Awakening: Prodigy

26: Tying Up Loose Ends

POV Seth

A prolonged silence followed Seth's testimony. It was only natural that a reflective assessment of the situation should follow such a revelation. If Seth wasn't crazy and he hadn't imagined the whole nightmare, then the fact was that for the first time in the history of the games, whomever sanctioned the site for the Gaming Commission had failed in their inspection. How else could he explain Videl and the beast within?

The entire experience was surreal. He didn't blame the G.C. or Doctor Yan for not believing him, but their doubt didn't make the ordeal any less real. Their doubt, while reasonable if not desperate, would compromise the safety of the nation's established Safe Zone.

It pained Seth to think that speaking to the Councilman at all was chance, especially if something had infiltrated the nation's defenses. Had Sergeant Noland not been on duty that night, minutes from settling in for his dinner break, the threat within the games would have remained buried.

'What if that was the plan?' A knot twisted in his stomach at the thought.

Councilman Daamon stopped writing, pen poised to add a thought or two that never came. He stared at Seth for a long moment before setting his pen down and steepled his fingers as he leaned back in his padded chair. His sharp gray eyes focused on nothing in particular as he thought while tapping his index fingers together.

The headmaster and sergeant remained stoic and at attention during the testimony, answering questions only when asked. Seth admired their bravery, their fortitude. Even outside of Killing Fields, they hadn't stopped being soldiers in their own way. They hadn't stopped serving the nation's people.

"What time did you return from the game?" the Councilman asked. His cold stare hadn't returned to judge Seth's integrity, instead they remained focused on a distant point well into the past.

Seth wracked his brain for any time related information that the Councilman might find useful. "Saturday evening, pre-curfew, a little after nineteen hundred hours. We'd been in the game for a few hours." Seth shrugged. "I couldn't tell you how long exactly. It was the shortest run to date." The accomplishment meant nothing to him. He felt cheated. Nothing about this game was normal, therefore breaking the victory record was meaningless.

They were unwitting prisoners who were released for reasons unknown. Well, not quite unknown. Seth tasted the bile in his throat, but held back his self-sabotaging urge to vomit in front of the man who would define his future.

"Your promise..." the Councilman let the words hang, omitting while implying the most dangerous words of all. "How are you certain that you will return to the same site next year?" The question felt loaded. There were so many variables that Seth had been so sure of at the moment. Now, when thinking about the future and everything needed to make his promise a reality, the promise felt impossible. For a shameful moment, he was relieved.

"It was something I said in the moment," Seth said. "How could I know?"

"And now? Do you know now?" Councilman Daamon asked. The question was unusual, taking Seth by surprise. What difference did it make against the impossible reality ahead of him?

"No, sir. I don't know," he lied. His heart squeezed tight like a threat, warning him of the dangers ahead. Logically, there was no way to know that he would return in the coming year, if ever.

The Councilman arched a silver brow and made a note. "The solution to your promise is to drop the games, and at an extreme, your attendance at the Academy."

Seth's breath caught in his throat. He didn't want to diminish his odds of survival on the Killing Field. He could see dropping the games to avoid having to keep his word, but to leave the Academy! "That's not an option, Sir! I won't cower at what ifs! I will stay the course!"