When War Calls(10)

This was the end. He tried to hold on, but the pain became too much. As he tried to escape it once more, he slipped out of consciousness and lay as if he were deceased; no longer able to think, move, or even breathe. The world had disappeared before him, and he before it.





* * *





‘Jay.’

He could hear a voice.

‘Jay!’

It came again.

‘Wake up!’

Jaden peered through small openings in his eyelids, light stinging at his pupils as it burst in.

‘I thought I’d find you here,’ said Bo, walking up to him. ‘The game ... what’s wrong?’ Bo’s voice had changed from playful to concerned in an instant. ‘You look like you’ve just seen Ardim’s mother.’

‘What?’ asked Jaden, still dazed. Memories of the trauma soon returned to him, and he became aware of the dull throbbing in his head. Bo’s words then registered. ‘Nothing,’ he said, ‘just … I don’t know.’

He tried to think back to the dream-like state, the unfamiliar sensations he had felt. He couldn’t seem to remember much of anything anymore.

Bo said nothing. He knew better than to press matters. As was common in the Daiyus family, Jaden had always volunteered information if it were to be given.

‘Your say,’ said Bo, unsure what Jaden was trying to tell him. ‘Get up. The game’s starting in ten minutes. Everyone’s waiting for you.’

With a helping hand up from Bo, all Jaden could do was nod, walking with Bo’s support for a few steps, then on his own.

Together they passed empty houses one after the other. The entire village had stopped their daily chores to go and watch the game in the centre, where the tennagen field had been made. It was symbolic of their entire civilisation being created around the sport; a field of uneven terrain, jagged rocks, trees and a single stream that cut the valley in two. All of it was left untouched. No one could build there or use the land for anything but the practice and execution of tennagen matches. It was a long-held truce, an unbreakable sacred tradition that none dared challenge. The tennagen field was the one place they could relieve their anger and tension, and legally fight those who had wronged them in daily life.

They heard the roaring of the crowd some distance away, and both Jaden and Bo could feel the excitement of the match beginning to rise in their chests. This was their time to prove their abilities, to show what they had accomplished to their whole community.

‘Are you ready?’ asked Bo.

‘Always,’ said Jaden almost before Bo had finished. He had never refused a match in his entire life, and he was not about to start now simply because of a bad dream.

They entered the field to cheers from both sides, welcomed as heroes by young and old. It was a place of glory; theirs to savour, no one else’s. Those older than them were forced to retire from the game and allow the new generations to come through. And thus, this was why the sport had been named “tennagen”, originally shortened from the phrase “ten a generation”. Anyone over the age of twenty was considered as the previous generation, who were about to start families of their own and contribute in other ways to the village. This kept the achievements of each family fresh, allowing the people to know who were currently the best. In a few years, the same would happen for Jaden and his friends, but for now, they were at their prime, and the favourites to win this match.

They looked around the field, a sea of faces all with eyes fixed on them. Everyone was shouting words of encouragement, while at the opposite end the challenging team was being given the same treatment.

Jaden and Bo went directly to their team, where the three others, Corey, Dion and Konnor, were all waiting to form their traditional pre-match circle.

‘Took your time, sprinter, see another girl you like?’ asked Konnor.

‘Your sister is here, Kon, you know she’s the one for me,’ Jaden teased.

Konnor gave a forced laugh as they all leaned forward to speak together in hushed tones. Although Konnor knew Jaden was joking, he still didn’t like the idea of Jaden pursuing his sister, who he knew was very much in love with him, despite being three years his junior.

‘Touch her and—’ began Konnor.

‘Boys,’ Bo cut in, ‘enough. We have to keep our heads for this one.’

‘Relax, Bo,’ said Dion as Jaden gave a friendly slap on the back to Konnor. ‘You know we play better when we’re cheery.’

‘That maybe, but we’re playing Ardim’s side, and they won’t be as easy to beat as last time. They’ve been coached recently, making their strategy almost entirely new.’