Freaks of Nature (The Psion Chronicles)

by Wendy Brotherlin

Chapter Seven

  AS I return to my squad’s end of the arena, I find Michael standing at the point where the loose dirt begins, waiting for me. Though he appears collected and coolly alert, I can tell he’s anxious to speak with me.

  “Artie Eichler is Lion Squad’s leader?” he asks in disbelief as soon as I am within earshot. “The guy’s a jerk! He used to pick on me all the time when he was at the facility! I can’t stand him!”

  “Join the club,” I reply, and Michael falls in step with me as we walk toward Diana and Jason.

  “So, where the hell is Captain Kostich?”

  “I wish I knew,” I say, and I can hear the resignation in my voice. “Right now, there’s not a whole hell of a lot that’s making sense in these games.”

  Michael frowns. “I know what you mean.”

  We walk several meters in silence before Michael turns to me and asks, “So…do you have any idea how many earthmovers we might be up against?”

  “One. And she’s a bitch.” I flash him a grin. “But don’t think that makes her any less of a threat.” Apparently, I have decided to trust the major general’s information.

  Michael laughs, shaking his head. “Oh, no, sir, I won’t… Four-legged or two, an earth-movin’ bitch isn’t something I want to mess with.”

  “What’s going on?” Diana asks, shouting over the din of the crowd as she jogs over to us. I can see Jason standing a few meters behind her, serreptitiously leaning on a force-field projection. To the unattentive spectator, Jason looks as if he is standing of his own accord—relaxed, perhaps, but not holding himself up on a force field that extends several feet into the ground. Suddenly, I have a plan…one that just might give us half a chance out there.

  “Jason,” I say, indicating his force field. “How deep were you able to penetrate the arena floor?”

  “I’m extended eight feet down…but there’s probably more room than that. Why? What’s going on?”

  “We’ve got an earthmover to contend with,” I say, addressing the three of them in a private huddle. “The major general tipped me off to a couple of her particulars.”

  “Wait a minute… You’re talking about our major general, right? Major General Allen?” Diana asks, her expression a mixture of disbelief and concern.

  I nod. “He hinted that the girl might be unskilled in battle, and then he mentioned something else…Jackson’s bubble.”

  “Jackson’s bubble?” Jason asks. “Should I know what that is?”

  “Oh, wait!” Michael interjects, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “I was there when that happened! Back when I was with Beta Squad—Jackson Medincoff, that was the kid’s name! We were on a training exercise in the mountains when he fell down an ice fissure and tumbled headlong into an underground river. He survived by projecting a spherical force field around himself. He stayed dry and fully oxygenated until he could find a place on the riverbank to land.”

  “I think we should consider the properties of an arena full of loose dirt the same as if we were dealing with a major body of water,” I say with a nod.

  “So, reshape our armor using curved lines instead of straight,” says Diana. “No surface area for the dirt to pile onto.”

  “And therefore no way for it to smother us,” Jason adds with a scowl. “Wish I would’ve thought of that.”

  “Think outside the box, people,” I say while forming a four-inch force field bubble in my hand. I hold it up and then make it grow larger and larger. “By expanding the force fields around us, we’ll force her to use more and more dirt to cover the surface area.”

  “Just watch out for the one-two punch,” Jason interjects. “They can make the dirt form giant fists to hit you with, or grab you and drag you under. They can also form columns that explode right out of the ground beneath your feet. Step on one of those and you’re airborne.”

  “Damn…” Michael says. “One earthmover can do all that?”

  “All that and more, probably,” I say. “Just be ready for anything. And improvise!” I look directly at Michael. “You’re the quickest one here. I want you constantly moving downfield toward the earthmover. Keep the pressure on her and your guard up. I want her as distracted as possible.”

  “You got it,” Michael says with a nod.

  I address Diana next. “I want you to hold your ground here until after the first wave of attack. Artie’s not stupid. He’s going to send his two best swordsmen at you at the same time.”

  “Let them come,” she growls. “I’m more than ready.”

