Chapter 6

                                                      Tick-Tock

            Time is the most powerful of foes, no matter how much we want to go back to fix it all and make our choices better, no matter how determined, how strong your will, and how powerful you try to walk against it, time pushes back at you with a force so tremendous that it just pushes you farther and farther into it as it envelopes you. It is like a raging river, you can’t raft against the flow of its water and only a fool would try to go against it only to be pushed backwards yet farther, and still we all want the power to go against this raging river called time which contains all our choices and all of our lives, so that we can go back and change it all. There are things that I wish that I could have changed about my life, and that wish will never be granted, not even by a genie in a lamp. So we walk with the current as it brings us forward through our lives, whether alone or hands held tight together, and it ultimately guides each to their fated demise.

                I was called back into the training area at noon by Arc, which is strange because the only ones who I meet there are Crest and Lynx. When I finally got there, I closed the door behind me and looked around, I instantly knew I was in for one hell of a day. There were four people in the room: Arc, Lynx, Crest… and Hex.

                “Evening, Wes.” Hex said with his signature cigarette hanging out of his mouth “It’s now officially been nine months since you were delved into the little hellhole of a world that we so proudly call our home, and you’ve been training hard as hell all this time. Now, it’s time for your initiation. It’s two parts kid, the first is you gotta fight 3 official members; and wouldn’t ya know,” Hex pointed at Lynx “One,” he pointed at Crest “Two,” his finger went towards Arc, and then curved around to point at himself “Well, god Damnit, that makes three right there, doesn’t it?”

                “You!?”

                “I want to see what you’re made of, and don’t worry; I won’t hold back.”

                “If he even gets to you, he’s mine first.”Lynx smiled, I didn’t like the look in her eyes when she said that, I felt like it was a pack of wolves looking at a fresh piece of meat and I’ve watched the animal channel on t.v. and I can tell you, this bunny doesn’t like where this is going.

                “Yeah, yeah. O.k. Wes, here’s the rules of the game. Firearms are blank, knives are allowed, you can use any power you wish to, and… well it’s really anything goes except the bullets aren’t lethal. Don’t worry about getting cut up, Arc is going to be using barrier to keep everything in one piece, for the most part. There’s your weapons rack over there, Lynx will go over to the other one to choose her arsenal, and I suggest you do the same.”

                I went over to the rack that Hex pointed out, and I heard the sound of a gun being loaded, ****, she isn’t going to hold back, is she? What should I be using?  I took two knives and put them on the belt that holds weapons, and I found something that caught my eye, a hidden blade. I strapped it on my right arm and under my sleeve to keep it concealed, I picked up a handgun and a few other things. When I finished loading it up, I put on the belt and threw the bottom of my shirt over it so she couldn’t see exactly what I have so well. When I returned to the middle, Lynx was already getting her barrier from Arc, it was a thin layered purple glow that was shaped sort of like fire. When he finished her barrier he moved to me, Hex took his cigarette out of his mouth as we got ready.

                Hex looked at us for a second and then yelled out “FIGHT!”. As soon as it left his mouth, Lynx dashed at me, I got ready to counter her by using her force against her, but she jumped over me and pulled out a gun, ****. She fired as I used sprint to fly out of the way and ran towards the wall, jumping off it and sending out my board. I flew at her as I took out my handgun and a knife. I shot at her twice, which she dodged, and swooped down, slicing my knife. She jumped out of the way, but my knife got a bit of her as part of the barrier flew off with the slice from my knife. I jumped off from my board and fired at her again, one of the bullets hit and the barrier had a small ripple as it flew off of her when the bullet hit, but no wound to Lynx herself. Lynx took out her board as I landed and fired at me, and when she was just above me, turned up and cut straight down, her knife out. I barely noticed it and got out of the way just in time, but she got part of my barrier along with it. I flipped off the ground and used a weapon that I kept up my left sleeve, a throwing knife. After I threw the knife I dashed at her, and when she blocked the knife she didn’t see me under her, and had no time to react as I slammed my knife right into her gut, I felt the force of the barrier push against my knife as the purple glow began to dissipate into the air, I swooped my leg to knock her down and put my knife near her neck.

                “I give!” and with that, my first fight was over. I grabbed her hand to help her up “Didn’t see that coming, good move Wes.”

                “I thought I’d get you off track while you were still playing with your food.”

                “Wasn’t playing with you, you’ve just gotten better than you were last time we sparred and I didn’t have enough time to react.”

                “Good move, kid. But don’t think that kind of stuff is gonna’ work on me.” Crest said as Arc began putting on his barrier. I walked back up to the table and slipped a few more throwing knives into the container I had in my sleeve. I walked over to get my barrier re-done, and I got ready. Crest had on a pair of metal gauntlets and greaves meant to smash someone in.  This one isn’t going to be easy, Crest won’t let me get away from him, unlike Lynx he was too up close and personal when he fights.

                Hex took his cigarette out of his mouth again as we got into position and yelled out to start the battle again. Crest slammed his foot against the ground and used sprint to get right up to me with his fists already ready to fly, and I barely avoided them; bastards punches hurt when his fists were bare and I do not want to get hit by him when they’re covered with metal. I slammed my hands against the sides of his arms to veer his blows off course and got out of the way of his kicks, and threw a few blows of my own which Crest narrowly avoided. Crest grabbed one of my punches and pulled me at him and crushed his fist right into my sternum causing a massive amount of purple light to fly off of my body as I went flying from the force of the blow; if I forgot to mention it, Crest uses sprint, dexterity, and strength to fight and it isn’t a fun combination to go up against. I recovered midair and landed on my feet, I took out a knife, holding it so that the blade was along my arm when I held it like I was showed to, and used sprint to get to Crest, hurling a throwing knife at him as I went. Crest just nimbly sidestepped to get out of the way of the knife and attempted to hit me on my way to him, I slid under his fist and knocked him down by sweeping him with my leg while I slid. I jumped up and stabbed my knife down, but Crest rolled to the side and jumped up. As soon as he was up he came at me and threw his fist at me. I dodged it and swung my knife at him and threw in a few kicks here and there, I hit him a couple of times to diminish his barrier. Crest eventually hit the knife out of my hand and came at me with a full force punch. I ducked the punch and grabbed his arm, swung him over my shoulder to slam him down on the ground and took out the hidden blade, putting it at his neck.

                “Hidden blade, huh? Not bad kid, don’t see people use it like that too often anymore, I lose.”