Natasha reached the bubbling regulator. She greedily took in four short breaths. Refreshed, she grabbed the handle and pulled herself forward. She was going to catch Roland.
Roland shot out of the tube and angled himself up towards the next fifty foot tube. In a strange moment of clarity, he reached behind him and pulled out Charlotte. He gripped the carbon alloy weapon with both hands and pressed down with his thumbs. The weapon came apart in the middle. He held half of it in each hand. He gave the thought command for each one to flatten and spread out so that it looked like a painter’s palette. He was now holding paddles in each hand. The hand paddles combined with the power of the Chimp plugin shot Roland through the water with minimal effort.
Natasha exited the tube in a focused rage. She began ascending quickly, knife in hand, slicing through the water.
Roland retracted the paddles, connected the weapon back together and stuck it back in its case as he reached the edge of the tube. He swam hard forward. Natasha reached the tube right after him. He advanced quickly through the tube and pushed off the edge as he exited. He changed over to his paddles again and began pushing forward with them.
Natasha exited in a similar fashion. She pushed off the edge of the tube towards Roland. Her outstretched knife and clenched teeth making her intentions clear.
Roland looked back at her. She was only ten feet away. Then she stopped.
Natasha felt a strange itching inside of her. The excess nitrogen in her blood, from her breaths at the regulator, had caught up to her. Then she felt the worst pain of her life. The small gas bubbles were now expanding as she ascended. They had made their way to every part of her body. She couldn’t move. The nitrogen bubbles saturated her joints and limbs, swelling as her body continued to rise in the water. Her internal organs, filling to capacity with the nitrogen gas, began to burst. Kidneys and liver exploding like popcorn. Then her lungs, stretched tight like a birthday balloon, finally ruptured. She blinked twice and then blood flowed freely from her eyes, nose and mouth.
Roland swam hard with his paddles to the last tube. A few short pulls, and he was through it. He pushed off the edge and grabbed for the surface. The tunnel vision almost completely clouded his sight. He could only see the bright glare of the sun on the surface. He broke through the surface and gulped in air to replenish his depleted oxygen supply. As he climbed out of the pool, the light on his arm flashed green. He wheezed as he tried to stand. He looked back into the water as rescue divers were going in after Natasha’s lifeless body.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
HEAVY
ROLAND LEFT THE pool at a jog. His movement flung water droplets in every direction. The sun blazed overhead, heating up the day. His shoes squished and slapped against the pavement for the first hundred yards. Then they just became irritatingly damp. Roland didn’t care. He was still in this, and nothing was going to make him stop.
Coach adjusted his mic. “Ok. Roland. You are in position 43 right now. You are just above the cut off for going forward. You also ended up with the third fastest time, so you received 25 extra bonus points.”
Roland simply nodded. He had hoped he’d be higher after getting the bonus points on the Deep Dive.
Coach glanced back at his holographic terminal with the stats. “There’s only forty-six racers now because Natasha died. The contestant in 46 is already on the next obstacle. He had multiple fails on two obstacles, so he just skipped to the next one. Positions 45 and 44, however, are nearby. You are going to be their target in this next obstacle.” He turned towards Skylar. “Skylar. Pull up profiles on Hanz and Franz.”
Skylar nodded as she went to typing. Then she swiped to a new screen. “They are brothers from Sweden. They are both hybrids. Hanz has droid arms, and Franz has droid legs. They used to be MMA fighters. Then they both got sponsored by a sports nutrition company to run in the Tech Games.”
Coach crossed his arms. “What that profile doesn’t tell you, is that they were both kicked out of the MMA pro circuit because they were too violent. They both had screws lose in their heads long before they got droid limbs. They have no fear and will rip you apart if given half a chance.”
The light in Roland’s arm flashed green indicating he was close to the obstacle. “Then I’ll not give them one.”
Skylar got the next obstacle alert. “The next obstacle is Heavy Haul. You’ll have to carry a weighted yoke for a hundred yards and then flip a tire end over end up a steep, thirty degree grade hill for fifty yards. It says you can set the objects down to rest, but if they ever move backwards, it counts as a fail.”
