The Energy Crusades (7 page)

* * * *

Outside, the sun peeked over the horizon. As it rose, it chased away the gray shadows, highlighting the leaves and their slow metamorphosis from green to gold, and all colors in between, before their final descent to the ground. There was a crisp quality in the morning air and a hint of frost as the promise of winter lingered around the corner. My breath was visible in the chill of the morning. The solar roofs sprang to life, expanding to meet each precious ray as it hit the Earth.

With the rising sun, I was grateful for my solar glasses. As I made my way to the track alone, they provided something to hide behind. The campus was nearly deserted, and I began walking briskly, warming my legs in preparation for a run. I picked up my pace as the track came into view, hitting my stride as the football players trickled onto the field from the Athletics Building. While I circled the track, I let the steady beat of my footfalls calm my nerves. Cool air rushed past my face and my mind wandered with no particular focus except the rhythm of the run and the feel of the breeze on my cheeks. I could hear the players warming up but didn
'
t let their calls distract me while I pounded out my course in an elliptical pattern.

After a while, I heard the steady beat of feet behind me. The runner quickened his pace until he fell into step beside me, matching my stride. I glanced over, recognizing the strawberry haired football player Ajax had pointed out yesterday. His eyes were green with hints of gray, reminding me of moss upon a stone. We ran in companionable silence a few more times around, before slowing and coming to a stop at a small set of bleachers.

"Hello," he spoke up, once he finally caught his breath. He bowed his head and introduced himself. "I
'
m Caden Rua."

"I
'
m Kaia Robi," I answered, dipping my head slightly in return. I regarded him with suspicion, thinking it bold of him to join me on my run, but when he smiled, the gesture transformed his features in the friendliest of ways and I found myself smiling back. We sat down together on the benches.

"Where are you from?" I asked, and listened while he spoke. Caden described his life in the Fornax Grid, about two hundred kilometers to the southeast of the University. An only child, he didn
'
t try out for the football leagues, though he was a decent player, because he didn
'
t have the heart to leave his parents, even if it meant he could generate stores of energy for them. His face was tender when he spoke of home, and I found myself liking him immensely. Being an only child meant his family probably did not have stores of energy, yet he carried himself in a way that suggested he felt inferior to no one. When he spoke, he looked me directly in the eyes and didn
'
t appear fazed by my status as an Athlete. He was only a few centimeters taller than me, but he was broad and fit, and I already knew he was quick on his feet.

"How did you catch the eye of Professor Baal?" I wondered, after hearing a bit of his history.

"Actually, it was her husband who found me, the solar engineer, Caius Baal. My father is also a solar engineer, and I often work with him. Mr. Baal headed an emergency visit to our grid last year after a solar breakdown in our system. All of the cells malfunctioned. He was impressed with the way I handled the emergency and could manipulate the cells despite having no formal training. We worked together many long hours, and he said he admired the way I continued to work until the job was done. He submitted my name to his wife and she accepted me." I was impressed. He must have done some amazing things to get recognized in such a way. "Professor Baal accepted me as a solar engineer, and if I can pass her physical requirements, I
'
ll remain on the team," he finished, and then he focused his attention squarely on my face. "Tell me about Kaia now," he prompted.

I looked toward the football fields. "I
'
m sure you already know about me," I murmured. In response, he tilted his head to the side and considered what I said. He didn
'
t speak until I looked at him again.

"I know you
'
re a tennis player. I know you left the tour even though you were number one in the world. I know Professor Baal wanted you to come here, but you could have stayed on the tour a while longer. I don
'
t know how you feel about it all."

"I wanted to come. My brother left last year and it was the first time I was without him. It wasn
'
t the same. Anyway, I
'
ve been playing tennis a long time and I
'
m ready to stop. I can play here and not be on the monitors anymore."

"You don
'
t like being on the monitors? You
'
re very fun to watch, all that jumping and yelling."

"Thank you," I smiled at the compliment, "but no, I don
'
t like it. It
'
s difficult, and people have all sorts of expectations about you even though they don
'
t really know you. They just think they do because they see you have a familiar face. It
'
s a lot to bear."

"And now you don
'
t have your brother to shield you from the spotlight." It was a statement rather than a question. I thought about my reply for a moment.

"Right now it
'
s difficult because Professor Baal took my mailbox away and it feels horribly isolating. One day I
'
m at the Tennis Academy surrounded by people I have been with almost my entire life, and the next, I
'
m at the University and know virtually no one. I feel cut off from the whole world. Did she take your mailbox away?"

His pale skin colored with anger. "Yes, and I have a girlfriend at home and I haven
'
t been able to talk to her. What must she be thinking? I don
'
t understand…" his voice trailed off and his pained expression offset a bit of the irritation I felt at his words. A girlfriend? Resentment flared up in my gut but the melancholy feel of his emotions surrounded me and I tried to squelch it. He felt alone here and I understood loneliness. What I couldn
'
t understand was how he found the time to form such a relationship in the first place. Athletes worked from sun up to sun down and fell into bed exhausted at night. Didn
'
t other children have to work the same way, even if they weren
'
t Athletes?

"A girlfriend, huh?" I tried to smile, but my attention was diverted when I saw a flash of black streak past my vision from the direction of the field. My head whipped around and I jumped to my feet, hoping my eyes hadn
'
t deceived me. Sure enough, I caught sight of a football player dressed in black, a fellow Athlete. He stood apart from the others, eyes scanning the area until they settled in our direction. My heart soared. I wasn
'
t the only one; there was another Athlete here! And he was wearing solar glasses. The tension eased from my shoulders, but as it did so, it seemed to settle upon Caden
'
s. His posture stiffened beside me, and there was no longer a smile on his face.

