“I understand,” I say, as my gut churns with nerves. Taking calming breaths, I watch the brightening sky outside the hover car window as we fly over the glittering panorama of the city still filled with artificial night illumination.
“Your uniform and body armor won’t help you much if submerged in water, but there are ways to control your body temperature with those small heating elements that I showed you how to clip on—”
I nod, listening as he continues to list the equipment features.
We fly beyond the outskirts of the city and over the now familiar coastline and keep going, right over the silvery-grey ocean water of the Golden Bay. The Djetatlan Ocean is faintly overcast near the shore, but as we advance onward, the dawn light shines brighter and brighter over the surface and the wind is strong, chasing the fog away and revealing depths of blue and aqua and glittering silver at the horizon.
About two miles into the ocean, we see our destination. A strange circular island looms before us. At first glance, from a bird’s-eye view perspective, it resembles a classic shooting range target shape with many concentric circles drawn around a center—wide donut circles of water alternating with slim circles of land. As we draw closer, it becomes clear just how large it is. The entire structure is over a mile in diameter. And just beyond it are the dark shapes of floating and levitating platforms, now familiar to me as Games spectator seating tiers.
As we approach, it is clear we’re not alone. The sky all around us is suddenly full of thousands of other airborne vehicles. And the ocean is dotted by boats and other floating and hovering conveyances.
“Oh, my God . . .” I whisper, glancing around nervously as Aeson begins our descent.
“Everyone is already in their seats,” Aeson tells me, pointing to various audience tiers. “Don’t worry, your family and friends are there too. But once again, don’t distract yourself, rest assured they’re all here, cheering you on!”
As the ocean surface rises up to meet us, closer and closer, I can see the circular shape take form and grow, revealing detailed features. Seconds later we come to a stop and hover over the surface of the outermost land ring.
This must be our Game Zone.
Now that I’m here, it’s clear the entire concentric circle structure is huge and entirely flat. The outermost land ring bobs gently on the waves, only a few inches above sea level, water lapping at the edges. This tells me it’s free-floating upon the water. . . .
“Gwen Lark! Gwen Lark!”
At once the audience picks up the chant, having seen us arrive in the Imperial cavalcade.
I exit the hover car, waving at the audience, and step on the land ring’s dull surface. Up-close, it appears to consist of an orichalcum layer underneath (visible as part of the cross-section of the edge), covered with rust-brick colored paving material that I’ve seen in Atlantean airfields. And the width of the land ring strip is only about ten meters or about 32 feet in diameter.
My brain is flipping between metric and imperial measurement scales because I’m dealing with water and I tend to think of pools in metric. Indeed, as I face the interior, what comes next is a water circle at least 100 meters in diameter. Beyond it starts another small land ring only 10 meters wide, and beyond that is another water ring of 100 meters, and so on. Narrow land ring alternates with wide water ring.
I stare for a moment, mesmerized, trying to count the rings. Then I force myself to pay attention around me, since other Contenders and their drivers are arriving and it’s getting crowded on this rim area surrounding the Game Zone.
“Gwen!” Aeson takes me in his arms and I feel his lips on mine—a quick, hard kiss that takes my breath away. He stands back, looking at me. “Do whatever you must do. . . . Promise me to live . . . promise!”
“I promise!” I exclaim, patting the equipment bag slung across my shoulder. “And you must promise to find some time to rest at least a little! I love you! Please watch out for my sister and brother if anything happens, please—”
“Gwen!” he interrupts me in a desperate, intense voice.
But I nod at him and smile with all the force I can muster then step back. “Go!”
Seconds later Aeson is back in his car and the Imperial convoy rises up into the air.
I am alone, surrounded by other Contenders, as we fill the outer ring, waiting for what comes next.
We stand or stroll—about a thousand of us who are left in the Games—searching the crowds for familiar faces of teammates and rivals. We size each other up, cool and threatening, but do not engage in hostilities, so as not to risk disqualification.
