"BLOOD, NO MERCY!"
Boom.
A drum hit.
My gaze drifted through the crowd.
Boom.
The second drum followed.
Only now did realization sink in.
The circle of sand.
The high walls.
The crowd.
I had seen something like that once before.
And I shuddered at the thought.
Shouts erupted from the crowd.
Traveling all the way down to us.
"Forty fortis on 5!"
"Fifty on 14!"
"Twenty on 29! Don't let me down, kid!"
"Put me down for fifty on 12!"
A Colosseum.
Hah.
I drew a sharp breath.
Then—
My eyes found him.
On a high platform.
There stood a man in a red suit.
His face was covered by a white mask, a painted red smile drawn across it.
He lifted both arms as if opening a stage.
The benches answered him.
"John! John! John!"
He bowed—deep and slow. His red cloak swayed around him. Then he straightened, his voice clear and loud.
"Welcome, honored guests. On this day, the 24th of Lunar, we show you a special spectacle."
24th of Lunar…
I realized with the date.
Three months had passed since I became a slave.
And—
The 24th of Lunar was my....
'Birthday.'
John's voice rang again.
"A new event," he said smoothly. "One created specifically for you."
A pause.
"We've given it a name—Blooding. This will not be a clash of famed warriors. No honor. No glory."
He lifted a hand and gestured toward us.
"It will be something far more interesting."
His eyes swept across us.
"The ones who will fight are not warriors."
Another pause.
"They are our little lambs."
The crowd broke into cheers.
A red cloth was pulled down behind John.
Revealing a giant hourglass.
It stood atop a stone pillar. Silver sand rested at its bottom.
Guards appeared beside the hourglass.
Boom.
Another drum hit.
John's painted smile turned toward us.
"There is only one rule."
Black-armored guards appeared along the walls. They formed a circle around us.
"Only one survivor."
Thud.
Their spears dropped in unison, tips aimed at us.
John gestured toward the hourglass.
"Hands. Feet. Teeth. Whatever you're best at—use it. You have five minutes. When the sand is gone, if more than one still breathes..."
He paused.
"...we choose who lives."
He raised his arm high.
"Blood."
The stands erupted.
"NO MERCY!"
John's arm dropped.
The guards turned the hourglass.
I watched the silver sand fall for a moment before I turned toward the teens around me.
They stared at each other.
Boys and girls.
No one moved.
John's voice cut through the hesitation.
"Fight. Or all die."
Step.
A boy stepped forward.
I looked at the number written on his chest.
[12]
Step.
He took a step and threw a hook at a smaller boy beside him.
Smash.
The boy fell.
He screamed.
"Aghh!"
Everything shattered at that moment.
Punches flew. Kicks followed.
A circle formed around 12. Three boys struck him at once.
The crowd roared.
"Hit him!"
"Down with him!"
"Come on, 12! Stand up!"
A girl tried to run.
18 grabbed her hair and yanked her down.
She begged.
"Please—please spare me!"
He punched her face.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
Boom.
The drums beat in rhythm.
Boom.
20 came at me from the side.
Swoosh.
A straight punch.
Instinct took over.
I leaned back, and the punch flew past my face.
Step.
I stepped in and shoved him down.
Thud.
I didn't finish it.
He stood up, screaming as he rushed at me again.
"Die!"
Bam.
I sidestepped and gave him a clean jab.
He staggered and fell.
I watched him for a moment—
Before my focus shifted.
"Stop! Aghh! I don't want to die."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"Mother!"
The crowd didn't stop.
"Kill him!"
"I bet on you!"
"Harder!"
"I want blood!"
"Twenty on 14—no, make it thirty!"
"Fifty on 19! Look at that elbow!"
20 lay on the ground crying.
"Why...why me?"
14 kicked a boy down and mounted him.
Smash.
"Aghh!"
Smash.
"Agghh!"
Again and again.
Smash.
"AGHH!"
Crack.
Until the boy beneath him stopped moving.
"14!"
"I told you he's good!"
"Finish the girl!"
My eyes stayed on the boy.
His blood-streaked face.
Boom.
The drums thundered again.
John's voice cut through the chaos.
"Three minutes remaining. Give it your all."
20 charged at me again.
"Diee!"
Swoosh.
I ducked and stepped to the side, placing a right hook into his ribs.
Bam.
He folded, coughing up blood.
He begged.
"No—please!"
Smash.
