Barcode: Legend of Apollo (31 page)

Kode waves for us to hurry up, “Likewise. I was starting to think the final exams would never get here.”

When we’re in the room, I hear powerful footsteps stomp by just outside the door.

None of us say a word as one of the voices in the hallway mentions seeing a pink light. The footsteps fade away.

“They’re halfway to the dorms. No worries. For those fat idiots to catch up they’d need a magic carpet with at least a V12 in the engine.” Kode’s words calm my nerves.

Leo whispers, “What are we doing Spence?”

“What are we doing Kode?”

The masked man points to the walls, “We have to change the matches for finals. We’ll need to access the list at the last second or someone will notice. That’s why I brought you to the supercomputer.”

I walk towards the walls and see tinted glass with several green lights flashing. Most of the room has barcodes written across the walls that wirelessly connect to the main server. The supercomputer is actually underneath our feet, protected by a dense glass. We can only see red and blue lights shining on top of a black sphere.

Kode gives me instructions to relay to Leo. I tell the nerd to release his nanobots to hack into the equipment. The idea is ingenious. Because hacking into the school server from the outside can lead to a deathnote, leaving the nanobots spread out would be nearly impossible to see. Not to mention, there’s no way the school can hand out enough deathnotes to kill each bug quickly.

Kode says we’ll only need a thousand, which is chump change compared to the trillions Leo has at home. After everything’s set up, Kode gives Leo a list of the fights. He and I are at the top.

“Wait,” I say before we sneak out of the room. “Why don’t we just use Antonio? We could give him the list. He’s broken into the school before.”

Leo shakes his head while Kode says, “He just retrieves information. He can’t corrupt a system, or he risks his life.”

“How do you know about Antonio?” I ask before remembering his special hearing, but my question was enough to drive Leo mad with curiosity.

“What does he know about Antonio?”

Kode shrugs his shoulders and says, “Well, I’d tell him the data is a homosexual trapped in a digital body, but you’ll have to relay it for me.”

What?

“What did he say?” Leo asks as though his privacy were invaded. He doesn’t even realize that it was.

“Uh. He has hearing like Selena and he overheard us talking about the AI. He couldn’t really make out all the details, but he’s sure Antonio won’t work.”

“Oh,” Leo says, calming down considerably.

“I said he’s gay. Oh. I get it. You don’t want to mention that part. Now you ignore me,” Kode says while laughing. Then, he gives us an exit plan to sneak off campus. We each have to run in two-minute intervals.

Because I’m the fastest, even if only by a split second, I’ll need to lead the first guards on a wild goose chase. I don’t trust him in a room with Leonardo, but I run for it anyway.

Fun night.

Thirty Two

Today is the day I’ll prove my strength for the first time in front of the school, though I’m a bit nervous. Every time I get a flashback of Kode holding my neck in Gonzales’ room, I rub my throat. Have I grown strong enough?

All the other matches are over, and I believe Kode and I will walk to the field next.

The clock trapped within my chest ticks like the end of a time bomb. The announcer summarizes all of the previous matches during the intermission.

Abby actually won her bout against a demigod. Her new barcode resembles god tattoos. Though the codes are only the words
Son
and
Goku
on her right and left fingers, she seems to have powered up magnificently.

Leo barely lost his match to Yukio. Though he put up a good fight, the third year was too much for him. Before leaving the campus, I asked Leo why he wouldn’t use his weapons. He claimed they constantly try to possess him.

Angie requested to take on both Stephanie and Trinity because she felt no one would last long in a one-on-one battle. The two girls fought brilliantly, but were overpowered and outwitted by the Nubian warrior. She left the match with a few bruises, but overall, I felt sorry for the duo.

Kyle and Malik fought a gruesome match that ended in a draw. They received a standing ovation as they were rushed to the hospital.

Wesley struggled, but prevailed against a freshman god. Because of the strength he’s shown, Wes is rumored to become the next Arnold for our arena. After he threw his opponent the length of the battlefield, rumors of the skull tattoo of Antaeus embedded on his chest are spreading rapidly. His status on Gods&Men jumped from noob to rising legend. To do that in only one day means he’s something special.

