by Jai Williams
“ARGH,” screamed Will in pain. Stan swung again and again until Will’s face was all bloody, bruised and cut up. Will cried out in pain,
“Please, no more pain. Just use the drill. End my suffering.” Stan looked over at the drill and reached over to grab it. He placed the crowbar on the ground and put his finger on the trigger of the drill.
“Bzzzzz.” he looked at Will.
“Is this what you want?” he asked.
“P-please…just…d-do it,” replied Will as he was trying to breathe. Stan put the drill a centimetre away from Will’s head and with a deep breath he closed his eyes and pushed the drill into Will’s head, pushing it through his skull into his brain, killing him instantly.
“STAN, STAN, STAN!” the crowd cheered. Stan opened his eyes and pulled the drill out and dropped it and blood poured out of Will’s head. Stan couldn’t believe what he just did. He couldn’t believe that he killed an innocent man. He was never going to forgive himself for the devilish act he just did; he knew it wasn’t going to be easy but he had to do it. Dwayne grabbed his mic.
“Woo, that was like woo. It would have been better to see the other guy fight back but oh well, it was still brutal. So, congrats, you get to live another day, Stan,” he said joyfully. Ever since that day Stan was never the same; he had nightmares that woke him up. In these nightmares he saw Will’s face over and over again. Stan hated Dwayne for what he forced him to do but Ronnie told Stan that he was going to do whatever he had to, to finally get free from these cells so that Stan and the others wouldn’t have to go through the pain of killing people.
So, a couple of days later, Ronnie moved cells and he kept moving and for Stan he continued fighting. He wasn’t fighting every day but he still was fighting. As weeks went by Stan continued having nightmares of the people he killed, it was torture but it’s what he thought he deserved; after all, he isn’t the innocent man in all this. As for Captain Harris and the others, they fought and they didn’t give up; they put their faith in Stan in case Ronnie didn’t make it but they believed in both of them. Some of them, thought that their sins would be washed away when they achieved their goal and saved all the prisoners and slaves in this place but to think that it would be foolish because those they killed and are going to kill would have people who cared for them and those people wouldn’t forgive who killed them. As weeks went by, Ronnie was ranking up as a fighter fast and slowly, behind him was Stan.
Stan ranked up not as fast as Ronnie but he was getting there, he was surviving and as the weeks went by Stan tried to push the screams and images of his kills out of his head, which sometimes worked but it wasn’t a permanent solution but he had accepted that because from that day when he killed Will he had accepted that that’s how the rest of his life will be. Just nightmares of his kills. Is it wrong to kill? Well of course it is, but when the world is run by killers, rapists and all sorts of criminals, then you have to think that the only way you can survive, is to do whatever you have to do to survive and if that means you have to kill people, then you have to do it. But just because you have to do something or are forced to do something, doesn’t mean it’s right; it doesn’t mean that you can be forgiven for it, and the difference between Stan and Dwayne is that Stan feels guilt but Dwayne feels nothing except happiness towards killing and the other vicious acts he does, which is what makes Dwayne such a monster and Stan, Ronnie and the others less of one.
One morning Dwayne came down to the cells and stood in front of the cell Stan was in. He had one of his men with him.
“Grab Stan,” said Dwayne. Stan stepped forward and Dwayne’s man cuffed Stan’s wrists together behind his back. “I hope you understand why we have to cuff you. I mean, you’re not a champion yet so you can’t roam freely,” said Dwayne.
“Yeah, I get it,” replied Stan with hate in his eyes.
“Good, we understand each other. Anyway, I got you out of the cell because we need to have a little chat. So, let’s take a walk,” said Dwayne. They headed upstairs and Dwayne and Stan walked together in the stadium. Dwayne wanted to speak to Stan alone so he commanded his man to leave. “Stan, Stan, Stan, man, you are just killing it out there. You’re the second best out of your group of people. Ronnie comes first, of course; he has his last fight tomorrow. He’s probably celebrating with others right now,” said Dwayne as they were walking.
“Celebrating?” replied Stan, curiously.
“Yeah, celebrating. You know, when you achieve something you party and go wild,” replied Dwayne.
