Player is Waiting... (Ultimate Clan Wars)

by Wells, JB

  “Oh give over,” Isabelle huffed, “they wouldn’t forget about us.”

  “I don’t know,” Vinnie said focusing back on the arena, “there are some players who I haven’t seen for months.”

  “So what, you’re wheeled in there on a chair and they what? They just leave you?” Isabelle rolled her eyes at him not trusting what he said.

  “There are rows upon rows of the chairs in there, some are filled and some are waiting to be filled. Let’s face it, each of us are likely to make our way there at some point.” Vinnie turned to look at Kieran, “Maybe even you too.”

  Kieran shied away and returned his gaze to the room, and to that of Alpha One who was still pacing. It seemed more people knew about him than he first thought, in fact it seemed a lot of people knew more about him than he did.

  “Attention!”

  The cadets jumped into their statue formation and awaited further commands. Alpha One came down the stairs and stopped on the bottom step. He looked over the crowd that was eagerly waiting to get inside and fight.

  “At ease.” His phone started ringing and he placed it in his pocket. “I know some of the first year cadets may not feel ready for the great task I am asking them to undertake, but I can assure you, you are. Your leaders are all very happy with your progress.”

  Alpha One was interrupted by the entrance of someone. The crowd turned and began to whisper. Slowly the crowd turned and looked at Kieran. Whispering was all he could hear. Like a sea of waves it filled his head. He shrank back in the hopes that people would stop talking about him, and then the crowd parted. Standing only a few feet away was a battered and bruised cadet, his neck in a brace and his arm in a sling.

  “What the…” Owen muttered.

  Richard was standing and playing the perfect victim, his eyes were black, his nose all swollen and red.

  “Kieran,” Isabelle whispered.

  “I didn’t do that!” he mouthed in shock.

  Cadets were fawning all over him, asking if he was okay, and he lapped up every minute of it. Then when Richard could, he swung his attention to Kieran and gave a smirk.

  “What a plank.” Dexter tutted and glared at Richard who was a few inch’s shorter than he.

  The crowd moved back from Kieran, almost singling him out. Isabelle, Dexter and the others grew close around him showing solidarity. TakeDown grew close around Richard, making a clear stand that this now meant war.

  “As I was saying,” Alpha One continued.

  Kieran looked at him, he could see a look of discontent on his face and it matched that of Ex and Dr Satchell, who had now appeared. She shook her head knowing full well that Richard was playing this out.

  “You will be going in with your clans and you will do as you are instructed by your clan leaders. Your guiders are your lifeline so make sure you use them, and if anyone is seen to be not doing their duty, you will be pulled, as and when possible. Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Alpha One leant towards Dr Satchell and whispered something into her ear. She nodded, straightened her apron and left the stairs. Kieran watched her carefully as she made her way across the arena. She stopped next to Emily Magnus, who was staring sternly at all around her. Dr Satchell spoke to Emily and Emily nodded in response.

  It was probably unfortunate but most of the time Emily looked like she had just smelt something bad and her face didn’t soften once whilst being spoken to. To see her smile would be like winning the lottery – never going to happen. She stepped forward and barged her way through the crowd to Richard, she whispered something in his ear and his smile dropped.

  “There is an urgency today cadets, sectors B through to H have been infiltrated. We need as many cleared as possible and we need to secure those sections. Double LP is in action, so the more you return, the more points you will get.” He walked the length of the step speaking loudly so that the hundreds of cadets at the back could hear. “We need Adam stopped, and we need to do it fast. The attack is of grand proportions and it may take a long time for us to clear up this mess. You will be facing creatures you have never seen or read about before. My word of warning - if you find the Pied-Piper, do not tackle him alone. You inform your guider and one of us will be there ASAP. He is not I repeat not an enemy for you to take on alone. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “You are the elite. You are here for a reason, so show me you deserve to be here.”

  “Sir!”

  “In all we trust,” Alpha One was calling loud and proud.

