Flag Race

by Felipe Valente

  Ace’s return to the base was uneventful. The siren sounded, and the huge scoreboard showed: “1-0”. No sign of the other mannequin. Starting on to his next goal, he soon saw that the blue foe he’d blown to bits was now hot on his track, quickly pursuing him on an also blue motorcycle. Ace was speeding up more and more as he realized his opponent was doing the same. They held a stable distance between each other until they were almost at the end of the game line, when the dummy decided to hit the gas full throttle ahead.

  Going at such a speed, Ace knew he’d need to seriously focus to be able to stop, but he believed he could do it right in front of the flag on a sharp turn. He needed to find a way to lose the mannequin. Looking behind, he saw it was beginning to spin metal boleadoras high above its head.

  Ace didn’t think twice; he concentrated, and the whole game line ahead of him was turned into ice. His roller blades immediately adjusted to his needs, switching its wheels for ice-skating blades. He made the sharpest turn he could, ducking as he was sliding. He heard the thrown boleadoras whistling a handbreadth above his head. The mannequin had no time to react. It tried braking in vain and started skidding on the ice. The dummy and its vehicle skidded all the way down the court’s ledge, while Ace captured the second flag.

  Coming back to the base once again, his roller blades now returned to their original state, he checked his Neurolink: 80%. Perfect! There was still plenty of energy to expend.

  “2-0” appeared on the huge screens above the stadium.

  “So soon?” Ace loved the tone in Mary’s voice as she asked him. He was doing a good job. She added, “Great! I already took care of the other one. It was easy to bait it on its own rocket. I’m almost arriving at the flag from the right! Where are you?”

  “Coming back to the center of the court, to lend you a hand!”

  “Stay right there, then! Let’s switch! Let me get this flag while you cover me!”

  Ace agreed, but the idea scared him. Would he be able to properly perform the Molder role? Mary had protected him from countless bullets and a rocket. He’d have to get it right if he wanted to return the favor! Soon, he realized, he would have such an opportunity. A war chopper with the two mannequins in it started to come out of the blue base heading straight to the center of the court.

  Through his Neurolink he could see Mary already had the flag. She would be returning to the center of the court in no time. Meanwhile, Ace had to find a way to handle the helicopter.

  The mannequins seemed to know they were losing hard, so they’d started to spend all the virtual stability they still had to keep their last flag from being captured. All of the chopper’s guns were fired at once, targeting Ace. They’d have time to catch Mary once she arrived.

  The boy barely had time to react. With so many of those rockets and projectiles coming toward him, all he could do was to try to zigzag away in the opposite direction, leading them toward the red base.

  It’s all going wrong! This way they’re gonna stand right in Mary’s way! Explosions started appearing all around him, from the rockets. He felt a sharp pain when a bullet pierced his armor, striking his right shoulder.

  Though Ace knew the blood now running from his wound was virtual, he couldn’t keep himself from freaking out, which further caused his stability to drop. If he could control his mind and convince himself none of that was real, even the intense pain invading him could be controlled.

  The dummies’ plan seemed to be working. Ace was running away without any time to fight back, and as soon as he was defeated they’d be in perfect position to keep the girl from placing the flag at the pedestal.

  Holding tight to his wounded shoulder, Ace tried attacking the chopper, in vain. He shot forth lightning from his hands and fired a few shots from a pistol he produced, but nothing could affect the war machine.

  I’m still full of stability! 60%! Come on! We’re almost there! I’ve got to do something!

  Above his shoulder, through all the explosions and bullets zipping around, Ace could see Mary arriving to the center of the court. He wasn’t willing to embarrass himself now. Not with all that stability still remaining. Better to spend it trying to resist than being defeated without putting up a fight.

  He turned around and started sliding backwards, facing the chopper and focusing his attention on it and its two pilots. With a roar, he lifted up his hands.