The fight of the day, for most viewers, went to the rematch between Hannah and Michelle. Neither liked the idea of switching from rekindling their friendship to nearly killing each other. Thus, they separated themselves the entire day to mentally prepare for slaughter.

Like the previous match, they approached the field quietly. Both looked like warriors ready to inscribe their names in the history books. That intensity managed to find itself right into the stands again. This time, a few people didn’t move quickly enough and the EMT were forced to treat some audience members.

Hannah fought with a much wilder, less organized style that seemed to get her into a lot of trouble initially. Michelle let her guard down, wondering why her friend seemed overly emotional. But in that moment, Hannah unleashed a fury of punches. She only returned to her normal calculated fighting after she’d already done enough to her best friend.

It was a great strategy because Michelle heavily relies on her speed in battle. The damage slowed her down drastically. She put up an awesome fight that nearly left both women unconscious, but Hannah delivered the final strike and staggered until the announcer declared her as the victor. A second later, she coughed up a heap of blood and curled on the floor, crying in pain. Both women were rushed to the hospital.

Hannah forced the EMT to wake Michelle up and return them to the field minutes later so they wouldn’t miss my fight. Now, they’re both receiving massages on stretchers from some very attractive male field nurses, while waiting for my match. So, this is what jealousy feels like.

As the intermission ends, my organs detonate and I swiftly stand to my feet. After a few ballistic stretches, I wait for Kode’s name to be called first. Instead, I hear Monte’s. I forgot about him. I wonder whom he’ll fight.

Since Patrick was matched against Selena, Thomas Lee, a professional emcee, has taken over. Patrick won easily and immediately boasted about how he was better than Thomas.

Thomas’ voice blares over the microphone, “Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Colt arena fans and Helios haters around the world, listen closely. Coming in at six-foot zero, one hundred and eighty-five pounds, the Helios killer, Spencer Colt!”

Some of the audience members cheer loudly. The public bashing stopped after I set up the match between Hannah and Michelle, but I know some people are still torn.

As I approach the field, I wonder what happened to Kode and Leo hacking the system. Did the nanobots fail?

Final exams are televised, locally and internationally. The senior matches like mine are especially important, because they’re like draft picks. These matches decide the franchise fighters for the next year.

Three circular cameras smaller than the size of my fist fly around my face and body. I listen to Thomas as he announces what others can see on their television screens and hologram projectors all over the world.

“If you look at the determination on Spencer’s face, you’ll see a different monster than the one we saw last year. Reports say that he’s trained with other top students alongside his grandfather and father for the past two months. He never missed a single day of training, and you can see it all over his body. Look at how buff this guy is now. If the bandages weren’t covering a bit of his arms, we’d be able to see all of the sexy.” The crowd laughs and Thomas continues announcing the match.

I don’t have much time to think about what happened with Kode. Monte’s a serious threat that deserves all of my attention. I consider releasing my chains.

Recently, I discovered the convenience of wrapping them around my hand so they respond to my thoughts more quickly. Unsure of Monte’s fighting style, I’ll wait until the match begins to decide if I should use them. I don’t want to be anchored to the ground if he’s fast.

A professor activates the non-lethal version of Monte’s ax. It’s similar to shifting MIBS, but doesn’t require much data. Monte’s seven-foot, double-edge parashu ax loses its serration as it’s transmuted it into a hammerhead. Less frightening, yes. Still damaging, for sure.

Before I know it, the match is underway and I’m watching seven feet of death swing in my direction. Ducking under the ax, I wait patiently to see if he’ll capitalize on my loss of footing.

He doesn’t.

Monte stands in place and does something I’d never seen in my life. He lights various sections of his tattoo individually.

My heart is already beating out of my chest. There’s a lot on the line, and I can’t embarrass myself in front of all these people. I don’t know why, but the more I’m with Kode, the more I want to prove myself. I can’t lose.

