Spellcrafter-Delta

by Christopher Kirkland

  It was true that he was starting to care about her, and he wasn’t sure in what way, but he did like seeing her happy and impressing her. Knowing all of this new information only made him want to do it more. He would make up for the people who paid her no attention, or mistreated her. Being her partner wouldn’t be so bad; he was hoping it would happen now, and if that meant people looked at him differently too. Well it would be just like it was on Earth then.

  “Megan, I think you’ve received enough instruction,” he heard an unfamiliar voice say ahead. “I don’t have any more to teach you. Sign up for the partner competition and we’ll go from there. You’ve come a long way since Japan, and I’m proud of you.”

  “There must be more I can do, “he heard Megan’s voice more clearly as he grew closer

  “Megan you are strong enough and smart enough to take me on in a fight. You nearly matched Autumn in combat, and although you lost to both of us that is a massive feat. When you get a partner and a team you’ll be essential. You will be their lifeline.”

  When Chris rounded the corner, he saw Megan and a thirty-seven-year-old man in a large red coat with two golden rings on both arms. The coat was blue on the shoulders. He had on a red Wizard hat with a blue line just below the golden Alliance phoenix symbol. His shirt was a grey color with blue buttons connected by golden link chains. His pants were blue, his boots were red with golden wings - the same wings that had been present on the Alliance symbol. He had white hair and red eyes.

  Megan nodded in agreement. Her eyes were hidden by her hat a moment. She lifted her head to see Chris. The man looked as well before walking off.

  Megan spoke, “It’s you...I never got to say hello in class. I’m glad you’re okay. Why are you out so late?”

  “I was out training and I guess I lost track of time...what about you?”

  “Oh, just getting ready for the partner competition, I want to be well prepared,” she answered happily. “I’m surprised Penny isn’t with you.”

  “I was going to go see her next,” he answered truthfully.

  “Want me to walk with you? It’s on the way back to my house.”

  “House? You mean dorm?”

  “No. I worked two jobs and saved up enough for a house,” she said, correcting him and proudly folding her arms. She turned and began to walk, and he followed her.

  “So, Megan? Did I hear that man say that you came from Japan?”

  “From what was once Japan, you heard correctly,” she replied solemnly. “I was there when it was destroyed by the Empire of the Dark. There’s nothing left there. I’m better off here, and I’m honestly happier.”

  “Nice to meet another Earthling. Actually, I think one of my teachers mentioned that you were from Earth like me and Emily.”

  “I haven’t been back to Earth in like...A year. How is it?”

  “Same ol’ same ol’.” He admitted.

  “This all must be weird for you. I’m here if you require me at any point.” Megan said as she adjusted her hat.

  “I think I’m used to it now.”

  “That’s good. Still, after what happened with Hunter I’m utterly mad at him.”

  “I dunno how I feel toward the guy right now.”

  “Emily got back today. I heard her screaming at him actually…”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. She had some words to say. She didn’t censor herself. They made a scene by the school earlier.”

  “Oh man…”

  They continued walking in silence. They were nearing his dorm. Megan told him her house was only a little bit after his dorm. He noticed that she had her sword on her side. She must have preferred to have her weapon nearby in case of emergency so she could draw it rather than summon it, or perhaps she had summoned it recently for use and has not put it away. They arrived at his dorm and said their farewells for the day.

  He put his key in the door, turned the knob and entered. He saw Penny still fully dressed asleep on the bed. Her lower body was on the bed, but her upper body was slightly dangling off, so she must have been exhausted to have fallen asleep like that. She had coffee on the nightstand in between their beds.

  “You were trying to stay up and wait for me…” Chris said this aloud in a soft whisper as he came toward her.

  He slipped one arm under her and held her legs and his other arm behind her back as he lifted her and laid her on her pillow, tucked her in, and headed to the bathroom. He changed and brushed his teeth, showered, and climbed in bed. He looked over at her, she seemed very peaceful, and she slept silently like a princess. He laid down on his pillow and felt something - paper. He removed a note that was left for him in his bed, it read: signing up for the partner competition tomorrow morning, I hope you’ll go with me. Just let me know when you wake up, we can get breakfast on the way. I tried staying up to wait for you, but I’m exhausted so if I fall asleep I hope you find this. -Penny.

  Chapter 10

  Paradoxes and Partners

  The Partner Competition was to be held in the outskirts of town. Over the past few days people from all over the universe came to watch, construction of the course was almost complete. It had only been 6 days, and they had to tailor the course based on the amount of people that entered. The course would have thirty starting gates, so that’s twenty-nine people that could possibly end up being your partner. There was also the chance you could go through and right at the start be disqualified, because you don’t get paired. It would seem like you ran through a maze only to end up back where you started.

  The course was magic, and so it was no surprise when they were told that there were 200 possible paths and one massive exit. There would be dangers littered throughout the course, and there would be a special team of professionals whose only job was to hinder partners - whether that be to eliminate them, trap them, or drag them out of the course.

