Freeze

Spoiler Alert! This short story contains minor spoilers for The Apex Cycle: BETA.

“You’ve beat Sergio before,” Wesley said. “You’ll be fine.”

“I only had to outlast his cold for two minutes last time!” 

I looked back at the college student sitting at the opposite end of the pool. A thin layer of ice radiated on the water’s surface around him. He smiled back, fixing the bun on his head, and seemed to look at me with just his left eye.

“Two minutes?” I asked. “Was your Final Trial against him?”

DELTA Chapter 3

Naomi’s knight was in the perfect spot to take her mother’s rook and when it did, she’d only be two moves away from Checkmate. All that was left to do was watch her mother take the bait Naomi had left in the middle of the board: her pearlescent queen, ripe for the reaping. A sacrifice that would ensure Naomi’s first real victory against her mom. Naomi may have been the first ever fourth grader to become captain of her elementary school’s chess team, but her mother remained her one adversary she’d never truly defeated.

Her mother sighed and flicked a loose curl from her face. A crash issued from the adjacent room and Naomi’s sister Joni screeched at their brother Will, but the Bradford matriarch didn’t pay her younger children attention. 

“You meant it when you said you didn’t want me to let you win?” A coy smile dimpled her cheek. Yes. Naomi had her.

“Uh-huh!” Naomi insisted. “I want to win for real this time!” 

And I’m going to!

“Then you should keep your emotions closer to your chest.”

Her mother’s queen took Naomi’s knight and Naomi watched in horror as it was added to the neat row of white pieces her mother had already collected from her.

“But—but my queen! She’s right there!”

Mrs. Bradford laughed kindly.

“It was a very good ploy!” she admitted. “But you know I always know when you’ve got something up your sleeve.”

Naomi screwed her face up at her mother.

“Just because I said not to let me win doesn’t mean you get to use your super powers against me!” Naomi switched into Plan B, taking the rook that had just claimed her precious knight. 

“You know I can’t help it.” Mrs. Bradford slid her rook down the board. “And that’s Checkmate.”

Naomi’s shoulders slumped, but only for a moment before she was resetting the board. Joni shrieked again down the hall and Will laughed maniacally.

“What do you mean keep my emotions closer to my chest?” Naomi asked. She’d win this time for sure.

“Keep them in check and your enemy can’t use them against you,” her mother shrugged. “When you let your opponent know what you’re feeling, you hand them a weapon.”

Naomi studied the board for a moment, mulling over her mother’s advice.

“I don’t understand,” she admitted. 

“You will someday,” Mrs. Bradford promised.

“If I get powers like you, you mean?” 

Mrs. Bradford smiled sadly at the board.

“Whether you get these powers or not, you’ll get it.” She leaned back in her chair. “White moves first, love.”

Naomi slid a middle pawn out two spaces and crossed her arms. Her mother was being cryptic on purpose to get under her skin, she was sure of it. But that wouldn’t stop Naomi. No, she’d make this round the first time she ever beat her mom at chess.

“Don’t let me win,” she insisted. 

“Never,” her mother promised, sending a pawn out to meet Naomi’s.

Naomi didn’t like her odds as she watched Sergio adjust the strap of his eyepatch across the ring, she had half a mind to walk out. His confidence washed over her in nauseating waves and it was difficult to distinguish her own nerves from the pity of the students in the bleachers. It was a wonder she could feel anything at all, though, as Remi’s despair and embarrassment seeped in from the outside hall. 

To make Apex Team, the freshman each needed to last two minutes in the ring against an upperclassman and Remi had made a valiant effort against her Senior opponent. Her approach had been unconventional and she’d turned her computer-interfacing skills on the large digital countdown clock that overlooked the ring instead of the kid tasked with taking her down within the allotted time-limit. Unfortunately, her plan to win via loophole was quickly dashed by a well-aimed blow to her back, knocking her and any future she’d hoped for with Apex Team to the mat. 

At least Remi had bought Naomi a few extra minutes before her own Trial. The digital clock she’d tampered with was now frozen and Fleming, the team faculty member, worked on fixing it before the Trials could continue. Naomi used the extra time to search for Wesley in the bleachers. Despite having passed his Final Trial effortlessly, a cloud of guilt and apprehension that was distinctly his wafted around the room, but he must’ve been out in the hall consoling Remi. The knot in Naomi’s stomach tightened.

“Hey, Bradford!” Andersen sidled up to the low barrier that surrounded the ring, reeking of misplaced confidence and relief at having already passed his trial. “I’ve got a question about your roommate. Her name is Jamie, right? She’s cute.”

Naomi scowled and tried to focus on winding her wrist wraps around her hands.

“I’m a little busy.” A fresh wave of Remi’s anguish rocked her stomach, further unsettling Naomi’s nerves. If she didn’t make the team, how was she supposed to learn to control her powers? And if she never learned to control her powers, she’d never be able to get within a two mile radius of her mother ever again because of the effect they had on each other. And if she was never going to feel her mother’s arms pull her into a bear hug again? Her fingers shook, making her work with the wraps difficult.

