Electus (Regnum Series Book 1) (14 page)

“Tia. It’s so great to hear your voice,”
her father declares from the other end.

“Dad! I miss you. How are you? How’s uncle Edwin?” she sings with excitement.

“We are alright. How are you holding up? I saw your performance yesterday. It
was breath taking.”

Tia’s heart aches at the sound of his voice. She wants nothing more than to be at home with her family and to feel their comforting presence.

“I’m hanging in there, keeping busy preparing for events,” Tia realizes she cannot breath a word of what happened last night. Her father has enough problems to worry about on his own. He is silent for a moment. She wonders if he is there or if she said something wrong.

“That’s great, honey. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to lunch yesterday with you and Fera. I wanted very much to see you.”

“I understand. You have a difficult schedule,” she replies, her heart breaking in two.

“There is something I need to discuss with you, something that I hope you can forgive me for not telling you sooner.”

“What’s that, dad?” The phone is silent on the other end. “Dad?” she calls, again.

“I’m here. Just wanted to let you know that I’m proud of you. I can’t stay on long, just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Dad... I love you,” she says, her eyes burning.

“I love you too, my little Conscientia.”
Without another word, he hangs up the phone. Tia places hers on the hook, as well. She pushes the thought of her family out of her mind, because it makes her chest ache deep inside.

Tia decides to distract herself by prepping for the event. She searches through the drawer marked
Day Four.
Inside is a pair of black yoga pants, and a tank top, along with sneakers, and a light weight jacket. Tia thinks today’s event must be a little more physical than she originally assumed.

Her hair is pulled back in a pony tail. She examines her arms to see if there is any trace of a scar. To her amazement, the medication fully healed both arms. Her side still feels sore, when she twists or bends. Tia hopes that today’s event will move along smoothly, so she may come back to the hotel and rest.

The fourth stage consists of five obstacles, each designed by a different leader. They are modeled to challenge their critical thinking skills. Every Regnumian is challenged on their ability to formulate a strategy, think on their feet, and their short term memory. There is no way to prepare for this event, therefore, Tia is slightly nervous. Other than keeping herself well-rested and fed, all she can rely on is the previous year’s events.

She arrives at one of the locker rooms in the back stage of the arena. Again, this competition is a surprise for the candidates, and they are not permitted to watch the other candidates perform in the obstacles. Tia catches Quade over in a corner of the room. Kira is not far from him, conversing with another female candidate. He spots Tia and decides to head over for a quick visit.

“Hey, where were you last night?” he probes, his hands in his pockets.

“I went to bed early. I had a headache,” she responds.

“Oh, well, I hope when I knocked last night, it didn’t wake you up. I just wanted to discuss something.” He rubs the back of his neck, nervously.

“Maybe we can catch up later,” she smiles politely. Her anger with Quade subsided, however, she is still uneasy about talking to him about the other night. Kira walks over and loops her arm in Quade’s. She darts a dirty look Tia’s way, as they move back to the other side of the room. Tia knows things will never be the same between them. At least not after this week.

As with the other events, the candidates are called out one by one to the arena. Tia is one of the last in the room, watching people around her. Lucas is sitting by himself, he pulls out an inhaler, momentarily, and puffs. She wonders how he must have scored in the Brawns event. He could not be more than one hundred and forty pounds, soaking wet. Tia’s heart goes out to him. He is always sitting alone, she knows what loneliness feels like. He glances over at her, expressionless. She smiles politely and turns away.

“Conscientia Trumble, please report to the arena doors.”
A voice calls over the speaker in the room. Not wasting another moment, Tia exits the room. The walk to the arena doors seems longer than the past few days. A man waits at the entrance with a clipboard.

“Name?” He is more stern than the other assistants.

“Conscientia Trumble,” she mumbles.

“You can go now,” he snaps.

The doors open to the arena. In front of her is a web of steel cords, projecting from the ground and stretching throughout the arena. They connect to the top of the dome. Tia’s heart stops as she catches a glimpse of the other end. All the way at the opposite side of the arena are her father and uncle tied together, hanging above a bed of nails.

