Authors: Kurt Bartling
Rena pauses,
recognizing
the elevation differences pose a
difficult
challenge, especially considering the height of the pedestal
the tracer illuminat
es
. She knows she only has to get her hand on the top of the pedestal, but just touching the top would likely prevent h
er from moving beyond it. She formulates a plan,
knowing
a mistake
could
result in serious injury
.
Leaping
from the pedestal
,
she
understand
s
she cannot lose
speed
.
Landing
on the first beam with her right foot,
momentum carries
her
forward. Leaping
to the next, landing with her left foot,
she
skip
s
to the
third beam before
continuing on to
the
last
.
B
oth feet
plant on the narrow round beam
,
Rena lets
momentum
propel
her
forward and down,
bend
ing
her knee
s
to
build
power.
Michael
realizes
what she
’s
about to do,
watching
as
her center of gravity
carries
over her legs.
Now crouching, she launches herself like a cat up a tree
, stretching with her arms, bringing her knees up under her.
Without hesitation,
Michael reacts
, moving
so fast
he’s
cover
ed
a third of the distance
across the course
,
between
Takada and
Rena
,
before anyone realizes he’s moved.
Rena’s hands reach the top of the pedestal
,
at the same time her feet
, coiled up under her,
plant on the side.
The tracer disappears.
Hoping
the rubber soles on her booties hold fast to the s
urface, she
simultaneously pulls
hers
elf up with her arms and pushes
off hard with her legs
.
H
er body
propelled
upward and
backward
,
toward the
four
b
eams she just navigated,
h
opeful
she’s gotten enough h
eight
,
intending
to
adjust mid-flight to land safely on
one of the beams.
Immediately
,
sh
e realizes
the
mistake,
unable to
make the adjustment
.
Knowing
she’
ll land on her back across at least one of the beams,
she
closes her eyes.
It happens so f
ast,
prepare
d
for the init
ial pain of
impact
,
she’s
struck
violently
from the side. Her body collapses
in on its
elf to an almost fetal position. T
hen
,
without reason, her momentum changes directio
n,
moving up and away from
the
point of contact
. T
he world lose
s
all
sense of
orientation
, like vertigo
,
and all sense of time.
She feels herself rapidly slow
to a stop, pausing for a mere moment before descending slowly, her back finally coming to rest
on a hard surface. The restraints holding her relax, allowing her
legs
to spra
wl out. Lastly, her
head
is
gently
set
on the floor
.
Rena hears nothing, there’s movement around her; she
can sense it
, but
all is
deafeningly
quiet, then the realization … she’s w
ithout pain,
and she
can still feel her entire body
.
After several moments, h
esitantly, she opens her eyes.
Michael’s face stares
back
, his
eyes
fixed on hers, steel blue and
fearful
.
She
wonders why he looks
so
scared.
His lips are moving.
W
hy can’t she hear him, he’s talking, she
sure
he’s talking. Then an explosion, she blinks, loud noises, chaos.
I
n the distance,
she
hears
it,
her name
,
a
gain
and
again
,
her name, getting louder
.
Michael’s lips move, “Rena…Rena, can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
Instantly her mind clears.
In a
panic,
she reaches up, grabbing behind Michael’s neck,
pulling her
body
to hi
s
,
tight
ening
her embrace around
him
, burying her face into
his shoulder,
closing her eyes. S
haki
ng uncontrollably, tears
stream
down her cheeks
. She doesn’t know how or what happened, but she does know
Michael like
ly
just saved her life.
“Thank you
.
”
S
he whispers.
She hold
s
the embrace,
hiding
until she can
force
composure on herself
.
After a minute,
she relaxes
,
sliding back to the floor.
Looking around,
embarrassment sets in
.
Sensing
the
ma
ny faces looking down at her, s
h
e starts to get up
.
Takada’s face materiali
zes over her
,
opposite Michael’s,
“Rena.
S
tay down. I’ve requested medical.
Lie still un
til th
ey arrive
.”
s
ound
ing
genuinely
concerned.
Medical arrives
within minutes
.
H
elp
ing her to
a
gurney,
Takada speak
s
to the
technicians, giving
di
rections.
They start to wheel
Rena out of the arena
.
Michael moves
to follow
,
but Takada steps in front of him, blocking his way
.
“Michael, s
he’ll be alright …
thanks to you.”
Rena disappears
through
the double doors.
Rena sits on
her
u
ninviting couch,
drinking
tea,
h
er hands still shaking. E
ve
n after taking a showe
r and w
rapped in
her plush
bathrobe
she
still
feels chilled.
The
wall
comput
er chimes
,
followed by
a knock at the door. She doesn’t hear it
unlock, but it opens slightly.
“May I come in?” request
s
Takada
.
Rena’s eyes close. She puts the cup on the table, curling up tighter, tucking her trembling hands into the sleeves of the robe. “Yes” she replies, trying not to sound scared.
Takada walks
into the main living space, scanning
the room
completely
before turning his attention to Rena.
Moving
around the couch, he sits down in one of the uninviting chairs
across from her
. H
e studies
the young woman
for a minute
before leaning
forward
,
inquiring
,
“How do you feel?”
“Scared.
”
S
he
answers
truthfully
.
“Understandable
.
”
He reaches over to the remote on the table. “Do you mind if I show you something?”
H
e
offers,
turn
ing
his attention to the large monitor on the wall.
“Do I have a choice?”
Takada
turns back
,
regarding her
with
curiosity,
a small smile
forming
. It
’s
the first sign of emotion she’s seen him exhibit. He returns hi
s attention to the monitor, blinking
to life.
O
n the screen
,
a s
emi-aerial view of the arena, t
he
vantage point
indicates
a
camera
positioned
in the
balcony
. She immediately identifies
herself on the agility course.
