The Battle at No- Man’s Land Biome Book 1: Rise of the Champions Page 3
I spent the rest of the day with Gareth, telling him about the event. His eyes shone as he imagined being crowned the Champion of our village.
“I wonder who the other three would be,” he said with excitement, and I felt glad he was happy again. The doctor had said he needed to spend another night or two at the hospital, but he would be fine to go home and rest after that.
“I don’t know, but you’re certainly worthy of going. The draw is in an hour or so anyway, we’ll see then.”
As midnight arrived, Mom, Dad and I said our goodbyes and headed off to the plaza. The doctor himself yelled for us to wait and came running after us.
“Don’t leave me behind!” he said with a laugh, and Mom looked worriedly at Dad. Who exactly is taking care of Gareth?
We arrived at the plaza as the moon hung at its peak in the black sky, shining down on the excited crowd. Torches had been lit around the place and a large platform had been raised in front of the screen to announce the new champion.
The dark-haired man who had made the announcement was there, as was the Mayor. The crowd stood around looking thrilled to be there. Some had even dressed for the occasion, with a few even armored and armed. They probably think they’re going to be walking onto that platform, I realized. I wouldn’t want to be going somewhere dangerous like that. Not for a few years, at least.
The torches were suddenly extinguished and the screen lit up. Large flames came out around us from among the trees, burning bright up into the sky before disappearing. The announcer came running up to the front of the stage and lifted his voice.
“Are you ready, Blueberry Town?”
We all cheered excitedly. I definitely wanted to know what happened next. Mom and Dad chatted happily and even the doctor stared at the screen to find out what was going on. He’s still here?!
“Hey, shouldn’t you be taking care of—”
“Shh!” the doctor hissed at me and I shrugged.
“The Choosing will take place right away!” came the shout from the announcer. Oh dear. Everybody held their breath as pictures of all the inhabitants of the village began to flicker across the screen. Some looked up as they appeared. I saw my own face flicker past and wondered if it meant that I wasn’t being chosen anymore. When I saw it again, my hopes lowered again. “Only a few seconds now…” The crowd’s anticipation grew. Then it stopped.
Gareth Applewood, 18 years old.
Mom, Dad and I looked at each other. The doctor ran off toward the hospital. Some people moaned, others cheered. I wasn’t sure which I wanted to do.
The announcer tilted his head in wonder as everyone looked around, trying to find Gareth. The situation got a bit embarrassing and after a while, I offered to talk to the announcer.
“WHAT?!” he shouted as we talked off-stage, before lowering his voice and faking a smile at the crowd, “Head injury? Two days ago?! Your Mayor told us he would be in the best shape possible!”
“It was an accident, sir. It was me, I beat him by accident, I—can’t you just pick again?”
“It’s not that easy lad. It’s…well, this was rigged. Blueberry Town was picked randomly, but we decided to choose your town’s best candidate for a Champion. It was your brother, Gareth. We need the best fighter and he’s the one.”
I became nervous.
“What happens if we lose? It can’t be that bad.”
“Oh, trust me. It’s bad. There’s a lot depending on who wins this Tournament.”
Looking back to the crowd behind me, I began to suggest someone who could replace Gareth, but the dark-haired man interrupted me.
“You said you beat him, yes?”
“I did, yeah. Wait. No, no, no!” The man dragged me onto the stage as I uselessly tried to pull away from him.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he yelled over the noisy crowd, “We have a replacement! Say hello to your new champion, Steve Applewood!”