The Asrai blew a drenched strand of hair out of her face.
“I’m sorry.”
The shivering fairy drew herself into a floating cross-legged position and raised a middle finger at me.
“Fair enough.”
There was a loud siren as the game ended.
“That’s the end of the Capture the Asrai event!” announced Ivy. “With a total of four successful captures to three, the winner is the Blue Team!” A few seconds later the rest of my team had surrounded me. We hugged and exchanged high fives. Hollie was walking back with the others, but instead of looking despondent, she winked.
I grinned back.
I think I’m really going to enjoy being a Guardian.
17
Danny
The excitement in the arena was palpable as we prepared for the penultimate event. The scores flashed up on the board.
1st Daniel Jackson-28 Points
2nd Hollie White-21 Points
3rd John Chen-20 points
4th Troy Williams-18 Points
5th Andrea Bilson-17 Points
6th Richard H.R-16 Points
7th Lucy Winters-11 Points
7th Elliot Barker-11 Points
The roar grew louder, and I felt my face flush. I actually can’t believe I’m in the lead.
“How about that for an event!” exclaimed Ivy. “One of the best I’ve seen!” She turned towards the screen and held out a hand. “So looks like things are pretty much the same at the top of the table, apart from John, who’s snuck into third place. A bit of jumbling about mid-table, but still pretty even. But those at the bottom are going to have to dig deep to stay in the game!” Ivy lowered the microphone and cleared her throat as the crowd settled down. “I think it’s only fair to let the recruits recuperate before the next event. The Trials will resume after a ten-minute intermission.”
A buzz of conversation fanned around the arena as the spectators started talking amongst themselves. An agent walked over to where we stood and handed each of us a towel. I used it to dry my hands, neck, and what little hair I had. Hollie was sitting on the low ledge of a nearby platform, staring at the projector screen. She seemed to sense me looking and turned. I narrowed my eyes and aimed a thumb gun at her. She waggled her fingers back in a way that meant ‘you don’t have this in the bag yet.’ Then she turned back.
“Cute, isn’t she?”
Troy was standing next to me, breathing hard through a flat nose that must have been broken more than a dozen times.
“Yeah, she is.”
“I actually knew her from before all this.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Not well, but she was the head instructor at the gym I trained at. Really dedicated and encouraging, always got the best out of people. All the members seemed to work out just a little bit harder when she was around.” He clicked his fingers. “Then just like that, she stopped coming in. Everyone thought she’d landed a better job or something.” He laughed and slapped an ape-sized hand against my shoulder. “Guess we were right, although this is not exactly what we had in mind.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Who could imagine something like this?”
“True.” He slapped a hand on my back. “Sorry about how hard I went on you back there. I get very competitive. It’s the rugby player in me.”
“Don’t sweat it, mate. It’s a competition.”
“Mmm. Well, I’ll catch you at the feast afterwards.”
“Yeah, for sure. Oh, well done on the strength round. Six tons. That’s sick.”
“Cheers. Nice work on that jump – takes balls.” He smiled and started to walk away. “Good luck in the next round.” He exaggeratedly cracked his knuckles as he walked away. “No mercy.”
I was surprised at how genuinely nice Troy was. I’d seen him before during training, but never actually talked to him. He was like two different people in and out of the events.
The people in the crowd were talking amongst themselves, their words blending into a hum. Propping myself against the legs of one of the towers, I started people-watching the other recruits. John was chatting to Lucy, making exaggerated diving gestures with his arms as she cracked up laughing – no doubt reliving the insane Asrai event. Elliot was standing in one of the sand bowls, moving grains of sand about with his shoe and looking thoughtful.
Andrea was sitting on the ground nearby with her knees drawn up, and one tattooed hand idly toyed with a flesh plug in her ear. I watched Richard snake up to her and tuned into their conversation.
“I like your hairband,” he began. Awful opening line. He pointed to where her blonde hair – completely shaved on one side – had been pushed back with a bright pink band.
“Thanks. You can buy them at the Wednesday market if you’re interested in getting one.”
He gave a short laugh. “I’m not. But I am interested in you.”
I groaned for him.
Andrea gave a sarcastic, closed-lip smile. “Lucky me.”
He waved a hand over her. “Yeah, I like the whole alternative thing you’ve got going on. It’s hot.” He went to carry on, but Andrea put up a hand. “Let me stop you there, Romeo. I’m sorry to sound like a bitch, but I’m in a relationship, and I’m not interested, so let’s stick to the trials, yeah?”
“You’re in a relationship?”
“Yeah.”
“Is your chap a Chosen?”
“No…”
“Then why are you bothering with him?”
“What?”
“You’re a superhuman. You don’t need to waste time with ordinary people
anymore.”
What an absolute creep, I thought.
“Piss off,” barked Andrea. She stood and moved away from Richard. He shrugged his shoulders, clearly confused about where he went wrong. I really hope he fails the trials, I thought. He had pulled me off the wall to gain advantage, elbowed me in the face, and then cheated by using his gift to gain an extra point. And now he was harassing Andrea. Richard was one of those people who did anything to get what he wanted. I didn’t want someone like him watching my back. He was liable to stick a knife in it.
