❝how do you kill a monster without becoming one?❞
In the last city ruled by man, fish soar in the skies above and monsters lurk in the alleys below. Ten years ago, Jase lost both his legs and his mother to one such monster. However, tragedy couldn't...
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At some point, Jase zoned out. It wasn't his fault! The presentation just got boring after a while.
Actually, the rest of the week was boring. They just reviewed the basics or at least Jase assumed from what he actually paid attention to. Smiles were stronger than AI. Smiles could move faster than you could fire a gun. Smiles were clever as Hykelia in their masquerade as humans.
Of course, there were some details that Jase hadn't heard before. A new study linked a Smile's appetite to their strength. The more humans a Smile ate, the stronger they became. Or maybe it was the other way around and the stronger the Smile, the more protein they needed to sustain themselves.
But for the most part, it was just boring facts that Jase knew since he was ten about how to determine if someone was a Smile or not. Smiles didn't eat human food. Smiles had sensitive feet. Smiles averaged six feet tall - and that was before the morph.
However, to conclude their boring week, the Viper handed them a piece of paper and said if they failed then their time at Stingray was over.
Jase took the test like a punch to the gut. He had only ever been mediocre at school stuff and the test was hard. Way harder than he had been anticipating. By Monday, Jase was beginning to feel the weight that a single test held over the rest of his life.
"Relax," Huraira said, swatting at a couple of minnows that made the mistake of getting too close to her as they walked into Stingray that morning. Or Huraira walked and Jase rolled after her. "Even if you fail, you can always try again next year."
"I don't want to wait until next year," Jase grumbled, arms straining to keep up with Huraira's long strides. "I've waited for ten years already! Isn't that enough?"
"Well, it's not like Red's going anywhere." Huraira turned her head away. "Besides, it might be for the best."
"What?"
Huraira shook her head as they approached the receptionist's desk. "Hopeful Conference's been moved down to the forty-third floor for the physical training this week, Ms. King," the receptionist - a balding older man - said.
Huraira went to the elevator as Jase thanked the receptionist before rolling after Huraira, barely making it through the elevator doors before they closed. Once they were alone again, Jase sighed. "I have to get into Stingray this year," he said, voice hollow and whispery. "I have to... I can't move back in with them..."
"Is your brother really that bad? And I thought you said you were getting along with your Grandfather better..." Huraira pinched the bridge of her nose. "If you get into Stingray, you might die! This isn't a game, Jase. And with your legs..."
"We all might die!" Jase said, pushing himself up in his chair. He wished he was able to stand and meet her gaze, to prove her wrong but... he couldn't waste the minutes. "My legs might shut down in the middle of a fight and I might be eaten alive. But I could get shot by some human going home or crushed by a whale or killed in a Magic Storm!"
