Looper

by Ann Bakshis

  “Since you’ve never met the man, let me enlighten you. He doesn’t have a solid bone in his body. He’s too much of a weakling to cook up such a scheme. Also, when we were at the mansion, I noticed he has aged quite badly since I saw him last. It’s almost like he’s been tortured like the rest of us.”

  “How do you know I’ve never met Edom? He’s in charge of the whole Outer Limits, not just the orphanage.”

  “Just a feeling.”

  He laughs, which brightens his face. A door off to our left opens and Brink hobbles in. Matron Violet escorts him to the couch across from me, then leaves. Brink has a newly healed scar above his eyebrow, a puncture wound in his arm, and scrapes all over his legs.

  “You look like hell,” I say to him.

  “Thanks, Maxy,” he replies.

  “You know I hate it when you call me that.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he says, winking.

  “Looks like you’re back to your old self. I was enjoying the new and improved you.”

  “What can I say? I missed the old me.” He stands, walks over to my couch, plops down, and proceeds to stroke my arm. “I wish I could’ve seen you kick ass.”

  I pull my arm away, almost knocking myself into Garrett. “I hate you. For once I was actually missing you, but I must have been out of my mind.”

  “Come on, Maxy, you know you want me.” He squeezes my knee before moving his hand up my thigh.

  “Don’t touch her,” Garrett says, knocking Brink away from me. “It’s obvious she wants nothing to do with you, so leave her alone.”

  Brink leans in towards Garrett. “What’s it to you, Garrett? She’s been mine since she came of age. She was promised to me, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some miller prevent me from having her.”

  “Watch your mouth, boy. It won’t take much for me to end you.”

  “With what, tough guy? Our weapons don’t work outside the battle floor and I highly doubt the Matrons will let us have it out right now.”

  For an answer, Garrett slams his fist into Brink’s face and I hear his nose break. I have to plaster myself against the couch to get out of the line of fire as Brink grabs Garrett and they fall to the floor. Fists fly, along with blood. Matron Violet flies through the door moments later, breaking up the fight. She escorts both of them out of the room. From the sound of it, she’s taking them to the medical office for treatment.

  The final winner enters the room an hour later. Their battle was the longest one of the day. Brink and Garrett return shortly after, both properly mended. We’re escorted from the room to waiting transports, each taking us over to another set of lifts that’ll take us back to the main building so we can return to our units. I’m thankful I’m the only one in my lift. I exit into the corridor, walk the several feet to the next lift, and ascend.

  The hallway is crammed with a cheering crowd as I step off. I’m patted on the back, hugged, and congratulated by all. I don’t feel much like a winner, so once I’m through the gambit I go to the bathroom for a long, hot shower. My brain hurts from jumping through an emotional range of fear, sadness, anger, and disappointment. Here I thought Brink was being a decent person, only to have it thrown in my face.

  What did he mean I was promised to him? It has to be all in his head, but something about the way he said it made it sound like a fact.

  I look down at my hands, trying my hardest once again to recall the events of that night, but nothing comes. I must have been drugged really well in order not to recall anything. I do a quick scan of my body, at least what I can see, but only find the same scars that have been there for years. I shake my head, clean, dry off, and dress. Addie is waiting for me in the doorway when I exit.

  “That was awesome,” she says, escorting me down the hall towards the common room. “I wasn’t sure if you knew you could loop in mid-air, but you did it.”

  I smile in response.

  There’s a line for the food when we enter, but I’m allowed to cut in front of everyone, which I find odd. Frey even starts being nice to me again. He brings me a bottle of water and sits on the couch next to me, practically on my lap. All anyone can talk about are the battles. I would prefer not to think about them since there are more to come, but everyone is excited so I try to join in.

  Around midnight, people start wandering off to bed. Frey, Addie, Rem, and I are the only ones still up. Twenty minutes later, it’s just Frey and I. The room suddenly feels cramped and stuffy. I want to excuse myself, but something is preventing me from moving. Frey is staring intently at me, almost like he’s transfixed.

