With Jade and Millie by my side I tried to strengthen my spine to stand up to the brothers and appear strong and tall. "You're gonna attack us?" The blade on my cuff grew heavy, as if reminding me it was there and ready for use.

"Told you not to trust anyone, sis." Millie grabbed the rickety chair from the corner and slammed it to the ground, breaking it into a few fragments. The wooden leg she dug from the pile of splintered pieces made a decent club as she mimicked Spencer and raised it as if commencing a game of whack a mole.

Dylan gripped his spear even tighter. "What'd you got?" He glared at Millie, betting her to make the first move.

"Bring it!" Millie shouted, startling Jade.

Dylan scoffed. "You really think you can take us?"

"It's three against two," Millie pointed out. "What do you think?"

"Whoa." Jade put her hands up defensively. "Just hold on here. I didn't ask for this."

Dylan nodded toward Jade. "She doesn't even have a weapon. Yes, we can take all of ya'll."

"Three against two." Millie nodded to Jade before giving Dylan a menacing look.

She reluctantly nodded. "Yeah. Three of us against the two of you."

"So?" Dylan shrugged. "Three skinny girls against two real men?"

"Screw you!" Millie sneered. "Have you even seen my survival scores? You know we're a threat."

"What I did see was your sister falling more times than I can count," Dylan went on.

I scoffed. "It's not my fault balance and agility aren't my strong suit."

Millie scoffed and shook her head. "Don't tell them that."

I huffed, ignoring the ache in my gut. "Can we please stop this?" I finally lifted my cuffed arm with the blade attached. "This thing can take you out at any distance. We all know that."

"I'll put down my weapon when they drop theirs." Millie nodded to Spencer and Dylan.

They hesitated. Spencer taking the lead. "You first."

Seconds past and no one moved. Finally, I sat down resting my back against the wall. "You guys can stand there all day if you want. I need a break."

Jade cautiously sat beside me. The fear and uncertainty in her face prompted me to insert my hand into hers for comfort, hers and mine.

Finally, Millie dropped the broken chair leg. "Your stupid branches suck anyway."

Spencer lowered his club. "I made them with my bare hands."

"I can tell." Millie rolled her eyes.

"At least we have weapons," Dylan chimed in, leaning his improvised spear against the wall. "If we're not lucky enough to get knives then you have to be smart and make your own. But not all of us are that smart, huh?" He looked at Millie.

While they bickered back and forth, I dug out a protein bar from my suit and split it in half, offering a piece to Jade.

Spencer relaxed a bit, looking at me weird. "You're not gonna eat that, right?"

"I am." And I did. I popped a portion of it in my mouth and watched as Jade ate the other half.

He stared. "What about—?"

"We tested one on that rat," Millie said. "And from the looks of it, he's doing pretty good. Probably even better than before."

Dylan squatted against the opposite wall to get comfortable. "I never seen a Grimm creature attack another Grimm creature before."

"Yeah." Jade nodded. "That's pretty unusual."

"Just like that strange music luring the Wolfman away," Dylan said. "Haven't seen that either, and I've watched all the seasons."

"It's weird but I think that rat was trying to help us," Millie looked at me, possibly to get my take on it.

"Maybe because you fed it and cared for it, it wanted to repay you by helping out." I shrugged. "Like a loyal pet."

Spencer shuddered, letting out an audible sound of disgust.

"A pet?" Millie's cogs started turning. I could tell as her gaze drifted out in the distance.

Finally, instead of squatting Dylan sat on the scattered straw and rested his back against the wooden wall. "I always wanted a pet, but the thought of them dying before I did hurt my heart too much."

"So, you never had a pet because you were afraid of losing them?" Jade asked, her nurturing personality coming through. "You may be acting like a douche, but that made my heart hurt."

"Not the first time I've been called that." Dylan shrugged. "You get used to not getting too close to people or things when you know they're just gonna leave you high and dry."

Spencer frowned. "Are you talking about pets or Dad?"

"Does it make a difference?" He stared at the floor and picked at his fingernails.

"When did your dad pass?" Jade asked, the wrinkles in her brows showed genuine concern.

"He left but didn't die," Dylan clarified.

"I would kill him if I had the chance though," Spencer said through clenched teeth. "If that counts." We all silently waited for an explanation. So, he continued, "He left us when we were babies, still in diapers. Leaving our mom to raise us."

"I always thought he left because of my bipolar disorder." Dylan stared forward at nothing in particular.

"You were too young to even be diagnosed," Spencer said. "That man's just a coward. Mom has always been more courageous than he ever was or ever will be."

"I know." There wasn't much expression on Dylan's face.

"Then why did you let him sign you up for the Games?" Spencer's tone went defensive.

"Because twenty million dollars can do so much for us." Dylan finally looked at his big brother. "Why can't you see that?"

"You promised him a cut, didn't you?"

"How else would I get him to sign? Of course I did."

Millie finally cut in, "Is this why they dubbed you Dylan the Sick, because of your bipolar disorder?"

