Chapter 17—Grading Grounds

  Ace and the others were waiting off to the side of a huge crowd in Unit Three. People started flooding in more than an hour ago, and even now it seemed more Numbers and Scouts were finding their way. He wondered how many of them decided to come at the last minute. Even as a god, his nerves were frayed. There was a sense of foreboding hitting him like a punch he couldn’t dodge. He felt like it made no sense, not after fighting the God Eternal, but still, there was a quiver inside, and he felt like he knew where it came from.

  Despite Magician’s guidance, Ace couldn’t conjure a dream about a dark persona. He tried, meditated on it, but instead of returning to Phosphorus, he dreamed of fairly normal things. Like besting a new obstacle course or hanging out with Hunter and Raven afterwards. That might have been alright too, if it didn’t remind him what he was fighting for—the simpler life that he was trying to avenge.

  “You look like you have a lot on your mind.” King suddenly said.

  Ace hadn’t noticed he was staring at his hands until he looked up. “I didn’t dream about Phosphorus last night,” He admitted. “It feels like I missed an obvious step.”

  King nodded, and let out a sigh. “Did you dream about the others instead?”

  Ace’s eyes widened. “How’d you know?”

  King laughed a sad sound. “I haven’t stopped dreaming about Knight…honestly. Not since I got back. If I try to rest I think about how he’s not there.”

  Ace placed a hand on his shoulder. “That’s because he always was, right? You two used to sleep together—I mean. Well, you know what I mean, right?”

  King laughed a bit more earnestly this time. “Yeah. I didn’t go to bed without him. He used to always shower first and grab the spot near the wall. I never wanted it, really, but it felt like I was losing a race.” He kept an easy smile. “I can’t stop missing him. It hasn’t been that much time but…it feels like it’s been forever too.”

  Ace gave his friend a gentle hug then patted both his shoulders, suddenly feeling more like Judge than himself. The nervous part of him chuckled at that, but the rest of him was there for King, holding his eyes as if to keep him in the moment.

  “I don’t think you need to stop missing him. You and Knight were closer than Fang and Assassin. If she still misses him and I still miss Raven and Hunter, who’s going to blame you? Why would they blame you?”

  King let out a huff and inhaled deeply. “Thanks, Ace. Although, I think I was supposed to be comforting you.”

  Ace laughed, “Maybe I’m agile in conversations too. I saw the right path and got ahead.”

  King’s band glowed just then, as Khalaf’s voice rose from it. “Knew the right path. Knew which steps to take. Agile in conversation, huh? Well, what can’t a god be?”

  King lifted it between them. “Do you have any theories about the Phosphorus dreams?”

  “Straight to business the moment you hear my voice. Heartbreaking, King. But no, I don’t. My best guess is a difference in language.”

  Hope and Andra strolled closer as if they heard their cue. Despite it, their eyes asked what the whispers were about.

  “I couldn’t dream about Phosphorus last night.” Ace told them.

  “Trying to figure out that dark persona stuff, right?” Andra asked. He nodded, and she shook her head. “I had a good talk with Magician but I don’t know if I get it either. Is Nyx a dark god because she’s Goddess of the Night, or can a night goddess exist in a normal order?” Ace looked for Magician to get his take, but he was in conversation with Raptor and Fang.

  “What do you two think?” Hope said to King and Khalaf.

  “Khalaf was saying it’s a difference in language.”

  Andra nodded emphatically. “That does make sense. Think about the difference between how you normally define pantheon versus how New Dawn defines it. If you use their meaning, you’re looking for a bunch of adjuncts and professors. If you use ours though, you’re looking for gods. Maybe you define persona differently from Phosphorus. At some point ‘darkness’ might be the same, but do you even have a clue what persona means now?”

  Ace smiled at Andra and she flushed, her eyes darting away. He saw this response a lot during their training and had learned to ignore it. She didn’t seem to like any form of praise. And yet still, he was going to give it.

  “You’re smart, Andra.” He hoped the directness made it easier to take. “Every time this type of thing comes up, you’re able to keep up with Micaela, King, and Magician.”

  “It’s not even that complicated.” She murmured. Her brother laughed.

  “He’s right, Andra. You’ve always been the smartest between us.”

  “Alright, enough! I don’t need this from both of you.” Her fist were balled and if she got any redder she might have glowed.

  “It’s a good place to start.” King nodded. “Considering what Magician said, a dark persona should be the way you’re viewed by the darkness.”

  “A persona is something we put on for other people, right? Or take on?” Hope offered. “Maybe another way to look at it is being what the darkness needs you to be?”

  What the darkness needed him to be? The battle with the God Eternal came to mind again. So too did his history with Assassin. For Fang in the battle, he had to be the unseen and forgotten. For Assassin, he was always the ace up his sleeve. He was the hidden knife, never the overt sword. If he had to be what the darkness needed him to be, then had the darkness not already shown him? He turned to ask Fang about it but a projection lit up the administrator’s office and stopped him.

