by Jason Letts
“I had no idea about any of that stuff. Man, he’s had it tougher than I thought,” said Will. “I wonder how he ended up here.”
“Probably just wandered aimlessly until he showed up at the outpost and started begging for something to do,” said Kurt.
“How long ago did all of that take place?” Mira asked, but no one had an answer.
“I don’t know if I believe all that,” Jeremy disagreed. “I’m not saying he’s lying, but I don’t think all the stuff about an ancient kingdom is real. And that stuff about a king with all the powers is completely ridiculous. Has anyone ever heard of anyone with more than one power? No, you haven’t. I rest my case.”
“Where do the powers come from?” Mira asked.
“Well, those of us with powers received them from the web of the universe when we were born. That’s what my parents taught me and that’s what I know. His story just conveniently plays off of that by saying the powers went there after the first people died.”
“You mean that’s what you believe. You never followed a power from the web and saw it climb into an unborn baby, so you believe it but don’t know it,” Mira added.
“No, I know it,” Jeremy protested.
“OK, then prove that powers come from the web of the universe.”
“That’s easy. Just show me a baby being born and it’ll have a power that came from there. Boom! That’s proof for anybody who isn’t blind.”
“Wait, but I was born and I don’t have a power that came from the web. Oh no! I just blew up your theory,” she said.
“If I were the web of the universe, I wouldn’t have wanted to give you a power either,” Jeremy grumbled, getting up to venture out into the snow with a group of students, Roselyn among them.
“Hey, Chucky,” Roselyn called. “That was impressive. You can’t force those kinds of feelings on someone. They have to come from within. I’m not sure I could have done what you did.”
Chapter 8: The Team Trial
Mira got up to leave, and she assembled her notebooks and supplies absentmindedly. She wondered how she could have better argued the difference between knowing and believing. To her, to know something meant to be able to prove it with observations, measurements, and experiments. A belief is an assumption about something that doesn’t need to be verified. No one can go up into the web of the universe to see where all of the unused powers are stored. So they can believe the powers are there, but they can’t know for sure.
Pulling her pink knit cap over her head, she braced herself for the blizzard outside and turned for the exit. It startled her to find Aoi leaning against the doorway, watching her intently. Frozen strands of black hair curved around her face, bunching together like claws. She seemed so sharp in that moment, from her piercing eyes to her bony cheeks.
“Do you consider yourself a selfish person?” she asked. Mira needed a moment to decide how to respond. Aoi watched her with a careful, thoughtful expression.
“I try not to be. Why do you ask?”
“So if one person took all the credit for other people’s work, you would think that’s wrong, right?”
“I guess. What are you talking about?” Mira asked. Aoi took a deliberate step into Mira’s personal space.
“I’m concerned, Mira. I’m afraid about what’s going to happen to us.”
“Afraid? Why?”
“Don’t you see what the problem would be if Vern graduates at the top of our class? We would all be pawns in his game to make himself look good. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and I would hate for our sacrifice to go to his ego. Haven’t you noticed it?”
The sound of Aoi’s voice warbled as she spoke. It carried so much emotion. Mira did recognize what Aoi referred to. She remembered Vern’s reasoning about why he should remain class leader. It gave her a funny feeling, and Aoi’s words helped her realize why. Now that some time had passed, all Mira could remember him saying was “I.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Mira asked.
“Because I heard something interesting. Maybe it’s just a rumor, but maybe it’s not.”
“What is it?”
“I heard that Vern is thinking about picking you for the Team Trial next week.”
This comment made Mira flinch with surprise. She still didn’t know many details about the Team Trial, only what the title implied, but she did know Vern was a captain and he would pick his team. What did it mean that he thought about picking her?
“Oh, that’s nice of him,” she said.
“No, it’s not. I can assure you it is anything but nice. If he’s thinking about picking you, then there’s got to be a reason for it. And right now I can’t figure out what that reason is. Can you tell me why he might think you would be useful on his team? Is there something about you that you haven’t told everyone?” Aoi inquired.
“No, I’m not hiding any kind of power or anything. What you see is what you get.”
“Are you hiding something from me right now? Why would he want to pick you?” Aoi asked, intense.
“I’m not hiding anything and I don’t know why he would want to pick me. This is all news to me. Maybe if you’re so worried about it you should go ask him.”
Aoi pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. For an instant, Mira wondered if she would become violent again, but instead she stared deeply into Mira’s eyes.
“You like him, don’t you?” she accused. “He is attractive.”
“What? No, I don’t!” Mira said.
“Then why are you so nervous? I bet you’d like nothing more than to have him sweep you off your feet.” Smirking mischievously, Aoi abruptly stormed out into the blizzard.
All alone now, Mira stood still. She watched stray snowflakes slip in through the wallboards and collect on the floor like fine dust. Knee-deep tracks led from the entrance through the clearing to the path. She felt cold and anticipated returning home to a warm fire, but she also thought she was in a beautiful place and was happy to be there, even considering the constant strife she faced with other students.
