The next few days seemed to fly by for the group. The company Marcus used to build Copperhead arrived and made the modifications necessary to get it ready for competition in the regional invitation. That just gave more time for Marcus and Pepper to train together in the simulators and Pepper continued to enjoy the friendly competition.

  To Pepper’s surprise. Andrea and Wilson had formed a small bond in the meantime. He was shocked to walk in on the two of them sitting in the living room playing the card game. Wilson devoted some time to teaching her the ins and outs of the game, but Pepper was just happy to see her usual spirits return. The evening hours were spent with the group sitting around a campfire in the backyard while Andrea played soft melodies on her gifted guitar.

  The night before the invitational, there was a short moment when Pepper found himself sitting by the fire with only Wilson to keep him company. Though his roommate was normally quiet, there seemed to be something on his mind that he wanted to share, but couldn’t find the courage to broach the subject.

  “Thanks for teaching Andrea how to play TCG. She has seemed to really enjoy the time you two have spent together.”

  Wilson shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t mention it. She’s gotten better at it, and it’s been fun, but…” the pause in Wilson’s voice left Pepper believing he was about to share what was truly weighing down upon him. “It’s been nice to be distracted from, the other night.”

  He took a deep breath and watched as Wilson merely stared into the dancing flames. “You doing okay?”

  Pepper had a hard time seeing past the glare coming off of Wilson’s glasses, but could just make out the water building in Wilson’s eyes. “I was scared Pepper. Really, scared.”

  “I think it’s safe to say that we all were scared squints.”

  “Yeah, but… you. You just leapt in to action and acted like there was nothing to it. All I could think about was how quickly I could get down into the shelter.”

  The only sound between them for a few seconds was the crackling of the fire. Pepper pressed his lips together and then took a deep breath. “I wasn’t scared, but terrified. The thing is though… I honestly don’t remember making the decision to grab Mala and defend you guys. That whole event is nothing but a blur to me. It’s almost like my body made the decisions for me and went on autopilot. I was just along for the ride.”

  “Yeah, but… Pepper you fought off like thirty of those creatures before the military showed up.”

  “That may be, but, if the military hadn’t showed up, we would have all been dead. So, don’t give me too much credit there.”

  “I just wish I would have acted like you did. Instead of standing and fighting, I went to hide in what I felt was safety.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that Wilson. You did what you felt was best in that situation.”

  “I guess what I am trying to say is… thank you. We’re alive today because of you Pepper.”

  Pepper had to stop and think about it. In reality, it was clear to him that the Shadow Cast were after Elowen and her family. Her warning had practically put all their lives in danger and made them the focal point for the demons to home in on. But, there was also no knowing what would have happened if she had not warned them. The entire neighborhood could have easily been consumed before they were even aware of the demonic threat lurking outside their homes.

  “You’re welcome squints.”

  ***

  The group awoke the next day and Pepper made everyone breakfast. Wilson had stayed up late that night playing TCG online and the group practically had to ward Wilson off form consuming too much Big Duck Energy and turning into an chaotic gremlin.

  Andrea went about doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen area for them. She had scolded them again two days back because they had fallen into their old habits of leaving dirty dishes and laundry just laying about. Pepper had turned towards figuring out how to order up the Buzz Podz they would need to deliver their golems to the SEC Arena.

  The process left a sour taste in Marcus’s mouth as he was reminded of his vehicle being eviscerated from the demonic attack. Thankfully the process wasn’t too difficult to navigate and Pepper was able to schedule the transportation to arrive in the next hour. Marcus then convinced Pepper they needed to do a quick social media live stream. A chance to remind fans to tune in to watch and encourage them on during the event. Though he was hesitant and despised the idea, he eventually conceded.

  Marcus, per usual, took the center stage of the camera feed and did the majority of the talking. He hyped up the viewers who jumped on to watch and Marcus went into details explaining the training he and Pepper had undergone. During their broadcast, Pepper saw the notification arrive on his holodex and he quickly tapped to open up the message.

  [:::] What’s up duck? It’s Landry, you on your way to the SEC invitational? [:::]

  Pepper stepped away and made a quick call to the gladiator. “Hey, Stephen, it’s P-Dub.”

  “P-Dub, my man! What’s good with you? You make it down to the arena yet?”

  “We should be there in the next hour, then we have registration and there is a welcoming speech and briefing we have to sit through before the opening ceremony.”

  “Dope…” Stephen dragged it out the phrase and then dry coughed. Pepper couldn’t help but notice that there was loud music playing in the background, wherever his friend was calling him from. “Hey, did you meet Rob Gagnon at this past GolemCon?”

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  Pepper knew the name from other Golem League matches, but couldn’t recall running into the gladiator. “No, can’t say that I have.”

  “Dude? How could you not meet Rob, he’s the best!” Pepper couldn’t help but chuckle at Stephens emphasis, but didn’t have a chance to respond before his friend continued. “Okay, well look. Rob and I are going to link up and be at the arena. Message me when you get down here so I can introduce you to him. Rob is doing big things man, big things that are going to shape the industry.”

  “Sounds good, I’ll ping you when we get in.”

  Peppers could help but stare at the massive arena when it came into view. He tried to mentally recall the details of the arena he watched JoeDan compete in at GolemCon. His best guess and estimate was that the one now before them was roughly the same size.

  The thing he was not excited about was the long line of vehicles that waited to make their way through the gate and to the loading docks. After roughly another two hours of waiting, they finally were able to the front of the line.

