Alex Armstrong: Awakening (23 page)

“Sorry.”

“I’m sure you are. But don’t apologize to me; you made it here on time. Apologize to the person who worked so hard to get you here on time. And in what appears to be a remarkably good state.”

Now Alex was really blushing.

“He told me he was sorry,” Eva said. “More than once.”

President Joyce took another sip of his coffee. “Do you think he learned a lesson?”

Eva nodded. “He won’t do it again.”

“I don’t think he will, either,” President Joyce said. He patted Alex on the shoulder and motioned for him to look at the game. “What do you think?”

“Seems way more serious than what I’ve seen.”

“You mean the games out in the field? It is. Tournament play is more structured. The heart of the game is the same, though: two sticks and a ball.”

“The circles are new,” Alex said.

“Very true. You get a point if you force your opponent out of his.”

“Well, no wonder the tall one’s winning,” Eva said. The player with the black helmet was at least a foot shorter than his opponent.

“Why? Because he looks more impressive swinging that glorified Q-tip? My dear, the tall one is about to lose.” He pointed to the scoreboard. “
Lachlan
is the shorter of the two.”

Lachlan was down on one knee, holding his Smashstick above his head, absorbing the downward blows of the taller player like some stubborn tree trunk. All the while, the Smashball blinked harmlessly near the tall player’s shoulder. With each clumsy attack, it flashed more rapidly, a pulsing red orb just begging to be used.

The red flashes came faster and faster until finally they were indistinguishable and there was just a steady red light within the Smashball. In the next instant, it went dark. It drifted over to Lachlan where it began to slowly flash red again.

Lachlan hopped to his feet. As he stood there blocking the next round of blows, the Smashball began winding in and out between his legs in a figure eight. Within seconds, its speed was audible. Each pulse left a smear of red light.

The tall player stopped hacking away long enough to take note of what was happening, but before he could lower his stick, the Smashball shot through the air and buried into his chest pad. The breath rushed out of him and he staggered out of his green circle.

Lachlan removed his helmet to reveal a shock of blond hair and a chiseled face that would have looked good on the cover of a magazine. He raised his arm to a chorus of cheers.

“I guess height is overrated,” Eva said.

“The game was never meant to be a display of brute force. The Smashball is the key,” President Joyce said.

Lachlan saw that his opponent was struggling to remove his gear. He crossed the playing area and offered the taller boy a hand.

“Who is he?”

“Lachlan? One of our more skilled juniors,” President Joyce said. “He also happens to be the top-ranked Smash player. In fact, I’m going to ask him to officiate your match.”

“When’s that?”

“Right now. Come on, let’s go find Sonnier. He’ll help you with your gear.”

“But—”

“No buts. You’re ready.” President Joyce started walking toward the equipment. “And even if you’re not, well, you’ll get the hang of it.”

“But who am I playing?”

President Joyce looked back and smiled.

****

It was Kim. Of course it was Kim.

“…one point for knocking your opponent out of the ring, one point for hitting him with the Smashball…”

She looked intimidating standing there in her helmet. It was a far cry from the plain white one he was wearing. Hers was a custom job, not unlike something worn by a hockey goalie. It was matte pink with a white cage, and across the sides were butterfly wings colored in sparkly shades of purple, yellow, and blue. It was pretty…‌almost. A closer look revealed that the wings converged into a charred body with a skull for a head and horns in place of antennae, fire pouring out of its mouth and eye sockets.

“…at no point are your hands allowed to touch the Smashball.”

Lachlan had been talking for what seemed like an eternity. Alex flexed his fingers around the midsection of his Smashstick and gave it a twirl. It was heavier than he expected. And less padded.

“First one to three wins. Alex, what’s your favorite color?”

“Huh?”

“Speak louder,” Kim said. “He had a little too much to drink last night.”

Lachlan ignored her. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Oh, sorry. Blue.”

Lachlan typed a command into his tablet and each of their circles turned blue. Another few swipes and the surrounding monitors flickered on to create a canvas-colored ten-foot square. He peeked over the top of the tablet and nodded at his work. “Kim, since you won the toss, the Smashball will start with you.” The ball rose from the floor and hovered into position.

