Chapter 70
Something was wrong. The phone-conjured machete wouldn’t stay activated. It was becoming exhausting to create the blade over and over and over again just to have it immediately retract upon summoning. Bailey needed to buy time to come up with a plan. So she held up her new Onyx Phone, the one that she had bought with Ashley on their first day at the Spire.
“Thanks for the idea, by the way. This is the first chance I’ve really been able to show off my new upgrade in a real fight.” No one needed to know that the “upgrade” had an apparent bug. A typed word could glitch out for many reasons, and now was not the time to troubleshoot.
Ashley sighed, clearly annoyed that Bailey had not capitulated. This added to Bailey’s resolve. She surveyed their surroundings. They were in a very small clearing, and trees encircled them, sprawling out to the South, East, and West. To the North were the craggy foothills of Mount Olive. With no other ideas, Bailey decided she needed to bring the battle to the North, to the only place that wasn’t covered in vegetation. Maybe if she could get Ashley surrounded by rocks instead of Trees, bushes, and grass, she might have a chance. The trick was traversing those few hundred yards to her desired destination.
Bailey had a plan, but for it to succeed, her phone would be worthless. She would need to write on her own skin. The pen that she always carried in case of an emergency had run out of ink in the third week of war games, and she had failed to replace it after buying the smartphone, so she would need to improvise. “What are you waiting for?” she yelled. “You clearly think my power is weaker than yours. So what’s with the hesitation?”
Ashley answered with action. At first, the blond bombshell appeared to levitate off the ground. That was until Bailey noticed the floral riser growing under her feet. Ashley’s eyes rolled back into her head in concentration as she reached out for all of the potential vegetation in the area. Hieroglyph had asked for an attack, and what she received was a full-on onslaught. Bailey tried to brace herself, but the intensity of the attack far outmatched her expectations. Trees, weeds, and thorny bushes sprung up all around her and started to attack. She focused on dodging the plants that were trying to intertwine with her ankles and legs. For her plan to work, she had to stay mobile.
Finally, she was granted a reprieve, a chance to execute her plan. She rolled to avoid a blow from a small tree and grabbed a handful of dirt, covering her fingers in mud and grime. Bailey looked for some possible cover, but there was nothing obvious in her vicinity. There were a good number of uncontrolled trees in the area, but all were blocked by masses of grappling greenery. She could either give away a piece of her secret plan, or she could battle through the tangled morass to get out of her opponent’s sightline. Having a split second to make the decision, Bailey decided to go for it. Using the dirt on her fingers, she quickly scribbled invisibilis on her wrist. She pushed her power through the word and became almost invisible. In her research, Bailey had learned and memorized that invisibilis is the Latin root of the word invisible. Latin was a good way to give the word a little extra oomph, but it still wasn’t the oldest form. Most pure etymologies were traced to indigenous cultures in Egypt, Africa, The Americas, and Asia.
Poof. Bailey blinked out of existence. There were a few issues, however. Firstly, Plants didn’t have, or need, eyes to attack. Bailey still needed to escape their viney grasp if she was going to make it Northward. Secondly, she wasn't perfectly concealed because she hadn’t used the oldest form of the word or concept of invisibility. When she moved, there was a slight shimmer around her position. It was only when she stood stock still that Ashley had no way of seeing her.
But there was no time to change the plan now. Bailey hopped and leaped and danced around the weeds and bushes. She got nicked a few times and was sure she would have a rash at the end of all this, but was able to get away. It took mere seconds, yet the moment she got clear of Ashley’s little clump of vegetation, she popped back into vision, becoming perceptible once again. “Fuck,” Bailey cursed. She really had hoped that would last longer.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
For her part, Ashley had stayed in place on her giant oak, nestled into a nest, and protected by its massive limbs. Bailey needed to lure Ashley onto her own battlefield. Her Phyllokinetic frenemy could probably reconstitute Oakie in the mountains, but at least Bailey would have fewer flowery minions to deal with.
Bailey just kept running, scribbling another invisibilis on her arm. Pop. Again, she was out of sight. This time, she shifted her direction, running behind a tree to the Southwest before reappearing. Hopefully, the girthy elm wouldn’t snitch on her position. She looked toward the boulders she was trying to get to. This was going to be tiring. Once more, she sketched the magic invisibilis and jetted off to the next hiding spot. Then the next. Then the next. It took a dozen exhausting jumps to get to the little rock outcropping she was aiming for, but it was worth it. She was finally in a spot that wasn’t surrounded by potential enemies.
“Ahh, There you are… I see you now.” Ashley’s voice sounded closer than expected. Bailey turned and saw her adversary moving slowly toward her a few dozen yards away. “Nice trick. I’m seeing that adaptability that your team thought might prevail,” Ash remarked. “Not sure if it will ultimately do the trick, but I’m starting to see why it is you here instead of Skyrocket.”
“Um… thanks?” Bailey wasn’t sure it was an actual compliment. She had a hard time reading Ashley sometimes. Usually, the girl was as direct as hell. “You know, they test that lotion on animals! Bailey, use paper straws; those plastic ones are bad for the ocean! Bailey, don’t use that chemical detergent! Bailey, don’t you know how bad sugar is for you?” But when it came to emotional and interpersonal issues, Bailey couldn’t figure out her fellow challenger and roommate at all.
“Here’s the thing,” Ashbury stated in a matter-of-fact way. “I know your team wants to get the tie. And, seeing as how I have lived with, and have fought side-by-side with, all of you for months now, I don’t want to be the one to stop you. Especially because we’ve gotten off to, literally, the rockiest start. But my team is, like, counting on me. So, I’m totes sorry for what I have to do right now. It's not personal, I swear.”
“Wow. You really think I have no chance against you.” It dawned on Bailey that Ashley really didn’t respect her at all. When had this loss of esteem occurred? Bailey had jumped to the top of the leaderboard during the Tycoon Challenge and had earned individual points in every trial so far. So, why did Ash think she would be so easy to beat?
Ashley looked shocked and embarrassed. “No, no, no. It’s not that! I swear! It’s just that your team only has a few hours to take, like, all four teams’ bases. I mean… how likely do you think that is? It’s like, literally impossible.”
Oh, hell no! Hieroglyph didn’t answer, as she felt the ire rising in her chest. Was this bitch for real? It was time to show her how mistaken she was. Bailey reached into her reservoir of research and pulled out something she had been saving for a crucial moment where she could exact maximum impact on a challenge and on the audience. But, fuck that! She wanted to put this know-it-all in her place!
Bailey just started laughing hysterically. As she ramped up the intensity of the laugh, she knelt down and scribbled the ancient Greek word, keraunos, in the dirt in front of her. She had come across the idea when reading Greek myths as a kid. Once she realized how the intensity of her power came from the origins of words, she dug up old translations of the Greek legends and memorized the words associated with the most powerful gods. In this case, she was going with the top dog, Zeus.
Ashley realized too late what Bailey was up to but still jumped into action. She sprinted in Bailey’s direction to close the distance between them and extended her staff out to restrain the wordsmith. But it was too little too late. Unfortunately, what happened next was a shock to both of the formidable women.
As Hieroglyph empowered her word, a giant thunderbolt shot down from the sky and made a loud rumbling BOOOOOOOOOM that echoed throughout the valley. Simultaneously, Ashley’s vines wrapped around Bailey. The force of the blast threw Ash toward Bailey, and the two challengers collided, tumbling to the ground and rolling against the cliffside of Mt. Olive. The earsplitting thunderclap shook the earth, and before they knew it, a rockslide crashed down, burying them both beneath the rubble of rocks and dirt.