Chapter seven
I was already awake when Braden opened his eyes. He gathered up the armor and he placed it on various parts on his body and I watched as they became the unyielding piece of metal that had protected him all this time. He helped me with mine and with his hands, the armor began to take shape all over again. It wasn’t until I picked up that last piece to put on my shoulder that it formed into that piece of metal for me and not for him. It would appear that it was getting used to my body chemistry and was now becoming more part of me than him.
“I do believe that it’s starting to become one with your DNA.” It usually takes longer than that, but apparently you are different in more ways than one.” I knew that he was basically saying that being an alien had given me an edge over those that had worn it before. I did feel that that piece that I had put on my shoulder was a little tighter than the rest. In fact, it felt like somebody was squeezing down with such a force that it was going to rip my arm right out of its socket. I grimaced slightly, but I did it behind his back, not quite knowing why this was happening or how to handle it.
He was kind enough to tie up the Offus and hand me one, so we could drag them back to Lord Vadam. He would most likely use all those Offus that were caught to live high off the hog for a considerable amount of time. It appeared to me that each new element of this tournament had something that benefited Lord Vadam. The flying of the arrows was of course for the benefit of his ego. He was just having fun at everybody else’s expense. He liked seeing people live and die at his whim. This hunting of the Offus was for the gluttony of his greedy belly. I wondered what the other three would give him.
Would it be something that you could see and touch, or would it be more of a feeling that you could see in his eyes and in the way that he acted.
“I’m sorry that I can’t carry that for you, but the rules state that the kill has to be carried by those that did the killing.” If that was the case, then I should’ve called upon the Dragos to handle this bit of business. I did essentially take its life, but it was already dying. It would’ve succumbed to its injuries eventually. “Besides, I think that you can do it yourself. Even if you can’t, you’re going to say that you can and that’s just your stubborn streak coming out.” I knew that time was of the essence and that the others were now going to be following us. It may not be on the same path, but the destination was the same.
I heard something in the distance, but I really didn’t know what it was. It did send a cold chill up my spine. That was a warning sign that something wasn’t right. “I think that we should move quicker. There’s something wrong and I can feel it in the air.” There was this tension that you could cut with a knife, a foreboding feeling that surrounded me like a dark cloud. I’d always followed my instincts and right now they were telling me that I was walking from the frying pan into the fire. I’d no idea why I felt that way only that it was like a light bulb going off over my head. I sensed that I should know what this was all about, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
“I’ve learned to trust you, Shana. If you tell me that we need to move quicker, then we move quicker.” I wasn’t sure if I could keep up with him, but I was doing my level best to do so. I could feel the weight of the carcass behind me and it was slowing me down, but I was still able to push myself. I reached down a little bit deeper for that reserve of strength that was waiting for me. I’d never needed it before, but this time it was different.
I heard footsteps behind me and something dragging behind it and then suddenly this blur of motion went by us like we were standing still. I saw the brief glimpse of an Offus strapped behind him. I had no idea where this person got the energy to move with that kind of speed. I did wonder if maybe he was the one that got his first lesson on oral sex.
“That was Nicholas and I was wondering when he was going to show himself. He’s different from the rest of us. He was born with a mutation. He has this ability to breathe without feeling any kind of fatigue. He can run and not get out of breath. There’s only been one like him and we never thought that we would see another.” There was no way that we were going to beat him. We could only hope that he wasn’t the final one to make it into the six that were going to go forward.
“I would say that he has an unfair advantage, but I think the adage is fitting that all’s fair in love and war. Don’t look at me like that. It’s a saying back in my world. Forget about it, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we make it, as at least number five and six. It’s time to grow wings on our shoes and get this going.” I forced myself past the burning of my lungs and at that moment I wished that I had the same mutation that Nicholas did.
My legs were feeling it, but I could see that Braden was also feeling it, but not allowing it to affect him. He was showing remarkable courage and strength, even though the possibility of being eliminated from this contest was very real.
“We’re almost there. Just around this corner and then we will see the people waiting for us to arrive. Lord Vadam will be back at the castle and the Offus will be collected by the guardsmen and taken back to the castle.” We came around the corner and it was like a cold hand slapped us in the face. I didn’t know what to say. The only thing that I could do was grab Braden’s hand for a little bit of support. He squeezed tight and we both looked at each other and then back at what couldn’t be. I wasn’t sure there was anything that I could say and the need for words escaped me.
Where there should have been people screaming for us to run was nothing, but the scorched earth. Bodies were lying with gnarled fingers and surprised looks on their deformed faces. This was a scene from an apocalyptic movie set. The bodies were a combination of innocent civilians and those of the guardsmen. I noticed that they didn’t even get the chance to use the energy whips to defend themselves. I couldn’t even imagine what they saw before they died.
We walked towards the scorched earth and young Nicholas was standing there with his prize, unable to move or say anything. We stood beside him and we dropped the bodies of the Offus and looked on with shock at the senseless destruction.