Mekai finally seemed to hear us. He shook his head as if breaking from a trance, cursing loudly when he realized the trainer was nearly upon him. Running forward a few steps, he shot up into the air, his legs still propelling mid-air. Aza stopped abruptly. Folding his arms, he laughed incredulously at the sight. That was when Mekai’s foot kicked the trainer fair in the breeding region and dropped him like a sack of spitting serpents. All Aza could manage was a high-pitched ‘O’ of surprise, before he went down. Every other male in the room doubled over, joining the trainer in a low groan. Honestly, the only time I have ever seen the male species display empathy is when they witness another man getting hit in the privates.
Mekai, still running in mid-air, crossed over the safety line. He touched down grinning widely, not looking the least bit ashamed of resorting to such a dirty attack.
“Oooooooohhhhhh,” moaned Aza as he lay in the fetal position on the ground, his eyes bugging out of his head. Brazin stood over him, urging him to get up and be a man as the girls erupted into shocked giggles.
“I’m not going anywhere near that injury,” Jonaz muttered dryly. Even I started sniggering helplessly. Mekai walked back to the trainer.
“You all right?” he asked way too cockily for this stage of the game. Aza staggered to his feet. Still bent over, he twisted his face up and glared angrily at Mekai.
“That was a low blow boy, I’ll remember this,” he wheezed, his pitch higher than his natural tone.
“I’m sure you will,” Mekai chuckled merrily as he swaggered back to us. Jonaz and Marz stared at him with mixed expressions of new admiration and amusement.
“That was the most unmanly manoeuvre I’ve seen in combat yet,” Brazin said disgustedly. “What are you, a little girl?”
“Say what you like,” Mekai said, shrugging un-offended. “He went down, I went over the line, I win.” Brazin looked caught as he realized Mekai had a point. After all, he never said we couldn’t fight dirty.
“Okay, I’ll accept it this time, but next time I expect you to put your powers to better use than that,” Brazin grunted. “Now who’s next? Stelli. Go.” Stelli shook, her terrified expression suggesting it had actually sunk in what we were doing here.
“It’s okay Stelli, just concentrate,” Jonaz urged her, finally serious. She turned and glanced at him, her golden eyes wide with anxiety. Then drawing in her breath she turned back and stepped trembling over the line. The trainer, Bar, replaced Aza, his head cocked to the side in interest as he regarded the beautiful girl in front of him. He was slimmer and more handsome than the other trainers, with his shoulder-length, brown hair tied back. But, his chiselled face matched his hard eyes, and he moved towards her, quickly closing the distance between them. I thought she would freak out, but something in her demeanour changed. She stopped shaking, pulling herself up straight. To my surprise, she gave him an encouraging smile and matched his pace, moving gracefully, hypnotically. Her hips swayed and her golden hair swung around her. Then the full force of her eyes caught the trainer. He stopped in his tracks, shaking his head, trying to break free of her gaze, but she fixed him to the spot as she moved past him, her lips still curved into a seductive smile. All the trainer could do was stare open-mouthed, unable to move as she waltzed right under his nose towards the safety line. She was going to make it.
With a deep growl, the trainer shook his head again, this time managing to tear his eyes away for a second. That was enough. Stelli froze several lengths short of the line. When he made eye contact with her again he was no longer caught by her power. She knew it and gasped. Head down, he lunged after her at an impossible speed, breaking the distance so fast his legs blurred. Stelli screamed in fear, turning to flee. He caught her a moment later, his arm wrapping around her neck, jerking her backwards. A cry caught in her throat as he pinned her arms behind her back and forced her to her knees. Struggling against him was futile.
“Hmm, not bad girl.” Brazin clapped his hands and the trainer instantly released her. “Yet you should have tried to fight him again. Why did you run?”
“I..I..” Stelli spluttered looking rattled, even though not one hair on her perfect head was out of place. “He’s bigger than me!” she protested.
“Size is no excuse,” Brazin said sternly. “Abwarzians themselves are of smaller statue than any half-grown Comian. It’s your powers that need to represent your strength, not your physical size or appearance.” Brazin’s expression was firm as he lectured her and she cowered at his assault, retreating to Jonaz’s side. He brushed her cheek lightly, and she seemed to relax. I gawked incredulously. How on Como could Jonaz Maven have a calming effect on anyone when his mere existence outraged me?
