Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series) by J.C. Fiske Page B

group was first to finish, so they went to watch the other tests.
    Gisbo watched as a thin blonde boy sprinted through the line of soldiers in the strength test. He made it past the first and continued running as the second guard thrust his shield forward to knock him down. At the last second, the boy dove under the shield and made his way towards the last guard. The boy jumped right and sprinted to the left, but the guard caught him hard in the mid-section, sending the boy crashing out of bounds unnecessarily hard. The children looked at one another with grimaces.
    Gisbo turned to watch the weapon test as a young girl chased after the three soldiers, swinging her stick with tremendous speed. She easily destroyed the apple hanging from the first guard, sending moist green and white flecks flying through the air. She moved on to the second, then the third, demolishing all the apples with over a full minute to spare. Gisbo applauded with the rest of the Elekai’ hopefuls.
    The other two groups finally finished their tasks and with a much greater pass rate than the speed test. A total of thirty-two children passed the strength test and forty-six passed the weapon test.
    Gisbo’s group was next led to the weapon test and once again Thomson took the front of the line. He grabbed his stick and the guards took their places. A whistle blew and the countdown began. Thomson destroyed the three apples with ease, leaving a full minute and thirty seconds on the clock. Booming applause burst forth at the new record. General Ricard smiled proudly as Thomson again sat beside him, securing his entry into the finals.
    The weapon test did prove easier to pass. All but ten had succeeded when it came to Gisbo. A guard walked over and handed him the wooden sword. He gripped the stick tightly and it felt good in his hands. He suddenly laughed out loud at this thought, his dirty mind not being able to help itself. Before he started, he glanced over at Thomson’s face and studied it for a minute. He felt his blood boil. Now he was ready. The guard held a metallic whistle to his lips, waited a moment, and blew. Gisbo lunged forward, catching the first guard by surprise, and obliterated the first apple. Pieces splattered all over the guard’s face. Gisbo gave him a swift jab to his midsection just for good measure as he ran past him and towards the next guard.
    The second guard saw him coming and began to sprint away. Distance closed fast between his weapon and the apple hanging from the second guard, who took on the face of Thomson rather realistically to Gisbo’s imagination. Gisbo leapt ahead of the guard, spun around and dove forward, catching the guard straight in the chest and, luckily, causing him to stumble backward into the third guard. As they went down, the third apple broke off its harness and flew into the air. Gisbo watched it soar toward him and with a mighty swing, he connected with it, exploding it in a white mist.
    The guards and children stood wide-eyed and silent for a moment. Gisbo dropped his sword to the ground and peered around at the stunned crowd, stupefied by his own actions. A young soldier broke the silence.
    “Two minutes and thirty seconds to spare! We have a new record!” he declared as he made his way to Gisbo to pat him on the back. The other contestants clapped hesitantly as if at a poetry reading, remembering that no one actually liked him.
    Gisbo didn’t even notice the lackluster applause however . He stared at his hands as if they were foreign to him and held up the wooden sword. Did I just do that? I’ve never even picked up a weapon in my life. It was just so easy . . .
    Easy or not, Gisbo had now made it to the finals!
     
     

Chapter Three: The Final Test
     
    As the tests came to a close, the two hundred or so kids had been halved. The guards rounded up the remaining contestants and General Ricard rose to his feet once again. With a booming voice, he explained what would happen