“The match will begin and the Smashball will activate when you hear the bell. Good luck.”

Kim widened her stance and got into a ready position. “You’re going down, Bort.”

DING!

Kim saw that Alex’s eyes were trained on the ball, so she dropped into a crouch and angled her swipe low along the ground. Her Smashstick crashed into Alex’s ankle and sent him reeling. She hopped to her feet and finished him off with a jab to the chest. Alex staggered backward and out of his ring.

0-1

“No fair; he wasn’t ready!”

“Patrick,” Alex said. He turned and found his friend waving at him from the crowd. Eva and Nate were standing on either side. Nate looked like he should’ve stayed in bed.

“Brush it off, man, that was just a lucky shot,” Patrick called.

“Alex, I need you to return to your ring,” Lachlan said.

“You heard the man, Alex. Get back in there and show her what’s up!”

Alex stepped back into the ring and the Smashball drifted to his right shoulder. He could feel it at once. “Diamonds,” he said. “There are diamonds in this thing.”

Lachlan gave a slight nod. “Bell’s about to ring, Alex.”

DING!

Alex projected the Smashball straight for Kim’s face, ready to alter its path at the last second and score an easy point. But the moment it left his ring, he lost all control. Alex could only watch as Kim easily deflected the shot with her Smashstick. The ball ricocheted hard left, came to an abrupt stop, and drifted back into Kim’s ring, where it began to pulse red again.

“Rookie,” Kim said, shaking her head. With surprising speed, she faked a swing toward Alex’s shoulder and then struck him in the waist once he raised his guard. Before Alex could even register the hit, Kim was swinging again. She caught him in the same spot and Alex stumbled just enough that the toe of his shoe crossed the line.

0-2

“The ball only works in my ring?!” Alex said, unable to hide his irritation.

“Correct. Once it leaves your ring you lose control.”

“Well, that would’ve been nice to know,” Alex said. He could hear Kim laughing.

“Bullshit! Bullshit!” Patrick coughed.

This time when the bell rang, Alex focused not on the Smashball but on Kim’s attacks. He crouched into a defensive stance and began parrying her strikes. Toward the end of her turn, Alex could tell she was wearing down, yet she never stopped swinging. The allure of taking his head off must have been too much to ignore. The result was a wasted chance with the Smashball. It turned solid red and drifted to Alex.

He was ready. The instant it entered his ring, Alex had it bouncing up and down the length of his body. He kept his eyes locked on Kim as she tried to follow its movement. The moment she blinked, Alex sent the Smashball angling upward from a point level with his knees. It punched her square in the gut.

1-2

“Whoooo! That’s what I’m talkin about!”

Alex looked at the scoreboard. He liked seeing something other than “0” in his box.

DING!

Alex saw a flash of green and lifted his Smashstick just in time to deflect Kim’s blow so that it only glanced off his helmet. He twisted around and watched as Kim’s shoulders violently rotated in the opposite direction. There’d be no blocking this one. He steeled himself and was ready for impact, when suddenly he heard a collective gasp from the other students. Alex opened his eyes. Kim’s Smashstick was frozen just inches from his mask. He could feel it in his mind, could feel the strain of her muscles as she tried to wrest it away from him.

It was an odd sight, like she was playing a game of tug-of-war against nothing but air. It wasn’t long before everyone was laughing. They laughed even harder when Alex wrenched the stick out of her hands, positioned it between her legs, and lifted her out of the ring. She looked like a witch riding an unruly broomstick.

2-2

Kim ripped off her helmet and threw it aside. “No way! He can’t do that! That should be
my
point!”

Alex turned to Lachlan with genuine surprise, and then glanced over at Sonnier and President Joyce. Sonnier was an oak, but there was a hint of a smile on the president’s face.

“Sorry, Kim,” Lachlan said. “I forgot to mention that before the match. My apologies.”

“Well, what about the point? Does he still get a point?”

“Yes,” Lachlan answered. “Now please return to your ring.”

Kim looked at the scoreboard, her mouth gaping. For a moment, it looked as if she was going to storm out of the room. She calmed herself with a deep breath and her helmet zipped off the floor and into her hand.