“Mira you’re up,” the trainer called, un-phased by any of the emotions running through our group. Wow. Mira was still here? She’d been so quiet I’d forgotten all about her. I hadn’t even felt any death glares scorching my back. Amazing. In fact, she hadn’t said a word. Not that she was much of a talker, more of your ‘don’t talk to me’ type. “Now Raze here is not like the rest of you, as he bears no actual powers. However, do not underestimate his abilities. He has served in the Comian army for over a hundred moons and has both wit and strength to rival any of your skills.” Raze swapped places with Bar and stood ready at his line. Without a doubt, he was the meanest, largest, scariest looking trainer. He radiated strength and discipline, his body even wider and brawnier than Brazin's. His thick, shaggy, black hair fell just below his ears and his eyes were as dark as burnt coal, his expression cold and uninviting. I found myself inexplicably uneasy.
Mira tossed her head as she took her place. I noticed that nobody offered her any encouragement. Her dazzling personality had clearly failed to charm anyone here yet.
She started forward at a slow run, shooting off small bolts of energy. Raze was prepared. Strapped over the knuckles on both hands was some sort of Taser devises from which red beams of crackling light were now shooting out towards Mira in return. He deflected her bolts at the same time, working steadily closer. What he lacked in powers, he more than made up for with modern technology. Mira stopped running and concentrated on keeping him at bay, her face scrunched up in effort. It made her look quite ugly really. They fired away at each other, neither gaining the upper hand, until Mira became visibly frustrated. Emitting a low hiss of irritation, she moved toward him, ceasing fire momentarily. That was all it took for Raze to fire and hit her in the chest. Blown off her feet, she sailed backwards, hitting the ground hard on her side. Mira lay still, her eyes closed.
“Mira!” I cried out involuntarily, my hands flying to my mouth in horror. Even if I couldn’t stand the girl, it was still unsettling to watch her get hurt. Raze moved to her side, his expression passive. As he reached down to check her pulse, Mira suddenly flipped onto her back, hitting him square in the face with a bolt of energy. Stunned, he crashed right down on top of her.
“Get off you big, ugly freak!” she shrieked, spitting and kicking ferociously. Managing to roll him off she leapt to her feet and stomped back to us, huffing and brushing herself down as if Raze carried a disease. Why did she have to be so good at everything? Good at this. Good at annoying me. Good at stealing the only boy on this planet I wanted. It was so annoying. As she stalked past me, she very deliberately shot me a look that meant ‘look at who you’re messing with.’ Or at least that’s what my overimaginative brain concluded. To think I wasted a precious moment worried she was actually hurt. Humph!
“You failed,” Brazin said sharply. “You didn’t cross the line.” Mira spun around, glaring at Brazin with dark flashing eyes.
“What’s the point of the stupid line?” she hissed. We all stood open-mouthed, watching her standing there, hands on hip, giving lip to a huge, scary trainer.
“Allow me to elaborate,” Brazin sneered. “You must either overcome the enemy to prevent them from dispatching you, or be ready to retreat to safety if you can’t incapacitate them.” Mira’s scathing expression faltered as she considered the logic. “The idea is to make sure you are safe, before you retreat, because the Abwarzians will show no mercy,” Brazin ranted on as Mira glared at him sullenly. “You must learn to treat us as the enemy while you are in this class, learn to survive. I want you to throw your trainers down before you run, if you can, remembering that in war you would need to make sure they can not get back up.” I shuddered at his words. The first lesson and I was already facing the idea that one day I might have to hurt someone, maybe worse. There was no way I could kill someone. I was sure I wasn’t capable. In fact, I wouldn’t even know how to use my powers in that way. Yet observing Brazin’s grim expression, a small uncomfortable idea began to form, that maybe he was going to show me how.
“Sazika, your turn,” Brazin called.
“Good luck,” I whispered. She grimaced in return, then gingerly moved forward over the line as Bar again took the other line. As soon as she stepped over, she vanished. I waited for the trainer to start searching for her but instead; he walked calmly to the centre of the floor at the halfway mark. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a facemask, which he quickly put on. Sazika was still nowhere in sight. I hoped she was passed him by now. However, the trainer knew exactly what he was doing. Spinning in a tight circle, he threw out his right hand, releasing a fine, white powder. It clung to the air, spreading around him, rolling rapidly towards us.
A nasty, acidic smell reached us first, my nostrils flaring in retaliation. A violent burst of coughing and choking erupted to the trainer’s right, the slight outline of Sazika becoming visible in the polluted air. The trainer pounced, seizing her as she spluttered and gagged, too incapacitated to react. He released her as she appeared and pulled her quickly from the ring of fumes. I ran for my bag and retrieving my water container, tossed it to her. She drank gratefully, her eyes red and streaming tears as she tried to quell a spasm of coughing.
“What was that?” Marz gasped. “Is that stuff dangerous?”
