Despite his dark mood, Seb laughed. “The things you can do with that thing.”
Sparks shrugged. “It’s a handy tool for sure.”
Without another word, Seb stood up on the sofa and used it as a step to get into bed. The second he lay down on the top bunk, he let his exhausted body sink into the soft mattress and dread ran through him. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Sparks about his ability. Maybe she’d use it against him at some point. Maybe she’d lied to him about being friends in the elevator and she’d just pulled on his heart strings to understand his secrets. It didn’t really matter; he’d told her now and he couldn’t take that back. He’d have to trust her.
Seb rolled over onto his side, put his back to the television, and faced the shiny steel wall. Each blink stayed closed longer than the last, and the sound of bad pop music from across the galaxy took him into a dream state.
Chapter 9
Seb walked with Sparks toward the hangar that housed the simulators. The worry that he’d shared his secret with someone had slightly duller claws after a good night’s sleep. If he could trust anyone in this life, she walked next to him at that moment. Although they’d not started off on the best footing, experience had soldered their connection to one another. Not only a recruitment tool, the prison break had forged a twosome as tight as any brothers or sisters in arms.
Although still early, when they walked into the hangar, a group of the other recruits had already gathered there. About twenty of them in total, the slight hum of chatter that had bubbled between them died down, leaving just the sound of Seb’s and Sparks’ feet over the hard floor.
“This seems a bit weird,” Seb said, shielding his mouth, but speaking loud enough to make sure he’d been heard.
Sparks looked at him but didn’t respond.
Despite his cocky show of disregard, Seb’s breaths came quicker. He’d never felt comfortable with the attention of so many people on him unless he was about to fight. “I reckon they’re all looking at us because I did so gloriously badly yesterday. What do you think?”
Several raised eyebrows—or facial expressions close to that for the eyebrow-less contingent in the group—looked their way. Again, Sparks didn’t reply.
“Maybe we’re in the simulators again today. Having only just been put on them, I’m sure we’re going to be given another chance for me to mess it up.” Seb laughed, the echo in the room making him face just how forced his humour sounded.
When the gathered creatures still didn’t react, Seb forced another chuckle. “Wow. Tough crowd.”
Seb and Sparks stopped just a few metres before they got to the group. The Shadow Order recruits had to meet every morning in the hangar to be given their daily training routine. So while today looked just like any other day, the atmosphere in the place felt vastly different. Or maybe it didn’t. It could simply be that Seb viewed himself through the perceived judgment of his peers. Surely none of them cared about the incredibly public display of his ineptitude as much as he did.
For the first time since he’d met the ugly beast, Seb felt grateful for Gurt’s arrival and his complete lack of awareness. His loud voice scythed through the tense atmosphere with the subtlety of a pulse cannon skinning a peach. “Oi oi. Look what we have here; the human that couldn’t shoot straight, no matter how hard he tried.”
Seb’s gratitude faded almost instantly when half of the deadpan group sniggered.
Clearly spurred on by the reaction, Gurt smiled, his horns lifting with his fat face. “And he’s got his ratty sidekick with him, the goggle-eyed geek.”
A few more creatures laughed and one of them—a blue-skinned tsunab from the watery planet Nami—turned their back on Seb and Sparks to try to hide his mirth.
Gurt could attack Seb as much as he liked; he deserved it, in fact. But when he looked at the now crimson-faced Sparks, he balled his hands into fists. “Leave Sparks out of it.”
Gurt stopped, and for the first time Seb noticed SA behind him. The embodiment of both grace and stealth, she moved away from her teammate, soundless in her delicate steps. Gurt didn’t seem to have any awareness of SA’s actions and he laughed. “Hit a nerve, have I?”
The crowd of creatures stepped back. Although Seb didn’t reply, he stared straight into the Mandulu’s red eyes. Adrenaline ran through his blood like rocket fuel, so when Gurt blew him a kiss with his leathery lips, he marched toward him. Sparks grabbed his arm on the way past, but he shook her off and continued straight for the large beast.
