The Games Villains Play (The Academy Trilogy)

by Joshua DeBenedetto

  Donny made his way back towards the school at a run, shedding his top layer as he went. Despite the heat, he travelled around the outside of the building, knowing that he would be unlikely to bump into anyone outside. He entered by a door near to Captain William’s office, and was relieved to find the faculty member from the computer lab to be the only person in sight. The man looked as nervous as Donny felt.

  “The game has started?” He asked Donny.

  “Yes, I thought you said there would be three of us?” Donny responded.

  “There will, the third will join us later.”

  The man closed his eyes in concentration for a moment. Donny could tell that the man was either a Prometheus or nothing by his look, but now he could see that the man must be a Prometheus who was mentally searching for something. He must have found what he was looking for, because he quickly opened his eyes and took the handle to Captain William’s door. He opened the door quietly and walked in, with Donny following close behind. There was a door in the back of the office which Donny had noticed before, but never paid much attention to. They walked up to the door, and the man pulled out a key and unlocked it. They walked through into a larger room, with monitors along the walls.

  Donny looked at the monitors, and could see that the majority of the school was under surveillance. As he walked along behind his mysterious leader, he noticed a set of monitors that covered the arena. He watched as he could see his team and the faculty moving about on their task, whatever it may be. At first he figured it must be a search and recover activity, as there were many faculty members who were clearly looking for something. Then he realized there were no members from his own team who appeared to be searching.

  “They’re searching for you,” the man said, before Donny even thought to ask.

  Donny noticed a camera facing the arena from one of the other buildings. “It’s a good thing they didn’t leave someone here to watch the cameras, or they would have seen me leave.”

  “They did leave someone to watch the cameras. Me.”

  Donny looked over at the man, and saw that he was deep in concentration, sitting next to another door across the room from the one through which they had entered. This is not what Donny had expected for their search and rescue. He thought there would be more sneaking about, probably more fighting, and a lot less waiting. Donny looked back at the monitors for the game, and watched them all running around.

  Suddenly Donny’s guide looked up. “Let’s go,” he said, and pulling out another key, opened the third door. The man rushed inside first. Donny followed quickly, and saw the man checking two men who were on the floor unconscious.

  “What happened to them?” Donny asked.

  “I released a gas into the room a short time ago. It knocked them out.”

  “Wouldn’t the gas still be in here then?” Donny asked. The room had no windows or doors other than the one through which the two of them had entered.

  “The gas breaks up over time. It is not going to affect us now. My friend over there signaled that it had weakened enough.”

  Donny looked over to where the man had been referring. There sat the only two things in the room besides them and the unconscious guards. There sat two cripples, both of whom were clearly completely paralyzed. The one on the left sat in a normal chair. He was older, and Donny suspected that he had been a Hermes a long time back. There was no quick movement which typically signified a Hermes, but his physique still gave him away, despite how long it had been since he had ran, or moved at all.

  The one on the right was the more interesting of the pair. He was in a metal chair which was bolted to the ground, and he was tied to it with thick metal chains. Donny was amazed that so much trouble had gone into tying up someone who was clearly unable to go anywhere. This man was much younger than the other, and Donny could not immediately decide what his ability had been before he had been crippled. He had the atrophied remains of firm muscles, leading Donny to believe he had been a Titan, but then there was also the curled up but still slender physique of a Hermes. There was also something in his eyes that gave the knowing look of a Prometheus. Something in those eyes which seemed strangely familiar. Something in the eyes that Donny knew.

  “Jay!?” Donny exclaimed. The name came out before he was certain it was actually his brother, but as soon as the possibility entered his mind, he knew that it was true. Donny was mortified. He had expected to find his brother restrained, but he also expected to find Jay in good health, not shriveled up as he was. “You said he was alright!” Donny yelled accusingly to the man.

  “I said he was alive and safe. He is both those things. Don’t worry, he will recover after a little time.”

  Recover? He’s paralyzed! Donny knew this condition would not just go away for a normal person. Luckily, he also knew Jay was not a normal person. He was relieved by the prospect that his brother might be able to return to his former self after all.

  “Move that one away from Jay,” Donny was instructed, and he quickly followed the orders. He pulled the chair of the left crippled man into the other room and set him in a corner next to some monitors.

  “I need confirmation that Donny is in the arena.”

  Donny jumped as Captain Williams’ voice came at him from behind. To his relief, the voice came from a speaker by the arena monitors, not from the captain himself. Donny’s accomplice ran into the room and over to a microphone. Looking quickly at the monitors, he pressed a button and spoke into the microphone. “Affirmative, Donny is still in the arena.”

  “Where?” The voice came back.

  The man thought for a moment, looking at the monitors, then pressed the button and spoke once more. “He is in section 3, northeast block.”

  Donny saw Captain Williams on one of the monitors. He saw him quickly turn and run towards a door, calling others to himself as he went.

  “Shoot, we don’t have much time. He knows I was lying, and he is on his way.” The man quickly typed something into a nearby computer which had only words on its screen, then ran back into the other room.

  Donny followed the man back into the room where Jay waited, and helped him get the chains off of his brother. The man picked Jay up and draped him limply over his shoulder. Donny could tell his brother was heavy, but as long as the man could carry him, this would be the fastest way to travel.

  They ran back through the computer room and as they passed Donny thought he saw a fight taking place on the monitor that was showing the area between the arena and the main school building. There was not time for him to be sure. They ran out of the office, and began making their way down the hall. The school alarm was sounding now, telling all students to go back to their dorm rooms. This must have been the alarm that went off during the villain attack earlier that year. Donny thought. Donny wished they could run faster, but the man was clearly getting tired.

