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grin. "Better?"
    Sneering, Tom shook his head and looked down at their prize. "Why are the bottles here?"
    "Not this again."
    Tom looked back at Jake. "Come on, don't tell me you think this is a coincidence." Glancing at the tower, he continued, "They're watching us. They've put this here for a reason."
    A tingling sensation gripped Jake's back as if he could feel the surveillance they were under. Why did Tom always have to remind him that they were being watched? "Maybe they want us to have a drink."
    "No, it's more than that. They don't give anything without taking something away." His eyes narrowed. "This is all a part of their sick game."
    "Or maybe they just want to give us a drink?" Despite trying to assert his opinion, Jake could hear the ring of uncertainty in his own voice.
    "You know there's more to it than that, Jake. You know as much as I do that they like to fuck with us."
    Jake took another swig. "Well, whatever the reason, we should enjoy it while it lasts." Just before Tom could reply, Jake added, "Besides, if they want everyone dead so they can rebuild, why did they take all of the gamers out of the buildings before they leveled the city?"
    Tom lifted his shoulders in a high shrug. "Dunno. Maybe the headsets are too valuable to destroy."
    "Then why don't they just rip them off? We already know what that does." Jake snapped his hand over his mouth.
    Glaring at Jake, Tom paused for a few seconds before clearing his throat. Desperation turned his voice reedy. "There has to be a way to remove the headsets without killing the gamers."
    "Of course," Jake agreed. "Totally. I'm sure there's a way." The lie heated his face, and he hoped Tom didn't notice. After all, they had to try and get a headset off Rory. "But my point still stands. If they want the gamers to die, why do they keep them alive? It doesn't make sense."
    "Conscience maybe?" Tom shrugged again. "Maybe they think letting the gamers die without their direct interference means they didn't do it. That would allow them to rebuild without guilt. It's amazing what lies people tell themselves to get through the day."
    Watching his wide-eyed friend scan their surroundings sent jitters through Jake. "Your paranoia's getting to me."
    "It'll do you good. You need to be more alert."
    Raising an eyebrow, Jake laughed. "I think you're alert enough for the both of us." He then lifted the bottle to his lips again, more careful not to spill any this time and awaited Tom's retort. That was when he heard it; a deep creaking like an old ship that was about to tear in half. It was so loud it shook the ground beneath them. When he looked at Tom, his pulse flipped into overdrive. His tall friend was staring back in the direction they'd just come from.
    When Tom looked back at him, his grey eyes wild, his body shaking, Jake said, "What the fuck was that?"

    ***

    As she watched, she ran her tongue across her teeth to liberate some of the fleshy fibers stuck between them. They'd finished their feast. The food had run out quickly. The pair best start running.

Chapter Five

    Looking down at the four unopened bottles of water on the floor, Jake looked back up at the departing Tom. "What are you doing, man? We can't leave this here."
    Without breaking stride or turning around, Tom shouted, "We've got to go. Come on!"
    "Tom!"
    A scuttling sound like rushing water was gaining on them. This was more than a landslide, it sounded like an approaching army. Jake looked down at the bottles again.
    Swallowing another mouthful of water, the stale phlegm on the back of his throat all but disappearing, Jake looked in the direction they'd come from. When he saw the cloud of dust in the distance, this time kicking up from the ground rather than riding the wind, goose bumps spread over his body. Running a hand through his hair, he tapped at his half-drunk bottle. Looking across at Tom, he saw he wasn't slowing down.
    Bouncing on the spot, Jake looked at the loose cellophane around the four