They all shrugged. They hadn’t seen it either. I picked up the bracelets. They were surprisingly a bit heavy. My hands slightly dropped as I got used to holding them.
“Bracelets of vee-pen-jelly.” Charlotte told me.
So that’s what it had said on the wall above them. Bracelets of Vepengele. I had learned somewhere that Vepengele means ‘elements’, so I didn’t really need to ask “What do these bracelets do?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? They help you connect with the elements, you know, fire, wind, earth, etcetera, which will aid you in a battle.” Charlotte informed me.
“I knew a guy with a fire ring,” said Surya. “He could control so much as a bushfire. But I think he wore it too much. Whenever he got mad, he would literally start steaming. So I’d say use those bracelets in moderation.”
I smiled and nodded at Surya, thankful for the advice, and put the bracelets on. As soon as I did, I flew straight up in the sky, feeling the air woosh around me as I did.
“Woah! AAAAHHHHH!” I screamed. I started to fall from those high ceilings straight to the floor.
“You have to stay calm!” yelled Charlotte.
I quickly tried to calm myself down, but I couldn’t, and I was barreling straight for the ground. Fast as a bullet, Fog ran under me and caught me, his face as shook as mine. I couldn’t believe a thing; the fact that these bracelets made me fly as high as a sixty-foot ceiling, or that Fog caught me from that length.
Fog gently set me down. I turned to him sincerely. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Fog told me. “Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. I hope.” he added hastily.
“I do.” I said.
I looked at my hands and my sea green bracelets. They were beautiful yes, but dangerous.
“I don’t know if I want a weapon anymore.” I told the teens. “Especially not these bracelets.”
“Don’t be scared of the bracelets. Remember that they’re here to help you, not hurt you. Plus, you can always take them off.” Grian couldn’t help adding in a lighthearted tone.
Then I turned to look at what Fog had in his hands. “A sword? Huh.” I said, staring at the shiny silver blade he wielded in his hands.
“Yeah.” Fog said happily. He really seemed to be enjoying himself here. It had a royal blue cross-shaped grip. At the lower half, it had even spikes on each side making it look like an impossibly perfect Christmas tree. The top half was bigger and square-shaped, with a huge triangle point at the tip. In the middle of the grip though, a carnelian-like stone, that is to say, it was reddish-orange and murky, but it looked as if the contents inside of it was moving, like a yellow mist that appeared and faded within it. The gemstone looked like magma, just flowing around within itself.
“Pretty cool!” Charolotte yelled from the doorway.
“It shined when I went near it, so I picked it,” Fog told us.
“Mine did too!” I held up my wrists to show him the bracelets.
Then we heard a huge TONG noise, and all of us looked around.
Surya looked confused until her eyes widened, as if she were remembering something. “Oh! It’s starting! The Fights are starting! I don’t wanna miss it!” and with that, Surya ran off.
“Hey, wait up!” Ghrian called after her.
“What’s happening?” I asked, shook beyond reasoning.
“The battles are starting up. Geez, you scare easy.” Charolotte laughed at me. “Common, I’ll show you two there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’ve got your weapons now for pete’s sake.”
We soon came into a huge part of the field I hadn’t seen before, and stadium seats were situated above and around a shiny limestone gate in the very middle of the field. It was huge.
“Quick, get a good sitting or standing position! I prefer to watch in a high seating area to get a good view of the whole ring, but you can stand near the gates down here.” Charolotte informed me and Fog, then she ran off to get a good spot.
We chose to sit up high.
Two guards were approaching the gate, and in their arms, a man was being dragged into the ring. Guard number one let go of the man, and opened the gate while the other guard held on tight to the man, pulling his hands behind his back.
When Guard Number One had the gate opened, the other guard threw the man in, the man giving a short yell before he landed in the red, dusty dirt.
He scrambled to get up, but Guard number one then ran in and tied the man's hands behind his back in thick steel chains. The man’s blue eyes flashed rage at the guard, then he lay on the floor flat on his belly, holding his head up to see the woman approaching the center of the arena.
She got on a little dirt mound where a microphone was set up, and shot a smile to the whole crowd, her eyes swimming across every bystander.
“Hello everyone, and, new faces or old, welcome back to the arena of punishment. Here we rightfully penalize those who have hurt the people of Zemlya or have treated us wrong. Today we have Mr. Dayax, who has experimented on people without telling them he was doing so. He has told people that the robotic parts he had slipped into their brains was going to be better for them, when it was not. He has hurt many people, and today he shall pay.”
The crowd shouted their approval and excitement after her speech, and I turned to Fog, who surprised me with his shocked face.
“I know that guy. That’s one of the scientist dudes my Ma worked with to make the SD cards that can plug into your brain.”
“What!?” That sounded scary and highly unnatural.
“Yeah, I don’t like it either. My Ma says that brain SD cards are a ‘wave of the future’ and doesn’t hurt anyone, but you’ve seen how those men who were after you a few days ago were like.”
I shivered, remembering those red pupils and mechanical movements those men possessed, and I never wanted to see that again. And Fog’s mom was the cause of that? Sorry Fog, but your mother is crazy!
The lady in the arena wasn’t done.
“But, ladies and gentlemen, this wouldn’t be the arena without stakes! Let out the true Mr. Dayax sirs!”
The guards came back to the handcuffed man and stood him up. Then one held what looked like an orange raspberry Dayax’s mouth. Dayax leaned to it and took a sniff, then fumbled back making a displeased noise.
“Why does that thing smell so spicy!? Did you dip it in a gallon of hot sauce?” Dayax yelled.
“Just eat it.” one of the guards said in a voice so low I could barely hear it. And that’s what Dayax did. He ate the small orange fruit, then his eyes slowly started to glow a neon blue. Suddenly, his mouth was stuck open and a blue steam of some sort was looming over his head. The steam got bigger and bigger, growing glowing white eyes and thick horns above its head. Soon it was so big it was bending Dayax’s body backwards, then it boosted itself off of Dayax’s head, and while the blue-eyed man stumbled backward then became motionless, the white-eyed beast looked around menacingly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the spirit of Dayax.” Everyone clapped as if this were a wonderful, magnificent thing in front of us. This thing was a monster, one with the head of a dead impala, a chestplate of steel, and haunches that ended with two toes and sharp claws. I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I refused to believe that this was Mr. Dayax anymore.
Then the lady continued. “Today, to teach this man a lesson about torturing innocent people, we have Frosta and Rage coming into the ring!” people cheered. I saw a boy with silver hair and a shotgun, and none other than my sister Sunny step into the ring with a bow and arrow sack. Make that an ice bow and arrow sack, since her bow seemed to be blue yet see-through like ice, and Sunny had to wear gloves to wield it.
I gasped.
“Is that?... no, it can’t be. That’s Sunny in the arena?” Fog turned to me.
“Yes, that’s Sunny!” I said a little loudly. I didn’t know whether to whisper or shout. Let people know my sister of sixteen years was in there, or don’t.
The creature Dayax’s spirit looked at Rage and Sunny. And then he laughed a laugh so loud and creepy I felt my heart jump.
“YOU THINK YOUR LITTLE TEANSY WEAPONS CAN HURT ME? IF YOU DIDN’T NOTICE, I’M NOT THAT MAN ANYMORE!”
“You think you’ve got power just because you're big now.” Sunny spat back, not a tablespoon of fear in her. “This is just how bad your spirit really is, and it shows how bad it is in height.” Sunny told him.
“Don’t worry old tower, we will knock you down.” Rage told the beast/Dayax.
“We’ll see about that.” Dayax said in a less fortissimo voice, then his whole body started to have streaks of electricity flow around it at random intervals.