  “Hello, Numbers, Scouts, and civilians alike ” The administrator started. “Today is a monumental day for us, as many of you well know. While the Grading Grounds have opened in rare instances over the past five years, this will be the first time since then that so many get to take this trial. Many of you have trained for moments like this. Others have fought what remains of New York tooth-and-nail, and witnessed why these moments are necessary. As your leader, I would be a fool if I said you didn’t gain the strength for this. But as your leader, I will warn you that this is no simple trial of strength.”

  Whispers rolled over the crowd. The administrator went silent as if to let them. On the balconies that watched the gathering, the civilians were just as animated. This was a big deal. This was a big moment. The Enclave would be talking about this for weeks to come, and Ace wondered if that was a part of the plan.

  “When I send people out, I brief them on what to expect, what they have to do, and how I want them to make it back alive. This is based on years of surveying the city, through drones, scouts, Grades themselves, and even at our worst moments I strive to keep you all prepared. However, the Grading Grounds are a mystery to me. My authority gives me no access. Each of us is facing an unknown, but it is only those who take the trial who face it bravely.” She paused again, breathing in a steadying breath.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Rails quaked as a heavy stone gate slid out on them. It came to a firm stop in front of the crowd, then ground loudly, as its doors folded open. A breath of dust blew over the crowd as it opened fully, and while it connected to nothing but the air, they found a brick path disappearing into mist.

  “This is your last chance to turn back. Once you step beyond that gate you’re lost to the world. It will close behind you, and we’ll only see you again if you pass this trial. If there’s anyone you love, don’t do it. If you see a better future for yourself, don’t do it. If you would never gamble with your life, don’t do it. Only step through that gate if you’re ready to be Graded and willing to war with New York.”

  Ace’s group gathered more closely, but none of them objected. Among the crowd some people broke off, pulling away from the magnitude, but not in such numbers that it grew noticeably thinner. The administrator watched as if she could truly see them, and when the breakaway stopped, she raised her hand.

  “Very well. Begin!”

  The crowd charged, making the ground rumble again. They went forward as if it were a race, no pause, no second thought, no glance at the people around them. The gate was wide enough that no one ran shoulder-to-shoulder, unflinching that nothing changed when the mist swallowed them. No hesitation, no more doubts. People disappeared by the handful, while Ace’s group watched them go.

  “You sure we shouldn’t have run in first?” He asked Fang.

  She nodded as she watched. “If it’s as dangerous as she says, we’re likely the only ones who can prevent mass casualties, but we have to let them see the worst of it. Our ranks were too low for them to understand the gap between us now.”

  All but the last of them flooded into the grounds. Fang waved for their group to follow, and the mist remained thick as the gate shut behind them.

  It rolled on for a long time, every other Number and Scout a distant sound; the only sight—the people they could see around them. They were all on high alert, waiting for the first test, ready to draw their arms. But, nothing came as they strolled in deeper. No trap was sprung, even as the mist thinned and they were caught by surprise.

  Ahead of Ace’s group, some of their peers still lingered. He couldn’t blame them, because he stopped too, staring up at the buildings that came up around them. It was not New York, no. Even in ruin, New York told the story of an old place often infused with new life. Even when its shape changed it told stories, one corner—tales of decades past, another—mythologizing today, and another prophesying tomorrow. New York was a city with many faces, many hats, many names behind it, but the same could not be said of the empty streets around them.

  They were gathered in a roundabout, with three different roads. Buildings of glass stood up around them, framed in stone so pale and fine that it looked like bone. Light did not escape the glass, did not show you what was inside, nor claim this city ever knew life. It was only like New York in that it was eerily empty; loudly empty, in the way that made you arm yourself.

  Raptor’s arms became animalistic.

  Black cards filled Magician’s hands.

  Fang held something that was one part scepter and one part sword, while Andra hefted two axes chained at their pommel.

  Hope brandished a thin long sword.

  King wielded nothing, waiting for the city to tell him what he needed.

  And Ace, of course, had his arm blades out.

  Silence stretched on around them, swallowing even the distance sounds of the groups that splintered off. Nothing came, even though every instinct screamed that it would. Anticipation was sinking its claws in, when someone’s voice rose.

  “We can’t just stay here.” It was a man, somewhere in the middle of the crowd. “This is a trial! While we’re waiting around, others are getting ahead.” He looked at the three roads, then at a sign on the island between them.

  Ace did too. It wasn’t in words he could read. The man sucked his teeth, and broke from the crowd, heading toward the right.

  “You coming?” He called to the people who stepped in with him. They broke off as well, and others started following.

  “What should we do, Fang?” Ace asked.

  “I’m not certain yet…it feels too risky to act.” She was still searching, though her eyes found their way to the windows, looking for whatever might be looking back.

  “That guy is right,” Raptor said. “Maybe it ain’t a race, but we gotta go.”

