A few cubes line areas of the floor in clustered stacks that don’t move. Neon lights blink inside every glass cube atop its hoverpads. An illuminated archway with a holographic ribbon is at the far end.
“Do you trust me?” Elix asks.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
When the announcer sets off the buzzer, we hop the railings. Most women and their males fire at nearby couples. A hand grabs the back of my vest and throws me high into the air. My hoverboots give me some control, but they’re only on partial power mode. I can’t dart around the whole arena in just my boots. I flail as a cube rises toward me.
It’s a wild sensation, flying upward and setting my boots down on a floating platform.
Clouds fill the entrance to the race, and the number of participants drops by half on the overhead scoreboard. Names blink off in rapid succession.
I swing my laser rifle around and target people from above, keeping them away from Teol.
Elix rises on another cube as mine descends. “Jump!”
I do as he suggests. As I land on his cube, he leaps to the next. We keep up the rhythm until we’re halfway across the floor.
He fires at a Retterwan that’s on a rising cube across the room. The alien’s vest and leg panels blink red. The scaly green male swears and jumps down.
A rifle points at Elix from the side as we descend, and I tug him back to me, then lift my rifle and fire at them. The woman’s suit flashes red. Her gun darkens, and she kicks air in anger, then storms off.
“Wing release!” a cameradrone calls out.
I look back just in time to see a Talhuskin targeting my position, he knocks me back and out of Elix’s arms. I fall backward off the cube, flailing as I try to catch my balance. The Talhuskin comes back for me, catches me, and throws me against a wall.
Pain explodes in my cheek. My glasses crack.
“No one wants you here,” he hisses.
I blink and he’s gone.
Elix is at my side in three bounding steps. He rests a hand on my back and fires angrily at everyone who approaches.
“Serves her right,” a woman says, her suit flashing as she walks back to the race start. Her rifle has darkened.
“What for?” he demands as I touch my flaming cheek. Hot liquid coats my skin.
I look up as she replies and watch her saunter off. “Her family is evil. She doesn’t deserve this race.”
Elix’s shoulders slump. “She is not her family. Are you yours?”
She curls a lip and snorts as she walks away.
The hatred in people’s hearts is hard to comprehend sometimes. But I have to show that this race is safe for the few out there who need this opportunity.
I’m not sure I believe it is, but I know my perspective is skewed. Most people don’t have maniacal fathers like me.
As clarity comes back to my mind and the throbbing in my head eases, I decide to show people I’m not as breakable as they think. I’d rather go back to being left alone because I’m a threat instead of being abused because they think I am weak.
“Zariah?” Elix gently asks.
A Jorbiun in a corner sees us and takes the opportunity to aim. I clumsily fire from the floor and tag him. “Come on. I’m not offline yet.”
The moving forest of cubes provides an interesting array of cover as I lead Elix into it. The cubes move together every sixth unit in an alternating ascending and descending pattern from the inside rings out.
“We’re vulnerable in here,” he protests. “There’s no pattern.”
