Chapter 3

Canopy

Hector’s vision began to blur as he felt his feet lifted from solid ground, his ascent accompanied by the loud smacking of leaves drilling into his ears before he felt the crack of a solid branch across his shoulder blades. The writhing black tendrils around him whipped forward, causing Hector’s stomach to lurch and his brain to rattle inside of his cranium as he saw a large trunk rushing to meet his face. Hector summoned a pair of fist constructs around himself and impacted against the tree forming a crack across its trunk. Hector guided his constructs to wrap around the tendrils and his muscles tensed as he gave a powerful yank. He got the sense of a solid mass on the other end as he braced against a large bough.

Standing and shifting his feet to gain a sense of balance, Hector wrenched again and a dark body revealed itself crashing through the foliage as its grip on Hector unraveled. He was tense as he stood, putting his fists in front of him in a defensive boxing position as he got a good look at his assailant.

It wasn’t so much a human form as his mind could translate but dark, ropey appendages that seemed to wind and wrap into a humanoid shape. The “face” was made of smaller tendrils as well, putting on the facsimile of eyes, a nose, and mouth in all the correct places. The hairs on Hector's neck were at attention as his opponent's appendages coiled in preparation for another strike. The ground quaked briefly sending a cascade of leaves around Hector and his opponent, obscuring their view of each other.

Inhumanly fast black tendrils whipped out at Hector again, batting and swatting at his fist constructs. The tendrils connected with ringing tension against Hectors constructs as the two dueled to cause the other to lose their footing or make a mistake. Hector balled up his right construct as he blocked with his left still open palm, swinging so hard there was a whistle of air as the fist connected with a solid crash into the central mass of tendrils.

The tendrils unspooled from their humanoid shape, looking more like a mess of wriggling worms as the form bounded and bounced, reaching out to steady itself against any branch it could grab like some kind of macabre spiderweb. They snaked from the writhing core, taking a solid hold at either side while others reached further back behind it. The coils tightened, flexing the boughs it gripped as it aimed to propel itself forward, finally releasing the tension like a slingshot at Hector.

Hector’s left construct grappled with the mass as it was caught, and Hector focused his right on doing the dirty work, sinking punch after punch into it. He couldn’t tell if he was doing anything to incapacitate his opponent, but he kept up his attack. The tendrils managed to gain purchase through the grip of the constructs and wrapped around Hector’s arm, pulling and causing him to stumble. Hector pinwheeled his arms as his constructs began to fade and he found more and more of the tendrils wrapped around him.

His right-hand construct disappeared while he focused on maintaining his left, pushing against the tendrils' iron grip. Hector pivoted on his feet, bringing his foe along for the ride as he slammed it against the same tree trunk he was pushed into earlier, returning the favor. The tendrils flopped and went limp, slithering down the tree trunk to regroup. Hector slid down after them, leaping from branch to branch attempting to pursue but the thing was much faster than he was. He lost sight of it, and the canopy became very still and quiet.

Biting his inner lip, Hector made his way back to the ground below. It was slow work and he felt eyes on him as he shuffled and climbed. Whatever or whoever that mass was, it had brought Hector far out of his element. He focused on his balance, aiming for larger, sturdy boughs that brought him down at a slow and deliberate pace. Hector tensed when he saw some sort of stick clatter among some lower branches before a purple burst of light caused him to jump in shock.

BLINK!

Jack steadied himself as he grabbed his anchor and looked for another good place to lob the trusty teleport stick when he saw Hector in the branches above him.

“Hey! Hector man, are you okay? What was that thing that grabbed you?” Jack asked.

Hector gave a shushing gesture but Jack couldn’t see through the obscuring branches and the falling leaves.

“What’s wrong?”

Hector threw his hands in the air. “Jack, that thing isn’t down for the count yet!”

“What thing?” Jack asked. No sooner did he finish the sentence than a large black tendril whipped around the trunk of the tree, constricting him tight against it as his eyes went wide in fear and shock. “HOLY SHIT!”

Jack gave his anchor a casual toss as he blinked out of existence, the constricting tendril snapping through the vacated space into the trunk, causing more leaves to dance. He reappeared a few inches away on the same branch.

Hector slid down gripping onto a branch with one hand as he swung a large construct fist at the tendrils purchase, causing it to crack and break as the main mass of tendrils danced into the treeline above them.

“HOLY. SHIT. DUDE.” Jack exclaimed again as the mass surged downwards.

