The Resurrection Game: The last Winners

Chapter#8- Here Lies Human Dignity

Today, the village is full of song; sales men and woman dancing up and down the streets, trying to sell and the aroma of baked bread wafting through the air. Women with dull brown dresses twirled, whilst carrying woven baskets on their hips, each humming a cheerful melody. Bakers and butchers proudly displayed their food, as if today was going to be a great selling day. The dull colours of the banners and signs appear to be brighter today, somewhat extra determined to sell. The artificial sun beats down heat onto our heads and I can feel the beads of sweat beginning to form on my forehead. Wiping the sweat away, I looked up towards the entrance to The Games, and marvouled at the new upgrade it had gotten.
The new gates appeared to be modernized, a glass dome with automatic doors and a little grey stand in front of the doors. Replacing the automated walk way, was a glistening, colossal white boat. Along its side, was a name engraved in gold writing, SS Daemons.
Two new guards stood at the gates, each almost identical. They both wore heavy silver armoury, a helmet with a red feather at the top,which covered the majority of their faces, padded metal shoulder blades, and a silver chest plate. The arms were bare, and they wore white silk tunics with red stripes going along the bottom. Their shoes were knee-high, sharp and polished. In their belts, there was a long-sword and an small sabre.

The village was crowded today, and I held Wyn's small hand to keep him from wandering away. He usually did have a habit of losing his focus, his mind appearing to leave his body. Perhaps it was what Blessed Weapon normally do?
The whole district had decided at going to The Games at their own paces, just as long as we all were at the gate by 12:00am. As we began to near the new gates, a voice which forced its way to my ears, jumped through the crowd, "Hey, you, madam!" It shouted and I turned around to see an old thin man. His head appeared to be too small for his already skinny body, his purple, gold and white clothes hung loosely around his body. His teeth were crooked and dirty, the messily shaved beard looking like gravel and his head almost shaven clean, besides from the wisps of white hair here and there.
Instantly, when he reached me by pushing his way through the storm of the crowd, he grabbed Wyn by the chin with a dark grubby hand, squeezing his cheeks. Wyn looked uncomfortable.
"This is a Blessed Weapon." The Old Man breathed and Wyn looked like he flinched in disgust.
"Yes he is," I replied, slightly pulling Wyn away from him cautiously, "So?"
"So?!" The man declared, appearing to be shocked and baffled, "Why you can sell a Blessed Weapon for hundreds!"
"What, I'm not going to-"
"Thousands. I'll give you thousands." The man interrupted, grinning desperately. Wyn's hand tightened on mine. This man... he is con artist. Don't give me away.
I smiled as warmly as I can as I held up my hand politely, "No, I'm sorry. This boy is not for sale." I refused. The man's facade slightly faltered, before he gritting his teeth and grabbed onto Wyn's jacket impatiently. "Madam," The man seethed through his teeth, "I ain't giving you a choice here."
Wyn began to whimper, afraid as he gripped onto my hand more tightly, "Let go." His small voice demanded quietly over the roar of the passing crowd.
"He said let go." I echoed more harshly, trying to pry the man's greedy hands off of Wyn. His grip was tight.

"I suggest you do what you are told, good sir." A familiar voice snapped, and the man's face instantly goes pale as he looks over my shoulder. I turned to see Riko, in all of her passive glory, pointing her pistol in the direction of the man. There was a frown placed on her lips and she did not look pleased.

She cocked the gun and a deafening silence killed the noise of the crowd.

The man quickly raises his arms in defense as he slowly back away, but then he bumps into the tall slender figure of Ben. On his shoulder, there is a shotgun resting casually, the barrel pointing to the man, his head slightly tilted to it. Copper stood beside him, looking less threatening, but he had his arms crossed against his chest. "Yo, Brandon, Arulin," Ben declared, smirking towards the man's face, which was growing terror, "we ain't going to let this man walk away, without reclaiming justice, aren't we?"
"No, we are not." Brandon informed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Arulin cracks his fists threateningly, whilst Amaya, despite her peace, glares at the strange man. Brandon lifts a crossbow to his left shoulder and looks down the arrow, aiming. "I think an arrow to the knee would be a suitable punishment." He murmured, his finger over the trigger.

