Balance Keepers #1: The Fires of Calderon (9 page)

“What you learn in the simulations will carry over into what you might face in the Realms. The simulations are different depending on the day, since the Realms themselves are constantly evolving. As soon as a course is completed, it will morph into another set of obstacles. Your challenge today is to reach the top of the Pit.” Professor Flynn pointed to the very top of the ceiling overhead, where a silver bell hung from a looming stalactite.

“That’s it?” Birdie exclaimed. “Sounds easy to me. Can’t we add in some fire?”

“Or maybe we could do something nice and calm, like . . . read some books, or something?” Leroy groaned.

Albert glanced back and forth between his two friends, struck by how different they were.

Professor Flynn chose to ignore the comments and went on. “Beat the obstacles; ring the bell. Normally your team would be competing head-on against another team at the same time—Argon and Ecco are the second- and third-term teams training in Calderon with you—but the first day is for getting the hang of things, so you’ll compete separately. The goal right now is to learn to start functioning as a team and getting the job done quickly. Those are of the utmost importance.”

Work together; complete the task quickly. Got it,
Albert thought.

“That said,” Professor Flynn continued, “today your score will be tallied against Argon’s. You’ll see both teams’ points on our Pit Leaderboard.”

Professor Flynn held out his hand, motioning for the trio to look down into the Pit. There, on the side of the rounded walls, was a glowing leaderboard. It looked sort of like the kind that Albert saw when he watched football games on TV, but instead of numbers, there were blue balls of flames tallying the score. The left side was Argon—Hoyt, Slink, and Mo. As the three boys in the Pit got closer to the top, another blue ball of flames appeared, stacking itself on top of the others. More points for Hoyt and his cronies.

“We’re going to beat these punks,” Birdie said. She cracked her knuckles and leaned forward, as if she couldn’t wait to climb into the Pit and prove herself.

Professor Flynn continued. “Between Hydra and Argon, whichever team has the most points at the end of the day will win a prize. Yours and the eight other training units’ scores are also tallied on the Main Leaderboard, which Trey maintains. If the need arises, whichever team has the most points
might
be called upon to enter a Realm behind the First Unit.”

There was a clang just as he finished speaking. Albert looked up, guessing where the sound had come from. Sure enough, Hoyt was at the top, hanging one-handed from a cable with a giant sneer on his face. His teammates hooted and hollered along with the small gathering that sat watching around the top of the Pit. A moment later, the entire simulation went still. The cables hung slack, the blue flames fizzled away, and the Melatrix popped with a shower of sparks. The members of Argon started making their way to one of the orange platforms.

“Under seven minutes,” Trey shouted over the cheers. “That’s brilliant, boys! Absolutely brilliant!”

Albert groaned. “Seven minutes? How is that even possible?”

“The chances of that are pretty high, actually, if you do everything the right way,” Leroy said.

“
Not now
, whiz kid,” Birdie said, silencing him.

The orange platform carried Team Argon up and out of the Pit, and suddenly Albert, Leroy, and Birdie were face-to-face with Hoyt and his team.

“Careful down there, Hydra,” Hoyt said as he walked by. “With that useless Tile Flynn’s got, you three will probably be down there all day. You’ll probably set a new record for longest Pit time
ever.
”

“Don’t listen to him, guys,” Albert said. He boarded the platform beside his teammates. Trey blew a whistle, and the platform started down into the depths of the Pit. When they reached the bottom, they found that while the floor looked like normal cave ground, it had a bouncy feeling, like a trampoline.

Albert tried a cannonball, just to test it out. Sure enough, when he landed on the floor, he bounced up a few feet before settling back down again.

Man! This is going to be fun!
A sound caught his attention and he looked up.

Professor Flynn glided down to them in a rusted metal cage. He spoke into what looked like a curled animal horn, and it magnified his voice throughout the Pit like a microphone.

“All right, team. The rules are simple. There
are
no rules.” Professor Flynn had a strange gleam in his eye. It made him look ten years younger.

“As I said before, today’s simulation goal is simple. One of you has to reach the top and hit the bell. If you do it in less than seven minutes, you win leaderboard for the day. Be prepared for me to intervene in the challenges. Sometimes these alterations may seem drastic, but they’re designed to help you think on your feet. We’re training to save the entire
world
here, team! Do your best.”

