Chapter 4

Green Sand SOAR players

“I am physically knackered!” Lukah wheezed, lying flat on the ground. “I think my bones are falling apart. Save me, bro.”

“Save yourself. My whole body is aching,” Judah huffed loudly and sat beside him.

Gerome was gulping down his water thirstily, and finished with a satisfied “Ah”.

“I’m famished. Man, all these trainings are making me feel like eating more,” Aamali said, wiping his sweats off his forehead with a green towel, embroidered with the logo of Velvet Navy.

The guys had just finished their training for SOAR, which is a major league game of the season. The game was created by Sir Elijah Art, one of the most honorable professors who contributed vastly in science and technologies. One of his most famous inventions was the SOAR stadium and Eli (pronounces as A-lee). He was a huge icon in the world of techno lovers, Judah knew everything there was to know about him.

Coming back to SOAR. It was the tournament that SOAR fans in Velvet had been raring to herd to the stadium to watch the games. SOAR was a truly thrilling and exciting game, with an irresistible charm that captivated even frumpy housewives and children who were old enough to watch new-orb (motion pictures displayed by a minuscule sphere device, and worked like a screen projector). Anyone will find the game absolutely mesmerizing, especially when there are lady-killing hot players.

Velvet’s twelve states will play against each other, and the guys were playing for Green Sand. Two teams compete with each other at a time, and each team has four players. The aim is to be the first to slot their state’s flag into the pole holder, which is located seventy feet high above the ground.

The game demands vigorous energy and stamina, also consummate attack and defend skills with excellent speed. It was an arduous game that requires outstanding physical animas, and not to mention the gruesome trainings that Marteena thought they were completely inhuman. Not many people were qualified to meet the game’s essential requirement, but it was inevitably the most loved sport in Velvet. Everyone anticipated the upcoming SOAR National Tournament, because it took place once every two years. The guys are working hard to make sure they are going to be the national champion for the next two years. Their team lost to Seven (Velvet’s capital state) two years ago. It was a sore point for the guys until now.

“Me too. Let’s go get something to eat,” Lukah said, reaching out his hand to Judah, waiting for him to haul him up from the ground.

“You’re getting heavier, Luke. Watch your diet. You don’t want to fall down like a lump in that cylinder,” Judah said as he pulled him up, using half of his remaining strength after the taxing practise.

“It’s all the cheese’ fault,” Lukah joked, and made them laughed hysterically, knowing that he referred to the cheese joke.

Lukah loved cheese. They gave him fifty-two kinds of all the cheeses that could be found in Velvet for his birthday few months ago, which meant to crack him up. Of course, he was never able to finish them though. They wondered what he did with the rest of the cheese. Lukah had always been a bit of a joker. His flippant attitude sometimes leaves his friends floundering helplessly, not knowing whether he was being serious, or only joking.

If any of the topic has to be about lady-killing hot soldier or SOAR players, Lukah will surely be on the list. He was a dishy looking fellow, the kind of universally-acknowledged good looking. Lukah, also known as Commander Crimson was a lady’s man, with a pair of dazzling russet brown irises and matching chestnut brown quiff hairstyle (that he usually had it cropped really short on both sides and longer on the top), not to mention the typical ripped and built physique of a soldier – women fell head over heels under his physical appearance. When he joined the Green Sand team to play SOAR, his popularity and female fans burgeoned. His low, drawling, not-too-hurry-honey voice nearly sent women into heart failure. “With that looks and that voice, he can kill any lady. But not me,” Aisha once said to Jade with a blasé tone, while the media was giving Lukah an interview, with screaming ladies around the stadium.

To be precise, SOAR was just a duct that made Lukah internationally popular. He was already popular among the girls, even before he reached puberty. Aisha used to gripe about having to be his delivery woman. It all started when the girls discovered that they lived next to each other, they started asking her to deliver love messages and gifts for Lukah. The funny thing was, she couldn’t even remember how or when she started her daunting task as his delivery woman. Daunting, when you see poor Aisha had to ride her bike loaded with dangling packages around her all the way home. She’d always wondered, and could never comprehend why these simple ladies fell for his revolting, frothy words. But nevertheless, it wasn’t so bad, since most of the edible gifts were usually her treats. That was her perk of being his delivery girl.

“We need to stay fit for the game, bro. Don’t you overeat the snacks, that includes the cheese,” Aamali warned Lukah with his husky voice, in a joking way.

“Don’t worry Mali, I had Jude locked up my cupboard. You know, just to be safe.”

“You what?”

“You heard him. He asked me to install a lock to his cupboard. Only me have the access to it,” Judah said.

Aamali’s face contorted with confusion. “And…?”

