The Games Villains Play (The Academy Trilogy)

by Joshua DeBenedetto

  DONNY TRIED GOING by the hospital ward, but they would not let him in. They would, however, tell him the condition of his classmate. Donny was relieved to hear that the boy would be alright, and that there would be no permanent injuries. Despite a concussion, a broken collarbone, and a fractured skull, the injuries were considered a blessing considering how high he had fallen onto his head.

  Donny’s next stop, he decided, would be the dining hall. Now that he knew he had not killed his classmate, his level of hunger was higher than his level of guilt, if only by a little. It was late, and there were not many there, which Donny was glad of. He noticed Duke, but pretended not to see him, and sat off by himself. Duke was not to be ignored, however, and moved his plate immediately to Donny’s table.

  “So, what’s the verdict.”

  “He’ll survive. Fractured skull, broken collar bone, and a concussion, but at least he’ll live.”

  “Oh, um, that’s good I guess.” Duke paused awkwardly for a moment. “I was actually talking about us though. Were we disqualified?”

  Donny was confused. Disqualified? Why would we be disqualified?

  “You were seen leaving the administrator’s offices earlier, so the rumor is that our team got disqualified.”

  “Oh no, he just… he just wanted to congratulate me.”

  Duke nodded slowly. Donny could tell Duke was waiting for more information, but he was not sure what information he desired, so he waited for Duke to start the conversation. After a few awkward moments, Duke gave in.

  “So do we have another game? Are we facing the faculty?”

  “Yes, we are facing the faculty. I guess we’ll need to start practicing again soon. Spread the word, we’ll meet at the practice rooms tomorrow night at 1800 hours.”

  “Tomorrow night? Why not tonight, or tomorrow morning at least? We are facing the faculty, I want to shove their biased game playing down their smug little throats!”

  Donny was surprised by Duke’s enthusiasm. It far exceeded his own, especially given the day’s events. He knew, however, that he needed to get himself together. He had a team who was looking up to him to guide them, and the games were not over just yet. “Ok Duke, tomorrow morning then, make it 0600 hours. I don’t want to push them any more tonight though, we’ve all had a long day.”

  Duke gave a single firm nod, and took his tray. Donny could see that Duke was serious when he said he wanted to beat the faculty.

  Donny finished his meal, and was finally ready for bed. He dropped off his tray and walked back to his dorm. The lights were still on, but he could sleep through that. He needed an early night, so he would ignore all the commotion around the room.

  Donny lay down in his bed, and put his head onto his pillow. As he did, he faintly heard a crunching noise coming from under the pillow. He reached in, and to his surprise there was a piece of paper waiting for him. Discreetly, he slid the paper out of its hiding space and into his pocket. Moving into the bathroom and stepping into a stall, he pulled it out again and read.

  Donny,

  Good work in the games. Go to the computer lab at 0400 tomorrow morning, and sit at the computer in the back left corner. We need to talk.

  Just as before when he received word from his informer, Donny felt his excitement rise. He took one last look at the letter, then flushed it down the toilet. He casually walked back to his bed and lay down once more. He had an early day ahead of him.

  IT WAS DARK in the room when Donny awoke. He got up at 0300, allowing himself plenty of time to go through his normal routine. He was unsure if he was being watched, but he would take no chances. At 0345, Donny began making his way down to the computer lab. He arrived a little early, but that could not be helped; he had to keep this casual, and wasting time for a few minutes waiting for 0400 to come would certainly be suspicious to anyone who knew Donny.

  The lab was mostly empty, with one tall faculty member in the back right corner of the room. Donny’s heart sank when he noticed the faculty member sitting there, and hoped he would not stay long. It would be too dangerous to contact me with a faculty member sitting in the same room. Donny thought with disappointment.

  He sat down at the computer in the back left corner, and began to sign on to the server. To his surprise, the computer was not connected to the server at all. It had clearly been tampered with so that the computer could not send or receive any sort of signal. Donny glanced around the back of the computer, and noticed two wires coming out of it. One was the power, connecting it to the wall, as every other computer was. The other was a thin wire, which snaked along the wall, moving to the right. Donny followed it with his eyes, but it was soon lost behind the other computer desks.

  Donny looked back at his computer screen, and noticed a message there waiting for him.

  Good morning Donny.

  The excitement welled up once more, and Donny quickly responded.

  Good morning.

  I want to congratulate you on your victory in the games. To be honest, I had doubts about your ability to win, especially after the school got involved.

  I had some doubts myself. What is the next move?

  Your victory has given me the distraction I needed. We will go for Jay while Captain Williams leads 20 other faculty members against the rest of your team. They will not expect it then, as they will assume you will be in the game.

  Donny knew what this meant. He would have to miss the game, and let down his team. Despite his disappointment, he knew this had to be done. He had to save his brother.

  When and where should I meet you?

  Go with your team, and see them through the door. After the door is shut and the game has begun, meet me in front of Captain Williams’ office. And get there quickly. It will not take them long to realize you are not in the game, and they will surely come right back once they discover it.

