The Phoenix Society

Chapter 18

"We have a crowd favorite making his return." Monroe's voice carried through the arena as he motioned down to the pitted area where the fight would take place. My eyes followed his gesture and I watched as a the paneled doors began pulling up. My eyes focused on a young man, not much older than myself, who took his place at the center of the arena. The crowd cheered at his appearance. It made me want to throw up. While the boy looked to be around my age, he was small and thin and I could see the small resemblance of bones sticking out of his skin, like he hadn't been fed in days. As I peered at his face, I saw how sunken in it was, his eyes wore dark circles beneath them, and there was dirt in every crack and crevasse I could see. It looked like all the life had been sucked out of him. The young man squinted as his eyes adjusted to the large spotlights shining in the arena. It made me wonder when the last time he had stepped outside was.

"Atta boy, Jared!" The man in front of me yelled with the crowd around him. I could only assume this was the fighter the man was betting on. But by the looks of the fighter in front of me, a win might not be in his future. In fact, Jared, looked like he had all but given up. My heart ached with sadness as I looked at him. My eyes traced back up to where the Phoenix Society stood overlooking the arena, hatred suddenly filling my blood.

"We have a new face entering the arena this afternoon." Monroe spoke again as the cheering began to die down. "Let's give a warm welcome to Else!"

The second paneled door pulled open and a girl entered the arena, taking a stance beside the fighter just introduced; the one I now know as Jared. The crowd roared at the new fighter, followed by a couple groans of those who bet on the other.

As I looked over the girl, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Jared. She looked completely different. Her face and body were full of life, and there was little to no dirt on her. While Jared looked like he lived down in the tunnels, this new fighter, Else, looked as though she didn't. It was all very strange to me. Why would they have two completely different fighters? Jared was outmatched. There was no way it was going to be a fair fight. Else's small mouth was pulled upward into what looked like a smile. If I didn't know any better, she looked almost excited to have the opportunity to fight in the arena.

"We all know the rules." A different voice spoke this time. This voice was a low rumble that was barely clear enough to be heard. I watched as Thomas took a step beside Monroe. He glanced over the crowd. I quickly averted my eyes as his landed on the section we were in, seemingly pausing on our row.

"This is a fight to the death. Each contender will be given a weapon of their choice." Thomas carried on. I watched as two guards entered the arena below. One handed Jared a long, trident looking weapon, while the other handed Else two identical short blades. They took their stances only a few feet apart from each other. "Let the fight, begin!"

The crowd around me erupted in cheers and yells as I waited in anticipation for what was about to come. For a moment, the two fighters looked at each other, as if sizing the other up and determining how hard of a fight this would be. While Else held herself tall and confident, nearly standing feet above her opponent, Jared cowered down small. His shoulders were slouched and the trident he held looked awkward and clunky as he circled around Else.

Laughter erupted from Else as she lunged at Jared. And I watched in horror as she made her first slice across his abdomen. Jared yelled out in pain. The crowd booed in response. This was not what they had came for. They came for a fight, not an outright slaughter. I turned away as Else struck again. How do people watch this? How do they find enjoyment in this? Anger surged through me as I did everything I could not to jump off the sidelines and run into the pitted area to help the poor boy. Have her go against me, then we'll see if she's still laughing. Jared ducked, barely missing yet another swing by Else. If he kept this up, the fight would be over in only a matter of minutes.