"Blaine, come on. I've gathered the others and we're leaving," I pleaded.

Blaine knelt in a patch of grass, breaking apart a long stick with his hands, shaping it. He had erected a crude shelter - two walls of crooked sticks poking out of the ground, forming a V between three trees. Now he was working on a roof.

We had been on the island for hours, and he had accomplished so little. Did he not understand the base builder?

Blaine didn't turn to face me. Pretending I didn't exist.

I opened my mouth for the third time, and shouted, "Blaine!"

"Time is limited," Kioshi expressed, stepping out from behind a tree. I blinked hard. How had he gotten so close without my noticing? The tree had been in my field of view during this entire interaction.

Kioshi leveled a handgun at Blaine.

Blaine finally looked my way, if only to identify the new voice. Seeing the gun made him flinch. Not a whole-body flinch, just his head. His face went slack.

"No!" I scolded Kioshi in a hushed voice, "No guns."

I walked forward to stand at his side and pushed the gun off target with two fingers.

Blaine seized the distraction, discarding the branch and diving for cover.

From behind his walls, he shouted, "Alec, who the fuck is your friend?"

Kioshi very gently placed the magnum in its holster. His hand reached inside his blazer and retrieved a short scepter, which was the length of his forearm. Lightweight, made from gun-metal grey material. It had the shine of plastic and the sharpness of steel. The end of the scepter contained an octagonal shape.

He directed it at the walls of the shelter. Some of the sticks snapped, a few sank into the earth, but most of them toppled, revealing a huddled Blaine with hands protecting his head. He puked the moment the walls came down. Out of fear? Distress?

I fixed my eyes on Kioshi's scepter. Apparently, it was capable of some kind of telekinesis. Another technological anomaly.

"Blaine Irving, I am here to rescue you. Do not resist," Kioshi warned, leveling the gun once more. He kept the scepter aimed down at the dirt, and I watched a circle of grass grow a few centimeters in height, turn yellow, and then wither. Some of my trust for Kioshi died with it.

Blaine stood - hands raised in surrender - and walked towards us. I confirmed his possession of a game stone by the round lump in his pocket.

So he's still in the game. Good.

As we waited for him to reach us, I pointed to the grey scepter and asked, "How did you get that?"

Is there something you're not telling us about Ted's company? Or about your loyalties?

Kioshi pocketed the item, and said, "Stole it. Made some modifications. You are suspicious?"

"Yes."

There was no use in lying to the guy.

"Doubt is healthy. Betraying me is not," he said, cryptically, "If it helps, I am equally wary of you. Let us put this aside, for now."

No, fuck that. No more question marks.

Blaine reached us and opened his mouth, probably to ask a question of his own, "Can-,"

I talked over him, "Hold on, Blaine. Kioshi, tell me who you stole that from, or I can't trust you."

Meanwhile, the others had finally caught up to us. Ted stood on a hovering wooden raft, giving Addy directions on which direction to fly to avoid hitting trees. Addy lay on the raft, taking it easy in the wake of his potential concussion. His game stone rested in his hand, tethered to the raft by a pulpy cord.

Sure, Ted was in a better state to pilot the craft. But if Addy relinquished his game stone to Ted, he might be disqualified from the game. In order for our plan to work, that couldn't happen.

"I stole it from Good And You," Kioshi explained, "Seconds before you and your friends ambushed us. Does that answer your question?"

Yes. It actually did.

"I was going to ask," Blaine cut in, "Can you lower the gun?"

"Hey, so that was rude - interrupting them. No need to be such a Blaine in the ass," Addy quipped, having missed the part where I interrupted Blaine.

"You're one to talk. How is it-,"

Kioshi fired the gun.

Blaine yelped and collapsed backward. I tried to rush forward, but Kioshi swung an arm across my chest, knocking the wind out of me. Addy just watched, shaking his head out of pity.

Kioshi directed a hand to a tree twenty meters behind Blaine. Blue feathers were glued to the trunk by a splatter of blood and guts. It took Blaine a second to register that he hadn't been shot.

Next, Kioshi took a step back and pointed at each of us individually, "No. Disharmony is not permitted. It impairs our speed, our planning, our coordination. We will resolve this now."