Roland nodded. “Only forward. Got it.”
Skylar scrolled down to the first part of the obstacle. “The first one is a yoke with weights hanging from it. You put it across your shoulders, and walk it one hundred yards through the sand.”
Coach was leaning over Skylar’s shoulder. “How much does it weigh?”
Skylar scanned through the obstacle information. “It says it is equal to the weight of the contestant. They use your official weigh-in weight from registration.”
Roland watched as a race official used a stout hoverlifter to drop the weighted yoke about ten feet in front of him. The official pointed at Roland and then motioned that he was to use that particular weight set. “Ok, so the first one is two hundred and ten pounds then.” He bent down to pick up the yoke and put it across his shoulders.
Two stocky racers with blonde hair jogged up past Roland. The official pointed each of them to their yokes. They immediately grabbed their yokes and stood up under them. Their hydraulics hissed as they maneuvered the weight. The rest of their muscles rippled and contracted as they easily hoisted their loads. Hanz and Franz weren’t wasting any time.
Roland stood up under the yoke. The yoke was a metal contraption that was made out of two inch thick rectangular bars. A horizontal bar went across his shoulders and stuck out a foot on either side. It connected to the vertical bars at either end which went down to the perpendicular braces at the bottom. The braces went out three feet in either direction to spread the weight out. The round Olympic weights were spread evenly at the bottom. Padlocks secured them in place.
Roland took a step forward in the fine, brown sand. With each step, he sank at least three or four inches into the soft sand. His legs were burning after just a few steps. He enabled O2 and Slow Twitch. Both Hanz and Franz were several steps ahead of him. Roland’s position dropped back to 45. Roland gritted his teeth as he stepped forward. His shoulders burned from supporting the weight. He set it back down in the sand. “How far is this part?”
Skylar zoomed in on the map. “It’s a hundred yards.”
Coach watched Roland’s feed as he picked up the yoke again. “Don’t use Slow Twitch. You need more power with each lift. Use Fast Twitch. Turn on Leapfrog, too.”
Roland made the adjustments. His muscles pulled tight in his legs. He plopped the yoke down again and took in a deep breath of air. O2 started compressing the air. He held his breath as he stood back up under the yoke. His chest and back seemed to be supported better with the compressed air inside of him. He stepped into the sand. The yoke, supported across his shoulders, hovered just a mere inch above the ground.
Roland took another step and then another. He slowly exhaled as he moved forward. He had done squats and deadlift exercises before, but he had never had to move so much weight forward, through sand. Even a full combat pack in the Marines was only a hundred pounds, barely half his weight.
He set the yoke down again. Then he enabled the High Altitude plugin. Roland took a nice long, deep breath. The plugin effectively quadrupled the air in his lungs. This made a very powerful and sturdy foundation to be able to carry the weight through the sand. He stood up under the yoke again. This time it felt different. He was in control of the yoke. Roland lurched forward. The Leapfrog propelled him to take bigger steps instead of his previous sandy shuffle. He gritted his teeth and exhaled slowly as he moved forward. The pain in his shoulders
was growing. It was more than a dull ache. It felt like the bar of the yoke was trying to cut him in half. He set the yoke down again. “Sky. Turn on the Pain Blocker.”
Skylar swiped over to her medical plugins page on her holographic terminal and pushed the button for the Pain Blocker plugin. Then she cranked up the slider to full power. “It’s ready. Go.”
Coach watched Roland’s video stream with a critical eye. “Be careful with this, Roland. You aren’t going to know if you break something.”
Roland stepped under the yoke again. “Then you guys better watch me carefully.” He lurched forward again. He was able to pick up some speed this time, almost to a fast walk. He began gaining on Hanz. Hanz had mechanical arms and was moving slower than Franz. Franz was almost to the end already. Roland gritted his teeth. He resolved that he wasn’t going to put the yoke down again until he finished this part of the obstacle. Sweat gushed from every pore on his body.
