Chapter 37—The Park

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In case you don't know, San Campion Wilderness Park is a fairly large park on the edge of the city. It's over a square mile in size, and has several miles of trails. A creek ran through the middle of the forestry, and in many spots it's shaded and deep enough to swim in. It's a popular spot.

When we reached the park I picked up my skateboard and Emma picked up her scooter. It's almost impossible to ride on the gravel/dirt paths.

"Where do you wanna go?" I asked her when we stopped at the gift shop, where we each bought a bottle of water.

"Let's start at the creek," she suggested. "It's already really hot out." I agreed and I bought a map before we set off on a trail that would take us straight to the creek.

"Does the dojo do anything for the Fourth of July?" I asked her about halfway to the creek. The Fourth of July was a week away.

"They usually put together a parade float," she replied. "Why?"

"There's a skateboarding competition that takes place right after the parade ends," I explained. "I always compete in it."

"I've never actually watched the competition," she admitted. "Actually, I didn't even know about the competition."

"It's usually an invitation-only event for the competitors," I explained. "It's usually just friends and family of the competitors that find out about it. It's really fun, though."

"Cool. How do you do each year?" she asked me.

I smiled. "Wait until the competition and you'll find out," I told her. "I hope they introduce everyone like they have in the past."

"Why can't you just tell me?" she demanded.

"It's a surprise," I replied. "Besides, how else would I get you to really want to show up?"

"Simple," she said. "Just ask me to go."

"Emma, would you like to come and watch me at the Annual Fourth of July San Campion Skateboarding Competition?" I asked her.

"I would love to," she replied. I smiled and we walked for another minute before arriving at the creek, which is about ten feet wide. At the spot we were by, the water started shallow but deepened to about four feet at its deepest.

"Did you bring a swim suit?" I asked Emma as I pulled off my shirt. I wasn't wearing a hoodie because of the heat, and tossed my beanie on top as I pulled off my shoes and socks as well.

"Nope," she replied, pulling off her shoes. We placed our electronic devices on the middle of the pile and ran into the water, which was comfortably cool. We splashed water at each other as we ran around. When the water was deep enough I floated on my back.

"Ah!" Emma screamed, surfacing right next to me a minute later. I screamed and lost my focus, falling into the water.

"Don't do that to me!" I shouted when I surfaced. She kept laughing, though, so I tackled her into the water. We wrestled around for a couple minutes before I got the upper hand, lifting her completely out of the water.

"Alright, you win," she grumbled. I laughed and set her on the shore. I held out a hand to help her up, but she grabbed it and used it to pull my to the ground next to her. We continued with the fight, rolling around until I could pin her down. When I did my face was inches away from hers. Excitement sparkled in her eyes, and we smiled before I leaned in…

"Well, well," Miles shouted as he approached us. "Look what we have here."

I growled and jumped up, tackling him to the ground. "Emma, toss me a knife!" I shouted as Miles tried to grab a sword hanging by his side. She scrambled up and tossed me one of my knives. I grabbed it and set it against his throat. "Don't even think about it," I growled. By then Emma had her gauntlet on and activated as five other duelists surrounded us. I took Miles' sword from him and slashed at a Fear Fang ruthlessly as it approached me. After a few good jabs it was banished so I threw the sword as far away as I could. I grabbed my second knife and began slicing away at any enemy creature that approached me. Soon I was fighting against two Water Creatures as Grif fought four more.

"I need backup," I growled. "Dragon Knight Volaron!"

"Who's trying to kill us this time?" he asked me.

"Them," I replied, pointing at the Water creatures. He nodded and took care of them all with a blast of fire from one hand.

"I need help over here!" Emma shouted as Grif was swarmed and defeated. She summoned Razorkinder, but would still need extra power.

"Volaron!" I yelled, pointing to the Water creatures. He nodded and destroyed them all as well, 'accidentally' catching Razorkinder.

"Why'd you destroy my creature?" she screamed at Volaron.

"The Evil Toy was surrounded by the enemy," he explained. "The only way to destroy the enemy was to take them out and your creature. I apologize."

"It's okay," Emma said. "I should probably develop a wider range of Darkness creatures, though."

"It's okay," I assured her.

"Yeah, says the guy who uses a ton of different creatures," she said.

"Technically, only six," I corrected her. "Besides, everyone has their own style. You stick to a couple choice creatures that you are comfortable using, and I constantly branch out. It's just how we are."

"True," she agreed. She sat next to the creek as I made sure all the duelists were gone. When I was sure they were gone I dismissed Volaron and summoned Shaw K'Naw to protect us.

"I just need you to scare away any enemy duelists," I told him when he landed on my arm. "Make sure that to anyone else you are just a normal bird." He nodded so I rubbed the top of his head before he flew away.

