As the gate swung shut behind their backs, everyone sat down on the bench to process what had just happened. Kenji lowered Julie’s unconscious form beside them with surprising tenderness, blinking back tears as he brushed some blood from her cheek.
After everything that had happened, Nick was glad that the woman was still unconscious.
Hopefully, they will let her stay here during the next round. He wished that they could leave James behind as well. While everyone else had contributed to the fight, their three weakest members had been nothing but a liability, not that he could fault their courage. They shouldn’t have volunteered, although I understand why they did.
While the others began treating their wounds using the rack of medical supplies on the wall, Nick walked over to the fountain, drank his fill, and refilled his trusty canteen. As everyone recovered from their shock and exhaustion, he carefully unwrapped the cloak from his arm to see how bad the damage was. His nerves felt like they were on fire, and moving it hurt like hell, but that was to be expected after having his tissue frozen past the point of numbness.
His tissue was swollen, his skin a mottled patchwork of white and red. But at least Nick could still feel his fingers. Still move his arm with only a little stiffness. His quick thinking combined with his team’s assistance had been enough to avoid a worst-case scenario.
“That’s going to sting like crazy, but I think it’s only second degree,” Kenji moved closer to examine Nick’s injury. “You might have some scars but there shouldn’t be too much muscle loss. Hopefully, my regeneration aura can help take the edge off before the next round starts.” Nick nodded while he wrapped his arm in gauze, as the older man rose to his feet.
“I’d like to pay my respects to the fallen and mourn Kevin now, but we simply don’t have time,” Kenji turned to address the team. “It will have to wait until the next fight is over, although I’m deeply sorry that we couldn’t save everyone. Recover your stamina and replace any weapons and armor that were damaged. We only have fifty-five minutes before the next round begins and we need to make them count.
“I have a few ideas as to what we might expect during the next fight. But before we get to that, I need everyone to update the team and let us know what you have left as far as spells and consumables are concerned. I’m down to about half mana, but my regeneration field should last us through the next fight,” Kenji concluded.
“My aura is in similar shape,” Sophia said, then went back to sorting through the weapons on the wall.
“I have two more mana darts and one blast from my wand.” Nick removed another bandage from the shelf and wound it around his injured arm, trying not to let the pain show on his face.
“I can manage one more flashfire pulse, but I’ll have to charge it first.” Devin started pulling javelins from the rack and set them beside the gate.
“I have enough mana for one more illusion, two if they're small,” Sarah said.
“One more disabling arrow.” Paul sighed, then began refilling his quiver with fresh arrows.
“I haven’t used my magic yet,” Bret added. “I need to touch my opponent to activate it, but I can blind something for a couple of minutes before I run out of juice. If we save it for the right moment, with any luck, we can catch our enemy by surprise.”
“I’m close to full as well.” Veronica patted the crossbow strapped to her wrist. “I have enough in the tank to use both of my abilities twice. A bleed-inducing poison for my claws, and an acid injection for my crossbow bolts, although both need to penetrate to do any damage.”
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“Ok,” Kenji said. “That’s better than I feared. We’re going to need it all for the next round. What about Julie’s staff? It still has two flamethrower charges, right?”
“I’m afraid that we won’t be able to use it.” James explained that Julie’s staff was keyed to her commands alone. Unfortunately, this meant that no one else could activate it while she was unconscious, depriving the team of a much-needed weapon. No one suggested waking her up, since her mental state was too unstable regardless.
When he was done binding his arm, Nick pulled on his jacket and sat down beside Sophia, who had moved on to removing the stingers from the corpses of the wasps and placing them into her bag.
Now that everyone had finished reporting, Kenji continued addressing the group. His calm efficiency helped them to maintain focus, despite the shock of Kevin’s death and the close calls with Julie and Nick. “As far as strategy goes, since the first round was against a swarm with numbers equaling our own, going by pure entertainment value, our next opponents should be creatures that are stronger than us by a fair margin.
“I expect that it will be some manner of beast again, although I suppose that they could force us to fight other contestants. I hope that’s not the case, but if it is, we’ll have to play it by ear depending on what weapons they use. Here’s what I have in mind for the next round.” This began an intense discussion, ending when the time on the clock had only five minutes remaining.
When they were done, Kenji rose to his feet and turned to face the team. “No one asked for this. But humanity is at war with the fate of our species, of our entire planet, hanging in the balance. And in war, people die. It’s tragic and it’s wrong and you’re never going to get over it. But it’s going to happen again and again, and it won’t stop until we pry the Earth free from Taltos’s clutches. We will have to wait until then to truly process our grief. To honor our dead and celebrate the lives that were lost fighting dark forces beyond our comprehension. But not today. Not right now.
“Right now, we need to get our heads back in the game. We’re about to begin another, presumably more difficult fight. We’re down two members and have burned through a fair portion of our stamina, mana, and limited abilities. We need to win this battle, no matter what it costs us. Too much is on the line to hold anything back. Even if we all die in the process, we need to drag our enemy down with us.
“Except for you James,” Kenji turned to face the grief-stricken teenager. "You’ve already lost enough, and this challenge is way above your paygrade. If you want, you can stay here with Julie and break the bad news to her when she wakes up. She’s going to need a friend when she remembers what happened to Kevin, that kind of guilt can take decades to heal. Don’t worry. I’ll knock you out too if they try to interfere. Go ahead and rest, my brave young friend, you’ve earned it. With any luck, we’ll see you on the other side.”
For a moment, James simply nodded, weeping beside Julie’s unconscious form. But then his features hardened, resolve clear on his face, and he shook his head. “No. I’m coming with you.” He cut off Kenji’s protest as he rose to his feet.
“I know that I’m weaker than the rest of you. That if I walk through that door, I probably won’t be walking back out. But that doesn’t matter. It’s like you said, there’s too much at stake to hold anything back, no matter what it costs us. If there’s a chance that my presence boosts our odds of victory, even by a fraction of a percent, then I’m going out there to give it my all. I’m the weakest member of this team, so don’t try to save me if the cost is too high, but we’re all in this together. Now, let’s go show those alien bastards just what humanity is made of.”
The young man’s words touched them all, stoking the flames of their resilience. Nick felt a fierce and rising determination come over him, steeling his nerves for the fight ahead, just as the final seconds on the clock dwindled down to zero.
“It’s time,” Nick began walking back toward the arena floor, as the gate swung open once more. “Let’s give these assholes a show that they’re not expecting and dominate this round.”
With that, there was nothing else that needed to be said. Side-by-side, the surviving members of team Earth turned to face the gate, and the ordeal that would begin the moment they stepped beyond the threshold.
Together, they walked back onto the arena floor, ready to face a challenge even greater than the one they had just overcome.