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I jerk at the sound of Gil’s and Sean’s naht ahead, pretending that I’m unaffected to learn that I’ll be on a team with six or seven other carriers who aren’t Sean Aren’t Gil Not even Sabine, I realize as naret, Sabine roup

It soon becoirl for every tea, Miller, Lionetti, Has walk a steady line to join ruesoood He avoids looking at s with my other teammates, and I’ll take that as a positive We wait until the last tea on the table are handed to us according to colored stripes

"You will have however long it takes to capture and return the target" Harris waves an aruard leads aworkout clothes siuy is in his late twenties, his fierce, alert eyes at odds with his bland expression

"Our volunteer here served in the Marines not too long ago He should prove quite the challenge for you"

The volunteer scans us all, and I get the i us in that one glance

Harris claps him on the shoulder aeography We’ll give you a five-minute lead"

The volunteer takes off, practically a blur as he vanishes in the trees, and I knoe shouldn’t underestimate him

Dusty continues, "There is a GPS inside your pack along with a few other essentials Your teaet however you see fit I don’t need to re evaluated Should your teaet, you shall be rewarded You have fivenow"

I turn to face the six other members of my team

"We should split up," a caramel-skinned boy announces I think his name is Ty He’s fast--usually runs at the front of the pack in the o after him individually? That defeats the purpose of a tea with Gil into the computer lab for independent study and I’m pretty sure he’s another tech whiz Whatever the case, he can’t be that bad if Gil voluntarily talks to him

"No, not individually," Ty says "But we should split into pairsincrease our odds of finding hi four boys pair up I shift unco to be noticed They’re too busy rifling through their packs now, assessing supplies

"Flashlight, pocketknife, some rope Oh, look A GPS The school and periood" Felix starts punching buttons on the device "We’ll divide the area into three sections--one for each of us"

Still, no one has claimed me as part of their pair I’m not part of the plan Annoyed, I start to speak up, but the words fade at the sound of several shouts and excited whoops

We all look up as two teams take off into the woods like kids released from recess They tear off like hounds on a trail Only they look scattered and unorganized A few of the kids run at a sprint, their expressions feral, wild They haven’t even thoroughly investigated their packs yet A few are even left on the ground, forgotten

"Idiots," Felix , he announces confidently, "We got this"

"What about her?" Ty asks, nodding at me Finally They remember my existence

The six of them stare at me like they don’t know quite what to do with irl My perforard, either

"Leave her," the jerk hiruaze steadies on rabI can say will prove that I’o"

We set out at a steady pace Before I dive into the trees, I pause and look out across the quad, searching for the blue tea in the opposite direction Sean follows at the rear, his face turned in my direction, and I know he’s kept a bead on s, wishing I could close the distance between us Wishing ere on the sa in a world, a life, I’ve ceased to hold any control over I should know better than to wish for anything anyaze sharp, the se I’ve heard fro, he disappears with the rest of his tea me with mine

Thankfully, Felix and Richard don’t break into a sprint and I’m able to keep up with theo I can only have gotten better, faster, stronger At least I tell myself this, determined to keep up and prove myself If it kills me, I will I’ll show them I’m not someone to be overlooked

Felixin the distance, other carriers acting likearound like a herd of elephants in the deepening night With all that racket, the target will easily evade them I motion for us toWhen Richard starts to speak, Felix punches him in the arm and e regarding the need for stealth The quieter we are, the better our chances

Leaves rustle nearby and we still

Richard brandishes his pocketknife, twirling it in his fingers He’s one of the youngest of us here Maybe thirteen or fourteen, but he holds the knife with such ease, like it’s an extension of his arht and I wonder why the weapons were even put in our packs to begin with A bunch of arreat idea