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Chapter Twelve: Voss
A lot can change in a few days. Ley had lost her first match but her face had been plastered on every screen in the Station since. Now, as they made their way to watch the second round, people were scrambling to catch a glimpse of her in the flesh.
They could’ve easily taken a more private entrance but Voss had other ideas.
He wanted to make a scene.
He guided Ley through the front entrance. Shielding her from the flashing cameras with his right arm while making sure that they captured his best side.
It was all part of the show.
They made their way to their seats in the stands, declining requests for autographs and photos. Let them take their pictures from afar, thought Voss. It was more mysterious to have her appear in the background of a forbidden snap than to have the people form a line for a selfie.
The games were constantly being played even if Ley wasn’t on the stadium floor. She may have lost her first match, but Voss wasn’t going to give up yet.
Let them beg for a moment all they want. She wasn’t going to give them a second of her time until her final victory lap.
‘Why aren’t we in the box with everyone else?’
‘Because up there you don’t get a feel for what’s really happening. You hear the squabbling of sponsors instead of the crowd. And what they’re saying is just as important as the game itself. There’s no game if there’s no audience.’
Voss points across the floor to a couple that are already wearing scarves in blazing blue.
‘See that? That’s Ellis’ merch.’
‘But he’s not even playing today.’
‘Doesn’t matter - a fans a fan,’ says Voss.
‘What are my colours?’
‘Red. Pangere’s colours are always red.’ He watches Ley searching for any signs of red and saves her the trouble. ’You need fans first, kid. People may want your picture but doesn’t make them exactly convinced by your last performance.’ Ley slumps in her seat. ‘Cheer up! Soon you’ll be looking out to a sea of red. Trust me.’
Ley turns back to the crowd, her eyes flitting between the groups of people as they talk amongst themselves. When she finds a pair of girls laughing in her direction, she stiffens.
‘They’re laughing at me,’ she says. Voss follows her gaze and sees the two girls, barely older than Ley herself. There’s no denying that they were talking about her. One of them mimics her fall causing the second to burst out into cackles.
‘Who cares,’ says Voss. But Ley can’t tear her eyes away from them and when they notice her watching they start to mimic her stare, causing another round of laughter between them. ’Hey - look at me.’ Ley drags her gaze to Voss. ‘You’re not going to convince anyone by staring at them. Prove them wrong on the ground. Now sit up straight, and watch what we came for.’
She set her sights on the stadium floor with a sigh. He knew that she was just a kid but he’d never known her to be so affected by something as pointless as other people’s opinions. They weren’t there to be twisted by the feelings of an audience. They were there to manipulate them. Where was the girl that tricked him at his own game on his home turf?
She reminded him too much of Tessa and all her feelings about the world. It was never something that he could wrap his head around. He only cared about the opinions of people he could name. And even then, only the ones of those he liked. The list was short but manageable.
No one would catch him sulking about the laughter of strangers.
But it was hard to ignore them and she seemed to shrink at the sound of them. He leaned in to whisper to her:
‘Cheer up, kid, we’ll make a champion of you yet.’
His words broke the limp hold that they had over her and she straightened ever so slightly in her seat.
‘That’s it - eye’s on the prize.’
‘And what exactly should I be watching?’ Says Ley as the doors open and Ellah and Jax walk onto the stadium floor.
‘Well, my money's on Ellah to win,’ says Voss. ‘So watch that Jax kid - you’ll be fighting him next.’
‘How can you be sure?’ Says Ley.
‘Shhh. It’s starting.’ The countdown begins and Voss falls into focus. The crowd around him disappears as he leans forward, his vision narrowing to the two opponents. As the match begins he feels Ley leaning in close. He keeps his voice low, suddenly aware of the people around him who can overhear. ‘See you always have to make a choice. Boundary or knock out. There’s no point going for both. Watch.’
The floor is peppered with weapons for the opponents to use - an opportunity that Ley had never had a chance to take advantage of. It’s not the intention of the Games to be lethal, but the threat of violence made for great entertainment. There’s everything from spears and knives in one section to rubber balls piled in another. It was risky to use a dangerous weapon this early on in the Games. You can’t be sure how strong your opponent is or how quickly your weapon can be used against you.
The match has barely begun before Ellah takes a harmless ball from the pile with her mind. If it was thrown, it would have barely made an impact. But at the speed Ellah is sending them with her TK, they’d break bone.
