Chapter 38
Our alarms blare simultaneously, and we groan simultaneously.
When we both tap them off, Jacob rolls over to wrap his arm around me.
“One more minute,” he says, nuzzling into me.
I let him. The quiet, sturdy warmth of him grounds me.
It’s still dark out, and I will be back in the room well after dark again.
I want to enjoy this moment while it lasts.
He gives me a lingering kiss before going off to his room to change and get ready for our day.
As predicted, I’m sore but deliciously so.
I’ll take this kind of sore over I-subluxed-my-hip-because-I-rolled-over-weird-in-my-sleep sore every day.
I examine the fingertip-shaped bruises on my hips in the mirror, pressing a finger over each one.
The delightful ache of them is a relief from my normal pain.
The Builder Bay is buzzing with nervous energy when I get down to it. Ava shoves an electrolyte drink with caffeine in my hand before she even says, “Good morning.” Jacob hands me a breakfast sandwich and a painkiller shortly after.
“Everyone ready for today?” I ask as we scarf down our food and look over the bracket sheet we were handed. We have an hour and a half to make any modifications before the fight, and then it’s off to weigh-in and safety checks. Then we’ll fight Blade Roller.
“How strong is their saw?” I ask Jacob, who has fought them before. Blade Roller features a mean spinning saw blade on the front of it.
“We can add another panel over the wheels that should be enough to slow down the saw. The blade itself is powerful, but their weapon motor goes down pretty often.”
“We could extend the wedge in front too. Another layer of the plastic should gum up the blade a bit.”
Ava scratches her head. “Would it work if we applied it in diagonal panels to direct the blade away from your weapon or give it more catch points?”
I beam at her. “That’s a great idea, Ave.”
As we start working, Jacob bumps my shoulder to get my attention. “I’m excited to watch you beat Tom into the dust,” he whispers. I bite my lip to stop laughing as Ava looks on, confused.
In no time, we’re being herded through the entry tunnel. This time, Ava and my dad are by my side as Jacob retreats to the spectator stands.
“Mari Williams is playing by Who Wants To Be A Millionaire rules by phoning a friend. Her family has come down to help her with the Trot. She’s a force to be reckoned with, hot off her win against Glitterbomb.”
Ava has my stool waiting for me as I take my place to start the fight.
I look to the stands and find Jacob glaring at Tom so hard that if there were laser beams in his eyes, Tom would be dust.
“Kick his ass, Mars Bar!” my sister says, shaking my shoulders as the countdown starts.
Tom lands a lucky hit right out of the gate, blade ripping through my top armor but stopped quickly by the extra layer underneath.
He’s faster than I thought, but I’m not giving him a chance to try again.
With my new motors, as long as I pay attention, I can stay ahead of Blade Roller, and I use that to my advantage.
I taunt them, going slow, letting them almost catch up to me, then zooming away.
Tom is getting increasingly frustrated every time I glance over, and I can tell by his driving, too. He’s gunning it instead of going for a steady approach. Perfect time to enact my final plan.
I pause next to a sidewall, right by the seam of the metal panels that border the arena.
Tom comes screaming at me, and I move at the very last second.
His hammer saw comes down to try to catch me and instead wedges tightly in between the panels.
His wheels spin in place as he tries fruitlessly to move.
Now, it’s my turn.
I ram into him as hard as I can from the back, wedging him further and ripping off the back panel of the robot. It flies end over end and lands with a satisfying thud halfway across the arena. I swing around and hit Blade Roller from the side hard enough to bend the blade in the wall.
“TAP OUT!”
“ZetaMax wins!” the commentator roars as Tom’s hand rests on the tap out button. My hands shake around my controller in shock.