The Katapies Experiment; Part 3

Leuko 

     I was up at the crack of dawn, putting on the beige clothes one of our servants had left in my closet and running downstairs. Auris, a kitchen servant I had grown quite fond of, handed me a pastry and a flask of tea. I ate while running to the graveyard, tripping over the long pant sleeves in the bland beige uniform participants had to wear.  

    I stood next to Mom’s grave and concentrated. Barely a second later, a pale, vague figure shrouded in mist was standing next to me. “Mom.” I breathed out in relief and sat down on a nearby bench. 

    “Leuko. The Contest’s today, right? Are you excited?” Mom’s spirit form sat next to me on the bench. 

    “Spirit Summoners haven’t ever won. I think I’ll just do what we talked about before.” I wished I had been born a Shifter instead of a Summoner. Animals appealed to me more than humans ever could. 

    “Leuko, be proud of yourself! I wished I had been an undead Summoner, but what fun would that be? The undead just stand there and look at you. Spirits have personality!” Mom spun upward, colliding into the dawn fog and floating back down. 

    “That’s true, but what good is conversation or personality when it’s life or death? I might die in this, Mom! Your brother Arte: my uncle died in this contest; you should understand.” 

    Just as she was about to respond, my six-year-old sister Maare ran up the hill and jumped on the bench I was sitting on.  

    “What’cha doing, Leuko? Talking to Momma? Can I see?” 

    I quickly waved away Mom’s misty form and shook my head. “Maare, why don’t we go inside? It’s cold.” I took her hand and walked back to the house, where Finis was waiting. 

    “Leuko, I’ve been looking everywhere for Maare- THERE YOU ARE!” Finis scooped up Maare and hugged her. Finis was seventeen, and he took care of everything since Mom died. He even took up a job at the Necron court, setting a record for the youngest one ever to join. 

    “Are you ready for the Contest today? You’ve got to cheer for me, Maarie!” Finis smiled and put her back down. Finis guided Maare to Auris and told me to follow him.  

    “Leuko, are you really okay with competing? I could figure something out with the people at the Necron court; I really think you should stay with Maare.” Finis looked at me, silently pleading for me to stay home. 

    “I want this family to have a lavish life. I mean, we already do, but I don’t want you to work so hard for us anymore.” 

    “Leuko, the promise of a better life isn’t going to happen-” Finis clapped his hands over his mouth and sighed. “I won’t try to convince you further. Just- just stay alive.” Finis walked away, leaving me in one of the house’s polished corridors, confused. 

    What did he mean, it wasn’t going to happen? The Necron Contest took place every twenty years, and the winners lived in the most lavish apartments in the highest towers – it was tradition, almost.  

    Loudspeakers rang throughout the city at noon. “All participants willing to take place in the Necron Contest, please make your way to the stadium.” Finis and I walked in silence to the stadium, joined by other children and hordes of reporters looking for scraps of information. 

    We arrived at the stadium and registered at a small table, pinning our contestant numbers to our uniforms. Nine contestants had signed up, and we were all escorted to a small side room to prepare. I recognized a few familiar faces, but most of them were complete strangers. 

    I stuck to Finis like glue until we were set to enter the arena. I stepped onto the fluffy grass, wincing at the deafeningly loud crowd and swallowing my fear. The contestants stepped onto the platform centered in the middle of the stage and faced the organizer of the Necron contest, Malvada, who was sitting on an elevated platform in front of us. 

    She beamed warmly at us, and adjusted a small microphone hooked to her blouse. “Welcome, people of Necron! Twenty years have passed since the last vicennial Necron Contest, and we have nine more contestants worthy of competing!” She paused to let the crowd cheer, then went on. 

    “As most of you know, the four winning contestants will be treated to a life of luxury, treated with only the best in the city. With that out of the way, let’s begin introducing the participants!”  

    “Over here,” Malvada pointed at me and Finis. “We have the spirit Summoners Leuko and Finis Cruor!” No one clapped. I heard a couple people laughing and jeering that spirit Summoners were even competing, but no applause. Malvada’s sweet smile flickered for just a moment before reasserting itself and moving on.  

    “Next up, we have the Caedence family, Eras, Tempos, and Decessus, who likes to be called Deccie. This family actually has a unique trait to it; while Deccie and Tempos can Summon animals, Eras is able to Summon the dead! Give them a hand, folks!” The clapping and cheering started once again, thundering throughout the giant stadium. Eras and Tempos were stone-faced, while Deccie was blushing and waving at the crowd. 

     Malvada gestured to a pair of twins next. “Here we have Soros and Peros Libitus, two lovely twin ladies who can Summon objects!” The crowd roared louder, as Soros and Peros were beautiful, with flowing golden hair against coffee bean-colored skin. They were surprisingly young, though, eleven at most. 

    “Exan Malis is next! She is remarkably talented; able to Summon other Summoners! It sounds silly, I know, but she is ridiculously powerful. Good luck defeating her!” The spectators somehow cheered even louder than before, as the people of Necron adored powerful people. 

    “Last, but definitely not least, we have my son, Ragnis Flux! He can Summon the dead! Moving on, we should start the contest. This year’s contest brings a new challenge; survive until the hour ends. No individual matches or teams this year, just a big free for all!” 

