Pepper’s hands ached to the point that they were starting to cramp. He had been working on his golem all night. The burning in his eyes had faded while he took a final sip of his Lucky Lightning energy drink. A quick toss of the can and it clanked against the pile of empty ones he had already drank through in his waste bin.
He rubbed his eyes to refresh them further and then reached his hand into the small space between his golem’s left shoulder and chest portion. A quick adjustment and his fingers now worked inside the small access slot. He wiggled them around until he felt the cables. The two index fingers did their best to make minor adjustments to the connector. A slight rotation counterclockwise, then angled down just a smidge and… oh, come on! It should be right around there! Why can’t things just work the way I need them to? I swear if this doesn’t connect, I’ll… I’ll… I’ll… Click.
“Finally!” A giant sigh of relief came over him. He felt the connection point lock in place on the connector, but the audible click gave him the reassurance he needed.
“Good morning.”
He turned to see his dad leaning against the workshop doorway. He had a coffee mug in his hand and took a quick sip of the bean juice. He was dressed in his Nordon’s grocery uniform, which indicated to Pepper just how late in the morning it was.
“On your way to work?”
“Yeah, in a few minutes. I figured I would check on you, since you decided to avoid the family yesterday afternoon and evening.”
Pepper didn’t have the energy to respond sarcastically. He continued to finish patching up the final portion of his golem. “I wasn’t necessarily avoiding the family… more trying to avoid Mom’s anger.”
“Oh yeah… well, thanks for letting me deal with that all by myself.”
Pepper glanced at his dad, who smiled and lifted his mug towards him in a joking toast of gratitude. “Besides, my order of clay practically wiped out my paycheck. I wanted to start working to make sure I could finish my patch-up job.”
“Your excuse doesn’t cover your absence, Pepper, nor does it justify you thinking you can do whatever you want. You are still sixteen—”
Pepper cut him off. “I’m seventeen in three weeks!”
Trent sighed. “The point I was making was that you still live in our house and need to abide by our rules. What I find even more shocking is that we hardly even enforce the rules on you. We ask you to take out the trash, do dishes twice a week, and be home and in bed before 10 p.m. I would say that is a pretty fair deal you get to enjoy there, Pep.”
Pepper hated the discussion. Why can’t he understand how important this is to me? Does he not realize how close I am to actually getting a shot at qualifying for the regionals? All I need is one more club tournament championship and then I can be accepted!
“You knew I was in the work shed, though.”
“That is not the point, Pepper. Just like your statues have to abide by rules, so do you and your responsibility to our family.”
Responsibility to our family? Who does Meg come running to when you and Mom are fighting? Who takes care of Meg just as much as anyone else around here? Ughghg! I can’t wait to get out of here!
Trent looked down at his watch. “Crap. I need to get going for work.”
Pepper turned and blurted out, “Can I have 50 Flex?”
His dad shook his head with a surprised look. “50 Flex! What for now?”
“I need 50 Flex to enter the club tournament.”
Trent lowered his head. “I thought you just said you got paid from work?”
“I did, but the clay practically wiped me out. They rose prices again, and now I only have 28 Flex left in my account. Besides, I’ve already talked to KT and she’s going to give me some more hours at work over the next two weeks. I’ll easily be able to pay you back when I get my next paycheck.”
His dad huffed and looked at the ground. He finally checked his watch again and glanced back at Pepper. “When do you need it by?”
“I have to pay registration fees within the next two days.”
“I’ll think about it.” Pepper was about to protest, but his father’s arched eyebrows and glance warned him otherwise. His dad then pointed with his coffee mug. “You help your mom out. Maybe even do some yard work or something. If you can maintain the peace with her and I don’t hear anything negative come up, then we’ll see. All right, I have to go. We’ll talk more about this later, Pepper.”
His dad left and Pepper wiped his face. The effort was pointless, as his body internally cried out for sleep. He thought for a second about what his dad had said. Uhhh, we’ll have time for that later.
