The Last City Page 2

  However, when he asked me, memories of the last hunt that I’d joined him on, made an unwelcome appearance. That hunt had been terrifying enough. But that time we were hunting the Guardian’s wards. I was sure hunting animals for food would be different, but I’d promised Jordan after that first time, that I would never hunt with them again. During that first time, I’d died a rather painful death, and keeping that promise was an easy one.

  Lena however, and at my own insistence, had been teaching me how to fight and defend myself, should I ever need it. I hoped I never would. But the thought of being attacked again unprepared to protect myself, sent a ripple of gut-wrenching fear down my spine. I was determined to learn. Determined to never again, be taken so easily.

  But Lena had been pushing us harder each day and for longer hours, while complaining that we were wasting our time in the fields. The fields, she insisted, were only important to the Rathe. That food was too easily obtained from the Central Unit and the power source that ran Tira-Mi.

  Lena had even talked about getting Rebecca into their training dome, but I firmly rejected the idea every time she brought it up, as did Hammond. The very thought of Rebecca learning to fight even just for self-defense, was inconceivable.

  I jogged beside Jordan as we made our way through the peaceful streets of Tira-Mi, the home the warriors had built for themselves. Narrow lane-ways, that wound their way back and forth across the slopes of the hills, giving access to single rows of houses upon each mound. Their homes were beautiful. Flat-top buildings nestled into the hillsides, amongst a flourishing landscape of greenery and flowers.

  Beyond the western border of the town, the path turned to little more than a dirt indention which traveled around their fighting stadium, and then cut a jagged line up the mountainside. Once at the top, the path cut across the mountain peak and then down the other side, where it then traced across a narrow ledge that opened onto to a flat stretch of dusty terrain. To travel east across the terrain, one would reach the Colony. But we instead, followed the edge of the cliff to the south, where the lower, gentler slopes of the mountainside hugged the base of the rocky cliff wall.

  Our way to the Arena was a marathon in itself, but as the weeks passed, the trek had become easier, even enjoyable. Focusing upon the trail kept my mind from wandering back to past events that always managed to creep their way to the forefront of my thoughts, stealing moments or sometimes even hours, that did not belong to them.

  The way to the Arena was also part of our training. For me, it was the best part. For even though I jogged beside Jordan, and could sense his presence beside me, it was the single-minded peace that filled me as I focused on each step firmly landing upon the uneven ground. It was during these trials with Jordan that I felt strong, both inside and out.

  We traveled without stopping, along the edge of the cliff until we came to the training dome - a glinting, dark-silvery ball of immense size, that floated a short distance from the edge. The only way into the dome was to climb down the face of the vertical cliff wall to a wide, rocky shelf, upon which ran a milky river.

  The river - not really a river at all - was biologically engineered. Every cell, programmed to move and change as needed. The flowing river was its dormant state, and came compliments of the Rathe. Although to hear them tell it, I’m sure it was originally meant as a prank. But the warriors from Heart, resourceful as they are, put it to use.

  After leaping across the river, we stepped through the dome wall as though it wasn’t even there, and emerged into a long, grey room. The wall opposite us, was lined with open cubicles, big enough for the biggest of the warriors. We each stepped into one, and pressed the panel on the wall within. I closed my eyes against the blinding light that filled my cubicle, as it erased my clothing, and dressed me in warrior training gear. The outfit wasn’t at all bulky. Instead, it was easy to wear, and covered every inch from my toes to my neck.

  After struggling with the speed and pain of their training level four, I’d finally made it to five. But five was a step beyond what I was ready for. And it also meant the beginning of learning to fight the simulation, hand to hand, no weapons. Training, Lena hadn’t yet started me on. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but it was the hand to hand training that I needed the most.

  After a brief warm-up in the dome training room, we flew the short distance to the Arena, where without stopping, we slipped down a deep shaft, and landed in the underground rooms, below their fighting stadium.

