Infected

15 - Chance of a Lifetime

The stadium was filled with hundreds of fans, cheers could be heard in the locker room Tommy, Sapnap, George, and Clay stood in. Clay helped Tommy get his gloves and helmet on before going to join the other two. They stood on the platform watching as the bridge extended to the arena.

"Don't worry," Sapnap elbowed Tommy as he rubbed his hands together, looking out at the crowd. "We've got this."

"I know," He muttered, but not knowing how much he could believe himself.

"Now! Please give a warm welcome." Karl announced from the top of the stands, that was their cue. "For the Dream Team Winged Lemurs!"

The crowd went wild as Sapnap led Tommy and George across the bridge and to the arena. Tommy found himself squinting and wanting to cover his ears, blood pounding and his heart thumping in his chest. Karl had said something else but he wasn't able to catch it.

On the other side the opposing team began walking down their bridge. The firebender sported long pink hair tied back out of her face, she smiled and waved at the crowd. The waterbender leading the team had a hardened expression as he sized up Tommy. The earthbender was the only one with his helmet still off, he had bright teal hair and flashed a smile at the crowd.

The two teams stand face to face on their respective sides, both tense and waiting for the referee to start the round. As the whistle blew they exploded into a fury of attacks. Fire and water bursts. Tommy was forced back. A buzzer sounded. Sapnap and George held their zone.

Series of targeted attacks slowly forced Sapnap and George back. Whosh. Water nailed Tommy and he went flying back into the water below. A whistle sounded. The round was over. Tommy's ears rung. He made his way back up and got ready for the second round, determined to do better.

Again, the whistle blew.

Tommy grit his teeth as water hit his arm, making it sting. Bam. He sent a disk flying and pushed the waterbender back. Sapnap then used a fire kick to push him back again. George singlehandedly had been able to force back the other two. It wasn't a knockout, but it had been enough for them to win the round. This was it, if they got a knockout or just won the round their place in the finals would be secured.

Screee! The whistle sounded. Fire exploded. Water and disks went flying. When the chaos cleared Tommy and Sapnap had both been pushed back two zones, towards the end. George sent a series of water bursts at the opposing team. The others followed his lead and managed to get their waterbender off the edge. Wham! An earth disk pushed Sapnap over the edge. Tommy ended up backing up too far to avoid a burst of fire and fell off. Quickly, George used another well timed water burst to send the Earthbender off the edge. As the timer finally when off both George and the firebender were breathless, but neither had gained or lost any ground. Both had remained in the first zone, leaving the round as a tie.

"Now, you all know the rules," the referee said as he approached them. "Whoever wins the coin toss chooses the element for a one versus one." He took out the blue and red coin and flipped it in the air.

Tommy's heart sank as he called out blue, the other team. He closed his eyes and sighed, already knowing the choice. "Earth." The waterbender had declared.

"Hey," Sapnap pulled Tommy away for a moment. "You got this, it's nothing different from our training sessions. Pretend that it's just you and Eret sparring."

"Okay," Tommy nodded and stepped onto the platform, watching as it rose about the regular arena. As the whistle blew he did the most risky thing he could have, Tommy closed his eyes. The disks were sent flying by him, yet he avoided each and every one. Feeling the air move around him, he zoned out everything and focused solely on the man in front of him. Then, in a quick and swift motion Tommy brought up a disk and the man went flying, so far back Tommy had managed to push him into the water.