Chapter 3
After school, Alex and Mark walked along Main Street toward Alex’s apartment. “That was hilarious!” Alex said. “Poor Greg, he’ll need to spend a fortune to rebuild his deck now.”
Mark was staring at his DeathBringer card as they walked. “You don’t think it’s a little weird?” Mark asked. “I mean, I cast Armor Decay — an equipment-destroying spell. Then, seconds later, all of Greg’s cards were ruined by those bullies!”
“Yeah,” Alex said, chuckling. “Pretty funny coincidence.”
“I don’t know if it was just a coincidence,“ Mark said softly.
Alex rolled his eyes. “Oh, give me a break,” he said. “Next you’re gonna tell me that you believe in magic.”
Alex’s constant teasing was starting to get on Mark’s nerves. He pulled out his deck of cards and tossed his bag onto the bench at a bus stop. “Let’s play,” Mark said.
“Right here?” Alex said, pointing at the bus bench.
Mark grinned. “Why not?” he asked. “You scared?”
Alex sighed. “Fine,” he said. He took out his own cards. “But this is really silly.”
Alex’s hero, AngerHeart, did not have the stellar equipment Greg had. But AngerHeart attacked faster, and every three turns he got a free bonus attack. This meant the best way to beat him was to slow him down.
Mark looked at DeathBringer’s special abilities. If he used Coma Blow, AngerHeart would be powerless for three turns. It would give DeathBringer a chance to land a couple of big attacks before Alex could counter.
Mark looked into Alex’s eyes and said, “Coma Blow.” He tapped the card.
Alex frowned. Now he couldn’t call upon his allies or attack. AngerHeart was a sitting duck.
Over the next three turns, Mark landed three powerful attacks. By the time AngerHeart came out of his coma, he had lost nearly all of his health points.
Two turns later, AngerHeart died. “Well, you won,” Alex said, packing up his cards. “But nothing bad happened to me. AngerHeart was in a coma for three rounds, and I’m not in a coma.” Alex chuckled. “So I still get the last laugh, dork.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mark said, feeling kind of foolish. “So I got a little carried away.”
“You think?” Alex said, smirking. He stood up from the bus stop bench. “Anyway, I gotta head home.”
“See you later,” Mark said.
Alex stepped off the curb to cross the street. He didn’t see the bus pulling in to the bus stop. It hit him, and Alex flew across the pavement. He landed in the intersection with a sickening thud.
Mark screamed.