by B L Barkey
“Where is he?” Ammon asked.
Chalice looked up at Bozolf, then at Ammon, speechless.
“Where is he!” Ammon yelled, springing to his feet and charging at Chalice. Bozolf stepped in between them, grasping Ammon by the arm with livid rage. Ammon was ready for this.
“If you do not answer me…” Bozolf began.
Ammon shifted his arm, then struck the grip of Bozolf on the knuckles, pulling away at the same time. He broke free and took a step back.
“I saw who did it! It was as tall as Maison, and it wore the same look! He…”
Bozolf cut him off. “How dare you strike a Levitian!?” His lips were quivering, his words trembling. Spit flew in every direction. “Do you understand…”
“I don’t have time for your nonsense, you ass!” Ammon yelled, so deep and so loud that Bozolf stopped speaking. It was a commandment, and he had to obey.
“Shut up, and listen to me! I saw Maison two days ago. He was atop the cliff after I climbed it.” Ammon saw Bozolf stir.
“Yes, I climbed the cliff! That’s not the point. The point is, Maison was waiting at the top. He grabbed my arm then, and said it would be tragic if I died there. Then, Chalice and the rest of my friends showed up and Maison pretended to be helping me. I hadn’t seen him since, until just now. It was him, I know it. And Chalice is his best mate.”
Ammon turned to Chalice. “So where is he hiding?” Ammon commanded him.
“I… I honestly don’t know,” Chalice stammered, his eyes glued to the corpse of the dog.
Bozolf took another step towards Ammon.
“If you touch me one more time, I’m putting you to the ground.”
Ammon glared at him. Bozolf froze. Any pretense of position was now gone. Ammon saw nothing other than two obstacles that stood in the way of finding the cold-blooded killer. He wanted to… he wasn’t sure what he wanted.
He wanted Maison subdued and severely questioned. If he was guilty, he wanted him beat, with all the same appendages removed from his own body, as he had done to the innocent animal. And then… I want him dead, he thought. He shivered. Did he really want that? No. No, of course not. But a part of him did. Was this a new part of him?
Bozolf reached into his pocket slowly, then brought out a tablet of the Leviticum that could take pictures. He began taking pictures of the scene, bluntly ignoring Ammon. Then he spoke to Chalice, saying, “Say nothing more, Chalice. Ammon,” he started. “This is very serious.”
His tone was unprecedented. It seemed as if he actually understood what was happening. As if he were being fair in his assumptions.
“I need you to come with me and tell Master Lyon everything you saw happen, as well as the story you told me of Maison. If any of this is a lie, I am very worried for you, boy. But if you are innocent…”
He sounds like he might actually believe me… Ammon thought, incredulous.
“…then I am worried for us all,” Bozolf finished. And for the first time in all his life, Ammon felt a connection with the man.
Bozolf turned, wrapped his arm around Chalice, then began walking back to the Leviticum. After a few seconds, Ammon joined them, walking several paces behind the entire way.
IV
Ammon heard whispers the entire walk to the seventh floor. Many had seen what had happened from afar, and many more had already told several friends, who then told their friends. Ammon heard the whispers, but not the words. He didn’t care. He wanted Maison. He wanted retribution. And then he thought of Tobias, sudden fear striking into his heart. Mikael was supposed to take him home today, Ammon thought. This brought some relief, which was then followed by greater fear. Surely Maison would not dare threaten the lives of my family?
He was about to turn and sprint back to High Forest when he heard the voice of Master Lyon up ahead.
“In my chambers. Speak swiftly,” he said, standing aside. He had his glasses on, seeming to have been reading his own books in his study, before he had received word of the incident. Ammon realized Bozolf must have sent notes and pictures from the scene ahead of them.
Ammon had never before been in Master Lyon’s chambers, and he didn’t see much of it now. His mind was held constant on the safety of his family. They sat in wooden chairs next to a couch, and spoke of everything on the matter. Master Lyon whipped the pictures up on the wall, where they examined them. He then listed the facts of the incident. And yet, to Ammon’s surprise, there was no hint of accusation in his tone.
They questioned Chalice briefly before sending him away. It was silent for a moment then. Finally, Master Lyon spoke.
“Hmmm. Seems we were right, I’m afraid. Though I never would have thought it would approach at such a rapid pace.”
“Speed of thought,” Bozolf said.
“Yes indeed,” Lyon answered.
“Master, what…” Ammon began.
“Ammon,” Lyon said, looking at him. “Tell me of your encounter with Maison earlier this week.”
Ammon was confused at first, then realized Bozolf must have included that in his notes. Ammon told him the entire story, including many details he had not wasted on Bozolf.
“But Master,” Ammon finished. “I’m severely worried for my family. If he would go this far…”
“We have already notified your father, mother, and brother. We have several people with each of them. It has been reported that your dog Toby is still with Mikael. You have nothing to fear.”