Mira spent a great deal of time that weekend thinking about her conversation with Aoi. She wondered why Vern would want to pick her for his team and why that would rouse Aoi’s suspicion so much. Mira let herself pretend it was because he liked her and thought she was pretty. Maybe Aoi was right and there were, in fact, feelings involved.
But something else weighed more heavily on her mind. She thought about Vern and Aoi, the two students at the top of her class, and wondered who would make a better leader. Both of them gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had asked her mother about the likelihood that the final class leader would be a surprise.
“After spending ten years in school together, the chance of a surprise becomes pretty small,” Jeana said.
Mira’s fellow students took class leader seriously. They did afford Vern some extra respect, a special chair; in return, he helped them as best he could. Still, he took noticeable joy in doing what others could not, and he reveled in the praise and thanks he received because of it. Aoi, Mira thought, seemed to have little control over herself, so it would be impossible for her to manage an entire group.
Lying under numerous thick blankets on a cold and frigid night, Mira played out the fantasy of becoming class leader in her mind. She promised herself she would always act in the best interest of others and to do everything she could to inspire them to greatness. But when she awoke, the dream she spun had disappeared and the reality of her place set in. She was at the mercy of most of her classmates, and that wouldn’t change until she could overpower them.
Down in the basement, she had been working on something that would do the dirty work for her. Utilizing her new zinc batteries, she finally could store enough electricity to produce something menacing and imposing. The time had come to test her creation. She grabbed her dad and they went out into the snow covered backyard to reveal it.
Standing on the frozen, solid sheet of snow, Mira pulled
the cover off a small figure that stood between her and her father. It was a foot tall, much bigger than any of her walking toys, and had a human shape.
“I call him Crank, and he’s ready for battle. Don’t hold back now, but be careful at the same time. Ready?” she called over to Kevin.
After he nodded, Mira clutched the remote and Crank slowly started to walk forward. One leg lurched in front of the other in a stilted, jerky motion. Kevin appeared underwhelmed. Mira pressed a button on the remote, waited for a response, and then mashed the button again and again.
Kevin took a few steps forward and gave Crank a strong kick with his boot, sending him flying over to the side. Then he ran after Mira.
“It was working before!”
“You’re in trouble now!”
“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!” Mira dropped the remote and ran, Kevin chasing her. They circled the yard, around trees and along the garden paths. He eventually got a hold of her and tossed her into a snow bank.
“I give up!” she cried after her father buried her in snow.
They went indoors and warmed up with breakfast and hot chocolate. Mira sat in a chair near the fire, with a blanket wrapped around her. She looked through the foggy windowpane at Crank, lying in the snow and collecting flakes. She left him outside as punishment for his failure.
“So what was that thing supposed to do, anyway?” Kevin took a seat on the other side of the fire.
“It had a spring to launch itself through the air at you, which would knock you over and give me the option of either assaulting you myself or running away. But even if it had worked, it would be so difficult to use on a target that moved side to side.”
“Yeah, that sounds tough,” Kevin sounded thoughtful.
“The worst part is how much energy goes into the walking. Walking is such a complicated movement, and it took forever so the thing wouldn’t tip over with the first step. Uneven ground, a divot, or even a hill, would be too much for it,” Mira said, sulking.
“What if you had something that didn’t need to move? You could carry it and then toss it where you want it, and after it does its thing you would pick it up.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” she said. “But people do move, and I’d love for it to be something that could be tough enough to create a barrier between me and any enemies.”
Mira and Kevin sat in contemplation of the puzzle before them when Jeana joined them.
“And I think it’s possible to make something that strong with these new zinc batteries,” Mira said.
“So you were able to get the things you needed from Darmen Exchange?” Jeana asked.
“Well, I was going to, and I went there, but then the guy wanted a crazy amount of money, so I left. On the way out I met this guy wearing all kinds of metal, and it turned out he traded also. Yannick and I made a deal for the zinc and the magnets I need in exchange for a water filter I’m building. It’s turning out pretty well and I might have to build a smaller one for myself. You never know when that would come in handy.”
This story immediately caught the attention of Kevin and Jeana, whose uneasiness and suspicion became evident to Mira.
“You can’t trust that man, Mira. He is not honest. I can’t believe you did that without talking to us!” Jeana scolded.
“So far I’ve gotten a bunch of things from him and he’s gotten nothing from me, so I don’t think it’d be a good idea for him to be dishonest,” Mira retorted.
“That’s not entirely what I mean. He gets a lot of his goods by stealing them.”
“Oh,” Mira said, taken aback.
“And you say he needed a filter for water? I’m not convinced that’s the truth either. I wonder what he really wants it for,” Kevin added.
“But I am already using the zinc, and I’m waiting for him to deliver the neodymium magnet. I need these things,” she said, wondering if the zinc in her batteries had been stolen.
Jeana and Kevin exchanged worried glances.
“How is he going to deliver it to you?” Jeana asked.
“He said he’s going to come find me. I gave him a strand of my hair.”
