In the Ruins of Hope (Centauri Asaris: Book 1)

And the Winner Is...

The silence in the air suffocated the crowd's excitement. The only noise that could be heard was the heavy breathing that came from both myself and Alex. I dared myself not to look at the final scores; I would know who the winner was in a few moments. I stared at Alex noting that he was grasping his side. In his face, I could see pain, and I knew that my face was as contorted as his. I just stood in place waiting for the results.

"The timer has rung and with it brings the end of the fight," the Headmaster explained, "And the winner is..."

Mr. Downy cut the Headmaster off, "Alex! The winner is Alex! The last attack from Willow only took three points. The final scores are Alex with 27 points and Willow with 25 points." Mr. Downy stared directly at me when he said this. He peered down from his overlook and a wicked smile slithered across his face.

"Since the final fight has concluded, the entrance exam for the military focus has come to an end. I will now ask all examinees that lost to leave the school. Do not worry. There will be another test in the middle of the year specifically for you all. At that time, you can also go into another focus," the Headmaster explained.

Alex walked by me and whispered, "Of course I won. I was only playing with you." My spirit was so crushed that I could not bring myself to counter what he just said. The overhead displayed my score along with Alex's. Several seconds went by, and I finally forced myself to leave. I made my way towards the exit.

The trip home was a blur. The only thing I remember was that Alisa hugged me so tight that I almost fainted. After the embrace, I told her that I was going home. I walked the halls of the school trying to find the exit, but it seemed like I was going in circles. When I finally got out, the city that stood in front of the school seemed to mock me as I went by.

As soon as the door was locked, I bolted towards my bed. In a way, I am glad my parents aren't here right now. I don't want them to see me in this state: a mound of flesh crying its eyes out under a cover. Seconds turned into minutes as I tried to calm myself. I knew I would have another chance, but right now, the possibility of enrollment seemed to disappear. My eyes, dry from the tears, felt heavy as I stared at my ceiling. The plain white roof seemed to comfort me as I drifted into sleep.

A knock on the door resonated throughout the house, and I forced myself to get out of bed. I peered through the peephole of my door and found myself looking at Alisa. If anyone could cheer me up right now, it would be my best friend, so I opened the door and welcomed her in.

She walked into the living room like she owned the place. She eventually made her way through the house and sat on my bed claiming it for her own. I sat in a chair adjacent to the bed and looked at her. She had my favorite snacks in one hand and a set of movies in the other.

"I'm sorry," she said with a genuine concern for me. She could probably tell that I have been crying.

"It's not your fault," I said flashing a smile to show I was alright. I'm going to get over this loss sooner or later, so I might as well get over it now. I took a bag of chips from Alisa and started to devour them. It was probably around late afternoon, so I was pretty hungry.

"Want to watch T.V.?" Alisa asked as she made a den out of my pillows and cover.

"Sure," I answered as I got up and headed towards a small box in the middle of the room. I heard that on Earth people would have small boxes that showed them their shows. 'I'm glad we don't have that anymore,' I thought as I pressed a button on the PTVB, or projection television box. As I pressed the button, the news filled the room. The PTVB projected a 3D model of a newsroom with four news reporters on the far side of the room. I didn't feel like changing the channel so I went back to my chair.

Alisa laughed and said, "Really? The news? And you wonder why you don't have any other friends."

"Well, what about you?" I mocked as I started to feel like myself again.

"No comment," she answered. I laughed but was cut off by a sudden alarm in the room.

The news had bright, bold letters circling around the room. It said: Breaking News. All of my attention was now on a video of the wall surrounding the empire.

A tall, dark-skinned women reported the scene, "Here we are at the West Gate of the Midland Empire's wall. As you can see, smoke towers are rising from behind the walls. Late last night, demons from Mt. Mortem came down and started attacking the walls. Currently, the military is trying to keep the demons at bay, and their efforts are keeping the damages to a minimum. We managed to interview General Ramsey during this time of crisis."

"What's going on?" the news reporter asked.

"Early this morning, around 1 a.m., a group of ten A rank demons attacked the walls. The staff in charge of the walls sent out an alert that said that all reinforcements are needed. Unfortunately, an hour earlier, we sent out a squad of our most elite soldiers to scout the mountain that has never been explored. With what our Intel told us, the demons somehow knew that we did this and attacked us. Right now, we are barely keeping our footing, and if we don't get any more reinforcements by tomorrow..." General Ramsey was cut off by a man in the empire's uniform and quickly added, "There is an emergency. I have to leave."

The news reporter was stunned by what she had just heard and said nothing. After a couple moments of silence, she turned toward the camera and began, "Demons are attacking." As soon as she said this phrase, a loud, thunderous boom erupted out of the camera's view and the footage vanished. We were now watching a speechless newsroom.

One man broke the silence and said, "Thank you for watching. Please stay tuned after these commercials." A commercial for a new bed erupted through the room of silence and was quickly turned off by Alisa.

"Do you think our parents are there?" she asked.

I answered with a simple, "I don't know." To avoid the awkward silence in the room, I stood up and asked if Alisa wanted anything to drink.

"Water," she said as I walked out of the room.

When I walked back into the room, I noticed that Alisa was digging through a bag. I placed the two glasses of water down and sat next to her. "What are you doing?"

Without an answer, she pulled out the envelope from this morning. The letter with the blood red seal on it. The message dropped by the Interrogators. A huge smile spread across her face and she asked, "Do you want to open it?"

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Picture Details:

This is Mountain Mortem. It is believed that this is the base of the demons occupying the Midland. Mortem is the Latin word for death. It fits the mountain well, for only death will come to people who go there.

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I found this picture here: http://hillcantons.blogspot.com/2011/12/mastering-moggs-mountain.html