Ammon breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“As far as Maison. We cannot go off of one account for such a serious trespass against our beliefs. However, we have searched for him to gather his own account. So far, no one has seen him for the last couple days, giving credence to your suspicions thus far.”
Ammon felt almost glad then. He never would have imagined they would believe him so quickly. Then again, Master Lyon had said they had already suspected something like this coming.
“Masters, what is coming?” He asked before he could be interrupted. They looked at one another, then back at Ammon.
“We believe some of the old ways of the world are returning. Something called temptation.”
Ammon felt dizzy. His vision started spinning. Like a whirlpool.
Decay. Disease. It was a thought within him, though it was more like hearing than thinking. Echoes of the flaking fish swam in his mind. Temptation is coming.
“Ammon, are you ok?” Master Lyon asked. There was a gentle hand on Ammon’s shoulder, though Lyon was on the other side of the room. It was Bozolf. Ammon felt dizzy once more, feeling his grip on reality slipping away.
“Yes, Master. I’m okay,” Ammon said.
“Hmm. This is a lot to absorb. The old ways bring new changes. There is nothing to worry about, as long as there is no panic and we think with clear heads. Together, as an island family. That was the thing about the old ways. Even then, you could escape temptation. This will always be true.”
Ammon nodded. These words brought him some peace, though it also seemed to be sewn of half -truths. There is something bigger going on here.
“For now, Ammon. Clear your head. You are perfectly safe. We will keep things going as usual while continuing to search for Maison. We will have additional lookouts for the Equilibria game, along the path to High Forest, and at the bonfire this weekend. Once we know more, we will announce it at the Gathering on Sevensday. Are you comfortable with this?”
It was a genuine question.
“Yes, Master,” Ammon said.
“Thank you, Ammon. For your bravery and honesty thus far. Stay diligent, and let any of us Levitians, or your own parents, know if you notice anything else.”
Ammon nodded, and both Masters then stood, leading him out the door. Ammon looked around for a second, catching a quick glance of Master Lyon’s chambers. There were potted plants scattered all around, many of which seemed to be recreated from seeds of the ancient world. He had books and notes scattered everywhere, except for on his bed which was la
rge enough for one. It was a place for quiet study, not relaxation. Ammon then exchanged smiles of trust with Master Lyon, and headed to the elevator.
Chapter XXIV
Equilibria
Ammon walked away from Master Lyon’s chambers, entered the elevator, waited for the doors to close, then slid down the wall to the ground. He felt exhausted. His mind had been through so much in the last few days. He breathed in deep and slow, then reached up to press one of the glowing buttons.
Several young ones, younger than himself even, entered the elevators and were startled by the young man sitting on the floor. Each time Ammon looked up, he could see realization dawn upon their faces. All but one recognized him, most likely as the caller of the Wind. Only one, the one who seemed oblivious to his reputation, helped him up and dusted off his shoulders. They exchanged no words, yet there was understanding. Get back up and dust yourself off. The game of life must go on.
Ammon could feel anticipation from each of them as they left the elevator. They would all be returning to High Forest this afternoon, though not before they all watched the anticipated game of Equilibria.
He spent the last hour before the game clearing his head. He walked around the different floors, sometimes climbing the stairs for new scenery. Eventually he made it back to his cube for his equipment.
Ammon already had most of his stuff packed, except for the gym clothes he had just put on. He wore short black shorts and a gray t-shirt of light material. He was almost to the lockers now, where he was meeting up with his team. They were known as the Red Pandas, and they were phenomenal Equilibria players. Ammon and Mikael had always had a strong fascination with physics and the principles of matter. Equilibria combined this science with the competitive edge of a sport, combining two of their favorite things into one. No one knew Master Lyon very well, but Ammon knew he had to be one great guy if he invented such a wonderful sport. Equilibria satisfied Ammon in a way that was completely unparalleled. The game was just simple to him. It worked well within his mind, as if made for him.
All morning, during his light jog and service in cleaning the bathrooms, Ammon pondered on the words of Master Lyon the night before.
Stay true to what you believe is right. If you do this, then no matter which path you take, you will end up where you need to go. And where you need to go will become where you want to go...
Despite the rising darkness of late, the words seemed to bring him peace. It took the worry from his mind, while quenching his fear of the approaching unknown. After the Sector Guard, Ammon really didn’t know what would happen with his life. But as Master Lyon said, he would try to believe, that he would end up where he needed to be, to someday look around and see, he was where he wanted to be all along.
It was essentially a message of do not even begin to worry, and focus on doing the right things now. Tomorrow would come, despite his worry. This felt true in his heart.
He walked into the lockers and found Mikael and Bastion whipping each other with wet towels, both only wearing the bottoms of their uniforms. They had red welts covering their backs, making noises somewhere between laughing and crying.