“I told you!” Hector shouted as he brought his open palmed construct above them to shield them from the tendril body's landing.

The impact caused the entire tree branch to shake precariously as the tendrils crashed against Hector’s construct. A fierce wiggling mass reached out and around as Jack yelled over the din of the fight. “Hit it! Hit it, dammit!”

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAGH!” Hector shouted as he closed his palm and turned heel-toe on the branch, throwing the tentacled being through the forest, the sounds of cracking branches fading into the distance.

Breathing heavily, Hector slumped against the tree trunk as he recovered from the fight. He ran his hands through his hair , sucking in a gasp of pain as he noticed several cuts and abrasions on his arms. Jack saw Hectors injuries as well.

“Hector man, you going to be okay?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know… That thing hit like a truck.”

Jack frowned as he guided Hector down to a lower branch. “Alright, well don’t worry I’m not going anywhere. Let’s just focus on getting back to the ground.”

The two continued shimmying, hopping, and leaping until after a few long and hazardous minutes, they made their way to the base of the forest again. Hector stopped when he hit the ground and leaned against the tree for support as he scanned his surroundings.

“Where are the others?” Hector asked.

“Dani took Caitlin and TJ up the path a little bit here. Cait kicked some serious ass but isn’t looking so good.” Jack answered.

“Her powers?”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know man, but I guess between the bridge and the fight with that other team it just… knocked her out.”

Hector checked his wristcom device, fiddling through a few interfaces before he found what appeared to be some sort of tracking function. “Nice, I think I found them,” he said turning his body to align with three dots on the display indicating Caitlin, Daniela, and TJ.

“Man, these things are cool,” Jack said as he followed next to Hector.

“No doubt.”

“Hey Hector, you think we got an honest shot? Like, with this whole trials thing?” Jack jerked his thumb behind him. “Because that scrap with that… thing, that was some 'Lord of the Flies' shit, man. That alpha was trying to kill you.”

Hector shrugged as he adjusted his course to follow the moving dots. “Think about what we’re all fighting for here, man. To be a Guardian. That’s huge for not just me. The stipend they pay you, man my family can finally afford a house.”

Jack shifted as he aimed to reply but Hector continued, “… and like, to be real, man. I want to be a hero more than anything, Guardian or not. We’ve seen first hand what some of those guys can do. What impact one person who gives a damn has on the world. Doctor Spectre cured cancer before he ever fought The Lunarian. El Santo down in Mexico on goodwill missions trying to clean up the mess the cartels have left. And what about Amnesty during the tsunamis a few years back?”

Hector took a breath. “They run towards trouble and it’s not about just fighting other people with superpowers, the fame, or the glory. That’s the type of hero – shoot, that’s the type of man I want to be.”

The sound of clapping caused Hector and Jack to tense before Daniela made her presence known, a fox-like smile on her face as TJ carried an unconscious Caitlin behind her.

“That was beautiful, Hector,” Daniela said, a look of respect in her eyes.

“Wasn’t anything special,” Hector replied, his cheeks turning red.

TJ spoke up this time. “This is cute and all, but Caitlin ain’t exactly fightin’ fit right now and my arms are hurtin’.”

“What happened to Caitlin?” Hector asked with concern as he went to check on her.

“Not really sure. When we got into that fight with the other team she started kicking all sorts of ass and then… plop,” Jack said, making a toppling gesture with his good hand.

TJ nodded “She might not be able to use her power so much one after another, which means now we got dead weight.”

“Dead weight? This is a teammate,” Daniela stressed gesturing at Caitlin’s form as Hector took her from TJ and propped her against the base of a tree.

“Look, it’s cool and all ya’ll think this is some sort of pow-wow event. But I got places to be and I’m not letting some anemic green chick blow my shot!”

“Blow your shot?! She’s a human fricken being you… you asshole!”

“I’m the asshole?! Newsflash Daniela, if we don’t get to the finish line, WE ALL FAIL!” TJ screamed.

Daniela paced forward and stood over TJ, locking eyes with him as she crossed her arms. “Either we all cross that line, or none of us do. After that, you never have to see or speak to us again. But this race isn't over until its over…” Her next words came out as an intense whisper. “So knuckle up.”

TJ’s face contorted in anger and frustration. He opened his mouth to say more but let out a stressed huff as he stalked off. “Whatever,” was all he said as he waited for the others to pick themselves up.

“Look, I know Caitlin’s in a bad way, Daniela but the rest of us aren’t much better. Do we keep going orrr…?” Jack shrugged his shoulders to enunciate his point.