“It is if you get caught in it for long enough,” Brazin answered. “The substance itself is fairly harmless, simply finely ground meteor dust. It does burn a little if you get it in your eyes, but of course the real danger is being attacked while you are busy trying to breathe.”
“Do the Abwarzians use it?” Mekai asked, unnerved. He looked over at Sazika with concern. She was still coughing a little and using my water to rinse her eyes.
“They will pump it at you through a pressure hose that can shoot it about fifty Comian lengths. You would be fighting for air before you even had a chance to fight for your life.” I shuddered at his honesty, and at the cruelty of it. It wasn’t that I hadn’t known some of what they were like before now. I knew through the media about their violent government. They were dictators, feeding their citizens with lies about us, inciting their hatred of us. Yet getting such a brutal visual was disturbing. Suddenly it felt more real, and that made it frightening. I wondered how much more advanced they’d become with the weaponry since the first war. It occurred to me that Shay must know, and if she did, she must believe in me more than I did at this point. I thought about asking Brazin what else they had up their sleeves, but then decided against it. No need to scare myself silly until I had to, right?
Brazin continued to speak, “Sazika your power gives you the advantage of stealth that your enemies will lack. It will give you time to plan your attack. In this situation, you could have crawled lower, under the smog, and still got to the trainer without him knowing. Next time I expect you to be prepared for such tactics and finish your opponent off.”
“Finish him off how?” she asked, her voice strained with tension, her expression bewildered. I didn’t know how to answer; only my body responded with a slight shiver. All the noise in the room faded again as the trainer Raze strode again onto the floor, and I realized I was up. My heart lurched as I frantically wiped my sweaty palms down the front of my pants. I had no idea what to do. Yes, I did; I would definitely humiliate myself.
I took my place at the line, warily eyeing the trainer who stared keenly back. There was something about him, something in the way he looked at me, that I really didn’t like. Like I really was the enemy. It was unusual to see such aggression in a Comian. It made me wonder what he may have faced in the army to make him that way.
“Come on then, Twell,” Raze taunted me. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” I stared at him blankly, at a loss as to how to fight him. Maybe I could throw him, but he was huge, more than twice the size of Jonaz or Marz, and about three of me. He continued to stare at me like I was some sort of swamp creature. His eyes widened for a split second before they narrowed, a hard glint emerging in his eyes. “Here girl,” he growled. “We don’t have all day.” Sheesh, what was his problem? Indignant, I stepped over the line. Raze matched me, stepping forward, leering. Annoyed I tried to focus on his large crouching form, but my nerves were overtaking my senses and my powers formed sluggishly, barely a tingling buzz inside of my mind that I tentatively pushed out. He was forced back a step. Just one small step. Panic rose in my chest as I realized I had no hope. “It seems you are just a pretty face,” he laughed gratingly. “I’m almost disappointed this will end so quickly.”
“Come on, Twell!” Marz urged me on. I tried to focus harder, pushing my energy at the trainer, little beads of sweat breaking out on my forehead. To my alarm, he leaned into the force of it, pushing his way towards me, step by step.
“No!” I began to back away. I pushed harder at him, trying to fend him off. But, he kept coming, closer, his black eyes boring into me, making my heart stutter and skip in terror. I began to sweat, my powers flailing. Desperate, I threw all my strength at him, and he staggered backward several lengths. Instinctively I turned and ran but it was a mistake to turn my back on him. In a heartbeat, he’d caught up with me and the next moment I felt his fingers wrap around my neck, yanking me backwards so that I collided against him. He squeezed his hand around my windpipe and I froze in panic.
“Fight!” Brazin roared, as I choked. “Use your brains before your powers.” Pivoting out of his grasp, I danced out of his range, putting a good, healthy space between us.
“Well, well, I would have expected more from you,” Raze taunted me as he moved closer. I knew he was only trying to rile me, distract me. I had to stay focused. He murmured so that only I could hear, “I really will enjoy taking you down.” Geez! What was with this guy? As Raze leered threateningly, an idea came to me. I pushed him again, a little harder this time, so that he was forced back a step but not nearly enough to worry him.
The stupid, ugly brute was playing right into my hands though, thank goodness. I pulled my face into what I hoped was a terrified expression and took a few quick steps backward, trying to appear intimidated. It worked. His eyes gleamed in anticipation as he lurched towards me. He hadn’t even used any sort of weapon, coming at me with his bare hands. It crossed my mind he wanted to touch me, to make the humiliation more personal. Whatever his problem was, my instincts told me he was dangerous, different than the other trainers. I couldn’t let him win.