Just the mention of saving the planet made Albert’s stomach buzz with excitement. He was
dying
to start and see what it was all about.

“What’s the prize for the winner each day?” Birdie asked, looking up at Professor Flynn.

“Copper Medallions,” Professor Flynn answered, speaking into the giant horn. “So you can purchase Realm items from the Core Canteen.”

Albert noticed Hoyt’s smug face looking down at them from above; Hoyt was already assuming his team would win the Medallions for the day. Albert was desperate to prove him wrong.

“Everyone ready now? Let’s begin.” Professor Flynn must have pressed a button—the cage rose halfway to the top of the Pit.

“Wait!” Albert yelled upward. “How do we even know what to do?”

“Just go with it!” Professor Flynn yelled back. “Learn by
doing.
Trey? Ready the Pit!”

Overhead, Trey busied himself setting features in the simulation on a control panel Albert and his friends couldn’t see from where they stood. Then Trey blew a silver whistle and the Pit came to life.

The black cables began to shake like writhing snakes. The circles of blue flame ignited, hovering high in the air over Albert, Leroy, and Birdie. The Melatrix appeared, as big as a recliner, bouncing back and forth from the Pit walls like it was eager to shove them off their course.

“What do we do?” Leroy asked. He looked to Albert for an answer.

Albert shrugged. “I guess we dive in, like my dad said.”

He took a step forward, to where one of the cables trembled in front of him. When he reached out and wrapped his fingers around the cable, it seemed to get angry, shaking harder like it wanted Albert to let go. But Albert started to climb it anyway, one hand over the other. Beside him, Birdie and Leroy began the climb on writhing cables, too. At first, they seemed to make good time. It was hard work, but not nearly as hard as it would have been up in the rest of the world above. For some reason, Albert felt like he weighed five pounds instead of eighty-seven. If he wanted to, he probably could’ve let go and bounced all the way back to Herman.

“I feel light as air!” Albert called out.

Leroy, whose face was covered in a sheen of sweat, called out from a nearby cable. “I think I ate too many pancakes this morning, because I do
not
feel light as air, Albert!”

“Me either!” Birdie cried out, though that didn’t stop her.

She climbed past Albert and Leroy in a flash, almost as fast as Hoyt had done.

Birdie was nearly halfway to the silver bell at the top when the Melatrix came rising out of the depths of the Pit. It was heading straight toward her.

“Look out!” Albert shouted. His grip loosened on the cable and he slid down a few feet as he tried to kick the Melatrix, but it was too quick as it passed. The Melatrix avoided his feet like it had a mind of its own. It shot past Albert and increased its speed. Then it hit Birdie right in the back with a loud
smack!
Her hands weren’t strong enough to hold on. She screamed, and Albert and Leroy watched, helpless from their cables, as Birdie tumbled through the air toward the ground.

When her body crashed into the floor, it seemed to suck her in for a moment, like the ground was inhaling. When it spit her back out, Birdie shot upward, and managed to grab ahold of Leroy’s cable.

“That was awesome!” She grinned. But when Hoyt and his team started laughing, Birdie’s face grew bright red.

“Don’t worry about them, Birdie,” Leroy said. “Just do what you’ve been doing.”

“Nice try at the deflection, Albert,” Professor Flynn spoke from his platform. “But the Melatrix represents a crazed King Firefly, and here’s a hint: Kings are no fools. You have to trick them. Another thing—always prepare for the worst. A surprise attack could come at any moment!”

“Let’s try this again,” Albert said. He climbed higher, looking upward at the silver bell. “Leroy! What’s the best way to reach the top?”

“Well, you’re on the cable with the least amount of danger right now!” Leroy said. He looked shocked that he’d known the answer, but it had to be his Tile, working its magic as he looked all around the Pit.

“Okay! Here goes nothing!” Albert said. He wanted to win
so
badly that he almost didn’t see Professor Flynn move his cage forward so fast that it sliced through Albert’s cable. The cable instantly went slack, and Albert was falling toward the floor.

