Until We Break

by Scott Kinkade

  CiCi raised her hand. “Oh! Me!”

  “Are you sure about this?” Maya asked.

  “Very sure. I have a secret weapon, after all.”

  She closed her eyes and conjured her chakrams. She then sent them to the far end of the complex, where a pair of doors stood open. She sent them out into the corridors beyond.

  Loki, apparently intrigued by this display, seemed to have forgotten about the contest at hand. “Fascinating. What are you doing?”

  “Using my sensory chakrams to map out the route. This certainly is a big ship. Hmmmm, yes. A turn here, a twist there. Soon I’ll know what to expect even before my opponent does.”

  “Amazing,” Loki said. “Astounding. Simply splendiferous!”

  Ev was getting tired of this walking thesaurus. “Is that last one even a word?”

  Loki held up an educating finger. “Everything is a word if it’s used properly. And I can assure you: every word I say is properly used.”

  Set pointed at the doors CiCi’s chakrams had gone through. “Letting her see the route beforehand? That has to be against the rules.”

  “I was quite clear on this. Only outside interference is forbidden. Everything else is very much allowed.

  “But we seem to have gotten off track. Which member of your team will be competing in this event?”

  Stepping forward Mercury said, “I think that should be obvious. I, the god of speed, shall participate and score the second win for my team.”

  “Wonderful! Fantastic! Your team certainly has the competitive edge. I very much hope the Academy’s pink-haired pixie is as capable as she claims.”

  The chakrams re-entered the complex through the doors at the opposite end. CiCi opened her eyes. “There. I’ve seen the entire course and I know what to expect.”

  “Any surprises?” Maya asked.

  “Nope. The course goes all around the ship, so I saw some pretty interesting things, but nothing that could slow me down.”

  Set furrowed his brow in annoyance. “That won’t help you. Mercury is the fastest god there is; no one can beat him in a race.”

  “Wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Jaysin said. “Our CiCi here is the fastest student at the Academy. She’ll give your man a run for his money, I guarantee it.”

  An excited Loki said to the audience, “The trash talking, a vital component of sporting events, is certainly on display here today. Let’s hope these two competitors can back up everything they say.” He then addressed said competitors. “Now, then, if you’ll just follow me to the starting line.” He led them to a white line just outside the open doors. A pair of glowing green arrows along the walls pointed through them, just in case anyone was still confused as to where to go. “When I give the signal, the race will officially begin. Everyone not involved in the race can follow along via the big screen monitors that should be descending from the ceiling right about now!” Several panels opened up, and down came several of the biggest screens Ev had ever seen. They were almost as big as movie theater screens, and they stopped right in front of the audience on all sides.

  “All right!” Loki said. “Are the contestants ready?”

  “You bet!” CiCi confirmed.

  “I was born ready,” Mercury said. In fact, both of them had already done their stretches and were knelt at the starting line.

  “Excellent!” Loki produced a pistol and held the barrel upwards. “On the count of three! One! Two! three!”

  * * *

  The gun rang out in a sharp explosion of gunpowder. CiCi and Mercury both took off in a blur. CiCi already knew the exact course layout, what to expect, and where to turn. As long as she kept her speed up, she knew she had a solid chance at winning this. And, at the speed they would be traveling, the race would be finished in no time.

  As soon as they entered the corridor, however, all her expectations were shattered when numerous panels opened along the walls and ominous black gun barrels slid out like metal snakes preparing to strike. She had just an instant’s notice before beams of white hot light shot out of them. CiCi leapt across the hall as the strange rays hit the ground where she had been standing, incinerating the steel flooring.

  Darn! she thought. My chakrams couldn’t see them because they were being covered by the wall panels. This must be the ship’s defense network. I shouldn’t have been so confident like Daryn. She now knew why Loki had chosen this particular route.

  Fortunately, Mercury also seemed to be surprised, as he just barely managed to dodge the beams and keep his head intact. Nevertheless, she knew they would have to slow down a lot or risk getting killed by any more traps that lay ahead.

  The laser cannons didn’t stop with just a few shots. They continued to fire relentlessly while the two competitors raced down the twisting corridor, with new gun barrels appearing as they went. CiCi stayed on her toes, jerking left, right, up, and down to avoid each individual blast. If there was another upside to this, it was the fact Mercury wasn’t faring any better; he continually had to reduce his speed to avoid getting vaporized.

  Soon they came to a fork in the road, and the arrows pointed left. She already knew this, but worried what would be waiting for them next. They took the left turn, the two of them neck and neck, and found themselves in an identical corridor. No lasers greeted them, yet.

  Without warning, the entire floor collapsed beneath them. Reacting quickly, CiCi launched herself forward and to the left, and began running along the wall like some sort of parkour lunatic. Her god speed enabled her to keep moving in a part flying, part running burst. She didn’t spare a look at Mercury to see if he was doing the same, but she couldn’t help but hope he had fallen into whatever pit now lay below them. She did, however, spare a brief thought to the crew that had modified this ship into a death trap. They were every bit as sick as Maya and Ev had said, perhaps even more so.