I take in the surroundings. Behind me, where the outermost ring ends, there is open ocean water. Starting about five meters away, right above it, begin the hovering platforms in multiple tiers. Some levitate as low as a meter over the surface, other much higher up, going all the way to a distance of ten building floors.
The platforms contain audience seats of different degrees of luxury, with the closest ones in the first row being full of affluent citizens and nobility, while the distant seats on upper tiers seem to be for the general public. Scattered among them are vendor platforms selling food and branded merchandize. And on the highest tier levels are giant smartboard stadium screens, floating upright, ready to display close-ups of the action and columns of scores.
Suddenly I notice the Imperial Box which is not too far from here and appears to have only a single occupant—Aeson. I can see him from where I stand as he takes his seat. There is someone else right outside the box taking to him, maybe Xelio or Keruvat—and oh my lord, is that Gracie and Gordie and Laronda right next to him? I can see them talking energetically and glancing in my direction.
I’m struck with the thought that this is the first Game Zone where the audience is near enough that I can actually see my beloved and my family! I raise my arm and try to wave at them, but in that instant get distracted by the arrival of several celebrity Contenders.
The audience screams “Tha-las-sa! Tha-las-sa!” as Tiamat Irtiu emerges from a hover car, leaping gracefully onto the land ring even before the car comes to a levitating halt. She straightens, waves with both arms raised, and sends proud bows and smiles to the audience.
Moments later they are screaming “Kuk-ku! Kuk-ku!” as the White Bird himself, Hedj Kukkait, lands further along the ring, only to be followed by “De-neb! De-neb!” to indicate the arrival of Deneb Gratu somewhere even further out around the circumference, beyond my line of sight.
But the biggest uproar comes when the Winner of the last stage shows up—Rurim Kiv. The crowd seems to really love the weird elusive Artist who basically stole the Blue Grail from the rest of us.
I turn in the other direction along the land ring to watch Rurim Kiv get out of a car not too far from where I am. Darkly beautiful, composed, and stubbornly unresponsive to the crowd, Rurim Kiv stands alone and watches the rest of us. He does not wave or acknowledge anyone.
“Gwen Lark!”
I turn around and see two of my teammates, Kateb Nuletat and Lolu Eetatu. Kateb looks calm and well rested as he motions to me with his hand, and Lolu has a slightly nervous peculiar expression as she looks at me.
“There you are,” I say with a light smile. “Feeling better?”
“As well as I can be,” Kateb replies evenly, with a nod. “Hope you are well likewise, Imperial Lady Gwen.”
Before I can reply, I see Brie Walton pushing her way past other Contenders toward us. This time around her purple-tinted hair is gathered up in a tight ponytail. Brie looks reasonably well rested and cocky as usual, giving me a faint smile and a formal Atlantean salute—palm to her forehead then sliding down and ending with thumb to lips and fingertips to forehead—which she then turns into a mockery.
With her index finger remaining at her forehead, she closes the other fingers then lowers and points the whole hand at me, thumb up, index finger pointing like the barrel of a gun. And her lips mouth a silent “pow.” Ah, classic Brie. . . .
Moments later she is followed by Kokayi Jeet who gives me a smile and an elegant courtly bow, Zaap Guvai who only nods with boyish dignity, and Chihar Agwath who looks tired and resigned. Finally, large and silent Tuar Momet comes around from the other direction, and my team is complete.
We exchange greetings while the audience crowds chant various celebrity names, including mine—very briefly.
“So, Lark, ready for another hell-hotel four-day stay?” Brie Walton quips. “All luxuries included and, hey, this time we get a nice infinity pool!”
“Oh, yeah.”
Brie looks me over. “So how come your White uniform is whiter than mine? Must be nice to have the Imperial laundry clean you up. I bet you have all kinds of high-end gadgets too. Sangre is stingy, I only got the jailhouse basics.”
