The Games for Gaiathal (Part 3 of 'A Tale of People and Apples Trilogy')

Chapter 7: Intermission

As Laplan collapsed, so too did the red veil that entrapped Calysa and her fellow contestants.

As fast as the red veil around Luka fell, she watched as he sprinted towards the smiling Solan with a great spring of his legs, angry tears at his eyes and his fists clenched to kill.

As he swung for Solan's jaw, his fist locked in place and in the air, mere centimetres from the black stubble of his nemesis, the fortress blocking his attack with inexplicable power.

"Contestants are not permitted to attack fellow contestants unless instructed to. Please calm yourself," The fortress said, Solan gently smiling down at Luka who was sent skidding backwards with the same force that the fortress stopped his strike with.

Luka relented angrily with a fierce shake from the invisible grip, and scowled at Solan who stood in place. Calysa watched as the titan calmly sat to the black metal floor and crossed his legs, his usual wry smile and confident glare unmoving upon the key bearing Hosts who came together in futile comfort.

Calysa joined Adrian and Tristan and stifled her own tears, Laplan's lifeless body in her peripheral vision which she so desperately tried to avoid gazing upon as she shuffled towards her friends.

"We... we have to bury him," Adrian said, his shock obvious, his speech nonsensical, slowly approaching Laplan's body and checking for a pulse he knew he would not find. "We... we need to bury our brother."

"You did this," Tristan said to Luka, his face with a fierceness to it through his tears that Calysa hadn't seen before from the Raven. "You led us here. Laplan would be alive if it weren't for you."

Luka hung his head in shame at the words. His best friend now blaming him in part for the death of his dear friend Laplan. Tristan's words were true which made them that much more painful.

In that moment, Calysa forgot about Eeva, or Luka's apparent lying and betrayal of her, of everything beside the Games now. All that mattered was defeating Solan, somehow getting out of the fortress. But the awe inspiring and terrifying manner of Laplan's death made this seem more than daunting.

All that mattered was somehow getting Luka out. Because she still loved him despite it all, and she knew after Solan's mounting victories that Luka was the one to finally break the cycle of losing, at some point, someway.

Calysa wiped her eyes and turned Tristan towards her with a turn of both his strong shoulders. "Tristan, this is what he wants," She said to him, pointing at Solan who remained seated by himself across the silver lobby of their stadium, his smile unyielding. "We need to stay strong. Together."

Tristan appeared to snap out of his rage, wiping his face and shaking his head, nodding at Calysa's words and turning back to Luka.

"I didn't mean that, Luka," He said to him, hugging him, realizing how his words must have impacted Luka like thorns. "I'm just... so sad. I'm so sad. We all failed him. We failed Laplan."

Luka hugged his friend tightly back, gripping his eyes tightly. "No, Tristan. You're right. I'm sorry. This shouldn't be happening. Laplan's death won't be in vain. I promise you."

Calysa, the most composed of them, grabbed Adrian by the shoulders and gave him a hug in comfort, too, pulling him off of Laplan and back to their task at hand. As she did so, a hover craft with sharp spinning propellers and extending claws delicately clasped Laplan's body and slowly flew him away, deeper into the darkness of the stadium never to be seen again. Only Luka was able to hold his eyes on the hover craft which slowly drifted into the distance and darkness.

"Luka's right. Laplan's death won't be in vain. But what have we learned so far?" Calysa whispered to her friends who huddled together tightly. She had to right their ship if they were to beat Solan. Mourning could come later. It had to come later.