“So that he won’t be able to sneak into his junk food cupboard, get it?” Judah explained with a funny look on his face. His further explanation amused Gerome and Aamali, who were already tittering at Lukah’s ridiculous yet novel idea of junk food deprivation.

“Duh. What if he goes to the store and get himself snack?” Gerome retorted.

Lukah’s brows lifted due to new discovery. “You just gave me an idea, you evil chap.”

“Man, what you really need is self-control,” Aamali said, partly amused and shaking his head after the ridiculous idea. “I mean, why all the hassle? You just need to shut your mouth!”

“Well there are two things that I find hard to resist – yummy food and…”

“And beautiful women,” Gerome intervened sarcastically before Lukah could finish his words.

“Nice one, Romey,” Lukah said, pointing both his index fingers at Gerome with a sly wink. “You know me well.”

“So uh… what happened to Ronna?” Judah asked.

“Who?” Lukah frowned a little while zipping his duffel.

“Ronna, that blonde girl… the one you dated… like, last week,” Judah clarified in a monotone.

Lukah gave a blank stare and came to his senses. “Oh yeah, Ronna. She’s one hot chick.”

Judah lowered his head for a suspicious glare. “You two are off?”

“I’ve decided to stay single at the moment and put full focus on the coming SOAR tournament. This is very, very important business,” Judah spoke in the most serious manner.

Gerome snorted. “I bet you got dumped, after she found out about the brunette barista.”

“Wait a minute. How do you guys know about Zeta?” Lukah asked, with a surprise look.

“From the way you ogled at her the other day, when we were at the bar. It was a patent motive, wasn’t it?” Judah quipped.

Lukah couldn’t help feeling tad abashed, but managed to display a smirk to cover up his embarrassment. “Well, all I can say is… you guys are paying a lot of attention lately. I’m impressed. Mind if I give you some courting advice?”

“No thanks. Keep them to yourself,” Gerome answered.

“You can date anyone as long as it’s not my sister,” Judah emphasized, knowing that Lukah was a congenital and chronic flirt that never takes any girl seriously.

“Jade? You have to be kidding. I don’t date girls with weapons. They are dangerous,” Lukah spoke in an offhand manner. “But don’t get me wrong. She’s lovely, thought she could be a little feisty sometimes. She just needs to dress up a little that’s all, make herself look a bit hotter.”

“Okay, time to go, or we’ll be really late.” Aamali picked his bag up and strode towards the exit door.

“Mali, I’m really tired. Piggyback?” Lukah said to Aamali.

“Okay.” Aamali dropped his bag on the floor with a loud plonk, and attempted to hop onto Lukah’s back. But Lukah was quick enough to discern danger and flung himself away in a flash, making Judah and Gerome whooping with laughter. Aamali was a big man, they knew it is impossible for Lukah to give him a piggyback ride, Aamali’s weight would probably cause him bone fracture.

There were only two things that Lukah would be serious about, SOAR and battle. The rest of the time he was like a floating balloon with no string attached, going anywhere and doing whatever pleases him. Captain Aamali Storm on the other hand, was a lot more serious, a lot more tangible and organized than Lukah. He had sense of humour, but never got as eccentric as Lukah.

Anyone would feel secure around Aamali. He was like one of those bullet-proof superheroes that does his best to protect you no matter what it takes. Aamali was a bronze-skinned man with large frame, and stoutly built, which was the very reason they made him the main defense in the SOAR game. As strong as he seemed, his outstanding 183/200 strength amina, is rare, even among the battlefield soldiers.

Aamali grew up in a military milieu. Both his parents worked for the Velvet Navy as naval officers. That was how they (Onyx and Storm family) knew each other since young, for most of the Green Sand military personnel families lived in the designated areas provided by the government.

The Contemporary Nunchaku was Aamali’s forte. Inspired by Nunchaku, the Contemporary Nunchaku was altered and enhanced for advance fighting. Each chuck is twenty inches long, one and a half inch in diameter. The chucks are connected by a metal chain that was extendable to ten feet long. A hook was designed and hidden at the bottom of each of the chucks, in which they could be used when necessary.

Besides big titles like Captain Storm of the Velvet Navy, and Green Sand SOAR defender, Aamali had a tender, a less virile title – the perfect boyfriend. He was the only one among them who had a steady girlfriend, for almost seven years. Xara, Aamali’s jewel in the box, was a beautiful, slender, honey-skinned woman. This is an exemplar of a pair of lovely mature and thoughtful couple, who stayed for seven years together through thick and thin. Xara worked as a martial arts instructor in the University of Halls in Seven (the capital city of Velvet). They met each other when she was invited by the Green Sand Military School as a guest instructor to demonstrate new martial art skills to the students, and Aamali had had his eyes on her ever since.