by Jason Letts
“I thought your father was with you?” Jeana asked when Mira slipped in through the sliding glass door.
“He’s coming. Don’t worry.”
They looked back through the glass pane at Kevin, who jogged like a wounded dog. Sweat drenched his shirt, his face was red, and he gasped for breath.
“I let you win. Trying to build up your confidence for the weekend,” he said, collapsing onto the floor.
“Thanks,” Mira said. “I’ll need all the confidence I can get.”
“You’ll be fine,” Jeana said. “Just remember there is a time to fight and a time to run.”
“Oh! Speaking of time, I have to go meet Chucky.”
Mira grabbed a bulky bag and went down to the outpost. She saw Chucky standing in the marketplace. He held the jar full of goopy jelly.
“I hope it wasn’t too difficult to do,” Mira said.
“Not at all. I’ve got to start getting myself into better shape anyway. It helps to have a plan of attack.”
“Yes,” Mira agreed. “And this should help as well.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver helmet. Dings speckled the surface, but it looked like it would fit. She even glued some padding on the inside and around the edges so it wouldn’t rub.
“I think you’re going to turn some heads this weekend,” she said, handing the helmet to him.
“And now I might even avoid cracking open my own in the process,” he said. “Here. I hope this stuff does whatever you need it to. Most often it ends up just getting in the way.”
She took the jar and held it up to her eyes. She felt confident it would do what she needed it to.
Chucky looked like he had something else he wanted to say, but nothing would come out. “Good luck,” he said at last. He pursed his lips and kicked his foot against the dirt. Wishing her luck must not have been the thing he really wanted to say.
“Thanks, you too,” she said.
Chucky watched her walk through the crowd and out of the gate.
Long bouts of optimism and despair took turns overwhelming Mira in the coming days. She couldn’t stop wondering about how it would all play out. She tried to anticipate the options, but they were countless. No matter how many plans she prepared, she knew the entire trial would come down to split-second decisions that could never be planned for ahead of time.
Running through the woods, she’d swung by the schoolhouse, hoping to see some of her classmates training. However, the schoolhouse and the clearing around it were silent and still. Other than Chucky, she hadn’t seen any of them over the past few days. She wondered what plans they’d prepared, and if those plans would disrupt her own.
Her jitters increased as the last day dragged on. Jeana urged her to relax, to do something fun to get her mind off it, but Mira couldn’t stop checking and testing her equipment. The fear that it wouldn’t work perfectly kept her in the basement long after the sun had gone down.
“You’re not going to get enough sleep for tomorrow,” Jeana said.
“If left to myself, I probably wouldn’t sleep at all,” she said, setting everything down so it would be ready in the morning. She still had the static charger on her arm, deciding not to remove it when her mother convinced her to get some sleep.
“Then I’ll happily intervene,” Jeana said when Mira finally came up the stairs. She watched her daughter get into bed. Her clothes were dirty and oily, but Jeana decided to let it go. Kevin came over from across the hall.
“I feel like the whole world hinges on tomorrow,” Mira whispered.
“The world will be much the same this time tomorrow as it is right now,” Kevin said.
“Can’t I have it though? Can’t I just have one thing in this life? I want to win so badly. What could ever become of me if I don’t?”
“You can’t see it now because you’re so tired, but you can still be successful even if you don’t win tomorrow. There are only a few things that stand in your way, and tomorrow’s trial is not among them,” Jeana said.
“And, besides,” Kevin added, “do you remember the last time you wanted something like this? Tomorrow’s trial is another wall of clouds, and there’s no telling if you’ll like what’s on the other side.”
“Wait a minute. Did you just contradict me?” Jeana asked. “There’s only one thing she’ll find on the other side. Success.”
Kevin puffed out his cheeks.
“Who’s to say that she can’t have both, success and the unexpected?”
“OK, Mira. Either way, we have you marked down for success. You better not disappoint us. In the long run, I mean, don’t disappoint us. Don’t worry about tomorrow.”
Mira laughed at her parents’ squabbling.
“Good night,” Kevin said.
“Good night,” Mira said.
Jeana leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, and when she pulled back Mira was already fast asleep.
Chapter 13: The Final Trial
The dawn gave light to the gathering assembled on a dewy meadow. A cloaked man stood tall, facing the battleground with authority. Thick fabric shielded his eyes from the light. The sounds, however, were enough.
Fifteen students, all wearing the uniform, formed a line to his left. From Jeremy, who stood closest to Corey, all the way down to Vern, they stared out at the grounds before them. In a moment, they would take to these fields and match their strength to their monumental hope. Though their hearts beat wildly, resolve and determination checked their expressions.
Mira stood seventh in line. The importance of this moment weighed so deeply in the air that she felt she could reach out and grasp it. She wore the static charger on her left arm and held the mechanical bird in the other, but these items did not seem out of place. Several other students brought items with them as well. Standing to her right, Chucky wore his shiny helmet. Dot carried a sack filled with stones. Rowland gripped a large metallic shield. Vern only carried a snotty rag in his hands. To these students, nothing else existed except the challenge before them.