  Can we rescue him ourselves?

  There will be three of us. I trust no one else with this.

  I do.

  Well I do not. Tell no one. We will do this alone. Any questions?

  Yes. Who are you?

  There was a pause in the type. The response Donny received was not what he would have hoped.

  I am an old friend of your brother’s.

  Donny noticed the faculty member in the far corner go around his own computer and do a few things in the back of it. He then glanced over at Donny, and walked out of the room. No more messages came.

  CHAPTER 1 8

  PRACTICES THAT WEEK involved a range of events. Donny was unsure what his team would need to expect from Captain Williams, so he wanted to prepare them for anything. Even though he would not be involved in the game, he wanted his team to be able to hold out as long as they could. The longer they could keep the game going, the better the chances that Donny and his faculty informer could successfully rescue Jay.

  After practice that Wednesday, Donny waited for everyone else to leave like he normally did. This time, however, Duke did not leave. Instead, he stood off to the side waiting as Donny did. Once everyone else had left, he made his way over towards Donny.

  “What’s up Duke?” Donny asked.

  “Is this a safe place to talk about something you wouldn’t want anyone else to hear?”

  The secrecy in Duke’s voice worried Donny. Donny motioned for Duke to come with him, and the two of them made their ways over to the doorway. Once they had reached the door, Donny turned to Duke. “Ok, we can talk here. What’s the matter?”

  Duke looked at Donny with an apologetic look, which was not the way Donny would prefer to begin conversations. “Donny,” Duke began, “we know you’re up to something.”

  “Who is ‘we’?”

  “A few of us who are your most loyal supporters.”

  This was not the best thing to hear. If they figured it out, the school must know as well. “Ok Duke, what do you know exactly, and how do you know it?”

  “Well, as far as the how, we have been watching your room. After the incident last
week with the man trying to get to you at night, I decided it would be best to leave a sentry at your door each night. I couldn’t do every night myself, so I got a few together whom I knew could be trusted.”

  “Who? I want names.”

  “Zahrah, Lenny, Spark, Juan, and Silverfist.”

  “Juan? Silverfist?”

  “Yeah. They are both first years, and they couldn’t fend someone off themselves, but I know they are loyal to you. We figured they could hide nearby, and if someone showed up they could at least make a ruckus and wake everyone else up. We needed Silverfist as well, since she is not on our simulation team. We needed someone to watch during those times. It was Juan who discovered your letter.”

  Donny began to get angry. How dare they read my letter! But no sooner did the thought appear, than he realized he should not be angry with them. If they were able to find it so easily, the school would too. It was foolish of his informant to leave such vital information open.

  “We mostly kept a sentry at night, but we also wanted to watch during those hours when your room could easily be accessed. We didn’t want anyone sneaking in and hiding in there. Juan was keeping watch at one point when the rest of your dorm mates were away, and he saw the man walk into your room. His shift was almost over, and I was to relieve him, so he figured he would wait for me. Before I arrived however, the man left the room and walked quickly off. Juan ran in and searched your area for traps, and found your letter.”

  “And he decided it was within his rights to read it.”

  “No, I arrived just after he found it. I read it.”

  Donny could see that Duke was partially apologetic, but without regret. Clearly Duke still thought it was the right thing to do for him to have read the letter.

  “I’m sorry Donny, I know it was your letter to read, but I needed to know if they were going to try to draw you away somewhere. We needed to be ready if something were to go amiss.”

  “If I needed your help I would have asked for it.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have. Donny, we all remember the game against Sly’s team. You took the whole weight of the game upon yourself. That is your one weakness Donny, you would never ask for help. We didn’t want to wait around for you to regret that.”

  Donny wanted to argue, but there was nothing for him to say. He knew Duke was right, and no amount of arguing will change the fact that the secret is no longer just between his informant and himself.

  “Ok, Duke, you have answered the how, but now I need to know what it is exactly that you know?”

  Duke gave a sigh. “Not much. We read the letter, but there was not much information there. We went down to the computer lab, but we could get nothing from the heads of you or the other guy. We know you are planning something, but beyond that, we know very little. We suspect it is something against the school. We think it’s the same man who tried to enter your room that other night, but whether he is with you or against you, the way the games have gone have us convinced that the school itself is your enemy.”

  Donny had not realized that his night attacker could have been the informant. He wasn’t coming to attack me that night, he was coming to tell me something. Then Donny remembered that the drinks of the administration had been drugged, and he realized it was not just to tell Donny something. He was coming to get me! We were going to get Jay that night! Donny got a sick feeling knowing that he might have been able to save Jay sooner, but he decided it was better that they had not, since many of the administration had not consumed the drugs after all. Donny hoped the new plan was a better one.

  Donny was afraid the new plan might not work either. His friends had foiled the last attempt while they thought they were protecting him, and now they might ruin the second attempt the same way. “Thank you for caring about me, but I have this under control.”

  “I’m sure you do, I just want to know what role I can play.”

