“We’re early... By three minutes,” Summer says after glancing at her phone.
“I don’t care.” He turns his back, dismissing us entirely, and begins to walk ahead. Summer twists her wrist and shakes her head, gesturing to Clarissa and Kaci sitting on the bench not too far from us. They both shrug, and Summer mouths that she’s going to kill him.
She begins to march forward, but Clarissa waves her hands in front of her, begging her not to, while Kaci laughs.
“He gets like that sometimes, but he’s harmless.” Kaci bats her wrist dismissively while she and Clarissa walk towards us. Tristen must have overhead, because right after she said that, he turns around and scowls.
“Hey, I heard that!” We all freeze for a moment but continue to follow him after he turns back around.
“Well, that was creepy,” Summer mumbles under her breath. “You do know that Tristen’s like, the biggest jerk in our class by far, right? Maybe even the whole school now that Von’s out of the picture.”
“When I first started, he made my life hell. No way you could have missed that, Kaci,” I say flatly, agreeing with Summer.
“Oh, I know what this is. I thought you were an exception, but I guess I was wrong. I should have seen it coming a mile away. I can’t believe I’m so dense.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“The long training sessions. The studying. The coming at his every beck and call. I thought at first you had your eyes on someone else, but it seems like little miss perfect just couldn’t resist the emotionally unavailable, brooding, bad boy with a temperament for being a jerk, that’s what.”
“He’s not bad, jus—”
“Misunderstood? HA! See?! I called it with Erik and Penelope, now I’m calling it with you.”
“I don’t have a—he’s been teaching me how to—just because I train with someone doesn’t mean I’m obsessed. You—I’m not boy-crazy. I’m trying to learn. Geez!”
“Infighting, at a time like this?” Clarissa presses her fingers against her forehead and exhales. “This can’t be good for our morale.”
“I honestly can’t believe this is really happening,” I respond.
“How can you not? Look who you’re talking about,” she muses while we both watch them continue to bicker. “Well, I guess it’s better than the alternative.”
“Can you guys shut up already?” Tristen looks over his shoulder and snarls. “I’m trying to concentrate.”
“Wait, do you think he heard us?!” Kaci asks.
“I dunno.” Summer snickers. “Why don’t we ask him and find out?”
“No!”
“I’m going to speed up,” I say to Clarissa. “Care to join me?”
“Sure.” I align my pace with Clarissa’s and we begin to pull away from the other two while they continue their spat. “You know, I should do a social experiment with those two. I can totally tie them together for twenty-four hours. It’d make good TV. A carefree rebel paired up with someone like Kaci? I could make millions, easily. It’d sell itself.”
“Hey, Tr—OW!” I turn around to see Summer rubbing her head and Kaci laughing with an outstretched arm. She’d made a barrier and Summer ran right into it.
“Serves you right.”
“See? Millions.”
“Cut it out, I mean it.” Tristen growls.
“Hey, what are you concentrating on like that?” Clarissa asks once we get in earshot of Tristen. “There’s no use in trying to guess what we’re up against. I’ve already tried. There’re too many possibilities.”
“I don’t care what I’m up against,” he answers. “I’m ready for anything...those two are just ruining the vibe and it’s really starting to tick me off.”
We continue our walk until we finally make it to the training facility. From there, we enter and follow the signs until we find Mr. Hoover waiting for us in the common area near the lockers. “Perfect. You all came together.” Tristen scopes out the room with a quiet intensity.
“Where are the others?” he asks.
“They’re just up ahead. They’ve been briefed on the nature of the exercise, and I gave them time to change. You all are receiving the same curtesy. Once you all are ready, I’ll refresh everyone on what I discussed in the email I sent yesterday morning.”
“’Kay.” Tristen struts towards the locker room, and I follow him. We both change as quickly as we can, neither of us saying a word to each other. The girls come out shortly after us, and once we’re present, Mr. Hoover carries on with his briefing.