I shake my head at her half-heartedly.
It is now the seventh hour of Ra and time to begin. We know this because the Games official announcer voice sounds over the roar of the audience, amplified and energetic. “Welcome to Stage Three of the Atlantis Grail! The Games are Forever!”
The audience responds with enthusiasm.
I glance down at the outer edge of the land ring on which we’re gathered, and suddenly a transparent wall begins rising from the water, with a churning of foam. . . . It brings to mind the clear wall on the beach during Stage Two, except this one is rounded and follows the curve of the outer ring exactly.
The wall—whether glass or plastic or some other material, I still don’t know—continues to rise well above our heads, and ends at about fifty feet or the height of the third audience platform tier. It’s basically another external ring, and it encloses the Game Zone perimeter completely, keeping us in.
“Contenders! You are inside the Game Zone inspired by the values of the Green Cornerstone— Endurance, Patience, Resistance, Strength! Use these qualities to your advantage! Your Taboo Rule is as follows—in this ocean arena you may only use weapons of the sea—weapons of the Yellow Quadrant! Until instructed otherwise, you must only use nets or cords and nothing else during combat. The only exception is Green Quadrant body armor which is still permitted. . . .”
I glance around and none of the Contenders appear to be particularly pleased with this development. In general, nets and cords are not particularly popular weapons, considered too complicated or cumbersome and too specialized. I guess I should thank my luck that at least I’m somewhat proficient with my own Quadrant weapons.
“Contenders! You see before you a structure inspired by Ancient Atlantis itself, the concentric rings forming the original City of Poseidon on Earth, waterways interspersed with land. There are ten water rings and ten floating land rings, in the middle of which is a circular island which holds the Green Grail. This is the arena space in which you will spend the next four days.”
“Looks like we’ll have no shelter for four days,” Kokayi the Entertainer says. “This arena is completely flat and open to the elements. There’s nowhere to hide.”
“Good thing we can’t use firearms,” Lolu says. “Without cover we would all be dead in minutes.”
“Your Challenge for Stage Three is to retrieve the Green Grail locked into the surface of the center island. You have approximately 100 hours or four days to accomplish this,” the Games official continues. “You also have mandatory daily tasks that you must complete or be disqualified. For the next four days each one of you must make physical contact with the Green Grail at least once every day. Begin each day at the outer land ring and swim inward, across the ten water rings to the circle island in the middle, touch the Grail, and return to the outer ring by Midnight Ghost Time. Then begin the process again.”
“Okay, sounds like we’ll be swimming laps, not too bad,” Brie says while giving hard stares to the other Contenders nearby.
“Probably laps from hell,” I retort softly. And, looks like I’m right.
“Contenders! Be prepared for hazards and obstacles in every water ring. All of them are Hot Zones, except one, and the Safe Zone will be determined randomly every day. The nature of the hazards in each of the ten water rings may be changed periodically throughout the day. You will only have the siren alarm warning to signal a Hot Zone change.”
Brie snorts. “Nailed it, Lark. Yeah, it was too good to be true. Otherwise it’d be twenty laps in under an hour and done for the day.”
The Games official continues our instructions. “The Green Grail will remain immovable and fixed in its central location until day four. It will also serve as a perpetual fresh-water fountain—your only source of drinking water for these next four days. You may return to the center island as many times as you like to replenish your drinking water from the Green Grail. However, on the final day, the first Contender to reach the Grail will deactivate the fountain and be able to lift the Grail. Once the Green Grail is gone from its place, the rest of you must still touch the spot where it stood in order to receive your daily task credit on that final day. Whoever has the Green Grail by the end of the thirteenth hour of Khe on day four will be declared the Winner of Stage Three!”
I happen to glance at Chihar in that moment and he has the saddest, most world-weary expression on his face. . . . I nod at him in sympathy.