“I believe someone might be a little surprised,” Carmen commentates from the glass box above the arena. Tia’s eyes gaze up at the box where she discovers a green flag dangling from it. The flag is encrusted with a set of white cog wheels, to represent the Brains category.

Tia just now notices the audience, cheering all around her. The seats are packed, yet again, for today’s event. Her mouth is dry as her eyes follow the web of steel cables along the length of the arena. They are wound so intricately that it is difficult to decipher which cable leads to her uncle and father. Determined not to waist another second, she races towards the center of the arena to gain a different perspective.

“As we’ve seen in other events, Conscientia is a girl of action!” Carmen announces to the audience.

Tia follows the end of the cable which supports Osborn and Edwin, trying to find the side that is buried somewhere in the ground. Her eyes are locked on it when, suddenly, the cables all shift at once, throwing her off.

Her heart hammers in her chest. Not only does she not have a clue how to save them, they are moving closer to death with every minute that she hesitates. Sweat drips down her forehead as she tries to focus on the cable, once more. This time, she anchors where she is at with what object appears out of her peripheral vision.

The cables move slightly again, the crowd screaming in fear. Her uncle and father are growing closer, but at least she maintains focus this time. Finally, her eyes land on the end of the cable, jetting from the ground. She runs towards it at full speed. The fear of losing her family fuels her body.

Tia pulls on the cable with every ounce of muscle she has. It doesn’t budge.

“Looks like Conscientia is in a real pickle this time,” Carmen commentates. The crowd laughs. Tia just ignores the poorly executed joke and focuses on the situation at hand, giving the cable a second tug. This time, it moves slightly, however the weight is too much for Tia, and she releases the cable.

In a panic, she runs toward Osborn and Edwin. If she can’t pull them up, then Tia must find a way to reach them. Once she is close enough, she climbs up some nearby cables, utilizing them as a ladder. After she is several feet from the ground, the cables slide again, knocking Tia off balance. She slips, losing hold with one hand as well as her footing. The audience gasps, watching Tia dangle, with one hand, over fifty feet from the ground.

“This could be a heartbreaker, ladies and gents. Looks like Conscientia only has a short amount of time before that cable drops her family to a painful death,” Carmen notes, a little too enthusiastically.

Tia surveys the glass box for Javan, whose expression is grave. She glances back up at the cable she is currently struggling to keep hold of.
I have to focus.
She fights back tears and an urge to scream. Her hand is stinging in pain as she attempts to maintain her grip.

Tia reaches up with her other hand and grabs hold of the cable, lifting her body up, just like she did on the rock walls at home. She regains her footing and continues climbing towards her uncle and father. They are both unconscious, apparently knocked out before this event. Tia is close enough to reach the cable holding her family. She can barely seize it with her hand.

Tia pulls them towards her, but they slip from her grasp. They start to swing back and forth. The cables shift once more. This time, she is able to hold on to the ones supporting her, although, the movement burns her hands.

She notices the pattern in the time between the shifting of the cables. Tia realizes, if she hurries, she can execute her new plan. She finds a cable that is stretched out horizontally. Tia climbs on the other side and loops her legs through it, allowing it to support her. Her hands are now free to clutch the cable holding the two men. Using both arms she has more muscle power to pull them closer to the web.

“Dad, wake up!” she screams. “Uncle Edwin!” Tia can’t reach their bodies with her hands, but she knows that she is within ear shot. If only she could wake them up, they could grab hold of the web. Neither of them move a muscle. She knows it won’t be long before the cables slide again. Tia keeps hold of their cable with her one hand, and climbs out between the web.

As she reaches the other side, Tia decides to wrap her arm around the cable they dangle from, for more support. With her other hand, she holds on to the web, moving carefully away from the bed of nails.

The cables shift another time, Tia’s feet slip but quickly return to their previous spot. Feeling the slack on the cable, she realizes, with each movement, they have a chance to reach the other side of the arena.

“It looks like she has a plan! The question is will she be able to accomplish her goal in time?” Carmen remarks from the glass box.

