“In twentieth place…” The longest wait yet. “We have number thirty-three, Sara!”

Sara staggered out of the cage to the sounds of girls crying and begging for their lives. She had nothing to say to the Host, skipping him in favour of finding somewhere appropriate to fall. She clung to her seat, at the very corner of the pyramid, right beside the pen of screaming, doomed contestants. A reminder that she was this close to being one of them.

When Sami’s name and number were called, they only waited until she was heel-clear of the pen before the firing squad were given their signal to clear the space.