There was a pause where none of us spoke. The gunshot still rang in my ears, quieting all of the ambient nature sounds from before.

"You all have pride," Kioshi continued, "You treat pride like a finite resource. You attack the pride of others to gain more. When others attack your pride, you defend it. This is a game for boys. Friends do not play this game. If you come with me, there will be no more games."

True, in more ways than one.

Blaine and Addy were nodding, and I joined them. Still, none of us spoke. Addy might have made a remark if he were in a better state. Or maybe not? It was hard to tell in the presence of Kioshi's deathly aura.

Meanwhile, Ted Lax was doing what he could to ignore us. He sat on the edge of the floating raft, tapping and flicking through windows on his phone.

"Prove to me you can silence your pride. You will each apologize for one grievance. You will start," Kioshi said, pointing to Addy.

Addy took his time rising from where he rested and swung his legs around so that he sat on the edge of the raft next to Ted. He placed a hand against his forehead, looking dizzy and generally out of it. I wondered if it was all an act to buy him time to think.

Wait, what am I supposed to apologize for? I haven't done anything to these guys! I'm the one who's been vying for peace!

"Okayy...?" Addy started awkwardly, meeting Blaine's eyes, "I'm sorry for implying that you manipulate Brad."

Blaine squinted his eyes in response. Not keen on Addy's words.

Kioshi slapped his gun against one hand, producing a loud rap, "That is not an apology! Try again!"

Addy recoiled, more for effect than to show concern. Still, he understood that this was important, sighed, and tried again, "Blaine, it's clear to me that you care about Brad. Why else would you defend him when I bad-mouthed him on the space station? I was wrong to imply you were using him."

He might have only said it to appease Kioshi, but it sounded sincere. A faint smile touched Blaine's lips.

"More," Kioshi demanded.

"More how?" Addy asked, with an iota of incredulity.

"You attacked his pride. Why?"

"Why? Fuck if I know. I'm a dickbag! Is that enough?"

Kioshi shook his head slowly and said, "Think."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Addy did so, squinting his eyes and looking down at his knees. When he was done pondering, he sighed again and bore his answer, "Blaine, Alec, I've been through some shit. You know that already. And ever since... you know... ever since my dad passed, I've felt this... lack of control. You know?" He inhaled fiercely through his nose, appearing tough, then said, "You can't know what it feels like, I get that. I learned a lot of good from him and a lot of... bad lessons, but- But I don't think I learned survival until after he was gone. When I make a snide remark or assert my dominance? That's just me getting my footing. I'm not always proud of it, per se. I have some regrets, I do. If Kioshi wants me to cool it - for all of our sakes - then I will. I owe it to you guys."

When he finished, I felt something unusual in my chest. A hollow feeling. During his speech, my eyes had drifted to the earth, and when I glimpsed his face again, a tear sprouted in the corner of my eye. I turned away, letting it fall across my face.

Kioshi grabbed my chin and directed my head back towards Addy. He wanted Addy to see my shame. Embarrass me.

Blaine tried to speak, choked up a bit, and then tried once more, "Hey Addy? You know you got us, right? We've got your back if you ever need it. But um..." He hesitated before proceeding, "But I should apologize, too. I feel like I go out of my way to not respect you guys. Or maybe people in general. I think it's because I don't feel respected myself. I'll work on it, I swear - the respect thing. With Alec especially." He met my eyes, and I could see a hidden message there as he said, "You deserve it the most."

Bullshit.

Hollow words. Words that twisted themselves around in my mind. I didn't believe the words.

I looked between him and Kioshi, hoping the assassin would see it too. The obvious lie.

He didn't seem to, and he offered me a nod. It was my turn.

What? How can I apologize to Blaine when he was insincere? How am I supposed to follow up after Addy bore his soul? What do I even apologize for?

My mind did the terrific thing where it outputted a complete blank. Nothing. No ideas. Not even thoughts anymore. Just an empty skull and the passage of time.

Kioshi made a face, and asked, "Are you this distorted by pride?"

"No. I mean, maybe, I-," I stammered.

Was I?

Kioshi touched a finger to his cheek, demonstrating the fullness of his disapproval. The gesture spooked me because the man wasn't keen on gestures. If his hands weren't doing anything useful, they were at his side.

What the fuck do I say? Is he right? Am I drowning in pride?

