“You can move by kicking the stone,” Desh said, jumping up high into the air. He landed between two tall structures and spread his legs, bracing himself.
It took Renn a little while to get used to the low gravity, but he got off the ground when he saw large black millipedes the size of his leg running their way. The millipedes’ small feet grasped the stones’ splintered and cracked surfaces, allowing them to run faster than a human.
Renn watched Desh shower them with a sticky yellow sap. The sap wasn’t slowing them down at all, Renn thought, just making them stick to the ground even better. He fired on the yellow sap with the Splevites gun and saw that Splevites were spiders that would eat the sap and anything that touched it, regardless of whether it was sap or insect. Millipedes ran up the slabs towards them, causing Renn and Desh to keep jumping in the air to another slab.
The millipedes crawled back down and then up another, closer to the fighters.
Renn looked up when Pacus screamed and saw that Ava had written, “Terminated” across her picture.
“Pay attention!” Desh yelled when a millipede bit Renn’s leg.
Renn felt a searing pain, as if stabbed by hundreds of tiny knives. He fired with an electricity blast, blowing the millipede off. To Renn’s horror, the smoking corpse floated nearby, causing him to see the creature’s face and the hundreds of needle-thin teeth bulging from its mouth.
The fighters rested a moment in the empty arena, once Pathalion was gone, to the cheers of the crowd when Ava announced, “Players have advanced to level four.”
“The planet is Thainteen,” Ava announced.
The ground changed to orange sand and they stood in a vast desert against a bright blue sky.
“Fighters, prepare.”
Desh chose a hunting knife as his weapon and a cold water gun, headlamp, and oxygen as his accessories, having Renn choose the same.
“Do you know what happens to sand when lightning hits it?” Desh asked.
“Yeah, it melts it, then when it cools, it’s glass,” Renn replied.
“Exactly,” Desh said. “Just keep that in mind.” He looked up at the scoreboard. “Two hundred more points and we’re back in the lead. We won’t need him for this level, so if you find yourself close enough to take Ulrich out, do it.”
“Okay,” Renn replied, still wondering why he would be hitting the sand with lightning blasts and wondered whether Desh was making a crack at his aim or not.
“The game will begin in five, four, three, two, one,” Ava said.
Renn walked towards Desh, who put up his hand to stop him. “I should warn you,” Desh said, “the sand is…” but before Desh could finish his sentence, Renn fell through the sand, sliding down the desert floor, deeper and deeper into the ground.
He now understood the oxygen, he thought, though still needed Desh to explain the water gun. Renn felt himself falling into an open pocket and then hit solid ground.
“Lamp on,” he commanded, prompting the headlamp to illuminate. He was in an open room with walls made of solid sand. There were tunnels all over, reminding him of an ant farm he once had. He saw white slugs in the walls starting to glow, making their way to the wall surface, getting brighter and brighter.
Renn heard the whoosh of sand in the distance.
Renn? Desh projected. Are you still alive?
Yeah, Renn replied. Where are you?
Desh froze, trying to bite his tongue. Well, I’m in a sandy room.
Renn cringed. Yeah, okay, stupid question.
Do you see white lights? Desh asked.
Yeah, Renn replied, looking at the slugs.
How bright are they?
Bright enough to turn my headlamp off, Renn thought.
Run! Those slugs are showing the Thackers where to find you, Desh projected.
Renn looked around. There were nine tunnels to choose from, each with loose sand trickling from the ceilings.
“Uh…” Renn said, pointing the water gun at each tunnel exit. The tunnels, however, were dark, so he couldn’t see anything further than the lamp would illuminate. He listened for thoughts and heard clicking coming from all over. He heard sand rush one of the tunnels and pointed the gun, firing before he could see what it was.
“Really?” Desh said, wiping his wet face after Renn stopped soaking him with water.
“Oh. Sorry,” Renn said, before getting tackled by a dark brown creature with black eyes, and six hairy legs.
