Grid Seekers (Grid Seekers Book One) (9 page)

The first discs appeared out of thin air, slowly moving around the long range. My finger quickly tapped against the trigger, the bolts of blue energy firing out right where I was aiming, hitting the targets and shattering them one by one. I could see other targets disappearing out of the corner of my eye in Jason’s stall, but I didn’t care to look. I was doing well, and that was all that mattered.

Before I knew it, my eyes a little dry from my lack of blinking during the round, it ended, only one of the targets remaining in my stall at the end, which I thought was very good, considering the other competitors before me had had multiple targets left. It looked like I had a chance after all.

“When you’re ready, you may begin your next round. Remember, though, it will be a little more difficult,” Borgis said.

Taking a deep breath, I reached down, feeling around for the button without looking down, keeping my eyes straight forward, in case the targets came up instantly. I pressed the button, my hand going back to the barrel of the rifle. I was ready, locked, and loaded. I was going to show all of these guys, especially Jason, what a capable girl could do.

The targets appeared quicker than the first time, their speed increased inside the range, bouncing off of the walls like a hyper kid who was given too much candy. I fired off shots, making sure not to shoot too many, as I didn’t know if my ratio of shots fired versus targets hit factored into my percentage at all. A couple people had sprayed their shots like falling raindrops before me, and I wasn’t about to risk it without knowing.

Targets crumbled underneath my control, disappearing one by one as their orange exteriors shattered into a thousand little pieces before dissipating into the digital unknown. I blinked, my eyes too dry, as my eyelids couldn’t have been more open if my life depended on it. Down they went, and I was sure I was hearing their cries as they withered away into oblivion. It kept me going.

The round soon ended and I had four left, which didn’t hurt, but it made me want to work even harder in the last round. I had no idea what my score was, which was nerve-wracking, but with one round left, I knew I could get it done.

“It looks like we have a tie so far for these competitors, and they have done the best out of anyone thus far,” Borgis said, as he looked at his digiboard. “Ms. Meyers and Mr. Wilson have both achieved the same high score, though with one round left, the hardest round, who will win? You all may begin when you’re ready.”

Without missing a beat I took a deep breath, felt my stress melt from my body, and pressed the red button, Jason hitting his at the exact same time, our targets appearing in front of us like clockwork.

I shot them all down as fast and as accurately as I could, a new target springing up from the ashes each time I blasted one into oblivion. I couldn’t believe how many there were, reproducing like rabbits, unfazed by my blasts. I kept my eyes open, a slight strain coming, but I didn’t give up hope. My peripheral vision was almost gone as my focus was solely on my own stall.

They didn’t all go away, there were too many of them even though I hit every shot I fired except for three, by the time it all ended, still clicking my trigger as the targets disappeared, though nothing came out. I set my rifle down, blinked finally, and turned to my right, watching Borgis looking over his digiboard as the three of us looked on silently.

“Well, I will say that we
do
have a winner for this round. One of you beat out the other and currently holds the top score for this year. While you all received a card from the competition draw, the winner and top score holder is…Ms. Meyers,” Borgis said.

I smiled, hearing Liam, who was next in line, shout out and clap, and other competitors joined in. I bit my bottom lip before walking over to the weapons rack and putting mine away. Jason looked bitter, as he should have, since he was bested by a girl, which I knew he’d never thought could happen. I knew it didn’t sit right with him and I
loved
it.

Liam killed it during his time, using a rifle to blast away the targets, though he didn’t get a score quite as high as mine. I wasn’t going to throw it in his face, though, unless he got a little cocky during a phase later on. We were partners, after all, and we were here to bring each other up and not to take each other down.

He received a card pick, the other two people next to him not getting theirs, before he came over and joined me, the two of us watching the rest of the groups have their turn at the weapons training that was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

Maybe this would be a better experience than I thought.

Chapter Nine

“Some
of you did well, while the rest of you were completely horrible with your weapons training. Your chances of doing well in the competition have drastically gone down without a card choice, so remember that when you have to earn your next one,” Borgis said after we were done shooting.

He pressed some buttons on the wall, and the shooting ranges sunk back down into the floor, the tiles moving back into place like they were never even there. He walked back over, grabbing a staff, before coming back in front of us.

“Now we will move onto your self-defense training. You will
not
be able to earn a card from this, and you won’t be graded, but you
will
need to do well in order to protect yourself inside the grid should anyone come after you. I want you to get into your teams of two, with your partner, and both of you should get a staff. Have fun sparring, try to get the best out of each other, and I’ll be around for help if you need it,” Borgis said.

“I’ll go get our staffs,” Liam said, walking over towards the weapons rack.

I saw Jason standing near the rack, his partner getting their staffs, as he was claiming his area to spar in, which was far away from Liam and I. That was a bonus to beating him earlier.

“Here you go,” Liam said, as he handed me my staff.

