Star Runners (16 page)

Austin cleared his throat and spit swamp water out. "Wait! Wait! I'm here! I'm over here!"

The beams found him. Austin squinted at the blinding light. Two boats used trolling motors to flank him. Austin loosened his claw grip on the tree stump and reached to the boat. Nubern stood over him, a pleased look on his face.

"Gotcha."

Nubern pulled him from the water. Austin collapsed onto the floor. His body fell limp and he struggled to turn over. When he did so, he stared at the boat's passengers.

There, at the end of the boat, sat Skylar in a muddied Tizona uniform, her cheeks wet with tears. She had no visible injuries, no reason to go to the hospital.

She mouthed the words, "I'm sorry."

Nubern nudged Austin with his boot. "We get everyone eventually, Stone, sooner or later. You did well. You were the last one we picked up. Need to work on your sense of direction, though. You went the farthest away from campus of any other student." He turned to Sharkey. "Let's head back to campus, Chief."

Austin gazed into the featureless sky as the air boat's engines rumbled to life.

Austin pulled the Trident starboard toward his targets. Three Tyral Pirates exited the asteroid field heading away from him.

"I don't think they see us, yet," Austin said into his headset.

"Right behind you," Skylar's voice came back.

Austin eased more power into his engines and keyed for missile activation. He smiled.
I wish I had one of these simulators at home.

When they reached firing distance, the three pirate fighters broke formation. Two veered left and the other upward. Austin stayed on the pair, achieved missile lock, and squeezed the trigger. The missile shot forward from underneath his left wing and zipped toward his target. The pirate fighter tried in vain to evade, but the missile soon found its mark. Through the view screen on his right, the enemy craft burned, spinning for a moment before it exploded.

Austin turned his attention to the other fighter, but Skylar had moved past him, zeroing in for the kill. As he moved in on her wing, he glanced at the sensors for the third pirate who had broken off at the beginning of the engagement. The ship parked behind some of the stray asteroids to avoid detection.

The
AI is awesome
.

"Hurry up and finish him," he said, adjusting his course to stay on Skylar's wing. "We've got a lurker nearby."

"Got it."

Laser fire spit from Skylar's Trident, sending burning flashes across the darkness. Most of the fire found its mark, sizzling on the pirate's rear shields. Austin glanced at his sensors as the pirate's rear shields collapsed.

"Finish him!"

The pirate slowed, escaping Skylar's field of fire. Austin remained farther behind and in a better position to counter the pirate's move. He squeezed the trigger. The fighter exploded instantly, filling his view with a fiery wreck.

"Hey! That was mine!"

Austin shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't want him getting away."

"Next one's mine."

"You got it."

Skylar shot in front of him, her engines at full burn. The last remaining Tyral Pirate headed back into the asteroid field.

"We don't want to lose him in here," Austin said, dipping under a large asteroid. "This thing's dense."

"I know. Never liked 'roids."

Austin couldn't stay too close to Skylar without risking a collision, so he backed off, deciding instead to keep a track on their little friend. The pirate was good, weaving in and out of the asteroids.

Skylar swore. "I can't get a lock. I'm switching back to guns."

She fired into the asteroid field, shattering some rocks. The pirate veered off toward a massive asteroid. They pursued, but the pirate extended the distance.

"We don't want to lose him," Austin said.

"No, really?"

The pirate ducked behind the top side of the asteroid. Ahead of Austin, Skylar adjusted her course to the lower pole, apparently anticipating the pirate would come out the other end. Austin backed off and slowed his engines. After stealing her kill outside of the asteroid field, he better let her have this one or he would never hear the end of it.

The pirate appeared on the top side while Skylar still flew around the lower end.

"He's just come back out the top side. Loop back or he's got you!"

Skylar adjusted course. The pirate was too quick. He bore down on her position, his fighter unleashing a hail of laser fire into her shields.

"Okay," Skylar grunted. "I need your help."