Skylar watched Roland’s vitals. She could see inflammation gathering heavily around Roland’s shoulders. The weight of the yoke was severely restricting blood flow to his shoulders, neck and head. She covered her mic and leaned towards Coach. “I’m worried about the lack of blood flow here.”
Coach nodded. “I agree. But he’s got good momentum right now. I hate to break it up. Keep an eye on it.”
Roland caught up to Hanz. Then he passed him. His position showed 44.
Hanz yelled out in frustration.
Roland struggled to inhale. It was too difficult with the weight across his shoulders, so he just held his breath.
Coach leaned forward towards Roland’s video stream. “Roland. Set it down and breathe.”
Roland growled and kept moving forward. The end was only ten yards away.
Hanz set his yoke down. He took a deep breath and surged forward with all the strength that he could muster. He caught up with Roland for a few steps, but he couldn’t maintain it. He had to set the yoke down again.
Roland completed the one hundred yards. He dropped the yoke and bent over, bracing his hands on his knees. He gulped in the air.
Coach crossed his arms. “Hands on your head. Breathe slow and deep or you’re gonna puke.”
Skylar turned off the Pain Blocker.
Roland’s shoulders burned with pain as he slowly raised himself. He gave the thought command to disable O2 and High Altitude. He tried to breathe regularly as he walked forward. He disabled Leapfrog too. His legs felt like Jell-O and were shaking from the effort. He shook his head to clear it. “Oh. That smarts. I guess I saved all the pain up.”
Hanz neared the edge of the sand pit.
Two hover cams circled the two contestants, hoping they would catch another ratings booster.
Hanz finished the obstacle and dropped his yoke. He came up behind Roland and slapped him hard on the back with his powerful droid arm.
The blow knocked Roland face first onto the sandy ground. Roland raised himself up on his elbows to face his attacker. Sand covered the front half of his body and the left side of his face. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. With each breath, he spewed sand from his mouth.
Hanz leaned over Roland. “Better watch yourself, Nano. You’ll stay behind me, if you know what’s good for you.” He turned and began jogging towards the next part of the obstacle.
Skylar was livid. She smacked her hand down on the table. “Roland. Get up! Kick his butt!”
Coach looked surprised by her reaction. He turned back towards Roland’s video stream. “You can only spare thirty seconds. No more.”
Roland didn’t need any more pushing. Both the lack of oxygen to his brain and the constant bullying were more than enough. Roland snapped.
The blue light lit up on Roland’s arm. Weapons were authorized for the next two minutes.
Roland enabled the Slow Mo plugin and ran in a dead sprint after Hanz. The sand that was stuck to him flew in every direction. The sand under his feet kicked out behind him in a rooster tail. He reached behind him and pulled Charlotte out of her case. He envisioned a baseball bat. The six inch carbon alloy handle morphed itself into a baseball bat. Roland drew the bat back as he approached Hanz.
Coach crossed his arms. “Disable him. Don’t kill him. Twenty-five seconds.”
Roland enabled Grip and Chimp. He felt his muscles being pulled taut throughout his upper body.
Hanz was caught completely unaware.
Roland blasted Hanz in his left kneecap with the bat.
Hanz fell sideways into the sand.
Roland swung for his right kneecap too. Home run.
Hanz pulled out a similar carbon alloy handle and extended it to a bo staff.
Roland swung hard at Hanz’s mechanical hand that held the weapon. He connected with a loud and satisfying metallic clang. He knocked the weapon from Hanz’s hand and broke three of Hanz’s fingers backwards. Then Roland jabbed Hanz hard in the solar plex with the butt of his bat.
Hanz began gasping for a breath that would not come.
Coach watched the solar plex hit. “Roland! He’s done! Get moving.”
Roland gave the thought command to return Charlotte to her usual size and stowed her back in her case. He turned and began jogging to the next part of the obstacle. “Still had ten seconds on the clock to disable him.”
Coach nodded. “You’d have killed him in five more seconds.”
Roland gave a nod. He jogged over to the second half of the obstacle.
Coach looked at the 3D model of the track on Skylar’s terminal. “How much does the tire weigh?”