  She soon made it across to the door on the other side. Upon entering, she found herself in some sort of large atrium. All manner of plants and trees congested the room like a forest, and pale blue UV lighting shone down from the ceiling.

  Mercury arrived a split second later and he, too, paused to examine their new surroundings. With all the flora and trees in the room, it was difficult to tell where they were supposed to go. Fortunately, CiCi remembered. Ahead and to the left.

  Suddenly, though, she felt much weaker, as if all the majority of her strength had been taken from her. Loki’s voice then came from what she could only assume was the ship’s PA system. “It’s been ever so much fun watching you two run through the ship, but if we let you run all the way with your powers, the race would be over in no time at all. Therefore, at this point I feel I should explain that we have been observing Zero Grade as they’ve been developing their God Dampener, and we took the liberty of creating our own. You’ll have to run the rest of the way as mortals. Have fun at this enjoyable, exciting twist!”

  Fun, my butt! Now the race would take way longer to complete.

  She sighed; there was nothing to do but keep going. After all, she still knew the course layout. Although she’d be lying if she said the loss of her powers didn’t have her scared. Will I be able to dodge Carnaval’s traps as a mortal?

  Mercury was busy trying to argue with Loki. “You mad man! Give me back my speed! You’ve taken the very thing that defines me! Give it baaaack!”

  CiCi decided the best option was to slip away while he was distracted. Remembering the route to take, she made her way past several large plants.

  Without warning, though, one of them unfolded and bore down on her. She ducked, nearly getting her head taken off as it snapped shut where she had been standing. Without wasting any more time or thought, she broke off into a sprint through the atrium. More plants came to life and thrust their disgusting heads at her, trying to make a meal out of her. She slid under one, zig-zagged around others, and kept right on going.

  But one deadly plant managed to get lucky and clamped down around her arm, its sharp teeth
digging into her flesh. She cried out in pain and saw fresh blood trickling out of its mouth.

  She tried pulling free, but that only caused her arm to be torn even further. Seeing no other option, she began punching the hideous, eyeless head. At first it had no effect, but after several moments of fierce pounding, the thing released her.

  Someone yelled in surprise and she figured it was Mercury. She hoped those freaky plants kept him busy long enough for her to finish the race. And if they should eat him, well, she didn’t exactly want that, but she knew she wouldn’t necessarily be too sad about it. He was the enemy, after all.

  She managed to exit the atrium and found herself in yet another corridor. Instead of a traditional floor, there was a vat of deadly-looking green liquid in front of her. She definitely didn’t remember that from her chakram reconnaissance. They must have removed the floor after she had sent her tools through here. Those psychos certainly worked quickly.

  This was very, very bad. Without her god powers, she didn’t see how she would be able to get through here. There was no way she would be able to jump; it had to have been a good thirty yards across.

  But just then, she noticed a series of leather hand holds hanging from the ceiling in two rows. That must be it. She didn’t know how much longer the plants would keep Mercury busy, so she decided to hurry up and do this before her courage abandoned her.

  She put one hand in the first hold, and then the other. Before long, she was making her way across the narrow pit. Don’t look down. Don’t think about that bubbling ooze that will probably melt you if you fall into it. Don’t think about the horrible stench like sulfur it’s giving off. Don’t think about much your muscles are burning right now because you don’t have your normal strength. No, girl, don’t think about any of that. Just keep moving forward, hand over hand, until you reach the end.

  Oh, and definitely don’t think about how scared you are and how much you want your Fruit Punch.

  * * *

  Ev and the others watched the race on the giant monitors. “Come on, CiCi! You can do it!” Maya shouted.

  “I doubt she can hear us,” Daryn said.

  “I don’t care. She’s my friend and I’m going to cheer her on.”

  “She’s right, mate. Besides, a little team spirit never hurt anyone. Go, CiCi!”

  Daryn rolled his eyes, but nonetheless began clapping for CiCi. Ev looked on nervously, aware of how much was riding on this race. The crowd ate up every moment, hooting and hollering, perhaps hoping to see death.

  Suddenly he said, “Look!”

  They all saw it. Coming up behind CiCi was a dark figure in red. It could only have been Mercury. While CiCi had taken the left row of hand holds, he was coming in using the right. He looked none the worse for wear after having braved the killer plants.

  This could be bad, Ev thought. But then he realized—it was all bad. No part of this was good.

  He continued watching silently, offering prayers to every god he could think of to get CiCi through this in one piece.

  * * *

  CiCi soon made it to the open door at the far end of the insane hallway and dropped down, supremely grateful to once again be back on solid footing. Her arms felt like they were on fire, but, at the same time, she felt alive! Adrenaline surged through her, and she felt the high it gave her like a drug.

