Kickass Anthology (3 page)

http://www.brandonwitt.com/

I am a fulltime Mom by day and spend my evenings as my alter egos, a ninja illustrator and a superhero. My children know all about it. They are usually putting in their two cents over my shoulder. I get the giddy pleasure of making fun art for authors, bloggers and many other cool people. In my spare time, I make crazy designs for my new
Redbubble
store. I gave up sleep because sleep is for sissies, despite what the above mermaid would have you think.

The hobby of creating fan art for authors became a passionate business. I love working with writers, because the synergy is like nothing else.  Writers are the most amazing, creative souls.  Josh Lanyon, among others, sought me out for my art designs, such as
Prism Book Alliance
and
Queer Romance Month
. Now I love coming to the rescue and help 
anyone
who needs something artistically unique and personal. It's all part of the superhero gig.

http://www.catherinedair.com

Sophie Bonaste

THE JANIMAN

THE JANIMAN

Sophie Bonaste

XAN sat on the roof of his complex, staring up at the three moons rising in the night sky. It was a beautiful night on Janix. The air was cool and still, leading him to believe they were free of sandstorms tonight. That was a rare thing this time of year.

Xan saw the other complexes sitting in the distance, a few lights still glowing in the night sky. Janix wasn’t heavily populated, but there were quite a few living complexes in this area. Most of the planet was filled with mines. Janix was known for a substance called bullinium that powered starships all around the galaxy. Because of the space needed to mine it, most of the living complexes were cramped together in small areas like this, along with stores, schools, med centers and everything else needed to live.

Normally, it was a great place to live. When Xan was growing up, he would often come up here to the roof, five floors above the apartment Xan shared with his parents, just watching the sun set in the sky. As long as there wasn’t a sandstorm or something, it was quite peaceful.

But Xan couldn’t find peace. Not tonight. Tomorrow was one of the most important days of his life. Tomorrow, Xan faced the Janiman. And Xan was so scared he was going to fail.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

Xan turned around, a small smile gracing his lips as he saw Jace standing by the doorway.

“Probably,” Xan replied.

Jace walked over to him and sat down on the edge of the roof, his legs dangling off the side next to Xan’s.

“You’re going to be fine,” Jace comforted.

“You don’t actually believe that.”

“Yes, Xan, I do. You’re the smartest person I have ever met. You may not be the strongest, but you will find a way to get through it. Smart people pass the Janiman too, you know. You’ll find a way to beat it. I know you will.”

Sighing, Xan turned away from his boyfriend and looked back out at Janix. The Janiman had been the coming-of-age test for Janix for the last couple of centuries. On each person’s eighteenth birthday, they were put through a series of grueling physical tests that would determine whether or not they’d be welcomed into Janix’s society as an adult. If they passed the test, they would be given a job and a place to live. They’d also be allowed to marry and live as independent adults. But if they failed, they would be forced to leave Janix. The Janiman was seen as a test of worthiness. If you couldn’t prove you could serve Janix, then you had to leave. It was that simple.

The problem was Xan was certain he’d fail. Jace took the Janiman about three months ago and he told Xan how hard it was on him physically. And if it was hard for Jace, then Xan didn’t think he would have a chance.

Xan was born more than a month too early. And because of that, he had a host of medical issues. The worst, by far, was his breathing. Even a simple jog had him gasping for air. Xan had some herbs that he could use to help with the worst of it, but he wouldn’t be able to take them into the Janiman. Add that to the fact that his body seemed incapable of gaining any muscle mass and the fact that Xan was almost eight inches shorter than his boyfriend and Xan knew he was in trouble.

“You’ll be okay,” Jace said again. Xan looked over at him. He was so beautiful with bronzed skin and bulging muscles. Jace was not only one of the sweetest men Xan had ever met, but he was also the strongest. He could pick Xan up and hold him like he didn’t weight anything. Xan never had any doubts that he would pass the Janiman with flying colors.

Xan sighed. “I don’t think so, Jace.”

“I know you don’t. But, Xan, you will be. And when you pass, we can go and get an apartment somewhere and get married and live happily ever after.”

A small smile crossed Xan’s lips as he thought about that future. He didn’t really think it would happen, but it sounded so good. How could he ignore that? And the smile on Jace’s face! He couldn’t wipe that away.

“Sounds great,” Xan whispered.

Jace leaned over and gently kissed Xan on the lips before wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Together, the two looked out on Janix as night fell over the land. Xan just prayed this wouldn’t be the last time he got to do this. If he failed the Janiman, he would lose Jace forever. But he didn’t want to think about that. For now, he just wanted to live in the moment and worry about everything else tomorrow.

XAN swallowed as he stood outside the Janiman building. It was a large square building stretching five stories high. There weren’t any windows and only one door. Xan had never seen the outside of the building before, since it was set away from all of the residential properties on the very edge of the main land of Janix. He’d been inside once to see Jace at the end of his Janiman, but he hadn’t been allowed to see the exterior. Xan had been hoping he could get some hint about what horrors lay inside, but there was nothing. Just white stones, making up a perfectly square exterior.

Xan took a deep breath as a ringing sound emitted from the building. There were nine chimes, singling the ninth hour of the day. Xan wasn’t sure he was ready for this, but he knew he didn’t have a choice once the main door opened.

An older man in a long white robe stepped through the open doors. He had long white hair that flowed down his face, which was deeply lined with wrinkles. His face held no expression as he walked towards him. Xan knew he was one of the Elders on Janix and it was his decision whether he passed or failed the Janiman.