  A cyclone quickly began to form ahead of him. It gained more and more strength and intensity, faster and faster, until it managed to trap the aircraft’s own shots in its speeding winds. Ace didn’t know if the mannequins could feel fear, but if they could, they should surely be utterly terrified right now.

  There was no escape. Despite their efforts, the dummies couldn’t keep the chopper out of the tornado. The winds engulfed it and made it lose its lift. Its tail was ripped right out and the chopper was soon spinning around on all directions.

  Ace then dissipated the phenomenon just as swiftly as it had appeared, causing the machine to be tossed far away, toward the emptiness that surrounded the court.

  Mary came to his side.

  “Wow, Ace, you wrecked them both at once! Very n—” She grimaced. “Uhm... We’ll continue once you’re back together, OK?”

  It took Ace a while to understand what she’d meant, until he looked at his own body. He’d been shot with several other bullets on his chest. As soon as he realized it, he fainted.

  About a minute later, Ace was back in the game. During this time, he had the feeling of trying to wake up from a repeating dream, going in and out of senseless delirium. When he finally returned to consciousness, he had the same sensation he’d had when he entered the HUB for the first time: a zoom effect dispersed at all directions making him “fall” next to the center of the court.

  Sliding as fast as he could down to their base, he checked his Neurolink: 30%! He was happy to see that, even though he’d created a typhoon and been disintegrated, his stability dropped less than when he was struck by Bobby. His mind was beginning to have an easier time accepting all the madness that went around in Flag Race.

  In a moment he was drawing near Mary, who now had very straight light green hair, as she held the flag a few inches above the pedestal.

  “Oh, you’re back! I was waiting for you!” She stuck the banner in.

  “3-0,” said the gigantic scoreboards above their heads, followed by the signs that said “VICTORY” and “Red team wins!” The whole court was flooded in red. Fireworks appeared in the virtual sky, and a cheerful fanfare played, coming from all directions, while glowing confetti fell on their heads.

  Mary drew near and they congratulated each other, high-fiving in the air.

  “We did it!” Ace exclaimed. “And we didn’t even lose a single flag to them!”

  “That’s true! Even on easy mode, it’s hard to score three to zero!”

  Easy mode!? What do you mean, easy mode!? Ace was speechless. He’d finished the match at a mere 30% stability. If this was on easy, then I’d probably have been disconnected already on medium or hard! he figured.

  As she realized his desolation, Mary’s hair grew curly and blue-colored. She added, “Hey! I didn’t mean to dispirit you! I just said it’s not easy scoring three to zero! And we didn’t even have a game plan before we started!” Ace forced a half-smile. She gave him a little shove. “Quit making that face, come on! Let’s go out for a chat on the server!”

  Now, sitting at their table, Mary started, “It was really cool of you that you used a good variety of attacks, Ace. Most people tend to get trapped with a single style. I thought you were gonna use only weapons and abilities from Star Effect.”

  Ace was surprised. “You know the series?”

  He already had a soft spot for the girl with the color-shifting hair, but hearing she’d also read his favorite book made him even more excited.

  “Of course I do! I’m just getting to the end of the second book, so no spoilers, please! I think it was really cool you based your a
vatar on Ace.”

  “Oh, thank you! I’m sorry, but I don’t know who it was that you had in mind when you made yours... but it’s really cool that your hair changes color.” And as he said those words it did precisely that, immediately taking on a pinkish hue.

  “I don’t know it either!” she laughed, while trying to find a way to stop her hair from showing she was flattered. She tried changing the subject. “I said it was cool that you’re versatile because, even though I’m a Molder, I myself usually end up always using the same ideas, you know? Force fields, space-time bubbles, portals... I’ve been using less and less stability to make them, so there’s that, at least, but I wish I had a mind as creative as yours.”

  They chatted excitedly for a few more minutes. Mary’s pink hair was still revealing she was enjoying the conversation, while Ace did the same with his eyes.

