SABIS the SURVIVOR

Chapter 7: Stones and Sand

Chapter 7: Stones and Sand

Thank Mother Earth for the finish line, Ravis thought. He had finished the first zone with two drips left in the elution column. He removed his helmet, blinked his eyes to lubricate his dried corneal surfaces, and stretched to stay limber.

Though he had approached the first zone with a relaxed attitude to conserve energy for the second and third zones, Ravis realized that anything less than a perfect score was not acceptable. The fear of losing this competition creeped into his consciousness when he saw the posted scores─Dreyis: 10/10; Ravis: 9.5/10; Regis 9.0/10; Gregoris 8.5/10 and so on down the line. One participant named Travis, earned zero points. Ravis recalled how his Father had warned him to not come home if he did not win first place in the Arena Games. As his body cooled down, his temper began to heat up and he muttered, "You can bet that I will win Daddya, and that you will get what is coming to you!"

Digging up that nugget of memory distracted him from his disappointment and fear. His thoughts still racing while his heart continued slowing to its usual baseline, Ravis sidled over to Travis to see how the stockier boy felt about his pointless first round.

"Hey Travis, what happened to your pre-competition, "May the wartis be with you!" approach to the wartis launch?'

Travis kicked up some dust, then started digging the ground with the handle part of his wartis.

"You see the ground Ravis? It is formed from pulverized gemstones like sapphire, quartz, beryl, aquamarine, and morganite, among others. My eyesight dims in the brilliance that bounces off of these stones. So it is like I am launching blind."

Ravis looked down at the ground. He wondered what other stones could be dug up and used for the second round and possibly for hand-to-hand combat. He also wondered how the competitors' vision, including his own, could be affected by the brilliant reflections bouncing off of the gemstone dust.

Living in the caves for many generations had altered the Survivors' eyes to where they could see best in dim light─primarily spotting contrasts between different colours and contours of objects.

"Too bad Trav. I know you'll do better in the second round. Go get 'em."

From the corner of his left eye, he spotted Dreyis chatting with Regis. They looked over in his direction so Ravis smiled and nodded to them. At that moment, he decided to play it cool. He would pluck the self-encouraging, positive, and stimulating thoughts from the torrent of negative, self-degrading, and mind-numbing ones that coexisted in his mind.

He could hear his Father's chastising voice, "Don't do it!" as he raised his right hand to strike a blow against him.

"That would destroy her," Ravis imagined his Mother crying if he exacted a physical revenge on his Father.

While Ravis withdrew into his little private war between revenge and compassion, Dreyis plotted her next move with Regis.

"Reg, this is an easy one for you. All you have to do is go over to Ravis and start up a conversation. Trust me, if I know Ravis, he will take your bait − hook, line, and sinker."

Regis winked at Dreyis then sauntered over to Ravis.

"Is it that time again?" he asked Ravis.

"What time is that, you low-life?"

"It's time for you to put up or shut up."

That is when Ravis drifted away, like a seashell with no rudder and living underwater. He immersed himself in a submissive role, similar to how he behaves in his home cave─how could he compete with other tribe members who possessed self-confidence, family support, and who were regarded by others with qualities like honesty, integrity, and above all, affability?