LITMIR.BIZ

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      “What do you mean?”

      “Why did it have to start now?”

      “I’ll probably be asking myself that question until I die, Christopher. I don’t know the answer. I know what the legend says, but I don’t know Their real reasons.”

      “What does the legend say?”

      “It says Endgame will begin if the human race has shown that it doesn’t deserve to be human. That it has wasted the enlightenment They gave to us. The legend also says that if we take Earth for granted, if we become too populous and strain this blessed planet, then Endgame will begin. It will begin in order to bring an end to what we are and restore order to Earth. Whatever the reason, what will be will be.”

      “Fucking Christ.”

      “Yeah.”

      “How do you win?” he asks in a low voice.

      “No one knows. That’s what I’m going to find out.” “In China.”

      “Yeah.”

      “And it’s going to be dangerous?”

      “Yes.”

      “You talked about choice in your speech—choose not to do it.” Sarah shakes her head. “No. It’s what my parents were born to do, what my brother was born to do, what I was born to do. It is the responsibility of my people, and it has been since we appeared on this planet, and my choice is to do it.”

      Christopher has no words. He doesn’t want her to leave. Doesn’t want her to be in danger. Sarah is his girlfriend. His best friend. His partner in crime, the last person he thinks of before he falls asleep and the first person he thinks of when he wakes. She’s the girl of his dreams, only she’s real. The thought of someone trying to hurt her, it ties his stomach in knots. The idea that he’ll be thousands of miles away when it happens makes it even worse.

      “The stakes are dire, Christopher. You probably won’t ever see me again. Mom and Dad, Omaha, Tate—I’m looking back on all of it already. I love you, I love you with everything in me, but we may never see each other again.”

      “What the hell does that mean?”

      “I may not come back.”

      “Why?”

      “If I don’t win, I’ll die.”

       “Die?”

      “I will fight to stay alive, I promise I will. But yes. It could happen. Easily. Don’t forget that I’m a backup. Tate was supposed to be here, not me. The other Players, they’ve probably been training since before they could walk.”

      They stare at each other. The sounds of the airport—the announcements of gate changes, the whispering wheels of rolling luggage, the squeaks of sneakers on polished granite floors—swirl around them.

      “I’m not gonna let you die,” Christopher says. “And if you have to win to stay alive, then I am coming with you. I don’t give a shit about the rules.”

      Her heart drops to the floor. She knew saying good-bye wasn’t going to be easy, but she didn’t expect this. And in a way it makes her love him more. Kind, generous, strong, beautiful Christopher.

      She shakes her head. “The Players have to go to the Calling alone, Christopher.”

      “Too bad for the others, then. Because I’m coming with you.”

      “Listen,” she says, changing her tone. “You need to stop thinking of me as your girlfriend. Even if you could come, I wouldn’t let you. I don’t need your protection. And, honestly, you aren’t up for it.”

      So much for finding a quiet gate where they can make out. Sarah knew it could come to this, that she might have to be harsh with him. She sees that her words hurt him, that his pride is wounded. She’s sorry about that, but what she said is the truth.

      Christopher shakes his head, persisting. “I don’t care. I’m coming.” Sarah sighs. “I’m gonna stand up in a minute. If you try to follow me, they’ll stop you.” Sarah tilts her head toward her parents.

      “They can’t stop me.”

      “You have no idea what they can do. The three of us, we could kill everyone in this terminal quickly and easily and escape, no problem.” Christopher snorts in disbelief. “Christ, Sarah. You wouldn’t do that.” “Understand me, Christopher,” Sarah says, leaning forward and gritting her teeth. “I will do whatever it takes to win. If I want you, my parents, everyone we know to survive, I have to do whatever it takes.” Christopher is silent. He glances at the Alopays, who are staring back at him. Simon is giving him a hard, cold look. It’s unlike anything he’s ever seen before. Christopher thought he knew these people. He was closer to them than his own family, and now …

      Sarah sees Christopher’s face change, notices the fear blossoming there, and worries that she’s pushed too hard. She softens her tone. “If you want to help me, stay here and help the people who need it. Help my parents deal with Tate’s death, and maybe mine. If I win, I’ll come back and find you, and we can live the rest of our lives together. I promise.”

      Christopher looks deep into Sarah’s eyes. His voice shakes. “I love you, Sarah Alopay.” She tries to smile but fails. “I love you,” he repeats earnestly. “And I swear that I’ll never, ever stop loving you.”

      They stand at the same time and wrap their arms around each other. They kiss, and though they have shared many, many kisses, none of them has meant as much, or felt as strong. Like all such kisses it doesn’t last long enough.

      They pull apart. Sarah knows that this is probably the last time she will ever see him, speak to him, touch him.

      “I love you too, Christopher Vanderkamp. I love you too.”

      30.3286, 35.4419^xliv

       AN LIU

      Liu Residence, Unregistered Belowground Property, Tongyuanzhen, Gaoling County, Xi’an, China

      An Liu has a disadvantage, and he is ashamed.

       Blinkblink.

      A tic.

       BlinkSHIVER.

       SHIVERSHIVER.

      But An Liu has advantages too:

      1. The Players are coming to Xi’an, China.

      2. An Liu lives in Xi’an, China.

       BlinkSHIVER.

       SHIVERblink.

      3. Therefore, he has initial home-court advantage.

      4. An is a world-class hacker.

      5. An is an expert bomb maker.

       BlinkSHIVERblinkblink.

       Blinkblink.

       BlinkblinkSHIVER.

      6. An knows how to find people.

      After decoding the message, An continuously hacked passenger manifests at airports close to the other impact zones, filtering results for age, ticket-purchase date, date of visa issuance, and blink-blink-blink assuming there would be a more-or-less even distribution of gender, sex.

       SEXSHIVERSEX.

      He figures that shiver-blink the Players near the Mongolian and Australian impact zones, on account of their remoteness, will be tricky, so

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