He was going to die no matter what I did. I couldn’t save him, and I couldn’t save myself. This place was evil, and it would make us all suffer before it killed us. I couldn’t do anything about that. But I didn’t have to participate in it anymore. I could make that choice; I had that much freedom left.
I wasn’t scared anymore. How could I be? Sam was alive. If that wasn’t a bloody miracle, I didn’t know what was.
Elias stepped into the arena, his hand at his waist resting on the gun at his hip. “Get walking, now,” he snarled.
I shook my head and I dropped the sign. It fell to the ground almost slowly, and I watched it, enjoying the sight of it as it fell further from my grasp.
“No,” I said, my throat swollen with fear. “You be the ring girl and kill these innocent people if you want, but I won’t.”
I turned back to Nolan, striding towards him with tears blurring my vision.
“Rose,” he growled through cracked and bleeding lips, “pick it back up, please.”
I shook my head. “No. I won’t do it. I can’t do it, Nolan. I can’t!”
“You have to.”
“No,” I yelled forcefully. “No, I don’t and I won’t, Nolan. Let them kill me. Let them do what they want to me, I don’t care anymore, but I won’t be the one to kill you, Nolan. I won’t. They can’t make me do that to you.”
His gaze softened, sadness engulfing him. “Please, Rose,” he tried again. “I’d rather it be you than anyone else, don’t you see?”
I reached up, my hands tenderly touching the sides of his face as I sniffled pitifully. And then on tiptoes I placed a salty, tear-stained kiss on his lips. “I won’t do it,” I sobbed quietly against them. “I won’t hurt you. I can’t.”
Nolan’s body was tense, but as I pressed my kiss to him, he softened until his arms came to wrap around me. He held me against his sweat-laden body, and the world vanished for blissful moments.
In those moments, there was no death.
No arena.
No blood.
No monsters.
No crowd of bloodthirsty onlookers.
There was just him and I and a world full of possibilities.
Because in that moment, everything was as it should be.
Sam was alive.
Nolan was alive.
And so was I.
That meant something, didn’t it? It had to, surely.
Somehow, in all this madness, in all this devastation, we had all come together again. We were beaten and bloody, and we were prisoners in hell, but we had found each other.
Nolan’s hand found my face and he cupped it, kissing me back gently. I tasted his blood and sweat, his desire and his sadness, and I lost myself in it. In him.
When he opened his eyes, I stared into them, seeing his worry. “What have you done, Rose?” he said, his voice thick with grief. “My girl, what have you done?”
His girl.
Yes, I was his girl. For all of the time I had left, I was his.
“I’d rather die with you than without you,” I said with a sad sniffle.
“But I want you to live,” he replied sadly, his body sagging as he held me.
“Well,” Nathan drawled as he stepped into the arena and stalked towards us, “ain’t this a beautiful sight. I had no idea that this was your man, little Rose.”
I pulled out of Nolan’s grip and stepped in front of him, my back to his front so I could keep him behind me. As if I could protect him from what was coming next. The other people that had survived the first round of carnage came to stand with us, looking between me and Nathan like I was some kind of hero. Like I had any clue as to what the hell I was doing. I wanted to shout at them to run, to fight, to get away from me because it was likely that I was about to be killed along with them, but instead I lifted my chin and glared at Nathan.
He chuckled darkly. “There’s that spirit I liked so much when I first set my eyes on you.” His gaze flicked over my shoulder at Nolan and I knew he was sizing him up. Wondering how easy it would be to kill him, how much it would hurt me. He had no idea, and neither did I until this moment. Until the possibility of Nolan being taken from me was an option.
“Shoot me if you have to,” I bit out angrily. “I don’t care.”
Nolan tensed at my words. “Shoot her and you better shoot me because I’ll kill you with my bare fucking hands if you harm her.”
Nathan held up his hands in mock defense, a grin on his smarmy face. “All right He-Man and She-Ra,” he chuckled, “I can see that you two are mighty fond of each other, but you see, you’ve left me with an itty bit of a problem.”