Everything slowed down as Seb got closer to Gurt. The weak spot on both Gurt’s large chin and right knee remained crystal clear while the periphery of Seb’s vision blurred into a watercoloured mix. Nothing other than him and Gurt mattered at that moment.
Despite balling his fists, when Seb stepped close to the large creature, he resisted the urge to swing for him.
Like every Mandulu, Gurt stank. A heady mix of body odour and flatulence, the creature’s skin glistened from the waxy secretion he sweated out. Anywhere else but there and Seb would have laid him out by that point.
Although Gurt spoke, Seb couldn’t make any sense of his slowed-down words. He had most of his attention on the brute’s weak chin.
The slow motion made the grip on Seb’s left shoulder a million times worse. What would have been a sharp sting dragged out into a burning, elongated spasm. The muscles in his neck pulled tight and he snapped his left ear down to his left shoulder to try to counter the pain as someone pulled him backwards.
When Seb spun around, ready to swing, he saw who had him, lost his fight, and his world returned to a normal speed.
Were Seb to fight Moses, he’d probably knock him out, but the battle didn’t matter because he’d never win the war against him.
The shark-like beast stared down at Seb, detached as he looked at him with his cold onyx glare. One of Moses’ fingers sat as wide as three of Seb’s, and he pointed it straight at him and then Gurt. “You two, in the simulator now. You’ve been at each other’s throats ever since you got here. I don’t know why you have such a problem with one another, but you need to settle it today.”
The grin on Gurt’s face spread wider than before as he looked at Seb. “I’ve been waiting for this.”
Seb clenched his jaw so tightly a dull ache ran up either side of his face. “You’re not the only one, you dumb primate.”
Gurt’s smile fell and he stepped forward, but Moses shoved him back with a hard push against his chest. Gurt looked like he’d fight back until Moses bared his teeth. White and razor sharp, they occupied half of his wide head.
Gurt dipped his gaze in submission as he and Seb followed Moses to the simulator.
Chapter 10
Before the lights outside the simulator turned off, Seb looked around at the crowd. In the short time it had taken him and Gurt to enter the small room, it seemed like the entire complex had turned up to watch. But only two people mattered to him at that moment: Sparks, who’d managed to snake her way into the front row—not that it surprised him; the girl could get in and out of anywhere—and SA, who stood as a picture of serenity, statuesque amongst the excitement of the rest of the spectators. Her bright blue eyes lit up in the dark as she watched, and he savoured the moment.
Within seconds, the illusion of the simulator would drag Seb under and he’d have zero recollection of reality beyond the fabricated experience. Whatever world Moses had planned for them, it would seem real until he got pulled back out of it. Hopefully he’d return with his pride intact for once.
An image of Moses materialised in front of Seb and Gurt and the spectators behind disappeared from view as the simulator switched on. Suddenly Seb found himself standing in what seemed to be a rainforest. Vibrant and green, humidity hung in the hot air and instantly pressed against his skin like sweat. He inhaled the smell of tropical flowers and listened to the cacophony of bird songs all around him. Moses raised a small screen and turned it to show the two of them. Seb couldn’t help but smile whe
n he saw the image on it. It stood tall, poking from the forest as a vast stone structure.
“You can’t see it from here,” Moses said, “but at the end of this jungle is a fighting pit. That’s your destination. The first one there will have longer to rest than the other. The second you both enter the ring, you fight.”
A cocky grin, and the Mandulu said, “Yeah, but what’s stopping me taking a casual stroll over there to conserve my energy?” He then looked at Seb, arched an eyebrow, and snorted a laugh. “Not that I need to worry about conserving my energy so I can fight this rat.” The fake bravado didn’t convince Seb. Gurt knew he could brawl, just like he knew Gurt could shoot.
Seb followed Moses’ line of sight and turned around to look behind him. Two huge beasts stood in cages. Each metal prison stretched at least three stories high and just as wide. Despite the size of their cells, the creatures didn’t look like they had much space to move.
