“Let’s keep moving,” she says.
Titus, who joins our huddle, tilts his chin in her direction. His eyes keep shifting toward the jungle, as if standing still is physically painful.
“Wait,” I tell Harper, though I’m watching Titus. “We need to do something for him. He’s in pain.”
“It’s okay,” Ransom says.
“No, she’s right.” Levi studies his brother’s face. “He’s hurting.”
Ransom tears his hand away from Guy. “I’m going to keep walking. The rest of you can stand here and discuss whether I feel up to it or not.” Ransom turns and walks in the direction we’ve been heading. He doesn’t want to be the weak link, and I don’t blame him.
Levi shakes his head and follows after his brother. Before he gets too far away, I hear him mutter, “Damn this race.”
I couldn’t agree more.
When the sun begins to set, Harper indicates we should stop and set up camp. The twins plunge into the jungle to look for moss and twigs, things to help start a fire. When they return, they hand what they found to Dink. I have no idea what this eight-year-old is going to do with this stuff, but he begins rubbing the bark between his hands with surprising confidence.
Guy walks over to Dink and looks him up and down. Then he reaches his hand out. “It’s okay, M-4 can handle it.”
I really want to see what Dink was about to do, but the boy just hands the bundle to Guy and watches him set it on the ground. Guy waves M-4 over, and the lion breathes fire over the twigs and moss, lightly at first until they’re dry, then harder to make them catch.
Harper grins, watching the lion’s skill. “Very nice,” she says. “He’ll be a good asset to our team.”
Guy doesn’t acknowledge her, and I’m kind of glad. There’s a part of me that doesn’t like her considering us tools in this race. I just want … for these people to be my friends. Watching the fire grow, I silently kick myself. I can’t afford to think this way. I have to remember my brother.
I have to be more like Harper.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As we sit around the fire, Titus tries to make conversation. He jokes about how unpredictable Pandoras can be, but no one humors him besides Caroline. Next to him, his bear shifts and then disappears into the jungle night. I don’t like his Pandora being out of sight or how easily Titus lets him venture off without saying anything.
Grabbing a dead leaf, I try to entertain Madox. He jumps after it a few times as I swish it back and forth, but then he collapses and closes his eyes. I smile to myself and stroke his fur. My fox has had a big day.
“He was pretty impressive.” Titus’s voice makes me flinch. “The way he changed shape.”
I look at him for a long time while I pet Madox. “How do you know he changed shape?”
Titus grins so that I can see every tooth in his mouth. “He was a lion when I got there.”
Glancing around, I notice everyone else is watching him speak. I wonder why he’s still with us. We already found his flag location. I wait for Harper to say something, but she doesn’t.
“Where is your Pandora?” I ask him.
Titus shrugs like he couldn’t care less. “Probably went hunting.” As if on cue, the bear peeks out from the brush. He studies his Contender for a long moment, then saunters over to sit beside him. All along his great shoulders are strange lash marks. I wonder if he got them from the fight or from something else. My curiosity over his injuries is severed when I see what’s between the bear’s jaws. I gasp with surprise.
The rabbit struggles against the bear, and already I can see blood dripping from its back legs. AK-7 opens his mouth and drops the rabbit to the ground. The creature immediately tries to run, but the bear pins it down. Then he drags a single claw lightly along his prey. He does it over and over again as the rabbit squeals. The animal’s entrails begin to bulge from its belly, but still the bear torments it, and still the rabbit screams.
“Stop him. He’s torturing it,” I tell Titus. The other Contenders shake their heads and mumble their own protests.
“Why?” he asks, laughing. “He has to eat.”
Titus watches with fascination as the bear places a giant paw over the rabbit and presses down. I jump to my feet and rush toward AK-7, but it’s too late. The rabbit’s skull cracks with an audible snap.
“Oh God.” I turn away and feel tears burn my cheeks. When I glance back, the bear is ripping the rabbit’s leg off and shoving it into his mouth. Red flashes before my eyes. “What is wrong with him?” I rub my tears away. “What is wrong with you?”
Titus holds his hands up, but I don’t miss the smirk on his bronzed face. “Calm down. This is a Pandora, not a teddy bear.”
I storm toward him, but two strong hands grab ahold of me. “Tella.” Warm breath tickles my neck. “Go sit down.”
Craning my head, I see Guy standing behind me, feel his fingers burning against my skin. “You go sit down.” I glare at the other Contenders, and finally, Levi speaks up.
“Seriously, man,” he says. “Why don’t you ask it to eat that somewhere else?”
Titus tucks his blond hair behind his ears. “I don’t understand what the big deal is.”
Guy lets go of me and steps toward him. “If you want to travel with us, the bear eats somewhere else.”
“Exactly,” Harper says, nodding.
Titus holds his hands up, surrendering. “Fine. AK-7, eat that away from here.”
The bear looks at him for a moment, then gets up and leaves, rabbit carcass dangling from his jaws.
Guy faces Titus for another moment before turning to me. His eyes search my face, digging for something. “You can sit down.”
“What’s in your hand?” Caroline asks. I glance at her and notice she’s directing the question at Guy. That’s when I notice the two snakes he’s holding.
I stumble backward and land hard on the ground. He watches me bust it, then picks up a long twig from the fire and drives it through the snakes.
“Dinner,” he says finally. “They aren’t venomous.”
“I usually make RX-13 hunt,” Harper says, and I’m surprised to find even she appears uncomfortable. “But I guess I could give her the night off.” Harper waves a hand at the eagle. “Go hunt for yourself.”
Levi and Ransom do the same for their Pandoras, though Ransom’s is slow to leave. The raccoon seems upset by something, but I can’t tell what that might be. Before long, the three animals vanish into the jungle. I should send Madox after them. He should learn to get along with the other Pandoras. But I can’t help wanting him close.
My stomach turns as Guy cooks the cleaned snakes, then hands each Contender a piece. When he offers Titus a helping, Titus says, “Is that all I’m supposed to eat?”
In response, Guy tosses the piece of charred snake into the dirt at his feet. “Overeating will make you sleep too heavy.”
“We take shifts,” Harper breaks in. “We can sleep heavy if we need to.”
Guy looks at her and then tilts his chin toward the snake, saying she can have more if she wants it. I decide to follow Guy’s lead and eat only what he gives me.
There’s an uncomfortable silence as we chew the tough and bony meat. I gag four times but somehow manage to get the meal down. For some reason, the only thing I can think while I’m swallowing a hunk of snake is that I am the type of person to have three glittery feather boas draped over my dresser mirror at home, purple, pink, and red. And now I am eating snake.
Everyone watches Titus as he shoves the charred meat into his mouth and chews. I don’t like the way his eyes flick over my body as he eats, or the way he eyes Harper as she tends to the fire.