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Leo slides down a slope, and I follow a step behind. The clown gains ground as a flash of metal cuts through the air beside my head. I duck instinctively, letting the chain catch a branch instead. Wood explodes into splinters, but the chain gets stuck, giving us the opportunity to put distance between us.

“She’s faster than she looks,” he says, hardly breathless.

“Helpful observation,” I add, lungs burning at this point. Despite the situation, the corner of his mouth twitches.

We duck behind a thick tree, both of us pressing our backs against the bark while listening for any indication that the clown hunter might still be on us.

For the moment, everything goes quiet, and I use the opportunity to the best of my advantage. “Did you join Kill Feed to see if you’re capable of murder?”

Leo exhales sharply, snapping his head towards me.

I continue, “Or have you killed before, enjoyed it, and wanted to do it again?”

Despite everything that’s happened, Leo is still somewhat of a mystery to me. He chose to be here; that much I know, so the question that remains is why? The better I understand him, the more useful he’ll be.

“Are we really fucking doing this right now?” he asks with a snarl. “We have a fucking clown with a chain after us.”

I shrug, “If you die here, I’ll never know the answer.”

Leo stares at me before shaking his head. “You’re unbelievable. Do you really—”

“Found you, my little rabbits!” A shrill voice cuts in, and we both look up, staring into the eyes of a dolled-up clown with a deranged smile and flared pupils.

We take off immediately, sprint downhill as we get chased again. This is starting to get old, and I’m over it.

“You seriously need help,” Leo spits, his foot almost losing traction in the process. “You seriously asking me if I’m a murderer while we’re being hunted by a fucking murderer?”

“It seemed relevant.”

We outrun her, noises dying down as we burst through a line of trees into a small clearing. The flag station sits in the center, littered with the bodies of two contestants.

One drapes off the side of the platform, throat torn open so badly I can see white cartilage beneath the blood. Dirt and leaves cling to the wound. One eye is swollen shut while the other stares blankly toward the sky.

“You don’t seem bothered by the bodies,” I state, watching as Leo steps over a lifeless arm with his nose scrunched up, yet with no hesitation whatsoever as he grabs a flag for both of us.

His eyes narrow. “We’re in a death game; how am I supposed to act—” he starts, but gunshots in the distance cut him off. Both of us peer in the same direction.

Leo grabs another set of flags, tossing one to me before continuing, “We should take extra for Lucas and Amani, hoping that they survived the hunter that is, and we can find them again.”

“Isn’t this a nice surprise.” The voice floods the clearing in a defining tone that sends a chill running up my spine. It floods my nerves with fire, along with all the thoughts and concerns I’ve been carrying since Kill Feed started.

My body rips itself around before I can register the movement, and all I can see is the ram skull mask.

All I see is Dante.

My body goes stone cold, fighting against the urge to run straight to him, to rip his mask off and find confirmation in those chestnut eyes that this is nothing but a mistake right before kissing him.

These are all very impractical urges.

My fingers tighten around the flags. The standoff stretches before Dante tilts his head. The same way he does whenever he’s studying me.

“This is an unlikely pairing,” he finally states in a low growl, a devilish smile spreading from ear to ear that makes my stomach knot.

“Well…” Another voice says, stepping into the clearing as the moonlight catches across a wolf skull mask and blacked-out tactical gear. “One for each of us, how fitting.”

Nobody answers, and I desperately try to pry my head away to look at Leo, but I can’t.

Dante’s gaze never leaves mine. Not even for a second. One moment he’s standing still. The next he’s charging straight at me.