Nightfire Warriors (Remastered)

14.

Oh no! The sun is rising! My eyes had been open this entire night. No sleep. My body has a very drained, tired feeling like I'm drugged. Jace is concerned about my lack of sleep. However, I tell him coffee is my best friend, and hopefully, the next challenge won't require too much energy. Sometimes the missions are mental and not physical. And there are no excuses for arriving late to missions.

I ask Jace to drop me off at the amphitheater. I don't want to draw attention from the other competitors. He finds my request comical but does it anyway. We land, inconspicuously, of course. I step out of the hovercar onto a field of grass and close the door behind me. I thank Jace for everything. He smiles back and takes off. The hovercar disappears into the sky, out of sight above the clouds, and I'm alone—

At least I thought I was. Four more hovercars whoosh in and drop off warriors. My competitors! They are arriving for today's mission. Then I see Justin, Keith, and Tyrone stepping out of the same hovercar. But I'm missing from the picture. I may be fortunate this time. No one is going to notice I'm late. We usually keep our warrior uniforms at the amphitheater, so violating the dress code isn't an issue. I jog across the field to catch up with them. Nobody notices me slip into the crowd except Tyrone.

"Where have you been?" he demands, whispering. "I thought you were going to miss the mission."

"Uh..." I'm apprehensive about acknowledging I did a mission with a Nightfire warrior. I don't want these people to gossip. Competitors are mocking me enough. It's best if I keep my interactions with Nightfire a secret. However, I'm sure the producers are going to make me spill tea at confessionals. "I'm back now," I say. "No one noticed I was gone, did they?"

"Just the three of us," says Tyrone. "Don't do that again. I was worried about you for a second."

Rather than heading to the arena like we usually do, we gather backstage. Desks are set up for us, and there's a white, dry erase board. Kendall and a female turtlehead I've never seen before are waiting for us. They have welcoming smiles, but I'm nervous. This challenge is quite different from the rest.

"Just find a seat," the turtlehead says, her voice smooth as honey. "Hello, everyone. My name is Turquoise. I'm going to be your tutor for the day."

Sitting in my seat, it strangely doesn't feel like high school over again. Frankie sits behind me, not sure how far. It doesn't bother me if he is smirking at me, trying to find a way to hit me in the head with crumpled paper without exposure. What really bothers me is my eyelashes feel like they have little weight on them. I'm not sitting up straight at the desk. Nevertheless, Turquoise's voice sounds like a lullaby that could put me in a peaceful dream...

No, I force myself. Stay awake. This is important!

Today's teaching is about combo attacks. Turquoise shows us diverse kinds of grenades—plasma and regular—and how we can use them simultaneously with a rifle. These new tricks she demonstrates don't look easy. Some warriors know how to do this already. The teachings and critical points are blurring in my head.

Turquoise finishes, thanks to us for having her teach, and leaves graciously.

"All right, everyone," Kendall says. "This is a special and dangerous week. Your mission tomorrow will be a capture the flag game on planet Pandora." Kitty's softest squeal overpowers everyone's low excitement.

Sounds dangerous enough. Steal the enemy's flag, take it to your territory, and you win. Add guns, genetic abilities, and environment, then everyone's strategies will be beyond my expertise. It's also a chance to see how everyone fights.

"You will be competing in two teams of six." Kendall starts to explain the rules. "And you will need to figure out strategies on how to steal your opponents' flag. And how to defend your flag. You must bring it back to your territory. The team that successfully steals the flag first, and takes it back to home base, will be safe from being eliminated at the next elimination." She's explaining slowly and precisely, so everybody fully understands. "Two members will be responsible for defending the flag. Two will be responsible for stealing the opponents'. One will be the captain of your team. One will have a wild role, meaning they can be responsible for anything you choose. I recommend being strategic with that one. There are thirteen of you, so one will be left out. That person will serve as a trolling fool during the game. The objective of the fool is to sabotage the game by whatever strategies they come up with. The fool will also be safe at the next elimination."