Fourteen
Classes were shifted around to make sure any injured students in Professor Jules’ classroom wouldn’t miss their other periods.
I’m sitting in Gonzales’ wild petting zoo where standing near a cage doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe. Just last week, one of her more powerful animals managed to break out of their glass chamber and scratch Yukio on the arm. Too bad for the monster, it chose the wrong student to scare. With a quick jab to the center of its forehead, Yukio put the panther-dog that looked like it had rabies to sleep without much effort.
Though I try ignoring the pain in my body, it’s becoming a huge problem. My legs are shaking like I’m holding weights, but I’m not doing anything strenuous. Well, I am sitting down at these awkward desks. I want the normal white tables and chairs back. Whoever is trying to take Seth’s place with upgrades is doing a horrible job.
The current chairs are solid bar stools that emerge from the ground. We can’t even kick our feet under our desks because they’re similar solid blocks. These things hurt my butt.
Gonzales strolls in front of me. She creeps out the rest of the class, but I don’t mind. She’s really cute if you ignore all the scars. Too bad the other students can’t see past them.
“Have I troubled you somehow?” I ask as she lingers over my shoulder.
“Just curious. What do you know about the desolate lands of the East Coast?”
“They’re damn dangerous.”
Gonzales raises her eyebrows, “Really? How would you know that?”
“I’ve visited. I’ve studied.”
“You visited, and survived?”
“I didn’t go deep in, but friends and I needed to complete a few tasks there.”
Angie turns around in her seat to observe me. Her expression isn’t very friendly. Luckily, we sit far away in all of our classes.
Gonzales taps my table twice. “So how would you survive if your plane ever crashed there?”
“You fight in one spot for as long as possible without spilling the blood of any creatures and hope that someone rescues you. Blood attracts more danger.”
“But can you do that? Can you passively fight a creature without drawing blood?”
“Probably not.”
“Let’s find out,” she declares while grabbing my arm and moving me to the back of the classroom. Malik laughs as I stumble over my own feet. “What’s wrong with your legs?”
“It’s a bad day for these bandages. Let’s reschedule this experiment for tomorrow or next year.”
“Nonsense. If your plane were to crash, your legs wouldn’t be too great anyway.” Gonzales pulls a tablet from her pocket and hits a few buttons. A red fox-crocodile stomps out of its cage. It’s big and from the sound of its muscles, too fast to outrun. Though mostly a fox, the skin is that of a croc, and the tail as well.
“This animal is indigenous to Florida. If you were to land there, you’d see many of these near the swamps. I want you to demonstrate how you’d get this animal back in the cage without drawing blood. Mind you, you’re being scored. You’ll receive an F worth five percent of your overall grade if you can’t complete the task.”
The beast stomps towards me. I try walking in his direction, but trip over my own feet. I stand up quickly, but my arms are vibrating wildly.
The animal seems confused. I’m probably the easiest prey he’s ever witnessed.
It’s thirty yards away. The only thing between us is Gonzales, and she’s gesturing for her pet to dig in.
I rush towards the animal, an aggressive technique used on foxes when they’re alone.
Gonzales’ eyes widen. She curses under her breath when I trip and fall face first in front of the beast’s opened mouth. The women in the classroom, and Patrick, scream.
As the animal tries to clamp me between his teeth, Gonzales stomps on his mouth. She tells him to walk back to his cage and he obeys. Then, she pulls me from the floor and dusts me off. “Maybe you’re not the man you once were.” Projecting more loudly, she announces, “You’ll receive an F.”
Pulling my arm away roughly, I stroll back to my desk and ask, “Why?”
“Because you didn’t complete the task.”
“You told me to get the animal in the cage without drawing blood.” I spin around, intentionally fall on the ground, roll on my shoulders, and flip into my seat. It hurts my bones and gives me a slight headache, but proves my point. “You didn’t say I couldn’t use you to do it. He’s in the cage, right?”
The bell rings and the students laugh at my manipulation of the rules. As I walk to the exit, Gonzales exclaims, “Kode!” I nearly respond, but continue pressing towards the door. Angie, on the other hand, watches Gonzales desperately. “I’m sorry. I mean Kay. Stay in the classroom. We have a grade to discuss.”
Angie’s the last to leave. Gonzales presses a few buttons on her podium and the entire room shines blue. In awe, I ask, “What did you just do?”
“You seem like a private guy, so I made the room soundproof.”
“Can all the classrooms do this?”
“Yes. They’ll project natural sounds and images for people that love to ear hustle, but you’ll be able to speak freely with me.”
“What did you want to talk about? I receive an A, right?”
