I strained through the blazing light as the audience’s screams and cheers pierced my ears. I held up a hand to block the light and slowly entered the arena. The ground beneath me seemed to be some sort of rocky surface. I continued forward, blinded until suddenly I heard a splash. I had reached the water.
I gasped softly. She was right. It was water.
My eyes finally adjusted, and I could take in my full surroundings. The audience surrounded me and towered way above the rocky ground. From across the arena, I spotted a large man standing on the other side of the rocks. In between us, a large body of water sat, so deep I couldn’t see the bottom. The water stretched to each side of the arena walls, blocking us from getting to each other. I spun around and stumbled backward in shock when I took in the large screen above me.
It had my face on it! My image stared back at me—worried, shocked, confused.
Sure, we had some electricity back home, back only enough to power a few light bulbs. Nothing like this.
The familiar woman’s voice boomed out through speakers, making me cup my hands to my ears.
“This is Game One. Violet Beckett versus Emmitt Henderson. Behind you, each of you will see a key. The goal of the game is to take that key, swim to the bottom of the pit, and retrieve the glowing baton. To win, you need to swim to the surface and place it on your respective podiums to win. Five minutes are on the clock. If no one retrieves the baton before the time runs out, both parties are to be eliminated. Retrieve that baton by whatever means necessary.”
Large numbers appeared all around us. An alarm sounded the numbers began ticking down.
My body went numb as the voice boomed one last time. “Begin.”
My eyes locked with my opponent from across the large crater of water. He stood in a hunched battle stance. I tried to copy him but I’m sure I only made myself look like a fool.
We both stood frozen, unsure of what to do. The instructions were clear, but for some reason, my feet refused to move beneath me.
Finally, the man charged forward, lunged for his key, and dove straight into the water. This was enough to kickstart my senses, and before I knew it, I snatched my key off the hook and inhaled a big gulp of air, diving in as well. My body was instantly struck with the freezing temperature, and my muscles seemed to tense. I pushed through, screaming at myself internally to swim.
Just swim.
I began downwards.
The walls under the water were illuminated blue, making it easier to see where we were going. I kicked and pumped my arms as fast as I could, ignoring my ears popping and my nose burning.
I could see the man was just a few yards deeper than me. My heart rate began to accelerate as I swam down as hard as I could, kicking and fighting against the water.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man slow his pace, even stopping to cling to a jagged rock on the side. I took the chance to swim deeper than him.
The baton was a long cylinder shape that seemed to be filled with some sort of green, gooey liquid inside.
I smiled and almost let out a cheer as my fingers wrapped around the surface. I closed my mouth quickly, spitting out the water. My right hand fumbled with the lock holding it down as I shot glances up. The man was now heading for me, his break long over. Closer and closer, he neared as my shaking hands pushed against the water tension to get into the lock.
Suddenly, the baton broke free and began propelling me upwards. I screamed in celebration internally as my body begged for air. My lungs began burning, and my head began spinning. I could relax as the green cylinder pulled my body toward the surface.
A large hand stuck up in front of me, causing me to gasp and swallow water.
It was the man.
He tightened his grip around my hair and pulled me towards where he clung onto the side. He pushed my hands and face away, fighting to take the baton from my hands. I choked and tried to cry out in protest, water seeping into my throat and lungs. I flailed as hard as I could underwater, throwing weak jabs and kicks toward him. He flipped me around and pinned me against the jagged rocks. I continued to fight as the rocks sliced through my suit and cut into my back. I pushed and pushed with the baton tightly in my hand as the water around us began tinting red.
With my lungs desperate for air and my vision blurring, I gave one last push.
His footing came loose from the rocks which enabled me to spin him and pin him against the rocky walls. His fingers grasped at my eyes, pushing them into my skull.
With one last attempt at survival. I took the pointed end of the baton and slammed it into his eye socket.
Instantly, his body went limp, and he stopped fighting.
I couldn’t bear to look back as the baton continued to repel me back to the surface. My eyes were closed now, my body limp just like his. My thoughts were fading, becoming distant memories. I heard myself saying goodbye in my mind just as I broke through the surface.
My lungs finally filled with air and my body restarted. I kicked as hard as I could, clawing my way up to the rocky shore. I lay on the ground for a few minutes, gasping and coughing and my body slowly snapped back to reality. I peered behind me as I began getting onto my feet, the audience’s screams getting louder and louder.
From the water, a bloodied figure emerged. His eye was completely gone, blood and chunks now poured from its place. He swam quickly towards my side, his lips curled in an angry snarl.
I gasped and scrambled to my feet, tightly holding the baton to my chest.
I ran. I ran toward my podium.
I forced myself not to look back.
Just run, I told myself.
Just as the man’s bloody hand reached out for me once more, I slammed the baton onto the podium and the siren rang out.
Cheers erupted from all around as my face once again showed on the screen. The man was quickly whisked away by a group of guards, leaving me by myself in the vast arena.
I barely had time to breathe before I was also being ushered back through the doors.
Inside, we were thrown back into the changing room, most of the competitors still there.
Brianna sat toward the back, a fresh bruise lining the right side of her face. Her eyes connected with mine. I sat on the same bench as her, but I left a few feet of space between us.
“You look rough,” she says, eyeing me.
I rub my sore face. “So do you. I think… I might’ve killed someone.” My voice broke at the end.
She scoffed.
I frowned from the odd reaction to such a serious crime.“What?”
She licked her lips. “I’m sure what they’re about to do to your guy is much worse than what you did to him.”
My back straightened a little. “What do you mean?”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t you know anything?”
When my confused face didn’t falter, she huffed and pulled me out of the room. I stumble behind her and try to keep up.
“Are we going to get in trouble for being out here?” Anxiety was laced through my voice.
“Relax. All the guards are in here anyway.”
“In where?”
She pulled me so I stood in front of a small windowed door. Inside, my competitor knelt before the lined-up guards. I gasped and covered my mouth from screaming as one of the guards raised their sword and sliced his already bloodied head clean off.
My knees buckled as I slid to the floor, my breathy screams concealed by both of Brianna’s hands clamping over my mouth. My eyes were wide as I looked at her for answers. An explanation.
I wanted her to tell me it was a joke. I wanted her to tell me it wasn’t real.
Instead, she just said, “I didn’t know you didn’t know what happens to the competitors that lose. Almost everyone knows.”
My eyes brimmed with tears as I shook my head over and over. “I didn’t- I thought- Was that…?”
Brianna grabbed me and shushed me quickly, pulling me back to the waiting room. I stumbled back onto the bench and stared blankly at the floor, rocking back and forth.
“Just feel lucky that it wasn’t you,” Brianna simply said.
The wind flew out from my lungs as the image of his head rolling along the floor replayed over and over.
Sure, I won the first game.
But this battle was far from over.