Chapter 11
Jace's head had stopped spinning by the time he reappeared on the field. The pain from mere seconds ago was gone. Jace considered it an act of mercy for his benevolence. Or maybe it was his stupidly hilarious answer that warranted that kindness.
Clutching his head, Jace groaned. Once more, the same as in the banquet, he had allowed his emotions to interfere with his judgements.
The saving grace was this time, he could blame it on an external force–The Heart. That was the only probable cause for the hurt inflicted in his mind.
For a second silence filled his mind. Thoughts ceased in an instant and nothing passed. Jace just pondered on nothing.
Finally, vaguely aware of the grass brushing against his joggers, Jace rose from the kneeling position he didn't remember holding.
As he rose, his gaze caught his cyberlink. He stared at the screen and the words contained in it.
'Intellectual Test Result, Loading'
Exhaling deeply, Jace stuffed his hands in his pocket. He gazed around the now barren field, his eyes lingering on two groups.
One was only a few metres away from him. The other was farther to his left, their numbers greater. A second was all it took for a decision as Jace found himself trudging left. It would give him more time to think.
As Jace walked, thoughts of the previous pain returned. Even though Jace had proclaimed the heart the answer, something still felt wrong, alien to him.
As swiftly as Jace's thoughts turned to the pain, they switched back to the crystal and the floating men in the sky. One of them had said his life would change. Was that it? Would Jace have to live with the pain forever?
Somehow Jace felt it wasn't that simple. He didn't know whether they were gods or simply powerful men but Jace knew one thing. They didn't do it for him. Someday, Jace would have to return the favor. He only hoped he was ready when that day came.
"Hey bubblegum,"
The words crashed against Jace like a tide, stirring him awake from his day dreams. Blocking his path, was a woman about Jace's age, her hair a rainbow.
She took a step forward, her boots stomping on the grass. She asked, the scent of gum and a host of other things flooding Jace's nostrils. "Wanna bet?"
Jace frowned in confusion as she motioned to the group only a few steps behind her, their gaze fixed to a giant screen. Another student like Jace fought on the screen, her hair ruffled as she grabbed another arrow from the quiver strapped against her back and nocked it.
On the other end a young man, his hands gripping a swinging mace. The two played a game of cat and mouse– the boy swinging the mace about, and the girl barely dodging yet firing arrows that did nothing except crash into his body and crumple.
Invulnerability or metal skin was Jace's guess for the boy's power. The girls seemed a bit trickier yet Jace settled on either a slight boost in speed or reflexes.
"So, you betting bubblegum?" The girl asked, her voice harder. Jace had a feeling she wouldn't ask again.
"Yeah, Ms …?"
The girl scowled "Taya. On who?" This time she stressed the words, clearly losing it.
"The girl,"
Taya nodded, stretching forth her left hand as she gazed downwards, fiddling with her cyberlink.
A second later, she looked up to see Jace, his eyes fixed to her hand and a sheepish grin adorning his face.
Taya scowled as she grabbed Jace's right arm, pulling it forward to her cyberlink. As she did, she muttered words that sounded a bit like "Stupid, Idiot."
Releasing his arm, Taya turned, leaving behind words of goodbye "Later, bubblegum."
Jace glanced at his cyberlink, noting his tokens had decreased by 200. Jace imprinted the remnant value–1,300–before stuffing his hands back into his pockets and focusing back on the fight.
On the screen, the cat and mouse game still continued. If there was anything of note, it was that the boy's swings of the spiked metals had grown faster.
His shirt had somehow come off showcasing his toned body. The muscles on his arms bulged as he swung the mace again, the girl barely dodging. The mace crashed against the wall, making a mark that disappeared only seconds after.
The girl shot another arrow, this time at the boy's face yet he dodged seemingly effortlessly. Jace frowned. Seconds ago, the boy had seemed so willing to take those arrows to the body. Was it simply because it was a face or …
Jace never finished his thoughts. A scream sounded from the screen, tearing through the crowd and piercing through Jace's thoughts.
On the screen was blood, splattered about the floor as the girl clutched her shoulder blade. Blood dripped down the sinister mace as the boy didn't hesitate, his swing smashing at her.
Cries sprang out from the watching crowd. Some of them booing the boy for his unsportsmanlike behavior, a few cheering out at the now bloody fight.
Jace could hear a boy whisper aloud, "Bloody hell. This is disgraceful," and for a second Jace wondered which was truly disgraceful, the boy's behavior or the Military's manipulation and apathy.
The girl hobbled, blood pouring down her back. She attempted to grab an arrow, then winced as her hand dropped back down. She needed a moment, to recollect herself, to bite through the pain. Her opponent, though, was insistent on not giving her that.
She barely dodged as she hobbled into a corner. The boy let himself smile, the mouse's two escape routes blocked. The cat stretched, ready to pounce and end the facade of the match.