  Their vehicle came to a stop, and they all got out and stretched. Pepper looked towards the loading dock roll up door and found a small, framed woman jump down and start walking over towards them. She had a safety hat and safety glass on, but he could see she had tied her long brown hair into a ponytail. She had a holopad which was tightly tucked up into her safety jump suit.

  Her uniform was a navy-blue jumper that had a zipper running down the center. His eye couldn’t help but catch the bright neon yellow line and high vis reflective tape stitched into the uniform. The distinct profile lines ran down the center of the arms, the side of the legs, and had a distinct V shape pattern which ran across the chest.

  She came to a stop and took a second to take in a deep breath before she greeted them. “Alright, next up I see.” She smiled and her finger pointed up and drew their attention to a name tag stitched into the fabric. “I’m Jules and welcome to the SEC invitational. Before we unload your golems, I am going to give you a very quick tour of the arena. That way you know where your golems will be at, but also how to navigate through the arena grounds safely while everything is beeping, chirping, squelching, and hoot’n and a hollering all around you. Sounds good?”

  They couldn’t help but smile as her southern accent greeted them with a welcoming and energetic tone. Each one nodded and before they knew it, they were off on following Jules as she moved in a hasty walk. She led them over to a set of metal stairs and then through an access door. They were immediately greeted by the sound of dark synthetic cyberpunk music playing over a set of speakers overhead.

  Jules turned around and faced them, but pointed down to the floor. “There are red, yellow, and green lines painted on the floor. In the designated areas, you need to stay within the walking lanes. Red is a do not cross, ever. Solid yellow is a warning area you need to stop, look, before crossing. When you are in a green zone, you can freely walk around and just be mindful of those around you. But the majority of the green zones are in the golem work areas. Any questions?” Jules paused but looked at each of them individually. “Excellent. Follow me.”

  She motioned with her head and then turned and continued down to the right side. Jules led them down the left side of the loading dock. On the right were 10 massive rollup doors that were four times larger than the workshop at the house. Heavy cargo movers slowly drove back and forth unloading supplies, golem parts, and even the golems themselves.

  The entire area left Pepper thinking of the similarities to an epic sci-fi movie. The rebel crews moving back and forth with supplies. All in preparation for star ships and fighters to launch towards the final space battle.

  Each rollup door had thin lines of led strips that ran along the sides. Jules pointed over to one of the doors that was numbered 7. “Lucky number 7. That will be your loading dock you can utilize to unload from. It is illuminated in red now, but once the truck is backed up it will switch to green. That means the vehicle is locked into the dock and you can go back and forth unloading supplies. If the vehicle is not locked in you are not to be anywhere near the door. Safety first.”

  They continued to follow Jules around the circular pattern of the arena. Jules pointed over to the left and highlighted a smaller doorway fitted for personnel. There was a bright blue led lining around the edge, practically identical to the loading dock doors. “If you see blue, that area is for gladiators and support staff only. But inside that area you’ll find lounge areas to relax in. There are bathrooms, and small kitchenettes with some vending machines for any type of snacks you want to grab. It saves you time from going to the food court.”

  Jules then opened up her holopad and started to tap away on the screen. “Okay, what are you golem names?” The group rattled them off and Jules started to navigate through the multiple pages. “Alright, just give me a minute here.” Her face distorted with a slightly frustrated expression and ended with a displeased look. “Well, I am sorry to say that I can’t get all three of you next to each other. You’ll be a little spread out.”

  She motioned with her head and walked them through the next main corridor. Pepper looked up along the side wall and saw markings painted high up on the wall. He then realized they were measurements for golems, the highest marking set to 60 feet tall to allow for Pantheon approved golems. The gap between the final measurement and the ceiling left pepper believing there was twenty feet of space.

  By the time he lowered his gaze he saw they were now walking through the golem holding bays. Jules pointed towards the bays off to the right side. “Each bay is eighty feet tall by forty feet wide. If you require more width for your golem, let one of us know and we’ll move you down and into the customized bay area.”

  She paused and looked down at her screen. “Nightmare Mala?” Her voice ended slightly higher which cued them in that it was a question more than a statement.

  Pepper lifted his finger and caught Jules attention. “That’s my golem.”

  “Okay, Nightmare Mala will be here in this bay.”

  He looked over and saw the designation 31C painted on both sides of the large bay door. Jules then approached the bay and motioned with all of them to follow. She pointed to a control panel on the far side of the wall. “You’re control module here. Lights on, off, colorize them if you like. Volume control module for music, announcements.” She paused and turned towards the group and emphasized. “I highly recommend you don’t lower the announcement volume to the point you miss your match callouts…”

  Marcus chimed in at that point. “Does that happen a lot?”

  “Every year honey. Don’t be that guy, you know what I mean?”

  “Yes ma’am.” He replied.

  She turned back and faced the control module; she pointed with her finger to narrow in on the one side of the screen. “You can use this panel as a two-way walkie talkie. You just punch in the bay number you want to talk to, hit the talk button and it will patch you through to them.” Her finger glided over to the middle section. “You can also play an order with the food court here. That way it saves you time when you’re working hard to repair your golem. You can also set it for delivery services for a small fee.”

  She turned to the group and then focused on Pepper. “Okay, if you want to start unloading your golem, your free to do so. Or, you can follow along with us. Mr. Wood will be your safety inspector and should be stopping by at some point to perform your golem safety inspection. Just be sure you do not miss your SEC Welcoming Briefing.”

  A smirk appeared on Marcus’s face and everyone turned their attention towards him. “every year?”

  Jules smiled with a sarcastic expression. “Every year.”