He licked his lips and looked over to Elias, who immediately began striding towards us. Behind Nathan the crowd were growing increasingly frustrated as they waited for more bloodshed. Nathan had warned me what would happen. I had known the consequences of not doing as I was told, yet I still couldn’t find it in me to be sorry.
I wasn’t sorry at all. If anything, I was glad it was nearly all over.
“You see, these good people here have come to see a fight.” He gestured to the crowd, who cheered voraciously.
“And they saw one,” I snapped.
“Rose,” Nolan warned, his hand on my waist tightening. Nathan’s gaze flicked to Nolan’s hand and his mouth curled up in displeasure.
“They did. They saw a fight.” I glanced at the crowd, watching how they were all leaning forwards in their seats, hungry to see what happened next. They were hanging on our every word. I guess without TV, this was a real-life soap opera for them. “It was probably the best, most brutal fight they’ve seen in a long while, am I right?” I looked over to the crowd, who cheered wildly. An idea grew like a seed in my belly, my heart hammering away in my chest giving birth to it as I pushed it forwards. “I bet they’d like to see another, right?”
The crowd cheered louder.
Nathan scowled at me, his sickly handsome smile gone. “What the fuck are you playing at?” he spat angrily. He reached for me, grabbing my wrist in his grip. “Shut your mouth.”
I tried to pull my wrist out from his grip, but he held tight, glowering down at me. I winced in pain and Nolan reached for me. Nathan swung me to his side, slamming me against his chest, and the air left my lungs in a whoosh.
“Get off of her,” Nolan snarled.
Nathan wrapped one arm around my waist and another around to grip my throat. “Make me,” he growled.
“Why don’t you fight,” I managed to wheeze out as Nathan’s grip tightened around my throat. I caught Nolan’s stare, his gaze darkening.
“Shut your mouth or I’ll knock out those pretty teeth of yours, little Rose.” Nathan spun me towards the crowd as Elias came to his side, his hand on his gun ready to shoot Nolan if necessary. “Don’t need teeth for what I have in mind.”
The crowd were going wild. They were loving all of this, ravenous for the drama and the fighting and the pain. So I dialed my grief up to one thousand and began to cry. Nathan loved that too. I felt him harden in his jeans as each sob wracked my body and he leaned down, his mouth next to my ear.
“I warned you, didn’t I? I warned you what would happen. We could have been a good thing, you and I, but now my boys are going to tear this little body of yours apart.” He snickered before sucking my ear lobe into his mouth. “After I’ve finished with you, that is. Still want a taste of this before I hand you over to the hyenas.”
I shuddered in fear and revulsion, my gaze moving over the wild crowd until it found Charlie. He was scowling, his hands steepled in front of him as he watched. It was now or never.
“How about a fight to the death?” I screamed as loud as I could.
“Shut up,” Nathan growled again.
I was scared he wouldn’t hear me. Scared that I had just poked the bear for no reason until Charlie lifted a hand up to silence everyone. He put his megaphone to his lips, his eyes on me.
“What’s that you say, pretty thing?”
“I said,” I gasped as Nathan tightened his grip around my throat, trying to restrict me from speaking, “how about a fight to the death?”
The crowd laughed. Nathan laughed. Charlie laughed.
“Pretty sure that’s what we were having until you dropped your little sign there. Now why don’t you pick it back up like a good girl and let’s get back on with the day’s events.” Charlie picked up a bottle of something next to him and took a long swallow of it.
“I meant, a fight between Nathan and I,” I finally managed to get out.
“What the fuck are you playing at?” Nathan hissed against my ear. “I’ll tear you apart within seconds, bitch.”
“No!” Nolan yelled.
Charlie laughed and then scowled and then leaned forwards in his chair when I continued to stare at him. I lifted my chin and gritted my teeth.
“You’re serious?” he asked, and I nodded. “A fight to the death. A little thing like you against our bordello owner?” His eyes gleamed as he smiled. “Now that sounds very entertaining indeed.”
“Rose!” Nolan barked from behind me. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m going to snap you like a twig and then I’m going to fuck your corpse,” Nathan growled into my ear.