“We have to, Jack.” Daniela said as she checked her wristcom.

Hector nodded with a determined look as he picked up and cradled Caitlin, following after Daniela.

“Yeah, you’re right I guess,” Jack said as he brought up the rear.

“Does your map tell us how close we are?” Hector asked as he adjusted his grip on his comrade.

“Sort of. I can tell you our little location indicators here are closer and the destination on the map is larger, so things are looking pretty good overall,” Daniela said as she closed her wristcom.

The terrain began to angle downwards into a sharp decline. Daniela, TJ, and Jack started a tentative descent but even as they traversed a few yards down the slope, Hector stopped at the top, judging the best route down with Caitlin in hand.

TJ stole a look backwards before putting his back to Hector, focusing on his own descent. Daniela studied the path ahead when she saw Hector’s predicament.

“Maybe try scooting down on your butt?” she suggested

Hector nodded as he slowly got into a sitting position, Caitlin on his lap. “I’m not really feeling this.”

“Just go” Daniela shouted. “It’ll be fine!”

“Alright!” Hector scooted down the hill, using his feet as brakes, pushing off and around larger trees like an awkward pinball. It was slow going and the added weight of Caitlin made the ride down all the more a hazard, but Hector manager to get safely to the bottom with Caitlin none the worse for wear.

“Not to much further now guys, and I think I see something up ahead” Daniela said as she squinted her eyes and scanned the horizon.

The others quickly gathered themselves and followed after Daniela As the trees thinned, the roof of a large, white structure rose into view. Daniela paused to check her wristcom. Jack and TJ followed suit while Hector craned his neck to get a look at one of the displays, his own hands thoroughly occupied.

Their navigation functions all indicated that this building up ahead was their objective.

As they got closer the treeline began to break to an open field, and the group could see other Alpha teams appearing far off from other parts of the forest. "Shit..." Daniela said as she saw the Alphas now all dashing, running, and flying to the white building. "SHIT, GUYS COME ON!" she said picking up the pace.

"But what about Cait" Hector said as he tried to keep pace with the group, aching between his injuries and the exertion.

TJ arched his back forward as the sound of bones crunching and sinew popping heralded another transformation from the teen. Two large growths ripped outwards violently beforeforming into a pair of large wings that flapped once with a gust of wind. The others tried to hide thier looks of disgust as TJ reached his hands out with a grim expression on his face "Ill do it..I'll take her"

"You? Seriously?" Daniela said

TJ gave an angry growl "Look, just...just trust me okay?!"

Hector looked back and forth between Daniela and TJ, weighing the situation, before reluctantly setting Caitlin's limp form into TJ's waiting arms. The winged alpha adjusted his grip on his unconscious teammate as he readied himself. "Meet us there, okay?"

Jack grinned "Bet"

TJ took off with Caitlin in tow, soaring across the open grass field at an increasing clip with each flap of his large wings. Hector, Daniela and Jack all took off after him as explosions and shouts could now be heard around them as the Alphas all converged on the building.

Hectors lungs burned with the stress of pushing himself, and he could feel himself falling behind Daniela and Jack. A large explosion like a landmine had gone off and sent him staggering to the side as loose dirt and grass showered him. He thought he could hear Daniela call out in pain but his vision was blurred from the blast, the field was turning into an all out war zone.

As his vision cleared Hector could see Daniela had some sort of injury on his shoulder, but she and Jack were still moving. Hector continued after them, barely dodging what looked like a line of electrical energy that erupted off to his right. The smell of ozone jarred his senses and he forced himself to keep running, seeing that that at the base of the white structure which now looked to be some kind of military compound TJ had Cait resting against one of its walls and he was shouting to the others.

Jack was proving faster than he looked, faster than most olympic level sprinters as he tore across the open field. With the last several feet a few teleporting hops got him to TJ and Cait, and his wristcom seemed to flash briefly blue with some kind of indication tone.

Hector caught up to Daniela as they closed in, they could hear TJ and Jack shouting for them over the din of battle as more candidate Alphas finished their own sprints and dashes. With a final cry of effort Hector smacked his hand against the wall of the compound, and his wristcom flashed as Daniela connected a moment after him. The Guardian A.I's voice from earlier spoke.

[Hector Nunez]

Hector wearily looked at his wrist as it continued.

[Candidate Position 0087, Phase 2 trial completed. Advancement: Confirmed]