Page 32 of Last Resort

Poppy settled her mask, stuck her tongue out, and then lined up with the other two at the edge of the dive platform.

Estrya chuckled. “Go.”

Poppy hit the water and heard splashes behind her. She turned back and grabbed the dive belt she had tried on, and it countered some of her buoyancy. It made swimming harder but diving easier. She caught up with Breen and Myro. They were looking for her, so this wasn’t going to go the way the organizers thought.

She saw the first of the objects, took a breath, and dove. She grabbed the first item, saw a second, and went for it. She grabbed the green disk, moved up to the surface, took a breath, and looked for the third. She spotted it, and it was in line with Myro but not in his field of vision. She breathed, dove, and kicked calmly toward the disk hidden by the anemone. She grabbed for it, but Myro got there first. He smiled, and she looked left and right. Breen was on his way back to the boat, and she looked around and did a slow pass, seeing a yellow disk in the dimness. She moved calmly and got the disk. Her lungs were burning, and she slowly exhaled as she climbed toward the light. When her head broke the surface, she was a distance from the boat, but she could see it and slowly approached the vessel.

She put the icons on the boat, removed her mask and snorkel, then put her weight belt on the platform. The flippers were the last things to be removed, and then she pushed up and sat on the deck. Poppy grimaced. Estrya came by and asked, “So, Poppy, you came in last. How does that feel?”

She sighed and looked toward the camera. “I’m screwed.”

By the end of the day, Poppy was just lying on the deck, groaning. Breen and Myro were concerned, but they had won the day. Poppy could do the same activity, just not as fast or with as much weight in one move. Stupid alphas.

* * * *

Estrya looked at poorPoppy. “Don’t worry, Poppy, you will do better tomorrow.”

“I am going to be dead tomorrow. This hurts.”

“You wanted it over with.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that I would be over.”

“I will take you to the waterfall. You can recover there. The guys look like they are kicked puppies.”

“I would like to kick them, but I don’t think my legs will move.”

“Aw, come on. I will get you seated, and they can rub the leg cramps.”

“At this point, I would present to an octopus with massage therapy credentials.” Poppy groaned as Estrya lifted her up and helped her walk to the bench as the boat turned back toward the village docks.

Breen frowned and knelt next to her. “Did you injure yourself?”

“Nope. Just tired. Muscles are sore. Apparently, I can rip open space and time, but I can’t move faster than a wet alpha.” She glared at Myro. “Or two. I was always more power, less speed.”

She straightened the black tankini with the Sityr logo. “Oh, no. I have dishonoured my employer. Maybe I will be suspended without pay so I can do something interesting for once.”

Estrya chuckled. “Just wait until the final round. It will surprise you.”

“Really?”

“Really. These are computer game companies, after all.” Estrya winked.

Poppy smiled slowly. “Nice.”

Ambermarle waved from the other boat, and a woman with strange chest tattoos stood next to her. Mickey looked familiar, but Poppy didn’t know from where.

An hour later, they were soaking in the pool near the waterfall, and it struck Poppy. “Dell!”

Mickey looked at her curiously, her rich brown hair and dark brown eyes looking sweet and wholesome. “Dell?”

“Your mark is like Dell’s. She’s a wildling. She’s mates with a dire wolf and super nice to hug. She also has lactation skills.”

Mickey chuckled. “I am a sort of a wilding. Notice that the colour is different.”

“It’s black.”

“Yes. It contrasts my skin.” Mickey looked at her and raised a brow.

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