I grabbed it, sticking the butt of the staff on the floor as I felt the material, kind of like cloth. It felt a bit texturized, like it was covered with a grip material. It was black, matte black actually, and felt strong, though it had some lightness to it for easy maneuvering.

“Are you ready?” Liam asked.

“What do we do, exactly?” I asked.

“Just try to take me down. I know you can’t, but it’ll be cute to see you try,” Liam said, smiling.

“Oh, is that a challenge?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Before I could even lift my staff fully off the ground, Liam attacked, swinging his staff at me from above before I blocked it, my staff horizontal, a smile on his face as I flinched when he swung.

I pushed him back as he swung the staff around in his hand like some kind of ninja. I gripped my staff tightly, my knuckles turning a little white like Borgis’s had earlier, as I waited for his next move.

“Too much for you?” Liam asked.

“Not even close,” I said, before going in, swinging my staff at him.

We traded jabs, neither one of us getting the upper hand, as I blocked every strike of his and he blocked mine. I wasn’t sure if we were expected to hit each other or really take each other down, but I wouldn’t feel sorry if my staff accidentally slipped and slapped him in the side, especially after how he started our sparring session.

“You’re a lot better than I thought you’d be,” I said.

“Oh, you thought you could just swoop in and beat me?” Liam asked.

“Well, as a matter of fact…yes,” I said, as I flashed him a smirk.

With a seemingly single movement, Liam charged towards me, my staff going down to stop him, before he turned around, his staff to his chest, completely blocking my attack. Before I could even get it back up to defend myself, he struck, the side of his staff pressing against my neck, a look of happiness in his eyes.

“Game and match,” he said.

He pulled the staff away, never hitting or hurting me, and we both put the butts of our staffs on the floor, huffing and puffing for breath, sweat dripping down our foreheads. My heart was beating a mile a minute.

I looked around, seeing all of the other competitors sparring, some doing better jobs than others. There were some teams with slightly older competitors, and their physical prowess wasn’t quite what it probably was twenty or thirty years ago, though they looked like they were trying their best. They didn’t try to use their age as a disability or to get out of doing work; they just did it without complaining.

Another group, from Seattle, tapped their staffs against each other’s, neither of them looking like they were trying to win, but just acting like they were doing some kind of work. I wanted to encourage them to try harder and get into it, but then again, what were the odds one of these staffs was going to help anyone win this thing? Probably pretty slim.

“Your self-defense training is over for today,” Borgis said, fifteen minutes later. “Most of you did a great job, while others, well, didn’t. You may put your staffs back and rest for a little while.”

“I can take them back since you were nice enough to get them,” I said, my heart rate down considerably as I wasn’t gasping for air any longer.

I grabbed Liam’s staff, waiting in line for each group to put away their staffs, since we were near the back of the room. Jason and his partner were standing near the rack, talking, as they were lucky enough to put theirs away first.

I moved up in line, the last person, and slowly put away our staffs, taking my time, listening to them talk. I didn’t know why I was so interested in what they had to say to each other, but I didn’t know it would be this bad.

“I’m not sure we should do that, Jason,” his partner said.

“I know you’re nervous, Bridgette, but think of the massive opportunity for us. If we take out the older players right when the buzzer sounds, we’ll increase our odds exponentially. There are nine players aged forty or older, and a bunch more in their thirties. We’re young, strong, swift, and can take all of them out. Our odds of winning would be massive. We’d win for sure,” Jason whispered.

Was I hearing him correctly? Did he really want to take out the older players? Admittedly, it wouldn’t be hard, especially after seeing their attack and defense attempts, but that wasn’t what this was about. This wasn’t a blood bath, a brawl, or a way to legally satisfy your sociopathic desires. This was a search, a competition, and it didn’t seem right that he wanted to try to win it this way.

I put Liam’s staff away and walked back towards him, trying to think if I should warn everyone here about Jason and Bridgette. She didn’t seem too on board with his plan, but I didn’t think he cared, to be honest. He wanted her on his side to make it easier, but I knew he wouldn’t let her stop him from doing what he wanted. I wouldn’t even have been surprised if he took her out as well. There had been
plenty
of competitors over the years who had taken out their own friends or partners to win the entire thing. Greed changes people in the worst way possible.

“What’s wrong? You look confused,” Liam said, as I walked up to him.

“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about something I overheard,” I said.

“What is it? You can tell me,” Liam said.

“Well, it was that Jason guy. When I was putting away our staffs I overheard him and his partner. He said he was going to take out all of the older players pretty much right away so that he could have better odds of winning,” I said.

“Well, some people do that in the competition. Some people are nuts,” Liam said.

I wasn’t shocked that he wasn’t appalled like I was; he’d even thought of the same thing the other day before we agreed we would only defend ourselves if it came down to it. I knew he wasn’t bloodthirsty or wanting to go on a rampage and take everyone else out, but he wasn’t exactly too docile, either.

