The Hidden End [Ender's Game]

+ Chapter 03

Ender walked up to the gate just as it opened. He breathed in a couple of times, and then looked at Graff. "What do I do now, sir?"

"Go on in," Graff instructed.

Ender grabbed a hold of a handle outside the gate and eased himself out into the battle room. Morgan couldn't exactly see what was going on because Ender wasn't in clear sight, but she heard Graff say, "Alright now, push off."

Ender did as he was told, shakily coiling up close to the handles and pushing himself out into the battle room. He floated with ease, and Morgan almost wanted to break the formation to catch a better glimpse of him. As he was spinning into the air, he crashed into a star-like obstacle. He grunted but kept floating forward. Not a second later he crashed into another one, but this time Ender gripped onto it for dear life. Marjorie gave Morgan an amused look and shook her head; she must've felt the atmosphere between those two shift overnight.

Graff looked at Morgan and nodded. The formation parted before her, and she smirked. She breathed in, took a running start, and jumped straight into the Zero G battle room, spinning forward crazily. She could hear other kids laugh behind her as they entered the battle room too, but she couldn't focus on them. Her only goal was to get to Ender.

As she was about to fly right past him, his hand shot out and grabbed her leg, pulling her towards him. He helped her grab a hold of his star, smiling warmly. "Hey, stranger," he said.

"Hey." Morgan could see Earth through the transparent walls of the battle room, and she had to look away, breathing out heavily.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just... intimidating."

"The battle room?"

"Yeah. Y'know... seeing space up close with just a window preventing you from floating off into nothingness." Her stomach clenched up, and she could feel herself get nauseous. Ender turned her head and blocked her from seeing anything but him.

"Don't think about that. You aren't gonna float away anywhere." He chuckled slightly. "It's kind of funny. You weren't nauseous on the way here but you're sick now." Morgan laughed too at how stupid it sounded. It felt better to laugh about it, especially since it was Ender who she was joking around.

Just then, Bean kicked off one of the walls, and flew in their general direction. He reached a star above them and held onto it. Ender smiled slightly. "Nicely done," he praised.

Bean glanced at the other Launchies. "These guys are still trying to stay up the way they came in," he said. "Like you said in the shuttle, there is no up and down in space.

"But we'll need some way to orientate in here," Ender said. He glanced at Morgan and then both of them darted their gazes around the battle room. "Maybe the enemy's gate is down."

Bean nodded, smirking. "I like it. Like they're a bug to be crushed under our feet."

"Exactly," Ender agreed. His eyes found their way back to Morgan's face, and then he looked down at his laser gun. He took it out of his holster and studied it for a quick second.

"What do you think this does?" he asked.

"Damage," Morgan replied matter-of-factly. "This is the battle room. It sure as hell doesn't shoot confetti."

Bean laughed. "Let's find out."

Ender pointed the gun at a star to his right and pulled the trigger. A little wheel started to spin crazily fast, glowing more and more with each second that went by. Finally, when Ender released the trigger, a whitish-blue beam zapped from the short barrel, hitting the rock with a static noise. Immediately, the light spread throughout the star's surface like electric spider webs, and Morgan could swear it was one of the most mesmerizing things she's ever seen.

"Woah!" Bean exclaimed. "Well, that's harmless," he added sarcastically. Ender smiled and kept staring at the laser gun, clearly in awe of what had just happened. "What do you think it does when it hits the suit?"

"Good question." Ender's eyes twinkled with mischievousness. He suddenly grabbed Morgan's hand (she'd never admit it, but she found herself liking it a little), and pushed off the star towards Bean. The latter gave Morgan a knowing look, and the girl's cheeks heated up. She only hoped Ender didn't notice.

"Shoot me in the leg," Ender told Bean. Morgan gripped onto the star and then huffed.

"We'll all shoot each other. Same time," Bean said, grinning, flipping himself around to be on the other two Launchies' level. Morgan pushed off a little to make room for Bean, gripping onto Ender's shoulder so she wouldn't float too far from the boys. They removed their guns from their holsters and then exchanged looks. "Ready?"

"In three," Ender began.

"Two," they all continued. "One."

And right then, Ender shot Morgan in the leg, Morgan shot Bean, and Bean shot Ender. Morgan gasped when she felt the laser hit her suit. Her muscles contracted tightly, her leg becoming numb and immobile. She tried to move it, but it was as if her nerves had stopped functioning completely. It was similar to the sensation of her foot falling asleep, except the feeling flowed throughout her entire calf and up her thigh as well.

"Woah! My leg's frozen!" Bean exclaimed.

"Mine too," Ender said, grunting a little. "I can't bend my knee." He bit his lip slightly and then pushed off the star, his arms extended. "Shoot me in the chest!" Bean was a little too stunned at first, but then Ender added, "Come on, I'm getting away!"

Bean got ready to fire his gun again, but Morgan stopped him. She smirked. "I got this." It would give her a whole lot of pleasure to shoot Ender, mainly because he would most likely end up being really vulnerable afterwards. She pulled the trigger, and the laser hit Ender right in the middle of his ribcage. The light spread throughout the suit, and Ender became as stiff as a board.

He grunted at the impact, feeling his whole body turn rigid. Morgan swallowed hard. He wasn't hurt, was he?

"This is amazing!" Ender gasped. "I can't move at all now!"

Bean grinned. "You're out of your mind," he said, clearly impressed.

Morgan didn't let Ender wander off too far; she kicked off towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him towards the nearest star. But he was frozen solid and his body didn't exactly move the right way, so when she crashed back-first into the star, he slammed into her as well. She groaned and winced, muttering a few curses under her breath.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Ender asked. Part of Morgan wished that the effects of the laser gun would wear off so that Ender could hold onto the star by himself without needing her assistance, but she kind of liked him depending on her.

"I'm alright," she said. "I got you, though." Behind Ender, Morgan could see Bean observing them with an amused look on his face. He was clearly entertained, for whatever reason Morgan didn't dare to think about.

And because Colonel Graff had an excellent sense of timing, he curled his hand around the metal hook he'd taken out earlier, and waved all the Launchies back in towards the gate, unfreezing everyone who'd been shot by a laser gun. "You're flapping around like a bunch of drunken ducks," he said. "If you expect to compete with the other teams and this school, you've got a lot to learn. Sergeant?" He motioned to Dap. "Explain the game."

"Yes, sir!" Dap moved forward. "You will train to compete as a team against other teams. You get one point for a hit to a limb, six for a torso hit, which will immobilize you completely. But if either side gets one cadet through their enemy's gate unharmed, that army will win, regardless of points already scored. Am I clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"