The Games Villains Play (8 page)

The possibility of this happening was not a new idea.  Growing up, Donny had often seen TV specials that speculated on what would happen if the villains attacked the Academy and took it over.  It was considered as if it were an apocalyptic possibility, up there with zombie uprisings and computer warfare.  Donny knew this would not be the apocalypse, not after learning that the villains and the Academy were all one and the same.  The debate he was having was
why
the villains were attacking.  Could they have broken free of the Academy’s control? 
Unlikely,
Donny reasoned,
it’s too convenient for the Academy for that to be the reason. 
Donny hated it, but the more he thought over the situation, the more he realized there was only one logical explanation. 
They had called the villains back to the school.  They called them back in order to somehow regain control over Jay.  And I let him go.  I knew they could
not
be trusted, but I stayed quiet anyway and let my only brother give himself to those who would see him ruined.
  Donny was filled with a great di
sgust,
not f
or the school, but for himself.

After two hours, a long time for Donny despite the fact that he had expected to be waiting much longer, one of the upper level professors who taught only Titan specific classes showed up at the door, mumbled something to the students who were guarding the doorway, and was let in.  His face was a mix of relief
and sadness.

“As I’m sure you all have speculated
,
we have come under attack by a large group of villains.  They were well organized, but the Academy has proven its worth, and the villains have al
l been defeated or driven off.”

A cry rang up from the room.  Cheers and high fives were going around as if they themselves had won the victory.  The only two people who were not cheering were Donny, who
stared unblinking at the professor in the doorway, and that same professor, who stared right back.  The professor did not hide the fact that something was not right, and it amazed Donny that nobody else saw it.  The professor walked right up to Donny, clearly wanting to say
something to him and only him.

“Donny, there is
some
one who would like to see you.”

Donny could feel the discomfort in that statement.  For one thing, the professor knew his name, despite having never met him before.  Then there was the fact that the professor had actually used his name, his
real
name.  It was typical that when a student received a nickname, as they all did, the professors would go along with it as well.  Real names tended to disappear once a hero name were given, and Donny’s new name of Napoleon should surely have been around long enough for it to have reached this professor,
w
ere
he looking for Donny.

Without a word Donny rose off his bed and followed the professor.  They walked for a short while, into a part of the school Donny had never been to.  He was led into an office, where he saw the last person in the world he wanted to see; Captain Williams.  Donny said nothing, just took a seat in the open chair waiting for him.  The professor left, shutting the door behind, leaving the two of them alone together.  For a few moments neither of them said anything.  Donny wanted to leap out of his chair, to scream at him to tell him where his brother is.  He knew this would do nothing except make Captain Williams suspicious of him, and even if this did
not
matter, Donny knew he
could not
trust this ma
n to tell the truth either way.

“Donny, I have to ask you a few questions.  When was the last t
ime you spoke to your brother?”

Donny wanted to retort by asking Captain Williams when the last time
he
spoke to his brother was, but that would be pointless.  Donny would play along for now.  “Just a few hours ago, before the simulation games
practice today for team Jade.”

Donny wanted Captain Williams to ask him about the fact that he was already holding simulation games practices, or the team color choice.  Donny was well aware that Captain Williams would know of these things already, as he had been keeping tabs on Jay, but he nevertheless was hoping Captain Williams would play t
his game with him.  He did not.

“Has he mentioned anything strange or unusual to
you these past couple of days?”

Donny knew this man was not a mind reader, but he felt confident that somewhere nearby he had his spies positioned, listening in for the thoughts that Donny would not say.  Donny decided he would show only the thoughts he wanted to be seen.  This was his ability and he would use it.  “He seemed a little distracted today, but other than that he has said surprisingl
y little to me recently.  Why?”

Captain Williams ignored the last question, and continued with his own interrogation.  “Do you have any suspicions as to hi
s reason for being distracted?”

“Yes.”  Donny was frantically trying to think up a good suspicion to tell.  He knew to say ‘no’ would not have been believable; he either knew or was dying to know, and would therefor
e have given this some thought.

“
What are your suspicions?”

“Well his discomfort seemed to have started at yesterday’s practice, when we boosted his reading ability.  I think he saw something that scared him.  I thi
nk he saw the villains coming.”

Donny hoped that would be sufficient. 
Enough of the truth to be believable, but enough of a lie to cover myself.

“You suspected that?  Eve
n before the villains arrived?”