“What are your terms?” Charlie asked, an excited look on his face.
I swallowed and closed my eyes, willing everything in the world to disappear so that it was just me and my hatred for this place and everyone in it. The world throbbed behind my closed eyes, begging to be let back in.
There was no peace for me, not even in the darkness of my own mind. I’d never have peace again, but maybe I could give peace to someone else.
“You let my friends go. That’s it,” I said, hoping it was enough.
Charlie barked out a laugh and jerked his head towards Nolan. “That half-dead thing behind you? Done?”
“And Sam,” I said quickly. “My friend Sam, Barrett’s…” I paused, not sure what to call her.
“Bitch?” Charlie added helpfully, his jowls jostling as he laughed.
I nodded. “Yes, and her. I had another friend also, a young boy named Andy. Let them go and I’ll fight to the death, I promise.”
Charlie laughed and the crowd joined in. Fear traveled down my spine like waves, my knees shaking so much that I was surprised I could still stand up.
“No, she won’t!” Nolan roared behind me. “Rose, what the fuck are you doing?”
“Let her go,” Charlie ordered Nathan, and he immediately released me and shoved me forwards.
I fell dramatically, scuffing my knees against the dirty ground and calling out painfully. My skirt had ridden up, my top hanging low and showing off my cleavage.
When I looked up at Charlie, with tears in my eyes, I saw the hunger in his and everyone else’s eyes. They knew I would lose. They knew Nathan would make me pay for trying to embarrass him. But they also knew I would fight with everything I had, no matter how futile it was.
“Charlie, let me take this bitch back to my cage and show her some manners,” Nathan said, strutting forwards. He kicked me in the side as he passed, and I cried out in pain. “Not sure she remembers her place very well, but I’ll show her and have her to heel by morning.”
“Looks like you’re losing your touch,” Charlie replied calmly, and I watched Nathan bristle in anger. “Can’t even seem to control a little thing like her.”
“With all due respect—” Nathan began, but Charlie held up a hand to silence him.
“I’ll allow it,” Charlie said. “Nathan against the girl. Man versus woman. Unruly whore against her pimp.” He howled with laughter at that last one and everyone joined in.
“Charlie,” Nathan yelled, “this is fucking stupid. She can’t win. She can’t even fight.”
“You don’t know that,” Charlie sneered. “Seems like you don’t know what this bitch can do.”
Nathan looked back at me, hatred written all over his face. I was on my knees, broken down with a face full of tears, but when he glared at me I couldn’t help the corners of my mouth twitching into a smile just for him.
Charlie looked at the people he was sat with as if deciding something. Finally, he looked back down at us. “A fight to the death, tomorrow. You get one weapon each,” he said with a smirk, “just to make it a little more entertaining and give the whore a chance.”
The crowd cheered even louder and Charlie got up and started to leave, the group of people on his row following.
Nathan turned to glare at me, his anger so vibrant I could practically taste it.
“I’m going to hurt you.” He stalked towards me. “I’m going to make it slow and painful. Really give them their money’s worth.”
“Touch her and you’re dead,” Nolan growled, staggering towards me with one hand on his waist. “And trust me, I really know how to make your death last a lifetime.”
Nathan laughed, glancing between me and Nolan. “You’re out of here, old man. You’re already a dead man walking—ain’t nothing you can do to save her now.”
And he was right. I’d made sure of it.
I’d sealed my fate, and the fact that it meant I’d save my friends made it all worthwhile. If I could get in a couple of hits on Nathan, then even better. I couldn’t beat him—I wasn’t stupid, I knew that. But if I could humiliate him, maybe get Charlie to realize how weak he really was, then I could take his crown. Maybe even get his precious job taken from him.
Then I could die happy, knowing that I’d saved my friends and got my revenge on Nathan.
Elias held out a hand to me and pulled me up to standing. The two other men that had brought me in went to Nolan and began walking him out of the arena. Elias guided me in the opposite direction, away from the braying crowd, away from Nolan, and thankfully, away from Nathan. At least for the time being.
