Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Draco Outpost - Arena Facility
Date: February 1, 2050
Mana handed a bottled sports drink to Dahlia, who sat somewhat uncomfortably in her seat. They’d been called to the arena for the next optional part of their practical training class. Every seat was getting filled as the remaining students, those tough enough and brave enough to stand against the challenge, flooded inside. A growing unease rose off of Dahlia, the usual kind Mana was used to and that her friend always carried, a constant awareness of others who weren’t like her.
Who weren’t beast humans.
“Drink up, you’ll need it if you’re planning to really do this.” Mana went first and uncapped her own drink, chugged it, making thirsty gulps. Damn was it good, and sweet. “Ah, now only if I can get some good food after this.”
Dahlia didn't say anything. She sipped at her own drink, eyes wandering across from student to student. Mana wondered if she was trying to find someone or spot the troubling ones amongst the bunch so that she could stay clear of them. Paranoia, it was clear to see, and so was the trauma that hovered over her.
It had been years since their hometown had been raided and pillaged by a group of wandering rogues. The time after the war hadn’t been a clear-cut separation from the struggles of conflict, it was a mess, another time of strife.
Mana leaned back in her seat, her gaze going up to the arena’s domed, high roofed ceiling. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to stay, and you look like you’re already past your limit.”
“I’m fine.” Dahlia said softly.
“You aren’t. Don’t try to hide it.” Mana watched as Dahlia put the bottle to her lips and swallowed, throat tightening with effort. “You’re still uneasy around people. I know you say you’ve gotten used to it, but you can’t blame me for not worrying.” Mana lowered her voice. This next topic was very personal. “What we went through as kids was harsh, and it was worse for you. There’s no shame in tapping out.”
Dahlia wiped her mouth, then purred her lips. There was no doubt that a sour memory had surfaced. “I know.” She said, setting a hand on the datapad in her lap. “Don’t worry, I can do this, and I’ve already made my decision. You’ll have to force me out of here if you want me to give up.”
Mana grinned and shrugged. “Alright, fine. The last transports were probably gone anyway. If you want, I could fly you back. It will be a bit embarrassing, but.. the offer stands.”
It was a joke, one that Dahlia didn’t take kindly to. She pouted, elbowing Mana in the side. “Jerk.”
They chuckled before Mana’s datapad chirped. She picked it up and frowned at it.
“Looks like I’m up.” Mana said with a note of sadness, clapping Dahlia’s shoulder as she stood up. “See you on the other side.”
“W-Wait.” Dahlia stammered. “We’re not going together?”
“What? Scared to go on your own?”
“N-No. I just. I thought we were all going to do this as one group. And that..”
“Are you having second thoughts?” Mana asked. Deep down, she hoped Dahlia would say yes. Her friend wasn’t ready in her opinion, and there was so much more for her to unpack. The past could be a bitch when you had to carry all its baggage in the present.
Mana waited for a reply, watching for what her friend would do. Dahlia shook her head. There was a new strength to Dahlia’s eyes and an uneasy pride welled in Mana’s chest. Mana did her best to be supportive of her friend’s choice. They exchanged smiles and Mana ruffled Dahlia’s brown hair, then flicked her little antlers.
“Hey! Don’t do that.” Dahlia grimaced, blushing as she covered her antler. “They’re really sensitive when you do that.”
Mana waved a dismissive hand. “Sorry, Sorry. Just wanted to lighten the mood.” She started down the stairs. “I’m going ahead, I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah.” Dahlia nodded. “See you later, and do your best.”
“You too.”
With that, Mana left and went down into the arena to join a gathering of other students. They were being called in batches, one after the other. This next part was hard to watch for Dahlia, so she gripped her uniform’s skirt to keep down the rising emotions inside her. She wanted nothing more than to run down and be at Mana’s side. Beside her friend she was safe, she could be assured of that.
Dahlia’s nails almost dug into her uniform’s fabric as she watched Mana’s group depart down a corridor at the far side of the arena. She’s gone. Dahlia lowered her head, staring at the datapad in her lap. It read.. Yes.. In big green letters. No turning back now. She had made her choice, as did everyone else around her. I’m moving forward. One step, Just one step at a time. She just hoped that these steps weren’t painful.