  “Excellent attitude. Exactly what I wanted to hear.” I turn to Jason next, and I’m more than a little concerned by how pale he looks. “I’m not going to ask you to forfeit—”

  “Good. Because I think we’ve already covered that,” Jason says, narrowing his eyes at me.

  “—but I am going to ask you for a favor.”

  “A favor?” asks Jason.

  I nod. “I need you to use your reserves to set a trap.” I grin then, because I simply can’t help but imagine the surprise on Artie’s face when he sees what I have planned for his precious psi-blades.

  Jason returns my grin. “You’re talking about stunning bunnies, aren’t you?”

  “I most certainly am.”

  Jason shakes his head. “We’ll need a carrot.”

  “We have our carrot.”

  Jason looks at me in surprise. “Who?”

  I point at Diana. “Her.”

  “Me?” Diana says, hands on hips. “I am no carrot.”

  “No, you’re not,” I agree. “But you’re the one they’ll be gunning for the moment the trumpet blares. So, be ready… Jason and I will take care of the rest.”

  Diana’s frown deepens. “This better be one hell of a bunny stunner, gentlemen, or I’m kicking both of your asses when this is over.”

  Michael snickers, and Diana throws him a murderous look. “You want your ass kicked, too?”

  The youngest of us instantly straightens up, swallowing his laughter. “Oh, no, no…no ma’am. Not me. I was just… Uh, I think I’ll go take my position on the field.”

  “Good idea,” I say after him. The noise from the crowd has died down in anticipation of the starting trumpet. It won’t be long now. “Let’s take our positions.”

  Diana stands stoically where she is and powers up her blunted broadsword, while Jason and I start walking in opposite directions. I power up my projected weapon as I cross the arena and come to a stop approximately ten meters away on Diana’s left. With a glance down the line, I see that Jason stands in position ten meters to Diana’s right, powered up and ready.

  Michael powers up his quarterstaff from a position seven meters to my left, well out of range of our bunny-stunner. He knows what we’re up to, because he was part of our squad during last summer’s extreme wilderness survival camp, when Jason and I came up with our unique method for stunning prey. It was either that or go hungry for five days.

  Needless to say, we all had our fill of roasted rabbit that week.

  I glance up at the hovering ImperiumTron the moment it buzzes, signaling the start of the one-minute countdown.

  As the crowd begins to stir, I turn my concentration inward. What I’m about to do takes timing and precision. Baselines have never even seen this kind of thing before, and in that respect I am a bit worried. No telling how many hours of debriefing I’ll be in for once my superiors see this.

  Relaxing into myself, I release my power flow from the bottom of my feet. I work a cord of power as far as I can go, which is about twelve feet into the hard-packed dirt; then, like a hungry earthworm, I extend my energy in Jason’s direction. While I work, I also keep my armor and sword powered up without appearing distressed. It takes every bit of strength I have.

  The ImperiumTron’s projected clock hits the thirty-second mark, and the crowd screams with delight. Voices from the stands rise in chorus as they count down to the starting trumpet.

  I’m straining now to reach Jason under twelve
feet of earth and over sixty feet of space.

  “Ten…nine…eight…seven…” The crowd is on its feet.

  Where the hell is Jason’s energy thread?

  “Six… five…”

  My energy thread is extended as far as I can possibly reach.

  “Four…three…”

  Where the hell is Jason?!

  “Two…”

  I stretch myself out another foot—

  “One!” The trumpet blares over the sound system and the ground ominously rumbles.

  And that’s when I notice the five-foot swells of earth rising from the ground like a damn ocean of soil.

  “Jason!” I yell at the top of my lungs. I somehow manage to send my energy thread out another two feet—

  The crowd roars with excitement as the swells roll closer. It’s then that I notice the three psi-blades riding the rolling earth on force-field surfboards…and they’re moments from contact!

  “Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” I cry, and put everything I have into my energy thread.

  Somewhere deep inside the earth, I make contact with Jason’s energy thread and the power surge is immediate.

