It got worse.
Veego said, “Since he won the first game. Challenger Red will be given a ten-click time advantage.” Yay me.
Challenger Green wanted to get going right away. He didn’t like being behind. Without being instructed, he angrily grabbed one of the air globes and stuck his head through the hole. The globe melted and formed around him. My stomach turned. This was wrong. I couldn’t imagine what might happen to a territory if alien minerals were introduced.
“What exactly are we supposed to do?” I asked.
“You don’t know? ” Veego said smugly. “You have to ride a spinney fish.”
I gritted my teeth in anger. Spinney fish were from Cloral too! They were bringing in creatures from other territories! I didn’t want to think what would happen to the habitat of one territory if organisms were introduced from another. This could be an ecological catastrophe in the making.
As for the game, I knew it. Spader called it “Spinney-do.” Remember? The fish were long and thin, like skinny dolphins. You had to sneak up on one, grab the ridges that ran across its back, throw your leg over, and ride the fish like a bucking bronco. The trick was that once you grabbed a spinney, they swelled up like big blow fish, making it that much harder to hang on. The worst part was, I was terrible at Spinney-do.
Challenger Green jumped in the water feet first. There was a big screen on the far side of the tank that allowed us to see him. I figured it was the same image that was being broadcast throughout Quillan. Above the screen was a digital clock showing two zeroes. I watched as Green dove down and swam strongly to the bottom of the tank. There were several spinney fish there, grazing on the bottom. They were big, slow creatures. It wasn’t hard to grab one. The tough part came when they felt threatened.
Challenger Green maneuvered himself around, hovering just above one of the big fish. He got as close as he could without touching it, then quickly grabbed the ridge on its back and clamped his legs around it. The fish instantly blew up to three times its size and started bucking. Green gripped the ridge with both hands. He may not have been agile, but he was strong. As soon as the fish started to move, the clock did too. I didn’t know how long a “click” was-it seemed to be around a second. Green held on with both hands as the clock moved to 5. Then 10. One of Green’s hands flew off, but he held on with the other. He wouldn’t last much longer. Finally, with a quick snap of its back, the fish threw Green off and scooted away. The final time: 22 clicks.
There was no way I could match that.
“What about the penalty?” I asked.
I looked at the clock to see the number 22 disappear. It was replaced by the number 10-my bonus for winning the first contest. Big deal. It didn’t matter. Even with the extra 10 clicks there was no way I Green’s time. But it had been a long time since I’d played Spinney-do. I was a bigger, stronger guy. I had to hope I’d do better.
As Green climbed out of the water, LaBerge handed me an air globe. I put my head through the hole and felt the familiar sensation as the clear helmet molded to me. Challenger Green looked up at his time and punched his fist into the air shouting a jubilant, “Yes!”
I wanted this over as quickly as possible, so without another word I jumped into the water and swam toward the bottom.
Three spinney fish were waiting for me. Such odd creatures. You’d think they’d take off once they sensed someone coming. Maybe they were blind. Or just plain stupid. I didn’t know. All that mattered was that I grab one and stay on for 13 clicks. I picked one that looked to be the smallest of the group and lowered myself toward it. The strange fish had no idea I was there. I took a breath, reached out with both hands, and grabbed the ridge.
It was almost over before it began. The fish moved so fast it nearly yanked itself out of my grip. My left hand flailed in the water. If I didn’t grab on with both hands, fast, I wouldn’t last for 3 clicks, let alone 13.1 was able to bring my left hand down and hold on, just as the fish bloated. It threw my legs out wide, which made it even harder to hang on. It got so fat I had trouble gripping with my legs. I knew this ride wasn’t going to last long. The spinney twisted and bucked, then swam upside down! I was head down, but I wouldn’t let go. When I managed to hang on even though I was upside down, I had a faint glimmer of hope. I knew it wouldn’t be a long trip, but maybe it would be long enough. I only had to hang on for 13 clicks.
The fish spun me upright, then quickly spun back in the other direction. That did it. I had shifted all my weight one way to counter that first twist. As soon as it went the other way, I was gone. With a flap of its tail the fish squirted away from me and shot to the bottom. All that was left was for me to surface and check my time. I was confident. I felt there was a really good chance that I had hung on long enough.
When I surfaced, I saw that my time-including my head start of 10 clicks-was 20. Missed it by 3 clicks, however long that was. As I climbed onto the platform, I imagined the screens all over Quillan flashing: winner-challenger green! What a depressing thought. When I pulled off my globe, I saw that Veego was smiling. She may have said she didn’t care, but she did. She wanted me to lose.
“That’s one event each,” she announced. “There is one more event before the rest period.”
After we took the elevator down and walked a fair distance through the parklike compound, we all stood on the edge of a dense forest of pine trees. There were so many trees, it looked unnatural. The branches began about ten feet off the ground, so I was looking at a sea of tree trunks. From where I stood, there only looked to be a few yards between each of them. The forest looked about a hundred yards wide. I couldn’t tell how deep it was. I figured that was part of the game.
Veego and LaBerge stood with their backs to the trees, facing Challenger Green and me.
LaBerge looked giddy. “This is my favorite game,” he said. “Hidden in this maze of trees are six flags. Three green, three red. The goal is to enter the forest, find each of your flags, and make your way to the far side, where we will be waiting. The first to arrive with all three flags is the winner!”
He clapped his hands and giggled. I couldn’t imagine why this would be his favorite game. There wasn’t much to it. On the other hand, it was another game that Nevva didn’t tell me about. I figured there were hundreds of Quillan games, so there was no way she could have covered them all. I just wished she had guessed right on one of them.
But the game didn’t seem so hard. It was all about finding the flags. They could have been anywhere, so the winner would be the one who was lucky enough to find them. Not a lot of skill involved, or danger for that matter. It all seemed so random, I didn’t think the 10-click advantage would mean anything.
Veego said, “Since Challenger Green won the last contest, he will get a ten-click head start.”
“Everybody ready?” LaBerge asked. “Go on the horn. Challenger Red, wait until we release you.”
The two stepped aside, the horn sounded, and Challenger Green sprinted toward the trees and disappeared.
“This is your favorite game?” I asked LaBerge. “I don’t get it.”
“You will,” he said slyly.
I didn’t like the way he said that.
“Ready, Challenger Red?” Veego asked.
“Just give me the go,” I said.
She counted down for me, “Three, two, one, go!”
Fum!
My left arm went numb. It was like I’d been shot by one of those dado guns, but it only affected my arm. I couldn’t lift it.
“Don’t worry,” Veego said. “The effects are temporary. Try not to get shot in the legs.”