Blend the Light

The Hard Way or the Easy Way? You Choose.

Time flies by as I pass through the corridors towards the room. The room holds the crate that will take me to the Wasteland arena. The wires wrap around the iron frame like a constricting python and weave together like a spiderweb. A Wasteland guard leans against one side of the crate. He lifts his head and pushes off the beam when he hears me enter. "Hey, Arrow. Ready for the Wasteland battle?" I look at him blankly until the words register in my brain.

"Oh. Sure?" My voice is flat and my face expressionless, but inside, my mind is spinning and my heart is racing.

"Wonderful. I'm certain you will do well. Just like you always do. Why don't you get in?" The Wasteland guard gestures to the crate.

I feel my whole body lock up and start to tremble. My heart rate spikes and races even faster. "Arrow?" The Wasteland guard says, concern lacing through his voice. I don't respond. I'm preoccupied with trying to calm down. I can't. Not this time. I can't wade through blood again. No more killing. Refuse. I will not go into the crate. Wait, what? No, Arrow. This is the only way to escape. You have to go! Jay and Hawk need you! No they don't. They'll be fine. They don't need me. Yes! Yes they do! Remember? You're responsible for making sure all of you get killed. Well, the Wasteland guards will think you're dead along with all the other Gladiators. I can't, though. Yes you can, Arrow. Yes you can. "Are you alright?" The Wasteland guard's voice snaps me back to reality like a bucket of ice water.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm good." My voice sounds strained. I'm just barely holding myself together. There's a storm raging just beneath the surface of my skin.

Another Wasteland guard stomps into the room, jet black smoke curling from his ears. His eyes are raging fires. "Get in the crate, Gladiator! NOW! Quit being so selfish. We're all waiting for you. GET IN!" He shouts, his lip curling. As he speaks, he violently throws a finger at the crate. I can't answer.

My legs refuse to move. They're like lead weights. I feel my whole body trembling as I gulp down air in an effort to calm myself down. "What are you waiting for? Are you deaf or something? GET IN!" The Wasteland guard shrieks. His eyes blaze with nearly unchecked anger. I stumble back a few steps before tripping over my paws as the Wasteland guard drives his shoulder into my chest. A small cry leaps from my mouth. "Well? What are you waiting for?" The Wasteland guard demands, prodding my side with the tip of his sword. Wincing, I get up and look down at the Wasteland guard.

"H-Hey, Arrow... All of the other Gladiators are already in the Wasteland arena. Could you get in your crate, please?" The other Wasteland guard has been standing back, not speaking. Now he walks forward to stand in front of me.

"No, don't ask so nicely. He's wasting time- such an absolutely selfish thing to do! Demand that he get in the cage. Go on, give it a try."

"Uh... Ok? So, Arrow pl-."

"Ok. So. Two things wrong with that. Number one: don't say please. Then it's not a demand. Number two: say it like you mean it. You're voice is weak." The Wasteland guard scowls at the other one.

"Alright. Arrow! Listen to me! Get in the cage!" He mouths a pleading "please" after he finishes, his eyes begging me.

"Much better. So, Gladiator? Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way? Your choice."

"What are these options?" I'm trying to stall.

"The easy way is where you walk into the crate. We'll force you into the cage if you choose the hard way."

"Very well."

"Which one? Please, Arrow, choose the easy way." It's the Wasteland guard who was here first. His helmet has shifted slightly so I can see his short hair. It takes me a few seconds, but I can just barely make out a tiny strip of cloth tied to the chin strap running beneath his head. There's a red and black plaid pattern across it. He catches me looking and smiles. "Come on, the Wasteland arena awaits you." The Wasteland guard says, the smile still playing across his lips.

I take a deep breath. I can do this! I repeat the words in my head over and over. Before I can begin walking, the angry Wasteland guard shoves me and I go tumbling forward, landing roughly on my chest and cheek. I scramble to my paws, eyes wide. When the Wasteland guard comes at me again, I react without thinking and bat at him with a forepaw, claws sheathed. A corner of my mouth pulls up into a small smile which disappears when more Wasteland guards pour into the room. "I guess we're doing this the hard way." The angry Wasteland guard smirks and twirls his sword around his fingers like a baton. I creep backwards and jump a mile in the air when I hit the cold, stone wall of the room. I'm surrounded. There's no escape. I'm cornered prey. They'll eat me. Wait, what? Arrow, silly you. They're not going to eat you! Yes they are. No, I'm a hundred percent sure they won't. However, they will drag you into that spiderweb crate and do whatever they have to for that to happen. No, look. Swords are just giant knives. And? I'm confused, Arrow. Whatever.

There's the chains. The long snakes of looping metal. They clink when the Wasteland guards pull them taut. I watch a foreleg start to move under the control of the chain wrapping around my ankle. "Come on, just give up. You're getting in that crate whether you like it or not." The Wasteland guard murmurs, watching while chewing on a fingernail. Something digs into my side. I jump just as the other Wasteland guards pull on the chains which are jerked from their grip as I fall onto my back, wrapped up in the metal links.

A few of the Wasteland guards laugh. I shoot them a glare accompanied by a low growl. That shuts them up. My muscles strain to free me from the chains. The links bite into my fur and skin like snakebites as they slither across my body. I roar and thrash as the chains constrict around me like a python. A few of the Wasteland guards, not the one with the plaid cloth though, hum a song as they tug on the chains and deposit me in the crate, still bound. They're just leaving me? I'll be a sitting duck! I can't escape! I'll be dead in no time. Just carrion for the vultures to snack on... Arrow! You may not be able to escape, but Lily can. Switch back while in the tunnel, she'll get out of the chains.

I sigh and rest my head on the floor of the crate and listen to the groaning gears as they pull my crate into the tunnel. As soon as the black engulfs me, I shimmer and morph into Lily. My hands work quickly, untangling my torso and legs from the chains before standing atop them. A quick glance upwards confirms my dreadful feeling; the crate is nearly in the sunlight and in the Wasteland arena. There are plenty of shadows. The crate creeps higher. Take a deep breath. The sunlight shines on my toes, inching for my ankles. I sit down with my legs crossed. Warmth spreads up my shins and brushes my knees. Shadows swirl across my arms and legs. The sun's rays glow on my closed eyelids. Darkness swallows me whole and I'm in a shadowy room, standing across from Arrow. The sun doesn't shine on me now, no light reaches through the shadows. My hand brushes across Arrow's fur and we trade places; Lily stays in the darkness while Arrow shimmers into existence in the crate, just as it reaches the Wasteland arena. The gears come to a stop. Everything seems to come to a stop, not that there's much going on in the Wasteland arena. The only sound is my breathing, even the wind comes to a halt. Everyone's holding their breath as time stops for the gong.

The low, echoing sound rolls across the barren plain.

Thank you for reading this chapter! Please consider a vote and feel free to comment your thoughts! Sorry, it's a bit shorter than the other ones. However, I wanted the Wasteland battle to be in one chapter. It'll be much longer. 

So, any ideas on what's going to happen in the Wasteland battle? 

Is someone going to kill Arrow? 

How are Jay, Hawk, and Arrow going to escape? 

Are they even going to escape? 

Thank you for reading my story, Blend the Light!

-Werewolf14-