“As discussed in the emails you’ve received, each match will only contain two students, yourself and your opponent. Just like standard ABT combat exercises, the goal is to render your opponent unable to fight, either by our decision, the flow of battle, their resignation, if they are rendered unconscious, or in this case if you knock them off of the battle grounds. This training facility will be the grounds that the exercises take place. Since you’ve all been here before, you are aware that the stage inside is neutral. There are no elements of terrain to provide an artificial advantage or disadvantage. Furthermore, we’ve ensured that the identities of both yourselves and your opponents have been kept confidential. Once both combatants are on the stage, combat will begin at the buzzer. Any questions so far?”
Mr. Hoover continues to brief us on the rules, and after he finishes, he escorts us to the area where our battles are going to be taking place. As I look around the facility, I see Mr. Ferris in the stands, arms folded and waiting. I’d asked him if he wanted to watch, and he told me he would if Mr. Hoover allowed it. Judging on how Mr. Hoover was trying to get him more involved on campus, I guess he didn’t mind having him tag along.
We walk up a flight of stairs, and each of us takes a seat on the bench not too far from where we came. Directly across from us on the other side of the arena, I see the five students that we’re up against. Thankfully, none of them are Tyler. “Make yourselves comfortable. The matches will begin shortly. Once your match is over, you are welcome to observe the remaining matches or leave. I’m sure it’s been a long day for everyone involved, so naturally, the choice is yours.” Mr. Hoover walks down the aisle towards another set of stairs. His body shrinks with every step as he descends until he’s completely out of sight.
“So, we’re up against those guys, huh? They don’t seem too strong,” Summer says.
“Looks can be deceiving,” Clarissa responds. “They’re probably thinking the same thing about us.”
“True.” Summer nods. “I’ve been thinking about my strategy, and I guess with the way things are set up, it’s probably best to end things as quick as possible. We both have the element of surprise in our favor, and they have no idea what I’m capable of. I’m sure they’ve arranged it so my opponent has a chance, so I wonder what I’m going to be up against. I do okay against fire, but it depends on the strength of the user. That’s my biggest counter...at least personally. Blah. I’ll figure it out.”
“You should be fine. You’re smart. Just use your head.”
“Yeah, if I’m in a tight spot, I’ll find a way. That, you can count on.”
Summer and Clarissa continue to speculate on our opponents, swapping theories on their powers and the best way to approach their upcoming fight. Even though I’m sandwiched between them, I don’t chime in. My sights are focused instead on the arena below.
Will my kite style be enough? What about my energy levels? Will I be able to keep up? What are their abilities? What if I don’t know how to fight back? Do I even stand a chance?
“Aiden.” Summer places a hand on my back, and it anchors me back to reality. “Breathe.” I exhale into the air and breathe through my nose, nodding afterwards. “You can do this. It’s what we’ve been training for.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Students, if I can have your attention please?” Mr. Hoover’s voice booms from the intercom just as I notice him on the ground floor, tablet in hand. He has an accompanying hea
dset and is standing in the neutral zone between the wall and the stage. “The exercise for today is now underway. Thank you for your patience.”
“Here we go...” Summer says flatly. “I wonder who’s going first? I bet it’s me. Watch.”
“Will Dirk and Tristen make their way to the stage, please? Dirk and Tristen, please report to the center of the stage.” A picture of both of their faces pops up on the jumbotron in the center of the arena.
“Tch.” Tristen rises from his seat. “Of course, it would be me. Watch and learn.”
“Tristen’s first?” Clarissa asks. As Tristen walks down the stairs, I see his opponent stand and walk towards the balcony. He’s a brunette with a medium build, walking the line between built and lean from what I can tell. He hurdles over the balcony railing and lands out of bounds. “Interesting...” Clarissa presses her hand to her chin. “The suits provide shock absorption and reinforcement, but we’re about twenty-five feet up... He didn’t even flinch or use anything to brace his landing. Maybe he has super strength or something similar?”
“Maybe,” I respond.