The mouse winced through the pain, nocking an arrow and firing it. Yet, the mouse didn't stop. She nocked another and another.
Arrows flew past, some bouncing harmlessly against the cat's structured body, most whizzing past. The cat slowed his posture, either careful not to underestimate his opponent or not get harmed in the face.
The mace's head lay motionlessly, the chain connected to it still wrapped around the boy's fingers. He took a step forward as another bunch of arrows did nothing to impede his movement.
This was it. The final moments of the mouse. The end of the chase.
Yet, the mouse refused to give up.
Desperation flooded her eyes. Pain clouded rationality and emotion won over logic. She lunged.
The boy gripped the chain as he attempted to swing. Yet, the girl was faster. She fitted her bow down his head, the wood to his neck. And then, grabbing hold of the two tips, she pulled.
The wood pressed against his throat as the boy panicked. He dropped hold of his mace–a mistake–as he clawed at the wood, struggling against it.
He kicked, clawed then finally begged. His begs turned to chokes and his chokes turned to silence, yet the bow pressed against his neck.
Even as the silence came, even as tears streamed down her face, even as people in clothes of white struggled, pulling her off the bow, the wood pressed against skin.
And when the bow was broken, when the boy was salvaged, she curled up into a ball, ignoring the fact that everyone watched, and sobbed.
A nurse walked up, a folded towel on his arm. He laid it on the girls injury, calling others to help.
The girl flinched, pushing away the towels and the nurses as she stood, her legs wobbling. The nurses approached again, their voices soft as they spoke words Jace couldn't hear from the screen.
The girl reacted to those words, almost screaming yet still pushing them away. Finally, the nurses relented. A stretcher carried her opponent away as the girl vanished from the room, appearing at the field.
The crowd watched, some pointing, jostling one another as they all stared at the lone girl, blood still dripping down and staining the grass.
Silence settled across the field as nothing moved. Until there was a clap.
Two more followed, then three and before long, everyone including Jace simply clapped.
Applause filled the small space, echoed through the field. Applause and cheers. The girl watched as the crowd split, forming into two lines.
The girl stumbled forward, one foot ahead of the other until her knees failed her. She fell to the ground, just as a young man with blue hair rushed out.
He grabbed her, lifting her gently. He tore off the clothes surrounding the site of the gory injury and stretched forth his hands summoning forth flames.
The flame was a cold blue, a tint of orange briefly showing as it came in contact with the wound. The girl cried out as the flame drifted closer to her skin, cauterizing her wound.
Her cries of pain lowered to winces as a small clap was heard. Walking out of the crowd, his claps continued from earlier. His black hair shook as he walked, his eyes still. His face followed the pattern, expressionless even with the thin smile playing on his lips.
He spoke calmly. "Congratulations. Miss Pierce, you won. Please find one of the medical centers nearby, thank you."
His voice was emotionless, the tone constant all the way through. His purple eyes glanced at the crowd as he continued in the same tone.
"Please check your cyberlink. The next fights will be happening now."
After speaking, he walked back, vanishing mid-step. Like the incident mere minutes ago wasn't enough to perturb him.
Murmurs of resentment rose in the crowd yet no one did anything. They couldn't. No one would be stupid enough to risk everything for nothing.
Glancing at his cyberlink, Jace saw words that almost made his heart stop 'Match Found. Waiting…'
Looking back around the crowd, most were engrossed in their cyberlinks. A few stumbled about as Jace rubbed his hands together. For a second, he felt unnaturally cold.
A slight beep came from his cyberlink as Jace's surroundings changed. The soft grass transformed into a tiled floor, walls erected in the span of a second and cold artificial air wafted around, replacing the organic.
Jace had entered a fold for the third–if counting the field–time that very day. Opposite from Jace was a young man, his presence heavy despite his lanky frame.
His crimson eyes locked with Jace's as a small smile played on his lips. Like a beast who had found its fitting prey.
A voice sounded, echoing against the walls 'Welcome to the Chamber. The match will start in one minute. If you need a weapon, you can pick one from the wall'
True to its words, a timer appeared across the ceiling, counting down. Jace glanced at his right, where weapons of every shape and length hung.
Rapiers, glaives, even a long rope lay affixed to the walls. There were no guns or blasters–a shame.
Jace gazed at the dazzling array, pondering which to choose. He had trained often with a gladius and was most proficient with a dagger but a bow was the one of the few which could perfectly match his speed. The only problem lay in his opponent's unpredictability.
A dagger, while being Jace's most favored weapon, had a short reach. A bow could be a good weapon, but only if Jace could maintain a stable length from his opponent.
Each weapon had their flaws and they were magnified by the question of what Duke's ability likely was.
Glancing up at the ceiling, Jace noted only fifteen seconds were left. His opponent was stretching, no weapon in his vicinity. He grinned as he noticed Jace's gaze, practically salivating.