“No, that is a recent suspicion.  Before that I figured he saw into the mind of his friend Snake, and saw something he didn’t like.”  This was the truth, in part.  Donny had thought that at first, before he
had been told the real reason.

“I see.”  Captain Williams seemed satisfied with this.  Donny could almost feel Captain Williams’ disbelief, but even in his disbelief Captain Williams was content with the answers he received.  In a sudden turn the subject was changed.  “I unfortunately have to give you some sad news.  As you know, your brother was asked to help us in
the battle with the villains.”

Donny said nothing.  There was no use playing dumb, but he refused to acknowledge what he knew eithe
r.  Captain Williams continued.

“Without him the outcome of that battle would have been very different.  Your brother was a hero, and many of the
faculty owe
him their lives, including myself.  It is with great regret that he fell as a casualty during the battle.  They hit us hard in their initial attack, and when we were forced to fall back, your brother refused.  He saw an opening to draw them away from the school, and he took it.  The rest of us turned back to assist him, but by the time we fought our way through to where he was, it was too late.  He fell protecting us all, and if he had
not
done what he did, we would probably still be fighting right now, and there is no telling how many of the faculty would have lost their l
ives trying to do what he did.”

Silence.
  Donny watched Captain Williams, whose face showed a poor attempt at sympathy…no, a wonderful display of his satisfaction hid by a formality of sympathy.  He wanted
Donny to see his real feelings.

“Donald, I
said your brother was killed…”

“I heard you.”

“You do
not
appear very sad about this.”

You shouldn’t be talking about appearances. 
“I’m too shocked to be sad.  I’m in disbelief.”
 

Donny was well aware that he was not displaying shock or disbelief.  He made no attempt to hide his face, which clearly read contempt.  He was struggling to figure out how much of what he heard was a lie and how much was truth.  He knew the villains really attacked, or at least that was the same story they had given Jay, and were telling the rest of the school. 
Could Jay really be dead?

It was clear the conversation was over.  Donny knew this was all part of the drill, that they bring him in, give him the news that his brother was dead, and allow the news to spread
.  “Have my parents been told?”

Captain Williams paused for a moment.  Donny wondered if this was so insignificant to Captain Williams that his mind had already moved on to other things.  He recovered quickly.  “We have someone going to your house now to break the news.  If you would like to have leave to visit your family, that can be arranged.  Unfortunately we cannot permit them to come here.  Despite the situation, the regulations do not permit it, and with this recent attack, we need to hold to t
he regulations more than ever.”

“No, I don’t want leave.  My parents would never allow me back to the Academy if I went, and it’s clear to me that soldiers
are needed now more than ever.”

“I’m sure your parents would under
stand if you wanted to return.”

“I know my parents, if I left, I would never return.” 
Which is exactly what you want.
  You did something to my brother, and I am not going to walk away and let you get away with it. 
“If you don’t min
d, I need some time to myself.”

“Very well.
  If you ever need to talk, I’m sure your professors would be happy to oblige.”

CHAPTER 7

DONNY WAS NOT
just trying to get away from Captain Williams when he said he needed time to himself.  His mind was whirling with all the possible truths that could be hidden behind what he had heard, and he needed time alone to cipher through them.  He knew it would
not
be long before the other students were informed of his brother’s death, and the last thing he wanted was the distraction of sympathy coming at him from every angle.  Donny walked quickly to the dining hall and filled a tray high with a variety of foods.  He
was not
hungry at the moment, but he knew he would be.  Being careful to avoid being seen by anyone who might want to talk, he made his way out of the dining hall, and moved in the direction of the arena.  He passed a janitor’s closet on the way, and decided to grab a trash bag to transfer his food into.  He wanted to avoid suspicion, and leaving the school alone with a tray full of food wou
ld certainly attract attention.

When Donny arrived at the arena, he looped around the long way to get to the storage closet, just in case he had been seen leaving the school and was being watched.  Halfway around
he
changed his thoughts, imagining that he was walking off into the desert.  Instead, he walked around to the storage closet, and climbed up to the catwalk inside the arena.  The lights were off, and he kept them that way.  Donny thought back to when he had been up here only a few hours ago, and remembered a corner of the catwalk which had not been lit up when the lights in the arena were on, due to the catwalk looping around the lights at that spot.  He felt his way along until he reached the
spot he had been searching for.

