The New Champion

by Jody Feldman

  A door slammed. Either someone had just left or someone had come out. Or maybe . . .

  Was Jig heading for the trunks? Were the prices in the trunks? Should he look?

  No. He wasn’t desperate. Yet. Cameron took a deep breath. He needed to slow down, find the pattern. He’d already figured out the appropriate stalls and appropriate foods. And there was that word again. “Appropriate.” Appropriate prices. So all the groceries had three letters in order and all the stall names had three letters in order. And . . .

  That had to be it! Appropriate prices. Three numbers in order. He wrote those down:

  $1.23

  2.34

  3.45

  4.56

  $11.58

  Was that it? Was there any other way to look at it? His mind was a total blank. Fine.

  He hit the one. One again. Decimal point. Five. Eight. He paused. He could lose a minute by sitting and staring or he could hit Enter and see if he was right. He hit Enter.

  The screen went blank. The door opened behind him.

  Cameron raised his hands in victory. But then the door closed.

  Cameron’s face went cold. Had he lost? He tried the door. Still locked. Back to the desk. Hit the GollyReader. Dark.

  The door clicked. Cameron turned. Bill.

  “Is this is it?” Cameron asked. “Time to say good-bye?”

  “Yep. Good-bye to the market. Good-bye to bratwurst. And hello to the lounge.”

  “Huh?”

  “I could have fun tormenting you, but nah.” Bill laughed. “There was someone else coming through, so we locked you back in until the coast was clear.”

  “I got it right?”

  Bill slapped him on the back. “You’re even first. Hope you don’t mind being alone in the lounge. This might take a while.”

  Alone was fine. Alone was quiet. Alone, he could smell himself. He went into the bathroom. Its closet was stocked with stacks of towels and toothbrushes, hairbrushes and hair spray, deodorants and colognes. And it had a mirror.

  He was a sweaty mess. Cameron turned the water on full force, doused his head, and practically drenched his whole Gollywhopper shirt. He took it off and tried to towel-dry it. While he was half undressed, he soaped up one of the smaller towels and rubbed down his arms and torso. He rinsed, dried, sprayed on deodorant, then put his slightly smelly shirt back on.

  Maybe some cologne? He’d never worn any before. He sprayed some onto a towel and took a whiff. Whew! Um, no. He sprayed a different one. Better, but if he smelled like someone else, he might play like someone else. And he was doing pretty well with his own smells. Besides, he didn’t need Jig calling him Cologne Boy.

  He swished around a swig of mouthwash, ran his fingers through his hair like he did every morning, and spit. Then he got out another small towel, cleaned the splattered water—his mom would be proud—and headed back out.

  Still deserted. But then a chair swiveled toward him. Clio. “And I thought girls took forever in the bathroom.”

  Cameron looked around. “There are two. You could have—”

  She laughed. “Just kidding, Cameron. I’ve been here only a minute. But you look better.”

  How’d he look before?

  She laughed some more. “You don’t say much, but your face says everything. You didn’t look horrible before. Just a little wild.”

  “You look the same. How do you stay so calm?”

  “Calm?” She took in a breath. “If you X-rayed my insides, you’d see a party of swords and bullets and tornados. But if I sit here and breathe and drum on my leg and watch something mindless and distracting, the tornados might downgrade from EF-fives to EF-twos.”

  So she wasn’t perfect.

  “Do you need to talk,” said Clio, “or are you okay if I put on my headphones?”

  “I’m good.”

  “You are.” She smiled like she meant it and turned away.

  Cameron tried a mindless TV rerun himself. The episode finished, and soon after the next one started, in came Estella.

  She looked around, eyes wide, neck craning like she didn’t know if she was first or last.

  Time to put her out of her misery. Cameron stood.

  “Who else?” she said, her eyes still big.

  Cameron spun Jig’s empty chair around.

  Her eyes got even bigger. “He’s not here? I beat him?” She danced Cameron around.

  He was so glad for the deodorant.

  Clio came out of her cocoon and joined in their celebration.

  The door banged open. Bill pushed Jig through, then held him at arm’s length with one hand and slammed the door behind them with the other. “And now the cameras can’t see you, Jig. So, calmly. What do you want to know?”

