by Cameron Jace
“I can’t,” says Leo.
Bellona and I can’t believe our ears.
“Then we’re all going to die in there.” Bellona lets out a painful chuckle.
“You can’t skate?” I wonder. Really? I thought you were some arrogant superhero who could do anything.
“Yes,” answers Leo. He is cool about it though. I don’t think he understands how this could hurt us. “I’ll walk barefoot.”
“You’re such a caveman.” I roll my eyes.
“You will crack the ice. You are too heavy,” explains Bellona. “This is why the ice skates are thin. It creates as little friction with the ice as possible. With your weight, you can’t fight without breaking the ice. If you break the ice, you’ll drown in the water underneath, and contaminate it. Capiche?”
“I have clean feet,” says Leo like a robot.
“Oh. Please,” says Bellona.
“And you said you don’t have enough ammo, right?” I remind him.
“Two bullets,” he says. “I have a knife like yours. And I have my bare hands.”
“We need weapons inside. We can’t fight the Bullies without weapons,” says Bellona. “We have to think of something to get weapons.”
I am mad at Leo. I don’t believe he has a plan. His improvisation techniques are going to get us killed. I know that he will eventually find some heroic way to do his best, but I can’t enter the dome with this state of mind.
“May I present to you the great designer of the Breathing Dome,” Timmy announces. “A respectable young scientist of Faya, and a promising Eight. Please welcome… Zeinstein!”
A short boy appears on the screen. He is wearing a yellow blazer jacket that he thinks is so fashionable, and big glasses that almost cover his long irregular nose. His hair is curly and uncombed. His ears are bizarre; no one has ears that long anymore — didn’t mankind evolve from rabbit to man a long time ago? His sick yellowish smile bothers me, and the fact that he is an Eight kills me.
On my iAm’s screen, the Summit announces that Zikee, the reputable sneakers manufacturer, is offering Zeinstein a multi-million zollar contract to acquire the rights to the Bullies’ ice-skating shoes. Half of the money goes to the Summit. Every rich kid in Faya will buy the skates after we die.
“Zeinstein my—” mutters Leo.
“You know him?” asks Bellona.
“I know Einstein,” mumbles Leo, acting like he is an intelligent alien from outer space while we’re just silly humans here on earth.
“Are they brothers or something?” asks Bellona.
Leo shoots Bellona that look. Again, he looks like an alien, aching perpetually from living among us. “I will explain later,” he says. I don’t know what upsets him so much about Zeinstein. His reasons are definitely different from mine.
“I’d like to announce that these are not filter masks. They are tethered to the oxygen tanks.” says Timmy to the audience. “We just wanted them to look cool. They’re designed by Zersace. The implanted horns are courtesy of Lady Mama, available in all stores after the games. Go get yours before they sell out, kids. I’ve always wanted a couple of horns on my head, and maybe elf ears as well.”
“This game is a money fest,” says Bellona. “Like I told you, they are worth nothing without us.”
Timmy demands that we put on the ice skates and grab the caterpillar tubes, which are used as water containers. They are elastic bottles that look like a big worm with a fixed curving straw that squeezes up the water from underneath the ice. The company that manufactures them brands it the Caterpillar.
“I think your Bullies suck,” I say in the iAm. We are allowed to say whatever we want on game time. It will only be picked up if they think it is important. This is different from calling.
I never said the word suck before, but always wanted to. This is the perfect situation, with an edge.
I turn to Bellona. “Tell everyone not to wear the skates until we get what I am asking for,” I say. Bellona complies. Her skating friends don’t like it though.
“What will it be, Zippy-Zap’s girlfriend?” asks Timmy.
“We don’t like your Bullies,” I say, reminding myself that I can do this. I have an idea. Leo is grinning at me.
“It’s not up to you. They’re not made for you to like them. They are made to kill you. That’s the point,” says Timmy. “We do like our Bullies.” The audience backs him up. “Please don’t stop your friends from attending the game, or I will explode me some Monsters.”
