Until We Break

by Scott Kinkade

  “Charmed,” she said, giving Ev a wicked smile. “Ev Bannen. My husband has told me much about you.”

  “Who’s your husband?” Ev asked.

  “Why, Hades, of course.”

  Ev felt an overwhelming rage threaten to overtake him. He snarled at her, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep from attacking her at that moment. Nevertheless, he stayed silent for the sake of the team.

  Next Set motioned to a strong-looking character whose age was impossible to determine. He was completely bald with jet-black skin and prominent facial features. His body appeared muscular underneath the track suit. “And this is Apollo, brother of Persephone.”

  “They look nothing alike,” Ev said.

  Apollo replied, “We gods can change our appearance. I wanted to look distinct from the rest of my family.”

  “And finally,” Set said, turning his attention to the last member of their group, a fifty-ish man with shoulder-length gray hair and a regal beard, “Dionysus.”

  Dionysus offered them pouches that appeared to be made from some sort of animal skin. “Would you like some wine? This is an excellent vintage I made myself.”

  “Uh… no thanks,” Ev said. Did this guy really think they’d be stupid enough to accept a drink from their enemies?

  The elder god sighed. “A shame. You have no idea what you’re missing.”

  “Can we hurry up and get this started?” an agitated Daryn said.

  Set examined the Midgard. “We are just as anxious to get started as you. However, there’s been no sign of our hosts.”

  Suddenly, a large compartment in the aft section of the ship opened up, revealing some sort of hangar or cargo bay not unlike the hangar at Mt. Orleia. Taking this as their invitation, the two groups flew over and entered it.

  But upon entering, it became quite clear this was very different from the Academy hangar. The floor was covered with straw, and all manner of strange animals were being tended to throughout the room. Some were being fed, others groomed, and still others were being hugged relentlessly.

  Ev stared in shock. “What the hell?”

  Commander Loki appeared with his cadre, still garbed in their strange attire. “Welcome! Welcome! I do apologize for the crude ambiance, but we have to keep our beloved pets somewhere, and this seemed as good a place as any.”

  “What are these animals? I’ve never seen them before,” Maya asked.

  “Just the descendants of some creatures we picked up in the previous universe. You see, we were all involved in a terrible war, and we feared a mass extinction, so we gathered up as many species as we could and put them on our ship as a sort of ark. Ah! Such a romantic notion, now that I think of it. We’re truly benevolent, aren’t we? Come, walk with me.” He proceeded to take them through the strange zoo, pointing out different animals.

  “Do they bite?” a curious CiCi asked.

  “Some do, others don’t. Some will happily piss on you if you let them. Are you into that sort of thing? I didn’t used to be, but these days I find all sorts of things excite me. An eternity in Gehenna will open your mind to titillating new possibilities. You really should try it sometime.”

  “Let’s get on with it,” Set said.

  “Bah, you haven’t changed a bit, Set. Always focused on the will to power and whatnot. One of these days, I will get you to let your hair down.”

  “Not likely.”

  Loki and his entourage led them to an elevator which took them deep into the bowels of the ship. Through the windows Ev could see different parts of the ship which looked exactly like what science fiction had led him to expect. Aside from the zoo above, the Midgard looked very futuristic and sterile, with silver floors and walls, and fancy computer terminals along the walls.

  In stark contrast to this was the ship’s crew, every one of which dressed just as bizarrely as Loki and friends. As far as Ev could determine, there was no official uniform; everyone just wore whatever gaudy outfit they felt like. Some wore feathered caps, while others had animal masks like Loki, and still others had their faces painted with seemingly random geometic patterns. Each of them went about their daily business as if they weren’t walking freak shows. Is this what madness is like? Ev asked himself. Thinking you’re normal when you’re nowhere close?

  The elevator eventually made its way down to the lower levels of the ship where the visitors were greeted by a full athletic facility. There were a bunch of different areas for different events and full stadium seating on all sides with every seat filled by a colorful weirdo. It didn’t look too much different than the Academy’s gym, just a lot bigger. And, of course, the Academy wasn’t run by mental patients.

  * * *

  They emerged from between the bleachers, and Loki’s group led them to the field within the race track. Loki was handed a microphone. “And now,” he said, pausing for dramatic effect. “Ladies and gentleman, I welcome you to the First Annual God Games!” He was greeted by a deafening roar from the crowd. Everyone was now on their feet. “Today, I’ve managed to acquire some of the greatest talent in the universe to compete for your entertainment! On this side, we have the fearsome organization Zero Grade!” The crowd erupted again. “And opposing them are the up-and-coming students of the Divine Protector Academy!” More cheers. “They will compete in a series of five events to win the ultimate prize: the location of their enemy’s base!” Another eruption. “The first team to score three victories wins the whole thing. Let’s hope we don’t have a blowout. And now, let’s hear from the two teams.” He turned to Ev and thrust the mic in his face. “Tell us how the Academy plans to win this competition.”

  “Uh…”

  “Come, come, what’s your strategy?”

