Aliens: Finding Void

Chapter Nine

Daeus's POV

When the green goo from the giant beast started to cool and dry, it made my body still and the smell was that of a rotten carcass. There was no change in the sounds of tearing flesh and the loud voices of the Yukor. There was no change in the darkness of the cage. No change in the conditions of which I was kept.

And then, as if fate was hating on me, the buzzer went off and I was being forced back out into the arena. The only thing remaining of the giant beast was it's skull, sitting broken and splintered in the middle of the arena. Green goo covered the ground and the crowd had gone mostly silent, dazed from their feast.

The lead Yukor was back on his platform, calling to the crowd. Dread filled me stomach as my eyes found Vrillyn and Vri. Both of them looked horrified and both of them gazed at me sadly. Neither of them looked harmed aside from the binds they were in and I wondered if they would be set free or subjected to a cruel fate after I died. Were they only being kept alive to watch me suffer?

The crowd started to cheer and I turned in dread to watch three, equally sized beasts crawl from the cage. All three of them were identical, yet I knew they weren't animals. The way they stood and watched me. The way they smirked in unison, standing still as if deciding what their first plan would be.

Slippery snail-like bodies with two sets of arms and a pair of bird-like legs and talons. A head sat atop armored shoulders, a muzzle extending from their face with four giant canines made for ripping and tearing. Two large eyes taking up most of their face, each unique in shape and color.

And then the middle one spoke. "Ah! Someone who could kill the beast!"

"A worthy challenger," the left one agreed, clicking his claws together.

"A tasty treat," the third on sneered and without warning they charged.

I couldn't out run them and they were skinny, unlike the previous beast. But I couldn't possibly kill them! The beast had been an animal but these were just three prisoners, subjected to fighting to survive. They moved like one and spread out, circling me.

I couldn't just stand there and do nothing! I lashed out as one of them got close, my hands barley missing the thing's face. It mocked and taunted me, the three moving in a dance-like sway as the jeered at me. I couldn't think, it would be my downfall. I just needed to fight.

Lunging at the closest thing, I was blocked, but I kept pushing. The alien cackled and then he was no longer there and I felt a weight on top of me, digging into my shoulder's on my animal half. I roared, twisting to grab at the thing and he was gone, running to the other end of the arena. The other two followed, mocking and cackling.

Ignoring the pain, I chased them. It was kill or be killed. I couldn't let my morals get in my way and I couldn't be scared to fight. I had to kill them. I had to get out of here!

Darting off to the side as the three of them went to turn, they spread out again, but I locked in on one of them. Pushing myself faster, I kicked off with my back feet and leaped onto it's back, hanging on as it fell forward with a scream.

I could see the other two coming to their friend's aid, but I understood it now. They weren't fighters. Their strength came from their speed and their tactic was to wear their opponent to utter exhaustion before striking a killing blow, but I wasn't going to be fooled into chasing them around the whole of the arena.

Digging my front claws into the back of the slimy alien's head, he squished satisfyingly under my claws. I couldn't help but feel exhilarated as I made the kill. I wasn't worried about them any longer. They were not stronger than me. They were not heavier than me.

Turning to face the other two I snarled and saw genuine fear in their eyes. Apparently they had never met an opponent who fought back, but I wasn't going to sit idle and be killed before I could get back to my home planet and figure out what or who I had been. The two of them shared a glance before turning and trying to retreat, but I wouldn't let them.

Discarding the body, I ran after the other two, herding them like one would a flock animal and cornered them against the skull of the beast. "I am getting out of here." I snarled lowly before I lunged, grabbing one with my hands and slamming it into the skull until it broke open, it's insides spilling onto the ground.

The last one squawked and cowered and I approached. "Please!" It pleaded. "I-I don't want to die." But it was too late. I saw no reason to let it live as I brought my claws down on it's head, shredding the thing in two before it could run.

I turned and roared my victory, the crowd cheering for me this time. I smirked, feeling like I deserved this cheer, but then I saw the horrified faces of my companions and I froze.

This isn't who I was.

This wasn't me.

I wasn't a murderer.

Before I could process anything else, I was being dragged back into the cage. My body was stiff and covered in dust and grime. My claws felt sticky and regret flooded all rational thought. What had I done?

If I couldn't escape then I would become a murderer. And that thought chilled me to my core. I wasn't a killer, yet I had easily ended the life our four others today. It had been so easy to give into the thrill of the kill and lose myself to it that I hadn't . . . I hadn't stopped to think if the others had also been forced into fighting. What if they had had families who were missing them, wondering where they were. But I was the reason they would never be seen again.

A small hiss distracted from the building regret in my conscious and I turned towards the hall that had led me here. Just out of my vision, I could see a small, kid-sized, yellow Ekhad, sitting in the dark, watching me.

"Who are you?" I asked softly, going up to the bars. How had this kid gotten here? "What are you doing here?"

But I got no response. All I got was a small smile and when I tried to get a closet look at the kid, he was gone. Confusion swamped me and I scanned the hall, trying to find the Ekhad again, but to no avail. And then . . . Just where the small yellow guy had been sitting, I could barely make out a dark lever, just beyond the bars.

That would release me!

I tried to reach the lever with my arms and then my paws with no luck. I growled in frustration. I could hear the crowd start to perk back up and I didn't want to be subjected to fight again.

Shoving my tail through the bars, I tried to reach the lever and barely managed. "Yes!" I hissed, forcing my tail to get between the lever and the wall and push it down. The bars to the hall started to raise and I was out! Freedom here I come!