“Okay, everyone, it’s time for the ability event!” announced Ivy. “Today we have Kinesists, Teleporters, and Levitators. Recruits, please divide into your relevant abilities.”
Andrea and Lucy moved next to each other. Andrea folded her arms and looked away as Richard sauntered over to join them. Troy and John exchanged a handshake as they grouped together. Hollie bounded over to me, and we were soon joined by Elliot. “Levitation right?” he asked. We both nodded.
Ivy asked the Teleporters to move into the middle of the arena. The rest of us stood in our groups on the sidelines. The black wall behind me shuddered from the stamping feet of the eager Guardians.
“First event is for the Teleporters,” announced Ivy over the rolling thunder of stamping feet. “It’s five quick rounds, one recruit at a time. The event is simple. A target zone will appear somewhere in the arena. The recruit has to teleport to it. Landing mostly within the target zone is worth a point. Landing in the centre is worth two. A miss is worth zip. First two zones are stationary, last three will move at increasing speeds. So who’s going to tackle the event first?”
Unsurprisingly, Richard barged forward. Andrea and Lucy gave him space. He rubbed his hands in anticipation.
“When the siren sounds, the event will start. As with all ability rounds, you have one minute. Good luck.”
The siren blared, and a tube of light appeared on one of the walkways. Like before, all the air in the room seemed to vanish. Tightness gripped my chest as Richard’s form winked out of existence. He reappeared inside the cylinder, glowing with blue light, and gave a theatrical bow. I clicked my tongue.
On the second attempt, he materialised on a walkway high above our heads and secured a further two points. He messed up on the third, as it slunk slowly away from its original spot, appearing half inside the ring of ligh
t with one part of his face illuminated in an eerie glow. His cocky smile shifted into a grimace. I had to hide my smile when he missed the forth completely; it slipped away from his shimmering form. On the fifth attempt, one foot was still out the target zone. Richard walked away with a total of six out of ten.
Nice and average.
Lucy went next. She somehow missed the first and swore loudly as the crowd ‘aaaahhh’d’ in sympathy. She got into the swing of it after that and walked away with seven points.
Andrea went last. As she passed Richard, he patted her shoulder. She shrugged it off in barely-contained disgust. I silently prayed she would nail him to the wall on her turn. My prayers were answered. She hit every target perfectly and walked away with the maximum ten points. As she passed Richard, she patted his shoulder condescendingly. He scowled in response.
She just made my friends list.
There was a loud cheer as the event finished. The scores were juggled about, putting Andrea one point behind me at twenty seven. Richard slipped into third, but I wasn’t worried. Still got a whole event left.
Ivy cleared her throat into the microphone, and the cheers of the crowd faded once more. “Well done, recruits. That was a fantastic effort.” She pressed a button on the Biomote, and there were a series of rumbles as the complex network of towers and walkways sunk under the ground as if it were quicksand. A large octagon of black walls rose up in its place. The only way to see inside was to look at the screen. The interior of the panels alternated between a neon target or a blank wall with a single, squash ball-sized hole in the centre. One of the panels swung open to create an entrance.
“Next up is telekinesis.”
Troy and John took their positions in the centre of the Prolesium.
“So who’s up first?”
Troy looked at John and then gestured ahead. John brushed some of his dark hair from his eyes and squared his shoulders. Then he stepped inside the octagon. The door hissed shut and clicked. The crowd cheered and shouted his name.
“Again, this event is simple. Five rounds. A singe metal ball will be fired from a dispenser at one hundred miles an hour. The recruit must take control of it before it hits them and fire it into the illuminated target only. A bullseye is worth two points whilst any other part of the target is worth one. Missing will get you nothing. After two rounds the walls will begin to rotate. Getting hit by a ball means you automatically fail the round – as well as suffer the physical consequences!” She looked down at John, whose zoomed-in expression on the projector was one of grim determination. “Are you ready, recruit?”
He nodded.
“The event will begin when the siren sounds. Good luck.”
We all turned to stare at the monitor as the siren blared. A split second later, a target to John’s eleven o’ clock flared up blue. It was followed by a loud thunk, and a ball shot at him from dead ahead. He swept his right hand across his chest, and the projectile was deflected away, slamming into the bullseye. A cheer went up. I joined the recruits as we all clapped. Richard kept his hands shoved firmly in his pockets.
John didn’t have time to celebrate before the target shifted behind him. Once again, the shot came from dead ahead. He panicked, arching himself backwards and throwing his arm overhead. The ball skewed left, only just clipping the side of the target.
Straight afterwards, the walls cranked into motion and began to rotate around him. John rotated slowly on the spot, flicking his eyes between the targets. One on his left lit up, and the panel next to it spat out a ball. He cupped both hands in front of him, and the ball ground to a halt in mid-air before he shot it back into the target that was now to his right, collecting another two points.
He messed up on the fourth round. The walls were moving faster, and he barely had time to react before the target and hole behind him fired into action. The ball hit him square between the shoulders, and he yelled out in pain, stumbling forward. He recovered just in time for the final ball, which fired towards him from his seven o’ clock; he cast it wildly towards the illuminated target. He got lucky. The shot was off, but the target swung around just in time, and the ball hit dead centre. John lifted up both arms to the sounds of cheers. He left the telekinesis octagon with seven points.