“I said I quit like ten minutes ago!” yelled Bastion.
“Yeah, and then whipped me again!” said Mikael, winding his towel up once more.
“But I’m seriously done this time!”
“Sure. After I get one more lash,” said Mikael, lunging forward. Bastion saw Ammon and was distracted just long enough to allow the wet tip of Mikael’s towel to bite into his chest.
“Ahh, freak!” yelped Bastion, running away into the stalls. Mikael fell over sideways, laughing.
“Looks like a good warm-up,” said Ammon, shaking his head.
He opened his locker and began replacing his gym clothes with his uniform. The standard Equilibria uniform consisted of stiff pads on all their vital joints, with additional support around their necks. It was pretty common for players to fall on their arms and heads with each switch of gravity. These pads therefore reinforced their bone structures and prevented fatal injuries. It was actually very rare for significant injuries to come out of the game, despite its aggressive style.
They were the Red Pandas, named after a non-local breed that had been placed on Cephas after the Fire. The species mainly hid in Cloud Mountain, though they were quite curious of hikers who were in small groups of one or two. They were some of the cutest animals Ammon had ever seen. It was an attempt to have the opposing team lower their guard, and make it easy for Ammon’s team to claim another victory. Their uniforms were form-fitting, with accents of reddish-orange the color of dragon-fruit.
And now, it was time. Time to put on a show.
Equilibria – the game of magnets, balance, and strategy. Ammon’s team was one of the best. In Equilibria, sometimes referred to as EQ, each team had five players. The object of the game was simple. Score the most points.
There were seven rounds of ten minutes played in a cube arena. A cube has six sides. One round was played on each side, with the final round played on none.
Gravity switched six times each game, and then shut off for the seventh and final round. This placed the floor on each side of the cubed room at one point or another. The order was always at random, but the intervals of time were always the same. One hour, with ten minutes on each side, and a ten-minute halftime, topped off with the final ten minutes of zero-G.
The EQ room was 100-feet by 100-feet by 100-feet. Each wall was made up of square tiles, each one square-foot in size. Every round, each team was assigned one of two opposing walls. This was homebase. To the players, both walls would appear white, with the exception of 1,000 colored tiles. Each team would have 1,000 tiles appear the same color of the team they belonged to on their homebase. The tiles would create anywhere from one to five separate shapes at random, all varied in size, though never using more than 1,000 tiles.
It was then the object of each round to hit the colored tiles of the opposing team, changing them to your team’s color. At the end of each round, the team with the most tiles in their color won. This used to lead to the occasional tie in rounds, which proved problematic. Master Lyon then quickly amended the rules, placing a bonus tile the color of black on one of the other four walls. This one bonus tile wasn’t worth much alone, but it was often the difference between a tied match and another win. The win was obviously preferred.
Each suit had on it controls within the palm of each players’ hand. Each button controlled the linear push and pull of the micromagnets installed in every wall. These magnets were tiny, but extremely powerful once linked together. The linear attractions and repulsions between them allowed them to suspend iron objects in between, as Master Lyon had gracefully demonstrated the night before.
Iron was laced throughout the uniform material. It was a small amount, though it was enough to give the micromagnets powerful control over them. The players then manipulated the forces of the magnets directly in line with their bodies.
This meant if two players existed on the same plane on any surface and activated the pull of the magnets in any one direction, both players would be affected. If, however, the other player activated the opposite direction, they would balance out. This made it nearly impossible to come at another player if on the same plane. This was Ammon’s specialty. He used the opposing forces for brief moments, sending his motion in diagonals.
Large magnetic blocks of stiff foam also resided in the middle of the room, detailed with iron and suspended in space. Some were affected by the same micro magnets as the players. Others had separate micromagnets of their own. This meant some objects could be flung at players and tiles, while some remained solid in their positioning.
Controller buttons remained inactive unless one of the player’s hands was on the forearm of the other arm, holding down an activation button. This allowed the players to strike each other and other objects without affecting their gravity.
The Red Pandas had two other players named Jaqlin and Jac
kson. They were twins, and as it stood, they were voted the two most brutal players in the league. It was always a thrill to watch them in action. It was more of a team made of two smaller teams; one three-man and one two-man. Jaqlin was one of the only two girls to play Equilibria, but that fact was often forgotten. She was fast, and she was tough. No one had more fights in a match than Jaqlin. Funny thing was, she was one of the sweetest girls outside a match. Ammon guessed the game was a way for her to vent her aggression. He appreciated this very much.
Jackson was typically more focused on the objective, but was known to stray from Ammon’s commands if Jaqlin was in trouble. This passion often worked out best for the team, so Ammon quickly adapted this to their strategy and used it to their advantage. Jaqlin would start the fights, and if she couldn’t finish them, Jackson sure as heck would. They were a force to be reckoned with.