Awakening: Prodigy

14: Game On

POV Seth

Seth nudged Hope awake, freeing his numb arm. "Equipment check," he commanded his team.

Erick cursed at him for waking him for such a mundane chore.

Seth repeated himself firmly. No one was exempt from the rule. The screen next to Seth held the bully's gaze, egging on his impatient furry. The opposition was primed and ready to get the game started. Erick didn't want to give his enemies a second more prep time.

Seth knew from experience that the opposing squad's screen read 'Pending' as the system waited for the lead team's permission to begin. Controlling the initiation of the game was one of the many perks of the team holding the high score.

When the team didn't rally behind Erick's indignity, he folded his arms and glared at the transport doors.

Erick's resistance didn't matter in this game. Seth's plan was simple. Make the opposition wait. Distracting his team with routine checks and double checking kept their minds occupied and focused on the game ahead. Their opposition, who had already signaled their readiness, would likely spiral from impatience to full on rage, much like Erick. Squad IX would start the game compromised, where Squad VII would maintain clear and focused control over their emotional state. Win-Win.

Ready reports came in one after the other as members re-secured their ill-fitted gear. Everyone except for Erick, who presented the middle finger in response.

Exhausting Erick's near endless supply of tantrums was Seth's second priority. Erick was angry all the time. Even when he was happy, which came at the consequence of a fleeting vengeance-based serotonin boost. He couldn't keep him on the squad, not for another year, but he was too dangerous to let loose. Erick needed to be managed until he could be defanged and declawed.

This year's rumor was that he intended to make a move on Seth during the game. Truth be told, Seth feared for his life. It was the one game out of the year where murder was par for the course. There'd be consequences, but nothing on the level that Erick wouldn't be able to get away with thanks to his family's deep pockets. Erick wasn't his only problem.

Seth's critical gaze fell over each member of his team, searching for the tale-tell signs of juicing. Juicing was an illegal performance enhancer often used on the Killing Fields to give their troops a surviving edge. Against demons, not their fellow man. The juice promoted near Enhanced level supernatural talents. Seth didn't need someone capable of hurling fireballs from their fingertips. They didn't need someone capable of pulling down the sky onto their enemy. Juicing for something as trivial as the games was overkill. Yet, it was common knowledge that a huge portion of the competing teams juiced, especially when up against Seth's team.

The problem was that though he suspected certain members of his team of Juicing; he had no way to prove it. Even if he could, he'd want to handle the issue internally. He didn't want to lose a victory because of someone else's poor life choices. It disappointed him. Deeply.

He searched for scratch marks that might reveal patches of dried and gradually scaling skin. The first signs of Enhanced scarring. He hoped to glimpse shades of unfounded paranoia, but was relieved to find confidence. An unquenchable thirst and ravenous hunger were among the symptoms, but often showed as the drug wore off. The body needed to repair itself quickly by consuming as much sustenance as possible. These periods of extreme feeding were followed by days of deep sleep. In the early stages, the symptoms are not unusual in of themselves. It's only after years of dependence, that Juicing symptoms grew more extreme.

Seth was not a Juicer himself. He needed to win through hard work, dedication, and constant improvement. On the battlefield, he didn't want to rely on enhancers unless he absolutely had to. He hoped that his perseverance meant that he might gain a bigger performance boost compared to those who had developed a reliance early on. After the games were done, what was there to gain in destroying their minds and bodies? All for a few cheap wins. He struggled to understand their motives.