  Lena was waiting alongside Dax. She was from Heart, he was from Threa. Her soulmate. One of the few who’d found each other across the vast reaches of spacetime. Jordan briefly hugged me, and then glared at Dax before leaving the room with Lena.

  For the past couple of weeks, she had trained with Jordan, and I had trained with Danger, that’s what Lena called him. His real name was Dagnija, but I called him Dax. He’d said he was fine with that as a pulse from his hand had slammed me into a wall.

  Our training room was open plan, no obstacles to hide behind. We had to rely upon our own skill to avoid each other’s attacks. Most of the floor was matted; it made for somewhat of a softer landing. I couldn’t understand why though, since the walls were made of rock, for we slammed into them far more often than the floor.

  We faced each other, me backing up as I always did, neither of us willing to turn away. However, I had no idea why Lena kept pitting him against me. He always won. I was sure this was her way of punishing me for interrupting her alone time with him, when they’d first met. And what was my excuse? I wanted to keep training. I needed her to keep training me. I’d practically begged her.

  I watched Dax as he grinned at me, readying to take me down once again. And for once, just once, I wished to be able to take him down with me. But I’d need a distraction, something to give me just the slightest bit of an edge.

  “So,” I said, and began to wrack my brain… for anything… anything at all, as I prepared to leap away from his attack. As much as I wanted to attack first, I hadn’t yet found that resolve within me. Instead, I always took the defensive stance, waiting for him to initiate the fight. He, on the other hand, took great pleasure in watching me sweat, as I anticipated his every move. On this occasion though, I was determined to make the first move. I just didn’t know how, or when.

  I took a deep breath and released the first words to cross my mind, hoping it would give him pause, long enough at least, for me to take aim. “What do you do besides train?”

  His hands faltered, but only for a second, and I thought perhaps he would stop to consider my question. Instead, I watched him, almost in slow motion, as he pulsed his left hand. His warrior suit emitted an unseen ripple through the air. A wave that could not be heard, but could most definitely, be felt.

  I tried to move. But as usual, I was too slow. It hit me dead center on my chest, knocking the wind out of me, and sending me backward. I hit the floor as I always did, but he didn’t rush to help; that wasn’t even expected. I rolled out of his immediate line of sight, while raising both of my arms. Then one after the other, I pulsed my hands in his direction. The first missed, but the light wave from my right hand, made contact. I saw it connect. It stung him. He however, didn’t even register the pain.

  “Are you trying to distract me?” he growled, as he retaliated with his own pulse of light.

  I jumped, attempting to fly out of its reach, but it caught my left thigh, sending me back to the floor.

  “Now why would I want to do that?” I groaned, waiting for the pain to smooth out. I then attempted another attack. But I missed. I almost always missed, especially when I was hurt.

  “Exactly. Why would you?” He attacked again.

  “Seriously, though,” I continued, grunting out the words, as I again, rolled away from his line of fire. From the moment we’d begun, he hadn’t even moved from the one spot he’d started in. He rarely did. I was the only one it seemed, that got any kind of a workout from our training. “W
hat do you do? You are from Threa. And from what I’ve learned so far, everyone does something.”

  He paused his attack, but didn’t lower his hands, no doubt wondering if I really was interested, or if it was just a ploy.

  “Well, if you must know. My last project was to redesign the school halls that host the social interaction areas for minors. More families have been coming out of the Spire, and we need to expand the habitable areas within the city.”

  Numerous questions arose from his statement, but only one puzzled me the most. “You have schools here?”

  “Of course,” he laughed at my question. “Didn’t you, on Earth?”

  “Well, yes, it’s where we learn. But I thought you were taught at home, with a mentor and the Central Unit.”

  “We are. But that is for knowledge. We go to school to learn behavioral and socialization skills. It helps us understand who we are, and how we can best benefit society as a whole.”

