Page 353 of Hunters and Prey

“Betrayed you? You tried to enslave us.”

“We tried to give your lives direction and meaning, and you spat in our faces. You rose up against your betters, your saviors, and you abandoned the cause. Well, it’s time for you to make amends. It’s time you joined the fight. You are the first, but you will not be the last. It’s time the Skins were placed on the front lines, but for that we want only the best.”

“What’s beyond the wall? What is this arena?” Dunstan asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Only the worthy will emerge, so you better hope to hell you have what it takes to make it. When the door opens, you have thirty seconds to go through before your head explodes.” He smiled mirthlessly. “Good luck.”

He turned away and strode toward the balloon with his men. The doors closed behind them and then the machine rose silently into the air. Helgi glanced at me, her lips tight, and she strode forward, parking her arse close to the doors. Bran looked over his shoulder, out at the vast beyond, at possible freedom.

“You won’t make it,” Big Red said.

Bran clenched his jaw, his lips twisting in frustration.

I joined Helgi at the doors. I liked my head firmly on my shoulders, and where there was life, there was hope. Slowly, as if waking from a nightmare, the others leapt into action, pushing and shoving to get close to the metal entrance.

And then, with a roar, the huge metal doors began to trundle open.

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