“Oh yeah, celebrating,” replied Stan with a disappointed look on his face.
“What’s with the pity look? You disapprove?” asked Dwayne.
“Well, I think, um well, who cares what I think,” replied Stan.
“I probably know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that Ronnie is celebrating becoming this killer and when he’s free, he’ll kill whoever he wants to. Nah fuck that, I know your plan. The plan is that one of you guys were going to work your way up and build my trust and when the time comes, you would smite me. But that ain’t gonna happen because I figured that out quickly,” said Dwayne with a serious look on his face.
“What? What a stupid thing to do. I mean, who would do that? Not me,” replied Stan as he tried to lie and deny what Dwayne said.
“Cut the shit. I fuckin’ know. I’ve known since day one when you guys planned it,” said Dwayne with an annoyed look. Stan didn’t know what to do; he wondered he knew, so he had to find out.
“How’d you know?” he asked. “Did you really think that I would leave my prisoners in those cells without any eyes or ears on them?” replied Dwayne.
Stan responded with a troubled stare. “When the cells were built, there were voice monitors put in each of them but don’t think when you get back into your cell you can find it because they’re hidden away,” said Dwayne.
“So, what then? You’re just going to kill us because we don’t want to live in this place and follow your orders?” said Stan.
Dwayne chuckled. “Ha-ha-ha, no, I’m not going to do that, because that would wreck my plan,” he replied.
“What plan?” asked Stan curiously.
“I’m glad you asked. When one of my men heard your plan through the monitor, he came and got me and I listened to it. At first, I was going to head down to you guys and do something rash but then I thought, hey let’s play along and see how far they get and when I saw Ronnie fighting every day I thought holy crap, these guys think they can pull it off, but unfortunately, I knew, so you guys weren’t doing this in secret. Which only you know now, because I just told you. Ronnie is one more fight away from thinking he can kill me but he’s wrong; you know why?” asked Dwayne.
“Well, because you know, obviously,” replied Stan.
“No—well, that’s kinda part of it but the reason why, is because he’s going to…” replied Dwayne with a smile. Dwayne turned his head from Stan. “Pause for dramatic effect,” he said.
Stan looked at Dwayne with a strange look. “…fight you,” said Dwayne happily. Stan’s eye’s opened wide, his mouth was opened, he was speechless but more so he was worried and angry.
“Y-you. No-no you can’t. You made a deal that we would never kill our own people again and you can’t break that deal,” he said.
“I MAKE THE FUCKIN’ RULES. I’M THE FUCKIN’ BOSS. PEOPLE LIKE YOU DON’T GET A SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS. SO JUST BE THANKFUL I DON’T KILL YOU ALL FOR BEING DISLOYAL BEHIND MY BACK!” yelled Dwayne furiously.
Dwayne calmed himself down. “Now that I’ve cleared that all up for you it’s time for you to make your decision. Do you A, do whatever you have to do and kill Ronnie tomorrow in the arena or do you B, just let Ronnie kill you?” he asked.
“He doesn’t deserve to die. Not after what he’s done, to get where he is now,” replied Stan.
“Yes, but your plan is not going to work now, so this is your next choice,” replied Dwayne. Stan couldn’t answer and he didn’t want to ans
wer. “Well maybe I’ll convince you. I left Ronnie back at the strip club, yes there’s a strip club here. Just think what’s more important, a friendship or sex with a lot of hotties?” asked Dwayne.
Stan responded with a stare of despair.
“Okay strip club, here we come,” said Dwayne. They headed to the strip club and at this moment Ronnie was in one of the rooms in the strip club with Angel. When they entered the strip club, Stan forgot about the whole he has to fight Ronnie situation and for a second, it felt like he was in heaven.
“Amazing, huh? It’s boobs here, pussy there, sex, sex, fuck land,” said Dwayne with a smile. Stan was speechless. One of the strippers walked by Stan slowly.
“I think I just left someone in my room handcuffed like that,” she said as she winked at Stan. Stan turned and looked at the woman’s ass while she was walking away.
“Damn,” he said. Stan shook his head. “No-no, I’m not going to be persuaded by tits, pussy and ass. This is all amazing but I’m not going to pulled into this madness. I mean, don’t you think you could’ve built this establishment without all the killing? I believe these women would have been fine with doing what they’re doing now, without the killing,” he said with a serious look.
