BA3 - Chapter 8

“Come on!” Shin-soo yelled with his hands cupped to his face.

Lights danced across the floor of the massive stadium as eighty thousand people roared in excitement.

“Now, welcome to the arena, Xilot, the roper!” the announcer declared and a spotlight fell on a small round bot. The owner, a young woman with cherry hair braided in a crown, climbed to her tower to operate the roper, Xilot.

“And on this end, the east side champion, Ganker!” The young man strut onto the field with his massive brawler bot and I rolled my eyes.

“He’s gonna win,” Shin-soo yelled over his shoulder to me and pointed to Ganker.

“Whatever you say!” I smiled back.

The odds had been stacked horribly against Xilot, but I’d seen the quality craftsmanship of the product when I did my walk-by. I had twenty guli down that she’d win by minute five, if not sooner.

“Three, two, one, fight!” The announcer yelled and the crowd went mad.

The bots charged at one another. Xilot rolled along the ground by pushing it’s many small paneled legs that surrounded it’s central body into the dirt. It could turn a right angle at incredible speeds, and lifted itself out of danger in a blink.

Ganker swung hard for the tiny, agile roper style bot. Much like Woong-ji’s Rabid Rabbit with its long, reaching tentacles that could lift it from the ground, this interesting little guy was a small sphere, sprouted with flexible metallic arms from every angle.

The brawler slammed its fist into the concrete, missing the ropy bot by a long-shot. The owner of the ropy ball was just playing with him, I could see it in her face, though she didn’t show much. It was all in her eyes, they way her pupils dilated in the big projector screen of her face closeup. She was having fun showing off.

The little ball of wires pulled itself up by looping an obstacle and reeling the arm in. It dropped onto the brawlers head, and the ends of the tentacles burst into even tiny sections. The wires dug into the joints on the bot, and in a blind, ripped it to shreds. What in Eodun did she have for a torque converter in there?

The crowd booed and awed, with a few random whoops of joy like my own. I was two hundred guli richer on a single bet. Well, one seventy-nine after taxes.

“Happy now?” Hana asked beside me. Her arms crossed as she looked in every direction for danger.

She had thought going to a bot fight was the worst possible idea ever, but after a bit of greasing, I got her to see my side. Anyone coming to abduct me would know to look in the Sky Pillow, it was on our itinerary, and they certainly had that. So, it would be safest to be away from there as much as possible.

“Very happy,” I smiled, then rested my hand on her shoulder. “We need this break after what happened today.”

She pursed her lips. “This is dangerous.”

I sighed. “Everything is dangerous. Staying there is dangerous, going back is, everywhere we turn its dangers. We’re being careful. You’re keeping watch.”

“What happens if I’m not here to watch out while you gamble?” she asked, annoyance thick in her voice.

“Do you want to gamble a round, and I’ll keep watch?” I offered.

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not exactly what I meant, and you know it.” She huffed through her nose, then added, “But yes, I do.”

I grinned and addressed the group, “Cho and I will save the seats while you guys bet the next round.”

“Okay! Let’s go Hana!” Yuri grabbed her by the hand and headed for the nearest isle.

“Wait,” I caught Hana’s other hand, playing a momentary game of tug-of-war with Yuri. “Don’t bet on Xilot.”

Hana scowled. “You did and just won a lot.”

“Sand,” I said. She looked at me as if I’d spoken nonsense. I sighed. “There’s too much sand in the gear oil now. She won’t get it all cleaned in time, unless her en is as good as her ma. She’s going to lose the next round.”

“Ugh, whatever. Let’s just go bet on something and get a snack!” Yuri pulled on Hana and I released her.

Shin-soo gave a serious nod my direction he followed them, as if to assure me he’d watch out for the girls. I chuckled. Hana would be watching out for him if they ran into any trouble.

Cho shifted in the seat two down from me and leaned in. “Do you really think it’s okay for us to be here?”

I shrugged. “The other Bastions left the inn.”

Cho winced. “Yeah, but… us?”

I looked around at the stadium as the thousands of people moved about. “There’s a lot of faces in the crowd.”

Cho nodded, and dropped it. Ten minutes passed in no time, and the stadium roared with excitement. Hana, Yuri, and Shin-soo returned with their paper bet stubs, eyes sparkling with excitement.

What a cruel fate that in just a few days’ time those eye would be sleepless, anxious, and cold. I hadn’t known this was where Bastion would lead me. I thought perhaps I’d be like Woong-ji, open my own ring and fix bots for the best of the best. I hadn’t dreamed I would be on my way to spy—

“Hey, hush,” Mae warned and I nodded. No time to be thinking about that. No matter how good my mental shield was, there could always be someone better at cracking it, and there were thousands of people in range for that.

“Let’s go!” Hana yelled, a grin spread from ear to ear.

I smiled back and shouted my own encouragement to Xilot. She was going to lose, but it could be a great fight. Her opponent was a spidery bot, similar to Tuko, with four legs and a very sleek body casing. It was definitely a sniper type.

The buzzer rang and the announcer declared the start of the fight. IO lifted a single digit on its spindly arm, waiting. Xilot rolled across the stadium, bouncing from obstacle to obstacle, but IO didn’t move. When the crowd grew restless, moaning in boredom, or booing, Xilot made her move. She surged forward, wrapping her long tentacles from object to object as she swung in high.

