Kingdom Come Page 13

  Let’s be honest. Half of what we do is a popularity contest, and the best way to get attention is to look good, or at least unique. It showed off my scars, not by accident, I was sure. They would get peoples’ attention. Other warriors’ armour was just ridiculous sometimes. You wouldn’t believe it.

  It was a reality show, after all.

  When Josh waved me over, there was a mix of cheering and booing in the crowd. Some were just curiously chattering. I raised my swords in an X, and they gave up all mixed feelings and applauded out of respect.

  Matt waved Soul in, and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to start jumping up and down. He looked amazing and intimidating in his armour. The crowd shut their mouths and waited. They had no idea I was going to be battling Soul today, and half of them doubted that I should even be fighting at all. I wasn’t too worried. Two weeks was enough time to heal from a bullet wound, right?

  Soul dragged his axe across the ground as he walked. I didn’t know whether he was trying to look intimidating or whether he was just tired, but either way, I was slightly more than nervous. We met at the centre of the arena and he looked down. I followed his eyes and saw a crimson stain on the ground. Inhaling sharply, I tried to clear my head. That was my blood. This was where I got shot. I wearily turned my head, just in case the sniper was there, just in case he wanted to eat steel.

  I snapped back to focus and turned back to my partner, who was now holding out his hand with a mischievous smile. It was a smile I would have liked no part of, so despite showing him the respect due, I stepped back, waving my finger.

  “I know that look. I invented that look,” I said.

  He grinned and dropped his hand, taking a few steps back as well. The dirt slabs placed around the arena were great for hiding behind if you were playing at long-range combat. Neither of us were though, except for some smoke pellets and flash-bangs.

  Sadly, the flash-bangs were not part of my arsenal.

  We circled for a moment before he started to lift his axe. I felt behind me for one of the slabs. I grabbed it and managed to jump back, pulling my knees close to my chest in order to make it over.

  His blade came down and became embedded in the dirt. He tried to tug it free but I was too quick for that — cat-like reflexes, they say. I pounced on him, and we rolled over on the ground until we were crouching face to face. I held my blade out to block him from his weapon. I wasn’t expecting his next move though. He grabbed my arms and threw me over his shoulder.

  I landed on a rock right in the centre of my back. As I whined and tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling, Soul scrambled on his hands and knees back to his weapon. I rolled back onto my front as he kicked at the dirt and pried the handle upward. I refused to lose, friend or not, so I leapt up again and ran over to him.

  Once again, I didn’t expect his move, a sidestep to the right. If I hadn’t thrown my hands out, I would have done a face plant right into the clay, and I think Soul knew that because he started to snicker. I quickly climbed on top of the stone and faced him again; he was ready for an attack but I had better plans. A smoke pellet. As I let it fall to the ground, he stepped back, making an effort to see through the smoke.

  I jumped behind a different stone and called to him. “Oh, my Crow, such a horrible mistake.” He started creeping up behind the stone I’d been behind a minute ago and looked over the top, becoming confused when he didn’t see me there. “You thought this fight would be fake.”

  He ducked behind the rock, and I lost sight of him. I was about to risk a look over the top of the stone I was behind, but an axe four inches above my face was enough to change my mind. Hollering, I stood up and blocked an attack with one sword while I used the other to swing at his middle. He hopped back and snatched my wrist while still blocking the other. His strong grip caused me to drop the sword in my right hand while my left arm started to give out, and I was forced to drop to my knees to hold him off. The blades sparked against each other, grinding against each other, getting closer to our skin before he nearly sliced his own arm open. Lunging away from him, I reached for my second weapon, but he kicked it out of the way, leaving me with one sword and very slim chances of winning.

  As I’ve mentioned before, Soul is a rather large man — extremely fit and slightly taller than myself. You wouldn’t expect him to be able to move as fast as he does. I was practically running backwards as I deflected every swing. I backed right into a barrier and fell over, landing on my shoulders and neck as Soul stood over me, tilting his head.

