Chapter 27

{{ Mackenzie's POV ⚡}}
They were useless. All of them. Especially the little one, she was so obnoxious. But she would show them, they would all die in that god-forsaken valley and she would live for another week or two if she was lucky. She swore under her breath as she tripped on another stupid tree branch but stopped talking when she heard the crunch of leaves somewhere in front of her.
Being as silent as she could be, she crept towards the commotion and stopped dead in her tracks when a gun barrel was shoved into her face.
"Don't move or we'll shoot. Don't do anything stupid and come quietly," the wielder of the gun spoke gruffly, adjusting his grip on the trigger. She was about to do something stupid when another armed soldier came through the trees, pressing the barrel of his gun to another girl's back, her hands hovering on either side of her head.
"Found another one lurking behind a tree, says she wants to talk to the Governor."
Mackenzie's guard scoffed "She can talk to her as soon as she's in a cell with the rest. Cuff her and take her to the truck. "
The guard pulled the girl's hands behind her back and started to walk past them. Mackenzie took the small distraction and kicked her guard between the legs, then took off past the party of three. She heard the guard moan in pain before seething, "Shoot her!"
She flipped her head behind her as she continued to run just in time to see the second guard raise his gun and pull the trigger.
The sound of machine-gun fire reverberated through her ears for a split second just as a hundred pieces of metal tore through her body. She fell face-first into the leaves and coughed in a failed attempt to bring oxygen into her lungs. She gasped one last time before her bloody body stilled for the last time.

{{ Rayne's POV 😋}}
Rayne was pacing back and forth across the back of the control room, trying her best not to pay too much attention to the chaos ensuing throughout the room. Thomas had been racing around the room helping his workers, attempting to control some of the chaos, the coms from the soldiers in the dome adding to the noise.
She was just about to complete another lap of pacing when the white double doors slid open and two guards strode in, one on either side of a very dirty, very haughty-looking girl. Rayne stared at the group for a few seconds before the terrifying realization hit her. She was a contestant. A mutant child. She racked her brain in overdrive, seeking the identity of the thin girl and what her capabilities were.
Her thoughts were interrupted by one of the guards as he shoved the girl forward slightly with the muzzle of his gun, "Ma'am, we're sorry to disrupt you, but this girl claims she has some useful information. She won't tell us, says she'll only talk to you."
Rayne took a deep, shuttering breath and nodded at the guard, who prodded the girl forward again.
"What is your name?" she asked, voice cracking on the last syllable. She had meant to speak the question more as a command but her nerves were frayed.
The girl smirked before answering, "How courteous of you," she paused, almost laughing. "You and your minions kidnap me, starve me in a stone box, then ship me off to an area to kill some kids. Thank you for finally asking me my name, although I'm sure you already know it. My name is Kiwi, your majesty."
"Her name is Kiara Walters and she has the ability to manifest objects."
Rayne spun around to face Thomas, who had appeared next to her with a look of concern and anger, probably at her lack of respect. He placed a hand on her shoulder before addressing Kiara, "If you have something to tell the governor then say it unless you want to return to your old stone box."
"It's funny that you think threats of a cell will scare me now, after knowing the insane stuff you create for us to play with. But fine, have it your way. I know where you guys can find that stupid little group that used to be camped out in the valley."
Thomas was about to say something but Rayne stopped him, her confidence finally restored, "Why would you think we need the location of any of the contestants?"
"You want me to give you the list? It didn't take a genius to figure it out. The dome is gone and it'll only take so long for everyone in the arena to figure it out and run for the streets. Then you'd have a horde of children with superpowers running around Gravara, which is hopefully a self-explanatory issue. The only way to remove the dome is through some sort of EMP so that means all the cameras are fried and you have no way to survey your mob of mutants. One can only assume that you'd do anything to keep your monsters from escaping their cage and wreaking havoc on the city, so you'll need any help you can get to gather the rest of the brats as quickly as possible. And would you look at that, I'm exactly the help you need," she concluded with another cocky smirk.
Thomas and Rayne exchanged looks before Thomas gave a curt nod and spoke, "What do you want from us in exchange for the location of those contestants."
"Finally we get to the good stuff. I want you to let me go. You can't track me, send guards after me, or pull anything of that sort.”
Before Rayne could think of objecting to the child's absurd request Thomas had already agreed.
"Thomas, what are you doing? We can't just let her go! There’s no telling what she could do with her new capabilities," Rayne practically gaped at her colleague.
He turned away from the girl and lowered his voice, "Rayne, we can't not let her go. Clearly, the only way we can round up the rest of the contestants is to oblige her. Besides, I've been watching her and her ability is highly limited, not to mention her lack of skill." He paused for a second before continuing, "No matter what she says, we can always go find her later, but I doubt it would be worth the resources."
Rayne had to admit he was right. The thought of one of his creations running ramped through the streets terrified her but they really had no other choice. So with a nod at the two guards, Kiara was released from her bonds, and drones were directed toward the location of the unsuspecting mutants. Once they had been found, a group of guards in the area was given their orders and Kiara was escorted to the entrance of the mansion by Rayne and the same two guards.
Let Infinity be our savior, she thought as she watched the retreating form of the first freed contestant in the history of the Infinity Games.

{{ Sophie's POV 💫}}
It had all happened so fast, neither Sophie nor Willow had time to even stand up. They were trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Willow had actually killed the pale, skeletal monster when a group of guards from the mansion had surrounded them. Both girls were staring down two gun barrels, frozen with the sudden threat.
"Put your hands where we can see them and slowly stand to your feet," one of the guards aiming at Sophie barked.
Sophie looked at Willow who was starting to stand and slowly followed suit. Without turning to look at her, Willow spoke so quietly it was almost inaudible, "Get ready to run."
Run? She didn't know what her plan was but running definitely shouldn't be a part of it. Four guns against two malnourished girls, one who had just exhausted herself, we're terrible odds. Nevertheless, she slowly slid her right foot forwards into a defensive position, bracing herself for Willow's signal, whatever it might be.
Hundreds of tree roots shot out of the ground and threw all four guards into the air. Sophie took off. She was vaguely aware of Willow close behind her but she didn't turn her head to check, all her concentration going into the movement of her legs and avoiding the forest's obstacles. Both girls ran for several minutes and Sophie was about to slow down when the echo of gunfire rang through her ears. She threw herself onto the ground, arms covering her head as more shots rang out. Then she was being pulled to her feet, dragged through the forest, ears ringing, more gunfire. Subconsciously her feet began to move on their own again and she started to run, Willow a few paces in front of her.
She didn't know where she was going or how long she could go. There was a break in the dense forest and she begged her aching legs to move for just a few more moments. And just like that, she wasn't running past trees, but brick walls and stacks of wooden crates. She turned to share her shock and excitement but Willow was gone. Sophie stopped and turned back toward the direction they had just come and saw her friend sprawled across the cobbled street.
She choked out the girl's name just as more bullets whizzed past her ears. Ducking, she slid down next to Willow, whose body now bore three red-stained holes.
Sophie was barely able to register the three rasping words that escaped Willow's bloody lips, "Run, Sophie, please."
"No, no I'm not leaving," Sophie attempted to drag Willow by the armpits but stopped when a bullet ricocheted off the nearby wall, spraying dust.
She only noticed the change once it was complete. The bright golden aura that had previously surrounded Willow was gone, replaced by a void of blackness.
She stumbled to her feet and without even realizing what she was doing, she was running into the streets of her home.