The beasts appeared to be identical. Both were the size of small ships and they seemed to want nothing more than to get at Seb and Gurt. Huge powerful forearms like gorillas, they looked like they could crush a skull like Seb would an egg.
In reaction to Seb and Gurt looking at them, both of the creatures screamed. The shrill call cut through Seb and forced his shoulders up against his neck in an involuntary spasm. The birds fell silent around them. When the beasts stretched their mouths wide, they showed they could swallow Seb or Gurt whole.
Regardless of his fighting ability, Seb would have a hard time overcoming one of the brutes. If he wanted to get to the pit, he’d have to stay ahead of the two monsters. Nothing short of outrunning them would suffice. A glance at Gurt, and he saw he’d turned pale. “Not so smug now, eh?” He looked down at Gurt’s weak knee.
A sneer lifted one side of Gurt’s fat mouth. “Just you wait, human. You won’t know what’s hit you when we get to the pit.”
Of everything that had occurred since they’d joined the Shadow Order, Seb felt pretty certain of what would happen in a fighting pit. He said nothing to the Mandulu. Let him find out when they got there. If they got there.
“Ready?” Moses called out.
Although Seb didn’t acknowledge him, he crouched down, the desire to run coiled in his tight leg muscles.
“Go!”
The rattle of the cage doors sounded out behind them as Seb exploded to life.
A sheet of vines hung down in front of Seb and obscured his view of what lay beyond them. He charged straight through them and found a wall on the other side.
Seb looked left and right as he pressed against the cold rock. He’d run into a dead end already.
The screams of the two beasts closed down on them. It ran ice through Seb and he nearly froze until he saw Gurt climb one of the vines. It sparked him to life and he copied Gurt’s actions.
The rough vines cut Seb’s hands, and a mixture of sweat and moisture in the air both stung the open cuts on his palms and made it harder to grip on. But he kept going, and once he’d reached about halfway, he overtook Gurt. With the sound of the monster’s steps closing in on them, he looked down. About twenty metres between him and the hard ground; if he slipped now …
Still a little way away, Seb saw the huge hairy forms of the two monsters moving through the humid forest. The brush gave way to their charge, and when one of them hit a tree, a loud tear of ripping wood creaked through the space and the tree fell with an almighty crash.
As he ascended the vine, Seb felt the vibrations of the monsters’ stomping feet. The one on his tail did exactly as he’d done; it ran beneath him to the dead end of the wall.
Seb looked down on the top of its vast and hairy head. Although it hadn’t looked up, the beast’s movement had disturbed the vine enough for Seb to have to hold on tighter as it swung. Trickier with the aggravated movement, he continued his climb regardless.
About three-quarters of the way up the vine, Seb couldn’t tell if his palms were wet because of blood or sweat. The humid rainforest had made his entire body slick with perspiration and his eyes stung as the salty secretion ran into them. Yet every pull up the rope-like vine seemed to open up more cuts on his hands. What did it matter? His hands hurt, they were damp with something, and if he fell, he’d die. He still needed to get to the top regardless of anything else.
Seb reached a ledge at the top and grabbed it, his hands on fire. After he’d pulled himself up, he looked down. His head spun and his stomach lurched. He stared at the hard ground, now about fifty metres below.
All of Seb’s upper body ached from the ascent, but just before he could stop to rest, the gargantuan looked up. Its green eyes widened and it loosed another shrill scream, its mouth stretching into a dark pit filled with jagged teeth. The pitch of it hurt Seb’s ears and he watched Gurt slip because of the sound. The Mandulu might have lost his legs, but he managed to hold onto the vine, scrabble for a second or two, and resume his climb.
Brown skin beneath its brown fur, the beast on Seb’s tail snapped its large jaws and started to climb up behind him. Its powerful forearms made light work of the tough vine.
Gurt had nearly made it to the top by the time the monster on his tail twigged. It grabbed the vine Gurt was climbing and shook it, screaming as it did so. But Seb couldn’t stay around to help him. Without any more delay, he ran off into the forest.
