Page 157 of Kill Feed

A grip tightens at the back of my sweater, yanking me a fraction up the steps before pushing me down just in time as another sound slaps through the air.

“Snap the fuck out of it!” Leo yells as his face floods my vision, and only then does the rest of the world flicker back into clarity.

“Being his little bitch isn’t doing you many favors, Leo!” Mason yells, inching closer and closer to the steps, barely able to fucking walk.

My eyes flick down to the rifle he has in his grip.

Motherfucker.

Leo yanks me back up again and shoves me toward the staircase, one hand planted firmly between my shoulder blades.

“Move, Adrian,” he articulates, “we need to get to the safe zone, now.”

My legs obey as we fly up the flight of stairs after dodging the last of the bullets before falling over the green line.

Air rushes into my lungs as I jerk my head up, suddenly aware of the eyes watching us from across the room. In the far corner, Lucas sits curled against the wall, knees drawn to his chest and his head buried in his hands as he mutters incoherently.

Behind me, Mason’s voice erupts through the atrium. “You fucking cowards!” I can hear him drag his body up the stairs.

I glance at the watch on my wrist, checking how much time remains before the door seals shut, and fuck, the asshole still has ten minutes left.

“I’ll kill every last one of you!” he continues to crash out, “Fuck the games, and fuck the rules… you’re dead, Adrian. Do you hear me? You’re dead!”

His voice cracks into another stream of profanities as contestants already inside the safe zone begin nervously moving to the second half of this game’s door. All fucking seven of them that’s left. One being that coward, Jeremy.

Without a word, I push to my feet and turn to gauge how close Mason is. He hasn’t fired in a while, which can only mean he’s run out of ammunition, and I can only assume where he got the rifle from.

He makes it to the top with a frown deeper than the canyons and a crooked smile, inching closer, but as he fully steps off the stairs and onto the platform, the massive steel sliding door slams shut with eight minutes still left on the clock.

Chapter 42

Dante

By every rule Kill Feed has ever stood for, I should already be dead.

Instead, I’m standing here, ram skull mask on, waiting for the second half of the fourth game to commence.

I know better than to chase Selene Whitlock’s intentions. Trying to understand her is like trying to predict where smoke will drift; by the time you’ve convinced yourself you’ve figured it out, it’s already somewhere else.

All the hunters stand prepped and ready as the mechanical voice comes alive throughout the whole building, explaining the rules of Deadlock.

“ATTENTION PLAYERS. THE FIRST PHASE OF GAME FOUR HAS CONCLUDED.”

I peer up at the speakers, each hunter now moving closer to the door.

“Welcome to DEADLOCK. Your objective remains unchanged. Reach the designated save zone before the time limit expires.”

“Oh, they’re so fucked in this game,” Yasmin chimes from the side with glee.

“Throughout the game, individual rooms will enter lockdown at random intervals. Contestants trapped alone will remain confined until the lockdown ends. Those who are trapped with others will remain locked in until one person dies.”

A beat stretches before the mechanical voice sounds again. “Hunters are no longer restricted.”

The doors hiss open, and excited bodies surge through. Marcos and I hang back, strolling out like we’re on vacation before stepping into the hallway that connects to the route the players must run through to reach the final safe zone.

“You’ve got half the hunters watching you,” he says eventually. “No notification was given that Kieran was murdered by a player, and no one has addressed the issue yet. And with Selene now in the middle of it all—”

“Yeah, yeah,” I cut him off, “I get it, Estrada, thanks.”