The Pit

Chapter 6 - Beware

The dining hall is completely full, almost every seat is taken by the time our group arrived. We all gather in the far back corner of the building, where a few seats are open. The building is made of wood and there is a small stone section where the dishes are placed to get washed and a long stone table stand tall by the front door holding an assortment of food.

A small sweat has broken out along the back of my neck from the half mile jog I did to get here. Ms. Crimson has extremely long legs, meaning a large stride and fast walk that is difficult to keep up with. She kept muttering that we were the last ones here and how late we were on the entire walk here. Since we were late, her legs moved like someone lit her butt on fire. Daniel and Messy had no trouble keeping up with her. On the other hand, I struggled considering I am shorter than them.

We got to the dining hall quickly after that with no time to look around. Ms. Crimson ushered us into the dining hall before leaving. As we entered the doors, a large crowd of people were sitting and talking at tables. There were these two guys who were having a very heated discussion. Most of it consisted of insults.

More and more people picked up their heads to look at the commotion that was going on around them. Then, all of a sudden fists were flying. Both guys leaped at each other and became a tangle of arms and legs. Fists were connecting to other's face and kicks were well placed right in the stomach. Some people cheered and others just looked. What surprised me the most was that some people started running away from the conflict.

Quickly, guards were pushing their way forward through the crowd that surrounded the fighters. One of the guards had a black device in his hand and the instant he could see the two animals wrestling on the ground, he hit a button.

A red glow emanated from the room. Each silver wrist band that was strapped to our wrist turned bright red. That was all the warning we got. An electric current was sent though my body and everyone else around me and we all fell to the floor. It hurt, god it hurt. But, after a while I was able to get back to my feet and look around me. The people closer to the guard had it much worse than us. The two fighting and a few others around them were unconscious with blood running down their noses from the shock while others were still on the ground in pain. Some had tears in their eyes and others were screaming.

A few more guards entered the room and removed the few that were dead to the world for the moment. The people who were fighting were covered in bumps and bruises. After they were removed one guard was left.

"Now, all of you have a first-hand experience with what happens to those to break the rules. Get your asses in a seat!"

Everyone sat down and waited most cussing out the security guard under their breaths. The doors are made of thick wood and are wide open, only a light screen door is closed allowing a soft breeze to flutter through the room. Each table is long and filled with people, some talk to those around them and others sit patiently and wait.

Soon, Ms. Crimson returns and calmly strides to the front of the room. The woman doesn't just walk, each step has purpose, her back is straight, and her entire body radiates grace and precision. She stops between the stone table and the dish area, looks at us and waits. Everyone stops talking instantly and she opens her mouth. "Welcome to the Pit. Everyone here should know the basic rules."

Her mouth continues to move to form words, but I stop listening and keep looking around. No one really seems to be paying attention as people whisper and attention drifts to the next thing. A lot of them are whispering about the fight and who they thought won, the punches that were thrown and of course the electrocution everyone got. Apparently, the closer you are to the guard that hits the button the worse the zap is, it disperses as it gets further out and does less damage. No one knows for sure how far the zap goes or how they determine how much voltage is necessary to knock the rule breakers unconscious, but it happens every time. A sudden shiver makes its way down my spine and I freeze unable to move. What is this? No time to find out because Ms. Crimson's voice rises and yells out to all of us. "Hurry up to your assigned areas. Inspection will be in half an hour."