“Yeah, true, but where’s my power? I’m a leader; I need something that gives me power and being merciful won’t give me power over all these people. See, power over people, is what makes a leader a leader and without power, then you’re just a weak, pitiful person and people who are like that die in this world,” replied Dwayne.
Stan looked around the room and saw Ronnie heading for the door. “Wait, is that Ronnie?” he asked.
“Yep, roaming free and getting pussy,” replied Dwayne. Stan walked away from Dwayne and pushed through all the people in his way.
“Should we get him?” asked one of Dwayne’s men near Dwayne.
“No, I want him to see what Ronnie’s about to do,” replied Dwayne. Stan headed out of the strip club and tried to catch up with Ronnie but he saw a couple of men approach Ronnie, so Stan hid behind a wall and peeped at them. Stan saw Ronnie head off with them. Dwayne came walking up behind Stan. “See, that’s not the same Ronnie you remember. The old Ronnie would have walked away but not this Ronnie. He’s probably going to party with them and drink with them and probably become friends with those killers who kill for no purpose. Hanging with them would make Ronnie just like ’em. So, I ask you again, are you going to do, kill him or die tomorrow?” he asked.
Stan turned around to Dwayne. “I’m not going to kill my friend because that person I saw was no longer him. So, yes, I am going to kill him and then I will kill you and save my people and those who you take advantage of,” he replied.
Dwayne chuckled. “Ha-ha, ok, whatever you say” he replied.
“Before you put me back in my cell answer me this. Why do you want Ronnie dead?” asked Stan.
“I don’t. I just want him to suffer or you to suffer. I guess you shouldn’t have planned what you planned to do because if you didn’t then you would still be alive the day after tomorrow, or maybe you should have whispered the plan to each other,” replied Dwayne. Dwayne put Stan back into his cell and Stan stayed awake all night just waiting to hear Ronnie’s voice from the distance. A couple of hours later, he heard a couple of men’s voices and a woman giggling. Stan concentrated and heard the voices more clearly.
“That was a fuckin’ great night, cunts. Now baby, get in there and let’s fuck,” said Ronnie. Stan heard grunting and moaning from Ronnie and a woman so he stopped paying attention and he thought to himself that Ronnie definitely has to die. Stan thought that Ronnie wasn’t doing this to kill Dwayne anymore; no, he was doing this to just be free. The morning came and Stan waited and waited till Dwayne or his men came to grab him for the fight. He waited for hours and finally, one of Dwayne’s men approached Stan’s cell and told him to step forward and exit the cell. Stan didn’t end up doing the pick a piece of paper from the hat thing; he was just given a sword and was pushed into the arena where he faced away from the entrance Ronnie would come from. He did this because he wanted to see Ronnie’s reaction when he turned around. Ronnie entered the arena and after Dwayne gave the introduction to his opponent, Stan turned around and gave Ronnie an unfriendly stare and as soon as Dwayne gave the signal for them to fight Stan charged at Ronnie and swung his sword.
Chapter Thirty-Four: The Upcoming
Stan swung his sword at Ronnie, so Ronnie put his sword up to block it. Stan seemed really mad at Ronnie which Ronnie had no idea why.
“W-what are doing? Why are you so mad?” asked Ronnie. Stan swung his sword again and Ronnie blocked it.
“You’re the only monster in this arena, and monsters deserve to die. Ahhhh,” said Stan as he swung his sword again and Ronnie jumped out of the way.
“What? I’m the monster? Well look at you, you’re the one trying to kill me,” replied Ronnie, feeling confusion as to why Stan wanted to kill him. Stan circled Ronnie; he had his sword in a pointing position facing Ronnie.
“So, how’s it feel to be monster, eh?” asked Stan angrily.
“Monster? No, we talked about this, we planned it. We said we would pretend to gain Dwayne’s trust and when his guard’s down, one of us will kill him,” replied Ronnie.
“Don’t be stupid; the plans already failed,” replied Stan. Stan swung his sword at Ronnie again and Ronnie blocked it; they kept doing this.