Desh stabbed it in the stomach and then dragged the blade up to its neck. He pulled the knife out, allowing the Thacker to drop to the ground.
More Thackers ran through all nine tunnels, charging them.
Desh stabbed furiously at the creatures, pushing a couple through one of the tunnels, as Renn fired electricity blasts from behind.
When they got through to another room, Renn’s blasts had caused the sand in the tunnel to concave, blocking that entrance.
Desh finished stabbing the remaining Thackers he had pushed through the tunnel while the glow slugs illuminated their room.
“Blast the tunnels,” Desh said, firing a blast into one entrance. It melted the sand as more sand fell, and he sprayed it with water, cooling it off, and turning it to glass. He then fired again, while more sand fell, closing off the passageway.
Renn did the same as the room illuminated with white light. By the time they were down to four tunnels, the Thackers were on them, running through each of the tunnels.
Renn and Desh stood back-to-back, firing at the Thackers, able to keep up with the amount — each fighter having to only deal with two tunnels apiece. They continued for another minute, until the Thackers disappeared, and the desert receded into the white arena floor.
The crowd stood up, screaming their cheers, excited that three players had made it to level five.
“Three?” Renn said, surprised that Ulrich had made it through that level. Renn didn’t think anyone could have survived that alone, even a strong Zeanup. He would stay impressed until he would later find out from Dylan that Ulrich had frozen when he saw Renn and Desh fall through the ground. He had requested oxygen, following Desh’s lead, but still didn’t think he would survive it, so he waited out the five minutes, unmoving in the hot desert sun.
Renn looked up to the scoreboard and saw they were now ahead by 1050 points.
“Players have advanced to level five,” Ava said.
Renn and Desh looked at each other, grinning. It didn’t matter if they only lasted a second; they were the first team of First Years to make it to the final level.
“The planet is Agrona,” Ava announced.
The crowd oohed and ahhed when black lava mountains surrounded the fighters. Dark gray mounds of wax-like hives rose from the ground and the sky filled with thick black smoke.
“Fighters, prepare.”
“Agrona,” Desh mumbled to himself, then looked at Renn. “We're going to have to fight Tix. Ava, eliminate pain.”
“Pain eliminated,” Ava complied.
Renn looked up to see the points deducted. They were now only 50 points ahead of the other team. He looked over at Ulrich, who smirked at throwing away 1,000 points.
“Really?” Renn said, looking at Desh.
“Yeah, really,” Desh replied.
It was a rather pessimistic command, Renn thought. They could have always turned the pain off later.
Desh sighed. “Renn, there’s no way to prepare you for what’s about to come at us. When the boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he looks under his bed for Tix. Agrona is always dark and Tix are covered in black scales, so they blend in with their background, whether coming from the sky or walking on the ground. They have flesh-covered wings, webbed hands, and webbed feet, tipped with sharp claws. They have yellow jagged teeth and will come at us in a swarm. When they catch us, they’ll rip us to pieces because they’re going to fight over the meat. Just try to stay alive as long as you can and remind yourself this will be over soon,” Desh said.
“
Fighters, choose your weapons,” Ava beaconed.
“Should we use the ants?” Renn asked. “That worked pretty well.”
“No, Tix fly, so ants are useless. Just follow my lead…and don't touch the oozing mounds. They're full of acid,” Desh said.
“Good to know,” Renn replied.
Renn’s anxiety increased, waiting for Desh to choose a weapon or accessory, anything, but Desh just stood there. Renn thought about asking again, but refrained, having already second-guessed him about the pain elimination.
Dylan, Lux, and Leo watched from the stands.
“Wow, that's brave,” Dylan said, looking up at the scoreboard to see what weapons the fighters had chosen. “They can choose up to three weapons apiece and they're choosing to fight with their hands on a Class Five planet.”
“That’s so hot,” Lux said, grinning.
