Through Tears and Bloodshed

One||The Arena

The first thing I heard was the screams.

The sound roared in waves of a chant full of sadism and desire. They wanted this. The crowd enjoyed what they saw or were about to see.

I was up next, and as I stood waiting behind bars blocking me from the arena, I thought of only one thing; this was my ticket to a meal. The food in question may not be a meal fit for a king, but it sustained me long enough to have the strength to fight for my survival. Slop is what I called it. The pile of mush reminded me of the food my family used to feed to our hogs. Now here I was, trapped in confinement, waiting for the slaughter. How ironic.

The metal gates clanged and rattled as they moved above my head. They taunted me in some way, inviting me into a pit of death where only one would be victorious. That's how it had to be. Fight until the end. If we refused, we would be tortured profusely. The only merciful thing done in this place was being killed. At least in death, there is peace.

I didn't have to be told to walk into the ring. My feet moved on their own accord. This wasn't my first time coming here, and I'm sure it wouldn't be my last. I took a couple of seconds to scan the familiar area, observing the large crowd gathered in the stands above me. The walls were tall and made of stone, smoothed so no one could jump out of the pit. I walked to the middle of the ring, my feet sinking in the soft sand that was stained with years of bloodshed. Although I was not too fond of the idea of this place, it was the only time I could feel the sun on my skin and the fresh air grace my lungs.

I sunk my cold toes into the hot sand. The feeling was refreshing from constantly enduring sharp rocks digging into the bottoms of my feet. I dared not visibly display my slight enjoyment of feeling the overbearing contrast between hard stone and soft sand. I wouldn't allow my muscles to become relaxed or my face to melt from its hard stare. I couldn't. Something told me a certain someone was watching me far too closely.

Opposite me, metal gates opened for my opponent to walk out. I waited. I could hear footsteps before seeing anything else. They sounded heavier; a larger opponent would make this fight more difficult for me. I didn't let my face give away what I thought when I sized him up. He had to be over six feet and well over two hundred pounds. I recognized the emotion flashing over his face as he gave me a cocky grin from across the sand-covered ground; confidence. I was puny in comparison to this enormous prisoner. That was obvious. What he didn't know was my experience with fighting. Thank you, Alec.

"Don't thank me until you've won." His voice echoed in my head even though he was nowhere to be found. I had grown accustomed to hearing the voices of my friends and family within my head over my time here. I was thankful I hadn't forgotten what they sounded like after not seeing them for Gods know how long.

I nearly snorted with disdain as I thought of the Gods. What mighty beings they were for watching me struggle in this hell pit. They've done nothing to signify they would help me out of this place. Instead, they stood idly by from where ever the hell they were and watched me struggle to hold onto my life day after day. Some Gods they were. And to think I thought they wanted me to change the world. I wouldn't be doing much of that from here.

"Fight." A voice I grew to know as the Kellso King shouted over the hushed crowd. The silence only lasted so long before shouts erupted from all around me.

I ran towards my opponent, who also was coming at full speed in my direction. I fell onto my hip at the last second, using my momentum to slide beneath his moving legs. I punctured his leg with an outstretched hand supporting black claws and slashed deep gashes in his flesh. Just because we weren't supplied with weapons doesn't mean I couldn't use my own.

Spinning around, I watched the man raise a bloody hand from his leg. The shock on his face was enough of a distraction for me as I charged in his direction. I stabbed my clawed fingers into his stomach before dodging his outstretched fists. Barely missing my head, his momentum spun him around in a circle with his back facing me. He grunted as I punctured a few holes in his back.