Twenty Five
Chants from the stadium echo in my head. The sounds of fans cheering and stomping their feet dominate my world until more data flows into my eyes. That’s when it hits me. Our finals have already begun.
Seth and Richard are arguing. Their voices aren’t clear yet, but it seems that they’re unsure which pair should fight in the first match. They exit the gates, towards the center of the battlefield.
I’m resting on a bench inside one of the arena’s locker rooms. Carmen’s sitting on her knees and rubbing my forehead. Jamie’s glaring at her a few feet away. The beautiful goddess kisses me and light rushes into my eyes.
Jamie eases over to us and places her foot on the back of Carmen’s head. With a hint of aggression in her voice, she menaces, “If you kiss him one more time, I’m going to kill you.”
“But he’s my husband. I can do what I want.” Jamie slowly retracts her foot and roughly kicks Carmen in the shoulder. Carmen rolls over from the force. “That’s the first time you’ve spoken to me, by the way. You could at least say something nice.”
Shiva. Get Jamie to wake me up. Hurry.
Not a second after I finish my thought, Jamie shoves her fist into my stomach. I wheeze loudly while holding my abdomen. Jamie immediately bends down and rubs my head. “Are you okay?”
“Why would you do that?” Carmen yelps.
Seth and Richard are facing off against Yukio and Abby. As Thomas announces the fight, I run to the end of the locker room and peek my head outside of the cage.
“Forfeit!”
“What?” Seth and Richard shout together.
“Forfeit!”
“Has he lost his mind?” Seth turns to Richard, throwing his hands in the air. The teddy bear responds by shrugging his shoulders.
“Do it! Trust me. Raise your hand now.”
Yukio and Abby charge the two. They barely dodge the team’s first assault before raising their hands to quit the match. The crowd screams loudly and boos the two men. As they walk back towards me, I know I better give the best explanation of my life.
The group surrounds me near the student lockers. The lockers are huge because they have to hold some of the largest armor in the world. When I’m pinned against one, I don’t take up ten percent of its space.
“Morning.”
“Talk!” Carmen sneers.
Jamie turns her head towards the girl and nods. She’s impressed by Carmen’s audacity. “But you still are not suitable for him.”
“What?”
“Ladies. Savages. Allow me room to explain. Please.” As they back away, I briefly lift the golden pearls from my chest so I can have a little more air to breathe.
“Those were gray stones when you first got them,” Jamie points out.
“Yes.” I turn to the others and motion for them to sit on the benches. They refuse. “Okay. Tournament rules state that you have to win majority of your matches in order to participate in the finals.”
Richard grits his teeth. “Hurry this up. I’ve been working damn hard on my speed and you just gave us our first loss. You’re cool Kay, but I’m not above squeezing you to death.”
“Speeding up it is! There’s also another way to the top, from the bottom. The lowest ranking team has an opportunity to fight their way back up the ranks.” No one says a word. The musty smell of the locker room assaults my nose. I wonder if I’ve done a good enough job of convincing. I don’t want Richard to hug me again. “These matches will roll over into tomorrow evening. While everyone else is fighting, we’ll be resting.”
“What?” Seth sounds upset, but the demonic grin etching across his face lets me know that I’ve already convinced him. One down.
“When tomorrow comes, the top fighters will have less matches. True. But all we’ll have to do is win every single fight in the morning and we’ll be in the finals by night.” Jamie’s face moves an inch. “That’s a smile! A big one.”
Carmen twists her lips and rests her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”
“I hadn’t decided until after last night’s events. Though I want to fight and get a good chance at Malik, it’s not worth seeing you guys hurt.” I rest my head against the locker. “People call it the Mark James. He’s the only gladiator that’s risen from the bottom ranks in the two-day finals. He was also the only person without a team. Some say he did it purposely. Others believe he was too stupid to think of something so brilliant.”
Combing through his hair, Seth mumbles, “But if we lose one fight tomorrow.”
“It’s over. Can we do it?”
Everyone nods and we watch the rest of the matches for the remainder of the day. We’re booed heavily every time we approach the field.
Dennis eventually makes his way to the locker room. He calls me from the entrance, but I don’t respond. Slowly, he walks in and taps me on the shoulder. “What are you reading?”