“Sadly, yes. You followed the rules and intentionally used your bandages to mislead me.” Tilting her head she confesses, “I just wanted to say, I’m glad to have you back.”
“But this is my first time here.”
“You walk and talk like him.”
“Who?”
“Kode Payne. I heard him in the hallways numerous times before you appeared, preceding the ceremony where everyone received their bandages.” I grunt, but don’t reply. She openly laughs at my silence. “If that’s the way you want to keep it...Kode was my favorite student. The only one I ever enjoyed.”
“I know who he was, but you said you could hear him. How? He wore Tartarus.”
“It was difficult, but I had an ear transplant. I used an owl liminal being that passed away. It was an amazing idea because life never sounded this spectacular.”
“When did you have the surgery?”
“After he beat my second labyrinth. It seemed as though Spencer Colt could hear him, so I tried a few experiments until I could as well. Worked like a charm.”
Chuckling I say, “Well, I hope you get to see him again.” Listening to her eyes, I notice they never turn, but stay focused straight ahead. “I mean, hear him.”
“Just realized I’m blind too?”
Laughing, I clarify, “There’s a difference between having my eyes closed and being blind.”
“Same for me.”
“What’s everything like in your head?”
“Words with detailed descriptions. What’s yours?”
“A fourth dimension. What words do you see for me?”
“That’s the best part. I get to read full tales and prophesies about you. I can’t wait to see the rest.”
Gonzales hits the switch and the walls return to normal. I rush out of the class because I hear Jules telling students to quiet down and prepare for the race.
Once I’m on the battlefield, Jules hits a button on his large tablet that he uses to make himself seem more distinguished. The ground rumbles and all the students step back. I hold the “sh” sound in the only word that comes to mind. Still dragging it out, I walk behind Seth and he quickly blurts, “Shit.”
Our heads are pointed to the sky, and our bodies are motionless. Even the cool kids are amazed.
The sand from the battlefield causes over half the students to cover their faces. Wind not only rips down from the stadium walls, but also from the gigantic obstacle course that Jules has just created with the click of a button.
“Welcome to the future of Colt Arena,” he says with a chuckle. “For years, the Moreno have dominated the technology at this university. But, just this summer, I was given a chance to prove my family’s innovative ski
lls. I’ve updated the school’s classrooms and the battlefield. Behold.”
Seth’s eyes twitch and his face loses color. Judging from his self-defeating personality, he’s probably blaming himself for not finding a cure to his disease.
He removes a new bottle of X-Eyes from his pocket with the X’s whited out on the scratched container. I want to stop him, but I have no clue what’s going on in his head. He takes three sips before putting the drink away.
“The structure is a combination of Colt Stone and Jules Marble. It reaches a height of fifty yards. There are three levels, including an underground area that you may take. Do not assume that because you have to run up to reach the top that you will lose time. There are obstacles on each level that will affect your results accordingly.”
Addison raises his hand and Professor Jules points to him. “How many laps?”
“Great question. Three.”
Patrick asks, “Are we allowed to fight?”
“No. This is purely a race. If you intentionally hinder another student’s progress, I will add time to your results. Though, this is a structurally safe course, you can still fall in many areas. There are no safety nets. All of you are god-level gladiators. I don’t expect fifty yards to kill you, though you may not wake up for some time.” Students laugh, but Jules didn’t intend to make a joke. “If you fall, there are plenty of ropes hanging from the sides of the course. Grab one quickly.”
The structure looks like a maze for the most dangerous track meet ever. Sure, there are tons of ropes to grab from any section of the course, but I don’t imagine everyone will make it out of this safely.
The underground level is simple. It has a basic area to run in a circle, but there are tons of machines down there that breathe fire, create ice, and throw barrels. I’ve played a classic video game like that and I’m not good at it. I’ll stay on the outside.
Next, there’s the ground level with tons of obstacles. I doubt anyone will take that route. There are four walls that must be scaled by fingertips and a long area of tires to hop through.
The second and third levels are very similar, except the highest part has an increased crash risk on the third level. Though it’s possible to jump from the third to second level—risking a broken ankle—the far side of the course has a gap that could provide an awesome ride to the ICU.
The top floor has the longest area to cover, I estimate that one trip around is one mile. The section below it is more closed in and probably has one-fourth less of a distance to travel. The ground level is one-third less than that. The underground has more running space to travel than the top and more obstacles. It’s suicide.
“The first three students to cross the finish line will be allowed to pick their own teams for finals. Anyone not chosen will have their name entered in a computer that automatically suits you with compatible teammates. There’s no guarantee that the top three from this race will win the tournament, but if you choose the strongest warriors, it is likely. Are there any questions?”
