Fighting Harvest

Chapter Thirteen

A cold blanket wrapped around Anthony as he lay unconscious, still stuck in the hole he had fallen into as his body was contorted to fit between the sharp wooden spikes, his thigh still bleeding from the fall. All Anthony could do was think about his life and the choices he made to get here, having pushed away anyone who cared for him for his desire of death, but this wasn't the way he was hoping to go... alone in a ditch.

Memories of his life pass him by, those small moments with his parents, the joy he'd bring to classmates and kids when he found what they had lost, the amount of genuine care Clyde had for him even though they barely knew each other outside of work. Those moments he had taken for granted, but there was nothing he could do to change that outcome. His parents wanted nothing to do with him, those same classmates he helped way back when had forgotten all about Anthony, and Clyde was probably long gone by now... Anthony was alone like he had wished, but it felt so cold.

Anthony could feel his body moving without command, his arms raised as his limp unconscious body was dragged out of the hole, dirt and blood coating his clothes, but nobody seemed to mind as Anthony could feel the grass under him move. He tried to open his eyes to see what was going on, peeking through blurry vision, he could see the dark forest around him moving, His legs dragging across the ground as he was being pulled back by two unknown strangers.

Anthony tried to speak, but his vision blacked out once again as he was too weak to complain or question, unknowingly being taken to some location, whether it was good or bad was beyond his understanding. The strangers on the other hand mumbled to one another, mostly complaining about how heavy Anthony was as they used both their hands to pull on his arms, not showing any signs of urgency as they took their time dragging Anthony's unconscious body to who knows where.

The grassy terrain under Anthony was soon replaced by turf and loose gravel, feeling waves of pain shoot up his injured leg although he did not react to any of it, his head rolling along his shoulders as the two strangers struggled to pull Anthony inside an unfamiliar building.

"Should we check the other traps?"

"Tell someone else to do it, after dragging this guy around... I think I'm done for the night"

"Will Hypno even let you take a break?"

"I hope so"

Anthony quietly listened to their discussion, waving back into consciousness but was unable to pull his eyes open to see his surroundings, but he could smell it. The thick smell of metal engulfed his nose as the further he was dragged into the building, he could catch the scent of chemical waste. Almost like a mixture of paint and markers wafting into the air, it stung his brain the more he focused on the stench.

The ground under him felt smooth like concrete, somewhat wet from the smudged blood trail his leg was leaving, but he occasionally felt glass and rocks cut into his pants, slicing into his skin under the fabric.

The sound of music could be heard shaking the building, as shouts and calls echoed across the halls... this could be the party Jamie was talking about, maybe Anthony could find out what's going on here before he gives in to his blood loss since he knew escape was not an option. The sound of an announcer blared over the music and screaming, a little hard to understand exactly what they had said, but it was along the lines of,

"A short intermission while we prepare the next show!"

The dragging soon stopped as Anthony's head fell back on the concrete floors, letting out a defeated groan as he attempted to open his eyes once again. Looking up through blurry vision, Anthony could see the two strangers looking down at his unconscious body.

The two looked rough and almost starved, almost like prisoners as their bloodshot eyes stared at Anthony until their attention was turned elsewhere.

"This is what you interrupted me for?" A familiar voice spoke up just out of Anthony's line of sight, as the voice sounded like the announcer he had heard not too long ago. The smell of chemicals was unbelievably strong now.

"We don't know what to do with him man, if you wanna keep him or harvest him" one of the strangers spoke up.

"Come on, look at him! Do you think I could use him for anything entertaining? Is he even still alive" the announcer argued

"He is, but we just wanted to make sure you didn't want him for anything else Hypno"

"Just take him to spoons, I gotta prepare the next fight" the announcer, otherwise known as Hypno, spoke in an annoyed tone of voice before Anthony could hear him walking away, his voice booming out once he reached the end of a hallway just out of Anthony's view "Racehorse and Killswitch! You're up next!"

Anthony couldn't hang in for much longer, trying his best to move his arms and push himself up, but his body was unresponsive, leaving him lying there as his eyes soon shut once again, leaving him to the mercy of the strangers. The strangers grabbed Anthony's arms, continuing to drag him across the uncomfortable floor as they turned down many halls, even pulling his body up a few jagged stairs before dropping him.

The metallic and chemical smell was still ever present, not now a new scent entered the mix... the smell of meat and well-cooked food.

The strangers opened a door as it scraped across the floor, the sound piercing Anthony's ears as he couldn't hear much of anything afterward, as a muffled conversation went on above him, ending with the strangers walking off and a new person taking Anthony's body.

Anthony was picked up, or at least attempted to be picked up, as he soon lay across a cold metallic table. The new stranger pacing around the table as if they were preparing for something, giving Anthony one last opportunity to open his eyes and see what was going on. The room around him was dim and somewhat messy, containing cooking utensils and sharp objects, it was safe to assume this was a run-down kitchen still in use, thanks to the smell of freshly cooked meals and the bubbling of a hot pot on the stove.

What caught Anthony's attention though was the new stranger he was left with. An older-looking male with plenty of scars littering his face, as the right half of his head looked to be burned and was even blinded, but that didn't stop the man from sharpening a cleaver. Anthony huffed as he forced his head to turn, looking to his side to see a tray of tools and silverware, like knives and forks, making him realize why he was here in the first place.

Now panicked, Anthony looked back up at the stranger who was now standing by his side, sharpened cleaver in hand as he had raised it above his head, slamming the blade down along Anthony's thigh, slicing his fatty meat with ease. Anthony screamed at this, struggling to stay awake now as blood gushed everywhere, feeling the blade wiggle against his bone before repositioning itself, the stranger pressing his palm against the opposite end of the blade before using pressure to cut through the bone, slicing the rest of the way through Anthony's leg. Adrenaline, or what little there was, rushed through Anthony as he weakly reached beside him to grab whatever he could use to defend himself, grabbing the tray of tools as he swung it at his attacker, slamming the metal tray against the man's broken face as the silverware it once held was now scattered everywhere.

The stranger groaned in pain as he stumbled away, still gripping his bloody cleaver as his one good eye glared at the now conscious Anthony. Angered, the stranger rushed back towards Anthony, swinging his cleaver down in an attempt to stab him with it, but Anthony was quick to kick the crazed man in the chest with his left and only leg. This knocked the air out of the man's lungs as he gasped desperately, pausing as a voice echoed through a rusted speaker mounted on the wall.

"Spoons, come to the booth, now" The voice sounded like the Announcer, Hypno, but more static-like and muffled due to the quality of the speaker. The stranger, Spoons, didn't waste any time leaving the disgusting-looking kitchen, having left Anthony there to die.

Anthony laid back on the table as he panted softly, wanting to give up and give in to the gushing blood that streamed down the edge of the table, but he wasn't ready to die just yet. He used his remaining strength to push his body off the table, falling hard along the filthy floors as he cried out in pain. Crawling towards the counters, Anthony reached up to grab a rag that dangled from one of the drawer handles, using that with one of the silverware he found across the floor, he was able to create a makeshift tourniquet in an attempt to stop the bleeding on his now amputated leg.

Pain overwhelmed Anthony as he faded in and out of consciousness, trying his best to stay awake and alive for as long as he could, wanting to use every ounce of strength till the very end, wanting to die a fighter.