She was lost, standing on that unforgiving stage before the eyes of over five thousand people. Did they have any idea what she just went through? She could feel the disappointment eating away at her as Demetrius disappeared behind the darkness of the locker room. Some in the audience shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They had placed bets on her—she was certain. She had been the presumptive winner. And now, she had let them down. Ariel shuddered deep within herself. It rumbled out to her shoulders as she deactivated the vox suit.
Her brother had done the unthinkable. He had accomplished the unimaginable.
Her heart responded to the anxiety as worrisome thoughts rained in her mind. Demetrius was different. Different from Edna. Quite different from Toby. In fact, Ariel was certain she would someday match Edna—even surpass her with a few intense training sessions. However, Demetrius was an unsettling conundrum all to himself. It must have been the bond they shared. He was all that was left of what Ariel could call family. Her mother was nowhere to be found. Her father, long gone. Extended family had all disappeared.
She hadn’t severed this bond with her brother. It seemed impossible. As long as the same blood crawled through their veins, they would always be family.
And this had weakened her.
As she sighed, Ariel glanced over at Cassandra who stopped by her side, along with Marissa. Lights sparkled from cameras as reporters raced to the stage to question her. She recoiled, half-stepping back behind her coaches.
“Ariel will not be answering any questions at this time,” said Marissa at mics thrusted in her direction. And when Medical Units or MUs—the robotic EMTs on the sidelines—hobbled over to her, she shook her head. Ariel was glad Marissa did this. It was more about saving face.
Arena facilitators and caretakers pushed back against the pressing crowd, yet they were overwhelmed. Ariel looked into all their eager faces. They wanted the truth. Something she couldn’t give them. She was still mystified, a little petrified by what had just transpired, and she turned her back on them towards the lockers.
One full step shot stabbing sensations up her injured thigh, and she lost all balance. But Cassandra caught her. Marissa wheeled around to support her on the other side.
“We have you,” said Cassandra.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” said Marissa.
Ariel skipped off the stage to the lockers. Uncertainty now clouded her future. The blademaster status seemed farther than ever, Ariel acknowledged as she looked at those on the bleachers directly above her. Then they disappeared as the roof of the dark locker room loomed above.
They snuck out through the backdoor, avoiding the press, avoiding those pressing questions they couldn’t answer. Only faint echoes of the arena reached Ariel—audible evidence of her failure. She swallowed uncomfortably, eyeing the end of the long, narrow hallway.
A gurney was already headed their way, directed by Angel, a medical doctor recently turned twenty-one. She met them halfway in the poorly lit corridor. “I came as soon as I heard,” she said, stabilizing the gurney against the wall. “Get her on here.” She pulled down railings for Cassandra and Marissa.
They hoisted Ariel onto the bed, and she laid on the mattress.
“We’ll go through the back,” said Angel, leading the way. “I have a room set up.”
Ariel kept her eyes on Marissa, who had a set gaze as the light of the main hall rose on her face. She hoped she didn’t let Marissa down. She didn’t want to be a disappointment. They made a right into the main entrance hall and a left, and wheeled past offices, some vacant, some with half-open doors revealing a crossed leg or a sleeping head. They made a left down another narrow corridor and through a backdoor into the medical department.
“In here,” said Angel as she held the door open.
1 thought on “Chapter 3A”