Nearly everyone raises their hands. Feeling left out, I decide to throw mine up as well. To that, Jules replies, “Excellent. You may begin.”
Though we managed to lose more students this year, Colt Arena took in a lot more gods. There are also several Apes and demigods that were bumped into god-level classes. Seventy-nine students rush the field and stomp through the structure. I don’t move an inch.
I wait until everyone has entered their areas to determine the best route.
“Are you actually planning on participating?” Jules asks Jamie and me. I hold up my index finger to hush him so I can count the students.
“Twenty-seven tried taking the easy way out underground. Thirty-four didn’t analyze the area ahead of them. That means there’s a race between sixteen of us on the second and third levels.”
“They’re pretty fast and you’re still standing here. That means there are fifteen.”
“Ten of them took the second level, which is a great idea, but Malik’s on the third and I assume he knows something about this course.” Turning to Jamie, I ask, “You coming?”
Shaking her head she replies, “No thanks.”
As I step onto the course, Jules drones, “They have a one-minute lead on you. Just wait here. I’ll only take off five points for your ignorance.”
I finally step across the start line. “Good. Add five more when I win.”
In order to make it to the third level, Professor Jules provided two clear walls that the others squeezed between. Instead of working my tiny little legs up that area, I use the ropes dangling from the side of the first level to swing ahead. After four jungle man leaps, I expel a shock wave force from my feet that boosts me up to the second floor.
Most of my classmates are fighting with some area of the course. Malik, Patrick, Selena, and Angie are on the top levels pushing through a narrow wooden walkway that sounds fragile. Malik doesn’t allow the sound to disturb him. He leaps over the other’s heads and lands in front of Monte. The two smile at each other and bolt around the swinging barricades.
I have issues of my own. I still need to find a way to the top. With the distance between these two levels, there’s no way I can make that jump again.
In the cave, I’ve been working on mimicking Blue-Skin’s technique of traveling through shadows. I didn’t understand it the first time I saw it, but when Hades created his own shadow, there was more data to analyze. It’s really about using darkness to increase speed. Scientist often brag about the speed of light, but don’t realize that darkness is what allows entrance into alternate dimensions. It has a speed as well. With the low clouds and sun blocked out, I could take the lead, but I could also tire out early.
I decide to squeeze through three extremely large warriors: Brandon, Trent, and William. So many of the giants stand both head and shoulders over me that I sneak through without them even noticing. I made sure not to bump into anyone, though it’s a tight fit.
Wesley shouts, “Don’t let him through,” but it’s too late.
I yelp, “Snitch!” as I roll on the ground to dodge Addison’s attempt to bump me out of the way.
We cross the starting point by leaping over a very large gap. That one is a minor skip compared to the second space that follows. It’s nearly eight feet long. Though I underestimated the amount of push I needed, I catch myself just in time to clear the area and maintain first place.
Abby and Selena are neck-and-neck, pumping their arms feverishly to catch me. I’m more worried about the group above us. They’re way ahead of us. There’s probably a sixty second lead behind the last person in their group, Patrick.
The distraction on this level is just too much.
The “solid” ground we’re running on isn’t as great as Jules wants to admit. I’m sure he didn’t do this on purpose, but the ground moves like a bridge. The more people running, the more it oscillates. I can’t maintain the proper footing to catch up with the others because the muscleheads chose this stage. We’re bouncing up and down ridiculously.
I still don’t see any ropes long enough to swing me up to the third level and we’re coming on the second pass already.
While searching for a means of elevation, something explodes underground. Seconds later, several barrels fly out with the sound firecrackers make before exploding in the night sky.
Half of the barrels are torched. The other half appear frozen. The explosion also caused other nasty effects. Most of the students that were racing underground are now unconscious. For Jules’ debut of his technological ingenuity, he definitely failed.
More barrels dash into the sky and crash in front of cars on the streets outside the arena. The force behind their flight causes a few of the ropes to land on top of the third and second floors. Without those hanging down, we’re a little less protected. If anyone falls between those open spaces, they’re out of luck.
With no time to worry, I run towards the center of the arena and jump out. I clumsily step onto a fly
ing barrel. Though I try being graceful, I lose my footing and fall backwards, landing directly on my spine. At least I’m finally at the top, but I’m dead last.
Luckily for me, this group performed several miracles. They destroyed all of the swinging obstacles during their first two laps. It was Malik’s idea.
Because of their efforts, they’ll only have to worry about a basic footrace. Unfortunately for them, as they take out the last few road blocks ahead, I have a free run.