“Can he do that?” I ask Leo and Bellona.
“It’s more of an electric shock like the one I had in the forest,” says Leo.
“You had an electric shock?” Bellona admires Leo with her eyes. “And you’re still alive. Man, you are strong.”
I am starting not to like Bellona. I don’t know why.
“Did Decca give you a hard time? Did you just want to end your life?” continues Bellona, touching Leo’s arm. Leo puts his poker face on. Actually, Leo has his poker face on most of the time. It’s more of a poker-slash-dumb-slash-Terminator face. How many times did girls hit on you, Leo? Of course, my question applies to your past life, when you were a rock star, before becoming a mindless killing machine.
“Ding dong,” says Timmy, wearing angel wings with a lollipop in his mouth. “Jealous eyes never lie.” He shakes his head. I am sure his act will get him a couple of hundred more viewers. Who is he calling jealous?
“I am not jealous of you—” I don’t want to offend Timmy. I need to make him feel okay so he takes my bait. “And Bellona isn’t either.” I say this to save myself from sounding defensive. I don’t think it works.
“Look, I think your Bullies don’t look scary enough.” I get my mind back on track “What is it with that over-hyped outfit? Implanted horns in their heads, bare chests, huh? They look so sissy—” Again, I never said that word before, but I never felt the need. I am trying to provoke Timmy. “We’re younger, smaller, and faster. Nothing about them scares us. At least they should have weapons so they can shoot us. This game is going to be boring.”
Leo nods his head. Bellona seems impressed. If Timmy takes the bait, the Bullies will have weapons and Bellona’s friends, the army teens, can snatch the weapons from them. They are ex-military and have experience. This will be better than getting into physical fights with them, which none of us can win, even Leo. The Bullies are big.
The audience demands the Bullies should have weapons, and the viewer's counter is picking up. This is Timmy's greatest weakness. He has to please Prophet Xitler and the Summit by gaining Viewership, thus making money, pleasing the audience, and getting the best rank he can.
“The Monsters seem to actually have brains,” says Timmy. “Boys and girls, it is a trick—”
“If you don't do it, we’ll go suicidal, meaning we will just give up and die. That would make for a very dull show.” I cut him off, counting on the fact that they need us in this money fest.
The audience is upset, shouting at Timmy.
“All she does is talk, blah blah blah,” Leo whispers to Bellona. Is he flirting with her, or is it his unusual way of saying he appreciates me? I don't care. “I wonder where her off button is,” he adds flatly.
“Ok,” Timmy agrees. “But we will not send them guns. These weapons kill instantly. We want slow deaths so we can watch and be entertained. We’ll send you swords. Samurai swords. Everyone loves them.”
The screen on my iAm advertises the new set of swords that will be used in the games The swords look too fancy for a real fight. They are manufactured by NinjaCutz. A couple of days from now, every kid in Faya will ask his parent to buy those to play with.
“NinjaCutz?” Leo rolls his eyes. “Making Samurai swords? In the name of Bushido, God help me.”
Bellona and I eye exchange looks but we decide to dismiss Leo’s irritation.
“I hope this Ninjacutz company makes real swords because these swords look like they’re made for kids, ” murmurs Leo. �
��We’re not going to die in there finding out they have sold us lightsabers.”
We send puzzled looks his way again. What’s he talking about? I liked this boy better when he was mute.
“Lightsabers anyone?” Leo furrows his brows at our ignorance. “Star Wars. Darth Vader. Yoda. Hello?”
What’s this dude talking about?
"Anyway. Don't worry Thor," Bellona hits him on the chest playfully. "The Swords are reliable. My aunt works for that company. I remember her saying they produced excellent real swords. She was even planning to chop off her husband’s head with one of them.”
“Oh,” Leo furrow his eyebrows. “What did her husband do?”
“Made fun of her swords,” says Bellona.
I have to learn to be like Bellona. I like the way she called him Thor, and how playful she is with Leo. I hate her for that, but I will learn from her if I stay alive.