The disgust in her voice made him smile as he threw power into his engines. With his engines powered low, the pirate must not have been able to pick up Austin on his sensors. He achieved lock on the pirate and released a missile.

It ended eight seconds later.

*****

The simulation pod arched open with a hiss as Austin wiped his eyes. The light in the underground recreation room shined bright after the darkness of simulated space.

"Another victory for the Rock," a familiar voice echoed in the room.

Jonathan Nubern stood at the observation post, dozens of small screens flickering behind him. He smiled as he studied Austin.

Ignoring his sore muscles and aching joints, Austin slid his legs out of the cockpit and stood. Even three days after completing the Gauntlet, Austin still struggled with pain from the ordeal.

"I can't believe you took that guy! I had him!" Skylar hurried through the rows of simulation pods and halted as if she hit a wall. She swallowed and looked at Nubern. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know you were there."

"Think nothing of it. A little competition between our students is never a bad thing." He turned to Austin. "May I speak with you a moment, son?"

"Sure." Austin slid off his headset and placed it in the cockpit. "I'll see you later, Sky."

"I've got some more practice to do here." She hurried back to her simulation pod and pulled the door down.

Nubern gave an approving nod. "Glad to see you guys are enjoying the rec room. Wish more of the students would spend some time down here, especially with the semester almost over." He stared off into the distance, his eyes grim, face expressionless. He blinked. "Let's take a walk."

They walked up the stairs and out into the fall sunshine. Austin yanked a half-finished bottle of water from the deep pockets of his Tizona uniform.

"Thirsty?"

Austin took two mouthfuls. "Yes, sir. Been so since the Gauntlet."

Nubern nodded. "You were dehydrated. It happens after an ordeal like that. How is everything else?"

"Still sore all over, but it's getting better. I'll try to restart PT over the break."

"And your classes?"

"I finished my finals. I don't think they were too bad."

Nubern gestured to the path leading back to Terminus and they strolled in silence for a moment. "I wanted to tell you how well you've done. You’re getting better at the simulation."

Austin blinked. "Simulation? Oh, you mean the game?"

Nubern nodded. "Yes, the game. You're discipline has helped you maintain the highest grade point average of the remaining students here, and don't get me started on how well you did with the Gauntlet. Superb."

Blood rushed to Austin's face. "That means a lot."

Nubern grinned. "Even though you were headed the wrong way."

"Even so."

“You lasted longer than any student in years. I've noticed more and more cry for their mothers by the first night. You should be very proud, son. Your mother would be very proud." He glanced back toward the rec room. "I noticed you and Skylar are alright."

Austin shrugged and thought back to the night his Gauntlet test ended, when he thought Skylar was hurt or worse. "I was never mad at her. Chief Sharkey said the hunting parties would try tactics like that; lying and things. I'm not sure I would have lasted much longer, anyway. I was pretty beat."

"Anyone would have been. I guess that is what I wanted to talk about with you. I wanted to make sure you knew how well you did and that you weren't beating yourself up. It was quite a showing and the faculty have been talking about it."

"Thank you, sir." Austin took another sip of his water. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Will I be able to come back next semester?"

Nubern nodded, a grin forming on his slender face. "Most students in your position don't ask a question like that. After the Gauntlet, they want to know its purpose. Why did we do it? What are we supposed to learn from such an exercise? You get the idea. But you want to know if you get to come back for more next semester, huh?"

"It's always been my dream to go to college. Dad said it would give me the ticket to do anything I want in life." Austin looked at the ground.

"You miss him a great deal, don't you? He would have been proud of you, too. Very proud." Nubern cleared his throat. "To answer your question, recruit; yes, you will be here next semester. Actually, Tizona would be honored to have you back. You are a credit to your generation."

Nubern clasped Austin's hand. "You take care, son, and enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

Nubern moved off toward the Terminus Building.  

*****

The sun dipped low behind the trees outside the window in the Terminus computer lab. Austin clicked through his email. The empty room made a stark contrast to the beginning of the semester when students filled the computer stations. Of course, there are only a handful of students remaining. The Gauntlet weeded out a few more. 