Monte’s stolen the lead, and Malik looks determined to catch him. The two run forcefully, but Angie secretly activates her tattoo and dashes ahead of them. Patrick destroys a swinging pendulum with a handgun. Now I see what he’s doing. He’s breaking the obstacles so Malik can win and choose their team.
The pendulum crashes onto the surface and bounces hard. Though it will fall on the backside of the course, it’s currently blocking my run. I increase my speed before sliding under the bouncing weight, feet first.
It smashes down once more and rolls off the course. “Thanks dude,” I yell in passing.
I didn’t think the others would notice, but they glance over their shoulders. I forgot. All of them hate me.
Angie leaps over the first gap and lands gracefully. I pick up a black feather that falls on the ground as I pass the distance she just crossed.
All three are approaching the second jump, but they’re too close. Someone isn’t going to make it. I consider sending a warning, but I’d rather use their ignorance to my advantage.
Angie flies across the area and Monte follows an inch behind her. As Malik activates his codes to cross the space, I’m able to see the power that Richard warned me about.
This idiot purposely pushes Monte into Angie mid-air. Though he nearly kills himself, he crosses the distance. They all roll on the hard surface, one after another.
I propel over their fallen bodies and notice something wrong. Angie’s landed on the stone head first and is unconscious. She’s also wrapped in one of the ropes.
Malik and Monte struggle to stand to their feet, and don’t notice Angie falling on the backside of the course. Patrick screams for Malik to grab her. The mutt looks over his shoulder, but continues running. Monte staggers for a second when he sees what’s happening, but he’s too slow to react.
Angie falls off the edge. Without hesitation, I turn around and run in the opposite direction. The mutt passes me with a devilish grin.
Using a shock wave once more, I leap from the side of the structure and dive towards the ground. I cut the rope wrapped around Angie’s neck.
Before plummeting into the unforgiving sand and stone from fifty yards up, I build the strongest force I can acquire within my fist.
Several feet from the ground, I expel a huge energy while swinging at the battlefield. A large area of concrete shatters under my fist. Angie and I are surrounded by sand and debris. The crater I created fills with dust. Though it was enough to soften our fall, quite a few rocks leave us with some nasty scars. Much better than breaking our necks.
My body begs me to remain motionless until someone comes to assist us, but I rush over to Angie and pull her head out of the dirt to prevent her from suffocating. I’m forced to lift her with my left arm because I shattered my right arm and collarbone nearly as drastically as I demolished the ground.
Jules’ entire structure quakes wildly. Every student falls and holds onto something in order to stay on the course. Creaking sounds and clanks echo across the field. I accidentally destroyed several support beams and the structure is now under an incredible amount of pressure. This obstacle course has become a death trap that could crash at any minute. Knowing Professor Jules, we still need to cross that finish line if we want to choose our teams.
I cough blood into my hand and wipe the black residue on my legs.
The EMT Jules has prepared rushes to us. By now, everyone’s standing and analyzing the destruction I’ve caused. The male nurse examines my wound. “You’re hurt pretty badly. If you strain it any more, you could end up losing that arm.”
I’m sure he says some other crap I don’t feel like hearing right now, but I’m already standing on top of the third level, wondering how I got here. If I had to guess, I’d say it was anger.
I briefly open my eyes to see Malik stumbling to the finish line. Monte’s still in shock and trying to stand without falling off. With my head tilted and right arm dead, I mutter, “Go,” through my teeth.
Monte activates his barcodes and uses the air to propel his run. There’s no way he’ll catch Malik, but he can still beat the others.
The second level runners now have more obstacles. Yukio, the first level leader, was doing a fine job, but he was still a minute behind due to the area he chose.
So that’s it? Malik cheats his way to another win. Monte’s indecisiveness leads him to second place and I catch up to third.
No.
The force in my chest evolves into a black hole and I see darkness everywhere. I know how to use it and its properties to my advantage.
As the black dots rain on my skin, time slows down. I want to say I’ve gained some superhuman strength, but I think Seth snuck rapid perception nanobots into my jacket.
Malik’s ten seconds from the finish line and I’m over a mile away.
Once he jumps across the final space, I travel through the black particles.
To Malik’s surprise, I appear in the air, directly in front of him. I’m sure the expression on his face is priceless, but I don’t notice. For a brief second, I open my eyes. Concentrating the data flowing through them, I restrict my vision to a small area surrounding me. So much color bursts into my world, everything looks as though it were hand drawn and digitally painted.
I pinpoint my target—the dog wrapped under Malik’s chest.
When Shiva and I collide with his torso, I scream in agony and he does the same. The connection blows me in the opposite direction, the finish line, and Malik falls backwards on the black flames I created from traveling through the shadows. I lit the entire third level on fire.