Thirteen stalked towards Eighteen, words dying and resurrecting in his throat. Eventually, what came out was, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Eighteen swung her legs off the bench and blew a breath. The dark brown curls pulled away from her forehead swayed from their messy bun when she turned to him. "What else am I supposed to be doing?"

He opened his mouth to answer. Just then, another figure entered the car, bearing another cup complete with the saucer. "Hey, I just tried this blend, and I can already tell this is good! I—"

Sixteen stopped dead in her tracks as her gaze flicked away from the swirling concoction inside her cup to Thirteen. Her eyes widened. The cup in her hands quivered. Thirteen swore he saw droplets flung themselves off the edge as Sixteen brandished a knife from her belt. "How did you get here?"

"Sit down, Sixteen," Eighteen ordered as if she had the upper hand. Which was strange. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Sixteen could flatten Eighteen if she wished. Eighteen had no combative power, and Sixteen was only a notch lower than Five when it came to combat skill. How has Eighteen survived this long?

Thirteen watched Sixteen sink to the spot beside Eighteen like a tamed cub. "To answer your question," Eighteen said, stealing Thirteen's attention back to her. The spread of rails and the blue tint of the sky provided her backdrop through the enormous clear window. "We're hiding out here because we want to."

He narrowed his eyes. Two, Seven, and Slate flitted off to the other parts of the car, examining every corner. Weren't there traps? There had to be. "What are you after?" he dared ask.

Eighteen rolled her shoulders, picking her cup again. She took a quick sip. The smoke from the surface fogged up her lenses for a bit. "I don't have a combative ability, and while Sixteen has, we agreed we don't really want to take part in all the drama," she said. "We're just waiting for you all to kill each other. When we're the only ones left, we'll just decide which of us will win."

"Isn't that obvious?" Thirteen waved a hand in the air. "Sixteen will flatten you before you can even blink."

Eighteen hummed. "Exactly," she said. "I'm just living my best life before my inevitable end. Sixteen is kind enough to indulge me on that. But it looks like the plan didn't work."

"It didn't," Thirteen replied. "Because we're here."

"As you noticed," Eighteen said. Sixteen hasn't said anything since earlier, which wasn't strange nor alarming. Just...something to bear in mind. "Since you went through the trouble of sneaking in, I assume you're not here to kill us off?"

Two stepped into the conversation as if he owned it. "We're not killing anyone," he said, facing Eighteen fully. Next to the older girl, he looked like a puny toddler waving a wooden sword against a real blade. "We're getting out of here. All of us."

At that, Sixteen perked up. "How?"

Seven shouldered past Thirteen and sat beside Eighteen. Thirteen crossed his arms, but retreated to the metal pole stuck to the ground. He didn't have the energy to keep blabbing the same things over and over, anyway. "We've found something interesting," Seven started. "It's—"

From behind Eighteen, a bolt of black and white shot for the car. Thirteen pushed the pole away and switched the chip in the reader. Ice rushed from the train's floor, barricading the window. "Everyone, out!" Thirteen cried, rushing towards the control center Slate spied earlier. He cranked the lever she singled out. A stark hiss zipped across the car as the platform doors swished open. Air punched Thirteen's hair off his forehead when he jumped. His boots bit the gravel and launched into a full run.

Five rounded the car, going straight for him. Overhead, Eight's hair spread around her head like tentacles as she blasted the scattering people. Thirteen cursed and fumbled for the chip he slotted. He needed Four's ability for the barrier. Now, he needed Abelle's to distance himself from Five.

White hair flashed at the corner of his vision. He pushed Abelle's chip into the reader, dodged, and hopped into the walkway. He should've used the ability even before they tackled the railway. He got tired for nothing.

Five's blades slashed, swung, and thrusted. It wasn't like Thirteen didn't feel the effects of ability-switching whenever the adrenaline died down, but he'd rather sleep like the dead than die for real. He'd take the first option every time he could.

He flipped onto a bench, leg arcing. His boot hit Five's wrist just as her other arm swung from his blind spot. The blade stabbed down just as another flew out of her hand. He twisted, falling to the ground so that the knife's tip nicked only the flap of his trousers. He rolled away from a low kick, coming up to one knee. How to disable Five...

Metal whined from the distance. Loudly. He leaned past the walk to find Eight cornering Seven and Sixteen. Eighteen was nowhere to be found. And Slate...

Well, knowing the girl, she was probably masquerading as Seven while the real one searched for something that might keep Eight at bay. A knife slashed a hairsbreadth from Thirteen's nose. He inched back, the discs of his spine stretching and bending to their limit. Damn it. He shouldn't have looked away.

Five bore down on him. Thirteen backed away until he spied her fallen blade. It glinted black against the walkway's dusty tiles. He feinted left, avoiding Five's swing. Then, he stumbled on purpose, his fingers closing around the hilt. He slashed up. Sparks flew in the meager space between them as Five's blade dug against his.

