Efferent

Chapter 53

"You have trained," James started, "Each and every one of you, for a position in this competition." He paced along the long line of Afferent, eyeing them as Travis and I settled down at the table once more. I kind of pitied the Afferent, who all tried to look their best.

"This sparring session will work in duels. We will pair up similar powers with one another." James stopped his pacing and pivoted on his heel to face the line, backing up to get a full look. "The loser will be expelled from the premises immediately."

I inhaled sharply, and turned to Travis, who looked surprised as well. The Afferent started to mutter, shifting from foot to foot, their faces unsure. "Half of you will be gone in the first round," James stated, "And the other half will move on to face more judgment."

"What are the rest of us supposed to do? What if we get expelled?" A voice cried from the end of the line. James whipped his head to focus on the owner of the voice, a whimsy and small looking girl.

"You are on your own. You are expected to leave this sanctuary and defend for yourself."

"How is that fair? How does that makes sense? You are cutting down on half of your soldiers!" Another voice, outraged, called out.

I ground my teeth together and leaned over to whisper in Travis's ear. "They are catching on," I looked over the line as it shifted more and more out of place. "We might have a situation on our hands here." Travis nodded slightly, folding his hands together.

"Enough!" James raised his voice along with his hands, which were held above his head, palms out, before he dropped them to the side when the crowd fell silent. "We have limited resources, limited room. If, at a later date you were to return stronger, you have the opportunity to join our regime. But at this point," James eyes them all sternly, "I can only afford to care for the strongest, the fastest, the most loyal of you."

Travis leaned back in his chair and glanced quickly over to me. "It is no longer in our hands, now." He observed as James resumed his instruction. "It is not us that they would have a problem with."

"You will duel," James strode up to the table, and we both fell silent as we watched him flip through an array of papers. "And we will begin with Clark Steward."

My eyes widened, and I clutched at Travis's shoulder. "He is not ready. Blaise was supposed to give him additional training after dinner."

"They said they were pairing the couples based on skill level," Travis furrowed his eyebrows, "It would at least be a fair fight, wouldn't it?"

But as James called forward Clark's opponent, a stocky boy a full head taller than him, my heart sank. Clark steadied his legs, widening his stance and raised his fists as though he would hit the other Afferent. His opponent shifted his legs and crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Where is Blaise?" I asked, "He should be smart enough to make it out of the forest by now. I can not believe that he would leave Clark hanging, despite his dislike for him, I thought that he would at least afford him some form of help."

Travis shrugged, "He was angry, wasn't he, when you left him?" Travis' gaze slid over to the edge of the forest, "Maybe he decided to get some space."

"What are we to do? Clark will be slaughtered!" I whispered vehemently, "He hardly has enough built in control to avoid a simple frontal attack!"

"There is nothing that we can do," Travis grasped at my hand and looked over the ring where the two afferent were circling each other slowly. "Nothing that we can do except for watch."

I swallowed, and James raised one arm into the air again, his voice ringing out from across the clearing. "On the mark of the horn, you may begin. Excessive violence will not be tolerated, but you only have seven minutes to show off your talent." He clicked the button, and with a melodic tone, the Afferent released whatever power they could.

"His opponent!" I shouted above the noise, the other Afferent's cheering. He was closing in on Clark, raising his arms and preparing an onslaught of energy to attack Clark, who has focusing on his footwork as he circled about, oblivious. "Clark, Watch out!"

My voice caught his attention and he looked up for a split second before a flying rope tangled itself around his body. "Telekinetic," Travis whispered in awe, "He is telekinetic too."

I paid no attention to Travis and instead focused my attention on the fight. Clark struggled against the rope, face burning with his efforts and yet he could not move out of its grip. "Get out!" I shouted to him, although no doubt, he could not hear me, "Get out of there!"

Clark appeared out of the rope and It fell limp to the floor as his opponent turned about the ring to find him. Clark appeared from behind, tapped the Afferent on the shoulder, and when he turned around, disappeared once more. "He is wearing him out," I spoke. "Clark is trying to wear him out."

"He does not have the endurance for that!" Travis spoke, clutching at the sides of his chair, "He will be rendered unconscious in minutes of extended use!"

Clark appeared once more, and his opponent took the rope and tied it about Clark ankle once more, pulling him roughly to the ground. Clark rolled to his back, propping himself up on his elbows as he watched the much larger boy advance. His eyes grew dark as his opponent grew closer, and just as he was reeling back to punch, Clark traversed to stand behind him. Kicking him swiftly in the skull, he was the one standing over his opponent know.

I covered my mouth as I watched. The Afferent scrambled backwards, trying to use the rope once more to his advantage, but Clark gripped it tightly, using the end as a whip and slashed it loudly across his opponents face. I cringed at the impact. "What is he doing? Why is he doing that?"

Clark took another step forward, whipping the rope again, but this time, it caught around the afferent boy's neck. Clark's eyes were completely dark, now. No iris, no white could be seen as his pupil overpowered his entire eye.

"What is he doing?" I asked Travis again. I looked over to James, who stood out amongst the roaring crowd, silent with his arms crossed tightly as he observed the fight. "What happened to no more excessive violence?"

"He is toying with him," Travis stood up abruptly, and we watched, as the rope tightened about the Afferent's neck. Clark was walking backwards with the rope, keeping it taunt, until with a feral growl he disappeared once more, and the rope flew up, pulling the Afferent's body above our heads as he reappeared in a tree.

I gasped loudly, clutching at my chest, and realized that James was not going to interfere. Standing tall, I shouted above the masses, trying to break through to Clark, "Stop! Stop fighting! Release him!" But the excitement of the other Afferent overpowered my voice. "Travis, help!" I shouted.

He nodded, and with a flick of his hand, the rope fell from the tree and the Afferent was released. I ran over, but James was kneeling over the body already when I got there. Clark, whose black eyes penetrated into the back of my neck growled, before slumping against the base of the tree.

He Afferent's lips were blue, his eyes glassy, and I knew before James even said the words, that Clark had become a killer. "He is dead," James whispered, awe tinting his voice "Clark killed one of the strongest trainees here."

"No," I whispered lowly, "No, he could not have. That- whatever that beast was- was not Clark." I glanced over to his sleeping form, peacefully laying against the rough bark. A twig snapped, and I looked past the tree to the edge of the forest, to see a figure emerging. "Blaise?" I called, "Blaise where were you? We needed your help!" I shouted lowly, my voice raw.

Suddenly the figure split into two, one much shorter and stockier than the other, and as they came into view I gasped, clutching at my chest once more. "Sorry," Blaise offered limply, taking in the scene behind us, and gestured slowly at his companion. "But I ran into a man with a quite a bit to say."