Instead of looking up, I continue flipping through various documents on my phone. “Some of Jules’ research on the Cavern of Youth. I’ve searched through his work three times and just can’t understand why he hasn’t found it yet. Every mission he sends Monte on seems more like an opportunity to kill someone than to gain more knowledge.”
“Wait. You know about the Cavern of Youth?” I finally stop reading the documents. “You know where it is, don’t you?” Dennis rubs his chin. Excitedly, he asks, “Where?”
I place my phone in my pocket. “Don’t you have work to do? You’re normally busy during finals.”
“No. I handed all the work to Vincent. He’s struggling to keep up, but I’m sure he’ll manage to only destroy half of my work—” My phone rings loudly, catching everyone’s attention. I turn it off and read the message. “What’s that? It sounds bad and your expression isn’t any better.”
“It’s just my cell’s dramatic way of telling me it found information.”
“Like what?”
“Just a question I asked about people who invented or worked on sniper suit tech.”
“The armor the assassin was wearing that attacked you and Carmen?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you find?”
“It’s not important.”
Dennis sits next to me and grips my shoulder tightly. I wonder if he’ll activate his barcode again. He doesn’t. I guess it’s like being burned by fire. “You’ve been really distant lately.”
“Force of habit. You’ve been wearing armor a lot lately.”
“Time to start new habits. The technology is very different from the last real armor I wore in war eleven years ago.” He slaps his thigh to test its strength.
A loud crashing sound stretches from the battlefield. We all watch Angie and Monte crush two other god-level students within a matter of seconds.
“Kay—”
“I love you, Dad. I don’t need some long speech or hug. I’m not that type of guy.” After thinking for a bit, I correct myself, “Well, when I’m near Hayley I am, but that’s not me with anyone else. You can be hard on me and yell, if you want. I’m not Spencer. I don’t need you to show me love on a daily basis.”
“Then, why are you blocking yourself from me and others?”
“It’s what I do. I don’t trust you fully, but I deserve that.” I’ve wanted to tell him that forever. It’s nearly liberating to get off my chest. Then again, all my pent up aggression definitely helped me when chopping off body parts last night. “You’re using me too. You even got me to separate Carmen and Vincent, didn’t you? That’s why you opened the Colt annulment application within seconds. You were waiting.”
“Sorry.” I realize that he may be at war with his own brother as well. Vincent reeks of evil and lies. He’s the type of businessman that I imagined my forefather fought against when creating this war. My dad trusted me enough to draw them apart and save Carmen’s life.
Ms. Love watches us from the gate. I kind of feel stronger with her eyes on me.
I rub the back of my neck w
hile processing this year’s events and all of my strange relationships. Hardly moving my lips, I confess, “Though I feel responsible for what I did to your real son, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. You’re a great guy and I don’t mind being a part of your plans, but I’m also the type that will kill you if I don’t like them. That’s what I’ve been fighting. Myself.”
“You’re just as guilty of making mistakes as me. You think about Spencer too much and you adjust your behavior because you assume I want you to be like him. Kay, I never felt like either of you were my real sons. Remember, Spence and I weren’t that close. But I can still treat you like my kid.”
“A kid? Remember what the news report said I did? I’ll be the death of you.”
Dennis punches me in the arm and huffs air through his nose. “You’re kind of the bad guy to everyone’s story, but you have a good heart. I don’t want to change who you are, so if you hate what I’ve got stirring, do what you have to.” Winking he teases, “Be warned, if you come after me, I won’t go down without a fight.”
“You’re the perfect dad for me.”
Dennis and I return our attention to the field. It seems that Monte took things too far and their opponents are being carried away on stretchers. My team looks distraught after seeing how easily the duo knocked out two very powerful god level warriors. With their heads hung low, Carmen, Richard, and Seth drag their feet to me. They’re waiting for instructions or motivation. I doubt I’m the right man for the latter.
I listen as the fans talk about various topics including the stupid team that continues quitting their matches. I think the others can sense the crowd’s displeasure too, but there’s no need to worry about them. We’re our own unit and we’ll have to stay strong to win.
Dennis playfully runs his hand through my dreads. “I know you wouldn’t pass up a chance to fight. You must be going for the underdog rule.”
Carmen’s smile warms my heart a little. “If it’s what Kay decided on, it must be the best plan.”
Seth adds, “I’m with the idiot in whatever he does. His training is murder, but he’s pretty smart. I guess.”
