Chapter 31 - Where the Wild Things Are

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Codi always enjoyed the thrill that came with competing in the Gauntlet, but this time felt just that bit better than all the rest. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that this fight would be one for the Gauntlet fans – and for her – to remember for a long time. She could feel her whole body roiling with anticipation as she waited for doors of the Arena to open.

The media seemed just as aware that this clash would be one to keep an eye on. Her walk to the ready area had been a long, loud one, hemmed in by camera drones and reporters. They tried their best to drag some kind of comment out of her before she could reach the safety of the Arena, but if the encounter wasn't scheduled, Codi had no interest in it. Hell, the only reason she spoke to any of them was because Bronagh Llewellyn wanted her to. She strode through the corridor of bodies without so much as a glance to the left or right.

The rumble of pre-match noise from the Arena rose louder than before. It seemed that the spectators also knew that the coming fight would be a good one, and if there was one set of fans that could compete with Battlecast in sheer volume, it would be the screaming travelling support of Firequake.

She stopped at the door, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, using the motion like a safety valve to drip out some of the adrenaline that was flooding through her veins. Bronagh Llewellyn halted alongside her, face impassive as she glanced back at the flashing bombardment of cameras.

"You seem...agitated," Llewellyn said quietly.

Codi grinned and shook her head. "Excited."

"He's a dangerous fighter, Codi. Don't underestimate him."

"Believe me, I'm not." She looked at the head instructor. "That's why I'm excited."

"I'm not sure I get your meaning."

"I mean, this fight is going to be awesome."

Llewellyn frowned at that. "It's not a circus. You're here to win first and entertain second."

"Oh, lighten up," Codi chuckled, and before her coach could reply the attendant signalled that they were ready for her. A few seconds later the Arena doors slid aside and she bounded out into the light.

"From Battlecast Academy, Codi James!"

The place was packed. She cast a quick glance around the stands and every single seat had an occupant roaring with energy and anticipation. Huge blots of blue, cyan and red took up entire sections, filled in with washes of colour from the neutral parties.

Her face slid into a vicious smile and she turned her attention to the Arena construct itself. The cuboid spanned the open space in front of her, a structure of three levels anchored by four enormous pillars at each corner. The levels themselves were made up of intricate criss-crossing lattices connecting to seemingly random platforms. Each platform had its own central support, thinner than the corners but still bigger than the average tree trunk. She could see straight through the skeletal structure to the door at the far end of the arena; still closed. However, as she examined the construct she realised something else.

The whole thing was made of wood.

For a moment confusion reigned in her mind. Normally the mad contraptions the Gauntlet engineers devised were constructed of the most robust material available. After all, they had to stand up to as many as twenty adrenaline fuelled fighters in combat exoskeletons at any one time. That was a lot of energy to contain. She could probably wreck this construct single-handedly.

And then it hit her. That was the whole point. The organisers had matched up two of the most violent, unpredictable fighters in the tournament, and then placed them in a construct that they would smash to pieces. The result would be one hell of a spectacle.

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