  “No role, we need to do this ourselves.”

  “Then do this yourselves, but not all of it, there has to be something I can do.”

  Donny was about to turn him down again, but thought better of it. He realized there was something he needed Duke to do. “Duke, I need you to lead the jade team against the administration on Saturday.”

  Duke gave a sad look. He knew how much Donny wanted to lead the team to victory. “Alright, you can count on me. I will lead the team, and we will record the first ever student victory over the faculty.”

  “No, winning would not help. We both know the only chance of winning would come from a fast paced game, but we need the game to be long. Draw the game out as long as you can.”

  Duke nodded.

  “Thank you,” Donny replied.

  THE TWO OF them eased the team into the leadership change. They did not tell the team that Duke would be leading the game itself, but instead they simply had Duke run the practices, and stand in the command position for all the scrimmages and plays. Friday night came, and their last practice came to an end. The team was working smoothly under Duke, and Donny hoped their new cohesion would help them hold out in the game the next morning.

  Donny went to the dining hall after the practice. He was far from hungry, but he did not want to draw attention to this fact, so he filled his plate with food, and sat down by himself. From time to time people would wish him luck as they passed, and he would thank them formally. There was one person who stopped on their way by.

  “Good luck tomorrow Donny.”

  Donny looked up to see Jenna standing in front of him. Donny had hardly seen her since their conversation on the way to the Academy, and he could tell she had gotten stronger since their last meeting, although she still did not look like the typical Titan. Donny could see that she still wore the silver lifting gloves that had given her ability away when they last spoke.

  Looking at her silver gloves, Donny suddenly understood who the last member of Donny’s secret watch party had been. “You’re Silverfist now, aren’t you?” Donny asked, knowing the answer before it came.

  “Yup, and you’re still a genius,” she responded with a big smile.

  “Thank you Silverfist. I appreciate your well wishes, and… everything else.”

  “I hope you are able to show the school who’s boss. If there is anything at all that I can do to help…”

  “No,” Donny cut in, then added, “thank you though.”

  She blushed, then walked off quickly.

  Duke’s right, I could never ask for help.

  CHAPTER 1 9

  DONNY COULD NOT sleep that night. Every noise, however small, grabbed his attention. He could hear noises from time to time that he could not identify. They were most likely the dripping of water in the bathroom, or the rustling of sheets from someone in the room, but he could never be certain that the sound was not someone coming to get him in the night. He knew that the school’s best time to stop him would be during the night if they knew his plan, and he was not sure if his secret guards were still standing guard near his dorm room door. He figured those from his team would most likely be trying to get as much sleep as possible before their match, but Silverfist had no reason to get a full night’s sleep that night. Could she be waiting outside to protect him?

  The night dragged on and on, and finally it reached a time when Donny thought it reasonable to get up and get ready. He got dressed with his typical simulation games clothes on over a regular set of clothing. It would be too suspicious for him to carry an extra pair of clothes out to the arena with him, but he needed to be able to get back into the building, and he would surely stand out in his usual game outfit. He would probably stand out either way, as everyone in the school knew he would be playing that day, but if changing clothes could improve his chance of getting by without being seen just a little, it would be worth it.

  The game was scheduled to begin at 0900, but Donny went down early, as he could think of nowhere else to go. He was surprised to see Duke, Zahrah, Lenny, and Juan already there waiting.

 
“You ready?” Donny asked them as he approached.

  “Are you?” Zahrah asked nervously. Donny could tell that Duke had at least told them that he would not be playing in the game.

  “Yes, I am,” Donny responded with as much confidence as he could bring himself to show.

  “When the rest of the team arrives, let me do the talking. I have an idea to help keep the faculty off your trail for a time. We’ll tell the team that you will be in the game, so that when the faculty search their minds they won’t immediately discover that you aren’t there,” Duke said.

  “Thanks Duke, that’s a good idea,” Donny responded.

  The rest of the team soon began to arrive, and their discussion had to end. Once everyone had arrived, Duke stepped forward to address the team. “Ok, Donny and I have a plan of action to throw off the faculty. They are expecting Donny to be leading the charge, and they are preparing for the types of things he would normally do. In order to throw them off, I will be leading you all in. Donny is going to wait by the door for a while, then he will slip in and go on an independent mission. Trust us that this is the way that will give us the best chance of getting the better of the faculty.”

  The team looked over to Donny for confirmation, and he nodded to them all. Donny could see them all questioning the plan silently, but they had learned by now not to question the orders, so none of them spoke. Duke took the complete lead in pumping the team up for their match, which relieved Donny tremendously, as he was not feeling very pumped up himself. The remaining minutes felt like hours to him, but finally he heard the lock click, and Duke pulled open the door. He led the team inside, 20 of them instead of 21, as he was pretending Donny would be joining them. Donny watched through the door as Duke snatched up the instructions paper on his way by, and the rest of the team took all the supplies which were sitting on the table. As they ran out of sight, Donny stepped back from the doorway, and shut the door.