𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄? ; 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗳𝗶𝗰

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐧

i'm going to die.

My mouth has gone completely dry. I have absolutely no fighting experience. We haven't even gotten a solid look at this creature Simon and I have to fight — it might be a sphinx or a lion or some fairy tale monster I never thought actually existed.

"Please, choose your weapons," the Mad Hatter says, stretching her arms out wide as though inviting us to sit at a banquet with food lining a giant table, not inviting us to a game that will lead to our deaths.

Something moves inside the creature's pen; a clang sounds as its chain hits the metal bars. Nope, no way, there's absolutely no fucking way.

A ghost has replaced Simon, her face deathly pale as she seemingly floats over to the weapons across the arena. Time slows down, seconds crawl by, before my mind catches up to reality once more. His hands are shaking as he reaches for a double-ended spear, the tips reflecting light stretching down from the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Her eyes flick over to mine. Are you ready? he mouths.

"No."

I said that out loud.

"No, what, love?" The Mad Hatter's mouth twists into another of her fiendish smiles.

"No, I won't do it," I say. My voice sounds a lot braver than I feel. "I won't fight that... thing. I won't let you have us die for your amusement."

The Mad Hatter's sick grin spreads wider across her face. "That's simply too bad," she says. "You don't have a choice." Her voice turns threatening, steel against steel.

A sickening crunch comes from inside the jail bars — the monster has stepped on a human skull. I can see the remains of a jaw peeking out from the shadows, as though warning me of what's to come.

"We always have a choice." Lotus' voice comes from behind me.

I glance back at him, and he gives me an I-got-your-back kind of look.

"Not this time." The Mad Hatter turns her head to Carmen. He reminds me of some kind of canary in its golden cage, desperate to escape. "Like I said... if you don't, your friend here will suffer instead. How about it?"

My eyes follow the Mad Hatter's, centering on Carmen. I swallow. I look back at my friends: the people who are here in this nightmarish situation because of me. And my weird-ass pool, but that's beside the point. "You deserve everything that's coming for you."

The Mad Hatter's nostrils flare up, eyes wavering like she's about to cry. Her hand grips the lever jutting out of the armrest of the throne, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Before I have a chance to take back any of my ill-advised words, the Mad Hatter yanks the lever back. The metal gate, the only thing between us and this horrible thing definitely about to kill us all, starts creaking upwards, gears grinding slowly but steadily.

"Shit," I hear Simon whisper. Her double-tipped spear glints in the strange lighting.

The dungeon is still dark; I can't tell what monster awaits us. Nobody has moved an inch, no one dares breathe. Then, as the gate grinds to a halt, the cell wide open, a griffin steps into the light.

Claws of yellow, scaly skin form the front feet of the creature; gorgeous feathers of pearly white, majestic brown, and the darkest black I've ever seen line the chest and body; a lion's tail flicks around from the back (though the hindquarters are still hidden in shadow); and the eyes — they stare me down, black pupils surrounded by yellow irises — make me willing to do anything the griffin would ask of me. My breath stands stagnant as I watch the animal I was to fight.

The griffin opens its mouth (or would you call it a beak?) and lets out an ear deafening screech I feel in the core of my body.

"Get them!" The Mad Hatter's voice rings out in the following silence: her manicured nails are clasped in a fist with her index finger pointing directly at me.

I wretch my gaze away from Carmen in the cage, barely registering my friends gathered around me, and look at the creature across the room. Its eyes burrow into my soul and as it takes one, two steps towards me, my stomach plunges. Fuck, I'm so dead.

aster.

wowowowoow !! who
thinks they're all going
to die :3 btw next update
is very much not set but
(shameless plug) my
wesper fic DOES have 
regular updates including
one this weekend if any-
one is interested 🤩