Explorer X Alpha (10 page)

“There. That should make it easier,” she said as she replaced the bracelet on her wrist.

“Well, that definitely worked. Help me dig it out, will you?” asked Scott. He bent down and started digging quickly around the sides.

“Step aside,” said Raiko and got on her knees beside Scott. Scott moved aside as he was told, and as she moved her hand through the hole she created and grabbed the handle to the supply pack. Scott grabbed the base of the box. They pulled it out of the ground with a sharp tug.

“Hey, for a pip squeak, you are kind of strong,” said Scott as he patted her on the back and stood up. The pack had a handle on the top and a soft belt protruding from the sides that allowed Raiko to put it on her back from shoulder to hip. She secured the pack in the middle of her back with the belt secured around her hip.

“You want me to carry that?” Scott offered while he watched her secure the pack on her back.

“No, I got it,” she said as she adjusted it on her shoulders.

“Don't you think it's a bit heavy for you? I mean, you are so small. I could carry it and move faster than you,” Scott said.

“Hmm, is that so?” Raiko said, and then she took off running in the direction of the Communication Center. Scott stared at her as she ran off at top speed and then shook himself out of his daze to run behind her. He had to pump his arms hard to catch up.

“About time you caught up,” Raiko laughed. She picked up the pace and ran even faster, and Scott had to work to catch up with her again.

 

 

On their way to the Communication Center, Dakota and Carter came to a stop at the bottom of the mountain that closed in the valley.

“Hey, this is where our first supply pack is. Right here buried about twelve feet up this mountain,” Carter said, pointing to the orange flag sticking out of the side of the mountain.

“Okay, Carter, it's time to show me all that training you got. Or is it training your daddy paid for?” Dakota said as he looked up the mountain at the flag.

“What? You want me to climb up there and get it?” Carter asked with his eyebrow rose.

“You are going to get it while I look out. Knowing Damien, he is on his way here to ambush us as we speak. You are tall and limber, but you are not a fighter. I refuse to climb up the side of a mountain and still have to come down here to kick butt for you too. You will do your part, or I will kick your butt myself. Heck, I just may kick your butt anyway. Now, get up that mountain!” Dakota said as he gave Carter a push.

Carter looked back at Dakota as he hesitated but moved toward the mountain. Dakota returned his look. He frowned and put a fist up in Carter's eyes and made punching moves from side to side. Carter took a deep breath and quickly climbed up the side of the mountain without a slip. When he got to the stake, he yanked it out. However, the force of his pull caused him to stumble around for footing. He quickly got his balance and placed his hand in the hole he created when the stake came out.

“Hurry up, Carter! Someone is coming!” Dakota said as he punched in a code on the side of his helmet to get a closer view. Carter reached into the hole and pulled out the supply pack - a soft bag with a handle that he wrapped around his wrist - and he quickly and headed down the mountain. Just as he got about four feet from the ground, he heard Dakota yell, “Get down now, Carter. It's Tacitus. We can take him. He is alone!” Carter then jumped the four feet to the ground, slipped, and fell on this butt and onto his back.

“Oh, great! Get your butt over here and back me up,” Dakota said. He didn't bother to look back at Carter as he focused on his charging opponent. Tacitus ran at full speed toward Dakota just as Carter came up behind him. He counted pace as Tacitus came closer, squinting and growling.

“Man, I have never seen him run so fast. He is charging at us! Let's run,” Carter said, and then ran in the opposite direction as Tacitus.

“Carter, come back here, you coward!” Dakota yelled as his frustration with Carter grew, but he decided to think about it later. However, Tacitus was too close for him to make a break for it. Dakota stood and waited for Tacitus to get close enough to tackle. He watched closely to time his arm slice at Tacitus, which knocked Tacitus down. Then, Dakota used his momentum to flip his opponent off balance. Tacitus quickly recovered and stood ready for his next attack.

Tacitus ran full speed ahead at Dakota, and as he drew closer, Tacitus bent down into tackling position. Dakota bent down in turn and ran toward Tacitus, figuring he may as well get this over with. They almost collided as Dakota stood up and swung out his arm in a slice move as it collided with Tacitus's neck. Tacitus flipped back as Dakota ran slightly past him. Dakota felt elated with that small victory and knew he had to hustle to keep Tacitus on the ground. Tacitus, however, was too quick for Dakota to outmaneuver, and he charged at Dakota, knocking him down onto his back. Dakota knew he couldn't stay down long, so he leaped up into a crouching stance, and Tacitus ran at him again.