  “The trunks weren’t in our conference room. How was I supposed to know where they were? And when I finally found them, what’d they have? Money and games. Where were the real price tags? Not that price range junk. Not—”

  It was like Jig finally realized Clio and Cameron were there. “What are you looking at? This little party of yours won’t last. They’re gonna figure out they forgot to give me the prices.”

  Bill put a hand on his shoulder, but Jig threw it off.

  Clio walked up to him. “Jig.”

  He stared past her.

  “You’ve been so cool,” she said. “You really want to go out like this? You want the world to see you ranting like a maniac?”

  His neck twitched.

  “We didn’t need the trunks, Jig,” she said. “We had to figure out that the prices went one, two, three like the words went a, b, c.”

  He dropped into Clio’s chair and put his head in his hands. “I psyched myself out,” he said. “You were supposed to hunt for the trunks. I was supposed to figure it out. I needed a break. I was only going to look for a minute.” He shook his head. “How did someone like me believe my own mess of manure?” He kept muttering, and they all backed away.

  Bill gave him a couple of minutes, then came up to him. “Ready to face the cameras?”

  Jig signaled he needed another minute, rocked his head back and forth, circled it a few times, planted a smile, and stood. “It’s been real.” He rushed out the door.

  Bill followed but came right back in. “How much time do you need, Estella? We can’t give you a lot, but would fifteen minutes do it?”

  “I can go right now,” she said, “but five minutes would be great.”

  “You got it.”

  She headed to the bathrooms and came out a few minutes later. “If that had a shower, I’d move in. Did you see the closet? It has everything.” She smelled her wrist. “Mmm. I’ve gotta get me some of this.”

  “Some of what?” Bill said, popping his head back in the door.

  “The perfume. The one with the spiraly top.”

  Bill walked into the bathroom, then came out holding a bottle. “This one?”

  Estella nodded.

  “Yours!” He put it on a table. “It’ll be here when you’re all done. But now, time to see what’s next.”

  “You already know what it is, Bill,” said Estella. “Give us a clue?”

  “Sit,” he said, “and I’ll give you the entire challenge.”

  They stared at him, waiting. The room moved, but he stayed silent.

  “You really thought—” The room stopped. “I meant I’d take you to the challenge.” Bill opened the door to a hall with plain walls. “Things are a little different this time,” he said, positioning them at their doors. “And that’s all, except good luck! You may need it.”

  Three eerie musical notes sounded. Cameron’s door opened to a small room with a chair, clothes and gear, a set of double doors, and the challenge card on a table.

  DIAMOND VALLEY DEMONS

  (New from GollyVideo)

  The Demons have stolen all the diamonds, the lifeblood of Diamond Valley. Without the magical gems, crops are failing, structures are disintegrating, floods follow droughts, stones turn to dust,
and the good people of Diamond Valley are fading fast. Because you discovered one of the last remaining DiamondSabres, it’s your charge to reclaim five pounds of diamonds and restore life to this vital city.

  Before you battle:

  1. GEAR UP. Don the DemonFighter suit, shoes, and goggles. Only then may you enter.

  2. CARRY THEM. Your GatherBag and DiamondSabre are the only two battle items you may bring into your mission.

  3. WEIGH THEM. Your scale is in the Battle Antechamber. WARNING: Before you enter, you must fully remove every bit of battle gear. If the scale shows you have not collected enough diamonds, reenter Diamond Valley, gear up again, and finish your task. Bring all the diamonds you’ve collected with you. (They are not safe in the Battle Antechamber.)

  Follow all directions or stiff penalties will apply. Good luck!

  Cameron’s muscles revved for action. He grabbed the suit from its hook and the boots from the floor. He pulled off his shoes, stepped into the one-piece DemonFighter suit, and fastened the Velcro tabs.

  The boots were exactly his size. How’d they know? Didn’t matter. He adjusted the goggles over his eyes and felt like a giant fly. How weird did he look? Didn’t matter, either. He hung the cross-body GatherBag over his right shoulder so it hung on his left hip.