  “What’s the matter with you?” I ask, trying to break the tension.

  “Nothing,” he says, then smiles. “I’m just impressed, that’s all. Didn’t know you had it in you to kill someone so easily.”

  “Seriously, what the hell is wrong with everyone? It wasn’t easy and I didn’t like it, but it’s better than me being dead.”

  “It gets easier the longer you’ve been at it.”

  “I don’t want it to be easier. This is not how life should be. Why does everyone from Tarsus think this is fun? Your life can’t be that bad here that you’re willing to risk it on the chance you’ll go live in Icarian.”

  Frey scowls at my last remark. “Do you want to make a bet?”

  “What?”

  “Spend a few hours in Tarsus, especially the area I’m from. You might change your mind.”

  “We’re not permitted to leave Thrace Tower, so that’ll never happen.”

  “What if I could arrange it? A small outing, just you and me. Would you go?”

  “No.” I get up and start towards the hall when Frey calls me back.

  “Think about it. You’ll change your mind in a few days.”

  I stomp away, but only make it halfway down the wall when Matron Kaniz appears. She signals for me to follow her. We enter the Progression Room. There isn’t any medical staff, so I doubt I’ll be maimed tonight. She has me sit in a chair in the corner of the room, while she slides a stool over to sit down.

  “Tell me about the fight,” she says.

  “There isn’t much to tell. Brink was being an ass, so Garrett decked him.”

  “It’s more than that, Max. Something had to have triggered such a violent response from Garrett.”

  “He was defending me, that’s all. Brink wouldn’t leave me alone, so Garrett stepped in to stop him.”

  “How well do you know Garrett?”

  “I only met him a few days ago. I don’t know anything about him. What’s with all the questions? Is he in trouble?”

  She doesn’t respond right away, but simply taps her index finger against her lips. “We’ve been notified by the Keepers that some of the players from the Outer Limits may cause some issues with The Litarian Battles and upcoming event. We’re just trying to figure out if he’s one of them.”

  “What kind of issues?”

  “Nothing that should concern you. I’m sure you aren’t someone I need to be worried about, right?”

  I nod.

  “Good. Get some sleep, tomorrow will be a busy day.”

  I leave, go into the bedroom, then go to bed after brushing my teeth. I can’t stop thinking about what Matron Kaniz said. We were all warned by Edom that if we caused any trouble we’d be executed on live television. Why would the Keepers think we’re here to cause problems? Is what Frey and Garrett said true? Does everyone in Tarsus think the ten – now five – of us were sent here to take over Pentras when it’s completed? Is that another reason why we were the only ones set to battle today? To eliminate the possibility of traitors? But aren’t the Keepers the ones who make the final selections about who gets to participate? I’ll need to ask either Rem or Addie in the morning.

  Eight

  “Hold still,” a female voice whispers behind me.

  I can’t turn my head to see who it is. My neck is in a brace secured to a metal operating table, which is cold under my bare skin. The bright lights over my
head prevent my vision from acclimating to the environment. Something is injected into the biceps of both my arms. It doesn’t hurt, but within seconds I can’t feel anything. I catch glimpses of movement around me, but nothing will come into focus. A mask is placed over my face and I’m instructed to breathe deeply. I doze off and on for hours it seems like, only managing to catch snippets of conversations.

  “Will this work?” someone asks.

  “Yes, I’m sure of it.”

  “What if someone finds out what we’ve done, and –”

  “Don’t even think it. We have our orders, so we won’t get into any sort of trouble.”

  “Yes, but –”

  “You want to stop the realignment, don’t you?”

  “Of course, but why her?”

  “She’s the one they’ve been looking for. If we make the first alteration to this impending war, we’ll benefit in the end. This is for our protection, Cil. The leader gave us our orders and we’re following them. End of discussion.”