In her email, Mom wrote she was happy about him coming home. She had already bought a Christmas tree and decorated the house without him. Thinking of his old room and his house with stockings hanging over a crackling fire was like a dream. It's hard to believe it had been a year since he and Josh talked in the living room about going to college.

The most recent email revealed Josh would not be coming home for Christmas. He said he had another mission trip for his school that would keep him away in South America for a few weeks. Austin sighed.

The last email was from Kadyn. She would be his ride home for Christmas break. Austin still needed to arrange a ride to I-16 to meet her in two days when her finals were finished. She was excited about the chance to catch up and tell him all about life in Savannah. The image flashed in his mind of Kadyn driving home after school, her brown hair flying in the wind.

"Austin?" The voice echoed, bouncing around the high ceilings of Terminus. "Am I bothering you?"

Austin turned. Skylar stood at the edge of the room, her hands clasped in front of her. She carried no bags or books, which looked strange after so many months of endless studying. "Hey, Sky, what's up?"

"Nothing." She stepped in the room as if she might trip over something. Her eyes darted from left to right before coming to rest on her feet.

"You alright?"

Skylar nodded, but then shook her head. Her chin trembled.

Austin logged out of his computer and stood. He stepped toward Skylar and rested his hand on her shoulder. She threw her hands around his neck and pulled him close. Her breath felt hot on his neck.

"I'm sorry about what happened," she whispered, her voice wavering. "I didn't mean to ruin everything."

Austin pulled her forward to face her. Tears wet her checks. Her eyes swelled red. With his thumb, he gently rubbed a tear from her cheek. "What's all this about?"

"They used me to make you fail the Gauntlet."

"So? That's not your fault."

Skylar blinked. "Now we're going back to our old lives. I'm going to Florida and you're going back to Atlanta, and that means we won't see each other until January."

"That's only a few weeks away."

"I guess. I've just gotten used to having you around and, anyway, I didn't want you leaving if you were mad at me."

"None of that was your fault. They got me. I really

thought something was wrong and you were hurt. I wouldn't let that happen."

Skylar's eyes locked with his own. "You wouldn't?"

"Of course not."

She smiled and wiped her face. "I'm so stupid, crying like this."

"No, you're not." He hugged her. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"How are you getting home?"

"My friend, Kadyn, is coming to meet me at the interstate. She's down in Savannah for school. We're meeting the day after tomorrow when her finals are done."

"Oh." Skylar looked out the window. "My parents are coming tomorrow."

"We've got one more night, then."

"Yep."

Austin swallowed hard, fighting a lump in his throat. "Let's go grab some dinner. I haven't heard one way or the other, but I'm pretty sure the mess hall is going to be open during the break for any students staying here."

"Some students can stay here?"

"I think so. I haven't heard anything about the school closing or the day we have to be out of here, have you?"

Skylar blinked. "You know, I haven't. That's weird, I guess."

"Yeah. I didn't know the school stayed open. I had always thought a college campus became like a ghost town over the Christmas break."

"Huh. Could you imagine staying here over Christmas?"

"It'd be really weird."

"Yeah, it would."

A bell rang throughout Terminus.

"Attention, attention," the voice boomed in the hallways. "This is President Pierce. All remaining students will report to my office just after dinner this evening at 7 p.m. This includes David Keller, Patrick Smith, Ashley Miller, Christine Chapman, Doug Gardner, Skylar Kincaid, Austin Stone, Jennifer Melton and Kathryn Connor. That is all."

A screech of feedback blared through the halls before the microphone deactivated.

"What's that about?" Skylar asked.

"We'll find out tonight."

*****

Drying his hair after the hottest shower he could stand, Austin slipped on his cleanest Tizona uniform and checked himself in the mirror. He fixed his hair and brushed lint from the dark blue uniform. It wasn't every day he got invited to the president's office.