A week later, Alex and I were sitting on a yacht, sailing across the sea that nearly took our lives. Rothman was sitting on the deck with a glass of wine. She wore a white sundress that blazed in the bright early afternoon sun. I stood leaning against the railing, watching Malagosto come into view. From where we were, it seemed like the perfect island getaway for a vacation, but I knew otherwise. I couldn't even begin to imagine all the people who must have died in this place. It was a cruel place. Then again, Scorpia was cruel (Scorpia stood for Sabotage, Corruption, Intelligence, and Assassination). I watched the island for another half hour before we reached it. Rothman was the first off the boat. Alex and I reluctantly followed.
"I don't know if I can do this," Alex whispered to me.
I circled my arms around his chest and kissed him. "We'll be fine. Don't worry."
"The two of you are involved?" Rothman asked us.
Alex smiled and pulled me closer to him. "Yeah, we've been together for about a year."
Rothman nodded. "Well, come on. I want you to meet your competition."
The first place we went was the martial arts facility. A group of people had just finished their daily training. Rothman introduced us to a tall, African man who was the martial arts teacher.
"My name is Nile. If you make it into Scorpia, I'll be teaching you martial arts."
"Where is Rei?" Rothman asked. "I want to see how well these two do in hand-to-hand combat."
"I'm right here, ma'am."
Alex and I turned around. A young man in his early twenties approached us. His hair was bleached an impossibly bright blonde. His eyes wore unnaturally green contacts.
"This is Rei," Nile continued. "He's the top student here at the martial arts academy."
Rothman said something quietly to Rei. I couldn't here what it was. Without warning, Rei launched at me. I stepped aside and swooped down in a full sweep. Rei crashed down onto the hardwood floor. I half-smiled. He was fast, but I was faster. He stood up and went at me again. He punched at me left and right, catching nothing but air with each attempt. Then he tried an assortment of various kicks. Some of his moves caught me by surprise, but I still blocked them all effortlessly. I was disappointed. Rei couldn't be the best martial student here. I caught his ankle and swung him to the floor. He jumped up, grabbing a handful of my T-shirt. I grabbed his hand and squeezed the pressure point. He released me, his fingers writhing in pain. I flicked him in the middle of the forehead. He stumbled backward dumbfounded. I seized the opportunity and lunged forward. I struck the side of his neck with an open-hand. Rei slumped to the floor unconscious.
Nile let out an impressed whistle. "So much for my best student. I guess he's not so great after all."
"Well, there's one of your competitors," Rothman said. "If you'll excuse us, Nile."
She led us to another large building. Inside, I heard the familiar sound of firing guns.
"This is our marksmanship facility." Rothman gestured to three people at the far end of the practice room. "They're competing against you. The brunettes are Tom and Andres. They're twins. The African girl is Sheila."
Rothman led us toward the three competitors. They shot at cardboard human targets with various guns and rifles. Their marksmanship was great, but not perfect. Their shots came close to the vital points, but never hit the points dead on. Rothman picked up a handgun and handed it to Alex.
"Let's see how well you shoot."
Alex unlocked the gun and raised it toward a target. He shot five rounds and lowered the gun. Rothman pulled a lever that pulled the target toward us to examine. There was one hole in the middle of the forehead of the cardboard figure.
"Looks like you had one lucky shot," Rothman frowned.
"No," I said, pointing to the bullet hole. "This is bigger than a hole made by just one bullet. All five shots passed through this same hole."
Alex smiled, satisfied and proud of himself. Rothman gaped at him in disbelief.
"Well," Rothman said, trying to recollect herself, "I'll show you to your rooms. The test will begin tomorrow."
"So soon?" I asked. "Don't we get some training time like the others?"
"You really don't need it," Rothman said, turning to leave.
Alex and I followed her out.
"What about the other competitors?" Alex asked.
"I don't know where they are," Rothman replied stiffly.
Alex and I followed her to the dorms in silence. Our rooms were next to each other on the second floor. Our baggage had already been taken to our rooms for us. Rothman left us once we were settled. I stepped into Alex's room and closed the door.
"What got into Mrs. Rothman?" Alex asked me.
I shrugged. "Beats me."
"At first, she seemed like she wanted me here. Now, I guess she doesn't."
I sighed, putting my arms around Alex and leaning on him. I needed that sense of security I felt whenever I was near him. I buried my face in his shoulder.
"The past few weeks have been so crazy," Alex said softly, holding me tightly as if he'd never let me go. "Cam…"
Something in the way he said my name made my heart flutter. I lifted my face to look at him. He gazed down at me with his deep brown eyes. He brushed a strand of hair off my face. Then he kissed me. Suddenly, I had this feeling that I never felt before. Was I –? No…I couldn't be. I pushed myself away from Alex.
"Cam, wait," Alex murmured, pulling be back against his chest. "Don't go – not yet." He kissed me again, and again, and again.
"Alex, stop," I pleaded softly.
He only held me tighter. "Stay with me, Cam."
Why was I having this random, unexplainable feeling? Alex was my friend – nothing more, nothing less. Or at least I thought he was…no, I was sure. We were just friends.
"I can't do this anymore, Alex," I finally said.
"Why not?"
"I know how you feel about me, and I can't keep leading you on like this. To me, you're just a friend."
Alex fixed his sad, brown eyes on me. He slowly slid his hands off my body.
"I wish I meant more to you," Alex said quietly, sounding heartbroken.