Page 255 of Interion

“What the hell! What's your problem, girl?” She wrenched free of my grip.

“The water could be toxic. There are hallucinogenic algae in these lakes—we have to check before drinking.”

She looked at me, frightened, and wiped her hands on her pants, eyeing the water with a mix of longing and fear. I crouched down and didn't even need to taste it to know—the smell of iron was overpowering.

“It's contaminated,” I declared, then stood up and headed back to the path.

“What? Are you sure?” Adele sat at the edge of the lake, looking devastated. For the first time, she showed real concern.

“I am. If you drink it, you'll hallucinate for hours,” I warned, before she got any bright ideas about ignoring me. “How long has it been since you had water?”

“Since I started the test, I haven't found any water or food. I only ate snow early this morning.”

Snow. Just snow. It was incredible she was still standing, but dehydration had made her sluggish and haggard. I reached into my jacket pocket and found the wild berries that, luckily, hadn't been crushed during the fight. I was already hungry, but Adele needed them more.

“Take these. For now, this is all I have, but we'll find water for you. I'll hunt something along the way.”

Adele held out her hands and looked at me suspiciously as I dropped the little fruits into her palm. A million questions played across her face, but she ate the berries in silence. We continued on, skirting two small lakes that reeked of iron. The water was murky, choked with plants, and the smell made my stomach turn.

“Can't you smell the iron?”

“Iron? No, I smell mud and the stench of someone who hasn't bathed in two days.”

I rolled my eyes and kept walking, avoiding places that might contain traps.

“To me, the water reeks of iron. My stomach churns just getting close.”

“That's because you're a savage—you must come pre-programmed for that kind of thing. You know how pigs avoid eating poisonous red berries because their instincts tell them not to?”

My ally laughed and continued along the trail. I shot her a sideways glance, wanting to shove dirt in her mouth.

“At least I have some sense and didn't show up to take the test in high heels. Want to lead the way north, Adele? Since you think you're so superior, you should be the one hunting and leading us out of this test.”

She shot me a cynical little smile.

“And what would be the point of having a pig with heightened survival instincts and not putting her to use?”

A drone flew overhead and recorded the insults. I had to summon every ounce of self-control not to tell her to go to hell. I couldn't lose control and start arguing with Adele. Adrian had already announced on national television that Zion was my partner, and that was far too much exposure—for both of us. People had to be speculating everywhere. After all, Jupiter's greatest general, the one who spent his days killing drutes, was partnered with one. I feared Zion would be affected by the exposure, so I refused to give anyone more reasons for gossip or trouble. In silence, fists clenched, I continued down the path, taking the lead again.

It must have been around 4 p.m. when we crossed a clearing and I heard an unfamiliar laugh. I crouched down on pure instinct and signaled for Adele to do the same. We crawled to an area of tall grass and hid there. She looked around fearfully, her worried eyes darting back and forth. From that well-hidden spot, we saw someone moving, and I soon recognized Lorena's delicate face. She was alone, wearing a strange smile as she ran her hands over the tree trunks and gazed at the clear sky. The Interian walked slowly but was heading east. She seemed dazed as she hugged a tree trunk.

“She must have drunk the contaminated water,” I whispered to Adele, who watched with a furrowed brow.

Lorena pulled away from the tree and continued on her way with a strange, staggering gait.

“Too bad she doesn't have any vials. We could've made out well if she did.” The Yonserian stood up when Lorena disappeared from view.

“I would never steal a vial from someone incapacitated like that.”

“Oh, how sweet of you! What do you want? A gold star?”

I ignored the jab and climbed over a fallen tree blocking the path. I made it to the other side easily enough. Adele scrambled across the trunk on all fours, talking as she went:

“In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a test. If we don't find the last vial, we'll be stuck another year in that hellhole academy. Worse, we'll be the doctors' doormats at the hospital.”

“In case you haven't noticed, there are 40 vials in this test—plenty for everyone. We've got two already. We're ahead.”

“Yeah, but what about the others? We still need 20 points to hit our minimum! What if we don't find the third one?”