  To Donny’s surprise and relief, they made it through the halls all the way to the front door without running into anyone. Donny ran a few steps ahead to open the door. He grabbed the handle and pulled.

  But nothing happened. The door was shut tight and locked. “We’ll have to find a window to break,” the man panted in exhaustion.

  They turned around, but before advancing a single step, a large Titan turned the corner in front of them, blocking their way. He stood in the intersection where a side hallway met the one which ran away from the door. They were completely trapped.

  Donny pulled frantically at the door, as the Titan took out a radio and spoke something into it.

  “I really wish one of us were a Titan right now,” Donny said as he yanked with all his might at the door. Suddenly he heard a crash behind him, and he turned to see Silverfist standing where the other Titan had been, and a huge hole in the wall next to her.

  “I’m a Titan, can you use my help now?” She said with a smile. Donny did not even answer, but merely got out of the way. Silverfist ran forward, lowering her shoulder as she reached the door. It looked to Donny
like she was not even slowed by the doors, which smashed outward in front of her.

  “Thanks,” Donny said.

  “Let me take him,” she told the man, as she took Jay and put him over her own shoulder.

  “The small plane to the right,” the man panted, still tired from carrying Jay so far.

  “No,” Jay mumbled, but they had no time to waste. They ran towards the plane as fast as they could. “No…no Bob…” Jay continued shakily.

  As they neared the plane, a large mass of people suddenly sprang out from around the corners of the surrounding aircrafts, completely blocking their way. They turned to run back, but more appeared behind them, and before long they were completely surrounded.

  Captain Williams walked out from the crowd to the side. He was clearly tired, but was nevertheless satisfied with the state of things. “Well, well, well, Bob Rogers, you certainly had me fooled. You left your wife and kids at home in order to…how did you put it?... ‘make sure our enemy remains under control’? It looks to me like you’ve got the sides a little mixed up.”

  The man, whose name apparently was Bob Rogers, stepped forward. “I do not have the sides mixed up Williams. This school has remained on top of the world because there has been nothing powerful enough to challenge it. Don’t you remember what the founders said when they formed the Academy? There are only two things that could stop them, to be outmuscled, or to be outthought. Well that time has finally come, and I believe these boys have what it takes to do both. You are the one with the sides mixed up.”

  “Oh Rogers, can’t you see? Your muscle is crippled, and will not be able to fight for days at least, and your brain is standing behind you petrified. You stand no chance.”

  “There’s one thing you’ve missed though Williams. I have other muscles under my control, and they are being led by another brain.”

  With a sudden crash, battle erupted close to where Captain Williams stood. A large army was suddenly there, fighting with Captain Williams’ army. They quickly broke through the circle and made their way to where Rogers was standing. A Prometheus was in front of the group, followed closely by a Titan and a Hermes.

  “You three guard us. Get us to that plane. The rest of you, fight back the school,” Rogers commanded of those in front. Without a word or a hesitation, they made a circle around Rogers, Donny, Silverfist, and Jay, and began moving them towards the plane. As they moved, Donny noticed that their new Prometheus guard was getting overpowered by a pair of Hermes. The Prometheus turned to face one, moving to disable them, when Donny saw the other pull out a blade and move in to strike. At the last moment another blur collided with the bladed one, and in an instant the Hermes with the blade was flipped onto the ground, and the blade was launched away. To Donny’s surprise, the rescue had come from Zahrah.

  Zahrah looked up at the Prometheus whom she had just saved with surprise. “Brain! What a relief, Duke thought you guys had teamed up with a group of villains for your getaway.”

  “We did,” Rogers replied as they continued their motion towards the plane. “Brain is being controlled by the school, along with the rest here. It is a long story, but essentially, I overrode the system, and sent this group a command that I was their leader. The school was keeping them nearby in case they were needed. I sent word to them once it looked like we might need assistance in our escape.”

  Zahrah looked confused, but said nothing. The group continued further, but those that they were fighting off were drawing closer each moment. With each of their guards occupied, three Titans stepped in front and blocked their way. Just as the Titans moved forward to grab them, three paintball shots hit them each in succession square in the face. Blinded by the hits, Lenny and Spark came at them from the sides, tripping and pushing them out of the way. Donny turned to see that the shots had come from Duke and Juan Pablo, who were now with them as well, each holding a paintball gun.

  “Nice shooting you guys,” Donny said as they joined the group.

  “Not guys, guy. All three hits came from Duke. Mine didn’t fire,” Juan Pablo responded.

  Finally they managed to reach the plane. The door to the plane was set so it could only be opened from the inside, but as they reached it the door was pushed open by someone who had clearly been waiting for them from inside.

  “Wow, I thought you said it would just be the three of you?” Donny knew the voice at once, and upon looking up, there stood Michael in the doorway.

  “Plans changed a little,” Rogers replied. “Donny, here’s that third I was talking to you about.”

  They filed into the plane as quickly as they could. First went Silverfist with Jay, then Donny, Rogers, Duke, Juan Pablo, Spark, Zahrah, Hummer, Hammer, Brain, and with a final throw to push back those who were still trying to get at them, Lenny, who grabbed the door and threw it shut behind himself.

  Rogers ran to the cockpit and started up the plane. Donny went with him to make sure everything went smoothly, while the rest of the group waited in the main cabin.

  “We will find you, all of you. This is not the end.”

  The voice came in over the radio. Captain Williams had made his way into one of the other planes, and was talking to them over the radio. Rogers ignored it, and began making his take off. Just before they left, Donny picked up the radio and replied to Captain Williams.

  “Captain Williams, this is Donny. I thought about your proposal, and I’ve made my decision. My answer is no. Good luck finding us.”

  Their plane took off, and they left the Academy far behind them.