Now that he was settled, he allowed his thoughts to flow.  With the thoughts, however, came the tears. 
He’s not dead, he can’t be.
  Donny reasoned to himself. 
But even if he is alive, he
can’t be in a good situation right now.
  Donny began to think of all the possible things they could have done to Jay to get him out of the way.  Unfortunately, the most logical explanation for Jay’s disappearance was death. 
No, they wouldn’t do that.
  Donny felt confident that they would
not
, not because they valued his life, but because of what Jay was.  Jay was the first person to ever achieve multiple abilities, and he had all three.  Jay was one of a kind, and Donny knew those who were running the heroes versus villains scam would be too power hungry to si
mply waste something like that.

Or so he hoped.  The more he thought about it, the more he realized how little information he had about those who were running this operation.  They could be power hungry and curious, as Donny had assumed, but they could also be afraid of Jay, such that they would rather do away with the threat immediately.  Donny made his assumptions based on what he had seen of Captain Williams, but he did
not
know if Captain Williams was running everything, or was just the highest rank that was still low enough to need a public face.  Donny felt confident that Captain Williams would not have made the call to kill Jay, and he would think there would have been some hint of genuine disappointment when talking about Jay’s death if Jay had really been killed against Captain Williams’ wishes, but it was possible that Captain Williams had purposefully shown
no emotion to throw Donny off.

No, that can’t be
it, that
would be assuming they think I’m a threat.
  Even though Donny had been accepted to the school supposedly due to his strategic ability, he knew that was just a front.  He knew now that they just wanted him in the hopes that it would make it easier to control Jay. 
Maybe that’s still their
plan,
maybe they are still hoping to control Jay through me.
  It was more a wish than anything.  Donny wanted them to target him, at least then he could be fighting along with his brother, instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching. 

Donny continued to think everything over for hours.  He had plenty of food, so he could be there for days if he needed to.  He doubted he would really need days on his own, but he wanted to be prepared. 
I wonder if they’ll send out a search party, or if they’ll just assumed I ran off into the desert in pursuit of the villains they claim killed by brother.
  The thought came as a joke to
himself
, but he
could not
shake the desire to do just that, run after the villains, and either fight them himself or try to shake them out of the school’s control.  Such an attempt would be futile, he knew,
but the desire still lingered.

Finally, long after Donny lost track of the time, he heard the door to the arena open.  He looked over, and could tell dawn was breaking outside.  He was surprised to see a single silhouette in the light; he could not make out who it was.  He was even more surprised when the person stepped into the arena and shut the door without turning on the lights.  When Donny heard the door open he had assumed it would be the search party out to find him, but now he was not so sure. 
If they were looking for me, surely they w
ould have turned on the lights.

Donny listened as he heard things being moved around underneath him.  They were not heavy objects, at least not heavy enough for the mystery visitor to pick up.  The visitor surely
was not
a Titan either, as that much could be deduced from the silhouette.  Donny waited, straining his ears to catch any clue of who that was or what they were doing.  His efforts were in vain, because the noise soon ended, and a moment later Donny found himself now straining his eyes, as a small flickering light had appeared down below.  The light was a small flame, probably from a match or lighter, and it caught hold of something flammable on the ground.  The fire spread quickly, but Donny was not watching it.  Instead he was trying desperately to catch sight of the visitor, who was now walking away from the growing flames.  The visitor walked over to the door, opened it, and walked out.  Donny was never able to identify them.

Donny’s disappointment quickly left as his eyes now moved down to see the flames below.  They were not out of control; on the contrary, they were under complete control and had stopped spreading as soon as the flames covered their intended space.  The flames spelled out words, written in crooked writing, with lines between the words in order for the flames to spread.  What Donny saw answered many questions, but gave r
ise to many more.

             
He is alive and safe      Keep learning       I will be in touch

NO SEARCH PARTY
had ever been sent to look for Donny.  When he arrived back at the school that morning, just in time to go to his first class, nobody seemed surprised to see him.  It appeared that his one night disappearing act had not caught any attention at all.  What he did find back at the school was sadness and sympathy.  Word had clearly spread that Jay had been killed in battle, and as Donny walked through the halls all conversations fell silent while he passed, so the students could direct their attention to giving him sad looks.  Donny did his best
to feign grief as he walked by.

All his classes began the same way, with a moment of silence ‘in honor of one of the greatest heroes this school has ever seen.’  Donny wondered if his professors really believed what they were saying. 
Do they know what this school is really about, or are they being kept in the dark too?  When they say greatest, do they mean it, or do they really mean ‘most
dangerous’?
  Donny was usually good at reading people, but right at this moment there was too much to consider
to come
to a conclusion on who
se side the professors were on.