Tristen and Dirk meet at the center of the ring, ten or so feet away from each other. I glance up at the jumbotron just above the anchored mics for a better visual and watch as Tristen stares down his opponent. Dirk smiles cockily, his arms folded and his posture relaxed. For him to be that confident, he must think that his powers are more than enough. It doesn’t even look like he’s taking Tristen seriously.
“Students, are you ready?” They both nod, neither of them breaking eye contact in the process. “Just as discussed, once the timer buzzes, the match will officially begin. Good luck.” On the jumbotron, a vertical set of bulbs emerges between their portraits with a coinciding timer directly above. It ticks down from five, each light turning pale-yellow as it goes down, until finally, it hits zero.
At the sound of the buzzer, Tristen roars and immediately slings an orb of fire at Dirk. He takes Tristen’s attack, head-on, not moving an inch as the flames wash over him.
“No way!” Summer leans forward and sticks her head out as she points at the stage. “Are you guys seeing this? What’s his ability?!” Tristen throws another fireball, and the outcome’s the same. Dirk doesn’t react or seem damaged at all. “Stop holding back, Tristen! Let him have it!” Summer yells.
“...I don’t think he is, Summer,” Clarissa says. “...and I think I know what Dirk’s ability is.” Tristen connects his palms and releases a torrent of flames, but Dirk charges through them effortlessly and throws a punch. Tristen cuts off his attack and dodges Dirk’s blow by slipping underneath it. He then ignites his fist and launches an uppercut into Dirk’s chest. Tristen quickly pulls his fist back in pain, and rolls out of the way to avoid Dirk’s next attack.
He then blasts Dirk in the side, to no avail.
“I think I know what is now, too,” I muse while watching the ongoing fight. “It’s steel...”
“Or at least something like it,” Clarissa adds. “It’s something that’s fortifying his body, for sure.”
“If he can’t hurt him, that means he has to go for a ring-out, right?” I ask.
“Maybe,” she responds, “but I don’t think he’s at that point yet. He’s working on something. I can tell.”
“He better be... He’s expending a lot of energy just trying to keep him at bay,” Kaci says.
Dirk uppercuts Tristen in the stomach, but he catches his fist with both hands. Even though he blocked it, the force is still enough to lift him a few inches off of the ground. Tristen tries to distance himself to gain space, but a dark-brown sludge slowly engulfs his hands as he moves, binding them together. “So, he can disperse it, too. That explains it,” Clarissa mutters. Tristen grunts and swings his entombed hands at Dirk, not missing a step on his offensive front. Dirk’s head bobs from the impact, and Tristen swings again, connecting flush against Dirk’s cowl. “Dirk’s body produces a hardening, mud-like substance that he can secrete from his pores. It looks like it’s heat resistant too.”
“Right. Otherwise, he’d be using his flames.” I clench my teeth as I watch the fight progress. Dirk doesn’t appear to be as agile or combat savvy as Tristen, however, the muck he’s transferring to Tristen is clearly slowing him down. By the way Tristen’s arms are hanging, I can tell that it’s heavy too.
“It’s quite the predicament... Dirk can sling his mud, use it to reinforce his body, or transfer it through contact. He can also manipulate it to seep through the fibers of his suit, and it can expand at his command, but only to an extent. I don’t think he can shoot it though. It might be too heavy. Plus, if he could, Tristen would have already lost.”
“Yeah... He’s barely hanging on.”
Dirk plants more of his mud on Tristen as the fight progresses, capitalizing on his brazen attitude even though the match is quickly becoming one-sided. The splotches of mud on Tristen’s thighs, arms, and chest are making him sloppy, and it’s only getting worse with every opportunity that Dirk uses to attack.
Tristen swings and misses widely, causing him to fall on the floor.
Before he can get up, Dirk throws more of his mud onto Tristen’s hands, binding them to the stage.
“Give up, already. You can’t win.”