As Tacitus came toward Dakota, Dakota grabbed Tacitus by the neck and swung him around, trying to force him to the ground. Tacitus fell to his knees, and Dakota felt a tingling sensation in his gut as he right-hooked Tacitus and then followed with a left hook and landed a straight-on punch to Tacitus's nose. Tacitus cracked his head to the side, not losing a drop of blood or even looking like he was in pain. Before Dakota could land the next punch, Tacitus smiled and said, “My turn,” and proceeded to punch Dakota hard in the stomach.

Dakota felt like scissors cut through his gut, and he fell to one knee - his pure will to win would not allow him to fall flat on the ground. He ducked Tacitus's next punch, struggling to stand, and punched Tacitus in the stomach only to feel his knuckles crack with the impact of the blow. Tacitus still didn't falter but punched Dakota's chin up and then hit downward at the top of Dakota's head. Dakota tasted blood, and every part of his body throbbed in a sharp, painful ache, but he was not going to give up without a good fight, so Dakota struggled and stood up, mentally focusing to force the pain out of his head. He stood and raised his hand to land a final punch. Then, he drummed up all the energy he had left to end this battle.

“Give up, Dakota. I will win,” said Tacitus coolly as he jumped up off his knees to stand. With strength Dakota underestimated, Tacitus managed to get to his feet. He grabbed both of Dakota's arms, forcing him back down to his knees on the ground. Pain awakened like fire and tunneled through Dakota's arms and shoulders. Tacitus let go of Dakota's right arm and threw him back to land flat on the ground. He put his knee on Dakota's stomach and then cut off Dakota's breathing to a point were Dakota's lungs felt as though they would burst. Tacitus then slowly leaned down toward Dakota's ear and pulled Dakota's hair up to position Dakota for the final punch.

“You lose,” he whispered in Dakota's ear. Then Tacitus punched Dakota in one quick and fatal blow.

Dakota saw darkness and then opened his eyes to Mr. Faulkner who stood over him after slapping his face.

“Aw, man! Don't tell me I am the first?” asked Dakota, as Mr. Faulkner helped him stand up in the simulation room. About two yards in front of him were the simulation space cruisers. Dakota looked over to the left of the cruisers to see the others in the simulation boxes. Mr. Faulkner was looking at the side of the huge screen, checking the vitals of each remaining Cadet. It took Dakota a moment to get adjusted to being out of the virtual reality of the simulation, and he tilted his head to readjust to being pulled out of the virtual world.

“Take off your tags. Your part in the simulation is over, and hopefully your teammate will come through for you,” Mr. Faulkner said, as he watched the others on the floor-to-ceiling screen.

“Oh, yeah? You mean the chicken head that took off running and left me behind to fight his battles!” Dakota yelled at Mr. Faulkner as he stood to follow him.

 

 

Carter ran as fast as he could to try to get back to his cruiser. He wanted to get in the cruiser and get it started before Tacitus got to him. He hoped that the cruiser would knock Tacitus out during take off and take Tacitus out of the game. He was totally caught off guard with Tacitus overtaking Dakota, as Tacitus always seemed pretty timid or just quiet and weird. Carter ran so fast that his arms, back, and legs burned in pain, but he kept on running and never looked back. The sensation of the hairs standing up on his neck made Carter start to shiver. He saw the cruiser and let out a brief sigh of relief until he decided to peek behind him out of curiosity to see how far Tacitus was.

“Oh, man, oh man. Dang it!” Carter said as he spied Tacitus a slight distance from him as he gained ground. Carter started to panic, and his hands shook. Breathing hard, he finally got to the cruiser and then fumbled through the sequence to open the craft. By this time, Tacitus was just a few yards away and running so fast he looked like he would run right through the cruiser if Carter didn't move it.

“Give it up, Carter. You are out of the game,” Tacitus yelled. Tacitus pumped his arms faster and faster as he ran up to the cruiser. He speed up and looked totally unaffected by the fight he just had with Dakota or the run to catch up with Carter.