Their parents and siblings stood behind them, anxious. Some prayed, some watched attentively, and some little ones snoozed on the ground. Jeana and Kevin stood with smiles on their faces. Neither thought they would ever get to experience this. Their daughter absorbed their attention to such a degree that no one else seemed present.
To Corey’s right, the students of all nine other grades in Dustfalls Academy sat in rows and waited for the proceedings to start. They stared in awe and wonder. Many of the teachers present had known the seniors from previous years. Fortst wandered amongst the crowd, giving approving nods to the parents.
“Who you think’s gonna win?” he asked Natalie.
“The most likely winner will be Roselyn. She is the most powerful. No one else could walk out there and put everybody down at once like she can.”
Fortst nodded and moved on. A good show would reflect well on his work as a teacher.
All eyes looked to Corey to begin. When he spoke, his words thundered through the air and rang sharp in every ear.
“We will now commence with the Final Trial for Dustfalls Academy, senior year, and bear witness to the one who will henceforth and forever be known as their leader. Said leader will be declared after all others have been forced onto their torsos, and thus eliminated. Candidates will enter the grounds in one-minute intervals. They are free to use any and all means at their disposal. Lastly, once the trial begins, it will not stop until a winner is declared.”
The seniors took a deep breath, embracing the moment that had finally come.
“When I speak your name, that’s when you step out onto the field,” Corey said in a quieter voice so that only the students could hear. Jeremy cast a sidelong glance at the old man, waiting for his cue. Intensity exuded from his face, a hunger that could not be denied.
“And so it begins, Jeremy,” Corey declared so that all could hear.
Jeremy would spend one minute all alone on the field. He stepped out nea
r the forest’s edge. A few students glared at him, particularly those he sabotaged from the Team Trial. As he strode out, the buzzing in the trees grew louder and more discomforting. In the same moment that he turned to face the crowd with a malicious smile on his face, a massive swarm of insects descended from the trees and swirled around him. The wave of biting flies, mosquitoes, bees, flying beetles, gnats, wasps, and moths shocked his classmates and left their jaws hanging open.
“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” he said with a menacing laugh. “I’ve hidden the extent of my power from you all these years, and now I’m going to use it to wipe you all out, one by one. You’ll all be beneath me, right where you belong.”
His hateful voice carried over the eerie buzzing. He stood there, waiting for his first victim, while the circling swarm made him nearly invisible. Mary’s face went pale, and she wobbled on her feet. Corey would call her in any second, and then she would face an opponent more daunting than she could have ever imagined.
“Mary,” Corey said, and she took a tiny step forward. Her head jerked around, but there was nowhere to run, no way to fight back. All at once, the cloud of insects changed direction and flew at her. Her eyes widened in terror at the approaching swarm.
“I quit! I quit! I quit!” she screamed, diving onto the ground. She covered her face with her hands, but the flying menace returned to Jeremy as soon as she spoke. He laughed loudly.
“Pathetic, but it won’t be any different for the rest of you,” he said.
Mary got up and lurched toward her parents. She collapsed at their feet, sobbing hysterically.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she cried.
“Who’s next?” Jeremy taunted, the buzzing carried his voice and distorted it into something monstrous.
Will clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He breathed heavily through his nose, causing the grass on the ground to twitch and sway.
“I’m going to pay you back for all of it. All of the torment and all of the pain. I’m giving it all back,” Will said through his teeth. Jeremy laughed, and the wave of flies seemed to laugh with him. Only Jeremy’s eyes were visible through the sheet of insects, and the two locked gazes.
“Will,” Corey announced.
Instantly, Will broke from the line and ran diagonally toward the edge of the forest. He turned to face the incoming deluge of insects and expelled a forceful gust that blew the swarm back into Jeremy’s face. Jeremy dug his heels in and leaned into the wind. But soon the thick cloud of bugs spread out and attacked Will from all directions. Beetles, centipedes, and spiders emerged from the ground and crawled onto his feet.
Will dashed into the woods. The insects followed him, as did Jeremy.
“There is no escape!” he hollered.
And just like that, they had disappeared into the woods. Most of the buzzing had stopped, and the crowd had nothing left to watch except for the evaporating mist.
“Roselyn,” Corey said.
Calmly and confidently, she began walking straight into the forest. Fearless and composed, she left the crowd behind. A simple melody sprang from her lips, and its sound hung in the air after she disappeared among the trees.
Mira and Chucky looked at each other. It was almost their time.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
She looked up at him, strands of his hair poking out from under the helmet, and she saw a sympathetic face.
“Yes, but nerves are good. It means I care,” she said.
“What did you do to your shoes?” he asked, looking down at them. She’d obviously modified them, but the purpose was unclear.
“So what if I care enough to look good. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Gerald,” Corey said.
The shifty, nervous boy trotted out into the forest to look for a hiding spot.
“Looks like I’m next,” Chucky said, exhaling. He wiped the oil on his arms onto his chest.
“What’s your plan?” Mira asked.