  I could only stare at him, wishing I’d grown up here. Hearing of their schooling, evoked within me a longing for an altered past I could never claim. However, once I realized my mouth was hanging open, I snapped it shut.

  At this point though, he did lower his hands, and stared at me in confusion.

  “So, on Earth, you go to school for knowledge?” he asked, sounding out each word. The disbelief echoed around the room. “Wouldn’t social interactions interfere with the intake of information?”

  I involuntarily laughed as he stared at me. And then nodded, confirming his statement. And when he didn’t look away I questioned his contemplative stare.

  “Well, that explains a lot,” he said, relaxing his stance even further.

  I swung both of my hands toward him and pulsed with as much force as I could muster. I then watched, astounded, as his body lifted off the floor and flew in a backward somersault, before slamming into the back wall. The bulk of him had carved a new impression in the wall as pieces of it crumbled around him, and he fell forward, groaning.

  Just because he was right, didn’t mean he had to say so. But despite feeling perturbed by his statement, the fact that I’d taken him down, still filled me with satisfaction.

  Fearing retaliation, I kept my hands up, ready to strike again. But he didn’t move. And so, I ran toward him, concerned that I’d caused more damage than I’d intended to. But Lena had slammed me into the very same walls and in a very similar manner. Surely, I couldn’t have done that much damage.

  I was several steps from him when he looked up, and with a half-grin, he aimed his left hand. But I was too close. It was too late to maneuver away. And the force sent me flying to the other side of the room.

  When I landed, I didn’t move. My back had hit the wall, followed by my head. The force had bounced me off the wall, and I’d held out my arms to stop the fall, but that only made matters worse. As I met the ground, my hands, wrists, and forearms felt the jarring blow that rippled up to my shoulders. This was followed by the rest of me that crash-landed all at the same time.

  It’s ok, I’m ok, I tried to tell myself, but my body knew otherwise. I couldn’t release my breath, and so I held it in, waiting for the suit to take over and absorb the worst, and for the pain to level out in a steady, thrumming rhythm.

  He didn’t rush to my side, as I had done for him. He knew better. I should have known better.

  And I couldn’t tell how long I’d held my breath, but I did release it, out of the simple need to take another. The pain, thankfully was not getting any worse. The suit was doing its job, and I felt the worst of it decrease in intensity. And despite the sting at the back of my head, I lifted my gaze to Dax. He was still on the other side of the room. He hadn’t yet moved either. If I could only raise myself up, just a little, I could defeat him this time. But any further movement was not happening. Not right at that moment.

  “Are you done?” he asked, as if sensing my movement, and then groaned as he rolled onto his back.

  “Yeah,” I groaned back, as my forehead found the floor once more.

  He gave a response, but I couldn’t make out his words as though he’d lowered his voice to speak only to himself.

  But I didn’t question him. Instead, I let the minutes tick by, while trying to keep my eyes from watering; I had a habit of dwelling upon the pain, making it seem worse than what it was. I needed to move however, to make my way to the healer, and I hoped Dax hadn’t left me in the training room alone. But before I could question his presence, I was sure I could hear him breathing rather heavily from across the room. Or he could have been snoring. Lena must have been keeping him up at night. I wanted to laugh, but that meant moving muscles that needed to stay right where they were.

  “You two are pathetic,” came Lena’s voice from the doorway.

  And that’s what I got for thinking about her.

  “Come on,” Jordan said, as I felt him scoop me up.

  It didn’t take long to be made right again. The Heart healers were used to working with much more serious wounds than what we’d presented.

  However, the entire time the healer worked on us, Lena paced just inside the doorway. Every now and then she would glance up at the two of us, lying upon our respective tables, as the damage was corrected. This was not normal behavior for her. Normally, she would be tapping a finger upon her crossed arms, glaring at whomever needed healing, as though the necessity to be whole again, was a waste of her time.