The trees were so dense it took for Seb to burst free of them to see the view. He stopped for a second and looked over the green canopy below. He currently stood on top of a mountain. The sound of bird songs called louder than ever, and he watched several multicoloured creatures fly above the trees. In front of him stood what could only be described as a natural water slide. Made from algae-coated rock, it seemed to be the only way down, or at least the quickest. The piercing call from the monsters on his tail got louder. The beasts would be on him soon. He sat down, the cool water soaking through his trousers and boxer shorts, and he pushed off.
As Seb hurtled down the chute—his stomach in his throat—his world slowed down. Good job, really, because every few seconds he had to either duck or dodge a protruding root or rock. The splash of the water made it trickier, the spray nearly blinding him. He had to shield his eyes as he tried to avoid the natural hazards.
The chute straightened out, so Seb looked behind him to see first Gurt and then both monsters sliding down after him.
A large rush of water smothered Seb when he turned back around again, forcing a lungful of it down his throat. As he choked, a loud thoom ran through his skull, his ears rang, and stars sparkled in his vision. Dizzy and out of control, the root hadn’t quite knocked him out, but it had come close. Before he could manage his recovery, the chute disappeared from beneath him.
Weightless, Seb flew through the air. His arms and legs windmilled as he looked down at the turquoise pool below him and prepared for the impact with the water. With everything slowed down, he braced himself in anticipation of the inevitable pain.
When he hit the warm pool, the water stung, each agonising second of it dragged out longer because of his ability.
A second later Gurt flew from the bottom of the chute. Seb’s world had returned to normal speed again and he winced to see the brute bellyflop into the body of water with a loud slap. Gurt fell instantly limp as he sank beneath the surface.
Seb dived under and swam down to the Mandulu. He grabbed the dumb—and now limp—creature by his collar and pulled him to safety.
The pool got shallow enough near the edge for Seb to stand up. The cool water offered some relief to his cut hands, and with a tight grip still on Gurt’s collar, he managed to drag him to the water’s edge before letting go.
Instead of gratitude, malice twisted Gurt’s features. “Why did you just save me? I was doing all right on my own.”
Although what did Seb expect? The human race had an ego that often got them into trouble, but the Mandulus’ ego eclipsed anything he’d seen from even his own species. Not only had Gurt been rescued, but he’d bee
n rescued by someone who had no damn right rescuing him.
Even in his exhausted state, Seb smiled at the large creature. He then winked, blew him a kiss, and looked up to see the two huge monsters fly through the air as they exited the water chute one after the other. For the briefest moment they blocked out the sun. “I’d worry more about them than me if I were you.”
Before Gurt could reply, Seb sprinted off into the thick undergrowth of the jungle.
Chapter 11
Seb ran through the thick jungle, jumping moss-covered rocks and ducking low-lying branches. Now he’d gotten more into the heart of the lush landscape, the sound of tropical birds set the air alight with their chorus. The brief spell of coolness from the water chute had now turned into a gushing sweat, his skin as moist as it had been when he stepped out of the pool.
The humidity beneath the thick jungle canopy hung twice as heavy in the air, making it hard to breathe, but Seb fought against his body’s inability to cope with his surroundings and forced himself forwards. Although he heard the splashing of water behind him from either Gurt or the monsters, he’d got far enough away that he couldn’t see the azure pool anymore.
Seb might have managed to avoid the bulky parts of nature that stood in his way, but smaller branches, vines, and leaves smacked into him as he ran. Each one seemed to cause their own light scratch and open up fresh wounds for his salty sweat to run into.
When one particularly large leaf slapped Seb in the face and caught his eye, his vision blurred. Although tempted to stop, he pushed on. He had a lead over the predators behind him that he didn’t want to concede.
Seb’s sight cleared and he stopped dead, halting himself just before he reached the edge of a cliff. To look down made his stomach lurch; the rocky ground below would make light work of a fragile human body. When he looked above him, he saw two metal tracks spanned the gap like an inverted monorail. A deep breath to try to still his furious heartbeat and he reached up.
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