Chapter 11

SOAR National Tournament – Finals (Part 1)

It was slippery and dark, with hundreds pairs of glowing red eyes flicking about. They were savage bats, attacking viciously at whoever was there.

The guys had to use their night visions.

SOAR players were allowed to use only ordinary wooden fighting sticks as weapon in the game to avoid acute injuries. It was a rough game, not many women would partake the game. Most of the military folks dominated the game, because they had the best physical capabilities undoubtedly.

Lukah threw his fighting stick to Aamali. He caught it and swiftly and tacked himself on the wall, just in time before he slips down. His other hand was flailing wildly to get the bats away from him.

“Urrgh!” Aamali grunted. “I hate bats!”

Harmless, but annoying. The bats were programmed to sidetrack the players. They were created from special effects technologies that made them as real as real ones, so were slippery walls that looked like the inside of a cave. The guys’ mission was to cover Gerome, and get him to the top of the cylinder before the other team member does.

The game took place in a massive cylinder, seventy feet high and seventy feet wide. Outside the gargantuan cylinder was walled with many exhilarating audiences, cheering frantically for their supported teams. It is an important day for them. Green Sand managed to get into the finals. They have to compete against Bossell, the other team. Bossell is the second runner-up of the last SOAR National Tournament. They have defeated Seven this year and got into the finals.

Now, now. We’ll just have to finish you guys up, Aamali thought seriously to himself. His sweat dripped in rivulets, and the moist was making him uncomfortable. Bossell was not an easy team to defeat. Their main defender, Sergeant Spirit was a large person.

“Damn. How am I going to get past this huge fellow,” Aamali muttered under his breath, trying to remind himself not to be intimidated by Sergeant Spirit’s husky exterior. Sergeant Spirit was particularly aiming at Aamali, making him even harder to move.

Gerome still had their state flag fastened at his belt at the back. He had to be extra careful, Bossell team was better than he had expected. Now all he has to do is to find a way to get to Aamali for a provisional cover from one of their attacker, who also has his Bossell flag fastened firmly at his back - Don McKnight, the Bossell’s team leader. Don was a snub-nosed man with ruddy complexion, and he had an excellent speed of 182/200, a little higher than Gerome.

Every player should know their opponents’ full capabilities before each game, it helps in developing strategies. Both Judah and Lukah were pretty occupied at the moment right now dealing with the other two players. They had been attacking aggressively since the starting of the game.

“Man, these guys are like wolves,” Lukah pants as he talks. “Now I don’t have my fighting stick.”

“The bats are extremely annoying,” Judah said while swatting the bats away from his face.

“I’d prefer them than larva though, couldn’t stand the heat,” Lukah said.

It was frustrating. Bossell team was basically doing all the badass attacking. Whenever Gerome moves, McKnight moves too in order to impede him from getting any nearer to the pole, which is located at the very top of the cylinder. The swarm of bats was causing much disturbance to their visions, making it even more difficult to see in the dark.

Aisha, Jade and Xara were sitting on the VIP first row seats. Xara, Aamali’s girlfriend had come all the way from Seven to see Aamali’s final game. They were all wearing the same green jersey, waving their small Green Sand flags avidly. Aisha clutched her hands tightly and bit her lips, focusing via her Vision Booster anxiously on her seat. The Vision Booster works like binoculars, it is one of the viewing gadgets reflected by the Eli, to help user to zoom in or enlarge a scene for a closer view.

“Come on, Romey,” Aisha whispered worriedly.

“Looks like McKnight is aiming hard at Romey. I hope Romey finds a way to get rid of him,” Xara said, sounding a little concerned.

They were all panicking, of course. This last game will determine the winner of SOAR National Tournament. If they lose, they would have to wait for another two years. Jade was getting anxious too. This game means a lot to the boys. She really hopes Green Sand could be the one to keep the chalice this year. “Come on Romey, you can do it,” she said in her heart.

Fifteen minutes had passed. The dark, slimy rocky surroundings in the cylinder began to vanish, and rapidly changed into icy cold walls of ice glaciers.

“Eli, body warm up,” Judah gave a command to his Eli, and it emitted heat for his body. The others did the same thing for the temperature chilled up in seconds.