Despite his fear, Xan smiled at the man as he came closer. No reaction. He just kept walking with the same straight face.

“Xan Magnea,” the man said in a loud voice when he was only a meter or so away from him.

“Yes?”

“Today you reach the age of adulthood. But to become a full member of Janix, you must be deemed worthy. You must pass the Janiman. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

“Follow me,” the older man said before turning and walking back toward the stone building.

Xan took a deep breath before falling into step behind him and heading into the large building. The air from the building was cool on his face as he stepped inside. It was dark, not allowing him the chance to see what was coming. The only thing Xan could see was a pair of metal doors directly in front of him.

“Through these doors lie the Janiman. Your task is simple. You must cross the room and collect the object on the other side. You may use anything in the room to achieve your task. You have one hour. Do you have any questions?”

“No.”

“Then good luck, Xan Magnea.”

Xan swallowed as the Elder pushed a button on the wall causing the doors to open. This was it. His one chance at happiness. Xan took a few steps forward, just crossing the threshold into the room.

Once Xan stepped inside, the doors slid shut behind him, the slamming of the metal causing Xan to jump. A large clock lit up on the far side of the room, showing one hour in large, growing red numbers. It didn’t seem too far away. So what was the catch?

All of a sudden, the lights turned on, showing a vast room in front of him. Before Xan could register everything, a loud voice came over a speaker.

“The Janiman starts now.”

The clock started counting down at a rapid speed and Xan started to panic. This was all happening too fast.

A flash of fire brought his attention back to the room. Xan’s jaw dropped as he realized what he was seeing. It was a death trap. The wall of fire was only the first obstacle. Arrows zinged through the air at a rapid rate and a bubbling pool of acid sat in the middle of the room. There were ropes and safe places on the ground strategically placed to help a person cross the room. But it looked like it required enormous physical strength and great timing.

Xan felt his hopes sink as he reached for the first rope. There was no way he could complete this. But he had to try. For Jace, if nothing else.

He grabbed the rope and took a few steps back before running forward. He felt his feet leave the ground and smiled. Maybe this was possible.

But just as he started to be positive about this, the wall of fire shot up out of the ground. Stunned, Xan let go of the rope and fell. He felt the air leave his lungs as he hit the floor.

Damn, that hurt
, Xan thought as sat up. He kept trying to bring air into his lungs, but soon Xan realized he was having a breathing attack. Unable to do anything else, Xan sat on the floor trying to regulate his breathing. He had done this enough times that he knew what to do, but it was still hard to fight against his body’s desire to allow his air passages to swell up.

By the time, his breathing had gotten back to normal, Xan looked up to see there was only forty minutes left on the clock. It was hopeless. He would never get across the room with so little time left. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten past the first obstacle.

But he had to try. Xan lifted his arms up to try and grab the rope again. He got the rope, but when he tried to run backwards, his body started to give out. His arm muscles got weak and he started to struggle to breathe again. Xan fell to the floor in a heap, struggling to breathe once again.

Finally, Xan stood up and looked at the wall of flames that had come out of the ground once again. He just wanted to sit down and wait for that clock to run out. He didn’t have a chance in hell.

But in the midst of his despair, he thought about Jace. He loved his boyfriend so much and he wanted nothing more than to marry him and love him forever. He never had to worry about anything when Jace was around. He was so strong and would do anything to keep him safe. It was funny, though. Jace always said that he didn’t keep them safe. He said Xan did that. He said Xan was the smartest man he had ever known and, when push came to shove, he would be the one to get them out of any situation. Not because of his strength, but because he was so smart, he would always find a way out. It was why he was sure Xan would pass the Janiman…

Xan lifted his head and stared out at the room. That was it. Jace wasn’t allowed to tell him anything about the Janiman, but he had given him the key to getting past it.

Xan looked around the room furiously, looking for another way around the wall of fire. The flames shot up again. At first, Xan didn’t see anything, but then looking to the left, he saw something. Walking down to the far side of the room, he saw a small space between the wall and the trench the flames shot out of. Pressing his back to the wall, Xan walked sideways past the trench.

Xan smiled as he passed the obstacle. But it was short-lived as he saw a large pool of green, bubbling acid sitting in front of him. He may not have been down to the mines too much, but he knew what this was. It was the acid they used to melt the rocks and get to the bullinium. And it could melt skin.

Xan saw two ropes dangling over the pit. It seemed that the gist was that Xan was supposed run and grab one of the ropes hanging over the pit. And then swing so he could grab the other rope and jump across. Xan shook his head at the absurdity of that idea. He would fall into the pit if he tried that with the way his arms were feeling right now. But there had to be another way.

Xan walked the length of the pit, but unlike the wall of fire, the pit ran from wall to wall. The pit was way too long to jump across. But there was something curious at the other side of the room. It was a black trunk that blended into the wall, much like the space in between the other wall and the fire pit. No one would see it unless they were looking for something.

Curious, Xan walked over to the trunk and opened it. There were a selection of vials inside, all labeled with a single scientific name. Chemicals. They were all chemicals. This was how Xan could cross. If he used the right chemicals, Xan could solidify the acid and walk across.

But which one?

Frantically, Xan thought back to his chemistry classes. He remembered one way was to create a mixture of bicarbonates, specifically designed to neutralize this acid. Xan looked through the bottles and found the three components he needed. It wasn’t easy to remember what he learned two years ago, but when he saw the right names it all came back.