Richard nudges the drunken nerd. “He’s probably smarter than you.”
“He is,” Jamie mechanically confirms. Her words cut him the deepest. I see a resolve build on his face. He’ll spend the rest of his life proving to her that I’m not.
Dennis leaves his seat. “You all should be sleeping in shifts already. The sun’s setting. If you want to take advantage of the rule, you’ll have to manually forfeit the fights. You can’t just skip them. Start winning your matches at five in the morning. Don’t lose one or it’s over.” He checks his phone. “And luckily for you, the other team that lost all of their matches just won their first one ten minutes ago.”
“We know,” Carmen sighs in a low voice. “We were the ones screaming insanely loud for them.”
Holding onto the pearls around my neck, I convert them into a brighter gold. “Don’t worry, Dad. We’ll be ready.”
As night approaches, Richard taps me on my shoulder, meaning it’s my turn to fall asleep. Within seconds, I’m out. The others adjust their schedules to make sure I get extra rest. Carmen told them about my rescue mission last night. They give me the most amount of time and wake me up immediately before the first fight.
“We have two minutes, Kay.” Richard offers his hand and pulls me up from the cold bench.
Okay. We can do this. Maybe.
“Here’s the deal. Seth, I need you to go to the field with me to fight Patrick and Selena. They’re our first combination. Even if we beat them, they’re still high-ranking so we’ll see someone from their team later. But there’s a problem. I need you to do most of the work.”
Seth sounds hostile, “What?”
“Dude. Patrick’s practically murdering everyone he’s fighting. Selena hasn’t even thrown a single punch. I need you to go after him. Think of him as your boss-level character.” Turning to the others I project, “I’m not fighting because I need to face off against Malik or Angie, whoever comes first.”
I program our entry on the phone and Thomas screams our names. The other two approach the field with huge smirks. They’re ready for us to forfeit again. Patrick’s in great shape. No one has put up a good fight for him thus far.
If this were a match between only the gods, he’d have many more scars. But with the entire school involved, he’s yet to cross anything that can pose a threat to him.
Seth rigidly glues his eyes onto the field. He can see his opponent and ex-boyfriend clearly from where he’s standing. I’m sure he’s more knowledgeable of Patrick’s abilities than all of us.
I’m unable to hide the diabolical grin stretching across my face as an immoral idea crosses my mind. “Seth. Take a swig of X-Eyes. I know you’ve been training drunker than you should’ve.”
He holds up one hand while yanking the bottle from his pouch with the other. “Cool. You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Sipping more than he should, Seth holds the bottle at a low angle. Then, I rush behind him and point the bottle up. The others scream at me as I force him to drink over half the alcohol in a matter of seconds. Directly in his ear, I whisper, “I’m sorry to do this to you, but you’ve been holding yourself back in training. When you were pissy drunk, you beat the hell out of me. So, I’m going to reprogram your brain.”
Richard yells, “Dog. You’re going to kill him!”
Once the bottle is empty, I shove him out of the gate with the others still yelling at me. Turning around I show them the bottle. “Anyone ever notice that the two X’s on Seth’s drinks are always scratched off? I wondered why at first, but realized that he’s shooting them off. He’s the only person with the skill and capability of taking on Patrick.”
“Come on man! A few extra sips would’ve been cool. He’ll be too drunk or brain dead now.”
“His tolerance is way too high for it to kick in yet. Seth drinks more than you think. And...” I tap the bottle gently on the wall. It shatters to pieces. “...his skill is terrifying.” Seth staggers wildly while shaking his head. He probably doesn’t know where he is anymore. I run behind him and wrap my arm around his waist. “In front of you is Spencer’s killer. Patrick. We don’t want him dead, but once we’re done, we’ll torture him for a week straight. Don’t let his girl get in the way either. Knock her out.”
As the lies resonate in his ears, I hold him back. The crowd falls silent as Seth loses his mind. He screams and reaches towards Patrick. Currently, he’s so drunk that he can’t find my hand on the back of his collar to stop me from holding on to him. That’s a good thing because I’m too short; if he stood up straight, I’d probably lose my balance.
“You upset because he’s forcing you to forfeit, Seth?” Patrick chuckles. “If you’re all scared of us, I don’t blame you, but just quit and stop wasting time. I could be asleep.”
