by Jason Letts
“I’m already out,” she said, gesturing behind the trees with her eyes. Rowland nodded silently and turned his sights to the cluster of trees. He swept around to the opposite side and got in close, ready to surprise his foe with overwhelming force. Sensing someone nearby, Rowland clutched his shield in front of him and jumped out with a loud yell.
His yell went weak when Dennis stood up, ready to face him. He hammered his fists against the shield and knocked Rowland back into the clearing. Rowland steadied himself and pushed hard from behind his shield into Dennis’s next blow. The two clashed again and again, but Dennis’s greater size and weight gave him the advantage. He forced Rowland back against a tree, searching for a way around the shield to send him to the ground.
Creeping through the woods, Mira saw Dennis’s thrashing assault. Her eyes met Rowland’s. Beads of sweat rolled down his flushed cheeks. She tensed up, remembering the deal she had made to help Rowland. She weighed the risk, swallowed hard, and ran into the clearing.
While Dennis banged away on the shield, Mira snuck up behind him and lowered herself onto her hands and knees. Setting the remote controls down, she reached her left arm out to a bare spot on his leg. A tiny blue bolt of electricity shot between them.
“Ouch!” Dennis yelped. He looked back behind him, and in that instant Rowland surged forward. He pushed Dennis back, causing him to fall on his back. Mira quickly got to her feet and started to run off. She turned back to look at Rowland.
“Even,” she said, and he nodded back. They both disappeared into the forest, heading in separate directions. Mira hustled around the trees and through the leaves, catching a bug in her hand. She stopped cold and began to turn back when a voice startled her.
“I’m surprised you made it this far. At least you can say you weren’t last this time,” Vern said, stepping around from behind a tree. “But now it’s all over. I knew I’d find you if I just waited long enough.”
Mira kept strolling toward him. “Well you waited too long, because I’m already out,” she snapped. Vern cleared his throat and wiped his nose.
“Of course you are. We both knew those showy speeches and clever facts would never get you to the end. It was never a question,” he said.
“I guess the only question left is if you make it to the end,” she said, sticking her finger out and zapping him in the chest. “It might help if you have a fly swatter.”
She held out the dead fly to him and strolled into the bush. Careful not to arouse his suspicion, Mira tiptoed away and then broke into a full run. She wiped her brow, relieved.
Entering the area, Vern swatted at a fly in front of him. He ran away at full speed as the buzzing swarm moved toward him.
Jeremy swept in behind Vern with his army of flying beasts. Since he couldn’t get his insects to quiet down, everyone was able to steer clear of him. Still, he took comfort in knowing that sooner or later they would have to come to him.
He picked at the bark on a tree and waited, watching the shifting the wall around him. Humming along with the buzzing, he leaned against the tree and began to relax a little. The flies spun round and round to the same tune, and he tried to see if they went faster or slower along with the sound, but it was impossible to tell.
A smile came to his face, and that smile grew as the wall of flies thinned and parted. Jeremy saw a beautiful face through it. Blonde curls framed her lovely expression. She made his heart ache. The flies dispersed completely, but Jeremy didn’t move or change his dazed expression. He just kept his eyes on Roselyn’s lips and the simple melody that his ears guzzled.
“I love you,” he said.
“I know,” she replied. “If you want me to love you back, there’s just one thing you need to do. Lie down on the ground.”
Jeremy nodded. His heart felt so full that it pulled him down to the earth. Never taking his eyes off her, he sank down and sprawled out onto his back, but Roselyn had already started to walk away. She paused briefly when Jeremy let out a painful scream, but she didn’t wait long.
Elsewhere, Vern kept his eyes peeled on one tree, waiting to see thin strands of black hair to peek out. Aoi leapt from one tree to another, and Vern tried to suck her in so he could drop her on her stomach. He extended his hand, but she was too fast.
He listened to her angry taunts and heavy breathing. She shouted at him as she skipped back and forth, looking for an opening.
“Can’t catch me! You’re going to eat dirt!”
