Scattered Fragments

Chapter 19- The Lioness

   "BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!" The crowd cheered.

The wooden boards of the Tiger's Den pulsed with the collective stomping. They kept cheering the man before her, a bald bulky neck beard with more ink on his body than a deed to a land. It was all noise- all their cheers and shouts- she drowned them out until they were whispers in the distance. All that stood before her was a brute yelling out to the crowd while beating his chest- winning the crowd over.

    Fay brought her hands up to her face and took her stance. The bandages that wrapped around her hands all the way to the fingertips were bloody and dirty from the day's fights. All along her body were black and blue bruises from a couple of brawlers, thinly sliced cuts from a man with sharp nails, and probably a cracked rib when she was thrown onto one of the walls of the cage.

    Tonight's event was King of The Hill, tone of the deadliest games the Lion's Den had to offer. All of the fighters before her weren't able to reach it to the third round without submitting to their injuries- or dying.

    "Rip her arm off!" said one of the men behind her.

Blood grinned as he turned to her, his mouth stretching from all sides. He took no stance, nor did he size her up, he just advanced on her with a fist raised in the air. She ducked quickly as Blood's fist hit the cage wall.

    She rolled to her knees, then dashed towards the man and jumping on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled back as hard as she could. Blood pried her arms free with ease, then threw her across the cage. She crashed onto the chain linked wall; Fay cried out in pain as she lay on the floor paralyzed.

    Blood was over her, he grabbed her by the throats and picked her up with one arm. She jabbed and elbowed his forearm and face, even sending kicks to the man's abdomen, but they were of no use. He slammed her down onto the ground once, then picked her once more and threw her down again with even more force. She gritted her teeth, and blazed her remaining Corpus to each part of her body, dulling the pain and shock her body suffered. Blood laughed as he slammed her down repeatedly until her limbs would hang limply on her sides.

    What the hell am I doing here? She asked herself.

She was brought down again, this time she coughed a ball of blood out- her lungs were piercing.

    I shouldn't be here; I should be with Alice. She needs me.

Fay felt her body slam to the ground once more and was unable to hold anymore. He picked her limp body up by the throat and brought his fist back and thrust his arm forward.

I'll find you, Alice...

~**~

    The black evening mist curled around her body, and the raindrops lightly thumped on her back. Fay's body had been thrown out onto the streets. She couldn't fight anymore, not in her condition- and these days it felt like it was the only way to forget her pain. The streets were deserted, all except a girl walking down the path.

    She whistles to herself, keeping her hands in her pockets and her chin high. She was confident in every step she took as if the Shallows wasn't the scariest place in Miora. Fay's body stirred, and she let out a moan as her senses returned to her. The lone girl stopped on a dime and looked around the streets on full alert.

    "Who's there?" She called, turning her body repeatedly.

The moans got louder behind her, and as she swung her body around, she tripped over something beneath the dark mist.