"What time is it?" Emma asked me about thirty minutes later. We spent that time just lying in the sun and relaxing. I had actually fallen asleep until her question woke me up.

"Um, about noon," I replied, checking my phone.

"We should go get some lunch," she suggested.

"Good idea," I replied. I stood up and helped her up. The sand shifted beneath my feet, causing us to fall backwards. I regained my balance, but Emma fell against my chest.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, fine," she replied. She blushed slightly and stood up again, pulling on her shoes. I went over to my pile and pulled on my shoes and shirt as well. My pale skin was already developing a tan. I dismissed Shaw K'Naw as we walked over to a nearby food truck, where we got burgers and soda. I insisted on paying, and we sat down at a nearby picnic table and ate our food.

"This stuff is awesome," Emma commented as she finished her burger.

"This food truck makes amazing food," I added. "I've gotten food from them before. It was voted best food truck last year."

"Cool."

I nodded and we finished our food before heading over to the Temple to train and hang out over there.

"I'm gonna go get my weapons," Emma told me when we got there.

"Kay. I'll be in the library," I replied. I don't know why, but being in the library is soothing for me.

She nodded and walked in one direction as I went in another. When I got to the library I began looking at tablets for Battle Spheres that could help increase security.

"Whatcha looking for?" Emma asked, sneaking up behind me.

"Battle Spheres to help with security," I replied, picking up a tablet for a Spyweb Scurrier. It wasn't big on security, but with a bit of tweaking on its programming I could turn it into a security sphere. I climbed back down the ladder I was balanced on and took the tablet to a table.

"What does it do?" she asked me when she read the description.

"Normally, it just creates metallic webs, but I plan on something else," I told her. "I'll have to work on the programming a bit, but it should work."

"Cool," she said. She sounded very bored, though.

"There you two are," Ray said as he walked up to us. "We wish to speak with you."

"Okay," I replied. We walked with him up to the war room, where Jameson had pulled up a video of Emma and I at the creek.

"Where did you get that video?" I demanded, storming over to Panopter. I pulled on my gauntlet and activated it, temporarily taking control and getting rid of the video. "You have no right to spy on us," I snapped.

"We recorded the video because we saw the attack on you," Gabe explained, bringing up the video again. "You should have reported it when you got here."

I shrugged. "We took care of the threat, like we always do," I replied. "There was no need to worry."

"Nevertheless, you should have alerted us," Gabe said. "These attacks are becoming very frequent."

"I have many enemies in my mother's organization," I told him. "With all the resources she has, I'm surprised they don't attack more often."

"We know, but we should learn of these attacks from you, not from Stalker Spheres," Ray told me.

"Okay, Let's start over," I suggested. They nodded and I continued. "When Emma and I were hanging around at the park, Miles and some other duelists attacked us," I added, keeping my cool. "We took care of them, but I figured that you would want to know."

"Thank you for informing us," Ray said, going along with the act.

"Now that that's over with, what does the dojo do for the Fourth of July?" I asked them.

"We plan on using the same float as every year," Ray replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I've got a skateboarding competition right after the parade finishes," I explained. "I haven't missed it since I first competed, and I don't want to now. I've already gotten the invitation, and I don't want to turn it down."

"You don't have to be on the float," Allie told me. "We usually get the people who are only students to do it. You guys are busy enough as it is with everything going on. We'll even go to the competition afterwards to watch."

I smiled. "Thanks," I replied. "I'm running out of the award money from last year."

"Award money?" Emma asked me.

"Yeah. Out of the twenty that compete, monetary awards are handed out to the top ten, ranging from a hundred dollars to two thousand," I explained.

"What? Two thousand dollars for a skateboard competition?" Jameson demanded.

"The competition has gotten a lot of attention over the years," I told them. "There's a fifty dollar entrance fee along with the sponsors and vendors that are there. There's even a professional demonstration."

"Sweet," Ray commented. "My mom would never let me skateboard. Too dangerous."

"Yeah, and then she'd let you run off and fight giant monsters," Gabe added. They burst out laughing as Emma and I stood there uncomfortably.

"What do you want us to do now?" Emma asked them.

"It's time to train," Ray told us.

"Awesome," Emma said, pulling on her gauntlet.

"Not duels," Ray told us. "Since we are the only ones with weapons, we need to work together. Jacob will work with Jameson on staff combat and we will summon creatures that have agreed to train us."

"What?" Jameson and I demanded.

"I can't train with him!" I told them. "He'd end up too badly hurt."

"Don't flatter yourself," Jameson growled.

"Okay, I'm in," I said. "Since I'm training you, though, I get the zap stick."

"What? Why?" he demanded.

"It's just like when I was trained," I told him. "The trainer gets the zap stick. It helps motivate the person being trained when they get hit repeatedly."

He frowned but handed over the staff. I grabbed it and handed him my wooden staff.