Episode Nineteen - My Name is Eira Ulva (Part 1)
Chapter Song Suggestion "naked swan by ARIA featuring Voila"
*note : all dialogues like so {example} are spoken from the predator's perspective
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THE PAST | Eira
"From this day forth, your sole purpose is to destroy the predators that have overrun our nation. You will train and survive to be the best kill hunters. Only the strongest will remain, and the weak shall be eliminated," said the holographic woman flickering before them.
Eira glanced around, observing the vacant faces in the crowd. There were at least a thousand young girls and boys like her. Were they brought here as unwilling captives too? What were their stories?
"We shall begin the elimination process." The ground trembled and an assemble of weapons appeared on a raised platform. "Choose your weapon and fight. You have ten minutes. The last few standing shall move forward to the next level. Good luck."
Eira startled when a shriek rented the air, and pandemonium ensued. A stampede of tiny feet raced to snatch their weapons and to her horror, the children started tearing into each other. Blood spurted and limbs went flying.
"This isn't happening!" she whispered frantically. How could they just kill each other?
"Gahhhh!" A roar snapped her out of her stupor. Charging at her with a sharp blade was a young girl with nothing but fierce determination to kill.
Her fight or flight instinct kicked in and Eira stayed put, confident to handle this slip of a girl. She was a trained huntress and warrior. If she died now, then she deserved it for being weak. Eira Ulva wasn't weak. And she vowed to fight her way through this hell.
She had to survive – to see her family again, and to find Lars.
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PRESENT DAY
Koga's heart was leaping out of his chest as Captain Hakon and Havel reached the halfway point. They had a little more to go before they made it to safety.
"I can't hold on much longer, Captain!" Havel shouted through clenched teeth, his arm muscles straining. Sweat rolled off his temples as he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the desirable urge to give up.
"Don't give up, Niklas! If you let go, I'm putting you on cleaning duties for a month!" Hakon exclaimed, tightening his grip on the younger man.
That was enough to distract Havel as sheer horror crept onto his face. "No! Anything but that! I'm not cleaning up after those dirty little fuckers!"
And just like that, they reached the end, huffing and wheezing.
Havel blinked, unable to believe they made it. "Wha—"
Captain Hakon slapped him once on the back, imparting his strength and pride. "Good job, Niklas. Even if we had fallen, the net below would have caught us."
Still dazed, Havel peered over the edge and saw the green safety net camouflaged in the trees. His legs gave out and he collapsed — a trembling mass of relief. "We have been fooled."
"Get up, Niklas." Hakon turned and jogged to the next course. "This is our chance to reach the lagoon and win. We're almost at the end."
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Back at the arena, Lars could barely see pass the smoke he was puffing. This was his tenth cigarette, and it failed to calm him down. His eyes were glued to the screen since the games began, knowing his team would be fine. Except Eira, the others were veterans of the obstacle course. But with every fall, slip up, and injury they endured, his heart pumped faster and faster.
The last straw came when he watched Hakon and Havel crossing the deadly gorge. His throat tightened when Eira and Florian were up next. His Vice-Captain better hold her tightly because it would be the last time he ever would, and Lars would personally kill him if he let her go.
And why the fuck weren't they using Xue Long?
Where was the damned dragon?
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"What's wrong, Eira?" Kalina sauntered over with a cattish smile. "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights?"
Eira refused to succumb to her taunting. Ever since Lars fucked Kalina, she avoided the woman to stop herself from sticking a blade into her gut. Qeathan females didn't share their lovers. If anyone was caught cheating, it was punishable by death — by the wronged party.
Kalina wouldn't stand to be ignored. "Are you possibly still sore that I'm sleeping with Lars?"
Storm in her eyes, she whirled around to give Kalina a piece of her mind when Florian called to her, intentionally breaking the tension. "Eira, we're up next!"
"I'll deal with you later," she silently promised, leaving Kalina to fume. As Eira approached the deadly gorge, she couldn't deny the fear ebbing in her veins. The urge to flee was strong.
"I wanted to avoid this," Florian said grimly. "Can you reach out to Xue Long?"
Eira shook her head. "I can't get a sense of her."
"Those bastards. They never play fair." Florian cursed the government. He understood this was to level out the playing field for units without predator partners but, it still sucked.
Fear and hesitance were a vile taste on her tongue, sharp and pungent. "A-are we really going to do this?"
Florian didn't miss the tremble in her voice. Covering her shoulders, he said. "Hey, don't worry. I won't let you fall. You know you can trust me."
"This feels a little different from flying." She gave a nervous laugh. Indeed, she had no reason to fear when she could handle sitting on a dragon's back. It made her realize how much she trusted Xue Long.
"What's the hold up?" Koga interrupted.