  My head hurts when I wake. I can’t tell if what I experienced was a dream, or if I’m starting to remember what happened to me in the Outer Limits that night. I shake my mind free of the conversation and meet everyone in the common room for breakfast. I eat with Addie, Rem, and Frey. The topic this morning is the possible match-ups for today. Will the Keepers have the highest-ranked players battle against the five survivors from yesterday? I’m hoping not, as I don’t want to go down my second day. We dress and stand in front the lift just before nine. It’s the same routine as yesterday. I even pick the same outfit to dress in. Within moments of reaching the selection floor Hammond smiles, waving at us. Those around me cheer and scream, but I don’t join in.

  “Good morning, children. I hope you are all ready for today’s action. For the next four days, we will have our standard five battles. After that, we will be taking a brief break while the battle floor and points are reconfigured. The Keepers have decided to move the end of the event forward, meaning you all will have three weeks to make fifty thousand points.”

  Grumbling takes over the cheers. Some shout in anger, others look confused. I glance at Frey, who is five seats to my right. He has a large grin on his face. He catches me staring and points at me, mouthing something I can’t understand.

  “Now children, I know you expected more time, but circumstances have changed and Pentras will be ready sooner than expected.” Cheers erupt behind my headrest, but I know they are just audio effects. “The Keepers have made their choices for today. Watch the screens in front of you for the selections.”

  Lok is pitted against Drake again. Garrett and Brink are also selected, but not to battle each other. I don’t recognize the other names, and none of them are from Looper. Their chairs descend while the rest of us stay put. When the first battle begins an hour later, Addie seat-hops over to an empty chair next to me. I have a hard time looking at her because of the cotton candy-colored hair loaded with glitter, her turquoise sweater, and blue hip-hugger pants.

  “So, Frey told me he’s going to take you into Tarsus,” she says, before completely sitting down.

  “There’s no way I’m leaving the tower.”

  “Come on, Max, it’ll be fun. Rumor going around is that the break will be for a couple of days, and the Keepers may be letting us venture out. Aren’t you curious about what Tarsus looks like? It has to be better than the Outer Limits.”

  I’ve never really wanted to see Tarsus, let alone leave the Outer Limits, so having the break sounds unnecessary to me. I’m more interested in what changes they’re going to be making to the battle floor, as well as to the point system.

  “I suppose,” I say, lying. We both stare at the monitors secured in the headrests of the seats in front of us as the first duo take the floor. My mind suddenly clicks with the question I wanted to ask her. “Addie, how are the contestants chosen? I don’t mean for the battles, but to be participants in The Litarian Battles.”

  She’s silent for a few minutes. “Well for those of us from Tarsus, we enter a draft when we’re twenty. It’s optional, but everyone here wants to prove themselves better than everyone else, so a majority of the young adults in Tarsus enter. We can get selected immediately, or a year or two later. It depends upon the leader.”

  “He makes the decisions, not the Keepers?”

  “Yes.”

  So if their leader makes the choices, perhaps Head Master Edom did the same. Would that mean that what Frey was saying is true? Were we sent here to manipulate the outcome of the event?

  The battles last two hours each, with no one dying. Drake manages to only lose one hundred points, but I think he won’t last much longer. I’m completely bored sitting and doing nothing. We’re brought lunch about halfway through the day and allowed bathroom breaks, but I’d rather be on the battle floor than the selection floor. Garrett and Brink are both victorious, adding four hundred and five hundred points, respectively. The rest of us head back to the lift. By the time we’re back in the unit, everyone is exhausted. We eat a quiet dinner and I go to bed before anyone else.

  The next morning arrives quickly. I chose the same outfit when it comes time and I’m selected to battle third. My chair descends and I follow the same routine I did the previous time. Matron Kaniz is in the common room, but is too busy in conversation with the Matron from Dead Mark to notice me. I step into the changing room, put on my battle outfit, and sit on one of the couches facing the doorways to the floor. My opponent is a girl from the Nius unit. She has the same number of points that I do, but since this is only my second time in The Litarian Battles, I’m still outmatched.

  Frey sits down next to me. He’s supposed to battle a young man from Dead Mark before me. He seems perfectly relaxed, almost a little too at ease in this surrounding.

  “So,” he begins, placing his arm across the back of the couch behind my head, “I’ve arranged our little excursion with Matron Kaniz.”