Through gritted teeth, he forced her back as he straightened. His boots slid across the cracked ceramic, muscles screaming against Five's nigh unshakeable strength. What did she even do before the Game? Was she a bodybuilder or something?

Beyond their little altercation, Eight had blasted the nearest railroad to bits, scattering gravel all over the other platforms. One section of the walkway was completely uprooted. If anyone survived under those attacks, where were they? Thirteen flicked his gaze back at Five. She bared her teeth, face crumpled like a wolf's.

This couldn't go on. Eight would kill them all as long as she had her ability in perfect working order. He needed to get Five off, but she's not making it easier. Talking was out of the question. The next would be...

An idea popped into his head. No time to analyze its pros and cons. A scream ripped off his throat as he supplied all his weight into Five's force. She started skidding back. If she relaxed her grip, he'd be done for. So, he wouldn't let her. He steered her into a nearby shed, the metal pole holding the awning up pressing against her back. Then, he punched the reader to get the chip out. Ability in hand, he scrambled backwards, keeping his knife up. Five lunged forward with the same goal in mind. Boring. And quite repetitive. Why wasn't she talking? The girl loved to talk, even in combat.

Not the current problem though. Thirteen continued backing away until he came to the walkway's edge. Five slammed into him, stopping herself from toppling over but launching him to the gravelly ground. Abelle's chip flew out of his hands and clattered without noise somewhere. He crashed against the jagged floor, pain shooting up his spine. The stony points dug against his legs and back.

As Five contemplated leaping after him, he fished out Karrel's chip and slotted it in. He scanned the airspace for any sign of Eight. There. Pelting Two and Eighteen with sharp lances of wind and ripped shards of metal from cars and electric poles. The girl had never been level-headed, but this was near monstrous. It didn't make sense anymore.

Soles thumped against the gravel. Thirteen whirled to find Five stalking towards him. Shit. Not yet. Something clinked beneath her feet when she stepped forward. A faint sliver of blue and green dropped from her boots. The chip. It was...

Time to mourn would come later. Thirteen staggered up and whipped towards Eight. He closed her systems, sending her crashing to the ground. Five darted behind him, knife poised to kill. A shadow streaked past, toppling Five out of her determined path. Thirteen kept his hold on Eight's ability as he stepped away from both scuffles.

Sixteen disabled Five after taking a knife to the neck. With a quick maneuver, Five's arm twisted behind her, and her cheek hit the metal rails with a loud bang. "Just listen!" she screamed, if not in Five's ear, then at everyone in the railway. In the distance, Seven stepped out of the veil and locked Eight's hands behind her. "Thirteen said he has a way to get us out of here. Let's not start killing each other now."

At that, Five's breathing calmed down. Eight let herself be hauled up and settled on a lucky, surviving bench. Sixteen hefted Five and made her climb up the walkway. With both of the problematic members out of commission, Thirteen massaged his sore muscles before heading up himself.

He glanced at Five on his way past her. Her eyebrows were creased, and her eyes had that faraway look as if she was confused. When her attention flicked back to Thirteen, her features were back to normal. Well...as normal as they would ever be. What was that about?

Thirteen sighed and pulled out Karrel's chip. "Whatever it is you have against me, I apologize, okay?" he said, both to Eight and Five and everyone who still had something against him after everything. "But your anger shouldn't be directed at me."

He leveled his gaze at his ex-comrades whom he had to reinstate because of the difficult turn the Game has made. "There is someone out there who is responsible for the Game. They see us, monitor our progress, and make sure we kill each other when we don't want to," he reasoned. "They go by 'The Corrector', and they are the ones you need to blame for all of this. Not me stealing abilities, or not fulfilling my promises. Like you, I'm only operating under certain conditions. Conditions that, as much as it pains me to admit and accept, were predetermined. The Game was never to reward the winner. It's more than that, and I intend to find out."

"And once I do, I'll get you out." Thirteen spread his hands as an invitation for them to believe his sincerity. "I'll get us all out. After that, we don't have to see each other again. We can get out of each other's lives and pretend this never happened. All I need from you now is to work together, to give me the time to obtain everything I need. Can we please do that?"

Eight scoffed. "That's the first time I heard you beg," she said. "If you're lying again—"

"He's not." Two rounded the bench and stopped in front of Eight. "If you can't believe him, believe me."

All the fight ebbed out of Eight's eyes. "Fine," she said. "How about you, Five?"

The white-haired girl blinked. Unlike her headstrong attitude before, always taking the lead in everything, she appeared hazy now. Scattered. "I mean, sure," she said. "I've always wanted to talk to you about that. And if Thirteen's found a way, I'm all for it."

Thirteen took his eyes off Five and brought his hands together. Whatever was going on with her, he'd figure it out later. Or, if they were lucky, he'd never have to. Now that no one was bound to try to kill him, the plan could progress. He would escape the Game, and to do that, he'd have to climb to the heavens. That was, if he could find a ladder first.