He tried to ignore her, but the irritation swelled up inside him. “Just come out into the open already! We know how this is going to end, Aoi, the same way it has since we were little.”
She was furious.
“You can’t take this from me!” she wailed at the top of her lungs as the tree she was leaning on gave way and she pushed it over. Vern saw the leaves and branches topple over and grow large above him. He took a few steps back and then jumped to the side. It crashed to the ground, just missing him.
Running for the trees on the other side, Vern saw Will in the distance. He still hobbled as he made it to the edge of the clearing.
“We can take her out together!” he shouted to Vern.
“OK,” Vern said, but he didn’t stop running. He cruised right past Will and into the woods. Will turned his head back to see Aoi swooping around the fallen tree. He took a deep breath and spouted his wind against his attacker.
Aoi’s hair waved in all directions. She closed her eyes and leaned into the massive gust of air. Her progress slowed and she took tiny steps that dug into the ground. Her clothing rippled, and for a moment she stopped moving completely. But she ducked down and inched closer through the hurricane-force wind. Will’s face grew red as he blew with all of the air in his lungs. Suddenly, he stopped.
Aoi fell onto her hands a few feet away, and Will leapt at her. She regained her bearings quickly and gripped him by the waist. She tossed him up and behind her. He smacked into the ground, sighed with disgust, and then got up to return to Corey.
Rowland snuck through the forest with stealth and style. He knew that only a handful of his classmates remained, and so he had to be extra careful to maintain an advantage. His shield reflected some of the sunlight, and Vern saw the unusual light flitting around the trees. Soon he knew where it came from, and he started sneaking closer.
Staying low to the ground, Rowland felt a sudden tug on his shield. He flexed his arm to keep hold of it. “Come on, Vern, do you really want to lose me this early? I could help you.”
“We’re almost at the end…for you at least.”
The shield dragged Rowland closer to Vern, but he wasn’t about to go down without a fight. He let go of the shield and ran behind it as it flew. Vern let it drop to the ground, readying himself to lock arms with Rowland. Rowland grabbed hold of Vern’s hand and swung him around off of his feet. He let go, expecting to see Vern fall flat on the ground, but Vern used his gravitational force on a tree to draw him up and onto his feet.
Rowland went for his shield, but Vern caught him first and pulled him off the ground. A second later, when Rowland was upside down, Vern dropped him, but Rowland held himself up by his hands, his feet straight up in the air. Vern dove forward to tackle him, grabbing his midsection and knocking him flat on the ground.
“You’re on your own now,” Rowland said, getting up.
Vern nodded. The time for waiting had ended and the time to stand up and prove himself had begun. He heard shouting far off to the right, and this time he ran right for them.
Far to the left, Mira watched as the battle between Vern and Rowland unfolded. Concealed by a branch, she peeked through the leaves and saw Vern drill his shoulder into Rowland’s stomach. The impact made her flinch. She tried to do a quick count on her fingers of who was left, but she couldn’t know exactly. There seemed to be so few, and she was somehow among them.
She came out from her hiding place to follow in Vern’s direction, but her ears caught something faint behind her. She had only a
moment to prepare before turning around.
Slowly but surely, Roselyn appeared from behind the trees. Her lips mouthed a beautiful song and the rest of her moved with a calm, relaxed air. Mira stood still, and Roselyn walked up to her.
“Aren’t you tired, Mira? Wouldn’t it be so nice to fall asleep right here on the ground?”
Mira watched Roselyn’s lips move, but she couldn’t hear anything. She brushed her hair back over her ear, revealing an earplug that sat snuggly inside. The only surprise Roselyn displayed was a few rapid blinks, and then she understood completely. Outsmarted, she nodded her head resolutely.
“You were meant to be our leader,” she said. “And I’m not the type to engage in base physical violence.”
Mira didn’t know what she would do next, if she would have to chase her, but Roselyn took a step back and settled herself down with her back to the ground. Mira took out her earplugs and put them back in her pocket. She wanted to say something to Roselyn, to apologize. She waited for the right words to come, but she saw something in the forest and knew the opportunity had passed.
