THE WILD CAT

Chapter 9

Riley’s POV

I looked at Kika on the floor, blood all around her. But her image started to blur, and suddenly, I saw my parents—crying, begging for help. My feet kept moving toward her, but it felt like I was walking through a dream.

Then I saw his face. The masked man. His face replaced Kika’s, and all I saw was him.

I frowned, rage bubbling up. Then I dropped down and started punching. Over and over. My fists didn’t stop, even when people were yelling at me to stop.

Why should I stop? This man killed my parents.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pixel blade on the ground. I reached for it and stood up.

“Someone stop her!”

“She’s going to kill Kika!”

I didn’t care. I was ready to end him.

I stepped away from the body and raised the blade high above my head.

“Stop! Please!” I heard the voice again. It was him—begging for mercy.

How dare he beg now?

I raised the blade higher, eyes wide. “Die!” I shouted.

But just as I was about to bring it down, someone grabbed my arm—tight. The blade slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

I snapped out of it.

I turned and saw Theo holding my arm. His face was calm, but his eyes were cold.

“Enough,” he said.

I blinked, trying to understand what was going on. Then I looked around.

Everyone was staring. Whispering.

They all looked at me like I was crazy.

But they’re the crazy ones. Not me.

“Let go of me!” I shouted, yanking my arm away from Theo.

People gasped.

He looked shocked that I yelled at him, but I didn’t care.

I stepped toward Kika again. She was still alive, coughing up blood.

“Please… enough,” she whispered, her voice weak.

I stopped.

She looked so helpless. I couldn’t believe I did this to her.

I looked down at my hands. Covered in blood.

No. This isn’t me.

How could I hit someone like that?

Before I could think more, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“We have a winner,” Lucas said, smiling.

The room was quiet. Even Thei and Armani didn’t say anything. But I felt Theo’s eyes still on me.

“I said—we have a winner,” Lucas said again, louder this time, looking at the girls.

No one moved.

“Do I have to teach you girls how to respond to that?” he added.

His voice sounded playful, but there was something dangerous in it.

Right away, the girls started clapping and smiling like it was all normal.

I even saw some of them doing quick, fake claps.

Theo walked toward me, still keeping eye contact. His face was hard.

“Luck is divine,” he said. “But it can’t always be there when you need it most.”

Then he turned and walked away. Armani followed.

What the heck was that supposed to mean?

“What?” I said out loud.

“He means congratulations,” Lucas said beside me.

I glanced at him and gave a small smile. Even if Lucas was insane, he was my way out of here.

I had to be nice to him.

“Alright, girls,” he clapped. “Go back to your dorms and get ready. We’re having a party tonight—to welcome our new wild cat.”

The girls cheered like they were at some fun event, not a bloodbath.

Lucas gave me a wink and walked off.

A party?

I didn’t want to be welcomed into this madness. I wanted to leave.

“Come on, girls. Let’s go,” Ava sneered, turning around with a dramatic hair flip.

Lila and Lola followed right behind her, copying everything she did.

I saw Serial limping, her arm hurt. Some girls were helping her walk. Then two masked women came in and took Kika away.

Everything felt wrong.

Everyone was either staring at me or avoiding me. And now I had Theo—one of the triplets—clearly hating me.

I turned around and flinched. I almost bumped into two girls standing behind me.

“Hey! I’m Quinn,” one said with a bright smile.

“I’m Skylar,” the other added.

They were both pretty, with black hair and confident smiles. They wore strapless bras and black pants and looked like they belonged here.

I didn’t say anything. Just stared.

“Wow, you really went hard on Kika,” Quinn said, still smiling.

“Thanks… I guess,” I muttered.

“I have a feeling we’ll be good pals,” Skylar said, stepping closer and putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Right, Quinn?” she said.

“Of course,” Quinn replied quickly.

Friends? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t plan on staying long anyway.

“Girl, if you think you don’t need friends because you’re leaving soon…” Skylar started, and I stared at her, shocked.

“…Just know you’ll be leaving in a body bag,” Quinn finished. Her tone was serious now.

“Don’t even think about escaping,” she added. “The triplets won’t find it funny.”

“Especially Theo,” Skylar said, making a fake shiver. “He’s scary when he’s mad.”

Theo’s face flashed through my mind. He did look like someone who’d go completely crazy when he’s angry.

Gosh. How am I ever going to get out of this place?

“So… no one is allowed to leave?” I asked, trying to sound casual. I needed information. If I was ever going to escape, I had to understand how things worked here.

“Well, only on missions,” Skylar replied, glancing around the room. “That’s the only time we get to see the outside world. But honestly, this place is the world now.”

She waved her hand at everything around us.

“Oh,” I said quietly, my heart sinking.

“Yeah, but you have to be one of the top 50 fighters to go on missions,” Quinn added.

Top 50? But there were at least 500 girls here.

Well… I did defeat Kika. That had to count for something. Maybe I was already in the top 10?

“But now that you beat Kika, you’ll probably take her rank,” Skylar said with a little clap. “They’ll announce it at the welcome party tonight.”

“What rank was Kika?” I asked, curious and a little hopeful.

Skylar and Quinn looked at each other, then smiled.

“Number 100,” they both said at the same time.

My eyes widened.

What the hell?