Finally, glancing at his opponent's lanky frame, Jace picked a weapon. The gauntlet fit Jace's hands like a glove as the voice counted down "3"
Duke, Jace's opponent, stopped stretching, eyes now fixed on Jace. Jace stood confidently, a small throbbing at the back of his head present and increasing.
"2"
A cold chill spread through Jace's body yet he remained motionless, tense. Duke smirked at Jace yet remained silent.
"1"
A crippling pain assaulted Jace as he did his best to contain his expression.
"Begin"
The two combatants remained tense, both barely making movement of any sort. Duke, wary of his opponent's caliber and Jace, crippled by the sudden pain.
Duke moved first, his crimson eyes glowing ominously. Jace pushed away the pain just as a voice spoke in his mind 'Move,'
Jace spun to the right, his previous position bombarded by two fiery rays. Duke shot a grin at Jace as he cracked his neck.
Jace, meanwhile, could feel his heart slamming against his chest. He had been only seconds away from being burnt to a crisp. And then there was the pain. It had seemingly vanished, yet Jace could still feel it at the back of his head.
Thoughts ceased as Jace noticed Duke's eyes glowing. Jace spun, evading the condensed flames shooting out the crimson eyes and striking his previous position.
Duke chuckled, calling out. "Really. I thought this was going to be more of a fight. Or are you just content staying there, running."
Ignoring his opponent's clearly obvious plan of baiting, Jace condensed the two pieces of information he knew regarding his opponent's abilities. The first was simple: Duke could only shoot a limited amount. That and he needed a period of time to cool down.
A plan formed in Jace's mind as Duke's eyes turned a bloody crimson. Jace spun from his previous position as he felt the heat, then dashed right at his opponent.
A gamble!
Duke's face wore an expression of panic. Jace's gamble was a success.
Then Duke's panic morphed into one of glee as his eyes brightened. Jace slid to his left, his mind in tangles, as two rays slammed into the place Jace had been.
Confusion turned to horror as the rays didn't stop. They continued, chasing Jace throughout the chamber. Jace spun, using the back of his hand to block. The rays slammed against the gauntlet.
For a second the rays continued. Jace felt a little hot yet there was nothing serious. Then a small explosion of light and he was thrown back.
Smoke wafted through the arena as Duke laughed. "You know I almost, almost had you there. Just forgot about the gauntlet."
Frustration welled up in Jace as he gazed at the ruined gauntlet, the smoke shielding him from Duke's gaze. He had rushed in, not even considering that Duke was deliberately controlling his ability, baiting him to make a move. He had been punished for that, losing the chance to block any more of those rays.
Pain, as if punishing him even more, flooded into Jace's mind causing him to whelp. As the pain vanished, fear set in, that he had revealed his position.
He looked around, feeling a hint of relief. Until he noticed two shining orbs staring at him, a chuckle accompanying it before the calm slow voice spoke. "Found you"
Heat tickled Jace as he narrowly dodged the destructive attack. Jace took a deep breath, taking in smoke as he doubled over. He coughed intensively, struggling to breathe as he moved around.
His opponent taunted "When are you ever going to actually use your ability. When? This is getting a bit boring, don't you agree? We're boring the viewers. Give them something, some dying man speech. Or maybe even an underdog story. Give them something!"
Anger rose in Jace, burning red anger yet he pushed it down. No. Not now. The smoke slowly cleared as Jace caught sight of Duke staring at the other side.
Pain flooded Jace's head, his mind. Pain. Jace moved, his anger burning as he dashed. Duke turned, clearly expecting that as his eyes glowed threateningly.
Dodge. Jace needed to dodge. He turned or tried to turn, but there was pain. And with that pain came anger. Jace was angry. Of running around like a rat. Of dodging and spinning like an acrobat.
Time slowed. The blast crept slowly as Jace's last opening for the decision arrived. And he made his choice.
And so as the blast came, Jace held up his palm and dashed straight at his opponent.
Jace felt the heat before the blast came, gently prickling his skin.
The blast, though, brought pain. Jace yelled as his palm suffered unimaginable levels of heat, like he was holding a sun with his bare hands.
But Jace continued. He raised his right hand, still blocking the heat and with his left hand smashed against Duke's face.
Crying out, Duke fell. He attempted to rise but Jace was on him, slamming punches after punching on him.
Duke's eyes glowed as Jace crashed his right hand into Duke's face causing them both to scream out in pain.
The difference between them.
Duke stopped.
Jace didn't.
Jace continued his pummeling even as Duke begged, continued his pounding even as the walls became a painting of blood, continued to slobber him even as Duke became a bloody mess and the voice announced Jace winner.
And finally, Jace stopped.
A voice inside him screamed for Jace to continue, for him to finish his work. But Jace ignored it as he arose over Duke's unconscious body.
He had won.