“No, Patrick. Pick up your weapon please. I want you at your best when your ex-boyfriend beats your ass.” Selena turns to Patrick. He darts his eyes back to us as though he hadn’t heard a word I said. The gothic girl’s mouth drops as she finally recognizes the truth. “What? I told you he was gay. You should see the things he does with Addison while you’re using egg whites on Malik.”
Patrick and Selena inspect each other from the corners of their eyes. The little guy charges his barcodes viciously. I’ve done my part there. Now to turn my attention back to the lunatic in my hands.
Seth’s still going insane and repeatedly mumbling, “Let me go.”
“Wait for the announcer,” I mutter. “But hey. If you really want to beat him, use them.”
I unlock Seth’s leg pouch. The goo he acquired in the dungeon last year rushes out and attaches itself to his arms. Seth stands up calmly as though he’d just gained control over the toxin. He watches as his weapons swirl around his arms.
The nerd activates his bullhorns, turning them a bright red. Both wads of goo completely cov
er his arms. They change into a mechanical armor that stretches up to his biceps. His palm glows with a golden light and four black marbles hover around his hands.
Seth’s been training with those weapons in the hills for the past three months, possibly longer. He always practices in the morning and usually starts his jog before I’m out of the dungeon. I became suspicious of his training when I first noticed his scratched bottles.
Last week, I skipped one of my dungeon duties to recover. I heard him working to control his weapons. They seem to try possessing him when he’s sober, but if he’s extremely drunk, they obey his every command. This should be the most they’ve ever listened.
I rush towards the gate as Thomas starts the match. “Let the forfeit begin!”
Selena takes a seat on the ground and Patrick converts his handgun into a large military assault rifle. It’s three times bigger than the one Crusty had at the crack house and ten times larger than anything he’s used for finals. Patrick’s mainly resulted to handguns for his opponents.
Holding it up, he fires off what sounds like a thousand rounds. Seth drunkenly stumbles towards the onslaught. Though he’s staggering left to right, he’s actually dodging the bullets. That upsets Patrick. He converts his current bulky weapon into a shorter assault rifle with a large barcode over the drum magazine and a red dot scope. After shouldering the beast, Patrick quickly side steps and focuses his attacks more steadily.
Seth turns his back to the weapon. Yet, when the first bullet grazes his shoulder, he lifts his left hand. The four balls hovering around his arm twists into a whirlwind. They devour all of Patrick’s projectiles. The crowd clamors about the quitters finally fighting.
“Spencer,” Seth mumbles before charging Patrick.
Selena’s eyes widen as Seth approaches at a very threatening rate. She prepares to move out of the way, but he seemingly trips over his own feet and rolls over his shoulders repeatedly. Somehow, Seth continues blocking the shots with his left hand. With a sudden burst of energy, he stops rolling and leaps out at Selena, kneeing her in the face.
She’s out. Cold.
No longer blocking the bullets, Seth actually outruns Patrick’s aim while dashing around his enemy in an arc. His drunken run appears out of control and it’s completely unpredictable. Patrick converts the gun into a missile launcher and immediately fires a heat seeker. I consider helping, but I’m too involved in watching.
For a second, Seth out runs the rocket, but it catches up to his heel. The explosion causes him to fly across the field, skidding for some distance. Patrick places his rocket launcher on the ground and kisses it.
Seth lies motionless in the dirt.
Thomas announces, “It appears that two warriors are out of the fight. This leaves a match between the mysterious Kay and my protégé, Patrick Gibson. Don’t let me down youngin’!”
That’s when Patrick remembers me. He transforms his gun back into an assault rifle and arrogantly declares, “Don’t worry. The bullets aren’t the real thing because the professors won’t allow it. These buggers explode on your body at contact. Still, they’ll manage to do some organ damage.”
Remembering Ra’s finger movement at the bar, I shake my index. “You should know better than to listen to Thomas. He always calls matches too early.”
Patrick whips around with his eyes wide open. Seth stands to his feet and whispers, “Spencer,” constantly. He opens various compartments on his mechanical arms and a swarm of tiny black metal spheres fly out. Seth extends his hand, firing the miniature bullets at Patrick.
Patrick shoots down each ball, one by one. A few slip by and pierce him in the leg and tear his skin, but he doesn’t lose focus. He fires until Seth’s ammunition depletes and hundreds of black steel balls are on the floor.