I hit his jaw.
His head twisted as he fell.
Thud.
He crawled away.
I let him.
From the side—
Bam.
A foot slammed into my ribs.
I fell.
10 loomed over me.
His fist followed.
Swoosh.
"Stay down!"
Thud.
Sand flew at my face as I rolled aside.
I stood up.
Swoosh.
Another kick followed.
Thud.
I blocked it with my arm.
It hurt.
"Twenty on 10!"
"29! Move your ass!"
Swoosh.
Another fist came from behind.
Step.
I barely dodged it.
Step.
I stepped back.
Two at once.
5 and 10 came at me together
Swoosh.
5 delivered another straight punch.
Step.
I stepped aside.
Swoosh.
10 threw a wide swing at me.
I caught his arm and drove a punch into his stomach.
Bam.
"Agh!"
He stumbled back.
5 came again—a kick.
I lifted my leg and took it on the shin.
Thud.
My shin ached.
Two boys came from behind them.
I kicked 5 aside and grabbed Ten's arm before shoving him forward—
The other two boys crashed into them.
All four fell to the ground.
"Agh!"
"Ugh!"
They brawled on the ground.
Step.
I stepped back.
Haah.
The drums thundered.
Boom.
A girl crawled on the ground.
"Please—save me!"
A boy stood over her.
"Shut up and die!"
Smash.
Her body went still.
Boom.
A boy jumped on 14's back and choked him.
"I have you!"
14 slammed him down.
Thud.
He threw punch after punch.
Smash.
"Arghh!"
Smash.
Boom.
The crowd roared.
"Pay me!"
"I told you 14 will win!"
"Kill her!"
Boom.
John's voice echoed.
"One minute left!"
Step.
The guards stepped closer. Their spears sharp.
The teens heard him.
No hesitation now.
Fear vanished.
Madness took its place.
The drums echoed.
Boom.
Screams rang.
"Die!"
"You bastard!"
"Please!"
"Mother!"
Boom.
Another girl ran.
14 cut her off.
"Don't touch me!"
Smash.
He hit her until she was silent.
Boom.
Swoosh.
10 swung at me again.
Step.
I stepped forward, ducked, and drove my fist into his stomach.
Bam.
He fell.
Thud.
His hand reached for my ankle.
"Please..."
I stepped back.
"Forty on 29! He is still breathing!"
"Make it sixty!"
"14! Finish that one!"
The last minute turned them into beasts.
Nails clawed through skin.
Teeth dug into flesh.
One tried his luck and ran.
The guards moved.
His head rolled across the sand.
One after the other.
They fell.
In the end—
Only two remained standing.
Me.
And—
14.
He was drenched in blood, grinning.
"You're the last one."
Step.
He attacked.
Swoosh.
His fist flew past my face.
I countered with a hook to his stomach, and he drove his elbow into my cheek.
Bam.
Pain flared up.
Step.
I stepped back.
He laughed.
"Come on, 29!"
We circled each other.
The crowd shouted.
"Kill him!"
"14!"
"Finish it!"
"29! I bet on you!"
"End him!"
Swoosh.
He swung wide.
Instinct kicked in.
Step.
I slipped under his arm and grabbed it before pulling his arm toward my chest, my hips twisted—
And I threw him.
Thud.
He crashed into the sand, headfirst.
I followed him down, mounted him, and wrapped my arm around his neck. My other held his head.
He clawed at my arm.
I tightened the grip.
"No—"
He elbowed my ribs.
Bam.
It hurt.
But—
I held on, squeezing firmer.
The crowd chanted.
"Kill!"
The drums rang.
Boom.
Memories rose.
"Kill!"
I saw the children on the ship.
Boom.
My grip loosened.
"Kill!"
My family from Earth—my sister.
Boom.
My grip softened.
"Kill!"
Lisa.
Boom.
I froze.
"Kill!"
I have to survive.
Boom.
My grip tightened.
"Kill!"
Yes...
Boom.
Kill or be killed.
He grabbed my hair and pulled.
I didn't stop.
I made my decision.
Haah.
I twisted—
Crack.
His neck.
The sound was small.
But—
The weight under my arm felt heavier.
The crowd exploded.
"29!"
"Pay me!"
"My lucky number!"
John's voice cut.
"We have our winner."
I didn't move.
My arms stayed tight around his body.
They wouldn't let go.
The world blurred.
Hands pulled me.