The crowd bangs harshly on the glass, trying to catch the competitor’s attentions. They scream out in appraisal, lavishing confidence in the team. Their voices are slightly muffled through the thick glass.
“Freak!”
Glacier halts, glancing up in the direction of the call. The voice was barely audible past the yelling, but that word seeks her out like a bullet does its target. Her eyes burn and her chest constricts.
Freak…
“Glacier, come on!” Glacier looks up to find Neena giving her a sad but hurried look. She then realizes how far she has fallen behind them. She quickly catches up, the numbing noise of the crowd now a distant sound.
Following Neena down the steps, a man waits at the bottom wearing the same uniform as Reela.
“Greeting team! I’m Tanner, your Team Supervisor and Escort. Whilst you are down in the arena, you are to follow my every instruction as well as abide by the rules of the arena.” The man looks to be in his early twenties, with short dull brown hair, his eyes forest green.
“The rules are as such: rule one, you cannot fraternize with the other competitors. Rule two, you must always compete in your assigned battle. Only two of you will be chosen each day. Rule three, you must not, under any circumstance, interfere with another battle that is not your own. When you are not competing, you must wait in your team’s area, and remain there for the remainder of the battles unless you have been selected.”
Heads nod, signalling the team’s understanding. Glacier keeps her head down, waiting until they continue toward the arena.
Glacier’s feet drag along the concrete floor, creating an irritating scraping sound to bounce off the walls. They walk towards the end of the dark tunnel where light blooms. When they finally emerge from the tunnel, Glacier looks up through the dome.
From mid-way down the wall, she catches the decent of the Pyre team, with Brink standing in front. His arms sit folded across his wide chest, his hair tucked behind his ears, his expression bored.
Without the chance to look over the rest of the team, they are out of view.
“Take your seats.” Tanner’s voice loses the echo it had once they step out of the tunnel.
He leads them to a small glass box off to the side, where a long wooden bench is perched. Carved onto the glass surrounding the box is the crest for Hydren.
Glacier looks around the large battle ring, noticing two other areas where the two opposing teams will wait, with their region’s crests displayed on the glass.
The arena has a small moat of clear water surrounding the dirt surface. On the outer edge of the moat is a channel of fire incorporating the three elements. There is a small bridge leading from each team’s box into the ring across the fire and water. You can hear the swishing of the water, along with the crackling of the fire.
The Terra team is already seated in their box, having been introduced first. Glacier notices both Gamble and Porter watching her with a predatory stare. Gamble’s smirk deepens when he notices she has seen them. He puckers his lips for a second, kissing the air as his eyes linger.
Please don’t make me fight one of them…
Taking her seat beside Neena, Glacier looks up in time to see the Pyre team being escorted in by a woman wearing an identical uniform to her team’s escort. The only difference is the core colours. This time, however, her eyes are immediately drawn to Fielder.
Glacier can tell he was looking for her the second their eyes meet. When he sees her, his lips pull to a heart-warming smile. She immediately glances down, her cheeks flushing warmly. Sneakily peeking to see if he is still looking, their eyes reconnect again. Now he simply watches her, his eyes interested and unwavering.
It’s not until she hears the booming of his voice that Glacier takes notice of what is happening around her.
Sasis stands in the centre of the arena above the glass. The crowd’s murmurings cease near instantaneously.
“Greetings, my children. I hope you all are well.” His voice is warm, his smile endearing. “It’s time to commence the Tournament!” The crowd erupts in loud cheers and applause, hungry for their tri-annual event.
Her eyes roam the edges of the crowd curiously. Her heart clenches as she meets a pair watching her intently.
Amongst the crowd, she can see Thomes smiling down at her. He sits calmly in his seat, whilst everyone around him chants and cheers loudly.
When he realizes she has seen him, he raises his hand and thrums his fingers in the air, like a lazy wave. Glacier’s chest constricts at the last memory she has of him. Suddenly, it all comes together in her head. Her hand shoots to her back where the small device sits planted in her spine.
That’s how they plan to use my power…
EIGHT
THE SEEDING
Sasis takes a step back to his seat as a chart flickers on the glass the team’s crest is situated. There are six small rectangles with each contestant’s name.
Aleena’s name is written on the top of the box followed by Tric, Keena, Branch, Neena, and then finally Glacier.
“When you are selected, your name will light up on the screen, so keep an eye on the chart.”
Glacier looks at Tanner as he speaks, indicating around the table on the glass without names using his finger.
“When competing, you are prohibited from executing any permanently damaging or fatal moves. You must stay within the ring at all times. If necessary, you can tap your hand on the floor to end the battle. However, if you tap out your opponent inadvertently wins the battle.”
Taking a deep breath and nodding her understanding, Glacier stares at the board.
Her heart clenches tightly with the thoughts of fighting.
How the hell am I going to fight? I can’t control this ice thing…
Sasis continues, “Our first contender is…”
There is a moment of hesitation as the decision is made. Glacier stares at her name on the board, her nerves skyrocketing.
A quick and cheerful clap is heard from across the arena. She looks up to the giggling porcelain girl jumping to her feet, a megawatt smile adorning her faultless face.
