Narrated by John
I knew, that I'd gone out of my mind, the moment this thought popped up. Benji took six years to acquire it. I had six days at the most. I didn't believe that I'd even get close to it, let alone pull it off. But it was worth a try.
I could only catch about an hour of sleep, and then I couldn't sleep any longer. Anticipation and excitement ran through my body, and I was unable to suppress these feelings.
I got up, and looked at the clock. 4:38 a.m. I wasn't gonna sleep anyway, so I went outside.
It was pretty dark, but eyes adjusted to the darkness. A cool breeze swept past me, and any fatigue that was within me, went away with the wind. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. The fragrance of wet mud filled my nostrils. It must earlier, as the ground felt soft too.
I walked along the cliffside, and the moonlight gave a special glow to the Green Sea. Overall, it was a refreshing atmosphere, and I felt.... ready. I felt like I could do this. I could win. I could.
Then, my brain asked me, Even if you could, what are the odds of you winning?
Shut up, my heart replied, the odds can be looked upon later.
Suit youself, my brain said, and the conversation ended.
"Up so early?" I heard Mr. Benji's voice behind me.
I turned, and nodded.
"Something must be bugging you. What's the matter?" He asked.
"Nothing bad. It's just excitement, and anticipation, that woke me up."
"Excited for the tournament?"
"Very! But, I'm also worried about Chris' other student. If Ethan was able to break through defense so effortlessly, and battered me to a good extent-"
"Why worry about it? Don't you trust your own abilities?"
"I don't know, Mr. Benji. This guy, even though I haven't even seen him, I'm sure he would be leagues better than Ethan. And if that's the case, I don't think I'd be able to last long against him."
He softly chuckled, and put his arm around my neck,"You're overthinking this, John. You haven't even met the person, and you're already making up situations? Just relax, and look forward to meeting him! Okay?"
I smiled and nodded, but on the inside, I was still rattling.
Mr. Benji slapped me on my back, and said,"Now, that's the John I want! Also, I've gone to Mira City before, and I'll guarantee you that you'll have a good time there! They've got great arcades there!"
"They have arcades?!"
"Yes! And the very best games are there! You'll also find many competitions being held. People there are crazy about games."
"Wow. That's great."
"I know, right?"
"By the way, when do we depart?"
"Uh, two hours more, I guess. We won't go along with the rest of the school team. They'll be taking a pretty long flight-"
"A flight? But Stronghold doesn't have an airport, as far as I know..."
"They won't be taking it from Stronghold."
"What do you mean?"
"As you know, Stronghold is a hidden city. And our cities are hidden near big cities around the world."
"Which city is Stronghold near?"
"We're near Sydney, Australia."
"Sydney?!"
"Yes. They'll take a flight from Sydney to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, where Mira's hidden."
"But we're just near Sydney?"
"Not very near. Around a hundred and fifty kilometres away from the coasts."
"I wasn't expecting that at all. So close to being discovered...."
"Oh, don't worry about that. There's a reason these cities are called 'hidden'."
"So, the other people from the outside world won't be able to reach us?"
"No, they can't, unless they know how the city looks like. If they reach our exact location, and imagine the city to be here, he would be able to see the city, and walk in the lands of Stronghold."
"I see."
"So, as I was saying, they'll be taking a pretty long flight to Rio, and when we reach there, it would be pretty late, and you won't be able to enjoy the city's luxuries."
"So, how are we gonna go?"
"Well, I know of a way, but just don't tell anyone about it."
"Fine, I won't."
"This info is only known among the Bender Elites, but I'll share it anyway. You see, the Benders made a secret gateway portal, which connects all cities together, in case humanity discovers our secret, and decides to destroy us. So, we could use these portals and reach the other cities faster, and together we could defend ourselves against the world. We can use these portals to reach the other cities in seconds!"
"So we're using these portals?"
"Yep!"
"That's good, but is it allowed? Like, can we use it?"
"Of course! In fact, these portals are 7sed several times a day!"
"Wow. Then that's good!"
He nodded, and then said,"Okay, I'll take your leave, and prepare stuff for Mira."
He went inside, and I looked at the horizon.
An hour later, everyone was up, and another hour later, we were ready to go. Before that, Benji told us to go to the city and meet our parents, and I made my way home.
I went hom, and met my parents. I chatted for sometime, then went to my room. I grabbed a few things I might need, and put them in a backpack. I then went back to the Green House, where everyone was ready.
"Ready to go?" Mr. Benji asked, am enthusiastic smile on his face.
"YES!" We shouted.
He nodded,"Alright! Follow me!"
We followed him to the Bradlow Gates, from where he took a sharp left, and followed him to the banks of the Misu river. The river was wide, and was one of the few rivers which had a waterfall along with them.
Mr. Benji went upstream, and we reached the waterfall. He walked along the bank, and went right inside the waterfall!
Turns out, there was a cave behind the waterfall. We all went inside it, and there was something really bright at the end. As we walked, a bright light glowed at the end, and it began resembling a door. We came in front of it, and it was definitely looking like a doorway.
"Here we go!" Mr. Benji said, and walked right into the light.
I followed him, and entered into a void of bright light. It was so intense, that I had to close my eyes.
"MY EYES!!" Alex shrieked.
"Too bright! Too bright!" Gordon said.
I heard Mr. Benji's voice,"Close your eyes, and take Mira's name!"
I said,"Mira!"
Suddenly, the light died, and I opened my eyes to find myself in another cave.
The others were right next to me, and Mr. Benji grinned,"We're here!"
I walked out, and the beautiful view of Mira City took the words out of my mouth.