Gene. Sys. by Aaron Denius (best ereader for comics txt) 📕

to his head. Cal immediately gets up and throws a punch at 13, connecting with his jaw. They attack each other, causing the drones and the Genesys to run over and break them up. Al and Sodi pull a screaming Cal away. A few drones hold 13 back.

80 and I, being so far away, only get to midfield before the fight is broken up. 80 steps up to me and puts his arm on my shoulder.

“You having fun?” He smiles.

“You guys created an insane game.” I smile back.

“Oh we didn’t come up with it. Grant and Rene did to weed out the weakest among us. We just learned to enjoy it,” he says.

It shouldn’t surprise me that Rene made this to get rid of the weakest, but Grant’s involvement has me bewildered. I feel the anger at Rene resurface because of his constant mistreatment and indifference toward the drones.

“It’s two to two.” I change the subject. I need to focus on the game.

“Yup. Next point wins,” he says as he catches me off guard and pushes me to the ground. He winks at me and runs off toward his pit.

The other Genesys have caught up to me, and we jog back to our pit. When we get there, I walk right up to Mag and give her a giant hug. “That was amazing!”

“Yeah, it was!” Ev adds. The rest of the Genesys congratulate her as well with hugs and high fives.

Ox walks up to her last, takes her in his arms, and kisses the top of her head. The rest of us quiet down as we witness this surprising exchange.

“Let’s focus. They can be starting any moment.” I try to break the awkward silence.

“Hey Atom, what if I hide in the pit to give us added protection?” Fe asks.

“Actually, that’s brilliant.” I smile at her. I can feel Ev chiding me with her eyes.

Fe drops into the pit and is instantly hidden so well that I can barely see her. The rest of us spread out along the field. After checking to make sure that we are all in position, I look up and see the drones making their way to us.

They are running in a single file line down the middle of the field. They are so closely packed together that it’s hard to see which one of them has the ball.

“Titan. K. Ev. Al. Stay wide in case any of them peel off,” I order. “The rest of us will attack the line from the front.”

We take off toward the line. Ox takes the lead with Hydro, Sil, Sodi, Cal, and me right behind him. Ox rams into the first drone, knocking him back into the two behind him. Hydro attacks the drones that Ox knocked over to help keep them down. Two drones from the middle peel off to the sides, and I catch the Genesys on the wings tending to them.

Cal, Sil, and Sodi sprint ahead and take on the next few drones. They flip them to the ground and add a couple of kicks. That leaves the last two drones for me. 13 is right in front of 80. I sprint and plant my feet on the ground, launching myself into the air over 13. When I’m above him, I grab his head and use my momentum to flip him as I fall to the ground.

I fling him at 80 and hear gasps from the crowd around the field. 80 sidesteps 13 as he lands, then launches the ball toward our pit. When I turn to look, I see that one of the drones Ox knocked down has gotten back up and is running that way, alone

Mag hobbles away from the pit to challenge the drone, and when the ball arrives, they both jump. Unfortunately, Mag has an injured leg, so she can’t jump as high. The drone manages to grab the ball from a higher point, and as he lands, he knocks Mag to the ground.

The drone trots to our pit, but before he scores, Fe charges out of the pit, slamming her shoulder into his stomach. The ball falls out of his hands, and Fe runs to retrieve it.

She looks around and throws it to Titan, who is open along the right sideline. A drone charges at him, and Titan hands the ball off to K, who runs past him and toward the middle. Ox, Sodi, Sil, Hydro, and Cal have created a barricade by linking arms together and are holding a few drones back.

“Go, Atom!” Ev screams as she approaches from the left with Al. They knock 80 and 13 to the ground.

I see the opening and peel off around the left side. K throws the ball in my direction, and I catch it in stride. A drone chases after me, but I stay a couple of steps ahead of him. Suddenly, I see 80 closing in on my right. I look back and don’t see another Genesys open, so I have to do things on my own.

Before I can make another decision, the drone who was behind me sweeps my legs out from underneath me. He must have launched at my legs. I slam right on top of the ball, and it knocks the wind out of me. Struggling to breathe, I reach for the ball just as 80 gets to me. In a last-ditch effort, I push the ball in the direction of the drones’ pit.

The ball bounces and rolls, slowing down as it gets closer to the pit. 80 has turned and is chasing the ball, gaining quickly. The entire crowd has gone silent, and we all watch as the ball inches closer. 80 dives for it, barely missing it with his fingers. On its last rotation, the ball falls into the hole.

The Genesys and the scientists on the sideline cheer. I get up and run to the center of the field, where the Genesys have gathered. Ox carries Mag to the center to join us.

“Genesys! Genesys!” Cal starts