  I grunted as I rolled over, grasping my chest as I tried to take a moment. Soul wasn’t one to show mercy… This is good for us, just not right now. I clawed myself to my feet and pressed my blade as hard as I could towards his chest, easily held back by his axe.

  I was breathing heavily and feeling slightly beat up. My opponent didn’t care. He hooked the edge of his weapon around mine and pulled it from my hands.

  “Quit?” he asked loudly, with a gleeful smile. Cheeky bird.

  I sighed. At this point, it would be a good idea, but a few young, familiar voices in the crowd stopped me.

  “Go K9!”

  “You can beat him! You can beat anyone!”

  I don’t know why Rosie and her friends liked me so much, but I couldn’t disappoint them. I turned to their direction and saluted as Soul ran towards me. I ducked and grabbed his leg, lifting him off the ground and shoving him over my shoulders. He cried out as he hit the ground and dropped his battle axe, giving me a chance to slide it away — since I can’t quite toss it yet.

  Within a moment he was up again, eyeing the various weapons that had piled up behind me. We both knew I wouldn’t let him near them, but he took a chance and ran forward anyway. He ran straight into my knee and tensed his muscles as he stepped back far enough for me to lean over, swinging my leg up and catching his jaw.

  We both stood ready to defend ourselves, me being in worse shape than him. He took shot after shot, which I managed to dodge before landing a few to his stomach. He was off balance enough that a single kick to the chest sent him to the ground. I ran for my sword, but he caught my ankle and pulled me back before he did the same. I went after him and stepped on the handle before he could get it off the ground. I grabbed a handful of his hair, and he shouted as he tilted his head back. I laughed, then shoved him away. We grappled again, getting caught in a game of mercy.

  I bit my lip as he pushed my hands back. I cried out when he finally held them at my sides, still holding them very tightly. Turning me around, he gave one good shove and I was back on the hard, dusty ground, holding my wrists and praying he was as finished with this battle as I was. Smelling blood and sweat, I could feel him behind me again, so I sat up and grimaced as he used his axe to pull me towards him.

  You will move according to anyone’s will if there are sharp enough objects involved.

  He was holding the axe way too close to me, and only with one hand. For those of you that don’t know, that means it was close enough for me to wrap my arm around the handle and pull it from his grip, and that’s exactly what I did.

  Or what I tried to do… Once again, he was very strong.

  He yanked it back while my arm was still over it, looking at me intensely. I squeaked as he slowly pulled me towards him and the edge of his weapon jabbed my shoulder blade.

  “Y-you’re good…” I stuttered, trying to catch my breath. I cursed myself for not including any speed or sprint exercises in my daily strength training.

  He smiled happily and I decided to make my exit. I scrambled away as fast as I could while avoiding having my flesh torn open, only to feel a hand snatch my hood. I indignantly slumped my shoulders as he stood and lifted me off my feet. I pouted as Matt zoomed his stupid camera in. I continued to pout until Soul spun me around, now holding the buckle of my shoulder-plated armour. My fake pout fell and I stared at him, a pleasant smile still plastered across his face. He wasn’t smug about it, and while I seemed to be in a bit of
pain, having taken a few bumps and bruises, he seemed pleased that I put in decent effort against him. He tilted his head, silently asking me if I gave up. I didn’t want to, but there was no way I could keep fighting, so I held out my hand and gave a sheepish smile. His face softened, and he grabbed my hand as he set me on the ground.

  “That was the biggest challenge I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Crow.”

  “P-pleasure, K9,” he stuttered, pretending to be out of breath too.

  We both knew he was fine. We gathered our weapons and I held Soul’s arm in the air, the way a traditional boxing or wrestling match would have ended. He looked down at me nervously. Slowly, people started to cheer, delayed probably out of shock more than anything else. I spotted the kids in the front row throwing their arms up and pointed them out to Soul. Rosie waved at him, her cheeks almost as red as her hair. He returned the wave, along with a proud smile.