Troy was next. He patted John’s arm and took his place in the mini arena. Lifting his hands into the air, he clapped a few times to the sounds of cheers. Then he was all business.
The siren blared and the ball shot out from behind. He pivoted and jerked his arm out. The ball smashed into the target and thudded to the ground. The second fired directly at his chest, and he dodged in a knee-jerk reaction. It sailed past, but before it could hit the blank panel behind him, he scooped his hand backwards and yanked the ball into the centre of the target as though it had been connected to a string. He smiled as the audience broke into thunderous applause.
The octagon creaked into action, and the walls began to rotate. The target was to his one o’ clock and the dispensing hole at his three. Without even looking, he pitched his arm behind his back, timing it perfectly. The ball hit the centre of the target so hard the entire unit shook.
I let out an involuntary cheer and squeezed Hollies’ arm before I knew what I was doing. She glanced at it and then me, raising her eyebrows with a smile. I felt my cheeks flush and hastily dropped my hand.
Troy was a master of his ability. He left the octagon arena with the full ten points and a score equal with mine. John shook his head incredulously, but he showed his support by shaking hands with the victor. The deafening roar from the crowd showed that he’d earned a place as one of the more popular contenders.
My stomach tensed as the octagon unit was sucked under the ground and twelve black obelisks rose from the ground like giant birthday candles.
It’s us next.
“I hope you’re ready, Mr Smooth. I’m going to spank you on this event,” said Hollie as we moved to the centre.
“Sounds like sexual harassment,” I replied with a grin.
“Keep dreaming.” She winked.
My heart was pounding as Ivy lifted the microphone to her lips. “This was a brilliant event, guys, you did yourselves proud. Now it’s time for the final ability event. Levitation.”
I stared out between the raised poles, wondering what could be in store for us.
“These twelve towers vary in height from twenty feet all the way to eighty. During each round, one of them will illuminate with a target section. They will never appear higher than your recorded maximum height capabilities, and they won’t move. All you have to do is levitate to the target and touch it. But, to make things trickier, there is a ten-second timer for each round. Two points if you touch the target within five seconds, one for anything up to ten, and zilch if you’re over. So, who’s going first?”
I thought Hollie would jump at the chance, but all of her pep seemed to have drained out of her, and she suddenly looked very nervous. One part of my brain willed my legs to move, but the other half kept them rooted to the spot. In the split second I took to deliberate, Elliot stepped out. He walked to a marker that had appeared below the obelisks.
“Good luck, mate,” I called out. He turned and nodded.
“You okay?” I whispered to Hollie as Elliott took his place in the octagon.
“Uh yeah. It’s just, I’m actually not that great at levitating.”
“I seem to remember something about a spanking?”
“That was adrenaline talking.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“You reckon?”
“I do.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
The siren blared. Elliot rose up into the air, and the camera zoomed in on his face, which looked anxious as he scanned the arena for the target. On the screen, a giant LED clock started to count down from ten. The tip of one of the shortest poles lit up like an electronic cigarette. Elliot threw his arms backwards and shot towards it. He slapped his hand onto the target with just over five s
econds to go and bagged two points. Still hovering, he searched for the next target. A section of a distant pole flashed blue near the bottom. He sank down and threw himself forwards, but his movement didn’t carry enough power, and he glided slowly towards it. His hand hit the blue marker with only three seconds left. He did better on the next two, finishing the event with a decent eight points. His face broke into a relieved smile as he watched his score jump from joint last to seventh.
The arena fell into a hushed silence as everyone waited to see who was up next. A hand shoved me in the small of the back, and I took a few involuntary steps forward. There was a rush of cheers. I turned and frowned at Hollie, who mouthed back, ‘sorry.’
I faced the obelisks. They stretched up to the very top of the arena. I closed my eyes and tried to forget about how much I hated heights. When I opened them, all of my senses were on high alert. My ears strained to hear the siren, and my eyes scanned for the blue flare.
The noise hit my ears like a foghorn, and I saw the tip of the centre column wink blue. I sprinted forward and jumped, throwing my arms behind me. It was like someone had strapped a rocket to my back. The target that had been over twenty feet away was in my face before I knew it. Throwing my hands out, I slammed one onto the plate, and a loud beep registered my score. I wrapped both arms around the pole like a monkey and chanced a glance at the clock.
06.24 remaining.
Yes!
There was a flicker of blue above and behind me. I vaulted backwards off the pole and threw my arms down, racing in an arc towards it. I rotated in mid-air and reached out a hand towards the glowing section.
But I fell short.
The target shrank away from me, and I heard the crowd gasp in response. Jerking my hands down, I yo-yoed back up and slapped my hand on the panel with only two seconds remaining.
Dammit.
Still hovering, I swung my head from side to side, searching for the next target. It appeared at the bottom of the slender tower to my one o’ clock. I hate this part. I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined falling.
The Veil: Corruption (HASEA CHRONICLES BOOK 2) Page 26