“So we enter the dome, get the water we need, and get out?” Bellona asks Timmy.
“You enter the dome, kill the Bullies, fill your Caterpillars with water, each member has to leave with one, and get out, ” explains Timmy. “Or you can take a shortcut: enter the room and die.”
We gather to start entering the Breathing Dome.
“I wish I could warn you of trying to break the rules. But don't worry; you won't break any, because there aren't any.” says Timmy.
“And what happened to the I am Alive rule.” A girl from our team wonders. It's Shoegirl. I want to take her in my arms, since we both survived all the way from the car full of mud, but I back off. No emotions. Emotions are distracting. Leo is enough distraction. Everyone takes care of themselves.
“This is not a rule,” Timmy sticks out his tongue. “This is a lifesaver.”
Bellona is talking with the skaters. They are confident they can kill the Bullies, all of them, if they can get their hands on the swords, which won't happen if we don't use the Breathing Booths effectively.
This time, I don't pay much attention to Timmy's comments. I let his voice fade away like a forgotten nightmare. We are sixty-six outranked about to enter the dome.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly.
The skaters know how to ice skate. Bellona orders them to stand second row inside, ten feet away from the Bullies.
About twenty of us can't skate. They tumble, whine, and ask for help. No one can teach them now. Bellona orders them to stay third row. I wonder why she wouldn't let them be first row. We could sacrifice them. I hate the way I think.
Leo is his own master, no one argues with him. He hardly manages to stand still. I don't know what he will do about the skating. I won't ask. All I think about is how to stay alive, wondering if my family is watching the games.
“The twenty in the back are dead,” Bellona whispers in my ear. “I say they are twenty extra razor-edged weapons. If I can’t get me a sword, I will use their skates as blades after they die.” I thought I was cold-hearted. “You and I will be up front,” she contnues.
I am good at skating. Woo taught me. I will manage, but I don’t understand why she wants me first row. I suspect she is planning to sacrifice me too.
“No,” Leo interferes. “Decca stays close to me.”
“Then you stay close to us,” orders Bellona. “While my soldiers get the swords, and probably kill as much as they can, Decca and I will use a collision tactic.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“You will trick one of the Bullies into hunting you. I do the same to another one. We run into each other as they try to catch us, and we both duck at the last possible second. We crouch, and they collide into each other like heavy pigs. We pick up their swords.”
I think it over. It sounds good. It’s like ducking in Dodgeball. It’s going to be harder for Bellona since she is taller. I am shorter than most, and lighter in weight.
“This is not for you, Leo,” I tell him. “You can stay close, considering you can barely skate.”
Leo doesn’t like it. He nods cautiously though. “Okay,” he says gravely. “You two breathe steadily. Inhale four counts in, hold your breath for one count and let it out for two. Do it now,” he tells us. “This will keep you calm before playing. Right before we put one foot in the grave, inhale as long as possible and give’m hell.”
Woo taught me the same technique as well.
“All right.” Bellona’s eyes shine. “Twenty Bullies to kill. That’s easy peasy.”
“Lemon squeezy,” says Leo, and hits fist to fist with Bellona.
Suddenly, we hear a loud horn, and the glass door to the dome opens. Leo dashes in before us and shoots two of the Bullies dead with the last two bullets. He loses balance and falls to the side, yelling at Bellona, “Eighteen left.”
Bellona’s plan flies out of the window. The horn was a surprise. In the blink of an eye, we follow Leo impulsively inside. No breathing, no preparing, and no plan. I have to learn this. Planning too much is not a strategy here. Being alert at all time is a necessity.
Chapter 13
Bloodbath and Bullies
The Bullies collide with the skaters. There is blood on the ice already. Bellona has provoked one of the Bullies to chase her. I find one rushing toward Leo, so I run toward the Bully and punch him in the lower part of his back. He is not hurt. But interested.
He follows me. The air left in my lungs is not helping. I am slower than usual. My vision isn’t clear. My eyelids throb. Bellona skates into my direction. She doesn’t say anything, only making eye contact with me to preserve energy. I am suffocating. The world around me is in chaos. I can’t seem to understand what is going on. I hear a faint voice creeping into my head.