  There were stands being set up at the entrance, and a large monitor that would monitor contestants as they progress, show who is eliminated, and who has been partnered. They will also see who has a potential to be partnered, their portraits will shift on screen before attaching to another. Partners can also fight another partner group, and the course may force confrontations. This will also display on screen and a red “conflict symbol”. Partner groups that are temporarily helping each other will have a line connecting them, and it will vanish as soon as they separate.

  Once it started to get dark and the moon was in the sky, all contestants had to make their way out to the contest area. It took up a massive amount of space. There was a band playing loud and proud, it was the Alliance of the Light’s chosen song. Once that was finished, a group of students who volunteered and students who were in the chorus began to sing. Their conductor was Autumn. Once the song was finished there was loud applause.

  A man in black military attire, a black beret with the Alliance bird symbol on it, and combat boots. His had two holsters forming an X shape across his chest. He had a sword in its sheath, two pistols in each holster, and a dagger in his belt. He was not at all young. The man appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties, he had five stars on his torso. His soldiers wearing similar colors stood at his sides, with one arm across their hearts.

  A girl with pink hair and blue eyes came up and hit Penny’s shoulder lightly as the man was talking, “You’re trying for a partner? That’s great!”

  “I won’t get one, Morgan. I know how this works,” She replied.

  “Pft...You’ve never tried the competition so you can’t talk. I’ve already got my partners, so I won’t be joining you. It is ‘unfair for a mage to compete’.” She said in a hush tone as she pointed her finger at the headmaster's special seat that would preside over everyone else where he could see everything. Another chair was to the left of that. Autumn’s. The chair on the right was reserved for Emily.

  Penny made a face and looked away. She did not believe she would get a partner, and she refused to get her hopes up at the foolish thought that she
would. No one would be her partner, because of her being a born Sorcerer. She glanced at Chris and tilted her head slightly; wondering why he was so interesting to her.

  “Are you still listening to me?” Morgan was waving her hand in front of Penny’s face.

  “Wait...Ooooh Penny…” She smirked.

  “What? Oh. No, no….”

  “You have a crush?”

  “No, I do not.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t know what I feel. He’s strange and I dunno. I guess he’s interesting. He’s my friend.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Chris...But don’t start--” She tried.

  “Chris and Penny kissing in a tree…” Penny glared at her. “Okay. okay...just poking fun. You’re my best friend. You know I’m kidding.”

  “I know. I just...don’t know...It’s like he’s weird. Part of me feels bad for him getting dragged into this, part of me relates, part of me thinks he’s really interesting…” Penny looked down at what Morgan was wearing; a pink jacket with a bit of black, a black undershirt, a pink and black skirt, and pink shoes.

  “What?” she seemed rather confused.

  “Too much pink...Your hair is pink too…” Penny looked away and scrunched up her face.

  “It’s always been pink.”

  “That’s my point.”

  “I like it. I just got it!”

  “Not judging...Personally though...you look like bubble gum,” she laughed a little. Morgan pouted and turned her attention back to the event.

  A female announcer began to speak, “All contestants please report to your starting gates. Five minutes to start.”

  Chris began to make his way to his gate before someone caught his arm...Emily.

  “Do you have a minute?” She asked politely. “If not...”

  “Yeah...Yeah, I do,” he replied.

  “I’m sorry...Not just for not being the best sister, but all the years you had no sister at all. I wanted to say sorry for leaving you...making you think I had died...That wasn’t my intention...After our parents died the last thing I wanted was to leave you. You had no family left to go to...No one at all. I had to heed my orders, but I felt sickened at the thought of leaving that night. It was not that I didn’t care…”

  “I…Know…” he rubbed his arm. “I was being a jerk.”

  “No. You were justified. I’m not a very good sister...Well I was but not now...So I’ll find a way to make it up to you. Just be careful...You can’t die in this competition, but if I see you in the medical building I’ll raise hell.”

  "Emily," Chris heaved a sigh in exasperation. "I'm fine, I promise.” He glanced up at the large clock on the screen. "Look," he gestured with a thumb toward the time steadily ticking away. "Let's walk and talk."

  As the pair made their way toward Chris's destination, Emily began to assess her brother's physique. He had a bit more muscle, but he didn’t change much.

  “I see you’ve gotten more capable.”

  “Penny trained me.”

  “Your roommate? I’ve been inform-- Sorry...told...still talking like the ‘Headmaster’s right hand’” She placed her hand over her face.

  “Don’t like the title?”

  “It’s not that…I just have to be professional anytime I can and so I’m losing my casual nature.”

  “Oh yeah you were really casual on those dates you went on.” He had a sly expression now.

  “Um, excuse me, you stole my shoes and hid my purse, my pocket book at times, and you even cried when you were younger.”

  Chris flushed a pale color out of embarrassment. “I don’t remember that last one.”

  “I do. You balled your eyes out, I told my date Jeremy I couldn’t go out that night and held you...up until you fell asleep in my arms. I couldn’t get up to move, because you would wake up every time and cry again.”

  “So anyway, the contest is about to start Emily,” Chris interjected suddenly.

  “I’ll spare you your embarrassment little brother.” She burst out laughing as he walked off. “We’ll talk after just be extra careful!”