But our instructions are not done. “You will not be served any meals throughout this stage,” the Games official says. “You may not occupy any land ring except the exterior ring for longer than an hour, or it will become a Cold Zone. However, there will be floating Safe Bases available in random water rings which you can use to rest. You may also rest on the exterior land ring after you complete your daily task. . . .”
“A Cold Zone?” Lolu frowns. “What kind of hoohvak is a Cold Zone?”
“You may use any means available to you to cross the water rings, but you must swim at least five out of ten of them each time you cross the Game Zone. Furthermore, you must stay in contact with the water at all times,” the Games official continues. “Staying in contact includes at least one of three things—your body, your clothing, or your equipment. However, you are allowed two instances each day of crossing a specific water ring without touching water, such as by hovering above it by means of Voice commands. That is all.”
There is a pause and then comes a familiar sound of bells.
“Contenders! Prepare to enter the water. Stage Three begins now!”
And suddenly the outermost land ring on which we stand begins to sink from under us, disappearing into the churning ocean water foaming at our feet.
Only the transparent wall remains to separate the ocean from the Game Zone. . . . But I have no time to stare behind me as the water rises much too quickly around my waist.
I must start swimming now!
Chapter 74
“Well, crap! I was gonna take off my shoes. Thanks a lot for the no-warning, Games gods!” Brie exclaims as we all flounder in the water while our equipment bags float next to us like buoys. Fortunately, they’re waterproof.
The ocean water is clear, with blue and greenish darkness far below. . . . It’s moderately cold but not too bad, it occurs to me in those initial seconds as I start swimming with long front crawl strokes toward the next land ring in the interior of the concentric circle Game Zone. My teammates and other Contenders are doing the same, and there is splashing everywhere.
A few minutes later, we’ve crossed the water ring expanse which is approximately 100 meters, or the equivalent of two competition pool laps.
“This had to be a Safe Zone,” Kokayi mutters as he easily scrambles out of the water and onto the rust-colored brick surface of the land ring. He’s well ahead of us, easily the best swimmer, or at least the quickest.
Tuar and Kateb follow, with powerful easy strokes, and I come next, surprised to find myself one of the stronger swimmers. Zaap comes after me, with Brie and Lolu, while Chihar brings up the rear, swimming slowly and with some effort.
We crawl onto the land ring and take a few moments to catch our breaths and shake the water fr
om our uniforms that now cling to us unpleasantly, together with other layers of armor and underwear. And ugh, all the sloshing water-filled shoes. . . .
Other Contenders emerge out of the water at various sections along the land ring and we exchange wary glances. But so far no one makes a hostile move. We’re still getting a feel for this Game Zone so the fighting is temporarily held back. Of course no one can afford to let their guard down since action can break out at any moment.
“That was easy,” Zaap says sniffling his nose and wiping his face with the back of his hand, as we glance behind us at the clear bluish water we’ve just traversed.
“Um. . . .” Brie makes a noise. “Look in the other direction.”
I turn around and look at the next water ring facing us. In a rush to get ahead, a few Contenders have already jumped into the waves of ring two and are halfway across. Except, now they’re all floundering strangely. Next come the loud screams of pain, as some of them start turning back, while others attempt to make it to the next shore.
“What’s going on?” Tuar steps to the edge and dips his hand into the water lapping at the land ring on that other side. He pulls it back out quickly, saying, “Hot!”
“How hot?” Kateb asks.
“Very. Like a tub that’s too hot to use.”
“Oh no,” I say, looking at the people screaming in pain in the middle of that water. They are turning red and some of them have given up and are drowning. . . . A few lucky others manage to swim like crazy toward the next land ring where they’re crawling out and collapsing in relief.
“Oh, this is bad,” Lolu says, pointing at the edge of the water.
And as I step to the edge to look closer, I can see the water is now boiling.
We stand staring at the horrible boiling water, at a loss.
“We’re screwed,” Brie says. “We’re really screwed. What are we supposed to do?”
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