From the Ashes

CHAPTER FIVE

I'm standing next to Kavi in the sea of our classmates under the wispy palm trees and bright blue sky. Birds flutter overhead, singing playful songs to each other. If only I could feel so cheery.

Today, I decide my fate.

In twenty minutes, the tryouts will begin.

Three judges sit on tall, silvery chairs before a long metal desk, making notes on their silverscreens. They're all wearing the official red and black robes of the Virana Master Trainers.

The tryout ring has a fifty-meter diameter and holographic projectors encircling it. They're turned off at the moment. A group of ten kids stands in the center of the ring, battling furiously with each other.

The kids testing now will be placed in new classes depending on their scores. They're not old enough to participate in the Trials yet, as they're all younger than fifteen. The real tryouts begin when they're done.

My innards churn slowly into soup as my nerves eat away at my resolve. What if I don't make it?

I glance to my right, enough to see Dragon out of the corner of my eye. He looks toward the arena with a strange sense of peace about him.

A timer goes off, and the kids in the ring stop. They bow, then exit the ring, awaiting their scores. All the judges have to do now is finish comparing notes and come to an agreement on placements for each student.

My stomach shakes and quivers as adrenaline floods my veins. I feel like I'm falling down a waterfall.

The judges nod.

The students bow to them and are dismissed from the ring. As they filter out, the mounting urge to run, to fight, nearly crushes me. My body feels light, I want to jump, I want to show off everything I have learned. Prove myself worthy.

The judge in the center stands. He has dark grey hair, a sturdy frame, and a bit of a belly which makes his robes curve outward slightly near his waist. "All students attempting to enter the Trials, please proceed to the center of the ring," he says in a loud, deep voice.

I make my way to the center of the ring with Kavi at my side. There are about sixty others, and we're divided into six groups of ten. Each team is marked with a different color. My team is blue. It's pretty diverse, class-wise. I've got Kavi and Dragon of course, who were both in Alpha with me, but there's also Hiro Takawa, Garr Aldon, and Laré... Laré something, I can't think of her last name. There are three others, two girls and one boy that I know I've seen before, but I don't know their names. Last, and certainly least of all, there's Liam.

He's standing a little ways from me for the time being, looking overconfident as usual. He glances at me every few moments until I shoot him a glare and he stops.

The center judge speaks so all can hear. "Welcome to the Trials. You have been chosen because we believe you can become Superior. Today, eight of you will prove yourselves as worthy candidates for the Crystal City. You will be given two different tests, the first of which will begin momentarily." He presses a button on the table, and small sections of the arena floor open up to reveal what seems to be hundreds of multidirectional treadmills. "You will each find an MDT to stand on. You will be given a bodysuit to track your movement and lenses that will allow you to see clearly in the digital arena. To prevent injury, you will never actually come in contact with another student. Your weapons will be digital, but you'll feel them in your hands as heavy as the real thing. Your opponents will be projected images of their real selves on the other side of the arena. Everything will feel the same as normal physical combat. When you are struck, it will hurt, but you won't be damaged. When the tests begin, the holoprojectors will become active and your environment will change. This is just an illusion, but you must react as if it's real. Master Zoma will introduce you to your challenge." He takes a seat and looks down at his silverscreen.