“The game will begin in five, four, three, two, one.” On “one,” the lights went out and a strong wind rushed through the stands, ruffling the hair of the students as it made its way to the battlefield through the darkness. The only light sources were the blue-lit palms of the Mindeerians and the faint glow of the hives oozing an illuminated yellow slime.
I can’t see anything, Renn projected.
Desh fired lightning at some of the hives, igniting them to create a steady fire that was fueled by the sap. The large acidic insects inside the hives screamed while they burned.
Desh and Renn got back-to-back, leaving Ulrich alone.
Ulrich backed himself up against a cliff, holding a large laser machine gun in each hand, pointing them towards the sky.
Renn and Desh put up their hands while the sound of dozens of wings flapping neared. Desh fired lightning in the air, illuminating the sky, revealing dozens of black Tix heading straight for them. Renn fired over and over, igniting the Tix and dodging their bodies as they fell to the ground.
“Stay with me!” Desh yelled, when they became separated from dodging the dead Tix.
Renn and Desh continued firing, but the Tix kept coming. They're getting too close, Renn projected.
Push them back, then fire again, Desh replied. He created a wall of energy, pushing the Tix back twenty feet, then released the wall and fired again.
Renn watched and then duplicated the process, over and over. Push them back, fire, push them back, fire; the wall of Tix getting thicker and thicker as they kept coming.
Ulrich continued firing a barrage of laser blasts into the air but was attacked by a Tix that had crawled down the side of the mountain above him. The creature bit off an arm and flew away before the swarm attacked. It had come so suddenly that he hadn’t had time to eliminate the pain and cried out in agony when the Tix ripped his body to pieces with their teeth and claws.
With Ulrich now gone, the Tix focused their numbers on Renn and Desh. The Tix would soon overwhelm them and Renn was grateful that Desh had already eliminated the pain. He glanced at the scoreboard through the smoke and saw that despite feeling like they had been there for hours, only three minutes had passed. He kept firing, not wanting to be torn apart, whether he could feel it or not. His heart raced and his skin felt warm, as fear took over.
He looked around frantically, then saw one of the Tix’s dead bodies had fallen into a hive of acid and burned.
Acid, Renn projected.
What?
Renn planted images in the Tix’s minds that fresh meat was hiding in the hives. They dove for the hives to get to the food, and burned from the acid in a cloud of smoke. More Tix came, pushing the dead bodies aside in an attempt to get to the fresh meat they were sure was there.
Desh watched Renn’s projections and laughed. “Good, Brother!” Desh shouted through the chaos. He followed Renn’s strategy and the number of Tix they had to fight dwindled as half were going for them and the other half for the hives.
The clock was almost up and the students counted down the remaining time, yelling, “Five, four, three, two, one!”
The Tix disappeared and the black sky melted away, letting the light back in. Renn and Desh stood there, trying to adjust to the light and let it sink in that they were back in the arena, safe aboard the Galileo.
“What happens next?” Leo asked, looking around.
“I don't know. I’ve never seen anyone get this far,” Dylan replied.
“Fighters have won the game,” Ava announced.
The crowd broke out into a frenzy, screaming and stamping their feet.
Renn and Desh turned to each other, grinning. They shook hands, both excited at their win.
“Fought like a true Mindeerian,” Desh said, making Renn beam with pride.
All of Renn and Desh’s friends ran down to the holding tank and Lux ran up to Renn and hugged him.
Desh looked away like he had just been punched in the stomach and walked towards the exit.
Renn watched him, frowning, and looked over at Lux, who had noticed too.
“I got it,” Lux said to Renn, running after Desh. “Hey,” she said, turning him around by a pull of his uniform.
“What?” Desh snapped.
Lux lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, whispering in his ear, “You were great.”
Her warm breath in his ear made his hands illuminate through the clear cloth of the Mindeerian gloves and Desh clenched his fingers, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
When Lux released him, Desh stepped back, blushing. “Thanks,” he said, trying to hide a smile.
She tugged on his battle suit. “Come on, you're going to celebrate with us.”