  Now for the DiamondSabre. It had some heft to it, but it wasn’t unwieldy. He could reach two of its three buttons with the fingers of his right hand, but he’d need to use his left to press the third. None of them worked. Maybe they’d activate once he got inside. He took one last look at the instructions. He was geared up. He had his two battle items. Time to get the diamonds.

  He pushed through the double doors, but he hadn’t expected this. The room was enormous. The skies were ominous. The landscape was ugly and parched, a real wasteland. A red cloud flew at him; it seemed so real he felt he could touch it and breathe it. These had to be 3-D goggles. And that had to be a Demon.

  In came another Demon cloud and another. He lifted his sword to slice through the next one, but it turned and flew off. Wimp.

  Time to see what these buttons did. The first let out a vibrating electrical bolt. The second—the Illuminator button—produced a light. He pointed it toward a boulder, and it illuminated a diamond-shaped mark. Diamonds underneath? He ran to lift the boulder, but a Demon charged. He raised the sword, but the Demon kept coming. He hit the first button and sent a jolt of electricity through the red cloud. It vaporized, but four more took its place.

  He sent out another jolt. Pow! Another. Pow! Pow! Pow! He could advance again, but a giant green Demon swooped in and perched on the boulder.

  Cameron pushed the button. The Green Demon laughed. Cameron tried to slice through it with his DiamondSabre. The sword bounced off the creature.

  The third button! It sent out blue chomping light rays that surrounded the Green Demon and ate it to bits. A window in the Sabre’s handle flashed a message: “You have two Light Brigades remaining.”

  He needed to be careful with those. He lifted the boulder and grabbed for the small pile of diamonds underneath, but more red clouds got in his face. He jolted eight away; then the Light Brigade button flashed once. Had he earned more? Next time he met a Green Demon, he’d find out.

  He collected the diamonds under the rock and looked up. The ominous sky wasn’t as dark. A few flowers had sprouted in the distance. “More diamonds!” he called. “Bring on the Demons!”

  Two flew in his face. Pow! Pow! They scattered, and he pointed the Illuminator at a tree stump. The diamond symbol! Another Green Demon flew to guard it. What if he still had only two Light Brigades left? By the weight of his GatherBag, it would take more than three little mounds of diamonds to win this challenge.

  Maybe there was another way to lure the Green Demon off the stump. He charged it. Poked it. Prodded it. Speared it. Screamed at it. Illuminated it. He was about to spit at it, but that wouldn’t work. It was immune to everything except the Light Brigade. He hit the third button. The Light Brigade vaporized it. The Sabre flashed the same message: “You have two Light Brigades remaining.”

  “All right!” He had gained a Light Brigade by slaying the Red Demons.

  How many would it take, though? He slew three more. The button didn’t flash. Two more. Nothing. Another five. Flash! Pow! Pow! Pow! He fought off ten more. Flash! He had earned two more Light Brigades!

  He ran at a Green Demon laughing at him from a garbage heap. “Laugh all you want, buddy. In a few seconds you won’t have a mouth.” He charged at it with the Light Brigade. Gone! “You have three Light Brigades remaining,” flashed the message on his sword.

  Yes! Cameron scooped up the diamonds. Fought more red guys. Gathered diamonds from the flower patch, from the wheelbarrow, from the bird’s nest. The sky was now a light gray. How bright did it need to get before he had collected five pounds?

  What did five pounds feel like? Somewhere between a baseball and a bowling ball, but that was no help. The bag didn’t feel heavy enough anyway, and the sky was still gray. He flashed the Illuminator. There, in the cave! Got ’em! There, in the pond! That Green Demon wouldn’t leave. He was out of Light Brigades.

  “I need you, Red Demons!” He chased them over the hill and around the barn, loading his DiamondSabre with three Light Brigades and illuminating more diamonds along the way. Zap! He got the ones from the gopher hole. Zap! From the footbridge. Zap! From the pond.

  The GatherBag was hanging much lower on his thigh. Five pounds yet? The clouds had given way to patches of blue and peeks of sun. The barn was in better repair, too. The barn had diamonds! Cameron jolted a whole army of Red Demons on his way. He added the barn stash to his bag.