  I could tell though, that Lena’s behavior had Jordan just as curious. Every now and then he would watch her steps travel back and forth in front of the doorway. With her hands on her hips, she stared at the floor as she went, as though it held the answer to sooth her own anxiety. She was so lost in concentration that she didn’t even see us approach her, healed and ready for more.

  “What’s going on?” Jordan asked.

  She stopped pacing and stared at us, one then the other, as though seeing us for the first time.

  “Why would you let her distract you?” she demanded of Dax, but didn’t let him respond. “You let a weaker person take you down. And you,” she turned to me. “You need to fight harder. There’s no weakness in the Arena. You fight with a purpose. Destroy your enemy. And you don’t stop until they’re dead, even if it kills you.”

  I chanced a glance in Dax’s direction, but he didn’t seem concerned with how she’d just spoken to him, as though he were a subordinate instead of her soulmate. But here in the Arena, he knew his place. And instead, he remained focused, hanging on her words as though expecting more.

  “The both of you were out in less than five minutes,” Lena continued, glancing from me to Dax.

  I realized it hadn’t been long before Jordan and Lena had shown up in our training room, which either meant that they hadn’t lasted much longer in their own training, or they hadn’t fought at all. And perhaps they’d only waited for us, watching. And a moment of embarrassment curdled my insides.

  “No more going to the fields. From now on you’re here, every day,” she finished.

  I wanted to complain to her. She couldn’t order me about that way. But the authority with which she spoke, kept me silent and nodding, as though I subconsciously agreed with her every demand.

  “Lena,” Jordan began, but she cut him off.

  “Don’t even think about telling me otherwise,” she said to him. “If I don’t see the two of you here every morning, I will bring the training to you.”

  “At least explain why,” he asked.

  “I don’t have to explain myself. Not to anyone.”

  I was puzzled by both her secrecy and her level of frustration. Something was going on. But at least, it wasn’t only me who was kept in the dark this time, for Dax also appeared confused. However, I didn’t want to think about what may have been going on with her. As long as it didn’t involve a certain ward escaping the Spire, I could handle anything else.

  Yet, we weren’t done for the day. In fact, we were only just get
ting started. Round one was over. We were healed and ready to begin again. And Lena was quick to move forward.

  “Are you up for some pain?” she asked Jordan, as a smirk spread across her face, erasing the scowl.

  3

  It’s Nothing Personal

  Lena was undefeated at the arena, and she wore her superiority proudly. She was a warrior, born and raised in a world of warriors where they’d mastered suppressing pain and fear.

  As we made our way back to the training room, I tried to complain to Lena about her question to Jordan; she was beyond any training level they had, if that was even possible. And even though Jordan was now a level nine in their stadium, still quite impressive, Lena had no trouble beating other warrior men who were supposedly her match. She was a force. And I preferred she turned her force toward other targets.

  “I don’t mean me inflicting pain upon him, I’m talking about Danger,” she said, in response to my complaint.

  Dax was barely a level above me, and I laughed at her suggestion, but immediately wished I hadn’t. “Jordan is level nine, Dax has no chance.”

  “No. I mean hand to hand. You need to learn to really fight, and without this warrior suit on. You’re not always going to have access to it, as you well know,” she said, poking me.

  “What did you have in mind?” Jordan asked.

  “You both need to practice incapacitating your enemy, break a few bones if necessary, with just your bare hands,” she said to Jordan and Dax.

  “What? No!” I protested.

  “And I’m going to show you how to do the same to me,” she grinned, raising an eyebrow.

  “Still no,” I responded, but with much less conviction. Even though I’d secretly relished the idea of getting even with Lena for every time she’d thrown me around the underground stadium, I didn’t know if I could do what she was asking.

  “It’s ok, I can take it,” Jordan said to me. “I’ve been through worse.” He smiled, and caressed my cheek. The warming rush of my soul leapt to my skin, attempting to mingle with his once more. I didn’t want to think about him going through any kind of pain.