“I know you see it differently, but I just don’t think that taking out a bunch of older people is the way to do things. This competition isn’t about that. I think I have to tell them,” I said.

“Tell who? The older people?” Liam asked, with a shocked look on his face.

“Yeah, why not?” I asked.

“Because you’re just going to get involved and then Jason might come after us. I think you should just leave it alone,” Liam said.

“Wouldn’t you want someone to tell you if you were wearing a giant target on your back? I don’t want to help them, necessarily, but I want them to know they should watch their backs once the timer starts,” I said.

“Yeah, I guess I would. I support you in whatever you want to do, but it doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. I say you just leave it be, but I understand if you want to tell them. Just be careful,” Liam said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“On second thought, I’ll go with you over there,” Liam said, walking behind me as I walked over to two teams, four people, who were all a little older.

They looked up at me as I stood over them, all of them sitting on the floor, likely wondering why I would want to come talk to them. I hadn’t talked to anyone besides Liam during the entire training.

“Can we help you?” one man asked.

“Yeah, I was actually hoping I could talk to you. It’s about the competition and I think you might be in some kind of danger,” I said.

They stood up, a concerned look on their faces, as one man, the eldest looking , moved forward a little, his voice soft.

“What do you mean, exactly?” he asked.

“I’ve overheard another team saying they wanted to, well, for lack of a better term,
take out
the older people in this competition. He thinks you all are weak because of your age, and that taking you all out would greatly enhance his chances of winning. I don’t think that’s right, and I felt that I needed to warn you, so that you don’t get taken out right away,” I said.

“And you’re sure of this? Sometimes rumors get started, you know,” another person asked.

“I heard it from his mouth directly,” I said.

“And who, if I may ask, is saying these things?” the front man asked.

“Well,” I said nervously.

“It’s okay, there’s no reason to be nervous,” Liam said, putting his hand on my back.

“It was Jason, from Los Angeles. He and his partner,” I said.

“That young man over there?” a man asked, nodding in Jason’s direction.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Yeah, he’s seemed like a problem from the get-go,” the front man said.

“I just wanted you all to know, so that you didn’t get ambushed or whatever. I know it probably isn’t the best move strategically for myself and Liam, but it’s the right thing to do,” I said.

“And we commend you for telling us. We definitely aren’t here to fight, and even though you’re apprehensive, I’m willing to bet you’ll be rewarded for your actions someday. It’s always best to do the right thing in life, even if it’s the hardest thing,” the front man said.

“Why is he looking at us?” Liam asked.

I looked over towards Jason, seeing someone else talking to him, someone not even from his home city. I didn’t really know who it was, since there were so many people in this competition, making it hard to remember every name or face, but she looked like a weasel, whispering to him as he and Bridgette looked on with angry expressions on their faces.

The girl who went up to them soon walked away, leaving Jason and Bridgette to confer amongst themselves as they continued to look at us. The older people sat back down in their spots and left us alone, ditching us after we had essentially saved their butts.

“This doesn’t look good,” I said, as Jason and Bridgette walked over towards us.

“So, you two are the problems?” Jason asked.

“I’m sorry?” I asked.

“Listen, we understand that there’s going to be competition that wants to get rid of us and knock us off. It’s only natural that you want your competitors gone, which was what my plan was that you must’ve found out about somehow. It isn’t cool, though, to go and meddle in those plans, essentially ruining them for us when we didn’t do anything to you to deserve such a thing,” Jason said.

“And I don’t think I should have to bow down and stay back just because you want me to. I heard something bad, I didn’t like it, and I decided to do something about it,” I said, with a snarky tone.

“I can see that you aren’t going to apologize and this won’t be settled, so there’s only one way to take care of it. I think we’re going to put
you
on our radar as well. Sure, you’ll be a harder target than those people,” Jason said, pointing to the older group I talked to, “and we might not go after you at the start because of that, but you’re going to get your turn, and trust me, it won’t be fun, at least for you. We’ll have a blast doing it, no pun intended.”

“Listen, man, why don’t you just turn around, go back to your spot, and go on with your life? We don’t need you over here causing trouble,” Liam said, stepping in.

“I’m not sure who
you
think you are, and why you’re stepping up for a snitch, but you should just stay out of this. This doesn’t concern you,” Jason said, extending his hand to keep Liam back.

“No, this
does
concern me. Alexia is my partner, and if you have a problem with her, then you have a
bigger
problem with me. Just turn around and walk away,” Liam said, an angry look on his face.

Jason stepped forward, coming within inches of Liam, staring at him dead in the eyes. They were almost an equal height, though Liam was maybe an inch taller. I could see the rest of the competitors looking on, gasping a little, all of us on edge as we waited to see what was going to happen. Were they really going to get in a fight? I knew it wouldn’t be good news for any of us, though I couldn’t say that I cared after what Jason and Bridgette did.