“I figured this was my last chance to catch you in a good mood.” Andersen reached for the wrist wraps, taking over for Naomi’s quaking hands. His words, while blunt, were accompanied by an earnestness that soothed the raging emotions in Naomi’s head. In the month she’d known him, she’d learned Andersen was a jerk, but oftentimes, his disregard for other people seemed to stem more from lack of self-awareness rather than malice. “I heard Sergio is going for the hat trick so better to ask now instead after he’s pummeled you.”

“Hat trick? Like in hockey?” Naomi whipped her head around to watch Sergio stretch across the ring. His shoulder length hair was pulled into a half-bun and he grinned at his friends in the stands. His friend had been the one to dash Remi’s chances at team membership. The competitive determination that surrounded Sergio told Naomi he saw that as a direct challenge to do the same to her. 

“It’s when a senior goes three-for-three in Final Trials, beating incoming freshmen every year,” Andersen explained darkly. “Apparently Paragon was the last person to get one back when he was a senior.”

“That’s not true.”

Naomi and Andersen spun to look at Fleming where he adjusted the digital wall clock. He pushed his glasses up his nose with one hand while his other twisted a screwdriver. Irritation rolled off him in waves, though Naomi detected a hint of bitter pride in the wash. She clung to it, as if to make it her own. 

“Who’s gotten one since Paragon?” Naomi asked. Fleming cast her a sideways glance and though he kept his irritated scowl firmly in place, his pride strengthened.

“No one, but Paragon didn’t get a hat trick, either. He was beat one year.”

Andersen grunted as he finished off the wrist wrap on Naomi’s other hand. 

“If that’s true, where’s their statue?”

The digital clock let out a shrill screech and Fleming pocketed the screwdriver as red digits glowed bright on the screen.

“Back to the stands, Andersen. Naomi, you ready?”

She choked on her “yessir” and settled for a meek nod.

“I heard when Sergio fought Erik Hart in the Final Trial last year, he gave him frostbite so bad that he lost two fingers,” Andersen said as he slipped away.

“That’s not true!” Naomi yelped. “I have math with Erik and last I checked, he has all ten fingers!”

“Maybe it was toes, then?” Andersen shrugged and Fleming shooed him back to the bleachers where the rest of the team waited.

The shared apprehension of the room mounted. No one wanted to see a display like Remi’s again, but the hurricane of pity and nerves that swirled around inside Naomi confirmed that they all believed what she already knew: her powers were just as useless in a fight as Remi’s had been.

They might’ve been even worse equipped. Remi at least had a chance tampering with the timer. Naomi, meanwhile, would not only feel her own embarrassment when Sergio inevitably rocked her into the mat, she’d feel every single team member’s secondhand embarrassment on her behalf.

“Everyone ready?” Fleming called, back in his spot on the bleachers. The door behind Naomi opened and Wesley’s apprehension grew stronger. In the corner of her eye, she saw him rush to take a seat next to the other freshman and give her a thumbs-up. “Two minutes on the clock.”

The countdown lit up in ruby numbers and Sergio sauntered forward, reeking of over-confidence. Naomi realized she’d never actually seen Erik Hart’s feet. For all she knew, Andersen might’ve been right about the toe frostbite. 

She curled her own toes in her sneakers and the digital countdown began, shifting from 2:00 to 1:59. 

She only needed to last another 119 seconds. Easy.

“Hat trick!” one of the seniors jeered and Sergio’s grin widened.

“I’ll let you pick, Bradford,” he said, extending his hands to either side. “Hot or cold?”

Naomi gulped and readied her fists for a fight. Sergio threw his head back and laughed and there, drowning in his sea of self-assured swagger, she felt the smallest twinge of doubt, a tiny kernel of fear that he’d choke on his perfect record. 

Ever since her powers had manifested almost a year ago, Naomi had quickly learned that no one was ever as confident as they acted. Not even Sergio. She may have had more to lose than him, but his pride was on the line and that was enough to make him nervous. 

“No preference?” The eyebrow over his eye-patch hitched upwards when Naomi didn’t reply. “That’s fine by me.”

“Sergio—” Fleming tried to warn.

“Fun fact!” Sergio pointed at the ceiling. “Emergency fire sprinklers are heat sensitive!” 

Naomi looked up just as the sprinklers burst. Water broke across her face, freezing in place. Sergio laughed as he turned half of the water to heated steam that filled the room and froze the other half, coating the ring in a slick layer of ice. The steam hid Sergio from view, but Naomi could still feel his presence at the vertex of his pride and nerves. 

“Come on, Silva, why so flashy?” Sergio’s friend called from the stands. “Compensating?”

Sergio’s anger spiked for just a moment, and as it did, Naomi’s feet froze in place. She doubled over and beat her fists against the ice that covered her shoes, but quickly stood up when it started to creep to her fingers.