  Suddenly both of them felt as if they were being watched. Getting used to that sensation, Ace checked his Neurolink. Kerah wanted to talk to them. Communication was accepted.

  “At last, I’m inline at the same time as you two! I missed you both already! So, have you began your training?”

  “We’ve already scored three to nil against the CPU, my darling!” Mary answered. “I’m sending you the video right now.”

  “Whoa!” She added her comments as she watched the video projected on her Neurolink. “Really nice going, Ace! And... Oh, I liked what you did with missile, Mary!... Oh, my! A tornado!”

  Ace and Mary laughed while she narrated the match they’d just played. When she seemed to be through with the match’s summary, Kerah went on. “Listen, I have to do some things inline here, but we should settle it right now: how about we all schedule practice for tomorrow at this very same hour? I’ve spoken with everybody else and we’re all free at this time tomorrow.”

  Ace tightened his lips. Mary’s hair was taken by a pale yellow hue.

  Ace was dying to see the moment when he’d finally get to play with the whole team, but he was afraid of what could happen in real life. Training again at this same hour meant getting inline past midnight at least once more. He knew, however, that if this happened to be one of the best hours for the team, it would be like this again many other times. He feared the consequences this could have on his daily life.

  On the other hand, there was no other way he’d get to enjoy the virtual world with his new friends all together. At least it was a schedule that gave him little risk of his family catching him lying motionless browsing the Neuralnet.

  “Of course, Kerah!” he answered. “I think the sooner we play together the better, right?”

  “Great!... And you, Mary?”

  “Well, I... Oh, you know what? I think that’s the best, all right! We’ll see each other tomorrow at the this same time then!”

  “Great! See you tomorrow. Oh, and don’t forget to follow the Neuralnet world schedule. Don’t get the time zones mixed up.”

  Communication was terminated. Mary’s hair color slowly came back to its greenish hue. The two remained a few seconds stuck in their own thoughts before they agreed it’d be best for them to log out soon. Ace thanked her for a great match, and Mary replied that the pleasure was all hers.

  Falling backwards back into his own body, Pedro looked to his side discreetly, to his brothers’ beds. They were still sound asleep. Satisfied, he noticed this time it hadn’t taken him long to realize he’d returned to reality. He put away his precious Neurolink in silence, then went back to bed and, as he fell asleep, he dreamed of the beautiful Mary, with her captivating green eyes and mutant hair.

  The following day in school he was feeling guilty for being so impressed with Mary. It was as if, in his mind, she was about to replace Letícia in her role as his future girlfriend. He tried to remind himself how ridiculous this reasoning was; after all, he had yet to kiss Letícia, and all he’d done with Mary was practice a Flag Race match with her. Even so, imagining that his future could be happier with Mary instead of Letícia made him feel embarrassed and confused.

  He realized that all he’d seen of Mary so far was nothing but a virtual projection. But he already knew that she also liked Star Effect and that they could have totally fun moments together on the Neuralnet. On the other hand, he had no idea what she looked like in real life and he didn’t even know where she lived. Maybe all the contact they could possibly have was through virtual reality... Could it be that caressing, embracing, or kissing someone virtually would feel as good as in real life?

  Catching a glimpse of Letícia, who was chatting in whispers with Amanda while the teacher went on with the subject, he couldn’t deny that his heart beat harder whenever he saw her. Nor could he deny that her beauty attracted him, despite her lack of color-shifting hair. He recalled the excitement he felt when he saw her blushing at his birthday, as he imagined she liked him...

  Maybe it would be better to leave Letícia for that jerk Thiago and move on with his life with Mary? The girl that he might never kiss (or even touch at all!) in real life? Or would it be better to enjoy his moments with the girl who had always been his friend, who had always been there for him, while keeping Mary in his mind only as his teammate?

  And why the hell did he have to be so square? He figured most guys in his shoes would take advantage of the situation to get both girls. If Letícia couldn’t access the Neuralnet, she would never meet Mary and none of them would know he had two girlfriends. Hell, they didn’t even have to be his girlfriends! He could just have a fling with both of them without commitment.

