusing on one person, each f us focuses on a different person. At the same time.

Is that even possible? Gareth asked.

"It... actually might be," Olban said. "Why hadn't we thought of this before? Eloise, you're a genius. You've been holding out on us!"

Eloise tried not to let it affect her, but she's proud.

Maybe this can work, she thought to herself. Maybe we can do this. Together.

"Alright," Olban said, now talking loud enough for the other team to hear. "Let the games begin!"

At once, Olban sprang into action, headed straight for Goliath.

Siren, on your right, Gareth said. A quick adjustment meant Olban just barely avoided getting hit. Siren, maybe for the first time in her life, stumbled and lost her rhythm, cursing as she trips.

By the time she got back up, Olban had already made it too far to catch up.

Olban's faster than he gives himself credit for, Eloise muses. How have I not noticed that?

He weaved under Goliath's strikes with ease, and then Eloise saw it.

SWORD, UP. NOW! she yelled, and by some miracle, Olban managed to get his blade up just in time to block a well-timed strike from Naga.

"Damn, she's good," he muttered as she slashed and hacked at them with vicious intensity. "She knew Goliath's weakness and she was ready to defeat us. Good eye, Eloise."

This time, Eloise didn't bother feeling any pride. She was too busy fighting for her life. Or at least fighting to avoid injury.

Naga was relentless. Strike after strike, hit after hit. She wasn't as fast as Siren, or as strong as Goliath, but she had the endurance of both of them combined, and then some.

We need to get out of this somehow, and fast, Eloise said.

You be on the lookout for the other two, Gareth said. Olban, you focus on attacking.

"As if I could focus on anything else," Olban said through gritted teeth.

Siren's coming up behind us, Eloise said, worry creeping its way into her voice.

"Perfect," Olban said.

She's getting kind of close, Gareth said, now sounding worried as well..

"Wait for it..." Olban said, blocking a strike that nearly topples them to the ground. He didn't sound worried at all. If he was worried, he masked it well.

I don't see Goliath anywhere, Eloise says. I bet they're planning something.

"Wait for it..."

The blade missed them by a mere fraction of an inch. If Olban's hair was any longer, he would've gotten an unexpected makeover.

Siren, unable to stop after her lunge, toppled right into Naga, and both of them tumbled to the floor in a messy heap.

Now, we just need to find the king, Gareth said.

DUCK! Eloise screamed.

This time, Olban doesn't move in time. Goliath's blade, by a stroke of luck, was dulled, but if it had been any sharper, and if Eloise had been any slower, Olban would've gotten his arm cut off.

As it is, Goliath's swing left a gash in Olban's arm before he managed to roll away. Even if his body was the host, all of them felt the pain as if it were their own, and Eloise felt tears come to her eyes. She'd never felt anything like this before. Rolling away from Goliath had probably bruised up their entire one side, and blood was running down the other side from the sword wound.

Isn't this supposed to be a game? Gareth cried out. It's starting to feel more like a death match!

But Olban ignores him and keeps running, soon leaving Goliath out of sight.

Just as they're reaching the end of the arena, movement rustled.

It's Maiko, their king.

As they chase him, Eloise realizes the flaw in their plan. They'd never considered what Maiko's abilities might be.

Gareth had thought Siren was fast, but she was a turtle compared to Maiko. He ran like a man possessed, yelling something about "Glory for the kingdom" as he went.

Yeah, he's way too into this, Eloise said.

"And that... makes... him... dangerous," Olban said through heavy breaths. He was getting tired, exhausted, even, and still he came nowhere near to Maiko's speed.

We need a new strategy, Gareth said. Somehow, we need to slow him down, or we'll never win. He'll lead us right into a trap.

Gareth is right, Eloise said. We can't win like this. She felt as though her lungs are about to burst, even though she's not the one running.

But to their surprise, Maiko didn't veer off course. He ran, right into their side of the arena. He'd stopped yelling.

"We won," Olban says. "We... we actually won. Hey, Maiko, you can stop running now!"

Maiko doesn't stop, and soon they all realize why.

He's not playing the game anymore. He's running for safety.

Because something big is behind them, it's footsteps crashing through the underbrush. In their frantic running, they hadn't heard it before, but Maiko had.

Behind them was a monster, bigger than anything Wellick could have even imagined transforming into. Were they the same creature? It was impossible to tell. But this one was obviously more powerful.

Ah, shit, Gareth said. Just when we'd gotten a break.

The monster behind them rears it's eyeless, toothy face into the sky and screams with deafening force.

"I think," Olban said, "that this is the part where we run."

But the monster doesn't seem interested in chasing them down anymore. As soon as Olban starts moving, a slimy hand closes around his throat, lifting them above the ground.

The monster twists to look at them and it's wide mouth twists into a grin.

"I could kill you right now," it said, in a voice like barbed wire mixed with gravel. "But someone wants to see you."

They struggle to fight against the darkness at the edges of their vision. They can't breathe, none of them can breathe. It's a helpless feeling.

Finally, Olban can stay conscious no longer. His entire body aches, both from the game and from the monster.

Teeth are the last thing they see before they can stay awake no longer. Teeth, and a lolling, pimpled tongue, twisting as the monster laughs.

Then everything is gone.