Without waiting another second, Mira took off running in a diagonal direction. While pumping the remote controls in her hands, she pressed one of the buttons. A second later, she heard rustling brush to her right and saw Aoi.
Cruising through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her, Mira pleaded in her mind for a chance to make it. Aoi seemed to cut through the forest like a knife. She reeled in her prey steadily. Mira knew looking back would only slow her down, so she kept her eyes forward, though she could feel Aoi closing in.
Aoi, coming closer with every step, reached out her hand for Mira, ready to pull her down in one move. A blue bolt zapped her finger, shocking her into breaking her stride.
“Oww!”
“Actually, it’s pronounced ‘Mira!’”
Aoi growled, but Mira sprinted onward toward a clearing. Aoi rushed to catch up, determined to let nothing stop her from taking Mira down.
They approached the clearing, and Mira spun around a tree and then passed over her trip wire. A moment later, Aoi’s foot got caught on it. Mira ran into the clearing, her heart pounding. Arms outstretched, she dove forward. The magnets on the bird feet she held connected with those on her hawk’s legs, pulling her up into the air.
Aoi jumped but Mira’s dangling legs were just out of reach. This spectacular escape angered her, but she quickly found another way. She spotted a tall pine and began to climb up. Despite the prickly bark and the sap, she raced up the tree to catch up with Mira. High above the ground, Aoi could see her target through the branches. She followed a thick, sturdy looking limb out from the trunk.
Mira and her mechanical contraption were just out in front of her. She could safely grab hold of her feet and pull her down without coming close to the spinning blades. Mira looked over her shoulder to see Aoi on the ledge. The terror in her eyes made Aoi smile.
Aoi leapt from the branch, sailed through the air, and caught hold of Mira’s foot. The bird continued to rise, however, and soon they rose above the forest. A roar of gasps and chatter rumbled through the masses of observers.
Aoi hung on tight. The ground was far below them. Mira kicked at her free rider, trying to knock her off.
“Let go of my shoe!”
“You’re coming down with me!”
Mira swung back and forth as Aoi desperately tried to hold on. Mira stomped on the top of her head, and soon Aoi’s hands came loose. Gravity pulled her back down.
Aoi’s open hand met the ground first. The only things that kept her body from touching the ground were her extended arm and the tips of her toes. She got to her feet and looked up at Mira, who flew out of range.
Mira stared down at the ground in disbelief that Aoi had overcome the fall both without injury and without losing the competition. It was incredible. Her mind raced for a new strategy, but nothing came. She couldn’t imagine a scenario in which she beat Aoi.
She saw something curious streak across the ground. It swept through the grass at blinding speeds. In a second, it slid under Aoi, continued, and disappeared out of sight. Aoi, her legs completely knocked out from under her, fell onto her back. There was only one thing she could do before she hit the ground—scream.
She smacked onto the ground, covered her face, and curled into a ball. Mira couldn’t hold back a broad smile.
“Chucky! Yes!” she shouted, cheering and hollering for him. She didn’t know where he went or who else could hear her, but she took deep satisfaction in Chucky’s long-lasting survival.
Then she heard a loud clink from overhead, and the chick rocked violently back and forth. She saw another rock flying through the air. By the time she stabilized herself, another rock struck the spinning propeller. She looked down to see Dot down on the ground below.
Just when Mira thought the rocks wouldn’t be able to damage the spinning blades, one hit the knuckles of her left hand, forcing her to let go and dangle from only one arm. She tried to grab hold of the other handle again, but she missed.
“Please don’t! I’ll fall!” she shouted to Dot.
“That’s the point,” Dot shouted back. She reached into her bag and pulled out a stone. She felt its smooth surface and oval shape with her fingers, then leaned back and brought her hand behind her head for the throw. As she threw it, Dot was knocked off her feet and fell onto her back. The stone flew straight up, then gravity pulled it back down.
Relieved, Mira took a deep breath and managed to catch the other handle.
“I couldn’t let you do that,” Vern said to Dot as he stepped into the clearing. “I’ll send her home myself. It has to be me.”