S
tanding on a pedestal,
s
he’s
looking at the tracer illuminating a tall pedestal, separated by
four
beams.
Rena
watches as she leaps, bound
ing
across the beams to
hurl
herself toward the
light
.
Out of the upper right, something
, someone,
explodes into motion
,
the object
mov
ing
incredibly fast
t
oward her
. The figure
traverses the course in a straight line, across
every
obstacle
,
never
changing speed
or direction
.
She
watches
, as she
mount
s
the side of the pedestal
, like a cat jumping to the side of a tree, hesitating for just a moment before launching backward.
Rena
has the sudden ur
ge to look away, but refrains.
On the
screen,
her body
horizontal,
stretched out
like a diver, moves
from left to right. The mass
,
gaining speed, advances
from the upper right diagonally to the lower left
,
on an intercept course
with her
.
The video
plays at
full speed, yet
Michael
seem
s
to be moving two to three times faster than she is. The
n, like a train striking a car,
he
collides with her.
Rena
watches
as
her body collaps
es
into
him,
his arms
wrapping around her. Her
form combines with his, simultaneously changing
direction, continuing on the
same
downward
diagonal trajectory
.
R
eaching the edge of the obstacle course
, he l
eaps
high into the air,
somersaults
and lands
, all the while holding her in his arms.
Takada stops the tape,
r
ewinds it to the beginning,
and
replay
s
it at half speed
. Even at half speed
,
Michael
moves
at a
velocity
that would be fast
,
at normal p
l
ayback.
After watching the second time, he pauses
the
video
, and
turns
from
the monitor.
Considering Rena thoughtfully
, h
e reaches down and
r
etriev
es
the warm
teacup
, offering
it to her
.
“You look chilled
.
”
Accepting it tentatively
, she takes a sip, trying to hold her hands steady.
“Rena, do you have any idea as to what we are looking at her
e
?”
A little surpris
ed by the question, she replies,
“I’m not sure
I understand
what you’re asking, sir
?
”
“You’ve had opportunity to see Michael perform, shall we s
ay
, extraordinary feats, first hand. What
’s
your take on how he does it?”
“
Sir
? …
I’m a little confused.
A
m I in trouble for failing the test
course?”
Takada laughs.
A sincere laugh
that
reassures,
her
fear
begins to
subsid
e
.
“My dear, until today, only one person has ever completed the course
without error
. You outperformed ninety-nine percent of the people attempting it. Rena, you have the grace of a ballet dancer and the courage of a lion. I dare say, even without the memorable conclusion, your performance would have been the subject of much discussion
.
”
She
places her cup back on the table.
“That being said, I find you to be quite astute and would greatly value your opinion on Michael.”
“I
’m sorry
sir. O
f course …
Well …
I
’ve
watched him in the cage fight, in the dinin
g hall, and on the course. I’
ve run all of them over in my head
… and
to be honest,
I haven’t got any clue how he
’s
doing these things.”
Rena answers
truthfully
.
She
knows
Takada is
not only probing for her opinion, but also studying her
, trying
to determine how well she knows Michael, how long they have known each other and the s
tate of their relationship, remembering,
‘You are a
lways under evaluation.
’
Takada considers her for some time. “Rena, it’s probably not going to surprise you
several people here are interested in your relationship with Michael. You two seem to have a
rapport
, we don’t know the nature of
it,
or how long it has existed. We do know you obviously work extremely well together. We want you to continue to work together. We feel
the two of you could make an exemplary team.”
Standing and straightening his clothes
. “With that said, I will leave yo
u. Michael is waiting outside;
I’m sure
concerned
for
your
wellbeing
. I have taken the liberty to reschedule the remainder of the day for both of you. Other than your evening appointment, you two are
free to relax.
P
lease,
g
et to k
now each other. Good day, Rena.”
With that,
Takada leaves her quarters.
A knock at
the door immediately follows.
“Is it alright to come in?”
A welcome voice asks.
“Please.”
Michael
enters
quickly, walking around the couch to face her. He looks down at
the
end
, opposite her.
She nods.
H
e sits
, his agitation and concern visible
.
“Are you okay? … Y
ou scared the hell out of me, everyone. What the hell were you thinking trying that stunt
?
”
his
emotions growing
,
expressed in his tone
.
Her
fierceness returns immediately.
“Excuse me?”
Michael, sensing he crossed the
line,
backpedals
, his voice leveling, becoming softer,
“I’m sorry…
that was a crazy move to try. No one could have pulled that off.
” He hesitates, thoughtful, “
You could have killed yourself.”
“You could have
.
”
“Excuse me?”
“You could have … pulled it off
.
”
“I …
could
… not.”
Rena studies him, trying to gauge his comprehension of what she’d seen him accomplish,
“That’s why Takada came in
here
. He wanted my opinion on how you can do the crazy things
you
do.
So
,
how do you do them?
”
Rena f
orgoes
formality for bluntness
.
“I don’t know
.
I really don’t. I’ve always had really good balance, could do little t
hings, you know
,
physical things;
run, climb, jum
p, nothing bizarre or anything.
The weird things have been increasing lately, since I started fighting. I’m just as surprised and confused as everyone else.
”
Michael pauses to gauge Rena’s reaction.
“
Listen
,
if whatever I’m doing keeps me living …
keeps
you living
…
than I
’ll
take it.”
R
ena’s mood softens. “Thank you …
for keepin’
me living.”
“Anytime
.”
Michael smiles
at her
, “So, are you okay?”
“Y
eah, just a little shaken up …
maybe
,
a lot shaken up.”
“Understandable.”
He
remarks,
scanning
her quarters. “Wow, yours is so, so …
how should I say it
…
exactly th
e same as mine. Nice decorator
, modern
sanitarium.”
Rena laughs
, softly
.