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Chapter 50: The Restoration of Honor

The seven of us walked the last mile in complete silence for the most part. Every once in a while, one of us would crack a smile or giggle. At a quarter of a mile left, we could see three giant flagpoles. One for each team.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have conquered a leviathan! The mighty force they call the Demox Race!! Onward to victory!!” I shouted. On that signal, we all charged like a furious stampede heading for those flags. Our muscles ached and our bones were stiff. Our minds were blank except for the thought of getting to those flags. The plan had been set into motion.

Kratias started to pull ahead with us in second, but then Tyler tried to get ahead only to be pulled back by Melissa. Finally, both fell back once we got about 50 feet from the finish line. Across it, Tom and Sara waited, helicopters sitting behind them. They were waving us over, absolutely unaware that we staged this whole thing.

Once at the finish line, the three teams came to a screeching halt. We all looked back and forth at each other for a while. Just to screw with our superiors, one of us would pretend to step across the line until finally, Nathan pushed me across and Team Neravien crossed the finish line first and touched our flagpole. The others followed suit in the predetermined order.

Tom stepped forward. “This was unforeseen. The masses will be shocked to find that Lamis record has been shattered! Their slate wiped clean,” he said.

“Maybe unforeseen by you, Tom! I think most of us figured out long ago that Neravien’s call to victory had not fallen on deaf ears!” Sara commented with a smile. Her statement was well said, and very much appreciated by the three of us.

Soon after, we were all loaded into our respective helicopters indicated by what color the stripes on it were. Neravien’s was black, Kratias red, and Lamis royal blue. There was an order in which they flew to let each other know who’d won. You could determine this by which helicopter was flying the highest. For some reason the masses had yet to figure this out. The helicopters began to rise and arrange themselves in the correct order. Once they had, we could feel ourselves moving forward.

Walking and riding, it took us from late May to mid August to traverse these lands. By helicopter, the lot of us were taken to a private airstrip on an army base where now they stood heavy guard. The pilot looked back at us and said, “The whole place is swarming with the media! You’ll get a better look once we get a little lower!” Once we began to descend, he pointed towards the window and we crowded around it to see. He was right! There were about twice as many people here as me and Tyler’s fight! We were now at a low hover. We could see the others at the same height doing the same thing as us.

There were trucks packed with equipment people. Before we even landed, their cameras were recording and snapping pictures. I wondered if Tyler was thinking about our fight as well. I know I still was. You could hear the news reporters trying to yell over each other’s noise relaying the newest updates to viewers, some of them broadcasting it live. ‘Who had won?’ was the question on their lips. Well they were about to find out, courtesy of Tom!

Finally, we landed. Tom and Sara exited their helicopter telling the pilots to let us know we had to wait until they spoke to the masses first. “Everyone! I am proud to announce that all of our competitors have returned safely. In addition, one team has been chosen as unanimous victor!” Tom announced. As he spoke, there was silence. But when he stopped, the noise only rose to a low hum as he was about to reveal this year’s winning team.

Tom walked past each helicopter, stopping at each one for a while. His own ay of building suspense. Once he opened our door, cameras were already flashing. “They’re waiting for you, young champions!” he smiled. The three of us looked at each other all smiles and hopped out of the aircraft. I still had my chain scythe hanging loosely around me.

We waved to the crowds and flashes of light exploded in our faces. We could hear the reporters going crazy as they screamed over each other announcing that Neravien was victorious. It was pretty intense! “Behold your winners! The Neravees!!” Tom announced.

The press just about killed each other to get close to us! They were met by a wall of soldiers carrying M-16s which certainly made them hold their peace. The army told Tom that they would rather us have a press conference than do this outside right now. Besides, we had to clear the runway just in case.

We were about ten miles outside of a small city where we could hold the press conference in a nice hotel. About an hour and a half later, we were checked into that hotel, cleaned up, and redressed in clean clothes.

Teams Neravien and Lamis knew that we’d get the most TV time. Not like Kratias cared. Kratian people are proven to be naturally humble people. A lot of attention was not what they expected, especially since they didn’t do anything outstanding by coming in second. Lamis had a lot more to answer for though, as did we.

The three of us were seated at a long table on a stage surrounded by microphones, cords, and other electrical equipment. Obviously, this was also going to be broadcasted. It was a like being a pro athlete or something.

Once the press conference began, we were assaulted with a myriad of questions, most of them legitimate and simple to answer. Luckily, no one had any knowledge of Torch, nor were there questions about Fairies, Pixies, or Nymphs. Those were just myths, right?

Star kept quiet of her own volition as Ashley and I answered questions. That is until a female reporter was given a chance to speak. She asked, “Young lady? I understand that you’re not part of Team Neravien. You are not their alternate since that member is not present and that member is also male. Who exactly are you?”

My girlfriend looked at me and Ashley. She grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed it. I leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Go and do your thing, love. Tell the world who you are!” She nodded and stood.

“I am a Vermendian, wishing to be a Neravee!” Star proclaimed. There was the low hum of whispers among the crowd. There was need for proof. “You want proof? I’ll show you! No one but a Vermendian could do what I’m about to do!” said Star as she took off all of her jewelry. After disarming herself of all possible reasons for doubt, Star set her hand on fire and showed it to the room.

There was uproar among the people, not only here, but across the entire planet! Vermendis simply did not exist anymore! This had to be a hoax! At that point, Tom intervened and ended the press conference immediately.

“Do you understand how serious this matter is, you three? You have brought a banished race into our land! You are in grave danger! You will all go before the Demox High Council to discuss this matter,” he told us. We understood, and were not afraid.