Assault or Attrition by Blake Northcott

Author:Blake Northcott
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: superhero

Chapter Sixteen

“Welcome, one and all, to the second annual Arena Mode tournament!” Cameron Frost’s smile widened, bearing a mouth full of pearly, artificially-whitened teeth. “As the bravest superhumans from around the world, you are about to embark on an amazing journey – and for the winners, the rewards will be immeasurable.”

“What the hell?” Brynja whispered. “I thought you killed this fucker?”

“It’s a recording,” I whispered back without taking my eyes off of the giant head floating above. It was so imposing I couldn’t have averted my gaze if I tried.

Frost must have set up this holographic message long before he entered the first Arena Mode tournament. Everything leading up to this moment was crystallizing: Fortress 23 wasn’t built as a sanctuary or a retreat for the eccentric billionaire – it was created to host future Arena Mode tournaments. The hangar, the lodging, the workout facility; this entire structure was an Olympic village of sorts, meticulously crafted into a single, stand-alone building that would serve as not only a temporary home to the superhumans leading up to the event, but as the battleground itself. And we were here, standing at the starting line, receiving a posthumous pep-talk from the visionary behind this perverse spectacle.

“As the winner of the First Annual Arena Mode tournament in 2041,” Frost continued, his voice welling with pride, “I can tell you that it’s a sensation like no other. Money and fame and all of the trivialities that go along with it are nothing compared to that feeling – knowing that you are the best of the best. The one.”

Mac let out a short laugh. “Winner? I guess Cameron was counting his chickens a little early, huh?” He was quickly shushed by Brynja with a sharp point of her elbow, jabbed squarely into his shoulder.

“This fortress,” Frost explained, “is the ultimate proving ground. The island of Manhattan was a suitable stage for the previous Arena Mode. But now, things are being taken to the next level, and I’ve increased the stakes. An-all new, multi-faceted battleground has been constructed, directly below your feet.”

The giant floating head disappeared, and was replaced with a glowing hologram of a blueprint. The rendering rotated slowly as Frost continued to narrate, displaying Fortress 23 built into the mountain range, and the architecture hidden within, invisible to the outside observer. Underground chambers, impossibly large, descending hundreds of feet into the earth. Three imposing layers, piled one on top of the other, lead down to a small room at the bottom, labelled ‘The Hall of Victors’. I had no idea what could be located in that room, and at the time I didn’t really care. What was of particular interest to me was the long, narrow tunnel connected to the Hall of Victors that led outside, several miles West of the fortress. This was it: our one and only option for escape. If we navigate our way to the lowest chamber of this new underground arena, we have a clear path to the outside.

As Frost

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