Chapter 26

{{ Thomas' POV 😕}}
Thomas' head was spinning. Chaos. All around him was chaos like he's never experienced before. All of the workers and staff in the control room were scrambling back and forth across the room, shouting things, tapping and swiping frantically on their tables. Someone had activated the kill switch. He didn't have time to puzzle out who, how, or why before he was bombarded with panicked workers raining him with questions.
First, the problem of the dome. There was nothing containing the newly superpowered contestants and there was no telling what havoc could be wrecked if they escaped. But how would he reinstate the dome before they realized that they were free? The kill switch completely cut off all power within a mile of the arena so all cameras and control mechanisms were rendered useless.
Right as he was about to start calming his workers Rayne burst through the doors, "Thomas, it was Renesmee," she paused to catch her breath, apparently, she had run to the control room. "She was the one who activated the kill switch. I don't know what could have possibly possessed her but we must do something before word gets out to the city."
"Renesmee?! Are you sure?" He too paused, processing what he had been told. "That's why she asked so many questions when you both were last here. But she will have to be dealt with later. I need you to alert the guards and dispatch all but a handful. The contestants will have to be contained manually until I can restart the dome. All cameras are down so they will have to find them by flushing them out of the woods into the valley."
Rayne's face was one of terror, "But what about those awful creatures? Thomas, they will tear my soldiers apart, I can't send them in blind with rampant monsters and mutant children."
Thomas placed his hand on Rayne's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, "The children will be the only thing they will have to encounter. The banshees were all terminated when the EMP activated the chip I implanted in their spinal cords. The guard's gear should protect them from the children's powers and their guns will give them cover. No matter how powerful they may seem, you have to remember that these kids just gained their abilities and don't have control over them yet. If you take care of the children, you can leave everything else to me." He paused a moment before adding, "Rayne, tell the soldiers to terminate the contestants if they don't come willingly."
Thomas gave Rayne one last reassuring smile before turning back to the massive mess playing out in front of him. This chaos showed just how right his predecessors had been. The games must go on, no matter the cost.

{{ Ash's POV 💀}}
Ash walked beside Carrie watching Andrew's and K.C.'s flirting. After packing their things and making sure Carrie was able to walk properly, the group had headed off into the forest with no particular destination in mind.
"How long has that been going on," Carrie leaned over and whispered to Ash, her expression affable. "They've been going at it since I woke up and if K.C. gets any closer to him she'll be on top of him."
Ash looked back at the couple before answering, "A little while after we killed the thing, I guess. I wasn't really paying attention, but now I can't help but watch," he finished, a small smile forming on his lips.
He had noticed that Carrie was walking with a very visible limp and looked to be struggling. He was pretty sure Andrew had noticed earlier too but Carrie made it clear she didn’t want any help walking. They made up for it by refusing to let her carry any of the supplies.
She seemed to notice him looking and raised one eyebrow before saying, "I promise you I'm fine, it looks worse than it really is. I have a high pain tolerance. Besides, I'm not carrying any of our things so I can't complain," she continued to side-eye him and paused before starting again. "Thank you. For taking care of me after I passed out I mean. It's obvious that you don't really like people or social interaction, so I appreciate you caring," she gave him a small smile but didn't seem to expect him to respond.
It was true. He really didn't like social interaction or anything that it entailed. It was nice to have someone that understood what he was feeling and didn't pressure him to talk.
He was about to tell Carrie that it really was no problem but a blur of movement caught his attention. To the right of their group, a girl was peeking out from behind a tree. He felt like he had seen her before doing the same thing when they were still in the valley but he couldn't be sure at this distance. Just as he opened his mouth to alert Andrew, the face disappeared and left Ash with an ominous feeling of premonition.

{{ Kiwi's POV 🍈}}
Once Kiwi had regained enough strength, she had begun her search for the small she-demon, known as Sonya. It had been a few days since their fight but she still hadn't found any sign of her. Kiwi had checked the handful of well-known spots scattered across the dome but she had yet to spot the brat.
So far, she had managed to avoid the attention of everyone she had seen, but that boy had acted very surprised when he looked in her direction. She had slipped away and as far as she could tell, she wasn't being followed. Yet. If he did follow her, she was sure she could take him. He was scrawny with pallid skin, like a corps walking through the trees.
Man, that kid seriously needed a sandwich; or twelve.
She had just circled back to the nook that had been their camp, taking a different approach in her search for the goblin. She started off in the direction which she thought Sonya might have taken. All she could do at this point was hope that the little brat had broken both legs somewhere in this direction and she would eventually stumble upon her laying on the forest floor.
She continued to walk for what felt like hours and was about to conclude that Sonya was just going to get a few more days added to her miserable life when she saw it. She began to run, trying not to trip over the tree branches and shrubs spread across the forest floor.
There was Sonya, eyes open, limbs splayed, her entire body painted the same color as those awful glass shards. Kiwi felt bile rise up into her throat and spun around struggling to keep her stomach inside her body.
Well, at least she wouldn't have to do the dirty work herself.
But what had done the dirty work? It didn't look like something that a human could have been capable of, but she had to remember that people were now capable of a lot more than usual. After one last vomit-preventing breath, she slowly turned back to face the murder scene. A sparkle a few feet away from Sonya's body caught Kiwi's attention and she skirted around the pool of blood to the large crystal that was nestled in the leaves right next to another body. A girl was lying on her side, covered in just as much blood as Sonya was, and looked to be around the same young age.
Ok, so she had to think rationally about what to do now. She was standing between two blood-soaked children. Her first goal had been killing Sonya and now she had to find a new one, that was all.
How about finding a place to sleep, genius? She smacked herself in the forehead, stepped around the second body, and began walking again. She couldn't go back to their old camp, it was kind of useless now that the group in the valley had moved. Maybe she could spy on them tomorrow?
Just as she had come to the decision to act on her plan the following day, a flash of chestnut hair and bronze skin caught her eye. Walking through the trees, only a couple hundred feet away, was a girl tripping over sticks and audibly grumbling to herself. It must have been her lucky day. She loved it when she didn't have to look for her fun.