“A little too eager this morning?” he asks, kicking at the soles of my feet.
“No, just couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d get an early start.”
“What have you been able to practice so far?”
I tell him about the aerial projection, but that I can’t figure out the time looping. “Can you really only go forwards?”
“I’ve never known anyone to go backwards, and I’m not sure I would recommend it if you did figure it out.” He slaps my knee, ordering me up, and goes towards the rack, which now holds two weapons. Frey visually looks mine over since he can’t physically pick it up. “A Kopis, nice.” He holds out his knife towards me. It’s a simple small curved blade with a black handle. “It’s not much, but it’s easy to conceal when approaching my opponent. More of a surprise for them.”
He spends the next several hours showing me how to swing the blade around and the proper method for holding it, especially when looping. It’s difficult to do, but Frey assures me it gets easier and that our uniforms have a built-in sheath for us to house our weapons when we’re not carrying them. We break for lunch, then the rest of the afternoon is dedicated to using my shield. To get it to expand from the wristband, it’s a simple flick of the wrist in a sharp, downward jab. The shield is larger than I thought it would be, bright blue, and hums. It adds a little weight to my arm when it’s operating, but nothing I can’t handle. To get it to retract, I pull my fingers into a small ball, and release them quickly. Frey’s shield is called a “Buckler” – a full, round shield that is good against explosives. It’s green in color, thick in the center, and is spiked around the edges.
“What made you decide to volunteer for this?” I ask while we’re putting our weapons back on the rack.
“Probably the same reason you did, to have a better life.”
“I didn’t volunteer for this,” I say, spinning him around to face me. “None of us did.”
He’s clearly puzzled by my outburst. “That’s not what we were told.” He presses a panel next to the door, which slides open. The hallway is empty when we enter.
“What did they tell you, Frey?” I ask, following him down to the men’s bedroom.
He stops, blocking me from entering the room with him. “That Outer Limits scum is competing for the chance to govern their own utopia. That Head Master Edom is orchestrating a takeover and he needed those most loyal to him sent to The Litarian Battles in hopes of succeeding.” He pushes me away, practically shoving me to the floor. “Watch your back, Max, you have no friends here.”
He slams the door closed behind him. I retreat to my room, burying myself under my blankets. Addie and Rem enter a little over an hour later, big smiles on their faces. I’m in no mood to be around anyone, but there isn’t any place for me to go and hide. Addie practically drags me from bed, covers and all, down the hall to watch the replays of the day’s battles. Both she and Rem were awarded one thousand points each.
“The points would’ve been much higher if the cowards hadn’t claimed defeat,” Addie adds, sitting down.
I sit across from her, hoping my change in demeanor isn’t too apparent. Rem asks how my training went, and I lie saying it went great. Dinner arrives a few minutes later. I don’t have much of an appetite, so I only grab one sandwich from the large tray, eat it quickly, and excuse myself just as Frey walks in. I avoid his stare as I make my way back to the bedroom, tucking myself into one of the bathroom stalls.
Did Frey believe what he was telling me about the explanation about the players from the Outer Limits? Do they all believe the same way he does? And how were the ten of us really chosen? I doubt Lil was taken to the Head Master’s mansion when she was selected, so why were we? I wish I could talk to her and Brink to see what’s going on in the other units.
“Max?” my name rings out from the doorway. It’s Addie, but I ignore her at first. “Max, Matron Kaniz needs everyone in the common room,” she insists.
I roll my eyes, open the stall door, and we walk together to the common room. Everyone is crammed on the couches, so Addie and I stand against the far wall. All the monitors are off, and the music has been turned down.
“The Keepers have decided the new recruits have had enough time in training, so beginning tomorrow they will be participating like everyone else,” Matron Kaniz says, standing in front of the bar. “The five battles tomorrow will be among the ten from the Outer Limits. You will still need to report to the selection floor like usual.”
“How can all ten of them battle each other? Some were placed in the same units,” Rem asks.
“I’m not sure what the plan is. I can only convey what I’ve been told. Max,” the Matron says, looking through the crowd, finally locating me, “I need you to come with me to get your uniform ready for tomorrow.”
She dismisses everyone else. The monitors are turned back on and the music starts to blare. I meet up with the Matron just outside the training room. She escorts me down the hall past the Progression Room, and into the room where I chose my weapon and shield. On the monitors this time are six styles of uniform, all but one very revealing. The other outfits have either a crop top, are sleeveless, or very short shorts with thigh high boots, so I select the one