As he ran at me, I crouched down, and instead of pushing at him, used his momentum and my powers to pull him forward. Startled he lost his balance and fell towards me. Lifting him just before he hit me, I threw him right over my head as he grunted in surprise. Then, catching his body before it hit the ground; I changed the direction of my power, throwing him with all my strength. Mid-air, he went barrelling into the other trainers. They went down in a heap of cursing, tangled black legs and arms. I sprang up and sprinted over the line to safety, letting out a ‘Whoop!’ of relief.
“Well done, Twell,” Brazin boomed, as he strode towards me. He slapped me so hard on the back I staggered. Jonaz stepped out and caught me. My eyes snapped up at him in annoyance and I made to shrug him off, but his warm, dark eyes staring intently into mine caught me off guard.
“That was brilliant, Twell,” he said sincerely. As he set me back on my feet, I backed warily away from him.
“Er...thanks,” I muttered. I felt feverish, and wondered if the exertion of my powers was to blame.
“Twell, that was so clever,” Sazika said, as she beamed at me. I couldn’t help grinning back. I’d just used my powers more than I ever had before, but apart from exhausting me, it felt really good. An arm draped itself around my shoulder and turning I found it was attached to Marz.
“Good for you for beating that trainer, he seems a little, er...”
“Creepy? Sleazy?” I suggested, carefully removing his arm.
“Well, yeah. You don’t know him do you?” Marz replied, not reacting to my brush off at all.
“No, I don’t know what his problem is, but he doesn’t seem to like me.”
“Well, don’t worry TwelI, I won’t let him hurt you,” he said in a low voice, moving closer to me again.
“Oh don’t worry about me Marz, I won’t let him,” I replied brusquely. What was with these boys thinking I needed protecting? I had it covered, thanks very much! Marz raised his eyebrows, but wisely didn’t argue.
“Okay Jonaz, you’re up,” Brazin ordered as Jonaz took his place. “You need to think carefully.” Jonaz stood regarding Aza, who faced him at the other end of the hall.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” Jonaz muttered, taking a few steps towards the line anyway.
“Sure you do, Jonaz. You remember how to reverse your power right?” Jonaz went very still. At first, he looked like he’d just been slapped. Pain crept into his expression, his eyes taking on a haunted look. He stood gazing blankly at nothing, his features twisted in hurt, before he seemed to recover. His mouth pressed out in a thin line, his eyes hardened as he fixed Brazin with a sharp stare. “That’s right,” Brazin said, as he nodded at Jonaz, “all your abilities are needed here, and they will be commended, not punished.”
“Oh. I see,” Jonaz answered darkly. Another flash of pain passed over his features. “So that’s what this is about for me.” His tone became bitter, his fists clenched.
“This is about using all of your powers, Jonaz, not just the ones you want to. The choice is yours of course, but would you sacrifice your people’s safety for your own comfort?” Brazin spoke evenly, holding unblinking eye contact with Jonaz. Jonaz stood silent for several moments, his brow furrowed as if fighting some internal battle. Whatever had just been communicated between them, Jonaz seemed to understand what he must do, but he looked far from pleased about it. The atmosphere in the room chilled, and I shivered again.
Jonaz moved slowly towards the trainer Aza, who matched his steps. His features, usually bright with mirth, were unusually sombre. I couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t like he was going to go out there and tickle the guy into submission. Unlike the rest of us, Jonaz didn’t have a gift that could get him out of trouble, without someone getting hurt. His power seemed much darker, more dangerous than ours did. I shuddered a little as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing the hard lean muscles of his arms. Carefully the two men circled each other, like two spitting serpents out in the desert, sizing each other up. I realized I was holding my breath. Then suddenly, the trainer dove at Jonaz.
Stelli gasped as Jonaz neatly dodged out of the way. Swivelling around, the trainer lunged again, this time leaping off the ground and attacking Jonaz mid-air. Jonaz danced out of his grasp, his hands open, rather than clenched in defence. Why wasn’t he fighting? Mekai and Marz hooted and whistled Jonaz on, as he weaved and ducked, nimbly avoiding the trainer’s lunging grabs at him. Aza swooped down, swinging a huge fist at Jonaz. I heard a cry leave my own mouth, as Jonaz dodged out of the way just in time. The dance continued in this way for a while, Jonaz retreating repeatedly, refusing to fight, until Aza cast an exasperated glance at Brazin.
“He won’t fight me, what do I do here?” he called out.
“Use your powers, Jonaz, he’s not going to hold back for you,” Brazin’s voice rung out in command through the room. Jonaz shot him a furious glare, as he backed out of Aza’s way again, and Aza finally caught up with him. Throwing a large fist at Jonaz, he solidly connected with Jonaz’s nose. There was a loud crunch. Jonaz staggered. Blood splattered. He went down hard. Stelli screamed, and covered her eyes. Horrified silence hung thickly in the air as Jonaz stared up at Aza, a stream of blood gushing from his nostrils.
