knew this was a grave mistake, but he didn’t have a choice.
Sasha was in trouble. When his feet hit the Coliseum floor, he
heard a storm of whispers saying, “Look, look!” A muffled yelp
cut through the air from the bed. It sounded like Sasha. He
broke into a full sprint, and the stadium came alive.
Shouts and howls. Fire pits being knocked over and burn-
ing logs pouring down the stands. A girl sang high and fast.
He heard dogs bark. He swore he heard his grandmother’s
distinctive snore, a noise he knew by heart because her room
had been next to his when he was a kid and the walls in his
family’s house had been thin. He staggered in his run.
He knew that every member of Thunder was watching him
now. The shotgun in his hands was his chance. He had only
one shot, and they would probably eat him alive right after-
wards. The thought washed over him that he wasn’t getting
out of this.
His feet hit mattress, and the soft ground changed his
stride, slowing him down. Twenty feet ahead of him was the
crowd of Thunder who’d surrounded Sasha. They were watch-
ing himapproach. He lifted the shotgun and pressed his cheek
against it. Wherever he turned his head, the gun turned with
him. The mattress felt gooey underneath him, like he was
sinking deeper into melted marshmallow with every step.
For some reason, maybe because of the gun, the crowd
parted in front of him, making a passageway lined with bod-
ies. Zeus appeared deep within the cavity of the crowd and
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