After watching for too long, I realize he’s storing up energy. Damn.

Wiping my sweaty palms against my armor, I push off towards the brute with all my might. If I’m not mistaken, he’s sucking air into his barcodes. Instead of advancing any further, I take Casey’s advice.
Humans fear what they don’t understand for a reason.

I whip my weapon out and smash it on his head, but a powerful gust of air pushes it back. The heavy chain nearly takes my arm off. The sound of the bronze weight crushing against the dirt causes me to lose focus for a second. My feet twitch from the shocking feeling in my heels.

Fear.

I have to think calmly. I’ve fought many battles before, but there’s something about Monte and Kode that gets me wired.

Monte’s charge completes. He looks like a different person.

His arrogant smile vanishes and his graceful demeanor disappears. I’m able to see the thug I always thought he was. His tattoos glow an eerie blue. I prepare for the worse, and that’s exactly what I receive. The screams from the crowd horrify me more than the thunderous wind I hear striking against my face. Every blow sounds like the sandstorms from Dubai. I lose count of how many times Monte hits me.

I suffer a beating bad enough for my face to leak blood, but something within me says,
hell no.

My chains grow lighter. I wrap a small amount around my hand and drive my fist into his face. That pushes him back a bit, but Monte begins drawing in air again, pretending as though he felt nothing.

I twist my body and whip my chain. I plan to add a centrifugal force to the next strike.

The chain swings, connecting heavily against his torso. The force bashes Monte to the ground and he rolls across the field. The positive thing is, I finally hit him hard enough. The negative is, he has now collected more air to charge his codes.

Monte rages towards me before I’m able to draw another powerful swing. Releasing my chains to the ground, I defend myself with my fists. We engage in a gritty exchange of punches that sound like Armageddon and smell like surgery. Knuckles, knees, and elbows connect in no particular order.

After a grotesque display of power, Monte drives a rocket into my jaw, knocking me to the ground. His knuckles are covered in both of our blood. He stumbles to his ax because his fists aren’t cutting it anymore, and he wants to end this. I don’t blame him.

I watch helplessly as the terror unfolds. I can’t move my legs.

Get up! Aah! Move, stupid limbs. Come on! Come on! Come on!

A pressure builds in my chest. It reminds me of Angie’s force, but this time it’s inside me, dying to get out. The earth rumbles beneath my feet as he pries his ax from the wall.

Move.
The ground shakes again.

Get up!
I feel as though I’m going to explode.

Come on!

Monte’s quickly recovering. He slowly jogs back towards me with his speed gaining until he’s in an all-out sprint. The amount of air he’s collecting could possibly kill me.

Some people are shouting to stop the match. A few professors stand to their feet, but none of that helps me.

The second I close my eyes and prepare for the end, I see pink flash through the dark. The brat yells, “Don’t freakin’ lose Spencer!”

“Shut up!” I shout angrily to the girl that could be heard from every point in the amphitheater. My tattoo beams under the bandages and my rapid perception kicks in. Monte’s standing over me in mid-swing and the judges are ready to call the match.

I scream and release a shock wave that nearly knocks Monte back.

Loud bashing noises approach us rapidly. It sounds like explosives going off inside of the school.

The loudest three bangs sound as my golden weights smash through the arena walls. Sorry Dennis.

They connect to my chains. I roll out of Monte’s way and reach for the link nearest to me. After swinging the largest ball and chain combination over my head, I plant the weight right on Monte’s ax, which he used to defend himself. The force drives him to the ground. I follow through by cracking the medium ball and chain on his bicep. Monte releases a muffled scream through his teeth. I’ve never seen that type of pain in someone’s eyes.

I suddenly find myself thinking about how it would feel to actually kill someone. Isn’t that what gladiators do in war? Is that something I could force myself to accomplish?

In this state of weakness, Monte rushes me with everything he has. He’s aware that if I connect a good enough hit, paralysis may be his next move. The overgrown hammer comes crashing down in front of me. Though my legs are weak, the anti-gravity boots are enough to push me aside.