  “Without one the others will fall.” The entire arena called back, even Dr Satchell. As they called it Kieran’s eyes met Richard’s and Richard was staring straight back with a sinister smirk.

  “Good luck cadets, we are counting on you.”

  “Okay Hunters, let’s load up!” Sebastian Thistle was beckoning them all over to follow him. They gathered in the middle of the arena. “We can do this. We do not come home alone. We bring everyone back that went in with us. Clear?”

  “Sir.”

  “Good, in your chairs and let’s go kick some butt!” Seb jumped in his chair like it was a flashy sports car. He laid back and the lights began, within ten seconds he was in.

  Kieran and Isabelle continued towards their chairs but Seal and Sergeant Ex were in the midst of a deep conversation. Seal glanced over his shoulder and instantly told him to stop talking. Kieran felt they may have intruded on something they weren’t supposed to know.

  “Sergeant?” Isabelle called. “How’s Cadet Best doing?”

  “He is…better.” Ex looked uncomfortable, he and Seal exchanged glances.

  “Can we go and see him later?” She pestered and he couldn’t have looked more awkward.

  “No, he’s recovering. It will be best if you wait a couple of days.” Seal stepped in. “Maybe once we’ve sorted all of this out, you can tell him all about it. But, at the moment he is recovering…” she searched for the right word, “well.”

  “Okay,” Isabelle said confused. She didn’t seem impressed with the answer she had been given.

  “Anyway, time to upload. Off you go,” Ex exchanged a nod with Seal and they both disappeared.

  “What do you think that was about?”

  “I don’t know Izzy, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  24

  “Confirmed ready?”

  “Confirmed ready.” Kieran closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

  “Confirm Cadet 191?”

  “191 Confirmed and ready for upload.”

  Kieran quickly glanced at Stuart, his watcher for today. It was so busy in the arena that many cadets were sharing Watchers. Nearly all of the Invirtuwear chairs were full, all except fifty of them “Eyes on the lines, lad,” Stuart called and tapped on his pad.

  Kieran shut his eyes again to lower his breathing, then when opening them, he saw the familiar lines that travelled into the distance. The usual rush of energy washed over every inch of him, and his hands, head and feet began to tingle. The Arena was noisy, but now there was silence, an eerie still silence. It didn’t matter how many times Kieran went into Plantranet, he still found the sound of his own breath and the echo of his heartbeat strange at the start.

  He opened his eyes and waited for them to adjust to the bright light. Looking around, there were cadets running in all directions, it was a sea of people.

  “191, are you done?”

  Kieran looked to his right. Another Hunter was staring at him impatiently. “Sorry,” he muttered taking a couple of steps forward. The cadet shook his head and jumped on the transition pad, Kieran watched as he was downloaded back to reality.

  “This is crazy!” Owen called, weaving his way between running troops.

  Kieran walked backwards, looking around him. He clicked and removed his helmet, that way he could fully take in his surroundings. It was no different to any other transition room they had plunged into, just a lot busier. Seeing as it normally was trainin
g sessions, there never seemed to be more than forty people there. But now there was a constant stream of cadets coming and going.

  “Now where?” Dexter asked approaching them, his helmet tucked under his arm.

  “First years, this way please.” A tall officer stood at the entrance of the room calling and waving them towards him.

  “With him, I guess,” Isabelle mused.

  The cadets grouped together and sheepishly made their way out of the room. They were barged and shoved by older, more experienced cadets. Kieran continued to study the finer details of the place. The walls, flooring and ceiling were the same as other rooms. The metal was still dented and heavily scratched, big industrial bolts held each sheet in place.

  “I am Lieutenant Xander Rebus. I am the number two in charge down here.” Lieutenant Rebus was shouting to be heard above all the others. He turned and led the cadets from the transition room, “Whilst you’re in my domain, you play by my rules. Understood?”

  “Understood, sir!” They shouted back.