“I can’t put it any other way. What you did was foolish. Just think, now there’s someone who knows where you are every second of the day, someone who knows when you’re moving and when you’re standing still. That’s valuable information, and there might be people who would trade with him for it. It’s only your anonymity that keeps you safe,” Kevin said, shaken and disturbed.
“What do you mean my anonymity keeps me safe?” Mira asked.
“We just mean that you might draw unwanted attention…because you are special.”
“Oh.”
“Look, if he comes to you, try to make sure there are other people around. You could tell him to meet you here and we could deal with him together. Make sure you get your hair back too,” said Jeana.
Mira felt guilty because she had made such a big mistake in her parents’ eyes. So many of the things they mentioned had just never occurred to her. She thought she had a lot to think about before, but now the weekend seemed like an awfully short time to get through all of the thinking she had to do.
Monday morning came way too soon. Snow continued to pile up, and now layers of hard and soft snow covered the ground. The students trekked to school in heavy winter clothing, their uniforms buried underneath layers and layers. At the schoolhouse, the desks had been pushed against the walls, leaving a large open space in the center.
The students mulled around the space, talking and joking like they were at a dance before the music had begun. Fortst cleared his throat loudly to get everyone’s attention.
“Team captains will now make their selections for the Team Trial. There will be three teams, each with five members. Will the three captains please come forward?”
Mira took a step forward and then checked herself.
“Oh wait, I forgot I’m not a captain.”
Roselyn, Vern, and Aoi came to the front. They stood alongside Fortst and surveyed the remaining students.
“Roselyn will make the first selection, followed by Vern and then Aoi, and then they each will pick again. Whenever you’re ready, Roselyn.”
“Hmm.” She deliberated with one hand on her chin and the other on her hip. “This is difficult. I could really pick anyone. I guess I’ll have to go with…Mary!”
Mary’s face lit up and she pushed her way through the crowd. While Roselyn and Mary celebrated, Aoi scoffed and rolled her eyes.
“Number one,” Vern began. “I’m choosing Dot.” Dot came forward, exchanged an understanding glance with Vern, and took her place behind him. Now that her turn had come, Aoi agonized over her decision. The gears turned painfully in her mind as she crunched and calculated. Some of the other students started to complain that she took too long.
“Alright, alright. Relax! I’ll take Rowland, his molding is just too useful.”
“First round pick, I’ll take it,” Rowland said as he crossed over to those who had been chosen. He motioned to give his captain a high five, but then perceived long-term consequences and decided against it.
After a lot of intense whispering, Roselyn broke from her huddle with Mary to announce her next pick. “We want Will!” Vern stomped his foot and clenched his fist, obviously displeased. Composing himself, he turned to those left in the crowd.
“Let’s get someone on board who can go the distance. I need you,” he said, extending a finger to the thin, red-haired boy. Kurt slipped between those standing in front of him and walked over to Vern and Dot.
Aoi scanned the remaining lot and fidgeted, focusing on only two options: Jeremy and Mira. This was the decision that would make or break her team. Jeremy could be useful in any number of situations, making it foolish for her not to pick him. But if Mira were so crucial to Vern’s formula then the benefit of disrupting that would be immense. Still, he hadn’t picked her through two whole rounds. Maybe he thought no one would want her and he could save her
for the later rounds. She did come in last in the Tournament Trial, after all. Finally, before it would’ve been inappropriate to stall any longer, Aoi opened her mouth.
“OK, I am going to choose…Mira!” A ripple of surprise shook the other students who turned to look with renewed interest.
“Jeremy!” Roselyn shouted before Mira had even taken a step toward her team.
“You had better be worth it,” Aoi growled at Mira, already regretting her decision. Mira sheepishly took her place behind Rowland.
“I guess that means it’s my turn again,” Vern said. “I’d be a fool not to pick Dennis in the middle of the winter. Come on over here!”
After watching Vern’s enthusiasm, Aoi furrowed her brow. This would be her last actual pick. The most undesirable one would be forced upon her. But a profound apathy took hold of her as she looked over the remaining pieces of meat. She concluded it didn’t much matter who she got stuck with.
“Mucky Chucky,” she sighed with disgust.
“Gerald,” Roselyn called.
“Sophie,” Vern said.
Andrew, the last one remaining, exchanged an awkward glance with Aoi and then shuffled over to join her team.
“That does it,” Fortst shouted. “We have our three teams. With Roselyn: Mary, Will, Jeremy, and Gerald. With Vern: Dot, Kurt, Dennis, and Sophie. And with Aoi: Rowland, Mira, Chucky, and Andrew. You have the rest of the day to prepare yourselves in whatever way you see fit, and we’ll meet bright and early tomorrow morning in the courtyard of Corey Outpost. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t believe it’s too early to go find myself a drink.”
The exciting news that tomorrow’s event would take place at Corey Outpost passed through everyone’s lips. The three teams separated so they could form a strategy. Vern’s group left the schoolhouse, presumably to visit the site. The two remaining groups positioned desks in opposing corners and began their meetings.
Aoi lined her team up against the wall. She looked them over and formed an expression of suffocating disappointment. On her five-person team, three members were dead weight.