Souxie Lafayette #4
“Ladies, shifters, gentlemen and others!” A male voice called out through the speakers.
“You’re not seeing things and it’s not magic brought to you by the games!
You are seeing Maggie Grey, the most wanted mythic in the history of the Underground for the assault and missing persons case on Xavier Martin and crimes against black mythic humanity!
She is with Princess Ayira! The missing Princess out of the Solhari Kingdom that was rumored to be taken by the First Family and held hostage! ”
“Held hostage?!” Isis shrieked before looking at Quan. “Can you believe he said that?!”
“Well where the hell was she?” He shot back before folding his arms across his beefy chest.
“Security is attempting to stop the game now so they can arrest the two!” The announcer went on as people began cheering and screaming. Something in me just reacted the moment I saw the look of pure fear on Maggie’s face. She really had no idea what all has happened since she’s been away.
“GRAB THE BALL!” I screamed with my voice cracking. “GRAB THE BALL AND JUMP!” I knew she wouldn’t be able to hear me, but I saw Asha’s body jumping up and down as the signs all flipped to RUN!”
“PLAYERS GRAB YOUR BALL AND JUMP!” Clementine suddenly shouted just as the sound of a horn went off. “NOW! THE GAMES HAVE BEGUN! GRAB THE BALL AND BE THE FIRST TO brING IT BACK TO THE ARENA! GOOD LUCK DREW COLLINS WARRIORS! brING IT HOME! WIN! WIN! WIN!”
Ayira caught on quickly and was the first to grab a ball off the ground as the rest of the players scrambled because two were going to be left without, if Maggie were to take one.
As one of the men realized it, they attempted to snatch the ball from Ayira who ducked out of the way before grabbing Maggie’s arm and running straight for the stairs leading to the bottomless square.
Ayira let out a scream realizing what was beneath her.
The rest of the players all shoved and pushed their way to the edge as they all fell into the hole and began their free fall.
As soon as they fell through, the stadium rumbled as the lights darkened.
The projection screens became brighter as one giant 3D screen was lowered while the square below closed.
The players could no longer see us, but we were still able to see them.
We officially had front row seats to watch the players helplessly free fall right before our very eyes.
“There’s clearly been a mix up, but the games MUST continue!” Clementine shouted. “Maggie Grey and Princess Ayira from the Solhari kingdom have crashed the biggest event of the year! THEY ARE OFFICIALLY PLAYERS IN THE GAMES”
The projection of the coaches below showed them screaming and hollering at the players in the sky while Namir’s face hadn’t changed. He just stared, focused, stoic, and unwavering when he watched Maggie fall.
“Maggie Grey is falling hard from the sky! She has not been properly prepared nor trained for this event!” Another voice let out over the speaker.
This time a male, aggressive and direct with a hint of humor as he spoke about my friend.
Maggie’s face was caught in the perfect angle as she screamed in full panic with her white hair blowing up against her face while the rest of her body fell down.
“They have to stop the games!” Isis shouted, horrified at the site. “They have to stop it!”
“Princess Ayira, with the help of another student, has figured out how to steady herself in the air with a basic spell!” Clementine suddenly shouted. “Can Maggie be helped in time?!”
Ayira was screaming out for Maggie who undoubtedly passed out in midair.
They replayed Ayira giving herself a spell that she muttered frantically to herself before her body drifted back up to float.
Another student was shown shifting into a winged creature as he dove down with the ball in his hands like a missile through the clouds.
Yet it was Maggie Grey that continued to fall through layers of clouds at rapid speeds as the fans cheered and screamed for her downfall.
Everyone was on the edge of their seat when Ayira kept screaming for Maggie who was falling harder in the air.
Students were passing her up as one of the women from Yasuke University dove right past her without so much as a glance back.
It was a competition after all. On one side of the big screen, I could see the camera angle focus on Namir’s emotionless face.
He didn’t even look bothered that he was watching his girlfriend fall to what could easily be her death, but he barely blinked at the sight.