Florian spotted Koga's head tie and held out his hand. "Koga, give me your head tie."
"What? Why?"
"Just give it to me."
Eira was alarmed when Florian tied the cloth over her eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Relax. If you can't see, then you won't let your fear dictate you. It's a trick I learnt a long time ago."
"D-does it work?"
"Like magic," he promised, helping her up on the block. "All you have to do is keep moving, alright? Hold on tight and just listen to my voice."
Had Florian always been this reliable? Eira wondered as she slipped her quivering hands into his larger ones – his warmth and callouses somehow reassuring.
"Are you ready?" he breathed out.
"Y-yes," she stuttered with less confidence.
"Alright, here we go."
They moved slowly; their bodies suspended at a forty-five degree angle with just their arms to support each other. It wasn't long before she felt her muscles burning from the strain.
"That's it, Eira. You're doing a great job. In fact, I think that when we return to base, I'm going to treat you to your favourite meal. And you know what? I'll even get the Captain to reward you for your bravery. What do you say to that?"
That earned him a chuckle. "Don't be ridiculous. The Captain's not going to reward us for simply being brave. But I'll take you up on that meal."
"I heard there's a new underground restaurant that we should try out."
She gasped in delight. "Really?"
"Yes. Oh, and Eira?"
"Yeah?"
"You did a great job."
The tie around her head was pulled off and she blinked at the sudden light in her eyes, focusing on Florian's smiling face.
"I did it!" She blinked in wary disbelief. It hadn't felt as daunting once it was over, and did they really make it in that short amount of time?
He nodded encouragingly, looking like a proud parent. "Yes, you did."
Releasing a loud whoop, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, thank God! I thought I would let the team down."
Enjoying the feel of her in his arms, he didn't care if Lars was watching this on live stream. He noticed Eira and the Captain hadn't been talking for weeks and he wasn't gentleman enough to let this golden opportunity slip by.
"Florian!" Koga bellowed from the other side. "We'll catch up with you! You need to get to the lagoon!"
"If you fall on your ass, I'll never let you live it down!" he returned cheekily.
"Don't bet on it!"
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They arrived at the final course set across a rushing river. Eira was beginning to think these arrangements were a deliberate test of their physical endurance. Suspended ropes hung in disarray, mimicking jungle vines and before Florian could think of a way, Eira was already stepping backwards.
With a spring in her step, she sprinted to build her momentum before latching onto one of the ropes and swung in the air. Reaching out, she caught a free rope and continued in this manner until she landed on both feet.
Fisting her hand, she internally celebrated her proudest moment of succeeding an obstacle on her own. Turning to Florian, she shouted. "I'll see you at the end!" She wasn't going to let their team down. She wanted to win.
Eira ran off without hearing Florian's protest, brushing past the foliage and extended branches. Cold and exhausted, she relied on the adrenaline pumping in her veins to keep going. A familiar, rumbling sound greeted her.
{Master! Found you!}
"Oh, Xue Long. You are just in time!"
She couldn't see the dragon, but she felt it was close. Finally, she reached the cliff's clearing, the briny scent of the ocean hitting her nostrils. Walking to the edge, she spotted the lagoon below, just a swim away. Unit one's Captain Hakon and Havel were still descending the cliff.
Eira had the advantage.
Sticking a curved finger and thumb between her lips, she whistled loudly, letting the wind carry the practiced tune she had perfected for the sake of one dragon. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the camera drone zooming in on her. Facing it, she announced fiercely. "I am Eira Ulva from unit six. And this year, we're going to be number one!"
A high pitch roar drifted in the wind.
Mouth curving into a wide smile, she turned with her arms spread open and fell — back first — off the edge.
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"No!" Lars couldn't stop the roar leaving his mouth, shooting out from his seat. His heart lodged in his throat when Eira started freefalling in the air, her limbs flailing like a helpless doll against velocity — unable to defy gravity.
He caught the look of pure horror on Hakon's face when Eira passed them. It was enough to paralyze unit one for a split second. Fuck! What was she thinking!
There was nothing Lars could do but watch as she closed in on the rocks below.
Ba-dump!
Ba-dump!
A streak of white appeared in front of the camera before it vanished and so had Eira. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Lars could barely comprehend what had happened until the crowd went wild, bursting with a standing ovation of cheers.
Right there on the screen was Eira, beaming in all her glory as she waved from the lagoon. She was safe and very much alive. He let out a breath, the tightness of his throat relaxing.
Lars believed he had just lost ten years of his life watching her recklessness. Had she known the dragon was coming to save her? He couldn't think further, his eyes absorbing the ruddiness of her cheeks. His fingers itched to touch her, he wanted to be sure she was truly unharmed. His hand shook as he grabbed another cigarette.
Fuck, he was a complete mess.
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