Pepper shuffled his feet over to his hammock and rolled inside. His body swayed for a moment while the momentum continued until it finally petered out. He closed his eyes and the exhaustion took hold and brought him into a deep sleep.
***
Pepper caught the scent of fresh-cut grass and his eyes slowly opened. His holodex was vibrating, as there were multiple messages awaiting him. He ignored them. Though he had just awoken, the comfort of his hammock encouraged him to remain there. The moment was peaceful, and all he wanted to do in that moment was rest.
He turned his holoscreen on and flipped through the different options within the Golem League Network. His curiosity was drawn to the notification of a new match out of the Arabia Alliance League. They were one of six leagues that formed the Promina League tier. It could easily be said that the Promina League was the hardest tier for gladiators to be promoted out of. The local clubs were next.
Pepper didn’t pay close attention to many of the other international clubs. There were far too many gladiators to try to keep up with. The majority of the time, when he did watch matches, they were focused around the Pantheon and Immortals Leagues. They were the most exciting and where all the money was really made. The Promina was so vast in size that it was almost more of an international competition.
The online forums had a multitude of posts spreading rumors of backdoor deals gladiators had taken to stay in the Promina League and keep representing their country rather than going on for more individual prestige. There were times, such as today, when he found himself going down the rabbit hole of matches from around the world. It was a great way to see what new tactics and techniques others were utilizing in competition.
Yet in the long run it didn’t really matter. He was far from being ready to compete with those gladiators. Though there was a long-term dream he desperately wanted to achieve, the harsh reality was that he was stuck in the club scene for the foreseeable future.
He clicked on the match and was happy to see that the Golem League had JD and Nick dubbing their own commentary over the match. The two hosts were not there physically, but their voices were post-recorded and added in as an additional audio track. Pepper shifted in his hammock and adjusted his small pillow underneath him.
Nick’s voice greeted him first. “Thanks for joining us today, folks. We are excited to bring you the retelevised match coming out of the Arabia Alliance League. Of course, no Golem League match would be complete without my cohost, JD.”
“Well, not only is it a great time to be with my favorite cohost, but what a great time it is whenever we get to commentate on our international partners in the League. I mean, you gotta love the fact that this network stretches the entire globe.”
“Right you are, JD, and I have to say, there is certainly a different dynamic to the international scene. Some leagues, such as the Arabia Alliance, have almost this sense of lore and mythical take on the competition.”
“You are dead on there too, Nick, and let’s not forget the food. I mean, man, I could go for an epic shawarma right now, that’s for sure.” JD ended with a chuckle.
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Nick responded at first with a nervous laugh. “Well, sure, ethnic cuisine is something one can enjoy when traveling to the different matches, but there is certainly this great depth of interpretive history when it comes to the golems utilized.”
“Absolutely, but nothing goes better with a golem match than a nice warm shawarma. You fill that sucker with a bunch of lamb and drizzle in that zesty yogurt sauce, the greasy goodness running down your face … it’s like a Middle Eastern burrito that you just can’t get enough of.”
Pepper couldn’t help but laugh and continued to listen. He could barely hear Nick’s attempt to muffle his laughter at his cohost. The drone camera view came on next and soared over the vast dune landscape. The Arabia Dunes were quite plain compared to the other golem arenas. Yet the rolling hills of sand made it fun to see gladiators forced to adapt to the environment.
There were gray and tan billowing clouds overhead, and Pepper could see that particles of sand were blowing about. There was a faint haze left from the weather. Two platforms hovered towards the edges of the arena. The Dunes were one of the arena’s where the gladiators were flown in and remained on the platforms while the matches took place. The camera then tilted off to the left, and he saw a metallic walker begin to walk into its starting area.
Nick’s voice followed. “Here comes our first golem, an iron mechanized walker. From the looks of it, we can see a multitude of rocket pods and machine guns hanging off the side. A formidable opponent by the looks of it.”
JD dry coughed and then added. “So, this has been a trend that we’re starting to see on the rise. Some gladiators are trying to bridge the gap between traditional golems and military firepower. It’s an interesting concept. Some think it may be the future, but many think it’s just the popular flavor of the week. Some people like lamb shawarma, some people like a nice savory spicy chicken shawarma. But at the end of the day, you know that at least this anchor is going to be fed some epic golem goodness.”