  She shook her head. No, no, no, no! No more drugs. You’ve got to focus on getting through this, girl.

  She plunged ahead into the next corridor and took a left at the fork in the road. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was just a normal hallway. All she had to do was run through it. Yeah, right. That’s what you thought about the first hallway. With that in mind, she cautiously took a step forward.

  There was a clanging behind her. She turned; Mercury had caught up with her. Well, so much for the plants getting him. Fortunately, he looked just as exhausted as she felt; his labored breathing, the heavy rise and fall of his chest, and his sweat-sheened face gave it away.

  “You’re not,” he said, huffing. “You’re not going to beat me.”

  “Watch me.”

  She turned around and began running down the hallway, all thoughts of caution banished from her mind. She was only focused on winning now.

  Suddenly, the walls, ceiling and floor began rotating. CiCi lost her balance as the deck moved away from her in a counter-clockwise motion. Soon the floor was the ceiling, and, just as quickly, the walls occupied those places. Around and around the corridor spun, and she tumbled along with it.

  Behind her, Mercury seemed to be having just as much trouble. “Dammit! Crazy bastards!” For a brief moment, she almost sympathized with him. Almost.

  After a minute or so, she managed to adapt to the changing hallway and began adjusting her movements to match it. Forward and right, forward and right. She continued this, confident in her ability to keep going and stay ahead of Mercury.

  Until the spikes came out. Up ahead, holes opened all along the walls, floor and ceiling, and razor-sharp spikes shot out. And since they were a part of the corridor, they rotated along with it. So now CiCi had to not only look out for the shifting walls, but this new hazard as well. When it rains, it pours, I guess.

  “Dammit!” Mercury yelled. “Spikes? Are you kidding me?”

  “I’m afraid not,” CiCi replied.

  She made her way to the first set of spikes and moved sideways until it passed. That was simple enough, but further on, the deadly protrusions began more numerous, and her motor skills were really put to the test. More and more spikes spun around her, and it was all she could do to avoid them.

  Suddenly, she stumbled and fell, nearly getting impaled on several sharp points. She managed to grab their round bases and push herself out of the way, but now she tumbled with them.

  The rotating walls carried her up and then gravity took over. CiCi fell hard to the deck below. She screamed as the palm of her hand went right through a spike. Blood oozed from the wound, but she didn’t have time to contemplate that; the corridor was still moving, and her along with it. Without even thinking—because she knew if she thought about it, she might succumb to fear and not do what she had to do—she wrenched her hand from the spike. A sickening, slicing pain shot through her, but at least she was free now.

  She quickly made the decision to get up and keep going, to work through the agony her mangled hand was feeling. She focused on other things to avoid thinking about the intense pain: her friends; her family; school life; her plans for the future.

  CiCi crept forward, maneuvering around the spikes as best she could, all the while wondering how Mercury was faring behind her. She occasionally heard him grunt, though whether that was from annoyance or physical exertion, she couldn’t say. The important thing was she was still in the lead, though, as crimson essence dripped from her hand, she didn’t know for how long.

  An eternity later, she made it to the end of the revolving corridor. She had made it past the spikes, and she was proud of that fact.

  The end was near; all she had to do now was keep ahead of Mercury and she would win a victory for her team.

  * * *

  The doors opened, and CiCi emerged into the athletic complex. Her friends cheered her on, but concern registered on their faces; they were well aware of her wound. Oh, well. Once I finish the race and they turn off the God Dampener, I can heal up, good as new.

  Without warning, though, something crashed into her from behind. Mercury! That jerk! She fell to the floor, inadvertently landing on her impaled hand. A flash of pain shot through her.

  But Mercury didn’t stop there. He began stomping on her hand. She fought through waves of blinding agony to try and rally through this, but it was no good; her body would no longer respond to her.

  * * *

  Ev couldn’t take it. As he watched CiCi being tortured, he knew he had to do something. He took a step forward…

  …and was stopped when Jaysin put his arm across Ev’s chest. “No, mat
e.”

  “What are you saying?” Ev yelled. “We can’t let this happen.”

  Jaysin shook his head. “That guy’s a dick tart, I know. But if we interfere, we’ll lose this event. There’s far more at stake here than the well-being of one person.”

  “We have to do something!” Maya insisted.

  It was then that Daryn yelled to Mercury, “That’s enough! Leave her alone!”

  Mercury paused to examine his handiwork. “Fine. This bitch isn’t getting up any time soon.” He strolled confidently forward, leaving CiCi to lay there motionless, her hand a gnarled mess. Smeared blood stained the deck underneath her.

  Ev shuddered with rage. He would not stand for this. He couldn’t. But what could he do? There was nothing to do except have faith in his friends. “Come on, CiCi! You can do it!”