Nightfire Warriors - A Space Opera

2. The "Superhero" Factor (The Audition)

Scared as hell, I walk into the arena. I'm slouching, and my legs are moving. The crowd welcomes me in—perhaps too much—with their excitement and applause. It's overwhelming. I'm actually in the arena! All my facial expressions are shown on a huge monitor for the entire audience to see. It's cringing to see myself on TV like that.

I head towards the center of the arena. There's a microphone and stand waiting for me, so I can introduce myself to the universe LIVE. Immediately, I want to turn around, run away, and pretend I got lost looking for the bathroom or something.

The four judges are farther away than I anticipated. On the platform—I didn't realize before—there's a transparent forcefield protecting them in case the fight becomes too chaotic. Abigail is looking down, taking notes. She doesn't notice me yet.

Sitting next to her is an extremely pretty woman who is about in her late thirties. She's smiling very kindly at me as I take my position. Like a princess, her dark hair is luscious and curled. Her dress, ocean blue with black sleeves, is very casual yet very formal. Built onto the table, her name is shining in bright letters that can be seen yards away. KENDALL. "Hi there," she says into the microphone in front of her.

I wave; I can barely get the "hi" out.

"How are you doing?" Kendall asks politely.

I think I broke the world record for fastest heartbeat. "Um, I'm good—yeah," I mumble into the microphone, yet my voice is booming loud enough for the colosseum to hear. Thankfully, it's a powerful mic, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to hear myself.

Finally, Abigail looks at me after I speak. Her expression doesn't change, but my heart somehow beats faster than it already is.

"Aww, you're so cute," Kendall says as if I'm three-years-old. "What's your name?"

"My name is Sagittarius Devlin," I answer. I'm waiting for Abigail to outburst at me, but she doesn't.

To the left of Kendall is Amanda, her name shining boldly in front of her, too. She's extremely pretty, red hair, and obviously a lot younger than Kendall. She's looking at me with a ghost of a smile, probably mutely telling me that there's nothing to be nervous about.

"I like that," Amanda says. "Like in the Milky Way. The zodiac signs, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

Abigail hasn't said one word to me yet.

"So how old are you, Sagittarius?" Kendall asks.

"I'm eighteen," I answer, and a handful of the crowd cheers at the sound of that.

"Eighteen," Kendall echoes as she's taking notes. "Wow. You're young. Sagittarius, where are you from?"

"I'm from northern California," I answer. "On Earth."

It's relieving to hear the people in the audience cheer again. At least they're not booing. The judge sitting at the far left who's old enough to be my great-grandfather is also smiling. His name is evidently Palmer. Pale, wrinkled skin, and I have to unfairly admit, he may only have a few years left.

"Northern California on Earth," Kendall repeats. "Whereabouts?"

"Um, a place called Vacaville." When I'm not looking at Abigail's astonishing face, I'm more comfortable—because she's not saying anything. Like she's not here. "It's a pretty small town," I continue. "About an hour drive away from San Francisco. I live downtown, and even there, there's not that much you can do."

"Is this a big dream for you?" Kendall asks. "Being a warrior for the galaxy? I mean, why are you here today?"

"To save my dad," I answer honestly. "Um...he was...he was actually kidnapped last week—" I break off, suddenly feeling vulnerable. The audience in unison moans a soft "aww," their faces somber and down. "I just feel like this industry is the only way to save him for some reason. Because his case is turning cold."