  She screamed and shook her friend by the shoulders. Yeah… She’s going to end up just like me.

  After taking in the applause for five minutes, Soul and I went our separate ways. I headed straight for the showers, eager to rinse all the dirt and sweat off of me. As soon as I left the locker room, I was met by a man who shoved a microphone in my face.

  “Hey, K9! My name is Robert Harold, interviewer for The Invisible Man.” I cautiously shook his hand. “I’m the new reporter. Mr. Viktor is sending me to Tournament of Survivors and wants me to interview all possible candidates.”

  I nodded, a cautious look still apparent on my face. The Invisible Man? Really? Who gave this guy his name? Dr. Frankenstein?

  “So,” he said, his wide mouth stretched out farther into a smug smile. “How do you feel after that battle against Crow?”

  I shrugged, glancing at his cameraman. “A little beaten up. I’m probably going to be feeling it tomorrow, but overall, it was great. I’m really confident in our chances.”

  “So, there’s no hard feelings then? There’s no competition between the two of you?” He held out his microphone again and I scrutinized him.

  “No, this was all training. No one’s ever seen him fight; I wanted to be the first. There’s no reason for there to be competition between us.”

  “Friendly competition, then? Very good. You both have my best for this tournament. I hope to catch up with you again.”

  Never had I ever heard such a fake “good luck” from someone in my life. I shrugged him off and left for dinner.

  Fifteen

  Today was the final day of freedom and of not fearing for my life. Tomorrow was the battle royal, which could last minutes or days; there was no telling. Everyone’s nerves were high, and to an extent, they’d formed teams: for example, Randy and Jeremy, Jekyll and Hyde, and the “lollipop guild,” and then Chrissy, Angel, Frankie, and Eloise.

  And yet Soul and I were on our own. I couldn’t let anyone else fight for me; I couldn’t let them get hurt too. We had to win, though, and I had a plan to do that, assuming Sugar and Carmel got knocked out before the brothers went after us. I’d run over the plan in my head a million times and it was only lunch. I pressed my fingers to my temples and gritted my teeth.

  “Ben?”

  “Gah! What?” I looked up to see Chrissy staring at me.

  “So you didn’t even bother getting dressed today? Or are pink boxers your new look?” I glanced down to see I was in my sleeps and felt my nose and cheeks burn. Standing up slowly, I silently walked out of the cafeteria. I was cursing myself for being distracted and putting on the wrong pants; my face was still red when I ran into Soul. He looked like he was in the middle of a serious thought or a mental breakdown. His hair was sticking out more than usual, and he had his hand across his cheek. He curiously glanced at my outfit, then shook his head and went back to his thought.

  “What’s wrong?” I stepped in front of him, and he evaded me by turning his back. I stepped around him and leaned forward so he could see me from under his hair. This only seemed to stress him more.

  I slid my hand over his and he closed his eyes tightly.

  “K9 said it was them… K9 said it was the gemini. She said they were working f-for…” His voice cracked and he bit his lip. He started to press his hand against his cheek harder, and I reminded him my hand was there by running my fingers over his knuckles. “Hmm-mm, c-came … back… Hurt — hurt the bird! Not the knife! Not the knife! Should have killed you, dirty crow, should have killed you then!” He pressed both hands against his face as he screamed. “Murderers! Murderers! Murderers!” He sobbed and slid down the wall.

  I bent down beside him. I felt I needed to speak softly to him otherwise I would be the one taking the hit. “What happened, Soul?”

  His lip shook as he dropped one hand, uncovering most of his face, which was contorted into a blank, disturbing look. “Soul isn’t here right now…”—his eyes were going in and out of focus — “but if you’d like to leave a message…”

  That thoroughly creeped me out. Usually, he would go into a fit and then need to recite poems or riddles to calm down; this time he completely bypassed that and went straight to lunacy. He rested his head back against the wall and started to get a sheen of sweat over his pale skin. I’d never seen this before, and it scared the hell out of me. I placed my hand over his again and he slowly opened his eyes.