The camera panned around to showcase the mech’s opponent. A giant serpent began to slither into the arena. The snake was massive compared to the walker.
Its copper exterior reflected the light, and each scale seemed to shutter open and close as it went. Pepper could make out that the golem’s features appeared to be modeled after a king cobra. The match countdown timer illuminated on the screen and began to tick away.
“All right, folks, let’s get into the action!” Nick’s voice excitedly proclaimed.
A great horn sounded and the match began. The king cobra lifted its body straight up. The snake’s frame towered over its opponent and left the mech veiled in its shadow.
“What a massive display of force, JD! But this has got to be a violation. Golems are only allowed to be forty feet tall in the Promina!”
“You’re not wrong, Nick, but see… this is the thing, and shows the creativity of the gladiator. The rules do state that the golem cannot be taller than forty feet… but the rules do not specify a length limit. Therefore this gladiator found a creative way to make the rules work in his favor. The problem you have, though, is that this golem has to utilize a massive amount of energy to power itself into this position. So we’ll see what happens.”
The mech immediately began to react and attempted to take advantage of the situation. Every single pod of the mech walker began to fire off rockets. The projectiles streaked across the arena with smoke trails showing their flight path.
A wave of explosions slammed into the snake’s belly. Fireballs and black smoke billowed out, and small fragments of metal pelted the sand floor. The serpent then dove straight down at an angle. Its head plunged into the ground and began to slither its way under the surface.
Pepper could see that the mech walker was visibly trembling. It began to stagger about, although it kept its balance. The sand of the arena bulged, and he could see the snake’s path angle towards its opponent. The gladiator for the mech walker took notice and continued to turn and face the imposing threat.
The path of the bulging sand continued to inch closer until it looked like the serpent was practically underneath its opponent. The cobra’s head surged upwards. It was a direct hit against the walker’s legs and actually launched the mech off its feet. The serpent’s head brought with it a vicious bite as it attempted to crush the mech in its mouth.
The walker countered the attack and activated its engine pods. It hovered over to safety while its miniguns roared to life. Tracer rounds streaked across the distance, firing at such speed that they looked like lasers. The snake continued to receive damage to its metal scales, but it still gave chase. The mech flared its engines off again, performing a great jump to safety.
“Wow, JD, this match is off to an explosive start to say the least. Such firepower being launched by our armored mech and yet that snake doesn’t even seem to be fazed one bit!”
“Well, that initial salvo of rockets was impressive, but when you’re taking the route of a mech and utilizing weaponry, you’re limited to how much ammunition you have. What it looks like is that our metal cobra is trying its best to come in quick and knock the mech off balance, but I have no doubt there is a gimbal rune inside which is helping offset that very thing.”
The metal cobra dove back into the sand and continued its pursuit of the mech. Pepper then saw canister pods open all across the back of the walker. The pods shot out small metal devices that clustered out into the sand around it. Faint red lights flashed from the black cylinders that were now wedged into the arena floor.
“Look there, Nick. The mech appears to have deployed a sort of landmine. Now this is an interesting choice—clearly a defensive move.”
“You’re spot on, JD, and of course we see the billowing sand path of our serpent, who is still clearly giving chase. Do you think those explosives will be enough to pierce through the metal scales, though?”
“I think we’re about to find out. Haha, you know what I mean?”
The snake continued to weave its way closer. The excitement of the match helped awaken Pepper. His holodex buzzed again, but he continued to ignore the message.
The snake slithered straight towards the landmines without caution. Explosions began to erupt all around the mech, but it didn’t waver. It stood its ground and started to fire off its miniguns. Then, with the roar of the machine guns pelting the sand around it, a blazing red light shot out from its right side.
“Look at that! It has what appears to be a plasma sword!” Nick’s voice cried out.