  But who was he trying to fool? That wasn’t like him. He wanted a real partner and not just a mouth to kiss. If he was going to be with one of them, he expected it to be a serious relationship. And with only one of them as well!

  His daydreams came to an end as he realized the sadness radiating from Daniel, who was checking his broken tablet. It still worked, but the crack spreading over the screen not only made it harder to use it for school assignments, but it also reminded him how he was living in a cruel and unfair world. Neither the principal’s office nor the teachers had given them any closure on the case.

  Though it wasn’t his fault, Pedro also felt responsible. He glared at Thiago’s back from across the classroom. Someday he’d have to pay for what he did. Pedro was indignant as he thought about the way all the girls in class looked up to him even though they knew of all the douchey things he did. Why did so many girls have a soft spot for such a nasty guy? Or was it just because of his looks?

  During the break, Pedro and Luiz tried to cheer Daniel up, unsuccessfully. They did get a minor smile from him, though, when they made arrangements to see The Legends of Keldora – Part VIII on the holotheater the next day.

  In physics class the teacher announced they had to do a group assignment. The students were gathering in their usual groups when, much to their dismay, they were informed that the teacher himself would be the one who would pick the pairs.

  Despite endless protests from the class, the pairs were finally established. Most students were unhappy, except for Pedro and Daniel.

  The teacher had picked Amanda to be Daniel’s partner. Pedro laughed when he realized his friend was getting his usual highly excited mood back. Amanda didn’t even try to hide her displeasure.

  Pedro had gotten lucky too. He’d been paired with Letícia.

  Luiz sighed.

  “I knew it... Just my luck, I didn’t even expect anything else, really...”

  As the names were drawn, he’d been paired with Thiago, who was cracking a huge grin on his face.

  The teacher was explaining that this assignment would account for a large part of the half-term’s grade, and how each pair was supposed to make a presentation with their theme to the class within the next few weeks.

  Pedro’s team was randomly chosen to be one of the first to make their presentation, while his friends were among the last.

  “We need to make a summary of movement types and its equations!” Letícia exclaimed.


  Pedro lifted an eyebrow. “And you’re... excited for that?”

  “Sure! I think it’s gonna be easy and it’s way better than, like, optics!”

  “I didn’t know about this nerdy side of yours!”

  “Oh, well, I get by with physics!” She started getting excited, then she glanced over to Amanda, who seemed to be awfully bored since her partner just wouldn’t stop talking “But I wouldn’t say I’m nerdy!” Letícia didn’t want her girlfriend to put her in the same bag as Pedro, Daniel, and Luiz. Amanda was pretty much her only friend and she didn’t want to be alienated from her, should she begin to show she was close to the least popular people in the class.

  Propping her head up with her elbow on the desk and her hand under her chin, Amanda watched while Daniel explained thermodynamics to her. Amidst his explanations, she couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to jumble up all his words whenever his eyes met with her cleavage. She found it funny and whenever there wasn’t anybody looking she started leaning further and further toward him, and smiled as she saw him lose his train of thought again. Amanda wasn’t paying the least attention to what he was saying, but she felt like she could just keep smiling at him and get him to do all the work for her. Daniel had an idea of what she was planning, but he didn’t care the least.

  Luiz just started writing and doing the whole assignment by himself, while Thiago texted his friends on his tablet, occasionally pretending to be doing work when the teacher passed by. Luiz would rather go and do it all at once than have to chat with the guy who was making his life miserable. As usual, he just sighed and accepted his bad luck.

  As the class went on, Pedro realized how nice it felt to work with Letícia. The ideas they had for the assignment were actually quite similar. There was no arguing. On the contrary, one was constantly finishing the other’s sentences. It was effortless fun. Conversation flowed naturally between them, even though for others it would be hell to deal with the subject they’d been assigned.