“What do you mean the plans already failed?” asked Ronnie.
“Dwayne knew what we were up to. He had the cells bugged and he was listening,” replied Stan. Ronnie pushed his sword with all his strength against Stan’s sword which pushed Stan away from him.
“What? Really?” asked Ronnie.
“Yeah. I’m surprised your buddies didn’t know,” replied Stan, still with that angry look on his face.
“What buddies?” asked Ronnie.
“Come on, you know what I’m talking about. Those men you were hanging with yesterday,” replied Stan. Stan swung his sword and nicked one of Ronnie’s arms. Ronnie stepped back and wiped away the tiny bit of blood.
“Those guys last night were just…um, well, nothing to me. I was drunk and I didn’t think properly,” replied Ronnie, truthfully, which Stan couldn’t tell.
“Oh yeah, blame it on the alcohol; it’s the alcohol’s fault. You know what I could have accepted? You just hanging out at the strip club but the fact that you hung around people who are stone cold killers and enjoyed yourself, it’s well…I don’t know, unforgivable and if you can hang out with people like that and not care, then I’m not sorry for saying this, but you are a stone-cold killer too, and I have to kill you and then I have to kill Dwayne,” said Stan with hatred in his eyes.
Ronnie looked at Stan with a sorrowful look. “Look, if I could take back last night so it never happened then sure I would do that in a heartbeat, but all I can do, is say I’m sorry and show you how sorry I am by helping you get out of this life and death situation,” said Ronnie as he was hoping Stan would lower his sword to listen.
“No,” replied Stan. Stan rapidly swung his sword at Ronnie, Ronnie kept countering his blows and he didn’t fight back because he didn’t want to prove to Stan that he was the stone cold killer Stan described him as. Ronnie pushed Stan to the ground to stop him from trying to kill him.
“Look, we can get out of this. One of us doesn’t have to die. We can fight back and we can end this today,” said Ronnie with a serious look on his face.
Stan got up from the ground. “Even if that’s so, I doubt we could take down all of Dwayne’s men,” said Stan.
“Not all of Dwayne’s men are killers; some of them prefer not to kill, like Max,” replied Ronnie.
“Who the fuck is Max?” asked Stan, curiously and still a bit angry.
“He’s a guy I met earlier today, and all he cares about is drinking, partying and sex; he doesn’t like the violence. In fact, you could say he’s on our side,” replied
Ronnie. Stan lowered his sword.
“What do you mean on our side?” asked Stan, intrigued.
“Well, it all started like this…” replied Ronnie.
A couple of hours ago
Ronnie told Stan what he and Max talked about hours ago. It started back in the strip club. Max just gave Ronnie his magical hangover cure and Max told him how all he cared about in this world is drinking and sex; he didn’t like the killing but he had to do it or else all the sex and drinking would go because Dwayne would either exile Max from his city or kill Max, and killing is probably the way Dwayne would go. “Hey Max, so if I said something like would you wanna kill Dwayne or help someone else kill him, you would be on board with that, right?” asked Ronnie.
“Shhh, don’t say shit like that. People can hear you and I’m not dying because some guy is telling me his fantasy,” whispered Max as he looked around to see if anyone heard.
“Well come with me to one of the back rooms and we’ll talk privately. Unless there’s cameras set up in them, filming everything,” whispered Ronnie.
“No, the only naked filming done in this place is in the porn setup room,” replied Max.
“So, please can you talk privately?” said Ronnie nicely.
“Okay then, but it can’t be that long or else someone might think we’re up to something,” replied Max.
So Ronnie and Max headed to the back area and entered one of the rooms that were empty and Ronnie closed the curtains so that they could have some privacy. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?” asked Max in a quiet tone so no one could hear, “Well, you know the whole help someone kill Dwayne thing. Well ah, that person’s me. I’m the one who wants to kill Dwayne,” whispered Ronnie.
“Yeah, I kinda already got that,” replied Max.
“Do you know much about Dwayne? I know he’s your leader but some people don’t know their leader well,” whispered Ronnie.
“Well um, he’s a killer, a monster and just a horrible human being, that’s pretty much how you would describe him,” replied Max.