âNo!â Pine shouted to the guards as they yanked a little boy up from the floor. The guards simply laughed and dragged the boy out. Pine watched helplessly as the guards shoved the little boy into the caged stage in the center of the towering room. Then the fighting began.
Pine looked away, trembling. She did not want to see the little boy grotesquely murdered like she had seen with the last victim. When she first saw the fights, she couldnât stop vomiting from the pure horror of it. Now they are simply background noise. Since no one from her group had won yet, the guard simply kept choosing new victims.
Pine looked around at her shabby group and sighed. All around her were children and a few young adults. No one could possibly win against the monsters that were in those cages. Some of the children were crying and some just shaking. Pine tried to get up and comfort the girl closest to her but she was too weak. She had not eaten in days. Instead she crawled over the the misty eyed girl.
âshhâ Pine whispered to the girl. âDonât let them hear you.â The last girl who made too much noise crying was dragged off to who knows where to have who knows what done to her.
The girl grabbed onto Pine and muffled her cries by burying her face into Pineâs ragged shirt. Pine simply rubbed her back and let the girlâs tears soak into her shirt. It was a waste of water. Who knew when they would be given water next.
   Behind Pine, the fight was coming to a close. The little boy had lost. It was on to the next group to search for a champion. At least Pine had time before the guards came back to her faction.
   The fights continued for hours. There were one or two winners but mostly just death. You could see the relief in the winnerâs eyes as they stepped out of the cage. Even if they were hurt and had to be carried out, they still held their heads high. They would get to go up the upper levels of the room now. The towering room went up for five different levels, all open to look down on the cage. The higher the level, the more majestic it looked. Pine could see what looked like thrones for people to sit and watch the cage on the highest level.
   Pine had been in this place for three days now. Each day filled with misery and death. She simply wanted to go back home. Pine longed to go back to her world where places like this were rumors told to misbehaving children to straighten them up. She was from a small village where everyone knew each otherâs names. She had heard stories of other races and people but she always doubted that they were true. Now she didnât doubt them. This place was filled with many different looking people. Some were practically giants with scrunched up faces and horns protruding from their foreheads. Some were tall and skinny with golden features and long flowing hair. Some were dwarfs and some were creatures Pine didnât even know how to describe.
   Finally the guards approached again. They were horrifying to look at. Large creatures with several arms and greasy skin, drool dripped down their from their gaping mouths. The opened the cage that housed her group. âWhoâs next?â One of them barked. As they walked around, everyone tried to make themselves look as small as possible. The guards poked some of the captive trying to get a reaction. When they reached Pine and the girl, Pine stared at the ground. One of the guards prodded the girl hanging on the Pine and the girl cried out and grabbed Pine closer.
   âThis one will be fun!â The guard exclaimed. Stupid girl, Pine thought. As the guards tried to pry the girl off of Pine, the girl start wailing and held on so tight that her nails bit into Pineâs skin. One of the guards slapped her hard and started cussing at her. âCome on, you little bitch.â Suddenly, the girl fainted. âWhat a cunt.â The guards cursed and threw her to the side. âWe will come back for you later,â one of the guards sneered at the girlâs unconscious body. âThis one will do.â The other guard said as his arms folded around Pine.
   Immediately, Pine went into panic mode. She started flailing and heard herself whisper ânot me,â over and over again. Pine could not fight both of the humongous guards. She found herself being dragged closer and closer to the stage. As the guards tossed her in the cage, Pine threw a quick prayer to the nine gods, something she hadnât done in years.
   As the guards closed the gate behind her, Pine struggled to stand up. She crouched as the guards threw in a rusty knife to her. Across from her a monster of an opponent stood grinning down at her. âOh,â He said. âI love when they give me girls.â Pine gripped the knife and shivered in despair. My only chance is if I make the first move, Pine thought. She threw herself across the cage aiming the knife to the creatures gut. The creature backhanded her, slamming her into the bars of the cage. He laughed as she tried to stand back up. Pine felt blood drip down her face. She could hear the crowd cheering and laughing above her. The sound vibrated though her bones as she tried to focus on the monster.
   âCome on little girl,â the creature bellowed at her. Pine darted around him using her adrenaline to push her forward. She tried to jab him in the leg but he caught her arm and twisted the arm until she heard a crunch. Pine felt hot sharp pain flash through her arm and up her neck. Pine dropped to the floor at the feet of the creature. As tears streamed down her face she grabbed at the floor for her knife. The creature reached down and wrapped his hand around Pineâs neck.
   Squeezing, he lifted her straight up into the air. Suddenly the pain in her arm didnât matter as much as the pain of her neck collapsing in on itself. Pine clawed at his arms with her good hand and wheezed as she felt herself dangle in the air. Dark dots started invading Pineâs vision as the monster laughed.
   The animal slammed her into the ground and positioned himself right above her. He loosened his grip enough for her to breathe. Pine gasped for air. âNow what do we have here?â He said a happily creepy voice. He sliced her shirt open with her knife and the shoved the knife aside. His free hand started exploring her chest as Pine started to cry again. I donât want to die, Pine thought.
   Pine, still gasping for air, shivered as the crowds laughed and whistled above her. As the creatureâs hand went lower, Pineâs good hand scrambled around grasping at anything but only reaching air. Pine knew what was about to happen. She had already seen this happen to other girls and boys in the cage. This creature was well known for his animalistic ways. She searched the crowd for someone, anyone, to stop this. Pine tried to think of anything good in the world as she felt her pants get ripped off.
   White hot pain flashed through Pine as the creature forced his way into her. Pine voice cried out in pain but that only cheered to crowd on. Slamming into her over and over again and again, Pine grasped for anything in the world to save her. As the creature grunted, she felt her fingertips brush against the hilt of her rusty knife. Without thinking, Pine mustered all of her strength and stabbed the man in the side of the neck. Pineâs mind was blank as she stabbed him over and over again. Even as she felt his body falls on top of hers and his warm blood cover her she stabbed again and again.
   Finally, it was the silence that stopped her. Pine looked up and all she saw was hundreds of people looking down at her. She dropped the blood soaked knife and scrambled to push him off of her. Dead weight was heavy. The back of her mind registered that the crowd had started to cheer again. It started small and then it was thundering throughout the entire hall. Blood ran down her face and her thighs. Her one arm was useless. Pine turned on her side and vomited a mixture of blood and puke. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the cage open and the guards walking towards her.
   Pine kept her face down as she was carried out gently. She saw her group get escorted out of their caged area and upstairs. She saw the the happiness on their faces as they cheered her on. Everything was good but Pine couldnât help but think, Iâm the monster now.
dailybridgerton
discoholicmusic
annaxmalina
titsay
stormborns