Seth has already closed the gap between the two and they engage in a one-on-one fist fight. The two men punch and kick, elbowing each other in the ribs, cheek, and legs. Patrick’s attacks are eloquent but fierce. He looks like a ballerina that knows Kung Fu. Seth on the other hand couldn’t appear more disoriented and wild. It’s as though he’s trying to remember years of training, but can’t. Still, he’s managing to keep up with Patrick’s skills. Eventually, Patrick hits Seth with a low blow and my teammate crumbles over.
Taking the moment of weakness to his advantage, Patrick flips Seth over his shoulder and holds a Glock to Seth’s head.
“Sorry to do this, but I want to win, Leo.” Seth struggles to raise his arm. It looks like he’s trying to shake Patrick’s hand. “I’m not falling for that.”
Seth flicks Patrick off and the hundreds of marbles on the ground all attack the flamboyant warrior, ripping off his clothes and pieces of his flesh.
Patrick falls backwards, passing out. All the parts of Seth’s weapon swiftly return to the components on his arms. The goo slides back into his pouch.
He stands up and tries stomping on Patrick’s head, but I stop him from crushing the guy just in time.
While dragging him back, kicking and screaming, he frees himself from my grip and pukes. Once he’s unconscious, I lift the savage nerd and carry him inside.
That’s one big win out of the way.
When I make it to the benches, Carmen and Richard tend to Seth’s wounds. Jamie approaches me and says, “Now I see why you gave Seth the drink. I didn’t know Patrick was so strong.”
I flop down on a bench and wait ten minutes. When the next match’s window opens, I program Richard and Carmen’s names. Standing behind them as they treat Seth, I rest my hands on their shoulders. “You’re up.”
The two nervously walk to the gates leading to the field. Carmen grabs Richard’s hand and squeezes it twice. “You said I’d do better this time in finals. I need your help for that.”
Richard reveals his charming smile, which appears to lift a large weight from both of their shoulders.
We’re up against Yukio and Abby again, but this time the two seem dead tired. They almost lost their last match an hour ago and their fatigue still shows. This battle is about endurance and these two are holding their team together. I hate to have my teammates crush their last hope this early in the morning, but I’m not losing today.
Thomas starts the match, but a Mexican standoff occurs. No one moves.
This is Carmen’s first fight since last finals and she’s a bit shaky.
Richard finally initiates combat. He chases down Yukio to match up with power, which is perfect. Abby zips past the teddy bear and heads straight towards Carmen. She tries planting a punch on Carmen’s chin, but her fist lands flat against a clear wall. The shield is a part of Carmen’s invisible weapon that appears from nowhere. Currently, it’s a transparent blue barrier.
Abby applied too much force to the punch and fractured her hand. She hides her left arm behind her back and tries running away.
I taught Carmen well. She capitalizes by crushing Abby over the head with a staff the same color as the shield. Instead of allowing Abby to pass out, she assaults her ten more times—as I instructed—though she lightens her strikes near the end. Carmen’s not the type to finish someone off ruthlessly.
Now, the ratio is set in our favor, but Richard’s slow punch is countered by Yukio’s speed and dragon strength. The hook he connects on Richard’s chin is mind blowing, but Rich would know better than anyone else. My friend crashes into the ground without applying any brakes.
I think Thomas learned to stop calling the matches early. He’s waiting to see if the big guy will get up.
Yukio assumes that his opponent is no longer a threat; he chases down Carmen.
I tighten my hands around the gate, wondering if Carmen’s too nervous to move. “Hey, Ms. Love. Run!”
It takes a second for her to wake up, but she does just that. Her speed is too much for Yukio. He removes his staff to try and lengthen his reach. It doesn’t work.
As Richard rolls on the ground, I try to think of a strategy. His breaths seem as restricted as mine. It’s almo
st as though a huge weight were on his shoulders.
Why?
His armor is the same as it’s always been. Big. But he’s been putting on more weight every day, no matter how much we make him run.
A light shines over my head in some dimension.
“Rich! Where’d you get your new armor?”
He sits up and shakes his head. “It’s the same one.”
“No it’s not. Who’d you let modify it?”
“Seth!”
“Take off the chest plate and save Carmen before she’s hit. Now!”
Richard shakes his head. “Do you know how fat I am? Dog, I’m not taking off my chest plate in front of all these girls.”