Her datapad chimed a few minutes later and she knew what to do. It was her turn now. After pocketing the handheld terminal, she began to take those steps down into the arena. Her legs were as heavy as lead, her ears hummed, and her eyes were heavy with weariness.
Just calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen. She kept her head down, as if walking on autopilot. This isn’t that place. This isn’t like before. No one here is going to hurt me. No one.. Right? It’s not like..
Dahlia felt a thud and stumbled back a few steps, realizing that she had walked into someone. The person in question was a tall man, his impassive eyes regarding her with a cold indifference. Dahlia had to hold down an internal yelp as he sneered at her. The man studied her from top to bottom, settling his gaze at her antlers.
No. Dahlia’s thoughts began to swirl. No.. No.. He’s. He’s looking at me, with that.. Look.
Beast. Animal. Abomination. She was sure those were the words in the man’s mind. This was what all, if not most people thought of her. She braced to be pushed away, to be punched, to be..
But nothing happened. He just walked away.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Dahlia let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, thank goodness.” She muttered. “I thought I was..”
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Suddenly a hand clasped Dahlia's shoulder and she jumped, ears wiggling in alarm and her tail’s hairs stiffening from end to end . “Woah! Hey, calm down, Dahlia. It’s just me.”
The voice behind Dahlia turned her around. It was Amanda. The sight of her soft smile and those serene blue eyes steadied the mood.
Beautiful. Was all Dahlia could think. So.. Beautiful.
Amanda grinned awkwardly. “Uh? Are you alright? You’re going a bit red.”
Dahlia took a step back and put a hand to her chest as she relaxed with a deep breath. “It’s nothing, just a little on edge.”
“I can see that. Anyway, I didn't think you'd be here, but I’m glad that you are. With you around, I think we’ll pass whatever this next training exercise is.”
Dahlia blinked, confused. “Really? W-why?” She stuttered as she clarified. “I-I’m not all that special. And I can’t really fight.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. Sure. Tell that to Chisuke and Itsuki, though. Without you, they’d probably be still half dead without what you did. Your healing powers come in handy, so don’t underestimate yourself.”
“I-I guess.” Dahlia wasn’t sure how to take the compliment. She had been showered with compliments as a child, a special child, but getting complimented now. As an adult? It seemed.. Wrong.. She felt like she didn’t deserve it, as if she were an imposter because she wasn’t the same special child from before. She was.. Changed. And maybe not for the better.
Amanda, noticing Dahlia's dismay, started up a little banter as they waited for their group to gather. It was mostly Amanda talking, and Dahlia listening, only adding a few affirming nods as Amanda yapped on and on.
A couple minutes went by and about 50 students had formed up into their little cliques. All of them were first years by how they all sported a single yellow bar on their shoulder sleeves.
“Can I have your attention?” Announced a soldier at the front of the group. His voice came through the earpieces all the students wore. Amanda saw the rifle the soldier had slung behind one shoulder as he held up a hand for silence. The weapon seemed unnecessary, but what could she say? When the chit chat died away the soldier continued. “Good, I’ll make this short. Today’s extra training will be simple. An obstacle course of sorts has been prepared, and each group will be given a location to reach within a specified time of 2 hours. Any questions?”
From the crowd, Ikki raised his hand. “Are there any additional tasks?”
“No.” The soldier said bluntly. “Your only task is to make it through the obstacle before the timer runs out. If you are injured and unable to continue, that will be counted as a failure.”
A mummer spread through the students. They weren’t convinced, there had to be a catch. The academy was proving to have a record of throwing unannounced challenges at them. A few people posed further probing questions, all of which the soldier answered with an inscrutable nonchalance. He gave nothing away. No hint, no tell, not even a moment of uncertainty. He was hard to read.
“This way.” The soldier said, gesturing for them to follow, bringing them across the arena to a corridor at the opposite edge.
Dahlia stumbled as she entered the corridor as it abruptly started to slope downwards. Overhead lumen lit the path and eventually they arrived in an enormous room with multiple lifts lining both sides of the room. There were ten in total, 5 on the right and 5 on the left. Each had a group of students standing around, waiting for their next instructions.
“This way.” The soldier leading Dahlia’s group had them step up into the last empty lift.
