The Immortality Game

I really must be in some insane dream, Tyoma thought. Dangling from his thick fingers was a scrawny—and quite dead—gray and white cat.

Letting the door swing closed behind her, Zoya gasped when she saw the beauty of the sunset, the skyscrapers across the river limned with red. Stop it, she thought. All you need is for that big bastard to catch you gawking at the skyline.

The parking lot was empty except for the sky cycle, and that was useless without Pyotr. She assumed he was dead, another victim of this damnable day. To her left she saw the dark silhouette of The Pyramid in the near distance. I’m coming for you, you bastards, she thought and began walking toward the sidewalk in the direction of the mobster base.

“Zoya!” came a hiss from the bushes that ran along the side of the clinic. In the shadows she saw two figures. “It’s me, Marcus.”

Zoya took a step forward and peered at the couple. The other figure was her friend Ira. She forced herself to talk through the pain in her jaw. “What are you two still doing here? Are you that stupid? You want to die? I told—”

“We were afraid to leave you,” Marcus said, waving at her to join them in the bushes. “I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you there with Tavik.”

She shook her head. “Let’s stop talking and get out of here.” She didn’t wait for a response but simply stalked off in the direction of The Pyramid.

“Wait,” Marcus said, jogging after her. “You’re not still going off to get yourself killed in that place, are you? You’re really hurt.”

Zoya kept her eyes focused on her destination. “It’s none of your business what I do.”

“How can you say that after what we’ve been through?”

“We?” Now Zoya stopped and thrust her face up into Marcus’s. “I’m the one who’s had the day from hell. You’ve just been following me around for some crazy reason. Now call up your father and—”

“Zoya, why are you acting this way?” Ira said, throwing her arms around Zoya’s shoulders. “I’m your best friend and you’re acting like you don’t even know me. So you’ve had a rough day. We care about—”

“Stop talking!” Zoya shouted, wincing at the pain lancing through her jaw. “None of this matters right now. We can’t stay here. That big bastard Bunny is awake and is going to come out that door any moment now. I’m not sticking around to greet him.” She shoved Ira’s arms away and trotted toward the sidewalk again.

Marcus and Ira caught up with her. “I thought I’d killed him,” Marcus said.

“Well, you didn’t. Good job. Can you please just have your father get you a cab now?”

“I already called him. He’s sending something for Irina. I’m going with you.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“You’re committing suicide and I’m the idiot? Fine. Just know that I’m going to be killed right along with you.”

“Will you two stop it?” Ira said, struggling for breath due to the fast pace. “I don’t want either of you to die. Why don’t we all just calm down and get in the taxi when it gets here? We can talk things over out at the dacha.”

“Ira, I have to do this,” Zoya said. “I have to do this, and if I don’t go right this moment I’ll never be able to. I don’t want you involved.”

“It’s a little late for that,” Ira said.

“Since when have you ever done anything more dangerous than get a pedicure?”

“Stop being rude,” Ira said. “I don’t want to help you get yourself killed. You said if you stopped to consider your actions you’d never go through with this, well that’s exactly what you should be doing right now—pausing to think about what you’re doing. You’ve lost loved ones and that’s a terrible tragedy. I’ll do anything to help you through that. But you won’t help anything by running off to die yourself.”

Zoya didn’t respond, just picked up her pace. Ira jogged to catch up, Marcus trailing behind her.

“Tell me,” Ira said, “what is your plan? Do you have one? Just announce your presence at the door and say, ‘Here I am, please shoot me now’? Did you forget that I watched them kill Pyotr? You aren’t going to teach men like these any lessons. They aren’t the type who can learn. Will you please stop ignoring me!”

Zoya grabbed the collar of Ira’s coat and dragged her through the doorway of a crumbling, deserted building. The small entryway smelled of alcohol and urine, and by the trash scattered about it had clearly been lived in by several desperate people. Marcus lingered in the doorway behind them.

“You have no idea what I’ve seen today,” Zoya hissed, thrusting Ira up against the wall. “I began the day with a family and friends, and now you’re the only one I have left. Go to your dacha and be with your family. Live your life. I’ve made my decision and I’m sorry if that upsets you. At least if I know you are safe I can be content with my choice.”

“You want to confront a bunch of butchers,” Ira said, tears streaming from her eyes. “To what end? You don’t have a plan at all, do you?”