  He smiled as he walked up to his starting gate labeled number seventeen. He hadn’t talked like that with her in a while, and so it was nice. He knew it would take quite a while for them to grow closer again, especially after the way he'd treated her. Chris felt heavy amounts of regret. At least their conversation seemed to cheer her up. She was beaming brighter than he'd ever seen her before and that was more than he could ever ask for; he saw her taking her chair and smiling wider than before.

  Autumn was also in her chair by now with her right arm on the arm rest, her cheek against her knuckles. She was bored, and obviously impatient for it to start. She was tapping her fingers on the armrest and tapping her foot. She seemed more impatient than Jackie if that’s even possible.

  Chris glanced over to see where Penny’s gate was...Number thirty-two. She had her eyes closed like she was counting. She was anxious, Chris could tell, but it couldn’t have been about the dangers of the course she has handled worse. It seemed like the audience and spectators were setting her off. Not only was she a sorcerer, but crowds obviously were clearly not her strong suit.

  “Contestants!” Chris jumped slightly and tried to prepare himself.

  “Be aware that cheating is prohibited, you are being monitored.” How? There’re no cameras? How can they see us? He thought, looking around for cameras that weren’t there. He had learned not to question it; nothing was really the same here.

  “Due to the fact that this could take up to a minimum of 1 day depending on your skill, you are advised to get some form of rest. This course is not short and will test your skill, intellect, teamwork, problem solving, calm under pressure, and is designed to push you closer together.” He was ready for this, it was unlike anything he had to do on Earth, but he was confident now.

  “If anyone would like to back out or ask questions please do so.”

  No one did. All of the contestants looked around at each other. Penny was the only one who didn’t, she kept looking forward. She did not want to distract herself, and was avoiding looking at anyone. She also seemed tense. “Ten seconds to start.”

  “You can do this little brother!” Emily broadcasted behind him.

  “Seriously Emily?” He asked under his breath, embarrassed. Still, he took comfort in knowing she was rooting for him. It was nice to have his sister back.

  “Ten. Get ready.” Chris looked back again.

  There was now a man in the headmaster’s chair. He was a man (possibly in his late thirties) in a large red coat with two golden rings on both arms. The coat was blue on the shoulders. He had on a red Wizard hat with a blue line just below the golden Alliance phoenix symbol. His shirt was a grey color with blue buttons connected by golden link chains. His pants were blue, his boots were red with golden wings-the same wings that had been present on the Alliance symbol. He had white hair and red eyes.

  “...Six.” He nodded at Chris and smiled, as if to assure him.

  “...Five…Four…” Every contestant took position. Chris looked to his left, he noticed Megan’s hat. She was here after all. He couldn’t fully see her, but if she was here, Ian had to be.

  “Three...Two...” His heart began to race in anticipation for the moment when he would hear the word…” Go!”

  As the wooden gates opened with heavy force Chris’ vision was flooded with darkness. The contestants each ran full speed into the maze. It was extremely dark by now in front of him. He could only see the green of hedges as he ran; the cool night air was hitting his face as he sprinted forward. Which way? he thought as he turned right. The path closed. He doubled back and headed straight instead. Right next. Where was the exit?

  After a few minutes of running in circles, he plopped on the ground with a groan. “Oh my god” He swore to himself. “I’ve been here before... at the same crossroad! Why can’t I get out…” Chris drove a hand through his emerald gr
een-colored hair.

  “Alpha team has been formed,” the announcer cried. Twin brothers appeared on screen.

  “I can’t get out...Wait.” He came to a realization. He headed back to the right; the hedges began to close again. He rolled under it, summoned his sword and slashed the next few hedges that were meant to stop him. He stood up and began walking cautiously.

  “Did I do that right? I don’t know if resourceful is taking my sword and going full gardener…” he asked aloud to himself.

  As he continued along the path, he saw a shimmer in the distance. A light? A scope! He quickly ducked behind the hedge just as the shot flew by. It was either a trap or one of the hunters meant to stop them. He lifted his sword and pressed his back against the foliage, inching out just enough to where he could see a reflection: it was a man with a sniper rifle. He was crouched behind a few boxes and camouflaged. He turned the blade slightly to where he could scan the environment. Everything was hazy, but he could still make out the important things. There was a way out of the area to the right beside the shooter. He would need to run for it and dodge as best he could.

  “Did you turn tail and run?” he taunted. “Scare easy?” Chris gritted his teeth. Just go. He bolted around the corner.

  “Oh, okay you’re choosing the flight option then?” The man said again as he fired another shot. Chris ducked; catching himself with the ground and continuing to run.

  Another shot came, this time grazing his left shoulder and whizzing by with a loud buzz in his ear. This time a volley of shots came as he neared the exit beside the man. He lifted his sword and on instinct he turned to the flat side. He blocked one, two, then three. He then went straight for the man.

  He went to reload his sniper, but he knew he couldn’t reach it in time. He instead drew his sidearm. Chris cut the barrel of his gun, spun and kicked him hard so he fell back. He then turned his attention to the exit and made for it. That man wouldn’t be after him again anytime soon. He put all of his force into that blow. He continued to pant and gasp, he had more energy due to his training, and because he was a magic user, but that still wasn’t easy for him.