“Bronze Hyde from the Terra team.”
The crowd explodes into cheer at the name of their volunteer. Glacier looks to the Terra team, finding them clapping for their teammate.
Bronze moves forward towards the centre of the ring, awaiting the next chosen contender. A man accompanies her, standing to her side, presumably her team escort.
Glacier notices all three teams looking around, wondering who will be the second chosen. Her shoulders tense with anticipation, the crowd thrumming with murmurs.
“And now, to battle Miss Hyde in the first battle of the Tournament, the second contender is…”
Her eyes are drawn back to the board, once again staring at her name.
Suddenly a light flickers on the board. Not Glacier’s name.
“Tric Holden from the Hydra Team.”
She lets out a long breath.
It’s not me.
Glacier looks over to Tric. He smiles proudly out to the crowd as they applaud. He rises from the seat, waltzing towards the exit. When he passes her to step out of the box, Glacier wishes him luck.
“Good luck, Tric.” He ignores her as he continues towards the ring where Bronze waits patiently.
Tric’s shoulders are stiff as he approaches her, his jacket constricting around his biceps as he tenses. Tanner walks Tric across the bridge to where Bronze and her escort stand silently, and the two contenders shake hands.
Once they drop their hands, they both turn and walk to the edge of the ring. Once there, they both shed their jackets and hand them to their escorts for safekeeping.
Both escorts retreat to their team’s box and wait behind the glass. Tanner takes the empty space beside Glacier, his eyes remain trained on Tric.
Glacier looks back to see Tric and Bronze both turned to face each other, tense for the horn
to blow.
“Let the thirteenth tri-annual tournament begin!” Sasis’ voice commands the attention of everyone, but for Glacier, it is impossible to move her eyes from the two elementals in the ring.
The loud horn blows, indicating the beginning of the first battle.
Tric moves almost immediately, throwing his arm across his body with a harsh thrust. A large stream lifts from the moat around the ring with his movement, launching water across the ring.
A powerful current of water hurls quickly in Bronze’s direction. But she moves quicker.
Bronze throws her arm up, fingers separated as a large boulder of rock emerges from the ground like a thick dirt wall. The wall impacts with the rock with a mighty splash.
The ground shakes with the movement. Glacier’s fingers clench around the bench for stability, her heart pumping loudly in her ears.
Everything happens too hastily for her eyes to register. Tric launches another wave of water with the flick of his hand. With his other, he lifts a tidal wave of water behind her.
Raising another barrier of rock from the ground, Bronze shields herself from both incoming sources. This time before Tric can continue, Bronze switches to attack.
Her eyebrows crease in concentration as she thrusts her arm up, launching Tric up into the air using a large dirt pillar beneath him. He shouts in surprise. Glacier jumps to her feet, her hands press against the glass as she watches Tric.
Bronze drops her arm fast, and the rock beneath Tric shrinks back into the ground. Tric plummets to the ground full force, so fast that Glacier’s chest seizes painfully. The crowd gasps.
He’s falling so fast.
Tric swipes his arm beneath him, a pool of water flooding beneath him, hovering over the ground like a large floating puddle. He splashes into the water slowing his momentum enough, so hitting the ground is not as damaging.
Just as Tric clambers to his feet, Bronze lifts her arm again and swipes across, shelling a smaller boulder into Tric’s side, sending him across the ring. He lands gracelessly on his side, rolling over a few times. Exhausted, Tric tries climbing to his feet. He is slower now.
“Tric, get up!”
Glacier doesn’t realize that she was the one who shouted until her arm is being pulled from the glass. She is turned, now facing angry Tanner.
“Be quiet! You aren’t allowed to interfere with another’s battle.”
He drops her arm after sending her a look that tells her he knows exactly who she is. His look of abhorrence alerts her to his opinion of her as well.
She looks away without comment, turning to see Bronze now pressing a boulder down against his chest, pressuring him to tap out.
Come on, Tric. Tap out…
Glacier can hear his groans from where she stands against the glass, his features contorted in pain.
She bites her lower lip. Glacier knows he hasn’t tapped out yet on account of his pride. First battle of the tournament, and he is losing to a small, dainty girl.
Tric swipes his arms, throwing water near her. He is quickly restrained beneath a boulder. Bronze lowers it slightly, to which Tric calls out in pain.
Glacier doesn’t miss Bronze wince from the angry sound. Despite her conflicted expression, she doesn’t make any move to budge the boulder.
She’s a lot more skilful than I thought she would be…
Glacier jumps back from the glass when a large countdown illuminates the glass. A strange beep sounds the number counting down from 10. She watches the numbers with the corner of her eye, as she continues to concentrate on the two battling elementals.
Tric squirms around, trying to push the boulder to no avail. Still, he doesn’t tap the ground.
As the timer grows closer to the end, Glacier notices that all the contenders from every team have risen to their feet. Her lips mouth the numbers left in the countdown.
Three, two, one…
The loud horn sounds again indicating the end of the first battle. Bronze lifts her arm, moving the boulder away from Tric. When the boulder is hovering at her side, she slowly clenches her hand.