  “NOW!” I scream.

  As one, Jason and I extend our force field straight up from the ground. Higher and higher! My armor winks out as I pour everything into raising our grand force field.

  The swells of earth loom high overhead at the exact moment that Jason and I break through the ground. In an instant, our wall rises thirty feet into the air, with traces of crimson and vermilion sparking within our combined effort.

  I will myself not to turn away as the giant waves of soil smash into our wall. I see a flash of blue, then green, then yellow before I realize that I am looking at three psi-blades hurtling at full speed into our wall. I hear their voices cry out in alarm above the din of the crashing waves, followed by three sharp thuds as the psi-blades smash into our force field and tumble headlong into the raging brown earth below.

  For several long minutes, the onslaught continues. Over and over the waves come, with the force of a hurricane.

  And there is no sign of the three psi-blades from the first attack.

  From behind the force field, I can look out over the arena. Four officials point at something within the turbulent sea of soil. Two officials hold up white flags, and it’s apparent that two of Artie’s psi-blades will be benched from further play.

  In other words, they’re out.

  A horn blares from the ImperiumTron high overhead, and images of the two exiting psi-blades are projected midair. Since I’ve never even seen these kids before, their faces mean nothing to me. I scan the arena for the third psi-blade and find him bobbing around in the calming dark waves in a jade-tinged sphere, looking angry and pissed off. I also notice how much he has to struggle to remain standing in his force-field bubble. That’s some swiftly moving dirt out there.

  It only takes a few minutes for the officials to pluck the two retiring psi-blades from the turbulent battlefield, and the “game on” horn sounds overhead.

  In the blink of an eye, the earthmover changes tactics. The waves drop back into the earth, and the dirt begins to roll backwards as if being sucked up by a giant vacuum cleaner. I watch in horror as a giant fist rises out of the ground and begins to grow at a rapid rate. The larger it grows, the less dirt remains to fill the arena. I can already feel the soil rushing around me as the monstrous fist takes shape before my eyes.

  “Diana!” I scream, looking back at her. But she already sees what’s coming her way. Her feet slipping over rolling soil, she scrambles to redirect her force-field armor to keep from falling. I want to laugh out loud when I see her generate a snowboard and boots and ride the cascading soil like a ski run.

  My relief is short-lived, however. I turn in time to see the goliath soil fist slam into our wall. The impact tosses me backwards, but because I’m connected to the wall, I rebound and crash face-first into my own force field. Hard!

  “Shit!” I cry, thankful that I had managed to maintain my helmet projection. I’m just about to catch my breath when the giant fist smashes against the wall again.

  This time, I outright scream my rage at the top of my lungs as I lash about helplessly. And that’s when I feel the tension in my power flow with Jason wink out.

  “Jason!” I cry, knowing he has fallen…but there is nothing I can do for him. He’s in the care of the officials now.

  As our force field vanishes, I am fully aware that my squad and I are headed for a world of hurt. The crowd is going absolutely nuts as the giant fist rears back for a third blow. It’s a grotesque and slow-moving thing, and it’s going to pound me into the ground in about two seconds.

  I’m just about to power up into Jackson’s bubble when I’m plucked from the ground by Diana, zooming by on her snowboard—or should I call it an earth-skimmer?

  “Miss me?” she asks.

  “Definitely,” I reply as I power up a new set of armor, complete with my own earth-skimmer.

  “Where’d you get the idea for the footwear?” I ask.

  Diana grins and points across the arena. “Michael.”

  Sure enough, I catch a flash of Michael tearing around the base of the growing fist on an earth-skimmer. He’s deft and confident over the rippling dark waves as he raises his quarterstaff and rips it through the fist’s thumb.

  The entire soil digit crashes to the ground, and I smile.

  Chancing a glance behind me, I am relieved to see an official and a med tech loading Jason onto a hover-platform. He may be out for the rest of these games, but his supreme effort on my behalf will never be forgotten. If I have even the slightest chance of seeing Emily again, it is only because of loyal friends like Jason.