“Have it your way then,” his voice built with anger as he got to his feet. Lurching at Aza, he pushed his hands against his chest. Aza’s reaction seemed exaggerated, his bellow of pain as he clutched at his ribs over dramatized. But, it was clear Jonaz had used his powers, inflicted pain by the darkening look in Aza’s eyes. Then they were really fighting. Aza swung his fist again, straight at Jonaz’s head. Jonaz went to block him but as the sheer power in the trainer’s arm knocked him sideways, he stumbled and fell. The trainer lunged for him again and Jonaz rolled, just avoiding a boot. Aza swung around and taking a huge step forward, landed a full blow to Jonaz’s abdomen. I cried out in protest as he fell to his knees with a grunt.
“Stop it, stop it!” Stelli shrieked in a high-pitched distress. Her eyes brimmed with tears. My heart pounded; I was unused to seeing such violence because they hid it all away in their archives, and assured us it was not our way anymore. But here it was right now, right in front of me. It was either something new within us, or something simply buried and now revived.
As Aza grabbed him in a headlock, Jonaz finally reacted the way they wanted him to, grabbing hold of the trainers left ankle. I heard a small twanging sound, and then Aza was on the ground screaming, clutching at the tendon Jonaz had just snapped. Jonaz pulled himself up. Still breathing hard, his eyes still fixed warily on Aza who writhed on the floor in agony.
I stared in horror, my hands over my mouth. What was Jonaz capable of? He could heal, but he could also hurt people? Was he capable of killing? A shudder worked its way down my spine as Jonaz released the trainer and walked calmly to the far line. Everyone was silent, except for Aza who was still groaning on the ground where Jonaz had left him. His eyes rolled back in his head, his features twisted in pain.
“Would you like me to fix him now?” Jonaz spat at Brazin who now stood over the injured trainer. His own nose was still broken and bent, dripping blood all over the floor, but he seemed unaware of it, his anger overshadowing his own injuries.
“I’m not sure he deserves it, letting a student beat him so easily.” Brazin glared scornfully down at Aza.
“You aren’t going to leave him like that are you? It’s cruel!” I found myself moving towards the injured trainer before the words even left my mouth. I couldn’t help it. I just couldn’t watch someone lying there in pain like that. That would be barbaric, pitiless...Abwarzian.
“Stop!” Brazin boomed. I froze. “Do not question my actions.” His eyes glittered sternly at me.
“But...” I began to argue, despite the frantic gestures Mekai was making for me to come back.
“Get back in line Twell,” Brazin ordered me in a deadly voice. I stared defiantly back at him for a moment until I saw Aza, from the corner of my eye, rising to a sitting position. Muttering rebelliously, I obeyed him. Sazika breathed a sigh of relief. Jonaz’s face was dark with anger as he assessed Aza’s ankle, which had swelled grotesquely. Aza was clearly in terrible pain but he gritted his teeth and said nothing, preferring to roll his eyes at Jonaz like a severely ticked off swamp beast. Jonaz didn’t bother to ask for permission. Bravely leaning down, he placed his hands around Aza’s ankle. Aza flinched and groaned, clenching his teeth harder. Jonaz closed his eyes, and although it appeared nothing was happening, Aza’s body relaxed slightly. The glazed look of pain ebbed gradually from his face and after several moments, Jonaz stood up, stepping back. The ankle looked completely normal again.
The trainer put his weight on it gingerly, a look of surprise appearing on his face as he realized he was healed.
I was blown away. Jonaz’s power was quite incredible, quite...invaluable. He seemed advanced beyond us, like he was accustomed to using his power, or resigned to it at least. I wished I had his calm and control; they were admirable traits, for someone so annoying.
Attempting to recover his composure and without even thanking Jonaz, he walked stiffly past him, back to the other trainers who eyed his ankle with interest. Jonaz strolled back to us without expression, although I caught a twitch in his jaw as he passed me. I stepped back from him involuntarily. There was no denying he’d just revealed a side of himself that downright scared me. I really hadn’t seen that coming.
Appearing a little paler and drained, he walked very slowly and carefully towards Stelli. As he moved, he cupped his hand over his nose, flinching slightly as he mended it. Taking his hand away, I saw it was perfect again, and yet again the only evidence of his injury was the blood now dried to his skin. Stelli stood apart from the rest of us, as white as the sands of Como, shaking uncontrollably. She stared at Jonaz like he was a stranger. He reached one hand hesitantly towards her, but wild-eyed she backed away.