  “K9?”

  “Hey, what was that about?” I carefully asked.

  He looked confused a moment, then shook his head. “Wh-what?”

  I met his terrified eyes, and he started to move his right hand away from his cheek, revealing a small, deep cut. It looked like his skin had come into contact with some form of toxic chemical. Blood started flowing the second he took his hand away. I think I stopped breathing for a moment before I screamed for both Jeff and Louis. Soul rested his head back and I grabbed his cheeks gently.

  “Soul, you have to stay awake… This was Jekyll and Hyde, wasn’t it?”

  He wearily nodded and wiped his face. “M-my office … the knife…”

  “They got into your office?”

  He nodded again and rolled his head to the side. “Was there something on the knife?”

  “Burned … didn’t cut.”

  His eyes closed, and I wasn’t able to wake him up again. If Jekyll and Hyde were trying to get him out of the competition, it seemed like they had succeeded. After I shrieked for the medics again, Louis finally showed up with his bag and shoved me out of the way.

  “So what happened to him?”

  Jeff was trying to work things out. His glasses were tilted to one side, and he was still shaken up.

  “I don’t know. I ran into him in the hall, and he told me that Jekyll and Hyde busted into his office. He said they didn’t use the knife to cut him though —”

  “No, they probably just held it against his skin. There was enough of the chemical to literally burn through his flesh, which resulted in his nasty wound.”

  “Do you even know what kind of drug it was?” Josh asked, walking into the medical ward while still buttoning his uniform.

  “No, but he should be fine now … no permanent damage.” He faintly smiled and let me go wait for Soul to wake up while he talked to our security guard.

  I looked at my sleeping friend. He was clearly having a nightmare. He kept clenching his fists and grimacing, then relaxing again. Pressing my hands against my eyes, I drifted into my thoughts … no sleep last night, likely none tonight, and Soul was out like a light. I desperately hoped he would wake up soon. I glanced back up and sighed. This shouldn’t have happened to him. I needed to find Dr. Frankenstein before he actually killed any of us.

  “So,” Josh said, leaning against the wall behind me, “what was he doing before this?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where was he going?”

  “No clue.”

  He grunted and pulled his cap from his head. His knuckles were bloody and his fingers were a little cut up. He was always bruised; he trains with us but
he doesn’t have the speed or stamina. He’s said he’s happy with his job though, just happy to be here.

  “You can’t keep giving me attitude. I’m trying to help.”

  I felt my hands ball up, and the next thing I knew, I was standing in front of him. “I know it was you that shot me! I saw you before I passed out. I … I don’t blame you. I know you were just doing what Dan said. But how do you think I feel right now? Jekyll and Hyde are gunning for us, and the one guy that’s supposed to be looking out for me put me in the hospital!”

  He didn’t answer me. His face went white and he looked down.

  “I’m sorry, Josh; I have to take care of this.”

  I turned back to Soul, told him to find me when he woke up, and squeezed his hand. Then I ran out of the room and straight for my locker. Josh followed me without a word, just wringing his hat between his hands while he jogged to keep up.

  After grabbing my weapons, I knew exactly where I was going. I assumed that Jekyll and Hyde would be in the dining hall, as they usually were around noon, so I kicked the door open and stormed in, one sword already raised. I embedded it in the table beside Hyde and glared at them and their girlfriends.

  “Care to explain why you tried a sneak attack when you know very well that I wouldn’t stand for it?”

  “Yeah, about that… It wasn’t anything personal, but our boss wanted us to test his new drugs, and let’s face it, everyone hates your friend,” Hyde said.

  I whacked the jewelled end of my sword over the back of Hyde’s head. “Who do you work for, boys?”

  They looked at each other, then laughed.

  “Dr. Frankenstein, of course,” Hyde answered. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”