Evergreen [Book 1 of the Hierarchy Series]-Revising

Chapter 19

As promised, there is a picture to the right.  It's the cover to one of my books that I will not be posting on Wattpad.  Hope this interests you. :) -Mil

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Chapter 15

The put a cloth bag over my head so I couldn't see anything.  Unlucky for them, I already knew where we were going, and that I was already headed to the same place.  Unlucky for me, I'd have to find a way to escape during the games; otherwise, I'd be caught again while I waited around to meet up with everyone at the games.

The man holding the chain attached to my wrists kept shoving me and shouting profanities.  For some reason, they found torture fun, even if they didn't really know what real torture was.  One shove and the men went crazy with laughter.  I just rolled my eyes, laughing at them silently.  This was all too easy.

"Once we reached the arena grounds, a man pulled the bag over my head and shoved me forward a little more.  I looked up at the flat landscape, seeing the giant chariot arena to my right, and the fair carts in front of me.  I looked around at the various animals.  All of them looked hungry enough to eat all the men taking care of them. 

A few tigers rested in jointed cages, a fenced wall was the only thing keeping them from ripping each other apart.  There were two bears in another cage, and beyond them was a pack of timber wolves and a few coyotes.  They all looked hungry and exhausted, but bloodthirsty at the same time.

There was one empty cage sitting atop four small wheels.  I saw chains lying on the floor of the animal cell, guessing that was where they would put me.  Beforehand, they brought me into a small mobile house, shoving me inside a room filled with intricate psychic attire and trinkets.  The purple curtains hanging from the ceiling only made the room seem more inviting.

"Sir, we found this lad taking the wrong route and hunting down an ambassador rider," the man in charge of the group said.  His guardsman threw me to the ground, making me kneel with my face pressed against the floor.

"No I wasn't," I retorted to the floorboards.  The guardsman only pressed his foot harder into my head, shouting for me to shut up.

A man appeared from behind more curtains, watching me with amusement though nothing seemed funny to him.  A scar slashed his cheek where I assumed one of his animals angrily slashed him.  He had a thick build, and he was much taller and tanner than the men working with him.  His eyes appeared black, and the knife only added to his little charade.

"Are you so sure he is a threat to us," the man started.  He picked me up by the chin, looking me up and down before staring deep into my eyes.  I spat in his face, smiling as he pulled back with a grunt, wiping the saliva from his eyes.

"Put him in the cage," he started.  "He'll be a good meal for the animals in tomorrow's games.  Make sure you lock 'em up tight and make sure he doesn't get away."

"Yes sir," they replied, the guardsman pulling me off the ground and dragging me to the animal cage.  He threw me inside, locking me to the chain on the floor.  I could hardly move, my hands behind me struggling against me as I tried to sit up.  He men pushed the cage closer to the tigers, shoving me against the cage before moving the lion ones to the other side, sandwiching me between the big cats.  Many of them slashed out, but I was just out of their reach.  All but one.  Luckily the little white and purple-striped tiger was fast asleep.

I slumped down to the ground trying to get some sleep while I waited the day away.  A few more hours and darkness will come upon us.  Once the morning arrived, I needed to find a way to escape while I was in the arena.