Beauty And A Beast

Chapter 11

Tzuyu

My right arm aches when I wake up and realize I'm not in my room or on my bed. I blink a few times to adjust to the new environment. I'm lying face down in the middle of a room empty of furniture or any other thing someone would find in a normal home. The curtains are closed, leaving me in darkness, though dim light comes in the room from the windows.

I slowly get up from the cold cement floor, feeling the sting on my back where the Japanese threw a knife at me yesterday. My right arm is sore, since I have probably been sleeping on it all night. I walk to the curtains and withdraw them, only to be blinded by the morning sun. As soon as my eyes adjust to the light, I understand I'm in a house, an abandoned one. The rest of the houses along the road look abandoned as well.

I run a hand through my hair with a sigh as I turn to the empty room which surrounds me. Searching around for anything that could give me any advantage, my eyes land on a piece of paper stabbed on the wooden door with a military knife.

Well dear contestants, the 1st Challenge is underway!
You'll stay in this village for five days. On the fifth day, you'll need to come to the edge of the village, or else you're disqualified.
In order to win this Challenge, you need to collect the keys hanging around each contestant's neck. The senior with most keys at the end of the Challenge, is declared the winner!
Good Luck and Stay Strong!

My fingers wrap around the key hanging on my neck. I scoff. They want us to take each other's keys with a fight. They are having us kill each other so nobody gets the money. I hate it, but they're smart.

I take the knife out of the door and shove it in a sheath on my thigh, hanging on my pants. With a deep breath, I pull the door open and exit the abandoned house.

I use the alleys to walk around the village, seeing that the main road is too exposed. As I walk, I find multiple cameras on the walls of the houses. Because, of course and the other students have to see what the absolute hell is happening in here.

A crunching sound is heard just before I turn to another alley, making me halt to a stop. I stand against the wall, my hand ready to pull the knife out of its sheath. I bite onto my sleeve to muffle the sound of my breath as footsteps are heard. They're heavy, so it's one of the guys.

“The fuck is this? Idiots..” the guy mumbles and kicks what sounds like a metal trash can. “Shit.” he murmurs afterwards. The voice is neither Jackson nor Jay's so coming out of my hiding spot? Not an option. But I can hear him coming closer and I won't be able to hide when he does.

“This is ridic- Tzuyu.”

My face spins to the origin of the voice. Kai is standing in front of me, his blonde hair split to the sides and his dark brown eyes fixed on me. I quickly spot the golden chain around his neck, from which the key hangs, under his black shirt.

“Well then, I guess we could make this simple.” he says and makes a step towards me. My grip on the hilt of the knife tightens. “Give me the key, and I'll leave. I won't bother you again.” he shrugs.

“That's a convenient plan.” I chuckle. “But I don't remember myself ever settling for these.” I take the knife out of the sheath and spin it in my fingers. “Kai, I don't want to do this.”

Kai laughs. “Oh, but neither do I Tzuyu. But here's the catch.” he says and takes a long chain from the trash can he kicked to the ground. “We don't have a choice.”

With that, he throws the chain for my feet, which I dodge with a jump. Then he throws it at me again, this time aiming for my ribs. I bend over to avoid it but he uses his leg to push me back at the hard cement. I roll and stand on my feet again, not allowing myself to feel any sorts of pain. Maybe my dad's training ended up even the slightest bit useful.

“Tzuyu, Tzuyu, Tzuyu...” Kai shakes his head. “You're putting up a lost fight. You know you can't win. So give me the key, and I'll let you be.”

I chuckle and clench the knife in my fist harder. “You wish.” I say and throw the knife at him. It slices the top of his shoulder and Kai takes some time to examine the cut, hissing in pain. While he is doing so, I grab the other end of the chain he's holding and pull him towards me, only to push him back with a kick on his stomach. I release the chain and he drops to the ground, gasping for breath.

I sit on him and pull the chain with the key from his neck. Before I realize it, Kai lands a strong jab on my jaw, turning my head to the side, and then wraps the thick chain around my neck. I suddenly find myself struggling to breathe and remove the chain from my neck, but Kai's hold is firm. The other chain with the key on my neck is digging in my flesh, drawing out fresh and hot blood. Black spots start clouding my vision, and Kai's smirking face starts to blur.

“How does that convenient plan look now, huh?” Kai chuckles but, even though he's right under me, his voice seems like it's coming from feet away. I try to breathe but it seems impossible with every second that passes by.

I can't die. I won't die.

Despite my blurry vision and just as I feel my senses are starting to abandon me, the corner of my eye catches the knife I threw at Kai's shoulder earlier. With a ragged breath that could very well be my last, I wrap my fingers around the silver hilt of the knife and bring it to Kai's temple, on the spot that leaves him unconscious.

I roll to the side, my breathing heavy and labored. I lift my hand to trace the cut from the chain of the key. Traces of blood are starting to dry around my neck and I'm sure it's already started bruising.

Let's just say my experience is finally useful.

I quickly put Kai's key in my pocket and tie his wrists together with the chain he used to choke me. He'll be awake in a few minutes so I start making my way out of there, silently, hoping I won't come across another student who wishes to kill me.

And I start wondering where she is.

A/N:

Here we go😊