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“Good work, Trainees,” Mendez said, and he beamed at them all. “Let’s get back to the barracks andchow down.”
The children, covered in mud and leaning on each another, cheered.
“—all except team three,” Mendez said, and looked at Sam, Kelly, and then John.
“But I won,” John protested. “I was first.”
“Yes,you were first,” Mendez explained, “but your team came in last.” He then addressed all thechildren. “Remember this:you don’t win unless your team wins. One person winning at the expense of
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the group means that you lose.”
John ran in a stupor all the way back to the barracks. It wasn’t fair. He had won. How can you win andstill lose?
He watched as the others stuffed themselves with turkey, white meat dripping with gravy. They spooneddown mountains of vanilla ice cream and left the mess hall with chocolate encrusting the corners of theirmouths.
John got a liter of water. He drank it, but it didn’t have any taste. It did nothing to fill his hunger.
He wanted to cry, but he was too tired. He collapsed in his bunk, thinking of ways to get even with Samand Kelly for messing him up—but he couldn’t think. Every muscle and bone ached.
John fell asleep as soon as his head hit the flat pillow.
The next day was the same—calisthenics and running all morning, then class until the afternoon.
Today Déjà taught them about wolves. The classroom became a holographic meadow, and the childrenwatched seven wolves hunt a moose. The pack worked together, striking wherever the giant beast wasn’tfacing. It was fascinating and horrifying to watch the wolves track down, and then devour, an animalmany times their size.
John avoided Sam and Kelly in the classroom. He stole a few extra crackers when no one was lookingbut they didn’t dull his hunger.
After class, they ran back to the playground. Today it was different. There were fewer bridges and morecomplicated rope-and-pulley systems. The pole with the bell was now twenty meters taller than any ofthe others.
“Same teams as yesterday,” Mendez announced.
Sam and Kelly walked up to John. Sam shoved him.
John’s temper flared—he wanted to hit Sam in the face, but he was too tired. He’d need all his strengthto get to the bell.
“You better help us,” Sam hissed, “or I’ll push you off one of those platforms.”
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“And I’ll jump on top of you,” Kelly added.
“Okay,” John whispered. “Just try not to slow me down.”
John examined the course. It was like doing a maze on paper, only this one twisted and turned into andout of the page. Many bridges and rope ladders led to dead ends. He squinted—then found one possibleroute.
He nudged Sam and Kelly then pointed. “Look,” he said, “that basket and rope on the far side. It goesstraight to the top. It’s a long pull, though.” He flexed his biceps, uncertain if he could make it in hisweakened state.
“We can do it,” Sam said.
John glanced at the other teams; they were searching the course as well. “We’ll have to make a quickrun for it,” he said. “Make sure no one else gets there first.”