Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 24 - Mysteries and Mayhems

Once the fighters were settled the Battlecast trainers didn't waste time in putting them to work, and they were far from the only ones with that in mind. The groups for the Mayhems wouldn't be posted for another day, and those who had arrived early took full advantage of that time. By mid-morning the enormous in-built gymnasium swelled with roared orders and snarls of exertion coupled with the steady cacophonous thudding as bodies slammed into mats.

Most of the competitors were, for the moment, corralled into the space closest to the entrance doors. The other two thirds of the colossal hanger-like structure were sealed off by a transparent wall – only fighters training in their full exoskeletons were allowed to pass into that space, made necessarily larger to accommodate them. Accidents in previous years had ensured that unsuited combatants weren't allowed anywhere near someone in full gear – the amplifications of a Gauntlet exoskeleton were easily capable of killing if the proper precautions were not taken.

Codi joined the Battlecast contingent as they stormed through another punishing regimen, for the moment staying in their basic training kit. Bronagh Llewellyn was taking no chances in letting her students become complacent, and as the groups drilled she constantly stalked among them, barking advice like a drill sergeant. The other instructors followed in her wake, picking up her points in greater detail with the fighters concerned.

Right now Codi worked against Joshua Bayden. She caught his arm as he made a barnstorming swipe at her head, twisting her body with his momentum and yanking him off balance. Pulling hard, she tipped him over her shoulder and he hit the mat with a grunt.

She extended a hand to help him up. Then they reset and it was her turn to take the fall. Codi stepped, swung and let herself get hauled over Bayden's sturdy frame, spreading her arms to absorb the impact when she landed. She was back on her feet before he could offer to help her. They repeated the exercise a dozen times each way, increasing the tempo and force each time until Llewellyn roared out the order to switch up.

"Rotate right," the head instructor ordered, her powerful voice scything through the noise with ease. "Defensive drills three through six – inside fighter goes first!"

All twenty-five of them knew exactly what the numbers meant. Codi moved to the right and slotted into place opposite Leela, taking up a fighting stance. Neither of them had to say a word. Another barked command later and the pair launched into the drill. It was a simple defensive reflex drill but Codi didn't take it lightly. When it was her turn to attack she went in fast and hard, forcing Leela to up her game against the onslaught.

In the brutal schedule leading up the Gauntlet Leela had shown signs of improvement – of the killer instinct that she so desperately needed – but there was still work to be done. If a strike slipped through, Codi didn't apologise. She just kept going and went for the same spot again until her timid companion made the block.

On and on they went until Codi eventually rotated out for a breather, at last getting a chance to examine the other academies in training up close. She didn't recognise the nearest group from memory – presumably one of the colonial institutes. Their training gear shone in bright blue and gold. Further away she could see the aquamarine blue of the Atlantic fighters; at the opposite end of the gymnasium the scarred crimson of Firequake caught her eye. They smashed together with reckless abandon, the whoops and roars of their team carrying out across the space. Other academies gave them a wide berth.

Eventually her roving gaze found Max and his new team-mates from Knossos City. She didn't really know much about his new academy apart from its location as one of the Taurus institutes. She watched her grey-clad friend as he moved, stepped and up-ended his sparring partner with a burst of lightning speed. It seemed like he'd put paid to the timidity that had dogged his competition last year.