It was a stabbing pain in the stomach which slowly wandered up to his chest. He knew the feeling. It wasn't the kind of pain he felt when he had collapsed. It was another one. A kind that had shown up after that incident. He had felt it several times. And it never ended to show through. It was the bitter taste of sadness and incomprehension.
Sadness, because he wasn't allowed to play football as the others were.
Incomprehension, because he didn't know why nobody could just treat him like a normal living person and not like a seriously ill one.
There was only one person who knew how he felt and who knew how to handle the situation: His brother.
I know you'll understand why I'm doing this, Thran, Ahito thought as he dressed up. It was the same outfit as always. White trousers, a black shirt with the light-blue "energy"-sign on it and the beige coat with the fur-hood.
Finally he put the goggles on his forehead and slipped in his shoes. "You all know I can't just sit here and do nothing", Ahito mumbled and opened the door slowly to not make any noise.
The Snow Kids were training at that time so he wouldn't run into anyone. Even Dame Simbai was needed at the training sessions to care about the players' health. But still Ahito had to be silent. Arch had a very good sense of hearing and would catch up to him immediately if he noticed him.
With his breath hold, Ahito sneaked through the corridors of the big doss where the Snow Kids lived during their time on Akillian. It felt like it took forever to get to the exit but by the moment he got outside he was relieved of a giant burden.
"Phew!" Ahito started to run. After about two hundred meters he stopped and turned around. "Oh shit", he cursed as he clearly saw his footsteps in the snow that covered the ground. He had to get rid of that problem if he didn't want anyone to follow him but for that he had to take a little loop way through the city of Akillian where the earth was paved.
Once again the goalkeeper started to run and didn't slow down until he reached the city. There he caught his breath and then walked on slower. The town wasn't big. In fact it was the smallest one Ahito had ever seen on his journeys through the galaxy during the last Galactic Football Cup. So it was no wonder he had crossed it in no time.
Now he grabbed the Magnet Board he had borrowed from a boy he had met on his way and put it on the ground. He looked round once again to make sure nobody had followed him to take him back to the Snow Kids' doss. Then he stepped on the board and pushed off.
Icy wind blew in his face and tore at his clothes. The coldness felt like thousands of needles shooting his skin. He almost fell off the Magnet Board when he slid over something hard that was hidden beneath the snow and could barely manage his slide.
But even so Ahito cheered.
For the first time in weeks he felt free.
And it was wonderful!
While riding the Magnet Board, Ahito looked around in amazement. The few trees such as fir and birch trees were covered in snow which made them look like giant sugar loaves and as the sun began to shine down on them they sparkled in every imaginable color like a billion of diamonds. A lonely bird tweeted but stopped when a huge eagle appeared at the light blue sky.
It seemed like the majestic bird of prey wanted to guide Ahito through the landscape. He left the goalie not until they both reached an enormous ice cage. There the boy stopped the Magnet Board and circled the grotto 'til he found the entrance. For a last time he cast about the eagle but it was already gone. "Must be a good life", Ahito said. "Being free and not have to care about the world or anything." He was in one of his philosophical moods again. That wasn't unusual since he had had far too much time when he had been in bed because of his illness. That time he had started to think about anything that came to his mind to hold self-pity and depression off him.
But now he had something else to distract himself. Ahito took the Magnet Board and went inside the cavern. It was dark and soggy. Water dripped from the icicled ceiling. On the other end of the corridor was an elevator. The steel doors were tarnished over the years and let it look shabby.
Hesitant Ahito went over to the lift and pushed the button on the wall next to it. The doors opened sizzling. Cold light glared inside the narrow cabin. The goalie sighed, then stepped into the elevator and waited until it had descended to the sub level. Finally the opposite doors slid aside and Ahito hurried out of the cabin.
The hall he was in now was way bigger than in his memories. What he saw raised him a happy smile. "Hello world, Ahito's back!"
His hand ran over the cold outer shell of the prototype of the holo-trainer where he and hundreds of other kids had had their casting for getting into Arch's team, the later Snow Kids. He felt energy flooding his body. This was what he had missed most during his recovery time. Fitfully he broke away from the machine and walked over to the computer table which actuated the machine.
Ahito knew somewhat about engineering. The most knowledge he had, came from his brother Thran, who was a computer-freak. Now he just had to figure out how to get the holo-trainer started.
After some minutes and after trying every single button on the console the computer finally booted up making strange sounds. The display showed a variety of different possible training sessions, all with the name of the Snow Kid, who they were created for. Ahito spontaneously chose three programs with his name. Then he took off his clothes. Underneath he wore his yellow-black training jersey. As soon as he had folded his other clothes, he hurried back to the holo-trainer.
He stepped inside.
Comfortable warmth received him. The black pixels around him went white, then formed a floating football pitch.
It was perfectly wonderful.
At first Ahito just reclined on the green glass ground and lay there spread-eagled. After a few minutes he took a deep breath. Then he stood up again and resorted himself into the goal – just in time to catch the first football which was shot at the goal by a bluish clone. Another ball followed immediately. The goalie boxed it aside, then grabbed a third ball out of the air and threw it back on the pitch.
Now the shots came even faster and the clone aimed at different spots at the goal so Ahito met a problem as for the last few weeks he had the strict advice from Dame Simbai not to overexert himself and by no means use the Breath! Neither in his special gentle training, nor anywhere else!
He suppressed his Flux by using all of his strength. It was exhausting but he somehow managed to catch some of the balls though. However there were plenty of footballs behind the white line of the goal as the clone vanished. Growling some curses Ahito grabbed one of the balls and bounced it on his foot then suddenly sent it into the air and shot it at the opposing goal. It perfectly hit the middle of the close meshed net and fell to the ground, then changed into blue and white pixels.