“I’m thinking about playing dead,” he said, and Mira laughed.
“Well I won’t give you away,” she said.
“No, you wouldn’t.”
Chucky swallowed and looked back at his parents.
“Chucky,” Corey said.
He jogged into the woods, and suddenly Mira was next. She looked at Rowland over the spiky, metal shield between them, but he didn’t return her glance. She turned to gaze back at her parents, and they gave her a hopeful nod.
Just then, Gerald emerged from the forest. Sulking and with his head low, he dragged his feet back to the crowd. As he walked by Mira, she saw that every inch of his skin was covered in red marks. It looked painful, and it reminded her there would never be a moment without something threatening her. But she was ready for it. Mira pursed her lips and willed Corey to send her in. She couldn’t wait any longer.
“Mira,” Corey bellowed, and she took off running to the right, past the younger students and along the forest’s edge. Jeana and Kevin cheered for her.
Mira ducked into the forest, and sprinted as fast as she could with the bulky and weighty metal bird in her arm. Dodging around the trees, she constantly swiveled her head, scanning the layout of the woods and trying to sense anyone nearby.
She saw a space between the trees with open sky above, and she set her bird down in the middle of it. She tied a wire around a tree, knotted the other end around another tree, and thus formed a perimeter against the area where the other students seemed to go. She flipped on her static charger, which made a low, subtle hum, and she carried the bird’s controller feet in her hands.
She knew she had to keep moving. The forest all around her seemed alive. The sounds of yelling and fighting came from all directions. But she fought through her fear and went on.
Vern watched Kurt, Sophie, and Dot enter the competition. He kept expecting the defeated to trickle out of the forest, crying and wailing, but each moment brought him disappointment. It soon became clear that entering last would not be the free ride he thought it would be. A battle raged inside that forest, and there was no way he could avoid it.
Vern heard the sound of his name ripple through the crisp morning air, and he took a few steps in before turning to address the crowd.
“I’ll show you all what a champion is.”
He jogged into the forest. He heard Aoi thrashing through the woods off to the right, but he didn’t want to pursue her yet, in case someone else could knock her out for him. Instead, he positioned himself along the edge of a raging battle.
Dot and Will dueled in a meadow under overhanging tree branches. Will kept trying to approach her, but she kept forcing him back. She pitched a stone at his kneecap, and watched him blow it to the ground. She launched one high in the air, through the branches, that disappeared from sight. She then threw one at his stomach, but when he blew it down it hit his kneecap, causing him to fall onto one knee. Just then, a stone fell from the sky and struck his head. He yelped in pain.
Dot wound up for the knockout blow, a shot to the chest that would knock him over. She swung her arm as hard as she could and released the stone. It sailed at him through the air, and then veered right, just missing his shoulder. She gasped, surprised, and then fled into the trees before Vern could get a lock on her.
“Thanks,” Will said, trying to get up. “But I can barely walk.”
“Well you better do something,” Vern said as he ran by.
Kurt quietly crept among the trees, trying to stay low and out of sight. There were only a few of his classmates he felt capable of defeating one on one, so he bided his time until he saw an opportunity. Peeking through the fern, he saw Sophie kneeling down to tie her shoe. As long as he approached her from behind, he would have no problem eliminating her.
He prepared to run at her, but with his first step he heard a rustling to his left. Aoi burst from behind a tree, and Kurt changed course and began to sprint away.
“Sucker,” Sophie said as Kurt ran. He sp
rinted as fast as he could with Aoi on his tail. “Get tired, get tired,” he kept saying to her. He hurdled over roots and weaved between the trees, hoping to lose her and buy himself more time. She gained on him rapidly.
Hearing some noise in the distance, he swerved toward it, thinking that anything could happen if other people were involved. They came upon Dennis and Andrew, who circled each other, trying to wrestle the other to the ground. Kurt cut right between them, with Aoi just behind. Without slowing her pace, Aoi lowered her shoulder and plowed right into Andrew, sending him flying. He smacked into the ground with a thud.
Kurt looked over his shoulder to check his lead. He didn’t see her, but then she jumped onto his back. Her weight knocked him off balance, and she reached under his arms to pull them back. He fell forward, sliding onto the ground with his face against the dirt.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said, climbing off him.
Sophie sidled away from the clearing and hid behind a tree while she waited for Aoi to return. Peeking around the side, she looked to see if anyone would follow Kurt into her trap. The sound of twigs snapping came from across the clearing, and then she heard ferns swaying just behind her.
“OK, so same thing? I think I hear someone coming,” she said to Aoi.
“You’re right about that,” a deep, burly voice said.
Petrified, Sophie turned to see Dennis right behind her. His massive body shut out the forest. He snatched her up in an instant, putting one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth.
“Shhh. Just relax. It’s almost over,” he whispered, slowly lowering her down to the ground.
“Sorry, Soph. That’s the end for you,” he said after he set her down. She looked at him angrily, then got up to return to the start. She walked out into the clearing, and Rowland jumped out to meet her. He started to come at her, but she snapped at him.
