3.2
6:38 PM
The tournament had lived up to its hype and then some.
As the crowds departed from the viewing area, they buzzed with discussion, each and every one of them analyzing the day's results. It was a topic that wouldn't be dropped for weeks.
"Those three are even more insane than I thought!"
"I know, right? It could have been any of them to win."
"Yup. In the end, I think it was the terrain that decided it. It didn't hurt any of them, but Coral was definitely at the biggest advantage."
"Yeah, maybe… but I think she would have won either way. Her reflexives were fucking insane!"
As expected, the real battle that day was fought between three fighters–the trio who'd rocketed to popularity over the previous few months in Bone Creek. Everyone had known that they were the favorites, but none had been able to confidently pick out a winner.
In the end, Coral was crowned as the champion. But the spectators were right–under different conditions, any of the three could have taken the upper hand.
As the crowds parted and the forest darkened, Bone Creek's leader went to meet Coral, who had already rejoined with her gang, Trey and Cam.
"Congrats, Coral," Skye said as she approached. "You were impressive today."
Coral clicked her tongue in response.
"How far'm I from Leon?"
Skye smiled. "You still have a ways to go, but you're getting closer."
"What about us three? What if we all fought 'im?" Coral asked immediately.
"Hmm… Who knows?" Skye answered mysteriously.
"Tch."
"Hello, Trey, Cam," Skye said, directing her attention to the boys.
"Hello Skye," Trey greeted respectfully, even taking his hands off of his hips.
Cam just nodded in her direction, mumbling something inaudible.
"I'm sure you three will celebrate, but don't party too hard," Skye advised them. "Something big might go down tomorrow."
All three perked up instantly.
"What?" Coral asked expectantly. "What's happenin'?"
"It's a secret," Skye replied. "You'll find out tomorrow."
Skye turned, chuckling softly at the rude remarks she heard behind her back.
As immature as they are, she thought. They're going to be indispensable.
– – – – –
7:14 PM
At a familiar oval table of dark oak wood, Sasha, Yumi, and Corvus faced off against the same three as before: Skye, Odin, and Faye. But this time, two other seats were filled.
Echo eyed up the trio from Bone Creek suspiciously, her greatest attention placed on Faye, who appeared to be sleeping on the table.
"Faye." Skye placed a hand on the girl's back and shook her lightly. "Faye!"
Faye rolled her head to face Skye, never taking her forehead off the table's wooden surface.
"I'm awake," she mumbled, silvery strands of hair strewn across her face and over her skewed pair of glasses.
"Ah, sorry." Skye turned back to face the others. "Ok. We're here to make a decision about what path we'll take from here. After our failed attempt yesterday, I'm hoping that you two, Echo and Eve, will be able to clarify some things."
"First of all," she continued, "What were the people Blake met with in Portland like, and what kind of powers did they have?"
To the best of their abilities, Echo and Eve explained all that they knew. Eve described Blake's personality and how he'd directed their group, and Echo recalled his operations under the alibi of Silas Black. As for the abilities of Blake's mysterious comrades, they could do nothing more than guess.
Skye nodded as they finished their story.
"Well, now I'm certain that we're talking about the same Blake," she said, "and I can trust you all more than I did before."
She paused, chewing her lip.
"I think you're right that Blake will make a move, but can you explain why you think he'll attack Hoodsdale?"
Echo, Eve, and Yumi all looked at Sasha.
He blinked, and then he swallowed before opening his mouth to speak.
"I-It was just a guess," he said quietly. "We thought he'd go for Hoodsdale because he could create the most confusion there."
Skye narrowed her eyes. "I'm guessing Hoodsdale is the most easily frightened city, then?"
Sasha nodded.
"I don't know what the other cities are like since I've been here for so long," she explained, "but I can imagine what you're saying… Well, guessing is the best we can do, and you might be right, Sasha. It sounds like the kind of thing Blake would do."
Skye stood up and started pacing back and forth behind the table.
She adjusted her glasses and put a hand on her chin.
Her pacing got slower, and finally, it slowed to a stop. She set both hands down on the table and looked up, face set with a calm confidence.
"Odin, let's mobilize ninety percent of our strength. I'll let you be the judge of who to leave behind."
"Ninety percent?" Odin asked in disbelief, his deep voice fraying at its edges.
"Ninety percent," Skye repeated. "The city will be safe as long as no one leaves. I've decided that we need to go all out here."
Then, Skye turned to Faye.
"Can you think of anything wrong with what I'm doing, Faye?"
For some 30 seconds, nobody spoke. The air hung thickly over that dimly lit table, and they all held their breaths.
"...meh."
After delivering her final response, Faye turned her head to the other side, facing away from the seven pairs of eyes that had been staring in her direction.
Skye gasped an exhale and adjusted her glasses again.
"ok, ok, ok," she muttered to herself, running a hand through her hair.
"For now, we need to start moving," she declared. "We'll go tomorrow morning, as soon as the sun rises. Before then, we need to notify everyone of what's happening, Odin."
The man nodded and stood up from his chair.
"I'll leave the youngest fighters behind, along with a few older ones to supervise."
"Yes, yes," Skye quickly said, waving him away with the hand that wasn't on her chin. "Oh," she added, "but bring the best ones from this year. They'll be ok."
Odin bowed and left the room.
"Aahhh," Skye moaned to herself.
Echo raised her eyebrows. "You good?"
Skye flicked a quick glance in her direction. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."
After a beat of silence, Echo asked, "How much power do you guys have? Will it be enough?"
Skye sighed.
"We have a lot, but we'll need more. We need to build a following. We need to be the trustworthy side."
It was at that moment that a young man burst in the door.
"Skye!" he gasped. "The radio station's getting a signal!"
"From where?" she demanded.
The boy opened his mouth instantly, but to Skye, it felt like an eternity.
From just the movements of his lips, she could tell what he was saying.
Hoodsdale.