Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

KITA

Lina did her best to compare the two, but she couldn’t spot anything major.

Lydia and Sergei, seeing the two of them muttering over a pair of trees, started looking carefully too.

“Hey. We’ve only got fifteen minutes this round. Quit staring and go find somewhere to hide. One of the dozen or so people trailing behind Lyra couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Lyra ignored the voice.

She knew there was a crowd at her back, maybe a dozen people, chattering in a jumble of languages she couldn’t understand a word of. As long as they didn’t get in her way, she didn’t care.

Someone tugged at her sleeve. She glanced over-a brown-skinned man, words tumbling out of his mouth, face tight with panic, finger jabbing toward the deep woods.

Lyra brushed his hand off and went back to studying the tree.

Lina caught a couple of phrases and her face went hard. She whipped around and fired back, “She’s scouting for you people You haven’t lifted a finger, you’re just freeloading behind her, and you’ve got the nerve to rush her?”

The man wasn’t having it and shouted again.

Lina jabbed a finger at his nose. “Fifteen minutes too tight for you? Then go run on your own. Who told you to tag along?”

That shut him up.

Two others looked about to chime in, but Lina swept them with a glare. “We’ll look at trees if we want, stay as long as we want, right up until the round starts, none of your business. If you can’t wait, go find your own hiding spot.”

The dozen of them went quiet, exchanged a few glances, and drifted away one by one.

Lyra never turned around. She crouched beside the gray tree, eyes fixed on the horizontal grain across the trunk.

Lydia had somehow made her way over too. She crouched down and reached out to touch the bark of the gray tree.

Her hand snapped back.

She reached out and touched the regular brown tree next to it.

She turned to Lyra and forced out two Draconian words.

“Lyra. Temperature.”

Lyra paused, then pressed her hand against the trunk of the gray tree.

Ice cold.

The instant her palm touched it, the chill drilled from skin straight into bone.

She pulled her hand back and touched the brown tree beside it.

Normal temperature, with a faint warmth from the sun.

Lyra stood up and looked at Lydia. “Can you tell these two trees are different colors?”

Lydia tilted her head. “Color?” She looked at both trees, then back at Lyra, and shook her head. Then she said something in

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Chapter 36

Ursarian.

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Lina, having just finished chewing out the freeloaders, turned back and translated. ‘She says the colors look about the same to her. Both brownish.”

Sergei walked over too. Seeing Lydia touching the tree, he pressed his hand to it as well.

The second he made contact, he yanked back, then tried the other one.

He looked at Lyra and managed two clumsy Draconian words. “Ice cold.”

Lyra nodded. “If I had to guess, this round’s Hunters are these trees.”

All three heads snapped toward her.

Lina rushed over, her face full of disbelief. “The Hunters are trees?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Trees?” Lina looked up at the dense woods packed around them, her voice cracking. “This place is nothing but trees! They’re everywhere! How are we supposed to hide?”

“They’re all trees, sure, but not every one of them is a Hunter. Should only be ten.”

Lina’s breath quickened, but she forced herself calm. “Then we just hide somewhere far away, stay clear of those trees, and we’ll-

“What if they can move?”

Lina’s mouth hung half-open.

Lyra looked at her. “Last round’s Wraiths had two legs and chased people across the whole garden swinging blades. This round they’re trees. You really think the game’s gonna let them just stand there?”

Lina’s face went white. Her mouth opened, her voice shaking. “Then… then are we even gonna make it out alive?”

Lyra shrugged. “No idea. Guess we’ll see.”

Lina nearly choked.

Beside them, Lydia listened as Lina stammered through the translation. Her expression didn’t change. She nodded once, then asked something in Ursarian.

Lina translated. “She says, moving or not, we should keep moving instead of standing here waiting to die.”

“Right. Lyra stood up and clapped the dirt off her hands. “Let’s go.”

The four of them moved east along the forest path, leaves crunching under their boots. Lyra took the lead, her eyes sweeping nonstop.

Behind her, Lina’s mind was racing. “Lyra.”

“Mm?”

That fire starter you gave me last round-I brought it in with me.”

Lyra’s stride hitched.

Lina hurried up beside her. “I tested it before we entered the mission. Items carry over. The game doesn’t strip them off

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Chapter 36

you.” She pulled the fire starter out of her pocket and closed her fingers around it. “Trees burn.”

Lyra tilted her head and glanced at her.

Lina’s eyes were bright, the words tumbling out faster. “What if we try fire again this round? The whole forest is fuel, dead leaves, dry branches, bark…

“Worth a shot.” Lyra cut her off. “Only way to find out is to try.”

Lina’s fingers tightened around the fire starter. Hearing that Lyra hadn’t shot her down, she perked right up/”Then let’s do i now. Before the round starts, light one tree and see what happens.”

“Sure.”

They moved fast. Lyra led them to the nearest ice tree, and the four of them quickly piled dry branches and leaves around/ its base.

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