  “Well…”

  Daryn grabbed the mic and pointed at the Zero Grade team. “To kick their asses and win every event!” The crowd erupted yet again, almost as if they were robots programmed to do only that.

  “Well said!” Loki handed the mic to Set. “And what is Zero Grade’s strategy?”

  An indignant Set said, “How stupid do you think we are? As if we need a strategy to defeat mere children who have only had god powers for five seconds. They lack the will to power that my team possesses, and thus can never defeat us.” Eruption.

  “Ohhhhhh, trash talking! Simply delightful!” Loki bellowed. “Both teams are certainly confident in their abilities, but, of course, only one can prevail today and achieve the ultimate prize. Once you have the location of your enemy, you can hunt them down and destroy them with as much glee as possible. And once they’re gone, you can seize the Ultimus Points for yourselves!”

  These guys must really be nuts if they think we’re after the Ultimus Points. We just want to keep them out of Zero Grade’s hands, Ev thought. And end the war, of course. “Tell me,” he said to Loki. “Don’t you want the Ultimus Points? You definitely seem like power-mad nut jobs.”

  “Ridiculous! Outrageous! We are not tyrants. We don’t want to control. We simply want to watch and be entertained as one side or the other burns. We delight in simple carnage, that’s all.”

  Daryn cast an accusing finger at him. “Bullshit. I don’t trust you cuck sockers any more than I trust Zero Grade. I’ll bet anything you’re planning to betray us as soon as we’re done here.”

  Loki waggled a reproachful finger. “Tsk, tsk! You haven’t heard anything I’ve said. What would be the point in killing you just when things are getting good? No, we want to see this through to the end. The bloody, horrifying end.

  “But we’ve talked enough for now. It’s time for the first event!” He led them to the center of the complex where a twenty-foot circle had been drawn on the ground. “This event we call Force of Will. The object is simple: push your opponent out of the circle by any means necessary. Nothing is forbidden except outside help; you have to do this alone. Now, do I have any volunteers?”

  “Me,” Daryn said. Ev had to admit, this was definitely his forte. He could probably do a lot of
pushing with that big hammer of his.

  “Excellent, excellent,” Loki sang before turning to Set’s group. “And who among you will face down the gallant ginger?”

  Apollo stepped forward. “I will.”

  “Fantastic! We have our first event!” The crowd erupted again, as if on cue.

  Apollo removed his track suit, revealing red trunks underneath. Now they could all see his chest and arms were perfectly sculpted, seemingly chiseled out of rock. Ev got a little nervous at that point; this god had plenty of muscle to work with.

  However, Daryn took off his shirt and showed everyone he was no slouch in that department. His features were not as solid as Apollo’s but they were still a cut above what Ev was used to seeing.

  Both competitors stepped into the ring. Loki announced, “And nowwwwwww, the first event! Are you ready, fans?” The crowd roared its predictable support. “Fantastic! Are two competitors ready?”

  “Yeah,” Daryn said.

  “Absolutely,” Apollo said.

  “Splendid, splendid! And nowwwww: begin!”

  Daryn conjured his hammer and moved in to attack. But Apollo stunned them all by bringing out his own hammer, and it was just as big as Daryn’s. The veteran god gave a sly grin as Daryn abruptly halted.

  Capitalizing on his opponent’s doubt, Apollo charged in with blinding speed and brought down his hammer upon Daryn’s head. Daryn was just barely able to recover enough composure to bring his own hammer up to block. Both weapons met with a resounding report, and Ev had to cover his ears to block the metallic cacophony.

  CiCi shouted her support. “You can do it, Daryn!”

  “That’s right, mate! Show em who’s boss.”

  But Daryn was now being pushed back to the edge of the circle by Apollo’s might. It seemed the ginger was no match for him.

  However, Daryn suddenly surged forward, halting Apollo’s advance. For several minutes the two combatants were in a fierce deadlock, neither giving an inch. As far as Ev could tell, both were equally resolute in their stubborn refusal to back up.

  Eventually, Apollo decided to change tactics. He suddenly jumped back and held out his free hand. An orb of golden fire appeared in his palm, and he wasted no time hurling it at Daryn. The redhead dove out of the way as the strange ball struck the ground where he had been standing, and deathly fire engulfed the space. Apollo didn’t stop there. He hurled several more orbs at Daryn, who managed to dodge every one. But now Daryn found himself surrounded by fire mere inches away.

  Ev decided to speak up. “Daryn! You’ve got to blow out the fire!”

  “I don’t need you to tell me that!” Daryn put down his hammer and closed his eyes. Within moments, a mighty wind began blowing through the circle. It was so intense, Ev felt as if he would be blown away by it. Nevertheless, he managed to hold his ground.

  The flames were soon extinguished, leaving much of the circle charred black, and Daryn went on the offensive. He swung his hammer at Apollo who ducked before responding in kind. Daryn leapt back to avoid the attack, and replied with a kick to his foe’s stomach. Apollo grunted in pain before lashing out with another swing of his hammer. Daryn managed to block it, causing another shrill report. In the center of the circle both men were once again locked in a fierce embrace, grunting with physical exertion, sweat covering their bodies.