“Uh…well…I…” Desh stuttered.
“That wasn't a question,” Lux said, with a puckish grin. “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the group. Desh surrendered, following her to join the others.
They all walked to the observation deck, finding it empty that night, while the other students had ignored the room for the lack of scenery.
Leo shuffled and fidgeted, unable to start a conversation as easily as the others and wandered over to Joss and Kia as the two sparred.
“It’s called Paugo Krav Maga,” Joss said, as her foot rose into the air, blocked and countered by Kia.
“I thought Temian soldiers fought with Krav Maga. What’s Paugo?” Kia asked.
“Paugo compensates for the braces. Like, if you’re just fighting by hand, a human can’t exactly pick up a hovercraft and throw it at you.”
“Good point,” Kia replied.
“Hey, maybe we could team up some time in a BOTS game,” Kia said.
“Yeah, that sounds cool,” Joss replied, attempting to hide a smile.
As Leo had zero interest in practicing how to kill, he walked over to Dylan and Etienne, who were already deep in conversation.
“First day we got here, I found out I was supposed to be rooming with a couple Janiuns, Sargus 29, and the Zorgre brothers,” Etienne said.
“Wait, I thought you were rooming with Desh and Kia,” Dylan said.
“I am.”
“Did you ask Tom to reassign you or something?” Dylan asked.
“No…I kind of changed the rooming assignments myself,” Etienne replied with a sly grin.
“Oh my gawd, you hacked Ava!” Dylan said.
“Shhhh,” Etienne said looking around. “I’m not proud of it, but I didn’t want to spend the next four years with a couple of Zorgres, who constantly fart in their sleep by the way, instead of rooming with my friends…”
Leo got up, trying to distance himself from the admission of a felony as quickly as he could and walked over to sit next to Desh, who hung on Lux’s every word.
“I didn’t tell my dad I applied to the Galileo,” Lux told Desh. “So, one day, I got home from school and he’s just sitting there on the couch, holding the acceptance letter.”
“What did he say?” Desh asked.
“Nothing,” she replied. “It was horrible. I tried to explain why I didn’t want to go to school on Temin, but he ju
st sat there, staring at me with this look on his face like I had just ripped out his heart or something. Then he got up and walked out.”
“How long until he started talking to you again?” Desh asked.
“I’m still waiting,” Lux replied.
Leo got up to avoid crying and walked over to Renn and Meta, but stopped short when he saw them whispering and holding hands. He looked around, feeling a little lost, and stared out the window until Joss called him back over to join in on a discussion about the BOTS game they had just played.
Leo smiled, grateful that she and Kia had stopped sparring and were now discussing a topic he could be included in. He walked back over and sat down next to them, enjoying being part of the conversation.
As time when on, however, Desh appeared more and more distracted. He continued glancing at Meta and Renn, who were now inching closer and closer to each other.
They all talked until their sleep regulators chirped, giving each other hugs and handshakes before leaving for their dorm rooms.
CHAPTER 16
Burlia
“Meta, you’re up,” Professor Nicita said, motioning Meta to the front of the class to give her English speech.
Meta gave a nervous jolt and looked over at Renn, who smiled and winked at her. She walked to the front of the class and began reading aloud. “When I was seven, there was an area near where I live, called Green Rapid Falls. The last war had ended fifty years before and the land had begun to regrow with thick green grass. When the city re-opened the area up to the public, my family and I went to have a picnic near the waterfall.
“There were a lot of people there that day, but it was the family of Talelle that I will always remember. They had moved to our village the week before and came by the waterfall to have a picnic of their own. No one had ever heard of their species and didn't know whether they were friendly or not, so when they tried to sit down near the other families, the humans tried to shoo them away.
“The Talelle kids wanted to play with the human kids, but the human kids threw rocks at them out of fear. The Talelle family moved their picnic further away from the humans, trying to enjoy the waterfall and their time together as a family.
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