Dylan shrugged. "I wasn't even gonna tell them until they wouldn't let me bring my meds."

"What?!" Jade leaned forward. "Taking your medication isn't an option. It's important for your mental health."

Dylan absentmindedly picked at a stalk of straw. "They said they would provide what I needed."

"And you believed them?" Millie shook her head. "Don't ever accuse us of being dumb."

"It's okay," he said. "I can manage. I mean, it doesn't mean I can't compete or kick everyone's asses. My mood's been fine since I've been here anyway. Haven't had any downs."

"Yet," Spencer tacked on. They gave each other an annoyed look.

"I figured they'd probably have the best meds compared to the cheap, generic crap I've been taking."

That response piqued my interest. "Have they given you any medicine? Maybe when you go 'backstage'?"

"I figured that's what happens when they knock us out," Dylan went on. "I remember hearing something about medical being backstage. Sometimes I find bruised needle pricks on my arms when I wake up."

Jade's jaw dropped. "Oh no. You have no idea what they're giving you or taking from you."

Now we were on the subject we needed to be on. But how could I confess what I saw without letting production know what I knew?

"What if they're giving us medicines that could help or hurt us, and we don't even know?" I started, planting the idea into their minds. "How would we even know if they inject something that could give an advantage to some and incapacitate others?"

"Whoa." Jade looked into my eyes, and I nodded, silently confirming.

Spencer began to pace the small space. "Damn. I wouldn't put it past them."

It was working. They were starting to question the Games and the people running it. I went on, "The fog and whatever they put in those apples had an effect on me long after I woke up."

"Same," Spencer said. "Had a hard time figuring out what was real and what was a dream for a long time."

"Yeah." I nodded, hoping to keep the discussion on this topic. "Sonya took forever to wake up after we ate the apples too."

"Sonya's foot!" Dylan looked up as if having an epiphany. "You think...?"

I waited, hoping he would say it so I wouldn't have to. "Go on," I encouraged.

"Never mind." He shook his head.

Spencer nodded though. "They wouldn't treat our wounds so why would they treat your bipolar?"

I glanced at Jade, hoping she would say what I couldn't.

She shook her head. "Good point. If you put your life on the line to win the Games, why would they give you any kind of medicine that could help you get far? That's probably why they wouldn't let you bring your own meds."

I finally chimed in. "Yeah, because if we found out they give you medicine that can help you. Then that would be cheating in some form, right?"

We all looked at Dylan.

He looked at each of us, one by one. "None of this makes sense."

"It's obvious we can't trust them," Jade went on. "They claimed we were volunteers, and I can tell you now, I didn't sign up. I would never."

I attempted to stand up, finding it easier than before with Jade's help. "And you all heard what that man said about them telling him to throw that apple at me during the protest. He said they put something in the apple. That means they planned a lot of this, including having my girlfriend here."

I didn't want to put Jade through any more stress, but everyone should know that everything we've been through and will go through is calculated and personal, especially when it came to me and Ms. Holle.

Spencer stopped pacing and huffed. "I want to trust you guys, but..." His lightly bearded jaw clenched.

"Have we ever given you a reason not to?" I continued before he could answer or find some reason to change his mind, "Together we can take this place down. For good."

"See, that's the thing," Spencer said. "You want to stop this, me and my brother only want to win."

I huffed in frustration but before I could get another word in, the TV powered on and the screen lit up. Chuck Gillian was in the studio with an audience watching a screen of a woman on the street in front of the Arcanum building talking into a mic that a mysterious person off camera was holding.

"—they seem to have formed a quick connection," the woman continued. "And I don't know, I kind of like that. She seems to really care for the coworker, Jade. It makes me see Kam in a different light. Maybe she and her sister aren't as narcissistic as we thought."

"Narcissistic?" Jade mumbled.

"What's happening?" I asked. It seemed as if the host was asking regular viewers on the street what they thought of the contestants. But why would production want us to see this part of the show?

Millie snorted. "I think they like you and Jade together."

"I guess they have no idea she's not just a coworker."

"Unfortunately, many will believe anything they hear and see on TV." Jade fixed her gaze to the screen.

An odd scraping on the wood of the door caught our attention. We all grabbed the nearest weapon and stood back, watching the door as if anticipating it opening.

"What is that?" Millie clutched the wooden leg of the chair she picked up off the floor. "The Troll trying to lure us out?"

"It won't get in no matter what," I reminded them. "But still be ready." I crept to the door, hearing the scratching grow louder and more desperate.

"Sonya could still get in," Millie reminded me in a whisper.

"Not if I have something to say about it." I pulled the blade from my cuff and crept to the door. The scratching didn't let up, it only became more frantic.

Finally, I unlocked the door and the scratching sound stopped. Stepping to the side and out of the way, I slowly allowed the door to creak open a sliver. On the other side stood the rat with a thick lock of jet-black curly hair between its huge incisors.

Upon seeing the lock of hair, an image of Tobias's thick jet-black strands flashed in my mind. "Is that Tobias' hair?"