    “You may notice the amount of nature in this arena. Since a free for all without any shelter would probably be a slaughterhouse, we are providing ample protection for our contestants! We actually just left the arena for nature to take over for the last twenty years.” Malvada chuckled a bit as the audience laughed. 

    “Now, you see those blindfolds in front of you, contestants? Put them on and assistants will guide you to a section of the arena that no one else will occupy, so you all can have a fair start.” I put the blindfold on and was gently herded from behind to a spot of grass that I hoped was secluded. 

    The blaring horn to start meant that we could all take off out blindfolds and start fighting. I ripped off my blindfold and looked around. I was in a small forest, trees and tall grass surrounding me. I breathed a sigh of relief and started hiding myself. Moss, flowers, anything would do. Eventually, I was completely covered by plants and mud, and I started waiting. 

     Malvada commented occasionally over the loudspeakers, saying things like, “Ooh! Exan lands a hit on Deccie... looks like that’s it for her, poor girl. Exan's now going for Peros, and- ooh. Ooh. Nasty hit. Ouch."

    I tried to keep myself conscious, but I guess I just woke up too early and my eyelids were starting to droop. I dreamed of Maare. Cute little Maare, her black hair in two braids, smiling at me with her blue eyes and giggling. It was a good dream.

     Snapping awake, I listened to Malvada’s commentary, which had taken a darker turn. “Exan, responsible for all of the casualties so far, looking for the one last person to kill. Oh my, oh my, oh my. She’s finally using her Summoner abilities! Looks like she’s picked out Leuko!” 

    I had barely enough time to process what was happening when I felt my body start to move. It was about as fast as riding a horse, and I instantly fumbled around with my jacket, looking for the one thing my mother suggested to me. I was close enough to Exan to see the maroon stains on her jacket, and she looked thirsty for more. 

     Exan laughed and glared at me, pulling me closer and closer as I clutched my one advantage close to my chest. She hovered me right above her, grinning as she said, “Any last words?” 

    I gathered up all of my courage and managed to pull off a smirk. “I should be asking you that.” Immediately, I scooped up the tiny bottle in my hand and tipped its contents down my throat. I felt the spirit in the bottle taking over me, making me much more powerful than any spirit Summoner had ever been. 

    White mist circled me, forming claws and scales. Instead of the normal mist spirit Summoners produced, this mist was solid, and enormous. Exan screamed and started to run from my body, now surrounded by a cloud of fog in the shape of a dragon. 

    I had never swallowed a spirit from an animal this big before, only small ones like cats and dogs. I found it surprisingly difficult to control the dragon, but I composed it enough to slay Exan with the careful swipe of a claw.  

    I collapsed back to the ground, gasping and feeling my fingers to make sure they weren’t covered with mist anymore, then looked around as victory horns played. Soros and Ragnis were surrounding me, congratulating me, but the fourth winner was nowhere to be seen.  

     Malvada was shouting into her microphone the winners of the Necron Contest, giggling gleefully and congratulating us for such a well-played game. “Soros, Ragnis, Leuko, and Deccie have won!” Deccie? Didn’t she die in the first couple minutes?  

    I sat up and peered into the distance to try and find Deccie. I eventually saw her running toward us with a bad punch to the face, although the rest of her body seemed fine. Just then, I realized that if only the four of us had won, Finis hadn’t survived. I scrambled to stand up and ran all around the arena, finally coming across his body. 

    I used up my last bit of strength to Summon his spirit and watched as a vague figure rose and looked at me. “Finis.” I wanted to reach out and hug him, but that would make him disappear, so I stayed put. Weakly grinning, I breathed, “I survived, didn’t I? I can make Maare’s life so much better.” 

    Finis, although being an expressionless cloud of mist, still managed to look reluctant and uncomfortable. “Leuko, it’s not going to-” He was quickly waved away by a servant, who grabbed my arm and pulled me over to a small sliding door that led to a carriage. Malvada, Soros, Ragnis, and Deccie were already waiting for me, still wearing the beige uniforms (except Malvada, she was dressed in the same white blouse and orange skirt she had on before). 

    We drove through the city, waving at all of the people parading around us. The crowd scattered soon after that, and as the sun set, the driver started to speed up, blurring the houses around us and passing the tallest tower in Necron. Deccie tried to point out that we weren’t where we were supposed to be, but Malvada shushed her and told the driver to keep going. 

    Finally, we arrived at a forest. The carriage slowed and Malvada ushered us out, guiding us to a small wooden platform. She told us to wait until it was dark enough to see the lights, then follow them. Soros protested, yelling at the top of her lungs until Deccie tapped her shoulder and she stopped. 

     Malvada smiled, not a warm one like when she was running the Contest, but a frigid, icy smile that chilled me to the core. “Children, you aren’t living a life of luxury, and you won’t ever live a life of luxury. You aren’t going to be rewarded for winning the Necron Contest. From now on, you are test subjects in the Katapies Experiment. Have... fun.” Malvada looked at Ragnis with a pained look, then left, leaving us to ponder. 

    Why? Why did the entire city lie to us? Why did Finis lie to me? Why did Malvada lie to Ragnis, her one and only son? As the sun set, we waited at the platform. We were all too shellshocked to go anywhere anyways. 

~~~

Again, I know this story does not fit the prompt, but I hope that's okay. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!!