“You want me to get you some eggnog to make you feel better?” Patrick called. She flagged him off as she stepped into the ring.

“Kim, don’t listen to him. Alex, you are not allowed to use TK on anything beyond the Smashball. If it happens again, Kim will get an automatic point. Understand? Good. Next point wins.”

DING!

The Smashball was in Kim’s ring and she finally decided to use it. Alex held his Smashstick at the ready and watched as the ball went revolving around Kim’s head. She closed her eyes and it picked up speed, faster and faster until the flashes blurred into a red halo as though she was some kind of fallen angel.

Alex never actually saw the shot, but it didn’t matter. He felt the Smashball the moment it entered his ring, and without so much as a flinch, he forced the ball to bend wide right. It stopped a few feet from striking someone in the crowd, then quickly returned to Alex’s side.

He didn’t waste any time, arcing the the Smashball high into the air so that it nearly brushed the ceiling. Kim tried to follow its path, but Alex jabbed her in the stomach and she doubled over. The ball landed with a loud
CRACK
right in the middle of her demon butterfly.

“SMOKIN THE DONKEY!”

The crowd cheered and screamed and they got even louder when Alex pulled off his helmet. He turned just in time to be rushed by his friends.

“That was
awesome
,” Patrick said.

“Thanks. I was kinda flying by the seat of my—”

“What? No, not the
match
,” Patrick said. “I mean, that was cool, too, but I’m talking about at the end there. Smokin the donkey? You heard that, right? Dude, that wasn’t
me
. I think it’s finally—”

“Hold that thought,” Alex said. “I just remembered I’ve gotta do something.” He crossed the room and found Kim sitting on her helmet, her head in her hands. She felt him standing there and looked up.

“Good game,” she said.

“You, too.” Alex took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Her eyes were glassy.

“Listen, I’m—”

“
I’m
sorry,” Alex said. “I never meant to upset you; I promise I’m not like that. Honestly, I just forgot.”

“I know, I know,” Kim said, rubbing her eyes. “I just—it’s funny how things can get blown out of proportion. Mostly because I can be a real bitch sometimes.”

“No, you’re not a—”

“Oh, yes I am!”

“Well, on second thought.”

Kim punched him in the shoulder.

“That reminds me, though…‌nice plan last night. I like your style.”

Kim perked up. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I would’ve tried the same thing.”

“Ha! Thanks. It would’ve worked, too, but—you’re lucky to have her, you know.”

“I know.” Alex smiled at Eva. He knew she hadn’t heard any of the conversation, but it didn’t stop her from smiling back. “No hard feelings, then?”

“No hard feelings,” Kim said. “Besides, I don’t want you trying to take me out whenever we start working together. You’re going on the next delivery, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Alex said, his stomach tightening.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, waving it off. “Definitely not anything you should be worrying about now. You should go hang out with her. Forget about all this Greyjean stuff for a while.”

Alex thanked her and turned to find Eva. He saw President Joyce and Sonnier standing to the side, probably wanting to speak with him. But Kim was right. That kind of talk could wait. He grabbed Eva by the waist and lifted her into the air.

23 - Assignment

23

Assignment

He turned off the alarm and lay there scratching his chest, the room completely dark save for a strip of sunlight running vertically up the far wall and across the ceiling. Highlighted above his head was a cluster of paint blisters. One had swelled and ruptured, the raised edges of its pockmark making it look something like a volcano. Alex stared at it for a long time, his eyes going dry and blurry as he imagined lava bubbling within its crater, churning and sloshing until finally some of it escaped and went hissing down the side in a glowing rivulet. He blinked and now there were seven more of these molten streams and soon Alex was staring not at a volcano but at a spider, red and menacing. He closed his eyes. He could still hear that awful shriek. Could still see the web glistening in the sun as she clawed at her face…

He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for his head to clear but it did not, and so he walked to the sink and splashed water on his face until his skin grew tight and his fingers went numb. He placed his hands on the porcelain and looked in the mirror and watched the water drip from his chin.

Alex was partway out the door when he remembered he was hungry. He leaned back in and a half-eaten bag of pretzels hopped off the floor and flew into the open flap of his backpack. He shoved a few pieces into his mouth as he walked outside.