#13.1p2

Using my power, I signalled Sierra and Charlotte.  Grue, Bitch and I climbed down from our dogs and then led them forward.

Are they all going to be staying at the Hive until the nominations are over?

“Mannequin slipped by you once,” Grue said.  “You going to be able to keep an eye out?”

Quite a lot of eyes, perhaps.

“I had some ideas, but I’m running low on resources,” I said.  “Let me see what I can do.”

Ideas? Color me intrigued.

Genesis began to appear a short distance away, near Bitch.  A blurry, beige and yellow, vaguely human-shaped figure coalesced into being.  

Hi there!

So is her body still at Coil’s base, like with the Lake Heroic meeting?

The shape then sharpened into features and alter in hue until there was the figure of a teenage girl, vaguely cartoonish.  By the time we reached her, she looked indistinguishable from a regular girl.  

I like this visual.

She had auburn hair, freckles, and thick glasses.  A small smile touched her face as she stretched her arms and legs.

This was a fairly good planning chapter. We got implicit confirmation that Coil is still looking out for his subordinates, a mix-and-split tactic that’s going to let us get to know Genesis a bit better, a bit of conflict between Grue and Imp that I think will be interesting going forward, and a look at the growth in Skitter’s ranks!

Meanwhile, Mannequin is sneaking around Taylor’s territory, and he doesn’t have much time to waste. Taylor suspects he’ll resort to a trap, and between the title Snare and biosphere being meant to contain things, I think she’s right. Perhaps we’ll see that take shape within the next two chapters.

Next time, however, the focus may be on getting the new temporary residents of the Hive situated, possibly going on a tour of the territories, and maybe showing more of Genesis’ personality. (We saw some of that this time, though not enough that I really commented on it - she seems fairly upbeat, though, which I like.)

Gonna have a busy couple days ahead of him.

I wasn’t so sure that was a good thing.  It was beginning to dawn on me what we were in for.  Forty eight hours of being on the edge of our seats, unable to sleep deeply, constantly watching for attack from Mannequin or from Hookwolf’s contingent.

No, no, you’ve got that wrong.

552 hours, watching for attacks from each Slaughterhouse member in succession. Maybe more, considering there are time limit bonuses available. Maybe less, if Bitch gets taken out or someone suffers a time limit penalty.

I guess Siberian’s turn might give them a bit of a break in there, but not much.

Mannequin was on guard for a trap, enough that he’d probably noticed the tripwire and decided to retreat.

Yeah, makes sense. He’d know that Skitter would be aware of his imminent arrival this time.

Besides, I doubt he likes spiderwebs after last time.

Mannequin and I had an estimation of one another, now.  Neither of us wanted a direct confrontation.  Both of us would be wary of traps or trickery.

Traps or trickery.

Did I not predict the involvement of a trap the moment I saw the title Snare?

He was a tinker, he would have prepared something to ward against the tactic I had employed last time.

Hm. Notably, he’s a biosphere tinker. Biospheres keep things contained. That’s perfect for designing a trap if he’s willing to turn his expertise outward again.

Topping it off, amassing people to please Coil had the unfortunate side effect of making me more vulnerable to Mannequin’s attacks.  He could hurt me without even getting close to me, the second I let my guard down and gave him an avenue for attack.

“Yes?”

“How set up is the building you guys were working on?”

“Mess is cleaned out, but we haven’t moved much in.”

I like how Skitter is talking as a leader in this section.

“That should be fine.”

“We ready?” Grue asked.

I turned to face him and Bitch.  “Just about.  Bitch, there’s a space set aside that we can use for your dogs.  We’ll patrol through the various territories in an hour or so, stop by your territory and pick up some supplies for them, and you can bring your dogs here.”

Eyy, that’s something she might appreciate. Maybe. If we’re lucky. Probably not.

I had to resist adding an ‘if that’s okay’.  Firmness would work best with her, even if it did carry the risk of provoking her.

True. And it’s not like, even with the firm tone you used, you told her to bring her dogs here. Just that she could.

“Fine.”

“Good,” Grue said.  “Let’s go rest and eat.  We can wait for Genesis and the other gear Coil’s dropping off.”

Would that be the family of the other group of people that showed up in 12.8?

Other, smaller families filled in the gaps.  My ‘gang’ numbered nearly fifty people in total.

Damn, got some real growth here! Skitter’s crew is bigger than the Altruistic Borderline Bimbos were at the start of the story now.

“Holy crap,” Genesis said.

“It’s why we wanted to set up base here,”  Grue said.  “Skitter’s the most established of us.”

Makes sense to me!

“I’ve been focusing on structural repairs and building when I’m not helping my teammates,” Genesis said.  “I don’t have many threats to get rid of, and it was the best way for me to be productive.  And meanwhile you’re further than I expected to get in half a year.”

Wow.

And yeah, she’s been getting busy, alright.

A bit too busy, maybe, but I’m not going to deny that she’s done some good work here.

I couldn’t bring myself to feel proud.  “I guess I’m motivated.”

Speaking from the perspective of someone who had gone toe to toe with these guys, I wasn’t so convinced.

Ah, okay, she didn’t forget about that.

All in all, barring Bitch being eliminated or some time serious bonuses or penalties happening, it adds up to 23 days of nonstop terror.

From my altercation with Mannequin, I knew we wouldn’t make it through even the first few encounters without some loss, some injury or casualty.  By the time the eighth round of testing rolled around, what kind of condition would we be in?  What condition would my territory be in?

Almost certainly not a good one.

You’re probably much better off if you can end this before it gets that far.

I’d initially seen Tattletale’s deal with Jack as a good thing, a miniscule chance at success, with some drawbacks and negative points.

I didn’t, but Jack went for a more fair approach than I ever expected, so I’ve turned around on it somewhat. But maybe I was just seeing some of the problems Taylor didn’t at the time?

The more I dwelled on it, the more daunting it seemed.

“You okay?” Grue asked me.

“A little spooked,” I admitted.

The main benefit of the deal is that this will be less immediately intense and more based on stamina. Without it, the Nine would be testing on top of each other, whereas this adds structure and a bit of time for the candidates to rest between each test.