Cornered, the man yelped and then squirmed away, like a little rat, defeated.

And Beth casually stuck her foot out, and the man tripped, landing on the floor flat on his face.

"Really?" I began, after the man had been taken away and was long gone from sight, looking at them, bewhildered, "You brandish and wave your weapons around in public and threaten to shoot people with them?"
"Don't be stupid, Lilac." Riko tutted, putting the pistol back in her belt, "The bullets are kept separately from the guns when we are in the natural public. And Brandon's crossbow is in safety mode."
"Yeah,"Brandon noted, playing his crossbow back at his side, "besides, I'm a terrible aim, I would probably miss."
Ben rolled his eyes sarcastically and he muttered, "Yeah, 'miss', right."

Reaching to the gates, after the crowd began to re-mingle, we stopped near a cafè. The cafè looked more modern, and stood out in it's white and pink glory. Outside, there were crystalized glass tables and  The large clean window was to the left and a polished dark brown wooden was to the right, with a golden handle and three window panes on it. The walls were newly painted white, the surface rigid in texture.
When looking in through the window, there were two columns of neatly packed tables, with four wooden tables at each of them. The floor was carpeted red with gold designs and on the walls were paintings of water scenery and mountain hills. There was a step, which led to a glass counter, which was covered in large white tiles. There was a female employee with shaggy blonde hair tied neatly into a bun underneath her black cap and a red apron wiping the tables clean and a male with dark coal hair and a black cap stood at the counter, taking an order from a woman, who looked like a exact copy and paste from the sales women outside, I noticed.

"I'm going in to get us a drink," Riko informed, "We still have about thirty minutes until the start."
"That's more than enough time to get you drunk." Ben commented. He ducked when Riko snarled and tried to punch him.
"If you're so concerned," Riko snapped, pulling Ben by the collar forcefully, "than you're coming with me too."
"Aww, man." Ben complained, looking like a sulking child, "More walking?"
Riko nods once, "More walking."
I chuckled as I watched Riko pull Ben away, who keeps sulking like a spoilt child. "Don't worry!" I joked, smiling as I took out a chair and sat down, "We'll find a child seat for you, Ben!"

And then, there I go, spacing out again. I didn't know how and why I get bored so easily. I didn't know what to specifically stare at; it appeared to be the gates near the giant new boat. Somehow, carved into my bones, I knew that this next game was different. It... put me of, somehow.

And then, a soft small figure crawled up to the gates. It was a baby, of perhaps just over 1 and a half years old. It's head was covered in light, thin blonde hair and it's small nose was flat and like a button. Drool dribbled down it's smiling mouth and down it's small chin. The child was wearing a small simple baby blue onesie, which was getting dirty with dust and grains of sand. I looked around to see a possible mother, but the large crowd made it impossible to spot one out from the other.
Despite of the over roaring of the crowd, the baby cooed as it reached the two guards and it looked up at them, smiling with its cute cubby cheeks. It sat up, it's hands playing with the sand beneath its body.

The guards stared at it.

And then they rose their weapons, the sharp spear end facing the baby.

And then, without thinking, I jumped from my seat and sprinted my legs over to the child before the guards could plunge their spears into the kid's tiny heart. I practically dived and grabbed the child, scraping my whole left side of myself across the rough floor and the spears bit at the ground. Miraculously, the child was not hurt, but they must have been so frightened, that they started bawling their little eyes out, screaming. I panted, my heart beating irregularly.

A woman pushed past the crowd, her face red and her eyes wet from tears. She had blonde hair and her blue eyes were filled with shaken terror.she was wearing a dull brown dress, a white apron and a small white circular cap with frills. Was she the child's mother?

The woman stared at the baby, and then she reaches her arms over to take the little child from my arms. "Master Kab!" She cried out, relief in her voice, "there you are!"
Carrying Kab over her shoulder, the woman bowed as she spoke quickly and frantically, "I'm very grateful you found our young master! I hope he hasn't been giving you much trouble, Madam!"
I only nodded quickly as I stood and held my throbbing side. "It's quite alright." I muttered quietly. But something else was on my mind, as I gazed at the two guards, who have now gone back to their stations, like nothing had happened.

What dangerous game has Abyss got planned for us today, for him to put up merciless guards at the gates?