  “Welcome to Plantranet!” They were standing at the edge of the Grand Hall, the place where it all happened and they were finally inside.

  The ceiling was way up high, it was like looking at the moon from a bedroom window, they knew it was there and could see it but would never be able to reach it. It was glass and outside Kieran could see electrical flares moving around in beautiful colours, he thought it must be like looking at The Northern Lights. The floor was brilliant white parquet that spread out for a mile to the left and the right. It would have taken a good five minutes for one of them to have jogged the distance.

  The walls were the same as the floor and from a distance it was difficult to work out where one ended and the other began. The white marble had a perfect shine polished into every inch of the whole room. Then there were metallic doors close to each other, and there were more doors for as far as the eye could see.

  “My mum would go mental if she had to clean this place,” Dexter snorted looking around.

  “Those lights,” Kieran muttered looking up.

  “It’s the electromagnetic wave; it carries all the data around.” Isabelle was becoming almost as clever as Thomas.

  “Scary,” Kieran laughed to himself.

  “Just like having Curly here,” Owen smiled and Kieran nodded.

  “Okay,” Lieutenant Rebus walked over to the wall and a Hololist appeared in front of him. “Hunters are with Thistle. TakeDown have been uploaded to a secret location, and Medics, you will be with Folley.”

  “Secret location?” Dexter scoffed. “They shouldn’t have been uploaded at all, bunch of…of…pansies.”

  “Nice insult, Dex.” Isabelle laughed and walked towards Kaitlyn.

  “Right,” Rebus was moving his hands over the board, in doing so he was moving names around until a map appeared. “Hunters, you are to head towards,” he leant back and looked down the vast expanse of the room, “that cadet, standing in front of the Fastplates.” A name flashed in red on his screen. “Ahh, we have a demotee, Cadet 191, Kealey?”

  Kieran felt all eyes turn on him again. He took a step forward which was helped along by a shove from Owen.

  “Kealey, you have the honour of meeting our number one down here. You will travel the plates with your clan, you will then be dropped at the Gateway.”

  “The Gateway?” Kieran whispered to his friends.

  “The start of the grand hall,” Isabelle huffed. “Do you lot ever read, or do your homework?”

  “Right. Medics, you head over to the Fastplates by the docking station on the far right side, please. You will then be delivered to your clan leaders who will instruct you further. Understood?”

  “Yes Sir!”

  “Okay, a quick rundown of how Plantranet works. Firstly, each sector is made up of different sections, many have been grouped together by type. On last count there were two hundred thousand and fifty one portals, so do not wonder through any because you will get lost. More appear everyday whilst others are gone as soon as walked through. Secondly, don’t get complacent, one section can take days to walk through and another a matter of minutes. They are growing and disappearing at a fast rate, so no renegade missions. You go in with your team, and you leave with them. Understood?”

  “Yes Sir!”

  Dexter raised his eyebrows in shock and looked at the others.

  “At all times stay out of the way of the soldiers.” He pointed out into the hall where plenty of different people were running around.” Their armour is the camouflage one so there are no excuses if you get in their way. The last thing I need is Benson or one of the others in my ear about you lot. Lastly, do not under any circumstance, touch The Clouds. They are the clouds that store data, and they are so temperamental that if you touched one it will open up. We’re not just talking a cloud of rain here, we are talking billions of data packets falling and crushing you. No amount of armour will protect you, understood?

  “Yes, sir!” They called again.

  “Well, don’t just stand around staring at my pretty face, off you go.”

  The group slowly made their way across the room; they were like minute little dots moving through the vast area. There were cadets everywhere, some were rushing through doors and some were standing around talking. There were a few sitting on the floors playing cards. A great big cloud rumbled in the distance.

  “That doesn’t look too happy,” Kieran remarked.

  “Oh, I love a good thunderstorm…”

  “Mind your backs!” Someone called and pulled Kieran and Dexter backwards.

  “Hey!” Dexter screamed in his favourite girly voice.