"Please," I said, "Give me time to think. I'm slower than the others with stuff like this."

It was true.

Oh. Actually, that was something I could use.

"Actually, no, I've got it," I remarked, triumphant, "People generally give me too much credit. They tell me I'm smart, or that I'm some kind of genius. I'm not! Really! My brain just specializes in a few areas, like math and science, and I'm hopeless with the rest!"

"Clearly," Kioshi nodded, finger still pointedly on cheek, "I am familiar with the sentiment, but you delivered it poorly. It also hardly counts as an apology. Try again."

Again. Something else? Fuck.

I did some more thinking, and my mind snagged on an event. A few minutes ago when I had talked over Blaine.

No, too small. Kioshi would kill me on the spot if I said something worthless like that.

Bigger. Something I felt bad about. Something I regretted.

Fuck, why was nothing coming to mind? Was it this hard for me to step down from my pedestal? Was there something wrong with my head intrinsically? The others had pulled it off - managed to say something. And here I was unable to say anything.

Not a thing.

Inaction.

Ahh. A-ha, now I see it.

"I'm sorry I'm so useless," I began, more confident now, "Whenever Addy cuts into someone, whenever Blaine mistreats one of us, whenever Brad... needs my help? I do nothing. I never take a side when I should. Or I take the side of the bully," I glanced at Addy, "It's not just that I'm slow socially, or indecisive. I think it's me being selfish, which is a terrible thing to be when I'm the one calling for unity. I'll try to be better," I glanced at Blaine, "Really, I'll try. If any one of us mistreats each other, no matter my biases, I'll step in. I'll be the group's mediator."

Even if Blaine is the one in a bind. It's the principle that matters.

Kioshi nodded solemnly, and said, "That is better. I feel better about this."

I had to agree with the guy. This was better. Apparently, it took the threat of violence to bring my friends together. Cooperation on pain of death.

Not an ideal solution. Certainly not a permanent one, especially given Blaine's shady behavior. But I could work with this. We could move forward from here, repair relationships. Work towards a more permanent solution.

I walked over to the raft and took a seat next to Addy. He patted my shoulder and then rolled onto his back to rest.

Kioshi didn't signal us before striding off in a seemingly random direction. The rest of us fell in line, following him to the beach.

♥

Me, Addy, and Ted Lax on the raft. Kioshi and Blaine on foot. Brad, tied up and unconscious near the helicopter. Everyone accounted for. Most of us cooperating.

When we reached the beach, the dynamic shifted.

There were, in fact, two Brads to account for. Faded-green-shirt-and-khakis Brad stood over the neon-green-shirt-and-black-pants Brad. Even though one of them was bound and unconscious, neither of them looked well.

Clones. Here was evidence of the fact, and it split me down the middle. Half of my brain felt cool and relieved.

Maybe we aren't brainwashed after all?

The other half was on the verge of an existential meltdown.

Maybe Brad had a twin he wasn't aware of? I would prefer that to the existence of clones.

Brad noticed us by the sound of Blaine's footsteps; the rest of us traveled in silence. Of everyone, he met my eyes first and communicated his distress.

"Why is there another me? Is this real?" he begged to know.

"Addy clones? The Conspiracy of Addy's? Was no one listening to me?"

We collectively ignored Addy.

When we reached the helicopter, Brad found the courage to touch his clone. He picked up the set of arms - bound by thin cord - and let them fall limp. Then he did it again.

"I'm sure he appreciates-,"

Addy stopped himself, remembering the promise we'd made to Kioshi. With his course corrected, he said, "Brad, come here. I owe you something."

Brad - having learned nothing from our years of "friendship" - approached the raft. Addy slid onto his feet, dropping to the sand.

Brad came to a stop in front of Addy, wearing a queasy expression behind repaired glasses. Losing confidence fast. Realizing his mistake. Bracing for the imminent strike.

Addy embraced him in a hug.

♣

Not much could be heard over the roar of the osprey's rotors, not even with our soundproofing headphones.

We sat in vinyl chairs that folded out from the walls. Addy and I were seated across from Blaine and Brad. We were united, mostly, but we still had our preferences.

The others moved their mouths, mocking conversation. Addy leaned over my lap and adjusted something on my headset.