“Jump!” people screamed from overhead, cheering him on.

It was like instinct. Albert felt his hands take over on their own, like something was telling them what to do. He let go of his useless cable without thinking. His eyes closed, and for some reason, he pictured Spider-Man, swinging from his web over New York City. Albert felt like he needed to stretch his arms a little to the left, so he did. That’s when he felt something skim his fingertips. He opened his eyes and closed his hands around a cable just in time.

“Well done!” Professor Flynn said. “Quick reflexes, Albert! Very impressive!”

Albert was shocked. It was like something inside of him
knew
what to do. Was it the power of his Tile?

“That was wicked!” Leroy shouted from across the Pit.

The Melatrix was at Leroy’s back, trying to knock him from his spot on the cable. Albert turned just in time to see Birdie scurry up from below, wiggle off one of her boots, and launch it at the Melatrix.

“Get away from my teammate!” she warned. The second the shoe hit the Melatrix, the Melatrix bounced away and started floating in circles around them, like it was a shark trying to think of another way to come at them. Albert couldn’t help but laugh at her ferocity.

“A surprise attack!” Professor Flynn shouted. “That’s the spirit, Birdie! That’s how it’s done!”

Birdie cheered as Leroy started to climb higher. Farnsworth yipped from the sidelines and snapped at the Melatrix as it bounced by. Albert looked around for what to do next. If Leroy was climbing, he should do his best to keep the Melatrix away from him.

If he could just get to that next vine, he could smack the Melatrix off course. But to get to the next vine, Albert would have to swing through a ring of fire. It hovered a few feet above him between two cables, a big, wide mouth of blue flames. His arms were exhausted. His hands were burning from gripping the cables so tight, but he readied himself to swing.

“Yes, Albert! Try the fire!” Professor Flynn ordered.

Albert knew he couldn’t just swing from one cable to the next—who was to say these blue flames were cold like the rest had been so far?

“Rock back and forth!” Birdie said from below. She’d managed to swing from one cable to another. Albert watched Leroy fall behind her. His foot hit Birdie’s hands on the way down, and they both crashed into the Pit floor together.

The two of them started arguing like Albert’s siblings, forgetting the simulation around them for a moment.

Albert was on his own.
Come on, Tile,
he thought.
Work some magic for me here!

He started swinging the cable like Birdie had advised, back and forth, until he had some good momentum going. When he felt like he was ready to go for it, he swung backward one more time, away from the blue ring.

On the forward swing, he let go, stretching his body like Superman, so he could squeeze through the center of the ring untouched.

He was almost there, almost about to sail through when,
SMACK!

The Melatrix hit him square in the face.

Albert tumbled through the air and landed on the floor of the Pit. He could hear Hoyt’s team laughing and jeering at him from above.

The floor sucked Albert down and then spit him back out. He tried to grab a cable on the bounce back up, but his hands were too sweaty. He fell again and bounced back up, and by now, Leroy had scurried up a vine. He grabbed ahold of Albert’s arm as he flew upward.

They hung from a cable like two monkeys on a tree branch.

“Thanks, dude,” Albert said.

“No problem,” Leroy groaned. “Now grab on. My arm’s about to pull out of its socket.”

In the next hour, Leroy and the Melatrix went head-to-head seven times (Leroy lost six), Birdie got a bloody nose from Leroy’s foot slipping on a cable and kicking her in the face, and Albert caught his shirt on fire from the blue flames, which turned out to not be cool after all. The possible-Tile-magic-event didn’t happen for Albert. Instead, things got increasingly worse.

The entire Argon team finally left, shaking their heads. In fact, it seemed everyone who had been watching grew tired of their mistakes and went off to do other things in the Core.

Just when Albert was about to die from embarrassment, Trey blew his silver whistle, and the Pit shut itself down. The cables went slack, the Melatrix popped again, and the fire rings went out.

As the trio slid from their cables down to the spongy floor, Albert saw Farnsworth’s eye lanterns go out. Even
he
was disheartened from the mess they’d made of the day.

“That was horrible,” Leroy said, collapsing onto his back on the Pit floor. “That Melatrix had a serious problem with me.”