  A small squad of soldiers charged towards a door that was just in front of them. The lead soldier opened the door and a few shots and explosions escaped before he closed the door quickly.

  “You were nearly in there with them,” A voice said from behind.

  Kieran turned to look at the person that had just saved them. There was a shout and a loud noise as the soldiers opened the door again and stormed in.

  The man took his helmet off, he was older than Kieran had imagined. He must have been in his mid-thirties with scraggy hair and a very scarred face. It looked like he had a fight with the Biters jaws. “A couple of first years I would guess. In future you need to keep your eyes peeled at all times.”

  “Sure,” Kieran nodded with apprehension, “thank you.”

  The man looked at them and expressed his disapproval by shaking his head. He turned his back with a huff and grumbled loudly, “They keep sending boys into this war, what hope do we have!”

  Kieran watched as he left and read his name on his back armour. “S989 Benson.”

  “Well, he saved our necks.” Dexter shrugged off their close call and carried on.

  “Hey lads,” Benson shouted across the hall to a few soldiers that were leaning against some machinery, “fresh meat!” He pointed over his shoulders at Kieran and Dexter. The soldiers started laughing and whistling at them.

  “Let’s go talk to them.” Dexter was running towards the hecklers before Kieran could say otherwise.

  “So what do we have here? Let me guess, you fancy yourselves as hard-core gamers and the Institute of rats decided to throw you in at the mercy of the psycho?”

  Dexter laughed along with them, trying to be part of their gang. “Yeah, I’m part of the Hunters.” He spoke with such pride and rubbed his hand over his Holobadge on his chest plate.

  “Ah, Hunter eh?” One of the other soldiers laughed deviously and placed his arm around Dexter. “So you get sent out there,” he pointed to one of the doors, “and you run in like playing your favourite shoot ‘em up?”

  “Yeah,” Dexter smiled and nodded.

  “Too right Sarge, fresh meat.” He laughed.

  One of the group was leaning backwards against a faulty Fastplate. He had a lighter in his hand that he kept clicking the lid open and shut, in his mouth sat a toothpick that he chewed ferociously. “And w
hat about you?” His voice was low and his hair was shaved short all over.

  “Me?” Kieran squeaked.

  “Yeah, you.”

  “Oh he’s been put on The Wall as punishment.” Dexter was still smiling though he had just landed his size six feet in his mouth.

  “Dex,” Kieran grumbled.

  “Oh, punishment?” He pulled himself away from the broken plate and strode over to Kieran. He circled him, eyeing him up and down at the same time. Kieran caught the name badge of the shaved headed, mean looking soldier. His name was Trevelli and his number was S425. “Well, we are blessed to have you in our midst today.” He mocked a bow.

  “Trevelli, play nice.”

  “Sir!” he shouted back and winked at Kieran. “So, first day?”

  Kieran and Dexter nodded back, Dexter finally having learnt it was best not to say anything.

  “You’re quiet Kealey, why are you on The Wall with us useless lot?”

  Kieran could see through the hardness of Trevelli, though it would take more to get Dexter liked. “I supposedly broke another cadet’s nose.”

  The boys whooped and laughed. “Well I am impressed. You are welcome on The Dusters anytime, Kealey.” Trevelli placed his arm around Kieran, “Sarge, we have a nose breaker here!”

  “Put the lad down. Two minutes till shift, soldiers!”

  “Sir!” they all called back.

  “So, what happens?” Dexter asked very timidly.

  “Well, you see those doors?” Trevelli pointed to a row of them and the boys watched. “Those are to The Wall. There are 196 doors that lead to 196 Walls.”

  “196?” Kieran couldn’t believe it.

  “Yes, 196. Each independent country has its own governing rules and regulations but they all use the internet to store the details. Their Walls protect their delicate military information.” He pointed to one door, “That’s the door that leads to the Americas, so in there you have another two portals. One leads to North America and the other to the South, it’s all protected by The American soldiers.”