Free Web NovelChapter 57: Good Luck
The south stairwell let them out at the building’s edge. Alina kept Ash’s weight the full length of the east corridor. Moments later, Alexis rejoined them, helping support him from the other side.
"The medic quarter is just up ahead," Alina said.
When they arrived, a queue of injured students wrapped around several hallways. They peeked inside to see a severely understaffed room with little space to walk without bumping into one another. The air that drifted out smelled of antiseptic and old sweat. Someone inside was crying quietly, the sound swallowed almost entirely by the noise of overlapping conversations.
"My phone, call Vivian. She can take us to the Restorative Facility," he croaked out.
Alexis reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone. She called Vivian’s contact. After three rings, the call went unanswered.
"Try Phoebe."
Same response.
Alexis ran down Ash’s contact list. None of them answered.
The intercom crackled once, then a familiar voice blared through the speakers.
"Attention all preliminary participants. Phase Three commences immediately. Report to the north arena grounds." freewёbnoνel.com
"We’ll withdraw," Alina said. "You’re in no condition to—"
She stopped herself at the sound of heels walking through the hallway. The three of them turned to see her.
Evelyn.
Evelyn didn’t stop her stride as she continued moving toward her destination.
"She’s the one I want to fight the most," Ash said through mouthfuls of blood.
"’Tis beyond help. If that be his wish, then we must help him see it done," Alexis said.
"You’re both ridiculous," Alina said. Then she smiled, small and sharp. "But I want my shot at one of you, too."
They reached the arena entrance. Alina tightened her hold, but Ash gently pushed her arm aside.
"I’ll walk," he said. The words were quiet and wet. Alina searched his face, then let him go.
He straightened. The detached rib ground against its stump with the breath. He walked through the gate alone.
The north arena grounds had been a flat field that morning.
Eight platforms hung at staggered heights now, connected by exposed walkways barely wide enough for two people across. Some were broad enough to hold a class. Some were barely large enough for three students to stand without touching the edges. The drop below them was deep enough that what waited at the bottom wasn’t visible from the walkways.
Students who had already been eliminated packed the outer railing with phones out. Sponsors, onlookers and faculty filled the observation deck above.
Every head in the arena turned at the same time when the last team came through the entrance.
Ash was walking on his own. Every step ground the detached rib against his cartilage. A murmur passed through the spectators, a low ripple of disbelief that the injured student kept moving forward without a glance at the stands.
The phase officer stepped forward. "Listen up, this is the last phase of the preliminaries."
Gasps and whispers ran through the spectator stands.
"As you see in front of you, there’s eight platforms. Every five minutes, one of them will crumble at random. The teammates from the last team standing on a platform advances to the final bracket."
Participating students nodded among themselves.
Alina and Alexis looked up at the floating platforms ahead of them. Teams were already making their way, securing the island they wanted. Most gravitated toward the top, while the lower levels were left vacant.
"We’re taking this one," Alina said, finally settling on the third platform from the bottom.
"I favor this isle. It granteth us the clearest sight upon the two connecting passageways."
They set Ash on a raised center portion of the island.
Alina stationed herself at the west side, which connected them to the island below, while Alexis stayed east to fend off descending students.
"Begin!" the phase officer yelled.
A moment of stillness. Then fights broke out on every island.
Davos looked at them from above, then dropped his arm.
A team from above took the signal and began descending on Ash’s team. They ran single file down the walkway.
"There’s a second team behind them. Be careful," Ash said to Alexis.
"I took notice."
Alexis deployed her field across the full walkway width the moment the lead attacker’s foot stepped onto the crossing.
His right foot told him it was in the wrong position. His body fired an automatic overcorrection, causing him to stagger mid-stride on the walkway. The person behind him, moving at full speed, couldn’t stop in time. They ran into each other, tangling on the thin walkway, which stopped any further advance.
Alina stepped forward, spotting a team below them beginning to cross up. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"Is it my turn now?" she said to herself.
She pulled the small wrap from her hand and dragged the bare skin across a railing’s metal edge. She grimaced as it made contact, but pushed through until her blood, exposed to the air, hardened into a six-inch blade extending past her knuckles.
The lead attacker went for a tackle to bring Alina to the ground. She stepped inside the attack before it arrived. The attacker tried to reposition in time, but Alina was already ahead of him. She drove the bloody blade directly into his collarbone.
His blood sprayed onto her as he yelled, falling off the island.
His teammate continued the attack, closing on Alina’s left flank before the blood had settled. She had no room to pivot. His body shot landed cleanly on her torso. She took the blow without stopping, drove her elbow straight up into his throat.
The air left his throat in a rush. Unable to breathe, his knees buckled and he dropped onto the stone.
The final teammate jumped over the fallen second attacker to reach Alina.
She was so occupied holding her position, she hadn’t heard the island above them crumble.
Three students fell from it, landing on Ash’s team’s island. They hit the stone in a cluster, each crack sending a sharp impact through the platform’s surface and straight into Ash’s palms.
Alina turned at the sound of the landing behind her. Then she turned back. She had two teams on either side of her now, unable to focus on both at the same time.
Alexis saw them drop in her peripheral vision. At her current capacity, she could either hold the severed field in front of her, or release it and address the drop team. She decided to hold her position.
The drop team separated on landing. One crossed toward the platform’s defensive position. One drifted toward the edge of Alexis’s field range, close enough to force a split in her attention. The third moved toward Ash.
Ash watched them cross the distance. He shifted his weight forward. His rib shifted on the cartilage in the same instant. He twitched and shifted his weight back, unable to stand.
A second platform detonated somewhere above. A wave of dust, grit and pulverized stone swept across the island, coating their backs. Through it, Swetta’s team landed from the tier above, interposing themselves just before the attacker reached Ash.
The attacker’s punch was already thrown, but it struck one of Swetta’s teammates instead. The teammate was dense and well built, absorbing the punch entirely. Swetta’s other teammate ran across the platform and body-slammed the attacker with all his weight.
"Ash," Swetta said, standing in front of him. "I’m not sure what compelled me to save your team, but here we are." His expression was warm, like it always had been.
Swetta walked across the island with his own unhurried pace, stepping through the chaos like he had nowhere else to be. He reached the final dropped fighter teetering at the edge, and swept their feet with a casual, forgettable motion—like he was sweeping dust off a porch. The fighter fell down and off the floating platform.
Alexis, unable to hold the severed field any longer, released it. The two tangled fighters, freed from the field’s effect, found their numbers had drastically changed. They turned around and ran back up to the island they came from.
Their platform held through all of this.
Alina walked back from the western walkway entrance.
"I don’t know who you guys are, but thank you," Alina said to Swetta’s team.
"You should be thanking your teammate over there, truly," Swetta responded. "He is the reason we’re here."
On his platform above, Davos watched the last of the engagement he sent die down. He had deployed those students to read their coverage and sequencing. He had the information he needed. He turned back to his own platform, not disappointed.
Swetta’s teammates began walking back up to the platform just above them.
"Ash, should I permit them passage?" Alexis said, standing in front of them.
"Let them through," he whispered.
She stepped aside in a series of small, theatrical steps to clear the way.
At the walkway’s end, Swetta stopped and turned back once.
His eyes found Ash across the distance between them.
"Good luck, Ash."
