Underland(22)

“You mean it’s not always the same?”

“No, some events are more dangerous than others. And now they are sending non-fighters in at random to compete. It used to just be the criminals, then they added those that were in debt, then the slaves. Not anymore. Everyone has one of these bracers. If you’re chosen, you go.”

Now she was extremely interested in what was playing on the screen. She saw an attractive female with a pale face which slowly transitioned into pearlescent blue scales running down her neck and body. White hair fell past her shoulders. A red banner ran across the bottom of the broadcast, but Kira was unable to read the language.

The screen turned black, and words slowly appeared. Most around her cheered; a few groaned and shuffled away. She tried to read Den’s expression and it didn’t move an inch. “The next event is a gauntlet.” Den’s brow furrowed in worry.

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

“Believe me, it is.”

“Then it would really suck to be chosen.” Kira said rubbing her wrist under the band.

“Yeah, about that.” He knocked his boots together and took a deep breath. “That’s the reason your band is lit up.”

Her head snapped, and she looked at him, “Say what?”

Den pointed at her band, and the white light that had been glowing there for hours. “You’ve been chosen. I have to make sure you show up for the gauntlet, or it’ll be my head.”

“This has been glowing for a while now. You’re just telling me this?”

“I was busy.”

She probably should have freaked out having never seen a gauntlet, but she’d watched tons of reality TV and sports. It couldn’t possibly be that bad. Kira raised her chin. “Well, if I compete, I can win my freedom, right?”

“It’s not that simple. There’s a million to one odds that you could ever earn your freedom. And it would take years.”

“Those are odds I can live by.”

Den reached out and put pressure on her injury until she winced. He shook his head. “It’s not what you think it is. It’s worse. You’re not getting a chance to compete and win. Those are odds you are going to die by.”





Chapter 9

“Run, girl!” Den shouted into her ear. At least it sounded like he was in her ear. In reality, he was a quite a few paces back.

Kira’s side cramped, and she missed her timed jump onto the pile of scrap metal. She stumbled, tried to pull herself up, but a giant weight landed on her and flipped her onto her back. She looked up into the angry eyes of Den.

He mimed stabbing her in the heart with a fake knife. “Not good enough. You’re dead again.” She tried to sit up, but he shoved her in frustration, hard enough that her head bounced on the sheet metal. Butt-Chin ran his hands through his hair.

“Hey, I lasted longer that time.” Kira painfully sat up and began to dust off her worn pants.

“Two minutes. You only lasted two minutes. Do you understand that the gauntlet is much longer? We don’t have enough time. You’re not even trying.”

“Well, then why don’t you train me with the others?”

“Ha! And let them know that you are their competition? Every single one of them would race in practice just to be the one to accidentally kill you.” He kicked an old road sign. How did so much random garbage end up so far below the ground? “It’s safer this way. But, I don’t have enough resources to train you right.”

Kira shrugged. “So I’ll just train harder.” She picked at a hangnail on the side of her thumb, purposely giving her thumb more attention than the white-blond Den. The angrier he was, the less she liked him. That was probably a good thing.

“You’re lucky you are getting any training at all. I should just leave you to your own stubborn devices. Who knows, maybe you will survive on pure bull-headedness.” He rubbed his forehead as if it pained him.

Kira’s ears perked up at the backhanded compliment. She tried not to smile. Maybe she should be spending more effort, trying harder, training harder. But she didn’t really see the point. She had kicked Holly’s butt and killed Creeper. That made her pretty hard to kill in her book.

But it apparently wasn’t enough for Den. Honestly, she thought it had more to do with Den being afraid she’d knock out her competition before the game.

Den turned to stare at her, his eyes filled with uncertainty, his lips a thin line. He shook his head. “I hate to do it, but it has to be done.”

“What has to be done?”

“You don’t fear for your life. You need to be scared to death. I’m going to have to find someone to beat some sense into you. Maybe the zeke—”

“Not bloody likely.” Kira bristled at the mention of the zombie.

She didn’t even see Den move, he was that fast. One moment he was three paces away, and the next he was right in front of her.

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her towards the door. “You listen to me. Down here you are the lowest on the food chain, not worth anyone’s time or resources. You have skill, but you have no common sense. And right now, I can’t teach you anything. So get back to your room.”

She raised her lip in annoyance. “I’m not a child that you can just send to bed for not listening.”