Carmen trips over a rock and falls next to Richard. Yukio takes a moment to catch his breath. He fires up his codes under his bandages and chases down the two.
Passionately I roar, “Now or never. You know you’d never let a woman get hurt.”
Richard breaks his armor in half by pulling it apart. Then, he throws both pieces over Yukio’s head before catching the dragon’s staff with one hand. When the two fragments land, the ground crumbles and debris raises over the field. Richard smiles and breathes freely.
Shaking his head at his opponent, he hums, “Sorry Yo.”
Richard grabs Yukio’s face and drags him along the field at a blazing speed for nearly two hundred yards. In a matter of seconds, Richard smashes Yukio directly into the Colt Stone.
Yukio doesn’t scream or cringe because he passes out on contact.
Our second win happens in a flash.
When the two make their way back to the locker room I announce, “Now, I’m sending you both out for the rest of the day. Richard, don’t let Carmen fight. I need her for later.”
He looks disappointed when replying, “I’ll do my best.”
“What about her?” Carmen asks, while pointing at Jamie?
Jamie’s on her knees, calmly watching Seth sleep.
“I’ll use her when Richard gets pooped.”
“You’re going to let her fight the last ones and we haven’t even seen her in action?”
Jamie continues staring into Seth’s face.
“She’s my secret weapon. She won’t lose.”
After fifteen matches, seven back-to-back, Richard returns to our side, out of breath and energy. Carmen had to help him a lot on the last one.
Though he’s proud to now be the fastest man on campus, he admits his defeat. “I never fought for four hours. I’m sorry Kay. That’s it for the day. I tried to save some energy for one more later on.”
“You kidding? Come on man; you’re our savior today. This wouldn’t be possible without you.”
“And Seth,” he corrects me while resting his hand on Seth’s leg. The drunk is still motionless and I’m starting to worry. I may have pushed him too far. “I never would’ve beat Patrick. When Seth wakes up, tell him that he’s the savior.”
We shake hands. Now that the soppy moment is out of the way, I approach Jamie. “Hey love, you said you’re my weapon, right?”
She blushes before removing her armored white shirt.
Whoa. Jamie has a nice figure. I don’t know why I couldn’t notice in the suit, but she’s definitely curved nicely. I’m starting to second guess my choice with Carmen. If I ever become a shallow jerk, I’m going to choose the emotionless weapon.
Luckily, Richard is falling asleep because I reveal my barcodes and finish undressing her with my eyes. Strangely, her back still sounds like an empty space. It’s a black spot in my vision.
Once she turns around, I see the most horrifically frightening tattoo I’ve ever witnessed in my life. It’s Spencer’s cross with many of the Yang Arena’s male warrior’s tattoos integrated into it. I see Arnold’s signature X and several other tattoos of men that I’ve killed including the most recent, Geb and Mel.
Naturally, my hand drifts towards it.
Carmen screams because I saw Jamie’s breasts and I’m about to touch her back. She angrily grips my wrist, digging her nails into my bandages. With a graceful movement that’s more terrifying than anything I’ve ever seen, Jamie grabs Carmen by the throat and heinously throws her into a locker, causing it to cave in.
“If you ever touch my owner like that again, I will kill you ahead of schedule.” She blushes once more when looking back at me. “Your touch activates the data, but it would be my personal preference if you kissed it.”
I grin to let Carmen know she deserves being forced to watch this after the Vincent incident. Then, I lean forward, grab Jamie by the waist, and listen to her release a sweet and gentle moan after I press my lips against her barcodes.
Once I pull away, a white material similar to Shiva’s gloves wraps Jamie’s entire body. The suit is snug and simple. The armor is mechanical like Seth’s arm with various compartments hiding barcodes between them. Unlike the revealing armor all the other women in my life wear, Jamie’s covers her entire body. The last piece that forms is a mask that conceals her nose and mouth. It may hide skin, but the tight suit shows off her curves and breasts so much that even I’m in awe.
Jamie interlocks her fingers with mine and drags me to the field to face off against Wesley and Selena. Malik’s not coming out to fight me. That’s annoying.
