Nice Day to Die by Cameron Jace Read Free Book Online

Carnivore, the most dangerous and genetically-mutated creature on earth. It takes its life from the pain of the people it kills. It’s a new technology—”
    “Okay, I get it.” I stop him from elaborating. “Spare me the details. What it is the meaning of the friggin’ stamp?”
    “It means you only win if you kill Carnivore at the end of the games,” Mr. Pessimistic says, walking through the crowd. “The tattoo lets Carnivore know your butt belongs to him. Some silly propaganda to sell more airings of the show. You know how much money the Summit makes airing this show worldwide, right?”
    “But I saw that tattoo on a Nine,” I say, remembering Leo.
    “Wake up, girl.” Mr. Pessimistic shakes his head at my naivety. “That’s impossible. I say wake up from this dreamy world you live in and prepare to fight. I am Glum, by the way.”
    “What?” Glum? No wonder.
    “Peter Glum,” he adds. I am not interested.
    The hallway leads out to a vast park surrounded by the Faya’s military. They are all Sixes. My dad could have been one of them.
    “Smile,” Glum says.
    “What?”
    “We’re live on TV. I have never been on TV. I’ve always imagined myself smiling at the camera when I am on TV, even if I am about to die.”
    “What are all those Zeppelins for?” I ask Peter.
    “The game can also be seen up close from the Zeppelins, as long as we haven’t entered the battlefields. The Zeppelins can’t follow us into the Playa. It’s too dangerous for them. Zeppelin tickets are sold out two months in advance. Did you know the games used to be called Bad Kidz Games in the past?”
    “I know.” I nod while I walk. Peter is starting to get on my nerves.
    “It was changed due to protesters claiming the name was shocking to the good kids, since it had the word kids in it. Sending teenagers to the death games isn’t a crime, but the name is an issue. Welcome to Faya.” Peter claps his hands as if he is protesting against himself.
    If I don’t find anyone sane to talk to, I won’t be able to think clearly.
    The park is full of Monsters. How many are there? Two… three thousand?
    I try to push my way toward the soldiers, but it is not easy.
    The Zeppelins hover above us. Peter explains that these are the VIPs’ Zeppelins. Either they’ve paid for the entertainment, or they are Nines and Eights who have complimentary tickets. That means Ariadna and Faustina could be watching me. If Ariadna sees me she can help. Did Madame Delacroix wake up yet?
    I am going crazy pushing the students again, getting as far as possible from Peter Glum. As I push my way toward the soldiers I notice that the Zeppelins above me aren’t that high. They have balconies to watch the games from with their expensive binoculars.
    As I walk, I see Roger This instructing other teens how to play the game in the Battlefieldz. Is this guy cuckoo in the head or what?
    At least he is not gloomy like Mr. Pessimistic, Peter Glum.
    “Wow,” Roger This says to the teens, looking up at the Zeppelins. “I wish I had one of those ClairVos in here.”
    I look up where he is looking. The rich kids in the Zeppelins watch us with their ClairVos.
    ClairVos are the latest technology invented in Faya. They’re 3D glasses, except that they are not only 3D, like in the time of the Amerikaz. They’re now 10D, or as some call it, XD. The ClairVos are magical. Let’s say I am driving my car, wearing my ClairVo, and you sit in your home, eating popcorn and wearing another pair of ClairVo glasses. If so, then you can see and feel exactly what I am experiencing while driving the car. If I get scared, you get scared. If I feel the wind in my face, you feel the wind in your face.
    The ClairVos are ridiculously expensive. Only Eights and Nines can afford them. Those rich kids watching us from the balconies of the Zeppelins have their friends at home watching them watching us up close, transmitting the same excitement and feelings to them.
    “I wish I had one of