𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔖𝔦𝔵

I couldn't help thinking about what would have happened if this were a real fight. One against someone who was a true enemy.

Would I become a prisoner?

Or a corpse?

My mental head surfaced from the suffocating darkness and allowed my eyes to force open.

A male face flashed before my eyes, but when my mind cleared, whoever it was was gone.

I groaned, reaching my hand up to my face, but nothing happened. My arm just flopped uselessly beside my bruised stomach which threatened to spill my lunch.

A gentle hand brushed the sweaty strands of hair sticking to my forehead. Air washed in to cool my burning cheeks.

"What happened?" I murmured into the blurry emptiness.

"Theo knocked you out and you lost the second round," a soft, flat voice replied.

"You don't have to remind me," I groaned. My body shook as I turned onto my side to cradle my stomach. "Why did he enjoy hitting my stomach so much? Was he trying to get me to puke?"

"I am sure that was not his attention. It was simply a means to an end."

"I suppose the end isn't me upending all of my stomach's contents onto his brand new uniform. Too bad."

"We haven't reached the end yet," Theo stated as he strode toward me, followed by a crowd of students. "I hope you're ready for the next round."

Wren rose to her feet beside me. "She will be ready in five minutes. Please grace her with that one mercy."

"Alright, your majesty," Theo mocked in return before turning on his heel and stalking away.

I looked up at Wren whose pale face was now as dark as a shadow. When she looked down at me with the slightest of smiles, I realized that it had only been the lighting.

"Now how exactly am I going to be ready to fight in five minutes?" I questioned.

I should've pretended to sleep to avoid this nightmare.

Pfft. Ironic.

"Drink this." She slipped a small icy bottle into my sweaty palms. "It will clear your mind and reduce your nausea."

I chugged it all at once. The soothing liquid slipped down my throat and into my unsettled stomach, sending a burst of ice through my body. It was the feeling of a cold iced tea on the hottest day of the summer when the sun was at its peak in the sky.

Energy replenished, I rose to only slightly hesitant legs. I stretched them and shot my legs out, scared of a cramp creeping in.

None came, so I continued stretching. I brought my leg to my ear on both sides, pulling the muscle tight and pushing my foot behind my ear. After both legs felt loose and free, I stretched my arms out and jogged back onto the mat where Theo was waiting with his eyes on his watch.

"You made it just in time," he said. "It's time for us to choose our weapons."

———————

I chose the shortest gun on display. The weight of extra metal flying so far in front of me would just slow me down. I was the type who chose speed over power most of the time.

The model was a recent one. It had come out just last year. I had heard about its spiral of popularity from chatter in the hall, and I was glad my curiosity had led me to do research on it.