Thomas announces, “Well, the underdogs are on the rise and only six matches away from total victory. Who would’ve thought they’d pull this trick out of their sleeve? Coming to the field, we have Jamie Latu and Kay no last name. It’s the first time this pair has stepped out. They should be very rested. I’m sorry to tell them, the underdog effect has some nasty side effects because the next five matches are back-to-back for this group. And these are the toughest students from Colt Academy. Can they knock out the remaining warriors? Let’s find out. Go!”
Without moving an inch, I say, “Well weapon, how strong are you?”
The duo charges us, but end up falling and bleeding substantially at my feet. I try with all my might to figure out how they got there, but I can’t.
The crowd silences.
Even Thomas waits for the medics to remove the team before trying to describe the match. “Hey, uh. I’m looking at the tape and it seems that. Well, it honestly looks like they just fell and started bleeding. Either one of those two are really fast or,” he takes a long and awkward break, “I don’t even know the other option. Let’s hope they’re fast.”
“What did you do?” I inquire as the next set of god-level students exit the locker rooms.
“I defeated them as you requested.” Her voice is muffled by the mask and it sounds robotic. She’s a true killing machine. Awesome.
Without seeming out of breath or tired, Jamie puts the other eight opponents to sleep in the same fashion. The audience never cheers for us. Thomas asks for replays of every match, but not even the slow motion cameras can pick up more than a blur of white before the gladiators fall on their faces. After every match, Jamie returns to my side and holds my hand again.
“Well, that’s it folks,” Thomas says dryly. “Somehow, the underdogs have a spot in the finals.”
I hug Jamie and thank her for the support. I can feel and hear a faint wheezing sound omit from her lungs with each inhale. It isn’t bad or anything serious to worry about, but it is different for her.
“Kode. This is a personal request—not because I really need it—but because I’d like to piss Carmen off.” Her puppy dog eyes look innocent. “Can you carry me back to the room?” I squint and try my hardest to read her expression. She’s lying. Jamie’s really tired, but too prideful to admit it. “I’m crazy. I can’t ask my owner a request. Ignore me.”
I lift her into my arms. “Jamie. Are you technically human?”
“No and yes. My data projects me as a human, but I am Shiva’s spirit.”
“Can you project yourself as something else?”
“I think you are starting to catch on.” Once we’re inside, she robotically asks, “Can you place me right n
ext to Seth?” Before I sit her down, she requests, “Closer.” I get her pretty close. “Closer.”
When Jamie’s finally situated, I stand next to Carmen at the gate. She thumps me on the arm. “I said no girls, but you go and pick the only other one on campus that hates me.”
“You think there are only two?”
With an evil grin she whispers, “Plus, you held her hand and carried her back? We have something to talk about when we get home.”
“It’s like I’m really married. I want a divorce too.”
“No.”
Monte and Angie walk onto the field. Neither of them have more than a scratch or two. Finally, Malik approaches the center with Selena. The better match up would be Malik and Wesley, but since Patrick was rushed to the hospital, Wesley had to take over. Malik offered no assistance in their matches and Wesley overexerted himself. I can’t believe Malik’s arrogant enough to think he could take on Angie and Monte alone. He must have something worked out with Vincent.
Though the gates have been lowered, I hack into the system with my phone in order to raise the one before me. Hearing the metal slam to the top catches all of their attention.
I never speak a word, but point directly at Angie. Malik is taken back. He’s even bold enough to boast, “What does he want? For you to fight me? Doesn’t he know that your father would never let you take me on? Even I know that. This is in the bag. It’s pretty much Monte and me.”
“Alright fighters, you surely know the rules by now. This one is for the finals. Go!”
Monte folds his arms while Angie screams and runs in front of him. With no barcode or powers, no special tricks or swift movement, she charges right for Malik and lunges her fist into his left eye.
Oh!
He tried blocking it, but wasn’t nearly strong enough to impede her momentum. As he falls back, Angie converts Kongō into a staff and smashes the golden rod against Selena’s temple.
Thomas stands from his seat and holds his microphone against his lips. “Lights out!” Though he turns off the mic, I listen as he speaks to the sound engineer, “I don’t understand what’s going on this year. Did they put something new in the cafeteria food?”
Angie smirks at me before returning to her gate. Monte keeps his eyes glued to me for most of his walk as well.
Carmen rests her hands over her chest. The breathing techniques aren’t working. She’s scared. With her head lowered, she asks, “You and Jamie are going against that?”
“Jamie’s too tired. It’s you and me.”