  “I agree,” Hope said. “I’m getting the same bad feeling but what does that matter?”

  One of them may have chosen a road, if the doors of a building didn’t come open first. Everyone who lingered stared at it, armed and ready. A man emerged, in a pale jumpsuit, his eyes hidden by a silver visor. Some of the crowd let their guard down as his form became clearer. He was approaching slowly, cautiously, as if he was just as afraid of them as they were of the city.

  “You’re a civilian, right? What is this place? What are you doing in here?” A woman broke off to meet him, and his head tilted like he couldn’t understand. She got rid of her weapon and held up her hands. “It’s alright. We come in peace.”

  A chorus of shrieks peeled down the right road and everyone went on guard again. Except the woman, who could hear the man murmuring.

  “S-sir…speak up. I can’t understand.” She at least had her weapon back out, a hammer with a pickax on one end.

  “Not fair…” The man spoke louder, voice quivering.

  The woman opened her mouth to question him, and he shoved a crude-looking spear through her head.

  Another shriek peeled down the right road, then another, and another, the empty city growing loud with the sounds of death. The woman’s body dropped and a man stomped forward. He never got to her however, or the civilian, as a barrage of crude spears tore him through and left his dead body standing.

  “Not fair!” Roared the civilian as windows folded open, revealing one civilian after the other, dressed like him, armed like him, some manning what looked like turrets. The bloom of a green light escaped from beneath their visor. He pointed his spear, and the turrets let lose.

  Magician threw one of his cards up, and it burst into a shroud that swirled around them. The shots disappeared against it, and while the other entrants breathed sudden breaths of relief, Ace cast his human form aside. Raptor followed, turning into a horrific lizardman. Hope and Andra’s bands changed, unfolding into bracers.

  “Now, Fang?” Raptor growled, a grin on his face.

  “Yes.” Fang pulled a green light from the darkness and slotted it into her scepter. “Tear them all apart.” The shroud dropped, and they went on the attack.

  Elsewhere, and moments before…

  Tomoe’s group was one of the first to enter the Grading Grounds, and when the strange city rose up around them, she let out an impressed whistle.

  “I was wondering what this trial was going to be, and I see it’s a lot worse than you guys are prepared for.” Her swords were on her left, Vega stepped up to her other side.

  “What do you mean?” He asked. She started walking again, taking the road in front of her. “Tomoe, I’m in charge here.”

  “And I respect that, but leaders have to wait for information, right? On the frontline, the samurai cannot get precise orders from the shogun.”

  Arrow and Sione looked at Vega, then at her back. 201, however, rushed to her side.

  “What’s going on?” He demanded. She sized him up.

  “I didn’t get your name before.” She said.

  “Elijah.” He answered. “Now tell us what’s going on.” Vega and the others stepped closer too.

  “We’re being watched right now. These buildings aren’t empty. There’s like…wow! Thousands of people around us and I think they’re all just waiting for their shogun.”

  “People? Like civilians?” Sione asked. “Survivors?” He clarified.

  “Survivors…” Tomoe chewed the word. “Is a good choice, but they aren’t people surviving New York. They survived something else…” She shuddered. “Maybe something worse!”

  “How do you know that?” Vega asked.

  “Remember how I said we call Luminance, ki? Well, I can sense the ki of another…” She slid her swords free. “You all should get ready too.”

  Arrow armed herself with two punch daggers, Sione armed himself with something that looked like a giant serrated fang. A falchion appeared in Elijah’s hand, and Vega armed himself with a sword and shield. His eyes said he still had questions, but he was going to trust her when it came to combat. She hoped his gaze was telling the truth, for as one of the doors opened, she saw a reason to test him.

  A girl came out, about 12 or 13. She wore a pale jumpsuit and had a silver visor over her eyes. The others started lowering their guard, but Tomoe shot in, her wakizashi opening the girl’s stomach while her tanto opened her neck. Her body dropped before the others could be horrified, and the windows folded open before they could object. She was glad she chose the road with buildings on one side. It made it easy to defend, as these “civilians” sprayed them with turret fire.

  She moved like a beam through the air, her swords arcing outward as each slash propelled her toward the next oncoming spear. It looked like a laser light show tearing them from the sky. When she was done she smiled proudly, her glowing purple eyes locking onto the horde of green staring back.

  Her blades glowed and she flung a slash that tore through the turrets. The others were still shocked, but her smile remained playful as she looked back.

  “That’s your only freebie. Now it’s time to see if you all can survive.”

  “Not fair!” The horde shrieked as it approached, armed with their crude spears.

  Vega banged his shield and pointed his blade forward. “Form up! We attack! We survive!”

  The others fell in line, and she picked out a part of the horde she’d keep for herself. It wouldn’t do them any good if she did all the work, but she still needed to have fun too.

  And fun was the word for it.

  The Grading Grounds were already exciting…

  [Chapter 17 ends…]