Out of the arena Elias slammed me against the wall, his face hard stone as he glared at me. “You really fucked things up, ya know.”
My jaw clamped shut. There was nothing left to say.
Elias shook his head and sighed. “Bravest shit I’ve ever seen.”
My chin trembled, but I held his stare.
He looked over my face as if deciding something. “Gonna regret this, ain’t I?” he said, and let go of me. “But I really fucking hate this place.”
Chapter Six.
Sam
My head throbbed, my temples feeling like they were jumping inches away from my skull as each new pang of soreness shot through my brain. The ground beneath me was uncomfortable and lumpy. My back ached like an eighteen-wheeler had used it as a highway. I shifted, pushing my hands beneath my body to try to alleviate the kinks in my lower spine. And I blinked quickly; fluorescent lights above assaulted my vision and made the throbbing turn to sharp knives at the backs of my eyes. Flashes of bright white aura sent nausea flowing through me. The fucking apocalypse, ladies and gentlemen. A nonstop cycle of trading hunger for nausea and nausea for hunger, of trading rage for fear and fear for rage.
A merry-go-round without the pretty little horses. Because all the pretty little horses had run away, only leaving behind decay and haunting music.
I clamped my eyelids back closed again. My lashes fluttered wildly against my cheeks. I forced them to stop and I shut myself down tightly against the war on my senses. I hadn’t had a migraine this bad in years. If I didn’t stay still, eyes protected from the lights above me, then I was going to vomit. It wasn’t a maybe. I tried to minimize movement, pulling my hands from beneath my back and clenching them into fists at my sides and then curling my toes in an effort to focus. Relax. Let the tension dissolve. I needed a dark, quiet room. No distractions…
But now I also smelled something metallic and sweet.
Had it always been there? How had I not noticed?
Even without my enhanced senses, I could guess what it was. Desire warmed my belly. Saliva flooded my mouth, and not from the migraine sickness.
Trading nausea for hunger.
And back again.
Realizing that the rear of my head felt damp, I reached with tentative fingers toward the wetness. Still not opening my eyes, I moved my fingers beneath my nose and sniffed. Blood, as I’d suspected. Not quite human, not quite monster. The uniquely affected liquid that ran through my altered body danced the line between the two scents.
“Sam, are you awake?” Barrett’s voice was an unwanted rumble, adding to the overwhelming din in my head. I couldn’t answer him, but even if I could…I wouldn’t. Had he been the one to hit me? To stop me from getting to Rose? I’d never forgive him if he’d already known she was here with the Sins. There was nothing he could say to recuse himself from my hatred.
I heard him move closer, his boots clunking dully against the floor and sending small vibrations up through whatever I was lying on to shake my body slightly.
“Sam?” He said my name again. I ignored him, fiercely, as I fought the pain and now pangs of hunger.
The air around me shifted, a light breeze blowing against my skin. A creak and a whooshing announced a new arrival to whatever building we were hunkered down inside. I smelled sweat and liquor. Someone cleared their throat and chuckled. It was Stash.
“Why are you here, old man?” Barrett growled out, his boots once again sending shockwaves through the floor.
“My building, Barrett.” The older man spoke casually, and I could picture the look of him in my mind even though I couldn’t open my eyes. Shoulders shrugging, hands shoved into his pockets, gaze twinkling with gossip and curiosity.
“How was shit after I left?”
I heard more walking, then the sound of metal scraping against concrete before the two men weren’t moving around any longer.
“Best show we’ve had in a long damn time.” Stash laughed this time, from the belly, so it was a deep and morbidly joyous sound. “Thought for sure Nathan was going to have Elias shoot that little Brit square between the eyes, but she turned the fucking tables on him. I like her fire. Too bad she’ll die tomorrow.”
Stash actually sounded a bit sad. Just the teensiest bit unhappy that the only person I treasured in this entire world was going to die tomorrow. It took every ounce of my willpower to not pounce on the old man and rip him apart. Especially as my hunger was now beginning to grow.
Red Eye | Season 3 | Episode 2 Page 5