  Suddenly, Apollo pulled away and extended his leg, sweeping Daryn off his feet. The latter fell to the ground and Apollo brought his hammer down. Daryn managed to roll out of the way—causing his opponent to merely fracture the floor—but now he was at the outer edge of the circle. Apollo could easily claim victory if he wasn’t careful.

  Daryn quickly got to his feet, but Apollo wasn’t about to let him get away. The ebony god once again changed tactics, this time putting down his weapon. He then utilized his god speed to get in close in the blink of an eye. Daryn put up his hammer to block the anticipated attack, but instead of his face, Apollo began hammering his midsection with thunderous blows. Daryn staggered back, the heels of his feet landing on the line. Another hit and he would fall out for sure.

  Thinking quickly, Daryn tapped into his own speed to get behind Apollo and pull him into a bear hug. This was just like the first time he and Ev had wrestled, Ev thought, except this time, Ev was rooting for Daryn.

  They stood there for several moments. Daryn tried pushing Apollo the mere inches he needed to get him out of the circle, but the latter steadfastly held his ground. Ev couldn’t help but be impressed by both competitors. It really is the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. But which would prevail?

  Eventually, Apollo managed to break free of Daryn and dash behind him. Now it was Daryn who was caught in his opponent’s grip. Again, they stood locked for several moments as each struggled to impose his will on the other.

  Suddenly, Daryn employed Apollo’s own maneuver and swept his leg. Apollo hit the floor and Daryn was right there on top of him, raining down blows. Ev marveled at the way this match had evolved from a hammer fight, to a wrestling match, and now a slugfest.

  Apollo was now bleeding from several places on his head. Nevertheless, he succeeded in throwing Daryn off of him. Both fighters rose to once again meet one another, and Ev began to wonder how long this would go on. He worried about Daryn’s stamina; the ebony god could very well have more of it due to his eons of experience. Ev wanted Daryn to hurry up and finish this, but, at the same time, didn’t want his teammate to get sloppy and make a critical mistake.

  Moving quickly, Apollo retrieved his hammer, and Daryn did the same. Each then put everything he had into one final attack, swinging as hard as he could. Their hammers collided, resulting in by far the loudest clanging yet. It was ear-splitting, and Ev thought his hearing would never be the same. The impact was so powerful one hammer shattered.

  Apollo’s.

  The older god stared in astonishment at the smashed remnants of his weapon. Apparently sensing victory, a confident Daryn dropped his hammer and began pummeling Apollo while forcing him back to the edge of the circle. Within moments, Apollo was just an inch or so from falling out and losing. Daryn pulled back his fist for one final attack…

  …and was kicked in the balls by his foe.

  Daryn doubled over, his hands down-stairs to cover his privates. Wasting no more time, Apollo grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him out of the circle where he landed unceremoniously on the floor.

  The crowd erupted. Maybe it was Ev’s imagination, but it seemed like they always did that for the same duration and at the exact same volume level. Ev only had the slightest moment to consider this before he and his team rushed over to help Daryn who lay with his face clenched in agony.

  “Spectacular!” Loki yelled, as giddy as could be. “The first match goes to Zero Grade. They’re well on their way to winning the God Games!”

  By now, Daryn had regained his voice. “I’m gonna kill that pooslicker!”

  “Take it easy,” Maya said.

  Jaysin agreed. “Won’t do you any good to get worked up about this. You need to play it cool.”

  “Tell that to my balls!”

  “What a dirty trick!” CiCi said.

  “Listen to me,” Ev said to Daryn. “Just focus on healing yourself.”

  Daryn did so, and after a minute, he was back on his feet, still steaming and threatening more bodily harm to Apollo, who looked incredibly smug. In fact, none of the members of the Zero Grade team seemed upset with their comrade’s tactics.

  Chapter XVII

  Fortunately, Loki gave them five minutes to regroup. Daryn eventually calmed down and they huddled together outside the circle. “I’m sorry, guys. I got cocky. I shouldn’t have dropped my hammer. I thought victory was already mine.”

  “It’s OK,” Ev said. “They won the first match, but we still have at least two more chances to score a win for our side. We have to make sure we’re more cautious from this point forward. All right now, hands together!” They joined hands.


  “Divine Protector Academy!” they shouted as they lifted their hands into the air.

  Soon, Loki once again took up the mic and addressed the assembled masses. “Well, that was an amazing display of god power, wouldn’t you all agree?” The crowd most certainly did agree. “But now it’s time for the second event: Rat Race. Two people will compete in a race around the ship.” A fifty-inch monitor rose from the floor and displayed a map of the Midgard. Both teams gathered around it to scrutinize it. “But you don’t need to memorize it; there are arrows all along the race route so you’ll know exactly which way to go.

  “Now, who wants to compete in this event?”