“Blood on ice, like strawberries and vanilla.” It’s Timmy.
The Bully glides after Bellona until he is close behind her. He tries to chop off her head with the golden sword. He misses and the sword cracks the ice. This isn’t good. We could all fall and become easy targets.
Something swooshes next to my ear, leaving a rushing sound like a seashell or heavy wind in my ear. From the corner of my eye the slash looks gold. It’s my predator behind me, trying to kill me. I think he has cut off a piece of my hair. This morning, my hair was my greatest asset. I would have cried if someone did that to me. Now it doesn’t matter.
I need air. My mind wanders to where I can find a Breathing Booth. I see one, but I shouldn’t give up on Bellona. She is too close now. If I keep steady we can cause the two Bullies to crash into each other and take their swords.
The distance between the booth and Bellona is almost the same, about twenty feet. I can’t breathe. Neither can Bellona. I am bending too low, I might fall on my face.
Closer.
Eye to eye with Bellona. We can’t speak. I will trust my eyes and hers to time the ducking.
Now.
I can’t stoop any lower, so I take a swift detour to the right, gliding over the ice in the direction of the booth. I lose balance and fall on my face, but my body keeps on gliding, the ice cracking underneath me.
I hear the terrible sound of collision behind me, like two bears pounding against the floor. They let out painful oohs then I hear the ringing of one sword hitting the ice.
Bellona is screaming. I hit my head against the bottom of the Breathing Booth with no energy left to look back. I need to pull myself together and stand up and get into the booth. I need oxygen.
I try to balance on one leg then pull the other up after me, but the distance deceives me and I slide down to the floor again. I manage to stand up again. Bellona stops screaming. I don’t know what happened to her. I hear the ice cracking again behind me. I struggle to pull the door of the Breathing Booth open. When I succeed, I hop inside the booth, close the door behind me, and use the inhaler.
Slowly, the oxygen fills my lungs. I feel like a rose blooming back to life. I should be looking back to see what happened to Bellona, but I am addicted to the oxygen, reminding myself that I am in the safe zone.
More oxygen into my
lungs. And some more.
I will need it because I have to go back and pick up a sword.
Will I have to look for Bellona?
When I look back in the battlefield of the Breathing Dome, it’s a bloodbath.
The red color is spreading fast like growing tree branches, curving, thickening, and thinning onto the white icy floor. I follow a trail of red that leads to Bellona. One of the Bullies has fallen on top of her. The poor girl, although taller and stronger than me, is trapped underneath him, almost unconscious, arms trembling, shivering for help. Her eyes roll back, showing almost all white. Her face is pinkish blue. The Bully above her is dead with the other Bully’s sword plunged in his neck — the collision trick worked. We just didn’t expect one of them to trip over Bellona.
The ice around Bellona is cracking open. The zigzags are spreading around her in all directions. Every time Bellona gathers her strength and tries to free herself from underneath the Bully, the cracks spread further in random directions. One of us, from those who couldn’t skate, falls into an open crack in the distance. I can’t save her. It’s too far, and too late.
The other Bully is gone without a sword. His sword is two steps away from my booth. I take one last breath in and grab for the door.
It doesn’t open… not wide enough to let me out anyway.
I hear a thud. I am shaking. I feel like I am in an elevator that has fallen loose from its hinges, and now its door is jammed out of place. I push the door again. It won’t open, blocked by the icy floor outside. The booth is too small. There is no room for me to swing and break the glass.
The cracks keep spreading around the booth. I could drown in the cold water underneath, trapped inside the booth. The same water I am actually fighting for. I need the ice around the door to melt or disappear so I can open the door, or I will die.
It’s not my time to die. How can you die before discovering who you really are?
“Don’t contaminate the water, little Monsters,” says Timmy in the microphones. “There are too many dead bodies falling into the water. Unless you’re okay with drinking blood water.”