prodigy

"We have no time. Let's move, they are at 35 and 36 when we both left"

“Let’s not disappoint Mr Arahat”

This is a huge mistake. Arahat of all people knows that I'm not from any Combat Class. We just finished physics few hours ago and he didn't even mention any of this. What the fuck was in his head when he put my name on the list? I would be dead for sure, if they put me in a cage with one of those flamethrower kids. What kind of sick joke are this you spastic old shit. These two guys are still not answering any of my questions. They keep lifting their feet alternately while indirectly commanding me to move faster with them.

From the reflection on the glass panel at the corner we had just passed 1.2 seconds ago, I can see that the man on my right is taking his step with his feet bent at an unnatural angle to his walking motion. Maybe an old injury had resurfaced, something a perfectly placed kick would do. Sadly I really don't have any idea on how deal with the towering second guy; he looks like he's made of boulders instead of flesh. The odds for me to get back to my bunk are obviously higher if I get into the arena, compared to going against this colossal beast right now. We finally get into the end of the corridor. I was instructed to stand on the round platform, with my impending doom waiting the moment the hatch above me open.

"Hey kid. Good luck"

Glad to know that there is a human inside that mountain. He swings the glass door close while his mate with the bad leg pressing authorisation code at the panel on the wall. The elevator ride lifted me intensely, as I re-enacted every possible strategies for almost all Combat Class available in my head. Most are still made of flesh; I just have to think of ways to stay alive until I have my chance to strike. I will survive. Then I’ll kill Arahat. My brain is a gift, more powerful than teleportation or any fancy tricks.

As soon as the vertical ride slowed down, the slit above me grew larger into an opening, and gradually I can see the whole arena. About a hundred meter in front of me, a girl ascends from a hole in the ground into the prepared jagged surface full of fist-sized rocks. I swear I've seen her somewhere, but I have no time to focus on trivial stuff when my life depends on every single decision I'm about to make. There are 638 rocks with enough weight to shatter human skull, but most of them are on her side of the arena. I have to move really fast. I can’t wait to know what I’m going against.

"No 43. James Anderson. Einst. Raise your hand if you're ready" I wave at the tinted glass covered platform hanging above both of us.

"No 44. Fatimidae Arahat." what. The. Fuck.

“Mover. Raise your hand if you're ready"

I don't have any time to think of what his motives are. As soon as the siren breaks the silence, I shift all my weight to my left foot and begin strafing towards anywhere my feet would take me. I know that I’m already dead. Inches behind me was a constant stream of swooshing sound followed by numerous ear-shattering smash. Dust flying with shattering debris all over my track.  It doesn't take her more than two seconds before a big chunk hit my calf, ricocheting me upside down like a ragdoll into the air.

She is very good, a prodigy just like her mum. They said that she lifted her whole house off the ground when she was five. I wonder what kind of shit Arahat has to deal with every day, having both of them under the same roof. She's looks nothing like him though. Her skin was flawless, and that stiff smile look exactly like the pictures Arahat had shown me. I can see it from here every strand of her jet black hair is floating in the air; I can count it from where I am, few meters above the ground bracing for the impact. But it hasn't come to me yet. 

I could always count the strands of hair if it's not moving at all like right now. I begin to realise that something was not right -not physically right. The closest rock floating in front of me would hit my face 0.03 seconds ago in its previous velocity, but it hasn't yet made any progress from that exact spot. I can see even the minute specks floating in the air like pencils graphite, suspended on invisible strings. Everything in motion regardless of size and speed has stopped on its track seconds ago in a long numbing silence. Everything from slicing projectiles to my eyelids are all still.

Then there he is, walking down the arena with that smug on his face. I put a lot of effort in twisting my head towards him. He never failed to impress me in his lectures, but looking at him walking effortlessly in this paused chaos made me feel like he’s some kind of deity among mortals. He stops right behind his daughter, and then laid his hand on her frozen shoulder.

"You know, I really love Fatimi, but I always wanted a son.”

“So how does it feel having it switched on for the first time?"