IO leapt, catching Xilot. He rammed all four of the needle-like legs into the openings on Xilot and with a bang, spilled her golden munje across the floor. The crowd gasped, then cheered madly.

“I can’t believe it!” The announcer declared. “Xilot just got annihilated!”

IO’s ownder didn’t waste munje on moving, knowing that Xilot would have to come to him. He didn’t let the drone of the bored crowd alter his plan. He was in it for the win—a league of his own. I wanted to fight him.

“Jiyong’s in love,” Hana knocked my shoulder with a playful tone.

I laughed, then raised an eyebrow at her. “Watch out.”

She rolled her eyes, then left again with Yuri to collect their earnings. I handed over my ticket so they could collect mine, too. There were still five fights to go, but it was nearly curfew, so we decided to turn in.

The walk back to the inn was made easy with Mae’s guidance. Hana and I lead the way, arm-in-arm as we chatted about the matches—until we reached the door of the Sky Pillow. Sung-ki and Woong-ji stood menacingly on the other side, arms crossed.

“Did it escape you when we said, curfew was at ten?” Sung-ki glared me down, as if I was the only responsible party.

My eyes bulged innocently. “Is it not ten now?”

“Eleven,” Woong-ji replied coldly.

I looked around at the others, who shared my bewilderment.

“How?” Yuri asked, flustered.

Sung-ki grinned his unkind grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “Lose track of time gambling?”

We all nodded, and his expression went flat. “They set the clocks back an hour to confuse visiting customers into staying later and spending more.”

I glared at Shin-soo.

He shrugged, guiltily. “I thought you knew.”

Woong-ji growled, then turned away. “Come inside. We have an early start.”

“Nice going,” Cho said, passing Shin-soo into the building.

I let Hana and Yuri go in after me, holding Shin-soo at the door. “What are you doing?”

Shin-soo glowered. “Going to bed.”

“No,” I said more sternly. “Who are you helping by going against our instructors?”

He ground his jaw from side to side. “I just wanted to have a bit of fun. We trained hard all summer, and—”

“You’re helping the enemy,” I reminded him in a whisper. “Every time you’re not aligned with our goal, you’re helping anyone who opposes us. Get with the team or get off it.”

He knocked me aside with his shoulder as he pushed his way into the building. “Whatever.”

I shook my head as I watched him go. What was his problem?

“Do you want to know what I think?”

I followed Shin-soo to the elevator and got in beside him while he fumed. ‘Always—mostly always, but yes this time.’

“I think you’re his first real friends, and he’s scared he’ll never feel this again once the mission is over.”

‘That’s a stretch. Shin-soo has plenty of friends at Bastion.’

Mae’s face appeared in my vision. She scowled at me like I was stupid. The elevator jostled, then started on its journey to our floor.

‘I’ve seen his friends, they used to torment me, remember?’

“Friendships aren’t forged in cruelty_TK.” She said, disappearing from my vision.

I pursed my lips as I mulled over the very thing I’d told her last year when trying to earn Ko-nah’s trust. I sighed gently and turned to Shin-soo.

“I didn’t mean I wanted you gone. You contribute to the group.”

Shin-soo crossed his arms and looked away. “Fine.”

I barely contained my growl. So infantile. How could a boy so childish have caused me so much trouble my first year?

The elevator chimed and came to a stop. The doors slid back and Shin-soo charged out faster than if he’d been on fire. I wanted to say more to him, but what? “Suck it up,” or “Get over yourself.” Both were appropriate.

The other students were asleep when Shin-soo, Cho, Sung-ki, and I arrived. Cho dragged himself to the bottom bunk—my bed—and laid down. He was asleep in an instant, snoring loudly.

I chuckled and climbed up to the top bunk. I lay back and tucked in. When I closed my eyes, orange fox masks zipped through my mind. Hiro Kumiho swallowed me up in a watery grip, then pulled me into his air bubble.

“I’m saving you,” my father’s voice played over and over.

I opened my eyes. My heart thudded heavy in my chest and my breathing was shallow. I stared at the concrete ceiling and took ten deep breaths to clear my mind the way Woong-ji had taught me. When my thoughts were silent and heart slowed, I closed my eyes again.

Blue. Orange. Crashing white wave. Crushing water on my arms. Lungs burning for air. Yuri’s pinned body in the water, blood seeping from between her lips.

My eyes shot open in the dark and I glared at the ceiling.

“Can’t sleep?” Sung-ki whispered from below and I jumped with a start.

I looked over the edge of the bunk at him. “I’m fine.”

“Lying gets you killed on the battlefield. If you can’t get to sleep, you won’t be awake the next day.” He reached out, holding a small, sliver vial in his hand. “It’s a natural draught. You’ll sleep well, but lightly, with no dreams.”

I accepted the potion gladly. “How did you know? Did my shield fail?”

He shook his head. “I’m monitoring all of the student’s heartrates.”

I nodded, downed the chalky potion, and handed him the empty vial. “Thank you, Master.”

Sung-ki dipped his head and turned away, but stopped. “I truly hope whatever visions haunt you do not return tomorrow.”

I nodded in thanks, and he left me to sleep. I kept my eyes open as long as I could, but my lids were getting heavier by the second. My breathing deepened and the warm, sweet embrace of thoughtless oblivion took me.