The mech began to wobble forward and activated its engine pods. The walker launched up into the air and then started its heavy descent. The plasma sword angled straight towards the arena floor. The mech started to slowly slash the sand from side to side. Sparks and flame spewed out as if the sword was actively cutting through a portion of the snake’s body.
The snake’s path immediately veered off to the side. It looked like it was trying to escape the newly discovered weapon. The serpent didn’t travel far; it quickly turned around and appeared to face its opponent head on.
The metal cobra punched through the arena floor, and sand rolled off its head. The snake rose upwards as it had done initially. The golem’s metal began to shift, and Pepper watched as the king cobra’s hood expanded as if it was truly alive.
The interior of the snake’s hood did not have the traditional neck ribs one would see in real life. Instead, an intricate pattern of curved lines began to illuminate with a deep orange glow. Pepper thought the pattern looked similar to that of a topographic map, where the lines waved in and out in without any discernable pattern. The snake’s eyes glowed even brighter with the same orange coloration.
“Watch out, Nick! This golem is powering up for something big.”
“Here comes another salvo of rockets! The mech’s trying to thwart whatever it is the snake is planning!”
The mech launched its attack, and as the rockets ripped across the distance, the snake released its attack. A giant pulsating wave of orange streaked across the arena and flowed directly through the rockets and the mech itself. Pepper’s eyes widened as the rockets immediately petered out and fell lifeless to the sandy floor.
The walker began to wobble, and flickers of light were easily seen as it struggled to stay upright. The plasma sword that had been outstretched now disappeared. The king cobra retracted its hood and began to move slowly forward.
“JD, the serpent has a chance to end this here!”
“It sure does… but we’ll see if it can make it to the mech in time.”
A few sections of the mechanized golem started to turn on; lights flickered but remained lit. The left side came to life and began to fire its machine guns. Their targeting system appeared to have been affected, for the guns merely sprayed rounds all over the place, with only a few actually hitting the cobra.
The serpent continued to close the distance. The walker tried to fire off its engines, but to Pepper’s surprise it was the right side that fired off in a sustained manner. The effect caused the mech to roll end over end for a moment, but then it stopped.
“Oh dear, this looks to be the end of the mech.”
The cobra was able to pick up its speed just enough for it to wrap around the mech, and it soon contracted around the walker like a python. The grinding of metal shrieked out as the mech was crushed under the sheer force of the snake. It was only a few seconds later that the mech finally exploded into a giant ball of flame and the match was over.
Fireworks launched upwards around the edge of the arena and the Golem League theme music for victory blared. The gladiator’s picture appeared on the screen with a custom graphic of the serpent directly behind them. All the wording was still in a language that Pepper didn’t know, but the two commentators continued.
“What a performance there, JD. That snake really showed it is a creature not to be messed with!”
“One hundred percent. It goes to show that it may not be the cool flavor of the week, but old school tactics won out here today.”
“So the question I have, JD, why didn’t the cobra start out with that psionic attack to begin with?”
“Well, that all comes down to power. Psionic attacks are some of the most power-intensive attacks in the Golem League. Well, when you have a massive serpent that needs to move the way it does, that also requires a huge amount of power.”
“Ah, right you are there, JD,” Nick replied.
JD’s voice continued. “So, the other thing is… our gladiator knows that there are only so many rockets and ammunition that the mech can carry, at least in this configuration, so what it did was tempted his opponent to fire off an entire salvo of rockets.
“So we have energy preservation. But then we see the serpent slowly moving closer and closer, closing the distance to get where it really wants to be. A strategy of attrition and forcing their opponent to compete within their game plan. Then, once the serpent had their opponent where they wanted it, they bring out the psionic attack, which disrupts the controller runes and circuitry and goes in for the finishing move.”
“Brilliant, JD! Simply brilliant.”
Pepper nodded along with a big smile on his face. “Dang,” he said. He began to stretch and twist inside his hammock, awakening his body to prepare for the day. What time is it? he wondered. Before he could even check the time, he felt the buzz of his holodex yet again. And who keeps bugging me?
[:::] You’re late! Where are you? [:::]