Dot saw the hungry look in his eyes and heard his tense heaving. There was nothing for her to be disappointed about; she had surpassed her wildest expectations. Without a word, she walked back to the forest’s edge.
Vern looked up at Mira. He had to laugh at himself for being fooled earlier. But right now she looked like an apple waiting to be plucked.
“You delayed the inevitable as long as you could. But there’s nowhere to run and no way to talk yourself out of it this time. You’ve got to go through me. Now, are you going to come down here so we can finish this or what?”
“Make me!” she shouted.
“Oh, I will. Don’t worry, I will. It’s funny how it all comes down to this, the same as the Tournament Trial at the beginning of the year. Do you remember that? You ran home crying and I went on to win it all. Maybe you’ll handle yourself a little better, but the result will be the same. Nothing’s changed, Mira. Nothing.”
Vern lifted his hand. Mira felt a tug downward, as if she had Aoi attached her legs. She felt the weight tire her arms. Her body flushed with emotion, making her feel like she couldn’t breathe. She held down a button with her forefinger, but the bird’s wings spun as fast as they could. Still, she saw the trees rise as she slowly descended.
Mira searched the woods with her eyes. She spotted a streak sliding down a hill. It approached Vern from behind at breakneck speed.
The weight pulling her down suddenly disappeared. Though Vern’s arm remained raised high, she began to climb back up to the treetops. Something was wrong, and she wanted to shout to Chucky, but it was too late. He careened into the clearing, hurtling at Vern’s legs. But Vern jumped out of the way in time and brought that hand down quickly enough to tap Chucky on the back.
Vern laughed as Chucky sailed out of sight. He wiped his hand on his pants and looked back up at Mira.
“Guess you’re not the only one who knows how to trick someone,” he said.
“Congratulations,” Mira replied. “I think second place will suit you.”
Vern laughed.
“Second place? You can’t touch me. And you are thirty feet away from hitting rock bottom. There’s nothing you can do!”
Chucky continued sliding along the forest floor until he reached the edge of the forest and the waiting crowd. As soon as they saw h
im, and they knew that the battle had come down to the final two, everyone raced into the forest to watch. Only Corey remained on the glade. He had a curious expression as he listened.
Rays of sunlight shone down through the clouds on the two remaining combatants. Vern, straining his arms in the air, looked to be holding up a colossal weight. Mira, dangling high above, held on for dear life as she slowly sank downward. One could almost see the invisible rope, pulled as taut as can be, linking them together.
“Come to me,” Vern repeated. His desire to end this couldn’t have been more evident. Mira kept her eyes on the ground and she looked pained and depleted. He stood directly beneath her, dragging her down. The ground became clearer and the tree branches around her became thicker. The crowd knew they were witnessing the end, and they couldn’t look away.
Scrunching the muscles in her face, Mira banged her feet together. She smashed the heels of her shoes against each other as hard as she could. She cracked them, and a cloud of yellow pollen spilled out below. It sank quickly, blanketing Vern’s hands, face, and body. He inhaled deeply and unleashed a massive sneeze, doubling him over. In that instant, Mira twisted her arms to unlock the magnets and dropped feet first onto Vern’s back, knocking him flat against the ground.
She screamed, jumping off Vern and collapsing to her knees in disbelief. Her hands shook. The entire crowd erupted in applause. They surrounded her and lifted her up, cheering and hollering.
“It’s a Mira-cle!” Kevin said.
“Oh, how could you say that?” Jeana groaned, hitting her husband on the arm.
Though he couldn’t be heard, Corey clapped solemnly in his solitude. The crowd carried Mira through the woods and deposited her at his feet. She got up, catching eyes with her classmates who had assembled around her. Vern had burst into tears, but he composed himself as best he could.
“Mira Ipswich,” Corey bellowed, causing all others to fall silent. “You have been victorious. Leader of this graduating class of Dustfalls Academy is a position that henceforth rightfully belongs to you. May you execute it with wisdom, honor, and valor.”