Tia peers down at her father and uncle, who are still unconscious. She is almost half way to the other side. The bed of nails is far behind them. She decides to crawl closer to her family, this time to focus on the ties around them.
Even if they drop here,
she figures,
the fall wouldn’t kill them, maybe break a bone or two.

She hangs on to the web with her legs, while searching for a way to release Osborn and Edwin. The cable is attached to leather straps around the bodies, by a metal hook with a combination lock.
How will I free them?
Tia wonders, as the cables shift. This time, Tia is knocked off completely, holding tightly to the cable her family is dangling from. They all swing back and forth. Tia realizes how close they are to the bed of nails. Only a few feet away.
Only a few feet away from the ground.
As they swing over again to the other side, away from their pointy death, Tia slides down their bodies. This allows her feet to dangle.

Once she is far enough over, she digs her feet into the ground, keeping hold of both men’s legs with all her might. Her feet slide in the dirt, slowing their pace, but they are still heading for the bed of nails. She buries her feet further into the ground, attempting to halt as soon as possible. The bed of nails rotates and is now parallel with the ground, facing them.

“Oh, no,” she squeals.

“This could be a messy end, folks!” Carmen orates.

Just then, she slips onto the ground, keeping hold of their feet with her hands. Tia starts to wonder if she made a mistake. She closes her eyes, not wanting to watch as they stop, just inches away from death.

The audience applaud Tia, some standing while they cheer for her. She can feel her face is soaked with sweat and she slowly opens her eyes again. A man treks across the arena to unlock Osborn and Edwin from the cable. They are still out cold, as more men enter with gurneys. Tia watches them wheel her family away. For a moment, her father’s eyes open. He smiles at her and waves.

Instantly, the cables dissolve into thin air. The arena fills with fifteen wooden doors with iron handles. She scans the arena, the men and the gurneys disappeared as well. Tia examines each door. Every one is numbered. She assumes that they must want her to open them for this challenge. Her hand reaches for the first knob she sees on door number seven.

Dozens of red bouncy balls flood out and knock Tia off of her feet. They disperse, rolling along the ground of the arena. The audience is laughing at her, yet again. Tia pushes the ones on top of her away.

“Always a hoot, isn’t she folks!” Carmen announces with a chuckle.

Tia stands up, kicking some of the balls back in to the door and shuts it.
Okay, not opening number seven again,
she makes a mental note. Tia surveys the other portals, deciding that, from now on, she will open each door, while standing behind it.

She starts with the next one, grabbing hold of the handle. Tia pulls it open, waiting behind the door. Nothing happens. Then, she peers around the side to find dark matter surrounding thousands of stars. Around clusters of stars are dust clouds in numerous colors. It’s a beautiful sight of a galaxy Tia has never seen before. As peaceful as it is, she knows that staring at it won’t help her solve the puzzle. She closes the door, relieved.

Tia continues along each entrance, peeking into them with caution. Just like the other ones, there is something unique inside. Ten is a water fall that flows into the arena, soaking Tia’s feet. She finds it refreshing and longs to be back to her usual afternoon of swimming. Even after she shuts it, some of the water leaks through the crack in the bottom, creating a small stream on the dirt of the arena. Number twelve is set up to shock her hand when she reaches for the handle. Tia screams out in pain, and stares at her palm.

So far, Tia can not decipher what this obstacle is designed to test. She just ambles around, repeating the same motions. After she closes door fifteen, the numbers disappear. The doors circle around the arena. She attempts to keep an eye on one of them, unfortunately they spin too fast. Tia finds herself staring at a large blur. Finally, they come to a halt. The numbers don’t re-appear, and Tia is uncertain where to pick up at.

Carmen commentates, again, “Looks like Conscientia forgot to pay attention.”

Her hand touches the knob on the door across from her. Tia pulls and stands behind the door as a fierce lion runs out into the arena. The audience gasps, and the lion roars, scanning the area. Tia’s body is frozen. It’s eyes land on her, formulating its plan to kill. She is frantically searching for an idea.