Dahlia hurriedly scanned around, hoping to find Mana in one of the other groups. Maybe they could team up, but.. She’s not there. What? Then where? Dahlia was sure they had gone down the same corridor as Mana’s group. So where is she?
“Alright!” The soldier called out to another, who stood by a lever on the other side of the room. “We’re all set!” He gave the students a smile. “Good luck out there, and don’t die.”
They all paled. Perhaps it was just a joke, but the soldier’s tacit expression made them doubtful. A metallic thump ran up the students’, their legs feeling the vibration of dormant motors coming to life. Glass domes descend from the room’s ceiling on all four sides of every lift, secured with an accompanying thunk.
Amanda yelped, feeling the sudden bout of an abrupt falling sensation in her gut. The floor went up and out of sight, and then they were descending at an even speed. The students made a ruckus, some fearful, some excited, and others just silent in their attempts to contain their stirring emotions.
The confines of the lift grew darker as less and less lumens appeared to be on the walls during the lift’s descent. Amanda was sure they were heading somewhere, and that they weren’t trapped in a falling elevator that was hurling down into a dark deadend. Dahlia didn’t seem sure of the prior, and shuffled to Amanda’s side, clutching her arm for support.
“We’ll be fine.” Amanda said, sounding convinced enough in her own words.
Dahlia gave a small nod, eyes watering with gleaming tears.
And then there was light. The lift seemed to have passed a boundary. The four walls were replaced by a myriad of colors. Amanda blinked away the sudden blurriness from her eyes, and then gasped.
Dahlia opened her mouth in slack jawed surprise. “Is that.. a mountain?”
Amanda wiped her eyes with her hand and stared out ahead. “Y-yeah.” She said weakly, somewhat weak in the knees as she realized how incredibly high up they were from the new ground below them. “So I'm not seeing things? This.. isn’t a dream.. right?”
Dahlia pinched her cheek and winced in pain. “Nope, not a dream.. That’s a mountain.” She walked over to the edge of the lift, setting her hands on the glass as she studied the environment below her. “There is also a river, a forest, a canyon and.. Oh my god. Where the heck are we?”
“Underground.” Said Shisuki, joining Amanda and Dahlia at one side of the lift. All the students were clamoring to see where they were. “This is probably the underground sublevels of the Terracolony. I’ve been to a few, but this one sure takes the cake. This is probably the largest one.”
“Wait, what?” Amanda didn’t know if she heard Shisuki right. “Underground? Something this massive is underground? You could fit a couple freaking cities down here.”
“More like tens of them.” Shisuki corrected. “This used to be a haven during the starfall war, so it was supposed to house millions, maybe billions if it came to that.”
Amanda was shaking her head, utterly dumbfounded at the enlightening revelation. If what Shisuki said was true, then that meant the scale of this place was unimaginably enormous, as if it were its own world. Her head hurt from the thought trying to put into scale. Not only did this underground world seemingly have its own ecosystem, it had its own cloud and sky, no doubt artificially made, but still, that meant the ceiling was so high. How deep did they have to dig to build this place?
Amanda looked about, finding the other 9 lifts descending nearby. She realized that each of them wasn’t guided by the usual set of cables and counterweights involved with a typical elevator. No, these lifts moved via a propulsion jet set at the bottom of their square platforms. Slowly, the ten groups drifted apart from each other.
A robotic voice spoke in everyone's ears. “Landing in 30 seconds. Please stand clear of the glass.” Then it began to countdown, and everyone stepped away from the lift’s edges. The excitement went away as the weight of what was to come hit them all. This was a training exercise, and it was about to start. A kind of hell would be unleashed. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6..”
Boom!
Heads turned about, trying to locate the source of the sudden noise. A bright bloom of black smoke and red fire erupted a distance away on their left, coming off from what could’ve possibly been the underground’s furthest most boundary.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
One after another, more explosions were set off as the underground landscape was blemished by the ravages of fire. The artificial sky faded away, replaced by a pit black sky and then red lights came on, flashing as a new warning rang in their ears.
“Intruders alert! Intruders alert! Sublevels breached! Evacuate! Evacuate!”
Amanda cursed, her face falling in mood. “Shit.. I knew this wasn’t going to be simple.”