"I guess it was inevitable," Caden muttered beside me. I turned back to him, confused by his change in attitude.

"What is it? What
'
s the matter?" The Athlete began to walk toward us.

Caden spoke quietly. "He
'
s been waiting to meet you," he answered, his voice grim.

"Of course he has. Are we the only two here?"

Caden could only nod as the boy drew nearer, stopping when he was directly in front of me. We regarded each other silently for several moments, each trying not to appear too overjoyed by the presence of a fellow Athlete.

"Hello, Kaia," he broke the silence between us, giving a slight nod in my direction and pushing his solar glasses up on his head. "I
'
m Atticus." With dark hair and dark eyes, Atticus might have been common looking except for the way his eyes sat wide apart on his face. Instead of common, he had an unusual look, accentuated by a full mouth and long dark eyelashes. His arrogance was evident in the haughty way he held his chin up while paying attention only to me without acknowledging Caden. I
'
d witnessed the look in many Athletes, who were told, endlessly, of their superiority to other humans.

"Hello, Atticus," I answered, dipping my head just as slightly as he had dipped his toward me. Atticus Martin; I knew the name. He was a famous football player and must be nearing eighteen and ready to complete his Crusade. "Have you met my friend Caden?" They were both football players at the University; they had to be acquainted, but Atticus made no move, gave no sign of recognition; he only pulled his solar glasses back down across his face, and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Would you like a tour of the University?" Atticus asked, ignoring the question completely. His steady gaze stayed firmly planted in my direction.

"Oh, too bad," Caden snapped his fingers. "We were just heading to breakfast."

We weren
'
t just heading to breakfast, but I let it slide, caught at the moment between loyalty to my fellow Crusader and a fellow Athlete.

"What
'
s going on here?" I asked in an attempt to clear the air.

Neither said anything for several moments, but it was Atticus who broke the silence.

"Did he mention his girlfriend?" He kept his expression serene, as if the question was merely casual, but I got the message. Athletes never had time for boyfriends or girlfriends and it stung each time we learned something new about the life of Students. Hadn
'
t I also bristled when Caden mentioned her to me? But, were we to take offense at every luxury the Students had and hold ourselves apart, separate and angry? I didn
'
t want to isolate myself from the Students, but I was glad to have another Athlete around to commiserate with. We could discuss such things later, assuming we
'
d get a chance to be alone, because I didn
'
t want to take sides in his scuffle with Caden. I wouldn
'
t speak out against my fellow Athlete, and I wouldn
'
t offend my fellow Crusader.

"Let
'
s all go, shall we?" I mediated, and began walking without waiting for an answer. It wasn
'
t long before they fell into step on either side of me.

The campus was brimming with life. It was still early, but there were Students swarming all over the great lawns across the southern end of campus. These stretched between the rows of buildings that housed the majority of the classrooms and laboratories. Even at a distance, I could make out the molecular science, physics, solar engineering, and water production buildings. I remembered them all and their locations from the countless hours I spent exploring with Ajax when we were little. As I watched, Student engineers scaled the solar building to study the cells. Horticulturalists worked on the living roofs, and along the center of the lawns, students worked on physical fitness. Some were practicing maneuvers against the Virtual Guards, and others worked through complicated obstacle courses. There was a flurry of activity wherever I looked, and the buildings
crawled
with Students studying anything and everything they could get their hands on.

Many of the Students practiced with orbs, small round objects used as weapons. They flew through the air while the Students attempted to harness their power and I felt a tug of envy while I watched. I hadn't yet started my Weapons training and wished I was using an orb rather than being stuck between Atticus and Caden.

Seeing the Students working furiously and dedicated to their studies, gave me a rush of anticipation. I felt a renewed sense of pride about who I was and what I
'
d been trained for, both mentally and physically, and the feeling stayed with me as I entered the cafeteria, which was nearly full by the time we arrived. A hush fell over the Students as we entered, and I knew the hushed whispers were in regards to the Athletes and not the redhead who accompanied us.

Atticus didn
'
t pause as we entered; he took my arm and propelled me forward, unruffled by the hushed silence. Many of the Students dipped their heads as we passed, and I dipped mine back, acknowledging each one I made eye contact with. Atticus kept his eyes focused straight ahead and Caden followed just slightly behind me. He tugged my other arm as we neared a table where Ajax sat with Balor and Tory. In response, Atticus tried to pull me along, not wishing to stop, but I held my ground and the three of us found ourselves looking down at the three of them.

"Hello," I greeted them. "Do you all know Atticus?"

By the looks on their faces it seemed they not only knew him, they also disliked him. Balor and Tory grumbled hellos at Caden and me, but Ajax said nothing. He looked directly at me, his steady gaze unreadable.

What
is
the
problem
with
Atticus
? I asked the question in Ajax
'
s head, but he didn
'
t respond to it; he simply gazed at me an
d gave no reaction. It made me uneasy — the way he looked at me as if he understood exactly what I was communicating, but chose to ignore me. I tried to get a sense of his feelings, but he let nothing show. When had we become two strangers? I didn
'
t unders
tand it, and I was torn between feeling hurt over his rejection, while at the same time wanting desperately to please him. I didn
'
t want to have either of those emotions; I wanted to be completely indifferent, as he was to me.