  As the hover-platform carrying Jason speeds off toward the arena exit, the ImperialTron buzzes overhead and Jason’s image appears midair. Since no one has been buried beneath a ton of dirt this time, play doesn’t stop. Diana and I race across the retreating soil, keeping well to the right of the looming fist as it draws in massive amounts of dirt to replace its missing digit. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a flash of the Lion’s jade-armored psi-bade riding a projected surfboard as he comes ripping around the towering soil fist on a collision course with my second-in-command.

  “Diana!” I cry in warning, but it’s too late. The psi-blade swings his blunted flail at her.

  She ducks low on her earth skimmer, narrowly missing the blow, but she’s off-balance and tumbles head over heels into the deep, turbulent soil.

  “No!” I shout in fury. I change direction and race after the jade-armored Lion. I catch a flash of his armor as he rounds the base of the growing fist ahead of me. Putting my weight into it, I close the distance between us and lean into the turn as the soil moves of its own accord beneath my skimmer, which picks up my speed. I whip myself around the base and am stunned to find an indigo-tinged knight barreling straight at me.

  There’s no time to change course, so I swallow my surprise and lean further into my turn around the base of the rising fist. I can hear the bits of dirt and rock grinding as the soil draws together. I am less than a foot away from the growing column of dirt, but that may be to my advantage.

  The indigo psi-blade stands almost a foot taller than me, and the angry grimace he bears leads me to believe that he is all about taking my head off with one sweep of his projected war hammer. My suspicions are confirmed when I see his left arm twitch, and I do my best not to tip my hand as I hurl myself even faster at him.

  My opponent’s grimace deepens as I close in, and I allow him to think that he has me. When I see him rear back to swing, I don’t even raise my shield. Instead, I hold my position as long as I can while speeding over the swiftly moving soil, the giant fist at my back—

  The whites of my opponent’s eyes go wide as he swings at my head with all of his might.

  At that moment, I plant my sword deep into the growing column of soil behind me. I crouch low and lean as far away from my o
pponent as possible. Using my sword for balance, I am able to stay low while still in control of my earth-skimmer, well out of my opponent’s reach.

  Just as I predicted, the undisciplined energy behind my opponent’s blow hurls him off-balance, smack into the base of the still-forming soil fist. I can hear him screaming in rage as he collides headlong with the massive column of dirt.

  I don’t wait around. I withdraw my sword and use my momentum to sail free. As I speed across the arena, I can hear the audience roar. Glancing up at the ImperiumTron, I smile just a tiny bit when I see the monstrous fist crash hard to the ground in one massive deluge of dirt.

  The crowd’s thunderous applause practically blows me over as the ImperiumTron’s buzzer sounds—not once, but twice! Not only does my opponent’s image appear midair, but the jade psi-blade’s image does as well. Diana must have dispatched her opponent at the same time. That’s two more Lions out of play. Perhaps we do have a chance for a victory.

  All four officials wave their white flags, indicating a pause in play as they proceed to search for the indigo psi-blade beneath the ton of dirt that has just fallen on top of him. I can feel the moving earth slow as it swirls around my calves. Scanning the battlefield, I catch sight of the jade psi-blade arguing with one of the hovering officials, but I don’t see Diana anywhere…

  Three hovercams fly directly in front of my face, buzzing and chirping incessantly.

  “Give ’em a smile, chief,” says Michael as he sweeps his earth-skimmer to a stop next to me. He points skyward. “You’re large and in charge.”

  “Yeah, I see that,” I reply with a fleeting glance at the instant replay of my opponent tumbling headlong into the earthmover’s soil monstrosity. “How’re you holding up?”

  “Covered in dirt, but otherwise fine,” he says with that bright grin of his.

  “Where’s Diana?” I ask.

  Michael points behind us, across the arena. “She was right behind me… Oh, there she is.”

  And sure enough, I see Diana, powered down and slogging through the dirt toward us. Since the earth has stopped moving, there’s now no way to move quickly over the soft, deep soil.