RISING PHOENIX ACT SELECT

CHAPTER 6: COLD-BLOODED

Marco dashed towards the 4th floor exit as fast as he could. As he ran, he saw another Rising Phoenix member walking out of the ADTech lab out of the corner of his eye. He got to the stairs. His feet almost glided across the steps as he ran down them as fast as he could, jumping at the last few steps just to save that little bit of time. He ran down the second set of stairs, but before he could head to the 2nd floor, another member blocked his way. It was the real Heatwave, and he was also chasing after him. He was being surrounded on all fronts.

Change of plans - run to the other side of the building and take the BLOB stairs to escape, he thought quickly. He entered the 3rd floor and ran as fast as his legs could take. But before he could choose which hallway to take, two members flanked both sides. The only place he could run to was the open door in front, which led straight to the 3rd floor auditorium. As both members walked towards him, he barged through the door and slammed it shut. The backstage was pitch black dark as it usually is. Marco ran to the right side, arriving at the opening leading to the main stage, which was far from empty.

There was a Grade 9 section practicing for Paskorus. “Why are they doing final rehearsals so early…?” Marco thought to himself. However, that thought was quickly cut short when he heard the back door swing open. Not knowing where to go, he looked everywhere for an exit. He noticed a set of ladders leading to the top of the stage and ran to it. As he climbed up, he saw one of the Rising Phoenix members come around the corner, spotting Marco. It was Wildfire, the one who held the door open just a minute ago.

Marco climbed up and finally made it to the top. The ceiling only consisted of a mesh of metal wire, with bars of metal supports running through at wide intervals. The walls were covered with the writings of previous batches who hung up props there before. The orange hue coming from below shone through the mesh, creating the only source of light there. As Marco stepped on the mesh, he looked down and realized how far up he was off the ground, which caused him to briefly lose balance. Every step he made was careful and deliberate as he tried to get to the other side to make his escape. But that was not meant to be.

When Marco made it to the middle of the mesh, he froze after hearing metal clattering on the other side. Heatwave was climbing up the ladder, right before his eyes. Marco stopped dead in his tracks as Heatwave gained his footing on the mesh. He then heard more clattering from behind him. It was Wildfire. They were now blocking any paths Marco could take to safety. There was no running now. The only way out was to fight.

From down below, Marco could hear the Grade 9s beginning their performance, which involved lots of loud instruments and music. As soon as it started to pick up, Wildfire and Heatwave began to approach him. Marco quickly attempted to sidestep Heatwave, but he was immediately grabbed by the collar and thrown face-down to the ground. Bang! The loud sound was drowned out by the blaring of speakers and the shrill tings of xylophones from the Paskorus performance, which Marco caught a brief glimpse of while he lay in pain on the ground. Wildfire grunted as he picked Marco up with both hands by the back of his uniform and, with all his strength, tossed him towards the back wall. Marco’s limbs splayed outward as he impacted it, with gravity sending him crashing down.

Wildfire quickly dashed towards Marco, who was still trying to get back up, and tried to kick him in the face. Marco managed to block it with his arms at the last second, but the impact still left his arms sore. Marco quickly got back up on his feet and desperately tried to tackle Heatwave, but Heatwave anchored himself to the mesh with his shoes, rendering it ineffective. Seeing this, Wildfire went up and kicked Marco in the stomach, which knocked the air out of him. Heatwave added further by elbowing Marco’s back, which hurt immensely. Wildfire once again grabbed Marco and threw him, with the ongoing Paskorus performance still being loud enough to mask all the noise they were making.

Marco coughed and wheezed from the searing pain, barely able to move his joints. Wildfire held Marco up by the armpits and faced him towards Heatwave, who was preparing himself for some hefty blows. He stepped forward and delivered a nasty left hook to Marco’s face, quickly followed by a right to his liver. Reeling from the pain but still somewhat aware, Marco stomped his feet off the mesh and managed to kick Heatwave in the face. This also sent Wildfire falling backwards, causing him to crash at the front wall.

Wildfire briefly let go of Marco, who used the opportunity to crawl towards one of the ladders. He was too slow however, as Heatwave got up, ran to him, and kicked him down. At that point, Marco couldn't bear the pain anymore and lay motionless on the ground. Heatwave dragged Marco across the mesh by the legs as the Paskorus performance continued to blare in the background. He handed Marco over to Wildfire, who picked him up and carried him on his shoulder. Marco was somehow still conscious and aware that something terrible was about to befall him. Standing at the middle of the mesh, Wildfire bent backwards and slammed Marco to the ground with all his remaining strength.

The mesh snapped at the area where Marco impacted it, with only a small sliver keeping together and preventing it from falling off. Wildfire and Heatwave adjusted their clothes and walked off to the ladders, with both of them taking a different one down. Marco lay still on the mesh, which was quickly starting to break. The performance below wrapped up at that very moment, and someone from the audience noticed Marco, and the bit of mesh, peeking out from the ceiling. Soon, the students below also noticed and got out of the way. The metal of the remaining bits crackled as Marco sank further down - he felt this and quietly accepted his fate.

The mesh snapped, sending Marco falling down towards the hard-floored stage. He slammed hard onto the ground, instantly knocking him unconscious. Everyone in the auditorium was shocked and soon swarmed him to check on his condition. He was swiftly carried out of the auditorium to the nearest medical services.