Carter fell through the opening of the top of the cruiser. He punched in the sequence to close the door. As the door closed, he watched as Tacitus climbed on the top of the cruiser glass and hit his fist on the glass furiously. Tacitus pounded with great precision, trying to weaken the spot. Then Tacitus stood up on the glass top and jumped. Suddenly, Tacitus stopped, bent down on his knees, and peered into the top window of the cruiser looking directly at Carter. Then, he just smiled with a grin that chilled Carter to the bone. He started to sweat and rubbed his gloved hands on his legs. The perspiration made his helmet feel a bit uncomfortable. Carter took a deep breath and tried to clear his head of fear. He started to punch in the sequence to start the cruiser, hoping that Tacitus had given up. He took one quick look up at the window and saw a blue beam. It slowly moved around the top of the cruiser where the glass door was.

“Oh, man, oh, man. The dude is crazy! C'mon… c'mon… start, you bloody piece of junk!” Carter yelled as he punched in the sequence to start the cruiser. The cruiser started to sputter as it tried to start.

“This cannot be happening!” Carter yelled as he rechecked the sequence to start the cruiser. And then he heard a knock on the glass door. He tried to ignore the knocking but couldn't. Tacitus kept knocking in perfect timing, continuing louder and louder as he went. Carter peered up at the glass door, and beads of sweat dripped into his eyes. His lips trembled as he stared in terror at the wicked smile on Tacitus's face, not knowing what to expect.

“Looking for these?” Tacitus sneered loudly as he held the motor piping in the window for Carter to see. Carter hit his hand on the console and glared at Tacitus, who appeared unnervingly calm. Carter's heart was pumped, and he held his stomach to hold in his vomit from his heightened fear.

“This kid is crazy!” Carter choked out. On the verge of tears of frustration, he put both of his hands on each side of his head and tried to think of a way out of this dilemma. Just at that moment, he heard the banging again, but this time the door was moved. It appeared that the door would eventually cave in. Carter laid down on his back and then braced his feet against the door to keep Tacitus out. He closed his eyes and placed his feet on the door to brace himself for the impact of Tacitus's next punch, but all he felt was air. He tried to tap his foot against the door but felt nothing. Then he slowly, regrettably opened his eyes to look up directly into Tacitus's cold, piercing gaze. Tacitus quickly grabbed both of Carter's feet. He braced himself on both sides of the opening of the door and flipped back off the top of the cruiser like some kind of acrobat, flipping Carter over his head in the process. Carter flew up and over and landed sprawled out on the ground, barely holding the supply pack that was wrapped around his wrist.

His back hit the hard sand. Carter coughed as he tried to catch his breath and said in a shaky, loud voice, “Hey, Tacitus! Give me a break, bud. You know you don't want to fight me. I don't want to hurt you, but I will use my Judo on you. No kidding,” Carter said as he slowly crawled up to stand and face Tacitus.

Tacitus didn't break his stride as he slowly and steadily walked toward him. Again, Tacitus gave him that sly, dead smile. He stood directly in front of Carter. Pulled up by his hair, Carter closed his eyes as Tacitus raised his fist and said, “Goodbye… you lose,” in a whisper. Then, Tacitus punched Carter in the face and took the bag off Carter's wrist as he fell back onto the sandy ground.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Carter said as he shook his head side to side. He opened his eyes to an angry Dakota, who grunted as he slapped him hard in the face. Carter laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

“Get up, fool! Lucky for you, Tacitus got you out quick, but I am not going to be so kind,” Dakota said with one last loud slap to Carter's face.

“Hey now, son! Not so hard. Carter's awake already,” Mr. Faulkner said to Dakota. Dakota grabbed Carter off the floor of the simulation area and dragged him out of the way of the other Cadets. Carter continued to lay there like dead weight and moved his head from side to side like he had difficulty waking up.

“Look, you can lay there all you want, but when we get back to the rooms, I am still gonna kick your butt. I promise,” Dakota whispered in Carter's ear. He shoved Carter on the head, got up, and then walked over to watch the others.

Carter opened one eye to make sure that Dakota was across the room and then sat up. He turned his gaze toward the viewing monitor and frowned in thought.

“Well, maybe he is just like that for the game. I don't know, but Tacitus just seemed out of whack. I think I am going crazy. Man, that kid's not tired yet? I feel sorry for them, ‘cause they are in for a surprise,” Carter mumbled while watching in awe as Tacitus's methodically perfect run took him fast over the dessert-like terrain toward Scott and Raiko.