“Don’t...you...dare...look...down on us!” The mud around Tristen’s hands turns red and he rips them from the ground with a defiant roar. “DRAGON’S MAW!” Tristen thrusts his encased hands towards Dirk’s chest and a raging fire bursts through. The flames carry Dirk while simultaneously engulfing him, trapping him in a torrent of destruction until he crashes against the wall of the balcony where the opposing students are seated.
The flames stemming from Tristen’s hands recede and he heaves air into his lungs, clearly exhausted from his last attack. He falls to one knee and removes his cowl, revealing a stream a blood running down the side of his face while he rests in the center of the ring.
“That’s the match!” Mr. Hoover announces over the intercom. “Tristen is the winner!”
That last technique from him was amazing. Even with the temperature regulators installed inside our suits, I still felt the heat from here... He was able to make his flames strong enough to burst through Dirk’s mud and finish it in one blow.
“Did you see that, Aiden?” Summer asks. “That was wild!”
It was wild, and it’s funny how even though we’re not exactly on good terms for him, we were rooting for him the whole way.
“Yeah...I wasn’t sure that he was going to pull through,” I respond, while cycling my vision between Tristen and Summer. He’s still on one knee, gathering his strength. The mud from Dirk’s ability is slowly fading, and Dirk appears to be incapacitated, his back leaning against the wall beneath the crater he created from the impact of Tristen’s attack.
“The thing is, I don’t think he had enough raw power to break through originally,” Clarissa responds. “That whole time while he was fighting, he was concentrating his flames, weakening the encasement that Dirk had placed around his hands by whittling it away until he was finally sure that he could break free. Whatever his last attack was, he had to make sure that it was enough to win... However, Tristen didn’t intentionally put himself in the position he was in before he launched his attack. Dirk had forced him into a corner, so he was forced to play his hand sooner than he expected.”
“I’m just glad he won.” Kaci sighs and relaxes her muscles. She was so caught up in the match that she barely spoke.
“Yeah, he definitely sent a message with that one,” Clarissa says. “Now they know we’re not pushovers. We came here to win, just like them.”
“Agreed.” Kaci nods.
On the ground floor, Mr. Hoover heals Dirk, and then moves onto Tristen. From there they go their separate ways. Tristen makes his way up here while Dirk leaves the stadium altogether.
“Way to go, Tristen!” Clarissa beams. “You had us scared for a moment, but we’re glad you pulled through!”
&
nbsp; “I told you I was going to win...that’s all there was to it,” Tristen responds once he reclaims his spot on the bench.
“Okay, students. For our next match, can Clarissa and Nolan please report to the stage? Clarissa and Nolan, please report to the center of the stage. Thank you.”
“Looks like it’s my turn.” Clarissa pats the top of her thighs and stands to her feet.
“Good luck, Rissa. Stay focused. Don’t let your guard down,” Summer says as Clarissa walks towards the stairs.
“Clarissa... Don’t let me down,” Tristen adds, his voice callous and cold.
“Don’t worry, guys.” She smiles and flicks her thumb into the air. “I got this. I’ll figure out his powers and come up with the perfect strategy in no time at all.”
Chapter 16
“Ugh, she’s so positive and smart. I love her. This is going to be great.” Summer leans over the rails and throws a fist into the air. “Give ’em hell!”
“Can you not make a scene?” Tristen growls. “Read the room. We don’t need you fangirling.” Summer turns his way and scoffs before cupping her hands over her mouth.
“Woo! You got this, girlie!”
“I can’t believe Mr. Hoover thinks I’m in the same tier as you.” He sighs. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Kaci, Tristen seems pretty beat right now. Do you think he has enough energy left to defrost if I turn him into an icicle?”
“I don’t think that’s nec—”
“You can try it if you feel like dying.” Tristen summons a small ember in the palm of his hand.
“Bring it on, hotspot.”
“Guys, seriously,” Kaci pleads as she lowers Tristen’s hand. “Can’t we just watch this in peace? Save it for another time.”
“It’s kinda hard to be civil when you’re dealing with a sociopath, don’t you think?”
“You know, this would go ten times better if you both took a page from Aiden’s playbook and focused on the fights.”
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