Forget counting sheep or listening to crickets, sleeping next to Naomi was my melatonin. As morning sunlight filtered into the room, I woke up, blinking against the brightness. Naomi was still nestled under her covers. I didn’t want to disturb her peaceful rest, so I kept quiet, until I heard the sound of my alarm go off. Naomi began to stir. She blinked her eyes open slowly, and I greeted, “Good morning, sleepy head!”
“The games…” she groaned, and then her expression shifted, the look on her face making me worried.
“My alarm just went off,” I said, reaching for my phone. “We still have an hour before we—” I paused, realizing that we were an hour late! “Shit!” That wasn’t my alarm going off, that was my ringtone, Chen calling me.
How the hell did we sleep through my alarm?!
Naomi leapt out of bed, hurrying to get her clothes ready.
“I can’t believe we overslept!” I vented, hopping on one foot as I tried to get my pants on. “The opening ceremony starts in 20 minutes. We’re never going to make it in time!”
“I can’t find my phone,” she said as she looked for it. And then, she picked her head up and asked, “Where is Reina?” I rushed to her bedroom door in a heartbeat. After bombarding her door for a solid ten seconds, I tried the lever. It was unlocked, and I swung it open to see Reina missing.
“Reina?” I whispered, dipping my head left and right to realize she wasn’t here.
There was no way she left without us. We were her team!
I rushed back to my bedroom, Naomi just about ready to leave. She slipped her com unit on, and I grabbed mine as I told her that Reina was missing.
“When did you set your alarm?” she asked me.
“Last night, when I was hanging out with the guys.”
“I set mine last night, too. Was your phone with you the entire time?”
“I think so.”
“Did you check the alarm before you went to bed?”
“No, because I know for a fact that I set it earlier. Not just one, either. I had three alarms set.”
“Someone messed with our phones.”
“You think….” I paused, realizing what Naomi was saying. “Felix, Gun, and Ash?!”
“It doesn’t seem impossible when we are talking about thousands of dollars. And, that stupid bet all of you settled makes playing dirty all the more easier. Doesn’t answer the question of where Reina is, though.”
After we got ready, we stormed out. We were late, but I wanted confirmation of Naomi's theory. So I shouted their names, each one of them. Shockingly, I got no response, not even from Reina….
“REINA?” I called out again. I was tempted to rush up the stairs to sensei’s level, until I heard the front door slam wide open. “Reina!” I gasped, noticing that she was covered in mud and gunk.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
She was beyond pissed as swamp water continued to drip down her silk nightgown.
“What the hell?” was all I could say at a time like this, Reina’s anger making the silence between us loud as she glared at us.
“What happened to you?” Naomi finally choked out.
Reina remained silent, her face red and blotchy. She stomped toward us, her bare feet leaving muddy prints on the hardwood floor. She was so mad that she started to shake, her hands balling up into fists as she brought them to her sides. “I… Am… Going... To…” She panted, her heavy breaths deepening with every word.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and asked her to calm down, “Relax and just tell us what happened?”
“Felix and Ash happened!” She blurted out. “This morning, the both of them kidnapped me from my sleep and tossed me in the middle of nowhere!”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “What exactly is the middle of nowhere?”
“Excuse me, didn’t you not hear a word I said?!”
“If it was this morning, they couldn’t have dropped you far from the dojo.”
“Yeah, but Reina has a poor sense of direction,” I added, Reina turning to me offended.
“Pardon?!”
“Why didn’t you fight back?” Naomi asked. “Better yet, why didn’t Gun stop them?”
Reina started to malfunction, tossing her hands on her head and blurting shit in Japanese. She started to hyperventilate, and I was sure she was about to have a full-blown panic attack. I didn’t know what to do, between Naomi telling her to shut up so she could think, and Reina’s endless bawling. She let out a loud wail and started to cry. And that was when I shouted, “HEY!” and both girls went quiet. “We’re not about to lose our shit because the other team decided to screw us over! We have a tournament to win, and this little hiccup isn’t going to stop us, all right? Now, we are going to think this through, but first, Reina, you’re going to take a record breaking five-minute shower, get dressed, and meet us back here. Naomi and I are going to search for Hayashi, and pray that he’s still here to teleport us to the drop off location.”
Reina stifled her sobs, and whimpered, “Ashley’s clones are pure evil...”
“Yes, yes, I know, but try to focus on our plan, Reina. Now, pick yourself up and go wash.” She went off, leaving Naomi and I to search for Hayashi. Luckily, we didn’t have to go far, Hayashi popping into the foyer from a rift he tore open.
“Still here, I see,” he said nonchalantly. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Why aren’t you?” Naomi asked.
“Well, because stunts like these happen every season,” he confirmed. “It isn’t uncommon for my students to jeopardize another team’s success in the games.”
“Well then, our request isn’t going to sound at all unfamiliar since you’re used to it.”
“You need me to taxi you to the drop off location. I understand…”
“Question is, will you?” Naomi asked.
Sensei sighed and scratched his temple. “Well, I suppose I have no choice, do I? I want all the best for my students. Even though I don’t believe in a sponsored event as ridiculous as the games, the three of you do.”
“If you knew this was going to happen, why didn’t you warn us?” Naomi asked bitterly.
He shrugged. “I don’t pick sides.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I reminded her. “Just as long as he’s helping us. And since we have a couple minutes, I’m going to properly ready up.”
“Don’t drag your feet, and don’t make a habit of relying on me.”
I nodded. “Yes, sensei. And thank you.”
I didn’t think those three were capable of doing something so damn despicable. When we reached the drop off point, I was going to rip them! I got that a lot of money was on the line, and that this was a competition, but that was just poor sportsmanship.
After we all finished up, Hayashi portaled us to the drop off zone. It was like any other area on the map. The only requirement being a random discreet location pre-selected by the council. We had to be there on time, and if we weren’t, we’d be disqualified faster than any of us could bat an eye. In a competition like the Hunter Games, they’d take any reason to kick you out. There was no mercy here, and that was part of the magic of it all.
Again, I found myself nearly missing an opportunity. My first time was when signing up for Hunter Corp, and now, when participating in the Hunter Games. As soon as Hayashi brought us to the plateau, I spotted Felix, Ash, and Gun standing along a cliff in their uniforms. I also saw a big ball of white energy forming in midair in front of them. It was my cue to run toward the light.
That was our lift to the arena….