Skylar’s eyes narrowed as she scanned through the rest of the alert. “It says here that it is twice the weight of the contestant, so that’s what? Four hundred twenty pounds?”
Coach nodded. “That’s right.” He pointed at the obstacle model. “Skylar. Can you figure out how many times he would have to flip the tire to make it to the end?”
Skylar pulled the dimensions of the tire from the alert and then began her calculations. “Thirty tire flips.”
Coach crossed his arms. “Roland. You only need to flip this tire thirty times. Lift with your legs and back, not your arms. You’ll need to get up under the tire as much as possible in order to keep it from falling backwards and getting a fail.”
Roland pulled up to a dark patch of earth. “Thirty flips.” Another race official directed Roland to his tire. Roland surveyed the terrain in front of him. Mud. Lots of it. A breeze wafted in over the mud. It carried the same foul stench of the muck that he had crawled through at the beginning of the race. Roland turned his head away briefly to try and grab one last breath of clean air. The crawl seemed like a lifetime ago. He gave the thought command for O2 and Fast Twitch.
Coach zoomed in on the mud to get a better look. “Stop. Tighten your shoes. You don’t want to lose a shoe.”
Roland quickly knelt and tightened the laces on his shoes. He felt drained. He wondered if he could go on. He willed himself to step into the muck. Then Roland thought about his father, alone in a federal prison cell. He bent down and grabbed the edge of the tire. He strained upwards. The tire wouldn’t budge. He thought about the false accusations against his dad. I’ve got to get him free! Roland’s face changed. His jaw tightened as he clenched every muscle in his body. His brow furrowed as his intensity increased. He strained his body upwards. His muscly sinews channeled the anger and frustration he felt into his limbs.
The tire began to lift out of the mud. It made a huge sucking sound as he broke the surface tension of the sticky muck. Roland gritted his teeth. He almost had the tire up to where he could flip it over. The mud, however, decided to reclaim the tire. He could feel the huge rubbery tread begin slipping out of his hands.
Roland braced the tire with his knee so he could readjust. He gave the thought command for Grip. He slung off the excess mud from his hands and then grabbed ahold of the tire again. He felt his fingers bite into the rubber. He pulled in a deep breath of air and then began compressing it to d
ouble his lung capacity. Roland lunged forward with the tire. It righted itself and then fell forward with a gratifying splat in the mud. “Twenty-nine more to go.” I’ve got to stay in the race. He stepped forward and took a new hold on the tire.
The sky began to sprinkle, with a few pitter patter drops. Without warning, the rain turned into a steady downpour.
Roland looked over as the hulking form of Hunter reached down to grab the tire in the lane next to him. Having both mechanical arms and legs was a huge advantage on this obstacle. His hydraulics were an enclosed system and worked silently as he stood up to flip the tire. Hunter’s tire, which would have been over six hundred pounds, flipped as easily as if it were a child’s toy. The next time he flipped the tire, it actually became airborne and flew even further up the hill.
Skylar watched Hunter’s movements in near disbelief. “Is that even possible? He’s not even trying.”
Coach’s eyes narrowed. “The droid tech is definitely helping him out. Roland. Turn on Leapfrog. Let’s see if we can get this tire moving. I’ve got an idea.” Then he rewound the video stream of Hunter flipping the tire into the air and began watching the replay in slow motion.
Roland enabled Leapfrog. He stepped back in front of the huge, rubber tire and bent down to take his grip. As he bent, he could feel the muscles in his legs tightening. A tightening that he now associated with increased power. He began his lift. Leapfrog made it easier to get the tire out of the mud, but it was still a struggle to get it past his knees.
Skylar watched Roland’s video stream. In Roland’s left periphery, she could see Hunter, tirelessly launching the tire airborne and up the hill. After a few more flips, she could only see his ridiculously muscled back. There had to be something that she could do to help Roland. She looked over at Coach.
Nano Contestant - Episode 3: Combat Obstacles: The Technothriller Futuristic Science Fiction Adventure of a Cyberpunk Marine (Nano Contestant Series) Page 8