A feminine sounding computer voice announced the start of the second training session. It sounded strange as normally Clamp was the one speaking through the headsets. However at the moment there was something more interesting in the holo-trainer: Holograms of the best players in the Galactik Football Cup took shape on the floating football pitch.
The first person was Warren. Ahito would've noticed him even with his eyes closed. Although it was only a hologram, his presence was sensible.
Next up was Luur, the Xenons' aggressive star striker. As his eyes found Ahito's he set up the spikes on his back and showed his sharp teeth while snarling like a furious lion.
The third player to appear was Lune-Zeera followed by Woo-Wam-Boo. The two Wambas high-fived and grinned. Then they went over to the other two players.
Fifth was Kernor. The tall goalkeeper of the Rykers released a small amount of her Flux, the Metal Yell which was followed by a wailing scream with metallic accent.
Kernor was followed by Stevens, the Pirates' striker. Although he had no Flux he was an incredibly well scorer.
Now the last player appeared. First there was only some black smoke that got more and more as the time passed by. Inside the smoke, a person took shape. It was only a silhouette but Ahito immediately recognized the player: Sinedd, the Shadows' striker and best scorer in the GFC. The Shadow yielded a huge amount of the Smog as he made his way to the other players who watched every single move of him. He seemed to enjoy having all of the attention. As he turned around he grinned deprecatingly and self-confidently. His lips formed the words "you'll lose".
A new ball formed on the penalty spot.
Ahito took his position in the goal while Woo-Wam-Boo walked over to the football. The Wamba marked time and surrounded himself with an orange energy. Then he ran up and kicked the ball. It flew through the air with enormous speed and some roaring sounds. Ahito jumped after it and boxed it aside. The ball went against the goalpost, but was redirected and hoped in the left lower corner of the net.
Woo-Wam-Boo raised his hands and did his hip-swinging-joy-dance. Lune-Zeera applauded laughing. And Ahito struck against the post. "I'll get the next one" he reassured himself.
The football inside the goal disappeared and took shape on the penalty spot again. Now it was Warren's turn. He used his Flux, the Charge, and easily scored by kicking the ball in the middle of the goal as Ahito launched himself aside in anticipation of the ball changing its direction.
The third one to score was Kernor by just kicking the ball so hard that Ahito got pushed inside the goal when he caught the football.
Now it was Lune-Zeera's turn. She scored like the others before. She was followed by Sinedd, and then Stevens shot. Last was Luur. His shot even blew the goal away and Ahito was glad he hadn't got hit by that ball.
As the goal was rebuilt – luckily the whole pitch was only a hologram – the penalty shootout went on. All of the players used their Flux – if they had one – and all of them scored one goal after another. Ahito launched himself after the balls, sometimes he even struck one of them, but every single one hit the goal. The goalie didn't have the slightest chance of catching them and without using the Breath less than ever. Even Stevens' shots were impossible to block. And the Pirate didn't even have a Flux!
The training continued merciless. Soon Ahito got tired. He hadn't been training for weeks and now he was pushed to his limits. But he wouldn't just give up. He wanted to play again properly, he wanted to play with his team again, and for that, he had to catch these damn balls! He just had to!
Right now, Sinedd set his Smog free and ran up to the ball. "I must get this one!", Ahito said to himself. "Get that ball! Have to get that ball!" He concentrated on Sinedd's steps and on the ball only and didn't pay attention to suppressing the Breath anymore. Light blue energy surrounded him as he hopped on the spot anxiously. His body was flooded with burning power.
Then Sinedd shot. Dark black Smog enclosed the white football and made it fly at incredible speed. If Ahito wouldn't stop it, it would go straight in the right upper corner. The goalkeeper launched himself after the fuming ball. The Breath pushed him forward so he could reach the ball just in time and grab it out of the air. The next moment he crashed onto the ground and coiled up not losing his hold on the ball. Slowly the haze of Flux cleared itself.
Ahito tried to get up but all of the strength he had felt before had vanished. Suddenly there was that stabbing pain again, that wandered from his stomach up to his chest. And this time it wasn't the sadness of not being allowed to play football. This time it was the same feeling as when he had collapsed the last time. "Thran!", Ahito cried for his brother although knowing that he wasn't there to help him. The football pitch around him disappeared leaving only glaring white walls and darker pixels – and the gate that led out of the holo-trainer.
With the strength of desperation Ahito dragged himself towards the exit. More stumbling than really walking he lifted himself out of the training machine. Behind him the gate closed again, leaving the hall with the console and the uncountable cables in almost complete darkness. Only one of the monitors that hadn't shut off yet diffused a yellowish light while it went off like crazy. But Ahito didn't notice it.
He meant to scream for help but he could only gasp a hushed "Help". His hand wandered up to his chest and grabbed the cloth of the jersey he was wearing. He groaned in pain as the whole world around him started to blur in a swirl of colors. His legs didn't carry his weight anymore. Barely conscious he collapsed to the cold ground with his entire body avoiding moving. He felt like … well actually he felt nothing but the pain which seemed to be growing with every minute.
"Thran", Ahito mumbled panting for air. "Help me, big brother."
If there had been one moment in his entire life where he hoped that there was a thing such as twin-telepathy, it was now.
Thran, please save me …, he screamed in his thoughts as his voice failed. Slowly he drifted into unconsciousness. The last thing Ahito noticed before he passed out was something touching his shoulder. Then everything went black.