Children of the Slums

A Day at the Races

After our night in the slum yard, we resumed our usual task the following day. Class was first on the agenda, then was honing hall. But today was a bit different. Not one, but all of the district leaders have come to honing hall.

Normally, the honing sessions consist of four or less Aeon kids, usually the same ones from leader to leader. But today the class was expanded. This was another test that I wasn't looking forward to.

Sitting in honing hall were over a dozen Aeon host lined up in rows of four, some I've only seen for the first time.

Standing before us were the three most powerful men in the slums, Tarvess, Marcus, and Yerald.

Marcus wore a dark red blazer with black leather shoes. His black hair was cut short, a bit longer than a dark caesar. His facial hair was somehow menacing to me, even with that slightly goofy thick mustache. Or maybe it's his angry brows, even when smiling with that hard stare from his green eyes may be it. His facial hair was neatly groomed with pointed trimming of his hair in four points along his jaw.

Marcus was a tall man. The tallest in the slums for sure. He also had the broadest body of anyone down here. His hands and feet were honestly large enough to snuff the life out of any child that would dare to cross him... Which he has a few times too.

Yerald, a thin man with steel blue eyes, wore a tight dark purple jacket with matching pants and black leather shoes. On top of that silly getup was a long, darker overcoat he wore over his shoulders.

Yerald's older than the other leaders, easy to tell from the few age lines and the vaguely evident sagging skin around his eyes. He had long white hair neatly tied in a thin ponytail. He had no facial hair besides the bundled, long, thin beard sprouting from his chin.

I looked around the room to see familiar and unfamiliar faces. Once I spotted Jane, she leaned back and waved at me from the third row. David's in the fourth row as me, but at the far end. Laura was at the front with a full row of Aeons I do not recognize.

Tarvess stepped ahead the three men as he slowly analyzed all of the Aeon host in the room. "This is a good turn out," he calmly said to himself. "Alright," addressing the room. "Today we'll be performing an exercise to test the will and advancement of each Aeon host. It's a simple game called Capture the Flag. There will be teams of four working together to achieve this task."

That sounded simple enough. But this is Tarvess we're talking about. I've known him my whole life and there's never a game he makes that doesn't have some serious danger involved.

"The team with the most enemy flags carried to their base within the time limit wins," Tarvess continued. "The points become invalid if you do not have your own flag planted though. In this game, you must do all you can to win. You can use any means necessary to gain victory over your opponents. There are no limits."

Tarvess looked directly into my eyes, "No limits. The field has been set at the back of the slums in the garbage yard. Leaders shall be chosen by us. Those leaders will be given coordinates where their flag will be. On that sheet are also the remaining rules I haven't mentioned. You and your team will have twenty minutes to prepare an effective battle strategy to gain victory."

Battle strategy? This game has quickly become a danger test to push our limits for their amusement. If I could just walk out of here and refuse to participate, I would. But I've seen how that turns out too many times to think I could do that now.

"If there are any questions, I want to hear them now," Tarvess said.

Marcus looked around the room with a smirk. "I think they get the gist," he said. "Shall we start picking teams? I'm ready to watch this whole thing unfold."