"-didn't turn them on," Brad finished, as sound emerged in the headphones.

"There. Can you hear us?" Addy asked, leaning back into his seat.

"Y-Yeah," I said, only just now noticing the microphone that dangled from the headset.

"What are we doing about these base builders?" Addy asked, "We can't keep them. They might have trackers inside."

I retrieved the game stone from my pocket and clutched it in my hand fondly. I didn't like the idea of losing it, but Addy was right.

"We should destroy or get rid of them at the same time," I suggested, finally voicing my plan, "That way there is no winner or loser. We'll send a message that we're done with games."

"I think that's already clear to whoever imprisoned us," Blaine surmised, "We're already miles away from the island."

"Yeah, but helps to be thorough," Addy said, "Kioshi, could you open the hatch for a minute?"

Kioshi, who was listening in from the pilot's seat, said, "Yes. Be careful."

There was a faint click, and the back wall of the osprey began to fold downwards. As more of the open sky became visible, the island came into sight behind us. Nothing more than a grey-green speck.

We stood from our seats. Each of us had our game stones in hand now, and Addy said, "We toss on three. One... two... three!"

I half expected Blaine to retain his stone and declare himself the winner. It was in line with his recent track record. But common sense had overridden the impulse.

Four stones tumbled through the air, disappearing below the open ramp. To be forever lost at the bottom of the ocean.

I breathed in satisfaction, and a part of myself was restored. We were cooperating, we were escaping, the games were over. All four of us had won.

The ramp began to slide back up to a sealed position. As it did so, I saw a blur and a flash out of the corner of my eye.

My head whipped around, staring at the shrinking window of sky in absolute bewilderment.

There was another movement, and this time I saw it. A white translucent shape, blinding to look at, flying straight up and into the sky.

"What the fuck was that?" Addy snapped.

"Problem?" Kioshi asked over the coms.

Addy tried to respond, but a yawn came out. I spoke instead, "There's something moving outside of the aircraft. Couldn't tell what it was, but it's bright."

Kioshi responded in his native tongue. Unpleasant words, most likely.

Addy yawned again, and then promptly passed out. From the change in altitude? The concussion?

Brad yawned and began to slump. There was a fuzziness creeping into my vision. Soft reassurance.

And also alarm.

No!

"Kioshi, we've been drugged! Or we're reverting to our brainwashed state!" I cried out in horror.

Or Kioshi lied to us, and Ted really is in charge of the games.

No! No! FUCK!

Addy was the first to pass out, followed shortly thereafter by Brad. I could see Blaine fighting, slapping his face to stay awake.

I remembered the perils of the space station and tried to slow my breathing.

Breathe. Don't panic.

Kioshi stumbled out of the cockpit. Either Ted knew how to fly or the helicopter had an auto-pilot function.

One of Kioshi's sleeves had been torn off, and two brown patches were stuck to his arm. Meanwhile, the back hatch was sliding open again.

"Us too," Kioshi said, swaying, pupils dilated, "I do not know how. Here!"

Kioshi's footing was imperfect as he walked to my seat. He half-collapsed, slapping a patch onto my exposed arm.

Liquid anxiety flowed up my arm and spread through the rest of my body. Every body part began to jitter restlessly. Flooded with energy. I felt a tingling in my brain.

But the drowsiness didn't subside. Not even for a second.

"It's not working!" I shouted, even though we were wearing microphones.

Kioshi nodded gravely, dropping to a lunge. He pulled himself a half meter towards the open hatch and then fell to his hands and knees.

I looked to Blaine again and he was passed out. My eyelids were struggling to stay open.

Kioshi crawled towards the back door, defiance in his eyes. When he could no longer crawl, he fell on his side and rolled the rest of the way.

The last image I saw was of Kioshi's limp body spilling down the ramp, into the open sky.

And darkness.

♦

Light.

Glowing all around me. Blues and blue-greens and whites. All encompassing. A clinical sort of light. Benign?

Wherever this was, I was naked. Curled up in a ball. Floating, or... being supported by gravity on all sides. Being suspended? Was I dreaming?

My eyes began to adjust, giving the blurry distortions more shape. More clarity. Nothing discernible below me, nothing above me. I looked around, then looked straight ahead.

And came face to face with the 'Cyclops.'