  Enough? If he took off his gear to weigh the diamonds and was a single ounce short, he’d have to get dressed again. But it would also take time to fight Red Demons if he didn’t have a Light Brigade left. New plan. He’d try for the diamonds in the shack, but if he was out of Light Brigades, he was done.

  Third button. “Pow!”

  The last Light Brigade left the DiamondSabre.

  Cameron collected the stash. Now! Time to weigh! But where was the Battle Antechamber? He raced around the perimeter of Diamond Valley but didn’t see a door. Maybe the Illuminator would.

  He ran the length of one wall, shooting the Illuminator every couple of feet. Nothing. He turned the corner, and yes! Before he pushed the newly illuminated exit door, he lifted off the GatherBag, threw off his goggles, shoved off his boots, then wriggled out of his suit, leaving everything in a heap. His mother might have a fit, but he wouldn’t score points for neatness.

  He grabbed the diamonds, went out the door, and skidded in his socks to a stop in a hallway. This wasn’t the Battle Antechamber. Where was it?

  Cameron turned right and ran along the curved hall. It kept curving. It was circular! He’d find his way eventually. Just wall. More wall. Then a door marked “Estella. Clio. Cameron!”

  Inside, bathed in light, was the scale. He plunked the GatherBag on it. It did nothing. Oh! The bag. He dumped out the diamonds. A window lit: “6.14 lbs.”

  The door clicked open, and there was Bill, silent, holding another bag.

  “So?” Cameron said.

  “So what?”

  “Am I in or out?”

  “You’re out,” said Bill. “Out of Diamond Valley.”

  Cameron gave Bill a little push. “Stop scaring me like that.”

  “Then stop setting me up.” Bill handed Cameron the bag. “You’ll need these.”

  His shoes.

  “Go put them on in the lounge. Meanwhile, I need to rescue Estella from Diamond Valley. Or maybe Diamond Valley needs to be rescued from Estella.”

  Clio turned from the refrigerator when he walked in. She held up a bowl of grapes. “Congrats! Want some?”

  “Thanks.” He broke off a bunch. “How long have you been here?”

  “About ten minutes. Wasn’t that great? The effects? The sun? Those Light Brigades? Loved it.”


  “You did?”

  “Yes. I’m a girl, and I really did.”

  “Sorry,” said Cameron. He popped some grapes into his mouth.

  “It’s okay. You couldn’t know how much I love video games, the more swords the better. But you know what Diamond Demons needed? A whole waistband of weapons. Go in there with DiamondSabres blazing.”

  Cameron laughed. He’d be going head-to-head with Clio, with the best. It would have been more fun to beat Jig or Dacey. Wait. He’d already done that. He laughed some more, then turned it off when the door opened.

  Estella shrugged. “I got carried away,” she said. “Kept swinging at those Demons like there was no tomorrow. Except the green guys. They kept laughing at me until I learned how to vaporize them. Vaporized eight of them.”

  “How’d you do that?” Clio said. “Mine only had three blasts.”

  “Every time you slew ten of the red clouds, it reloaded another Light Brigade,” said Estella. “How’d you do it without blasting them?”

  “I dropped a few diamonds in another place; then one of the Green Demons left his post to come guard them. So I dropped four and collected a bigger pile. Repeat, repeat, repeat.”

  “And you got here faster than me,” said Cameron.

  “Faster than me, too.” Estella sank into her chair. “The quiet here is so good. Getting out my frustrations, good. Facing Stephen again, very good. Winning some money, whatever money is in that trunk, excellent.”

  Bill came in.

  “This is my cue to leave.” Estella stood and gave Cameron a hug. “If it’s not me, I’m glad it’s you and Clio.” She gave Clio an even bigger hug. “Thank you, friend.” She let go and hugged her again. Then she broke free and headed to the door.

  Bill held it open, then came right back in. “Five minutes or are you ready now?”

  Cameron nodded at Clio.

  “We’re ready,” she said.

  “All right,” said Bill. “One last time, hold on to your chairs.”

  The room moved.

  “No Demons,” said Bill. “No market. No barrage of keys.” The room stopped. They stood, and Bill put an arm around each of them. “I would say, ‘May the best contestant win,’ but there is no better contestant here. I wish there were two prizes.”