“Nah, no way he gets the hat trick,” another senior snorted. Sergio’s frustration increased, and with it, the temperature of the room dropped again. Water continued to pour from the ceiling, adding fuel to Sergio’s onslaught. More steam hid the room, until Naomi was alone in the cloud, watching tendrils of ice creep up and over her ankles.

And then—

An idea.

It was maybe a little underhanded and definitely inspired by blunt, rude Andersen, and for it to work, she was going to have to make Sergio much angrier. Lucky for her, Sergio didn’t keep his emotions close to his chest. Her empath powers may have looked like a non-threat, but Sergio had handed her a powerful weapon. 

“I mean, sure, it’ll technically be a hat t-trick.” Naomi rubbed her hands together, trying to will warmth back into her fingertips as a spike of annoyed curiosity pulled at her from Sergio’s direction.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sergio called. He tried to sound tough and intimidating but Naomi felt his confidence waver. She grinned.

“Nothing much. I asked Erik Hart about his Final Trial against you last  year.”

Sergio laughed, but the booming sound couldn’t cover the stench of his shaken confidence. 

“Erik Hart was crying by the end of that match, just like you’re gonna be.”

The temperature continued to drop and ice crawled up Naomi’s leg, locking her ankles in place, and then her knees. She gave her confines a test wiggle but she was properly stuck. 

Good. 

“He t-told me he didn’t want to be on the team,” Naomi lied through chattering teeth. “He was going to drop out of the t-trials all together, but then he was p-put up against you and he thought, ‘What the hell? M-might as well give Sergio a win for once’.”

“He did not!” Sergio’s embarrassment swirled with the steam, seeming to dissipate it as Sergio’s growing frustration manifested as more ice. He may have been powerful, but he lacked control and focus.“I won that match fair and square!”

“Sure you did,” Naomi insisted. Frost clung to her face and she breathed into her hands. “Same way my mom would let me win fair and square when I could never beat her at board games as a little kid.”

It was cold. Bone chilling cold. Cold like Naomi couldn’t believe was possible and the more she shook Sergio’s confidence, the more desperate he became and the further his ice crept up her torso, unfettered by the steam.

But she only needed to last the full two minutes and while the digital clock had been reduced to a dull red glow in the haze, Naomi knew time had to be running short.

Which meant, of course, that Sergio was about to get desperate, a hunch confirmed by the rapidly thickening ice that constricted Naomi’s chest.

“Take her out, Silva!” one of Sergio’s friends jeered.

“Does it count as a hat trick, though, since Erik let you win?” Steam consolidated around her neck, turning to ice and numbing her face.

“Why would Erik think I needed a win?” Sergio demanded, all of his confidence gone, replaced by the desperate need to prove himself. “I’m the strongest person this team has seen since Paragon!”

“Right, right. That’s why Fleming made you captain. Oh!” She feigned embarrassed surprise. “That’s right. Fleming chose a junior to be captain instead of you.”

There it was. Sergio’s greatest insecurity, vulnerable and exposed and ready for exploitation.

The last wisps of steam crystalized into ice that hung in the air and Sergio charged, his otherwise handsome face contorted with anger. Naomi braced herself for the hit, though that quickly proved to not be necessary.

Sergio’s hand cracked against the ice that encased Naomi and he screamed in pain as his knuckles splintered. He fell to his knees and if it weren’t for the ice holding her upright, Naomi might have joined him, overwhelmed by the pained panic that washed over her off of Sergio. 

The buzzer went off with ten seconds still on the clock. She’d taken Sergio down without dealing a single blow. 

Naomi was still shivering, even after a steaming shower, but made sure to check in on Sergio and his broken hand in the Sickbay after the trials to make sure there were no hard feelings between them. His ego was bruised, Naomi could feel, but despite being a fairly arrogant person, there was a small sliver of admiration and pride there, too.

After promising him that she’d lied about Erik letting him win, Sergio seemed to be in good enough spirits for her to take her leave and she caught a glimpse of Andersen’s backpack as he slipped out into the hall.

“Andersen!” He looked back at her in surprise and he scowled suspiciously at the small paper slip she waved in his face. “I’ve got something for you!”

He took the paper and scanned the digits she’d scribbled there.

“Is this…?”

“It’s Jamie’s number. My roommate?” Naomi reminded him. She slipped past him, beating him to the stairs. “Just be careful, alright? She hates Apex!” 

“Who are you, my mom?” Andersen sneered, but Naomi felt the gratitude that blossomed in his chest as if it were her own. 

She’d made the team. She’d defeated Sergio. She pulled out her phone and hit redial on the last number she’d called.

“How’d it go? Tell me everything.” 

Naomi smiled at her mother’s voice. Maybe someday she'd hear it in person again. 

“I won!”

“Of course you did!” Mrs. Bradford beamed on the other line. “You're on the team! Now what?”

Naomi set her jaw and pushed her way through the back school doors into the crisp October night. 

“Now I find a way to control our powers. I promise you, Mom, I’ll find a way for us to be together as a family again.”