Location: Fake Training City, Team Three Base
Time: 10:30 AM, 2/14/08
True to Hana’s prediction, Kathrin showed up around fifteen minutes later. Hana greeted her at the door of the house we were using as a base and led her inside. Needing a bit more space, the five of us moved to the dining room and took a seat at the table.
I nonchalantly ran my fingers across the back of Kathrin’s chair before sitting down myself.
“Ahaha, it’s truly fun meeting up like this, but I fear this pleasant atmosphere can’t last much longer. We’re destined for conflict after all.”
Kathrin was the one who addressed the elephant in the room.
“Uninvolved. Do what is required of you.”
“In what way are you uninvolved?”
Hana shot me an icy gaze.
Scary! I shouldn’t be talking back to that monochrome menace. I decided to keep my mouth shut for the rest of what I could only describe as a surreal conversation.
Basically, to sum it up, Kathrin wanted to eliminate our team, as per the objective of this whole exercise.
Hana on the other hand, was wholly unwilling to accept that. For her, the purpose behind the game and the teams that we received were utterly meaningless. She was 100% committed to protecting Oakley.
Oakley and Olivia were firmly on Hana’s side, and if anyone cares, I was remaining an impartial observer. This was literally the worst group of people I could accidentally reveal something to. Best just to be safe and keep my mouth shut.
After twenty minutes or so; I had enough time to eat the turkey club I packed before we left the dorm room; they finally came to an agreement that pleased no one.
“So basically,” Olivia was summarizing the final decision. “Hana is going to stick with Oakley and protect her. And Kathrin will fight against Emily and I, and when she wins, she’ll get to take our flag back to team two’s base.”
“Ahaha, that’s what we’re going with.”
“Understanding. Yes, that is accurate. Sometimes you have to crack some eggs if you want a free lunch. In this scenario, you two are the eggs.”
Even if she had gotten that expression right, I can assure you that from the eggs’ perspective it wouldn’t have been very comforting.
“Okay, Okay.” Olivia twirled one of the pink streaks in her hair. “I don’t want to fight. I surrender.”
“No! You can’t surrender! I don’t want to fight her by myself.”
“Never. Not happening. An idol’s skin is her life. I can’t risk my skin drying out, or even getting a burn. For my fans’ sake it’s important that I stay at the pinnacle of beauty. So I surrender. I’m supposed to fight? No way. I don’t like getting hurt. Never never never. I shouldn’t be here in the first place. It’s all her fault! She said I could leave if I was in danger!”
[Alert. Participant Olivia Oldridge has been eliminated. Mental stress has surpassed training parameters. Psychological attention is unnecessary.]
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The soft green glow coming from Olivia’s bracelet transitioned into a bright blue.
“Nice. Now I’m out. You can’t do anything to me.”
If you would have blinked you’d have missed the split second in which Olivia’s face of terror naturally shifted into a smug look of superiority.
So then, what about me? I’d have liked to surrender as well, but I doubt I could have worked myself up into a panic like Olivia did. Besides, the day would probably come when I’d have to fight against people like Kathrin. I figured it was a perfect opportunity to see where I stood.
“Explosion.”
Fortunately, none of Kathrin’s bare skin was touching the chair she was using, so I was able to explode it without issue. The sudden explosion forced her legs to smash into the bottom of the table while her upper body was flung flat against the table’s surface.
A false start? Maybe, but a surprise attack was my only real option.
I reached into my pocket and grabbed a handful of metal ball bearings as I stood up and pushed myself away from the table.
I tried to throw the ball bearings in Kathrin’s direction, but her body momentarily erupted into a firestorm. The sudden increase in temperature caused the pressure surrounding her to rapidly increase as well. That increase in air pressure threw my body against the wall.
“Unforgivable.”
I ignored Hana’s cold voice as I tried pulling myself back up, but she had other plans. The black lightning that had started crackling in my shadow arced out and struck various points around my body.
The damage was, not something I’d ever like to repeat. Rather than pain, it simply felt like my entire being had ceased to exist. In that moment Emily Evret Evans had become just as fake as her name. I already knew it, but I wasn’t suited to stand against people like them.
Having lost control of my spasming body I collapsed disgracefully on the floor. I landed in such a way that I could see Kathrin as well. Rather than celebrating victory, she was reaching toward the knife that had at some point lodged itself below her right shoulder.
[Alert. Participant Emily Evret Evans has been eliminated. Bodily stress has surpassed training parameters. Medical evaluation is recommended.]
[Alert. Participant Kathrin Kaldsen has been eliminated. Critical injuries have been sustained. Medical attention is necessary.]
Rather than blue, the light coming from our bracelets was a striking red.
Oakley handed Hana a handkerchief which she used to wipe the blood dripping from her nose as the pattern of black lighting covering her skin started to recede.
“You idiots. I couldn’t care less how you guys decided to settle things, but did you really think I’d let you start a fight like that with Mistress Oakley in the room? Well, at least now I can bring Mistress Oakley over to the team with Emi Emi and Alli on it. Then we can enjoy this vacation in peace. I guess I’ll have to eliminate those other two who are with them though.”
“Yeah. What were you two thinking? You can’t surprise an idol like that! At least make sure any events like that get approved by my manager.”
Olivia decided to ignore the second half of what Hana said and joined the winning side behind Hana while pointing at us accusingly.
“Sorry about all this Olive, but I wasn’t allowed to protect you. We’ve all got our own purposes.”
The sense of triumph on Olivia’s face faded as Hana reminded her she was actually on the side of the defeated.
To tell you the truth, in that moment I was truly glad that our bracelets eliminated us from the game. I don’t want to imagine a reality in which I’d have to fight against Hana in a situation where she’d have no reason to stop until I was nothing but dust and ash.
Once you spend enough time with her it’s easy to forget, but that girl is a monster.
I still don’t understand what was going through Jaxon’s head when he decided to stand against her.
That guy tried to fight against Vier as well. There’s definitely something wrong with him, but I’m really glad we have someone like him in W now. Someone who will never back down, no matter what.
“Hey, Kathrin.” I somehow managed to force myself to talk. “It’s okay if I consider this one a tie, right? I’m going to say we tied, just so you know.”
Considering how it happened, it’s not exactly a tie that I can take much pride in, but it was never about me. The idea behind it was important. A girl from W managed to go toe to toe with a member of the Kaldsen family. That might show some potential supporters that we’re more than just a nuisance.