Playing the Game

Chapter 14: Red Sands

I was sinking in the sands around me, eyes fluttering in the burning sunlight. With great difficulty, I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I was exactly where I had blacked out, only the arena had emptied. There was no indication that the Shackled Sword Fight had even taken place; the crowd was gone, the rings of fire were extinguished, and the mangled carcases were missing. The only thing unusual about the arena was the sands.

They were red, thick with blood.

The entire field was aglow in crimson. The blood had melded with the grains of sand to form a running mess, solid enough to carry my weight slowly into the ground. It was like quicksand, and I was caught up in it. The more I struggled, the faster I sunk.

I was getting used to identifying my nightmares from reality, but I hadn't mastered the rules behind them. If I died in a nightmare, would I die in the real world?

"Should we find out?"

My father's likeness stood over me. His body remained firm on solid ground, not sinking in the same ground that I was stuck in.

"I'd rather not."

"Dying is a painful thing, no matter how it's done." He pulled down his collar to reveal the sizable laceration around his neck that separated his head from his body. It was crudely stitched back together for appearance sake, but it didn't prevent his head from wobbling. "It's true what they say: after a beheading, your mind remains conscious for a bit. The roaring approval of the crowd, your screams, and Maximus' laughter are still ringing in my ears." He pushed a finger into his left ear and spun it around, trying to eliminate the sounds with no luck. "Maybe yours will be quick, but I find it highly unlikely with the choices you've made."

"I don't expect much. I deserve whatever fate has in store for me."

"Spoken like a true warrior."

I swished my fingers through the sand, letting the red grains drop from my hand like water. "So is this my fate? Is this my blood?"

"Maybe someday, but there's no way of knowing how it all ends."

"Then why am I here?"

A malicious smile spread across his face. "Who did you hit, Candra?"

I frowned. "We don't know, remember?"

"Yes, but we're about to find out."

My eyes grew in horror. "You mean-..."

"This blood may not be yours, but it's certainly on your hands."

Before I could protest, the red sands opened up and swallowed the rest of my body whole.

~*~*~*~

I woke up in a panic, forgetting my injury from my most recent fight. After bolting upright, a wave of nausea took hold and caused a massive force of bile to escape. My head was throbbing and my eyes were having a hard time focusing. I felt a reassuring hand stroking my back as I heaved.

"Just let it all out. You'll be alright, Candra."

Evander's voice was like music to my ears. Ignoring the pain and the taste of bile still in my mouth, I wrapped my arms around Evander and sighed with relief. I could tell that he was trying hard to ignore the remnants of puke that adorned my chin as I pressed my cheek to his; I had to stifle a laugh at finding the one thing that knocked me down from my perfect pedestal.

As I was squeezing my arms tighter around his torso, I felt a couple of new bumps and patches along his back. He tensed at my touch.

I pulled away. "Where did you get those?"