  “You did what?!” I practically shout.

  “The Keepers are letting us leave the tower for a couple of days while they get things ready. There are a handful of us going home, so I’ve fixed it that you’ll be staying with me.”

  “I told you, Frey, I’m not interested.”

  “Matron Kaniz has already made the necessary arrangements, so you really don’t have an option.”

  I roll my eyes, irritated at the fact that I don’t have any say in the matter. I’m sick and tired of decisions being made for me. What good could come of me going into Tarsus? So I can see how better off they are than those in the Outer Limits? So they can rub their wealth and abundance in my face? I wonder if I can find a way to get out of going.

  Frey’s name is called. He pats my thigh before standing, then goes through the door on the right. I spend the next several minutes trying to figure out what I can do to get out of this. Frey’s battle sequence begins and is over in a matter of moments. His sword practically cuts his opponent in half. The man from Dead Mark never had a chance to put up any defenses. Frey is automatically awarded ten thousand points, putting him in the lead in the Looper unit.

  The door on the far left lights up and my name appears above the frame. The girl from Nius almost trips me as we pass each other. She glares at me. I enter into the hallway, strap my weapon around my waist, and proceed onto the battle floor. The first thing I do is loop to the far side of the room, over where the exit doors should be. I can’t see my opponent, so I’m hoping I can wait out the two hours just by looping around the floor. I hide behind some boulders, waiting for time to pass.

  A high-pitched screech pierces the silence. I poke my head out just as a metal plank sails across the room in my direction. I dive and roll out of the way just before it penetrates the boulder I had been hiding behind. Two more planks fall from the sky, all aimed perfectly at me. I can’t think quick enough to loop, so I simply run. Once out of range, I loop. The girl from Nius is setting up her next launch. The explosives she’s using aren’t a type I’ve seen
before. They’re small, and adhere to the metal planks, causing them to rocket off. I’m in the process of changing directions when I’m hit in the shoulder. I’m knocked out of looping and slammed into the floor. My left shoulder is ripped open, blood pouring from the wound. Since my top is sleeveless, I have nothing keeping the wound together. I take my right hand and scroll through my bracelet. Another plank hits me in the knee and I scream as my leg is savagely disfigured, blood, muscle, and bone shards flying in all directions. I hit the surrender icon and the battle automatically stops. The battlefield disappears, and the woman from Nius exits the floor.

  I feel myself being pulled, ripped from my body. I try and fight it, fearing I’m going to die, but I’m too weak. A moment later, the hard metal floor is replaced by a soft mattress. Nurses swarm around me. I want to see what they’re doing, but all I can tell is that they’re shredding my uniform, removing it as quickly as possible. Pressure is applied to the wound in my shoulder, and a device placed over my knee. I feel bones being pushed together, then fused. I scream from the pain, begging for it to stop. Then I’m shot with something, making me sleep. I wake sometime later to find Matron Kaniz standing next to my bed, a concerned look on her face.

  “You’ll be mended within the next couple of days,” she says, setting down a tablet she’d been holding. “You were lucky the plank didn’t completely sever your leg. The doctors and nurses were able to reattach everything, so you’ll regain full functionality.”

  “Will this prevent me from going with Frey?” I ask, hoping the answer will be yes.

  “You’ll be released from the medical office the morning you’re to leave,” she answers, with a wide smile.

  I slam my head back into my pillow.

  Matron Kaniz turns to leave, then stops in the doorway. “You are down to five hundred points. Depending upon how the Keepers reconfigure The Litarian Battles, you may be one of the first players eliminated when you return.”

  After she leaves I let out a large, frustrated scream. It calms me down, but my head begins to pound. I look at my battered body, noticing that the mending device is still on my knee. My left shoulder is already healed, with a new scar to add to my collection. No one from my unit visits. The only people I see are the nurses, who bring me meals and check on my knee every couple of hours. There’s a monitor secured to the corner of the room, running the battles that I’m missing. No one has died since Frey’s battle, and Garrett and Brink haven’t been selected to participate.