The hardest part of the day for Donny was that evening, when a memorial was held for Jay.  He believed that the mysterious visitor that morning had told the truth, and that Jay was not actually dead, but there was so much genuine grief in the room that Donny could not help but tear up.  The worst of all came when he caught sight of Michael and
Zahrah
.  Despite being Jay’s two closest friends, they sat in the back of the big room designated for the event. 
Zahrah’s
face was buried in her hands, and there was very little movement from her other than the occasional flinch that accompanied a sob.  Michael sat next to her, but looked like he was far away.  He appeared as if he were searching for something, even though his eyes never moved.  Michael’s expression was curious; from time to time his eyes would widen, as if he found what he was looking for, but it would quickly be lost, and he wou
ld return to his silent search.

Donny turned back around to face the speaker.  Very few of the faculty really knew Jay, so the speakers were just his three professors from the previous year.  Each talk was essentially the same; they said flattering things about Jay, told a story about something amazing he did in their class, acted as if he were their favorite student, and finished with a cookie cutter statement such as “he will surely be missed” or “he will never be forgotten.”  Donny hated to sit through this.  He looked around, wondering how many truly knew Jay, or even had met him before.  Then he turned to look at
Zahrah
and Michael again, but only found
Zahrah
there. 
Where’s Michael?
  Donny glanced about, but it was clear that Michael had left at some point during the talks.
 

A reception followed the talks, but Donny did not wait around.  He made his way out the closest door, ignoring the people who motioned to talk to him along the way. 
They’re just trying to be sympathetic anyway. 
He walked quickly at first,
then
began to run.  He had to find
Michael.  Donny did
not
know why Michael left, but he probably still thought Jay was dead.  Michael would not leave a memorial for his best friend without a very good reason, and Donny was afraid that “good reason
” might not be a justified one.

Donny turned the corner towards the dorm rooms and nearly collided with Michael, who was walking quickl
y as well with a full backpack.

“Where are you going?”  Donny asked, trying to hide his worry, but a
nxious to know
what was
going on.

“I can’t stay
,”
Michael said, movin
g as if to continue on his way.

“Yes, you can.”

“Look, Donny, I’m sorry.  I knew him a year and a half, and you’ve known him your whole life.  This has to be hard for
you too.  I just…I need proof.”

“Why? 
How?”
  Donny was frantically trying to think of a way to stop Michael.  If he became a threat to the school, he does
not
have any special ability worth keeping around.  They could dispose o
f him without a second thought.

“I don’t know, closure maybe. 
Maybe a little doubt.
  I asked as many professors as I could find how he died, but none of them actually saw him fall.  I asked what happened to his body, and I’ve received different answers.  Some say it was taken by the villains, some say it got buried by a sand storm and was lost in the desert…their answers aren’t consistent. 
I just need to see for myself.”

“They said it was taken by the villains, and you want to see for yourself?  Are you
planning to chase after them?”

“No…I don’t know, I just feel like I need to go out ther
e and see…see what I can find.”

“Michael, there’s nothing worth finding.”

“How do you know?”

“Because…because I saw the body.”  Donny hated to lie, but he
could not
think of any o
ther way to keep Michael there.

“What?
When?”

“They came to my dorm room right after the battle.  They brought me in to tell me first, and I asked to see him.  They reluctantly agreed.  After, I asked that they mail the body home immediately, and pretend that it was lost somehow.  I didn’t want anyone trying to get his body to run tests on or anything.”  Donny almost hated
how easily the lie flowed out.

Donny did not like the confused, determined look Michael had when they first began their conversation, but the distress that fell over Michael now was no better.  It looked like a giant weight was just placed down on Michael, and
Donny knew he had put it there.

“I think I might be losing it then.  I’ve been feeling like Jay’s calling out to me in my head.  It started before I heard about…what happened. 
Shortly before.
  It’s crazy, I know.  It’s not possible for him to call out.  Mind reading is a one way conversation, even if he
were
around and able to connect to me, he’d only be able to read my mind, not call out t
o me.  But still…I don’t know.”

“It’s not always a one way conversation
,”
Donny replied.  He could see how this was tearing Michael apart.  “For the two of you, it has been a two way conversation for over a year now.  You were both open to each other all the time, and I’m sure the separation is difficult.  It makes sense for your mind to h
ave difficulty letting him go.”