Inside the cylinder, the walls and the ground changes every fifteen minutes into different environments. It could be the topography of rocky mountain, ice glaciers, waterfalls, volcano with larva, cave filled with bats, anything imaginable. The longer they stay in the cylinder, the more changes they would have to confront. The physical features of the walls were actually tangible, which means they were perceptible by touch.

Meanwhile, the outside walls of the cylinder were covered with screens transmitting the reflection from the inside. Using special technology, the features of the walls were reduced to almost pellucid, leaving only outlines so that the audiences could see inside. Audiences could see the actual half scene, as the other half scene of the cylinder (facing the audiences) has been was left almost transparent. The players (in the cylinder) however, could only see the actual concrete features of the walls from the inside.

The bats dissipated to make way for the newcomers. Now darkness had turned into light, making it much easier to see. Gerome decided to launch an attack at his opponent. He was tired of sidestepping McKnight. He had to find a way to get to Aamali. Aamali was the closest one to the pole at the moment. He was about twenty-five to thirty feet away from the pole, Gerome estimated. Gerome and McKnight managed to secure their feet on a flat surface of the slippery glaciers. The two brandished their sticks at each other fiercely.

Gerome’s was hit hard on the head.

It sent him into a short concussion although he had his helmet on. He rolled downwards along the glaciers to the ground.

Everyone gaped, horrified at the unexpected occurrence. The hit looked like it was done on purpose rather than an accident. The umpire blew his whistle to give a first warning - players can only launch attacks on opponents’ bodies, not the heads.

“That bloody Don McKnight hit Romey on the head!” Aisha cried in almost disbelief.

Boooooooooooo!

The Green Sand supporters booed lividly at the Bossell player, heaping insults and opprobrium. There was a slight kerfuffle going on in the crowd. McKnight seemed to be oblivious for the damage he had caused. He remained at his position, unconcerned.

“That’s not fair!” Jade said disapprovingly.

Xara watched with disbelief. “That’s killing! That guy is willing to do anything to win. He’s crazy.”

“That’s not the way of doing it. How unprofessional and barbaric,” Aisha hissed, enraged.

“They should kick him out of the game,” Xara scolded furiously. Jade seethed in silence, worried about Gerome at the same time. He looked dazed and hurt.

Lukah and Judah rushed over to help Gerome back on his feet. “How are you doing bro?” Judah asked. The weather was quite cold that steam came out from his mouth as he speaks.

“Argh.” Gerome winced. He took off his helmet and touched his head. “My head is still good, I guess.”

“What’s your name?” Lukah asked.

“Gerome Ryder,” he answered.

“What about me?” Lukah asked again.

“The most handsome man in Green Sand,” Gerome answered back.

Lukah laughed out loud. “He’s fine, guys!”

“Careful, Romey. Be extra careful,” Aamali spoke through his Eli.

“That guy’s mad. You need to watch out, Romey.” Judah warned.

“Yeah, I just didn’t see it coming. It won’t happen again next time.” Gerome made a solemn promise. No more second time, he gritted his teeth in rage.

Another fifteen minutes had passed, the play resumed after the stoppage. The glaciers gradually disappeared, altering themselves back to their own positions. A steep narrow rocky hill emerged from the ground right in the middle of the cylinder. Waters cascaded down from the rocky mountain walls. Everyone manoeuvred carefully to the dry spots they could find. Gerome moved to the side and perched himself on a large piece of jutted rock.

“Guys, I need to get to Mali,” he spoke via his Eli. Aamali was a distance away from them. “I need Mali to stay in his position, so that he can help me to get higher by swinging me up with his sticks… if that sounds like an idea.”

“We need to get pass those three wolves first,” Judah replied.

“We’ll take care of those two,” Lukah said. “They are stupid enough to use up so much energy to attack us.”

“But McKnight…” Judah said.

“Not to worry about him. I’ll hurl my stick at whoever that comes after Romey (Aamali has two sticks now). So Romey, just get here as quick as you can, I have reserved two sticks for those stinky fellows. Okay?” Aamali interjected, knowing exactly what is the main concern.

“Good thinking. But watch out for Spirit, he’s on you,” Judah reminded.

“Worry not. He’s might be big, but he’s a slow moving dude. I can take care of him,” Aamali ensured them confidently.

“Let’s take these two dudes down before this thing changes into a volcano,” Lukah said, braced his fists and started making his way up the rocks. Judah followed behind and Gerome quickly moved along.