She’s barely taken hold of the ball before she sends it flying towards Jax, forcing him to dive off his starting mark for cover. The crowd grimaces as it smashes into the wall behind him.
‘She’s going for knockout,’ says Voss. ‘It’s all offence. Which is easier if you’re stronger but easy to dodge too.’ As Jax hits the ground, he rolls along the floor and springs up to his feet. Ellah sends another ball soaring in his direction and this time he catches it with his mind and sends it flying back.
‘But he’s attacking too,’ says Ley.
‘Nah, look at his aim - it’s all over the place,’ says Voss. ‘He’s just trying to get close enough to push her over the line.’ They quickly fall into a rhythm. Ellah sends a ball towards Jax and he sends it back. Ellah has barely left her starting mark but with each throw Jax pushes forward. He creeps closer to her as she sends weapon after after weapon in his direction.
‘If you know everything,’ says Ley. ‘Why are we here?’ Voss points to the timer on the screen above the stands.
‘Wait for it.’
The match has been running for nearly minute. With fifty seconds on the clock, an audible clunk sounds throughout the stadium. A shifting of gears settling into place. Ellah hears it and realises how close she is to both Jax and the boundary line. She sprints forward, suddenly desperate to put as much distance as she can between them.
Jax runs after her, closing the gap. He’s determined to end the match before the mechanism that’s now rumbling through the crowd takes shape.
Voss can barely contain his excitement as he watches the clock:
‘Three… two…one.’
There’s a second siren as a minute passes, marking the change in the stadium, and then the floor starts to split. Voss can feel the vibrations moving up through the stands as each segment of the floor begins to move. There’s no predicting which part will go where as they start rotating in different directions.
The crowd goes wild.
‘Now we're talking!’ Cries Voss as Ellah finds her feet with ease. She makes note of where Jax is behind her before diving for a part of the floor that starts to rise in the air, away from her opponent.
Jax struggles to keep up and as he races forward to try and catch her, the floor beneath him rolls up and kicks him into the air and across the boundary line.
The siren sounds again and the match is over. Voss joins the screaming chorus of the crowd with his applause before he turns to Ley:
‘Now, that is what we came to see.’
The whole team gather around the table, another feast in front of them sitting untouched as Voss replays the match. He deftly points out Jax’s weaknesses as it plays. When he gets to the moving floor, he pauses the video and jumps to his feet to show the quiet of the crowd in the moments before. He knows that he’s losing his audience but what does it matter? They have to wait to hear what he has to say:
‘Then we heard it,’ he starts. ‘You can tell they made the mechanics loud to build suspense, maybe give the players enough time to think, but once it was going there was no stopping it. The floor changed. The stadium suddenly became an obstacle course of different heights and shapes. All of it moving seamlessly while the two of them scrambled to stay on their feet. Then it came at Jax like a wave and he was flown across the boundary.’
‘It wasn’t Ellah?’ Says Tessa.
‘Nope - which is great for us, hey! What’s more embarrassing than being pushed by air? Being thrown by the bloody floor.’ Voss falls back into his seat, laughing at his own joke.
‘A moving floor,’ muses Tessa. ‘Next year they’ll make it that you have to fight on fire.’
‘Any ideas what they’re going to let out at the Stadium?’ Asks Voss as Avery turns her attention to the food.
‘Well,’ says Avery. ‘Ley didn’t make it long enough to see the floors move. So let’s just worry about one thing at a time. What’s our strategy?’
‘Boundary,’ says Voss.
‘Knockout,’ says Ley.
‘You can’t go knockout,’ says Voss.
‘Why not?’ Says Ley. ‘I can do it easily. I want it to be over faster than I hit the ground.’ Voss scoffs.
‘I think she’s right,’ says Tessa. ‘She should play to her strengths.’
‘No,’ Says Voss. ’So far, everyone thinks Ley is weak. But we should use that to our advantage. For now, go for boundary. Push him over the line with your hands if you have to. Just no shows of strength.’
‘But it would be so easy,’ pleads Ley.
‘Agreed,’ says Tessa.
‘We’re never going to get a chance like this again - we should play to what they’ve already seen - ’
‘Enough,’ says Avery. ‘Voss is right. We go for boundary.’
‘Yes!’ Says Voss, clapping his hands together. ‘Did you hear that, Kid? Boundary.’ Ley slumps back into her chair.
‘Fine,’ says Ley. ‘Boundary.’
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