That was too much. Liam flushed red, dropped his books, and took a swing at Tim’s head. I could tell he wasn’t a fighter. His punch sailed wide, and Tim tackled him to the ground like a football player. He sat up and punched Liam in the face as every kid in the hallway crowded around and started shouting. I came running just as Mr. Lell ran out of his class and forcibly pulled Tim off of Liam. Liam shakily climbed to his feet, bloody and shamefaced, and Mr. Lell escorted them both to the office.
I wanted to cry as I watched Liam walk by, tears in his bright-blue eyes.
They both got suspended. I had a feeling it would be the first day of school Liam had ever missed. I saw his mom arrive from where I was watching through the window. She looked disappointed.
Allison saved me for last. It was a simple prank.
As I sat there in last period thinking about Liam, she took a water bottle and ever so delicately squeezed some through the hole in the back of my chair. I didn’t notice until I stood up to leave and Allison and her friends burst out laughing.
I was wearing light jeans that day, of course.
Soon half the class was laughing, and I hurried out without even knowing why. When Mia and Shal told me at my locker, I felt sick. It was stupid, but I knew they’d all believe it. The fat girl had peed herself. Why not? I wrapped my coat around my waist and left to a chorus of laughter. Allison just smiled evilly.
What was my weakness? The fact that I was so used to fat jokes. Mix it up and I broke like glass.
I was so upset I didn’t even leave my room when I got home. It wasn’t just the prank. It was Liam’s face and Shal’s tears and the fact that I still couldn’t stand up to Allison. Because I knew it always gets worse.
I just wanted to be invisible. I wanted them to leave me alone.
I missed dinner. I ignored my parents’ and Tom’s questions. I just lay in bed and ignored everything until past nine when everyone had gone to sleep. I blearily checked my cellphone. Ten missed calls, all from Shal and Mia. Six messages too:
Where are you?
Are you okay?
Do you want to talk?
I can’t believe she called me the ugliest ginger.
Do you think Carl voted?
Call me.
I sighed and put the phone down. I didn’t want to talk. I just wanted to lie here.
But a little voice in my head reminded me that I wasn’t invisible. That they would never leave me alone. Because I could keep a low profile and hide, but I would run into Allison eventually, and she would always have something to say.
And worse, I would always be waiting for her to say it.
I wasn’t invisible in the Under Earth either. I was part of this war, whether or not I wanted it. And it was time to start getting better. I threw on my usual training outfit of track pants and a T-shirt and climbed through the panel into the elevator.
When I walked out into the courtyard, Eldon turned to me, raising an eyebrow.
“You came early.”
“Yep,” I said.
“Why?”
I walked right by him. “Because I really love this obstacle course.”
I heard a quiet laugh behind me, and then he shouted at me to start.
—
I plunked myself against the wall a little while later, and this time, Eldon sat down beside me. We watched in silence for a moment as two of the other Monster Crushers sparred in the ring, their muscular arms bulging as they crashed against one another.
I had read in the guide about the fifty Monster Crusher houses that were scattered around the world, ranging from Riverfield to Rio de Janeiro to Cairo. I had even read with interest that the pyramids themselves were heavily linked with the intricate tunnels running beneath the earth. That, of course, meant the other Monster Crushers were just as international: Lee had pointed out an Oskar Romanowich from Siberia, a Hu Jing from Shanghai, and a Bo Kobongo from Nigeria. There were two other Americans: one from Brooklyn and another from outside of Phoenix. There were also two Canadians: Lee and another boy, from Whitehorse, who looked like he was carved out of stone himself.
I watched them all training, or at least the ones who were there—because most had far greater distances to travel through the tunnels, they often had to devise elaborate stories of going to school overseas or joining the military. There were smaller training centres in the other realms, but Arnwell Castle was the centre, and that’s where Monster Crushers spent most of their time.
“How are things on the surface?” Eldon asked quietly.
I shrugged. “The same, I guess.”
I watched as Lee knocked another Monster Crusher down with a vicious sideways blow, his entire body rippling at the impact. He politely helped the other boy to his feet and then stalked off toward the Warrior’s Way, slinging the wooden club he’d been using onto his broad shoulder. The Monster Crushers seemed to have a deep respect for each other: I didn’t see many cheap shots or anything of the sort. I glanced at Eldon.
“Who are my Swords going to be?” I paused. “You know, if I actually complete this training. It won’t be that redhead, will it? She kind of hates me.”
He laughed. “Caria? No. She is one of Arnwell’s Protectorates and doesn’t act as a Monster Crusher’s Sword. Other than the Protectorate, all the Swords that you see are matched with their respective Monster Crushers: they travel with them to Derwin and train with them. And they are under the same rules: they cannot help out at another surface location. They are all responsible for their own tunnels, and they cannot go to Riverfield, even if more warriors would be nice. If they die fighting another Monster Crusher’s battles, they have left their