The boulder crumbles into a large pile of dust, which she then swipes away to spread around the earthy floor, like it hadn’t ever existed.
Glacier looks up when she catches movement above her. Sasis walks back over the glass, standing directly in the centre once more.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the first Seeding battle is, Bronze Hyde from team Terra.” His voice is clear and legible, despite the crowds muffled cheers.
Glacier watches the crowd jump and chant for their team’s win, but the sound is almost inaudible.
Tanner moves towards Tric who lies stagnant on the ground trying to regain his breath. Bronze’s escort also approaches the ring. The man grabs her forearm gently, tugging her away from the arena, her eyes trained on Tric.
As Tanner leans in to grab his arm, Tric pulls out of his grasp. Glacier watches Tric clamber to his feet, pressing a hand to his injured spine. He hobbles away from the ring while the Terra team jumps with excitement for their teammate’s quick win.
As Tric stumbles back into the box, Glacier congratulates him despite his loss, “You did really well, Tric.”
“Shut up, freak.” His harsh tone surprises her.
Freak…He thinks I'm a freak as well…
“Hey, she was trying to be supportive, Tric. Don’t go calling her names.” Surprisingly for once, someone steps up to defend Glacier.
Tric shrugs his shoulders and mumbles “Whatever,” before walking back to his seat between Aleena and Keena. Glacier turns to Branch, silently mouthing her thanks. He smiles in return, nodding his head.
Like a magnet, Glacier’s eyes are drawn to the Pyre team, where she once again finds the dazzling orange orbs of her past.
Fielder never seems shy to be caught staring. He simply smiles. Not a large smile. More of a small, ‘barely touching the lips’ smile. A syrupy warmth blooms in her chest, bubbling in her stomach at the sight of the small dimple in his left cheek.
++
“You have a little gap on your cheek!” Glacier laughs as she pokes the boy’s cheek. Like every time they touch, his skin is warm. She always wants to curl up and sleep on his lap.
“No I don’t! My mama told me that it’s a dimple.” He rolls over in the snow to push Glacier down, burying her in the snow as he leans over her, “And my mama said that girls love dimples!”
Glacier falls into crazy giggles. Her clothes soak up the snow’s moisture, and her frizzy hair blends into the untainted white surrounding them. Glacier rolls over, pushing the boy off her as she reverses their positions. They laugh as she shoves crushed ice into his face playfully.
Suddenly, her eyes catch movement from up the hill of snow. Glacier looks up but finds nothing. In her moment of searching, she is pushed off the boy’s body, landing back in the wet snow.
“Wait! Wait! Look up there,” Glacier points up to where she has been looking before. Just as the boy looks, the snow shifts, falling down the hill. Without looking down at her, the boy jumps to guard Glacier’s body.
Glacier scrambles to her feet, stumbling in the snow as she tries to plant her snow boots into the thick slush.
“Let’s go see what it is!” Her curiosity pushes her forward towards the snowfall.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Maybe we should just go back to the house…” The boy reaches out to hold her behind him, his eyes studying the snow for movement.
Glacier looks at him with vexation, “Come on, can we please go see what it is? Please?” She begs with pleading eyes. He could never resist her pleading eyes…
The boy’s resolve begins to crumble away, “I don’t know…”
She laughs as she turns, passes him towards the snow, and starting to climb the small hill of soft whiteness, “Don’t be a chicken.”
There is a scoff before a disgruntled “I am not a chicken!” Then he takes
off into the snow, dashing ahead of her.
++
The memory passes through her mind before she has any will to stop it.
I remember everything from that day. Every smell, every feeling, every touch.
Glacier looks back to Fielder, finding him studying Brink with a confused frown. She suddenly notices the empty space between the two elementals.
When Glacier’s eyes drift to the centre of the ring, she sees Keena and Dolby, second from the Pyre team, standing at either end of the ring. Glacier looks to the board on the glass where Keena’s name is now lit. Tanner returns to the box with Keena’s jacket in hand, sitting in the same spot he had earlier.
Not a moment later, the loud sound of the horn shakes her bones.
As opposed to Tric, Keena waits for Dolby to make the first move. They slowly circle each other for a moment, sussing their opponent before striking.
Dolby makes the first move, drawing fire from the burning circle surrounding the ring. The fire clouds his hands like a playful animal, leaping between his limbs.
The motion of the fire, moving from one source to another, reminds Glacier of string. It moves so straight and direct, using the air as its surface.
Dolby launches a streamlined flame towards Keena, aiming for her midsection.
Keena spins on her feet with her arms raised directly in front of her, swivelling up. A large hurricane of water glides towards her from the small moat, surrounding her in a tornado, dousing the incoming fires. Continuing to spin her arms around in a flawless circle, Keena keeps a large shield of splashing water around her like a barrier.
Wow, that’s different. I’ve never seen anyone do that before…
Glacier can see that the other two teams are equally as impressed as she is.
I guess that’s her move.
Dolby’s scowl is one of dark frustration as he tries to think of an alternative. Before he has the chance to act, Keena shoots a spiral of water from the barrier she still has whirling around her body. The coil collides with the centre of Dolby’s chest, sending him to the ground with a loud grunt.
The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) Page 10
