The Curse of the Versati

Capter 14

"What is going on?" Thirteen looked at Leo who, for the first time, seemed nervous. A drop of sweat ran down his temple and his hands were trembling slightly.

"They will target us. Those from the first group are strong so they didn't waste energy fighting them. We will be their aim" Mika said with a darkened face. She turned towards Leo "He's aiming for you, he has been staring at you since we walked in here. It's alright to lose but avoid getting injured, even if you lose on purpose." Leo nodded.

"Second group, get ready" Talin announced as the leader of the eleven walked in the ring. He immediately pointed at Leo. "Fifty challenges Six"

Leo walked calmly towards the ring but his body looked tense. He touched the ball with his foot.

"Begin"

Fifty charged forward and Leo stepped to the side leaving the ball unprotected but his opponent didn't seem to care about it. With a heavy step he shifted to the side and grabbed Leo's legs lifting him off the ground with his larger body and slammed him to the ground. All the air left Leo's lungs and his vision darkened. Fifty forced him face down and grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. With a 'pop' sound he dislocated Leo's shoulder and smiled at his scream. He got up and kicked him in the stomach before walking away. He didn't even touch the ball until Talin announced Leo as the winner.

"Why didn't he claim the spot?" Thirteen asked through his teeth.

"That way if noone challenged him he would have to just wait around doing nothing. Now he can make more people suffer. The sadistic fuck" Mika's knuckles whitened from grabbing the ledge.

"Next" as Leo was carried off the stage Talin called in the next challenger. Seventyone, the kid that was carrying the box with the medallions walked in the ring. He took a quick look at the 14 kids and then pointed at Thirteen.

"Seventyone challenges Thirteen" Talin announced and the boy hesitantly walked off the stage.

"Begin"

Seventyone calmly walked forward until he reached the metal ball.

"You look too weak, it is unlikely you will get much further in the training. I just want to get to the next stage. I won't harm you if you back off now" Seventyone was almost two heads taller than Thirteen so he had to look up to meet his eyes.

He didn't want to lose since that would mean his chances of returning home would decrease. Wasting a year just to repeat the same thing was unacceptable. He clenched his fists and prepared to fight back but a small voice in his head stopped him. 'Don't harm others' his mother's words full of affection as he was going out to play with Aston rang in his head.

He tried to take a step forward but another voice rang in his head 'Violence is easy, holding back is the essence of our people' his father's words washed away his will to resist. His fists unclenched and he his head lowered.

Seventyone looked at him for a moment but since he didn't see any attempt to fight back, he walked close, pushed him  away and placed his palm on the metal ball.

"The victory goes to the challenger. The spot of the defender has been claimed" Talin announced.

Thirteen returned to the stage with heavy steps. He stayed in the corner quietly, he couldn't meet anyone's eyes. Mika looked at him with the corner of her eyes and turned her attention back to the ring.

From the ten that were called, 3 lost their positions, 2 were injured and the rest sustained a few bruises in the worse case but they retained their spots. Noone challenged Mika.

"Third group, get ready" Talin announced.

Sixtyfour entered the ring and pointed at the bulky kid. "I'll try the ox"

"Sixtyfour challenges Twentyfour"

The moment Talin gave the signal she sprinted towards the bulky kid and sidestepped to avoid his hands. Her fingertips had barely touched the ball before Twentyfour grabbed her and pulled her back. It looked like a mother cat grabbing her kitten as she was lifted off the ground and pushed back to her original position. She quickly got back up and smiled at him.

He got ready for her to make another attempt but it never came. Confused he scratched his temple but kept standing between the girl that was relaxing and the metal ball.

"Get the ball Twentyfour!" Mika shouted as the time was running out. Only then he realised that the last person to touch it was the girl and he immediately turned around.

As he moved, she took two long strides and jumped on his back. The sudden extra weight made him lose his balance and fall down. She quickly moved to his lower body and entangled his feet making it impossible for him to get up. With no time to get her off him, he used his hands to drag both of them towards the ball. His fingers were about to grab it.

"The victory goes to the challenger. The spot of the defender has been claimed" Talin announced.

"I told you you were stupid " she chuckled and released him. Twentyfour glared at her for a moment but then his face relaxed and he smiled.

"Well done, it was a fun match" he said merilly and walked away first .

Sixtyfour looked at his back for a moment shocked by his response. "Damn it" she cursed and followed him while massaging the back of her neck.