D. MacHale - The Quillan Games

I knocked the spear away easily. When he lunged at me, I faked a swing, which made him falter. I then jammed the end of the stave between his knees and pushed. Green’s legs got tangled and he hit the grass hard. Before he had the chance to get up, I flicked away both pegs from his legs. AH he had left was the peg on his head. He was about to roll and get up, when I jammed the end of the stave into his neck, pinning him to the ground.

“It’s done,” I said. “Drop the last peg and I won’t hurt you.”

It was like I had thrown acid on him. He let out an angry scream and pushed to get up. Too little, too late. I held the stave to his throat and kicked the final peg off his helmet.

A horn sounded. The match was over. Winner- Challenger Red!

I backed away from him, still holding the stave ready in case he tried coming after me. He lay there for a second, breathing hard. When he sat up, he gasped, “This will just make my victory even sweeter.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I said as I backed away. I didn’t dare turn my back on him. I walked backward all the way until I got to Fourteen.

“That was very good,” he said with no emotion.

“You think he’s mad?” I asked with a chuckle.

Fourteen said, “That was the first time Challenger Green has been defeated. Ever. I would say yes, he is angry.”

Green got up and stormed off the field toward his own dado. Round one went to me. I was happy that it was a fight I was familiar with, but the idea that it was brought there from Zadaa was disturbing.

Round two proved to be just as disturbing. We were brought in separate carts deep into the forest. When we finally broke out of the trees, I saw that we had come upon a giant round aboveground water tank. The thing was huge. It had to be three stories high and fifty yards in diameter. I knew it was a water tank because the sides were clear.

“What’s this?” I asked Fourteen. “A swimming race?’

“Not exactly,” he said. He led me to an open elevator that brought us up to the top. I was feeling nervous because, once again, Nevva hadn’t told me about any games that had to do with a giant tank of water.

“Have you spoken to Nevva Winter?” I asked Fourteen.

“I am afraid not,” he answered. “I have been with you the whole time.”

Oh. Right. As we rose higher in the air, I looked around to see if I could catch sight of Nevva. She was supposed to be here in case the worst happened. I figured she was nearby, watching closely, ready to jump in if things went south.

The elevator reached the top, where a bridge led to a platform in the dead center of the tank. Waiting for me there were Veego, LaBerge, and ChaUenger Green.

“Find Miss Winter,” I said to Fourteen. “Now.”

I walked across the bridge to meet my opponent while Fourteen went back down in the elevator. The three watched me with sour expressions. We had only finished one event, and I was already proving to be a pain. I liked that.

“Kind of a Sea World thing you got going on here,” I said.

Nobody reacted. I wasn’t surprised.

“This is a timed contest,” Veego explained to me, and probably to the rest of Quillan at the same time. “Whoever remains on top the longest is the winner.”

I figured this would be some kind of fight on the platform where we had to try to dunk our opponent.

It wasn’t.

LaBerge produced two clear globes that were very familiar to me, unfortunately.

“Where did you get those?” I asked with surprise.

They didn’t answer. They didn’t have to. I knew the answer. They were air globes from Cloral. This was even more disturbing than the game from Zadaa. You guys know how these air globes work. The material is created from minerals on Cloral. When you put it over your head, it becomes soft and formfitting, with an airtight seal. The silver device attached to the top is a breathing apparatus that converts carbon dioxide into oxygen. With these air globes you can breathe and communicate underwater. Having them on Quillan meant that Veego and LaBerge weren’t only bringing in ideas from other territories, they were introducing technology and material. These things shouldn’t exist on Quillan.

It got worse.

Veego said, “Since he won the first game. Challenger Red will be given a ten-click time advantage.” Yay me.

Challenger Green wanted to get going right away. He didn’t like being behind. Without being instructed, he angrily grabbed one of the air globes and stuck his head through the hole. The globe melted and formed around him. My stomach turned. This was wrong. I couldn’t imagine what might happen to a territory if alien minerals were introduced.

“What exactly are we supposed to do?” I asked.

“You don’t know? ” Veego said smugly. “You have to ride a spinney fish.”

I gritted my teeth in anger. Spinney fish were from Cloral too! They were bringing in creatures from other territories! I didn’t want to think what would happen to the habitat of one territory if organisms were introduced from another. This could be an ecological catastrophe in the making.

As for the game, I knew it. Spader called it “Spinney-do.” Remember? The fish were long and thin, like skinny dolphins. You had to sneak up on one, grab the ridges that ran across its back, throw your leg over, and ride the fish like a bucking bronco. The trick was that once you grabbed a spinney, they swelled up like big blow fish, making it that much harder to hang on. The worst part was, I was terrible at Spinney-do.

Challenger Green jumped in the water feet first. There was a big screen on the far side of the tank that allowed us to see him. I figured it was the same image that was being broadcast throughout Quillan. Above the screen was a digital clock showing two zeroes. I watched as Green dove down and swam strongly to the bottom of the tank. There were several spinney fish there, grazing on the bottom. They were big, slow creatures. It wasn’t hard to grab one. The tough part came when they felt threatened.

Challenger Green maneuvered himself around, hovering just above one of the big fish. He got as close as he could without touching it, then quickly grabbed the ridge on its back and clamped his legs around it. The fish instantly blew up to three times its size and started bucking. Green gripped the ridge with both hands. He may not have been agile, but he was strong. As soon as the fish started to move, the clock did too. I didn’t know how long a “click” was-it seemed to be around a second. Green held on with both hands as the clock moved to 5. Then 10. One of Green’s hands flew off, but he held on with the other. He wouldn’t last much longer. Finally, with a quick snap of its back, the fish threw Green off and scooted away. The final time: 22 clicks.

There was no way I could match that.

“What about the penalty?” I asked.

I looked at the clock to see the number 22 disappear. It was replaced by the number 10-my bonus for winning the first contest. Big deal. It didn’t matter. Even with the extra 10 clicks there was no way I Green’s time. But it had been a long time since I’d played Spinney-do. I was a bigger, stronger guy. I had to hope I’d do better.

As Green climbed out of the water, LaBerge handed me an air globe. I put my head through the hole and felt the familiar sensation as the clear helmet molded to me. Challenger Green looked up at his time and punched his fist into the air shouting a jubilant, “Yes!”

I wanted this over as quickly as possible, so without another word I jumped into the water and swam toward the bottom.

Three spinney fish were waiting for me. Such odd creatures. You’d think they’d take off once they sensed someone coming. Maybe they were blind. Or just plain stupid. I didn’t know. All that mattered was that I grab one and stay on for 13 clicks. I picked one that looked to be the smallest of the group and lowered myself toward it. The strange fish had no idea I was there. I took a breath, reached out with both hands, and grabbed the ridge.