Nightfire Warriors - A Space Opera

69. Man Down

"I knew teaming up with you was a bad idea! Had you just listened to me and not go after Ryan, we might have gotten more kills, we would have scored higher, and maybe the two of us together would have been able to kill Ryan!" Of course, Justin is disappointed with himself and takes out all of his anger on me.

I'm sitting backstage of the colosseum, head down, and on the urge of tears. There's nothing I want to say to him, knowing that he's probably right about some things.

There's a sudden knock at the door. Both of our heads turn curiously and watch Abigail entering the room. Behind all the glamorous cosmetics she's wearing on her face—bright pink lipstick and red cheeks—is a look of disappointment no warrior ever wants to see from her. "Well, well, well..." she says.

"We tried our best," I tell her.

"I'm not so sure," Abigail says. "I've seen better performances from both of you. And you're only as good as your last performance."

"We'll do better next time," Justin sighs.

"There won't be a next time," Abigail says coldly. "Cody was phenomenal. I'll be surprised if he doesn't make the top five. And as for you Sag, this isn't the road to finding your father. If you want to be a warrior, and be the hero everyone wants you to be, you have to work harder."

"Yes, ma'am." That's all I can say.

"I came in here to tell you both you they're about to announce who won the Battle Royale. I need you both present."

Justin starts walking out of the room in a hurry. "Let's get this over with," he mumbles.

I'm scared. Big time. My heart is hammering my chest, against my ribs too. I follow Justin and Abigail out of the room and through the hallways. Backstage is deserted, a sure sign all of the wars are out in the field, ready for awards. I can hear the crowd screaming from inside, sounding muffled and faint.

"I'll be in the audience." Abigail strides away, and I walk a different path than her towards the arena.

Suddenly, the cheering becomes clear as water when I stepped out into the cold. By the looks of it, there seems to be millions of people here tonight. The biggest turnout I have ever seen at any mission. It's so crowded some warriors are standing at the sides and taking pictures with fans and signing autographs.

I spot the four judges sitting in the front row. Amanda is sitting next to Chris, their arms hooked, and hands locked. As a couple, they do look cute together. Chris kisses her on the cheek, and she giggles against his shoulder. Kendall is sitting with her brother, Jace. My mentor looks, in fact, worried. It's evident that both of her pupils did worse than Cody and most likely one of us is going home.

I see myself on the large monitors. Not looking at the cameras directly, but from different angles, I can see myself gazing around the colosseum. I'm actually looking for Lily. She's nowhere in sight. Not even with Jace. But maybe now is not the time to think about her. Whoever is going to be eliminated tonight is for once not decided by the judges, but by the judges of the Battle Royale. Unless there is a three-way tie, which according to Abigail, we know is never going to happen.

I see Clover take the stand. At the barbarian's beck and call is a man dressed in a black business suit, holding an open suitcase with ten, dazzling warrior ranking badges. They start as small as pendants, for Warrant Officers. Then they grow in size for the higher place winners. The biggest one for the first-place champion is gold with an eagle carved around, and an expensive, dazzling red ruby is studded the middle. It's the Hero Badge. One level below Legendary. That's the ranking Cody, Justin, and I have right now. If JT wins that tonight, considering he's not even a Brigadier yet, that would be something.