The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,72

stood staring at a set of bleachers that had been erected along the side of the field and butted up against the woods. Every professor, tutor, scientist and worker from the Gymnasium sat on its steel benches. Two towers were positioned at either end of the bleachers, and on the top of each, a single person stood beside a large horn.

Landon, after being manhandled into his appropriate position in line, began to scan the audience. The first person he noticed was Dr. Wells, who was wearing a large plaid wool cap. He wasn’t hard to find. Then, to his surprise, sitting right beside him was Dr. Brighton—he was back.

Dr. Wells stood up and spread his arms out over the crowd, commanding silence from the already quiet spectators. Then, in a stentorian fashion, he began to speak.

“Welcome, students, to the Eighteenth Annual First Frost Frenzy! The rules of the game are simple! Each team will begin in their designated colored zone, and when the horn blows, the game will begin! Do not forget, every snowball must be constructed and thrown using your abilities. Once you’ve been hit, you’re out of the match! The horn of your team will sound each time someone has been eliminated. We will continue until all members of one team have been defeated! Now, teams, proceed to your colored zones and remember, you are all that is holding you back from reaching your full potential!”

As the blue team broke formation and started walking toward their zone, Landon looked back to get a final glimpse of the red team before the match, but just before turning around to follow his team to their colored zone, he saw Cortland through the mass of bodies. If he and Dr. Brighton were back, Landon imagined the rest of them were too. Seconds later, Riley and Katie Leigh ran up to him and confirmed his suspicions.

“Brock’s back!” Riley said after catching his breath.

“Yeah, they all are!” Katie Leigh added. “Landon, have you seen Celia? She’s our only chance at winning this now.”

“Umm,” Landon said as he searched his memories of the morning. “I remember seeing her in the cafeteria changing into her uniform, but now that you ask, last time I saw her was before we lined up.”

“We’re doomed!” Riley blurted out.

“Come on, Riley!” Katie Leigh said enthusiastically after giving Riley a quick little slap on the shoulder. “We definitely are with that attitude. We haven’t lost yet.”

“Riley, Katie Leigh’s right. We haven’t lost yet, and we’re not going to.” Landon’s competitive nature strengthened within him. Growing up, Landon would always try to play it off like he didn’t care whether he won or lost, but the truth was he had a need to win that almost rivaled Celia’s. He gritted his teeth with determination and felt the warmth of his abilities heat up inside and course through his body.

Riley and Katie Leigh looked at Landon with wonder. He’d seemed so apathetic to the entire event since its announcement, but now, there was a fire in his eyes. They all turned and looked across the field, awaiting the start of the event.

“All right,” Katie Leigh said without turning to look at Riley or Landon. “We need to survive the first few minutes if we want to actually compete. There are just too many players at the start, so focus your energy on defense and once the field has cleared a bit, we can change our strategy.”

“Got it,” Riley and Landon answered in unison. In the back of Landon’s mind, he was surprised to hear Riley so willingly accepting orders from Katie Leigh.

It seemed like it took days for the starting horn to sound, but when it did, the field was sent into chaos. Numerous members of the blue team moved into the labyrinthine field, inching closer so they might get in range of their opponents. Some, to Landon’s surprise, charged the field with full force, counting on their agility and speed to keep them alive.

Simultaneously, what must have been hundreds of snowballs of various sizes were launched into the air. Many of them fell short or collided with the barriers, but some reached their targets and the deafening sound of horns started to blare in rapid succession as numerous members of each team were eliminated. The blue team’s bell seemed to ring much more often than the red one.

Landon, Riley and Katie Leigh stayed back in their blue zone. Lying in wait, they used a nearby partition wall as a shield, while,