We pressed ourselves against fractured stone and scattered slabs of marble. The sound of random shots rang out and screams pierced the night. A mist forms and thickens the atmosphere...'intentional'.
I looked around, and I noticed something: the figures weren't attacking randomly; they responded to aggression, movement, and panic.
Canez observed the arena as well. The silence between us was enough to know what the other was thinking.
This was no chance ambush, it was deliberate, a trial of skill and instinct. Something that I had already noticed from the other invitation, my suspicion was correct, my hunch.
The sounds, the screams, and the shadows become faint. Light placed on the wall glints slowly, sigils glow, and the ground locks into place.
Rucien's voice beams through, not edited… It was everywhere.
"Nothing about survival matters tonight; it's about whoever deserves to walk out."
It was just that, no warning, no instructions, and no rules. Classic Rucien. I've always heard of these games of his but never had the honor to be in one; I was a little bit thrilled.
Immediately the sounds were off; people started to panic, firing gunshots aimlessly and angrily. The figures didn't waste time to indulge. People were dragged, killed… Canez was observing; I was too.
Violence and anger tend to attract and draw them; intent will do you more than a weapon will ever do.
The floors started to shift and rise; It separated the survivors from the dead and wounded. Canez and I were placed in the same corridor…another deliberate move I dreaded.
Two other pairs of survivors stepped far apart, and the gravitational force around them increased, on seeing that most pairs moved closer to each other, too close. A hidden blade trap activated and sliced through them. Canez and I exchanged a glance...years of shared experience spoke without words.
We also discovered running and pressure plates triggered collapses; in short, we had to move at the same pace. We stayed alert to each other's positions and covered opposite angles. It was draining; I didn't want to do this, especially not with him. Memories threatened to escape in my mind of the past, but I didn't allow them through; I shook my head in resistance.
Canez's voice was cold and mean, "If you slow me down–"
"--you die first. I know." I cut him short.
We shortly reached a gate; it was locked. It required two sigils and two hand prints.
This meant the game wasn't a one-man's game; it required the both of us.
We both moved forward towards the gate. Canez kept his gun steady. "Guns especially attract the figures," I warned him.
"Fear drives them nuts also." He stated. We continued moving.
We soon reached a vertical gate; it was opened, and in it was a chamber. After observing it, we both learned that one person has to stand and pull the lever while the other crosses.
Canez looked at me; I knew what he was thinking. I should have gone first; I didn't.
I immediately shoved him forward and held the lever; the shadows began to surround me. I brought out my knife in defense; their reaction to the blade was shocking. They quivered backward; one tried to attack me in an open spot… I noticed and swerved the knife in that direction. It sliced through it; the others immediately fled along with it.
When Canez successfully crossed to the other side, he held the lever out for me. I could see it in his eyes; he didn't want to just as I did before, but we both knew what was at stake.
As I reached the other side, Rucien's voice beamed through the walls once again.
"It's said that enemies know each other's weaknesses more than allies."
He was obviously drawing at Canez and me; it wasn't good at all. There was going to be a follow-up on his sentence; the both of us knew that, and the tension rose… the shadow figures rushed in closer.
Rucien was baiting at betrayal; he awaited one of us to snap.
The knife pulsed in my hands; it felt unreal and real at the same time, Canez's grip tightened on the weapon in his hands.
None of us acted…
The arena became stabilized once again due to the restraint.
We kept moving for a while, then I could see it. The exit was near; at this point I felt the Canez betrayal rising. He definitely was going to pull up some card; I studied him closely, and he did the same to me. We were both thinking alike; we passed through the corridors, and he didn't pull up a move, so I didn't either.
We both walked side by side quietly until we were out of the arena.
Fresh air hit me immediately, and it was totally satisfying. We won.
Rucien didn't get what he wanted; I didn't have to restrain Canez.
What happened was barely on trust and not on betrayal.
The arena opened, and survivors stumbled into the night air. The scent of blood, flashing emergency lights, and eerie silence greeted us.
It was over.
My dress was torn and bloodstained; I looked up to see Gilda running towards me.
"Ma'am! Thank goodness you're okay!" She said immediately she caught me, scanning my body. "I told you this was a bad idea."
"And that's why I attended it." I smiled.
"The car is ready; let's head back home immediately." She suggested as she went forward.
I was turning when a hand caught my wrist.
It was Canez; he stood close, very close; he consumed my path, not allowing me to pass. I wanted to walk away; I was already calculating my next move until his grip tightened.
"You don't walk away from me." He said quietly.
"Have you forgotten?" My chin lifted. "You don't control me anymore."
He pressed his thumb into my wrist, just over my pulse. It was intentional; he knew how to get me. He felt my pulse jump.
"You're still bad at lying."
He murmured.
"Just leave me be, alright?" My jaw tightened. "I should have killed you when I had the chance! I'll still make sure to avenge Enox's death, I promise."
"You couldn't." My gaze never left his, and so did his.
For a moment something lingered between us; we knew what it was, and we ignored it.