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“Well, then, you better not look in the mirror when this is all over and I’ve got the prize money,” I shot back.
That earned even more laughter and another nasty gesture from Michael. My gaze shot to Gabriel, sitting on the other side of him. He still stared straight ahead at his monitor, but his cheeks had reddened. It made me wonder if it was out of laughter or if picking on his brother was crossing the line. I snapped my mouth shut and vowed not to rise to the occasion anymore. Besides, it was time for the battle to begin. Fred had just started the ten second count down.
“May the best gamer win,” she said, beaming at the crowd. “And begin!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It didn’t take long to get down to the final five contestants. It was Michael, Gabriel, a football player, and one of the chess players. And then, me. We’d been battling it out for twenty minutes in the impressive new arena Fred had developed for this championship round. I’d already depleted my stores of magic spells and only had my weapons to defend m
yself with. As I crouched down on a crag along the rocky cliff surrounding the arena, a ragged noise came from beside me. The football player cried out in dismay as his online name blinked red, signaling the end of the line for him. Michael cackled on the other side of me, a sure sign that it was him who’d taken out the footballer.
The pressure was rising. Now, there were only four of us left. Our audience sitting behind us waited with bated breath. I peeked out over the ledge with my character and spotted movement in the shadows below. Pulling out my sniper weapon, I zoomed in on the spot. It was a familiar face. Gabriel’s warrior stood behind a boulder, waiting to ambush the next character to come along. I could’ve easily taken him out with a solid shot to the head. My range was good enough at this distance that it would’ve been a direct kill.
And it would’ve been all over for Gabriel Corrigan.
Creeping away from the outlook, I shouldered my sniper and headed in the opposite direction. Behind me, I heard a few gasps from the crowd. There was no doubt they’d seen what I’d done on their projectors. They probably didn’t understand why I’d pulled a punch, but it hadn’t felt right to take Gabriel out like that. Not now. He deserved better.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Michael called in a creepy sing-songy voice.
I rolled my eyes. If there was someone who deserved to be taken out by sniper, it was him. I found a new position along the cliff’s edge and waited. Silence filled the club. It was as if the entire audience waited with me. Michael’s grim reaper character wasn’t anywhere to be seen on the landscape, but I knew he was there. Somewhere.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. And with a confident move of the controls, I made my character spin in place, drawing forth its mighty battle ax. Cleaving through the air, I hit my target square on the chest as it ran toward me. The grim reaper staggered, scythe held aloft for a deadly blow that would never come.
The enemy had been vanquished.
A howling noise came from two computers over as Michael’s name turned red on the screen, ending his run. He stood up from his desk, knocking his chair hard to the ground.
“This game sucked,” he said, turning toward me. “And you suck, too.”
I pressed my lips together in a suppressed smile as he stormed away. That had definitely brought back memories of his eighth-grade birthday party. Gabriel had been right. Michael had taken that loss hard. And there was no doubt he’d be simmering in rage about this newest loss for the next few years.
But now wasn’t the time to get cocky. I hadn’t come here specifically to beat Michael. I’d come here to be the first girl to claim the grand prize. That $5,000 check was mine, but more importantly, my name was going to be permanently placed on the plaque with the rest of the winners.
That was enough to get my rear back in gear. I buckled down and my eyes scanned the screen, looking for my two remaining opponents.
Gabriel couldn’t be far away. Dread built inside of me as I thought about the possibility of putting an end to my gaming partner. This would probably be the last time we’d fight together. It was a bitter moment. I didn’t want it to end, but Fred was right—I had to fight for what I wanted. And as I turned the corner of the map, what I saw caused me to freeze.
There was Gabriel’s warrior character, stalking toward an abandoned shed. But he wasn’t alone. An ugly gremlin character with a tall red hat and pointy ears was coming up fast behind him. I exchanged out my ax for my sniper, but I was too late. With a few stabs of his blade, the gremlin took Gabriel’s warrior down to the ground.
A disappointed groan went through the audience behind me. Sour bile filled my mouth as I watched Gabriel’s name turn red on the screen. He was done.
I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if it had come down to the two of us. Part of me had expected that I would have to put the final blow on him myself, but the chess player had done it for me. And that left one last play for me. Taking my mighty ax back out, I urged my elfin warrior forward and across the grassy knoll separating us.
The gremlin was waiting for me. He dodged right and my ax buried in the ground. His quick little feet managed to get inside my defenses, landing a nasty blow on my chest. Red flashed across my screen as a warning. With my character wounded, I drew my last defense—a small blade that I’d won only a month ago fighting a campaign with Gabriel. It was the Blade of Justice. A fitting weapon for a fitting end.
“Eat my dust, gremlin,” I said, dodging another one of his attacks and slicing downward with a hard flick of my wrist. My blow landed squarely on the target. The gremlin squealed and then fell to the ground in a wriggling mass. I leaned back in my chair, my heart thumping loudly as the viewpoint on my character zoomed back, showing my warrior doing a victory dance.
Game over.
The audience behind me clapped and cheered. I looked over to see virtual fireworks shooting across the projector screens with my profile name dead center.
“And we have a winner,” Fred yelled, jumping to her feet from where she’d been sitting. “Our first gal to win in the history of Rock Valley—Beth Frye!”
I stood from my chair, feeling a bit awkward as a few dozen pairs of eyes shifted to me. My friends were cheering embarrassingly loud. Hunter had put his fingers in his mouth and wolf whistled. Zane cupped his hands around his lips and hollered. Lexi and Charlotte both looked just as pleased. I grinned at them and waved. Fred shuffled toward me, holding a massive $5,000 check and a small plaque.
“Congrats, girl.” She pushed the plaque into my hand and then pulled me into a rib crushing hug. In my ear she whispered, “I totally knew you were going to win! This is the start of something better for all Rock Valley girls, believe me.”
I grinned so hard it hurt. Suddenly, a bunch of people surrounded me, all vying for my attention. First, was the chess player I’d defeated. He cheerfully introduced himself as Ben, pumped my hand, and told me we should play again sometime. He wasn’t the only one. Several of the guys who’d avoided me since middle school came up to tell me how awesome I’d done and invited me to game with them. Honestly, I don’t think I said a thing to any of them. I was too shocked. I had a giant check stashed under my elbow and the plaque in my other hand. By the time I was able to break free from them, most of the crowd had already dispersed.