They weren’t going to get a reaction out of him, not the one they wanted anyway.
“Maggie Grey may very well be the first student in this year’s games to fall to her death,” another voice said through the speaker as the sky grew darker and the clouds looked heavier.
“The daughter of the First Family, she is said to be the reincarnation of the Moon Goddess Gaia! The First and Mother of mythical magic! She is also wanted for the assault on Xavier Martin and kidnapping of Princess Ayira of the Solhari Kingdom! She is by far the biggest threat in the history of the Underground––––”
The microphone began to squeak. The tug and pull on the speakers began to echo throughout the arena until Clementine breathlessly came back onto the speaker.
“The second element has revealed itself!” She screamed.
“The crashing waves of the giant deep lake below are hosts to several mythical creatures that may or may not be a part of the games! Your objective is to find a way to get to land! Maggie Grey is falling through each cloud as the skies grow darker and the storm gets closer!”
“A little-known fact about this water element arena,” a third voice came on. One that sounded aged and mature in comparison. “The builders were inspired by a small town made for predominantly black people and forcibly drowned to make way for what we know today as Lake Lanier.”
“Players that fall in this second round will be held down beneath the water in a deep sleep until the game is over,” the second male voice added. “Now let’s watch who will be the first to go. My guess is the infamous Maggie Grey!”
Everyone watched, terrified at the sight of Maggie’s body moving harder and faster through the clouds until the lake below was smacking and slapping against one another beneath her.
Her body laid limp in the sky as rain began to come down.
They showed other students diving in while another was already swimming beneath the water.
Some were preparing themselves to breathe with makeshift gills either by eating something or creating a spell that would help breathe under water, but it was only Maggie…
The water seemed to respond to her, waiting for her to come down as her body dropped like a bag of weights.
Smacking the surface hard, someone in the arena let out a shrieking scream as I covered my mouth again with a silent gasp.
No one said a word as her body sank beneath the surface and the stadium became silent.
When they stupidly showed Namir’s face, it was the one time you could see a thick vein straining against his neck and his jaw twitch, but his expression was otherwise blank.
He hadn’t turned away from the screen nor did he show any obvious sign of rage, panic, or fear.
“Maggie Grey has officially fallen,” the male voice said. When I looked back up to see if Trevor Coleman was watching this, he and his friend were nowhere to be seen.
“Oh no,” Isis let out, voice faint. It took my focus right back to the screen as we all stood and watched.
There were a few cheers and screams. The random clapping and whoops in excitement at her sudden fall but the rest of the arena was completely silent.
The announcers began narrating the rest of the games while showing Maggie’s lifeless body floating deeper into the lake.
Her back arched, legs draped over like she was waiting to fall back on a bed of sheets and her hair just floating past her face as she began to slowly tilt back.
On the surface, the storm began to pick up as rain poured down with the rest of the players fighting to stay on the surface.
There were pieces of wood floating about as Ayira managed to grab one while fighting off another woman who went to Monroe University.
She was still holding on to the ball while calling out for Maggie.
“Our chosen athletes must find a way to stay above the water,” the male announcer started up again, building up the hype.
“What about Maggie?” Isis whispered as she held on to my arm only to turn away. “I can’t watch this–––”
“Some balls were made to sink! Our athletes must fight to stay above the water, fight to keep the ball, and eventually fight whatever mythical being might just be swimming around! Ayira has taken the spirit of the games as she and Sormae of Monroe University, an all-women’s private institution, begin to fight for the right to have the ball! ”
“Princess Ayira!” Clementine came in to correct.
The woman pushed Ayira’s head back with her hand in an attempt to knock her back from the floating plank of wood.
The wind was picking up and while the two women were screaming at each other, you could see Ayira’s dark eyes suddenly glow bright blue as she opened her mouth, inhaling with her chest puffing out and a bright blue ball of heat came rolling out from the back of her throat like a bowling ball.
She exhaled and shot it straight for the woman’s face, setting it on fire for a brief moment as she screamed and dropped back into the water.
The stadium went completely insane.