The dark clouds loom over our heads, a bad omen. I'm just waiting for the rains to start at this point, knowing they'll come sooner or later. I continue to follow Tigris's lead, trailing behind her a bit, always keeping her in sight. We reach a long alley with rooftops hanging over the sides of it.
"Be careful, I remember Joey telling me about traps hidden in tight spaces like this." She warns.
"I'm sorry, who's Joey?" I ask.
"Oh, Joey is my creator. Just like David is yours." She says.
"I see. So how far have we gone?" I ask, but she doesn't reply, only stares forward, "Did you hear me?" I ask again but she still looks forward motionless, "What are you looking at-"
Standing at the end of the alley is an AI. But this isn't an ordinary AI...it's Guillotine.
"Hello, girls." He says, suddenly bounding forward with his katana in his hands. Tigris quickly jumps into action. She presses buttons on her wrists, causing her claws to extend. When Guillotine comes close enough she slashes her claws across his body, ripping through the metal panels and tearing out a few gears, but he only gets back up again, "You're forgetting..." He taps the newly placed little black box which is now on his neck. Suddenly she tosses me a gun.
"Fight with this, and don't let them get to me." She says.
"Them?" I question, but she points behind me. At the other end of the alley are 2 other AIs; Fire Fox and XX, "Shit." I mumble as I turn to face them.
"Oh hey." Fire Fox smirks, "I don't believe we've met before...but I don't really care." She pulls out her sword, which soon bursts into a blue flame, "You're going to die soon anyway." She tilts her head and smiles, but XX only stands and admires her claws. I hear Tigris and Guillotine start to fight again, so I start walking closer to them.
"I know I'm going to die soon but not by your hand." I aim the gun at them both and fire. They both try to dodge but only XX is successful in doing so. The shot leaves Fire Fox paralyzed on the ground, with strange black stripes running up her body. Tigris definitely has better weapons then I do.
I'm so caught up in the effect of the weapon, I let my guard down, giving XX the perfect opportunity to strike. I feel my back being ripped open as she slashes her metallic claws across my back. Luckily nothing important is broken except the metal plates. But what's better is that David took out the pain sensors in my back...which is technically breaking the rules but I don't care.
I decide to fire one last shot at Fire Fox but before I can do so XX kicks the gun out of my hand and puts me in a headlock. Then Fire Fox manages to get up off the ground and grab her sword again. The flames burn on again, leaving a silhouette of her body in the dark clouds. She steps closer, putting the sword up to my neck. Then after she has the correct aim, she pulls her arm back preparing to swing. I close my eyes and brace myself for what's about to happen. After a moment of nothing, I open one eye.
Fire Fox is lying dead on the ground. XX releases me from the headlock and backs up to the wall. I don't understand what's happened until I take a closer look at the ground. Tiny drops of rain are painting the ground a darker shade. It starts to pour heavily, and I realize the only thing keeping me and XX safe is a large overhang of one of the buildings.
"Tigris!" I turn my head to see her crouched under another overhang, with Guillotine lying dead in front of her, but not because of rain. I turn back and see XX, huddled in terror against the wall. I pick up Fire Fox's sword and walk over to her. She doesn't say anything, only tilts her head down. I pull back the sword and swing, ending her life. Then I carefully walk back to Tigris, putting my hand on her shoulder.
She jumps up, "Oh! Oh god, you scared me. Are you okay?" She asks.
"I don't know, XX got my back." I turn and let her see. She sighs, but I can't tell it's a sign of fear or relief.
"We should be able to patch that up once we get your weapons." She says thankfully.
"Actually, I don't think we need my weapons anymore." I say, looking down at Fire Fox's sword in my hands, "This one works just fine."
YOU ARE READING
The Arena (Book 1)
Science Fiction{COMPLETED} In this futuristic world, the main source of money and entertainment comes from battles called bot fights. Each player may enter in a self created robot to fight to the death against another opponents robot. The winning prize is millions...
