Strange Thoughts

Part Three-Chapter Two-Jay

Gray is hugging his knees to his chest, on the floor, tears leaking out of his shut eyes.

"Aleya, I trusted you. I trusted you with everything I had. I never doubted you, even when I learned you kept your powers a secret from me. I can't believe you did this. All I had left was you."

I shake my head. This girl, Aleya seems cruel. She hasn't gone through anywhere near as much shit as Cheshire and I have.

Cheshire rounds the corner, flashing Gray a sympathetic look. I feel a twinge of hope in my chest. I hope Cheshire will give him special treatment, he seems to need it.

"Everybody here seems so young." Cody realizes aloud. I roll my eyes. It takes so long for this kid to notice things.

"The age range is from around seven to around 25. There are some older people like Lion, but she is only still here because she was picked to lead. The rest move on to better careers."

Gray lets out a moan. I give him a half-hearted pat on the back. "It's okay. Everything will be okay. I think it'll be perfect for you here." I really do think that. A lot of people come here to escape from grief, that's why Callum is such a good fighter.

He really got into training when his brother passed. I did too.

"I hate it here." Aleya stated. "You don't deserve to have an opinion now," I snap. "Look at him." I point a finger down at Gray. "You better think about what you did."

"You don't understand. I like Gray, but I feel like Cody and I were meant to be together. Like soulmates. I was going to have to choose between then eventually."

Aleya kneels down on the ground by where Gray is huddled. "Gray, I'm sorry. I'm not only sorry about everything I did, but everything you have gone through as well. I hope we can be friends, and I think we need to be because of the situation we are in."

"We will never be friends." Gray's voice is harsh, his eyes as sharp as knives. "You got what was coming for you." Mimi says. It's the first time she's spoken up. "That was an extremely stupid decision, Aleya. I thought you were better than that." She shakes her head, and joins Cheshire on the ground to comfort Gray.

Cheshire looks up. "I think it's time to put one of you in the arena. I vote.... Cody."

"What! What did I do?" Cheshire rolls her eyes. She grabs Cody by the arm. We all walk into the arena, following behind Cheshire and Cody. Cody looks terrified, but Gray has the first hint of a smile I've seen since he's gotten here.

The arena is a huge room with bleachers. Everything is a dull gray, and many people are gathered around to try to get more victories. Nobody is fighting at the moment, so Cheshire steps up to speak.

"I haven't even been trained!" Cody protests.

"Forget training, something needs to happen around here." I say.

"Challenge?" Nobody steps forward. "Not me," Cheshire says. "This boy right here." The group of fighters all step forward at once, yelling and trying to get in front of one another.

"How about the brunette?" A strong young woman of about seventeen steps forward.

"I'll take him on." She looks Cody up and down. "He's a scrawny one, isn't he?" Gray nods along with her. Cheshire has to hold Cody back from tackling Gray. Cheshire fidgets with the silver choker. "You can use your powers now, but only with your opponent. It won't work on me or any of your friends."

Cody opens his mouth, but before he can say anything Cheshire walks away. I shrug my shoulders, and usher Cody and the brunette into the arena.

I watch Cody oppose the brunette. He doesn't seem scared anymore. He seems relaxed. It must be because he got his powers back, even if only for a little while.

The brunette begins to start towards him. She jumps, her skinny, spider like limbs helping her move. Cody steps out of her way.

"You can't surprise me. I know everything you are going to do." His voice is icy, sending chills down the brunettes pine. Callum takes my hand, scared to know what's going to happen.

I look behind me, and see Cheshire approaching the arena again. She stands beside me. Our fingers brush for a moment. Her's are icy cold. I shiver.

I feel an urge to feel the chill again. I gasp, silently.

I have had feelings for someone several times before, and I have never acted on them. It's not ever been a priority, and everything here has always been focused on getting to the top. I think that it's going to be the same with Cheshire.

I take in Cheshire's smooth light brown hair and hazel eyes. Her old name was Aubrey. That name fits her perfectly. I can imagine her personality, smiley and boy crazy, ready to laugh about everything. It's too bad Lion found her.

She paid a dear price to become a shifter. She lost almost her whole personality from before, especially since she shifts into a panther. Shifting into a blue jay didn't affect my personality that much. The fiercer the animal, the worse it is. Lion herself was a innocent little girl at some point in her life.

I watch Cody take the final blow. I had expected him to win, readers are hard to beat, and the brunette didn't seem very experienced. Maybe that's why Aub-, Cheshire chose her to challenge him, she knew that he would win and strike fear in others.

I walk into the arena and help Cody out. He has a small gash on his forehead, which is nothing, but he's crying like a baby. Normally I would make fun of him, but he probably hasn't experienced anything like this in his life.

"It's okay, Cody. You need to calm yourself down. You don't want Aleya to see you like this, do you? Let's get you to the marking center." Cody lets out a grunt and I help him to the marking center.

I hear a couple of the brunette's friends making fun of her, as they carry her to the hospital to fix her broken arm.

Cheshire has walked along ahead of us. "You like her." Cody says accusingly. "Why do you think that?" Cody looks up at me with big blue eyes.

"You let her speak for you. You agree with her on everything. You look at her, like Aubrey looks at Justin Bieber."

"Her name is Cheshire." I feel a pang of jealousy at the Justin Bieber part, but I get over myself at the thought that he is just a celebrity crush.

"Oh, and the last thing. You are willing to support her even if she's doing the wrong thing, such as kidnapping not only her sister but her sister's friends, and making then fight in an arena." I roll my eyes.

"Kid, you have got to stop." "I'll tell her!" Cody raises his eyebrows. "Well, she won't believe it." I say back. "So, you admit it. You do like her. It's going to be fun playing matchmaker with you two!" I groan. Cody winks at me. He's forgotten all about his cut.

We arrive at the marking room. Cheshire alerts someone to come over and give Cody his first mark.

"This is going to hurt a bit more than your cut." the marker warns. Cody winces, as the needle digs into his arm.

As we walk out, Cody grins, sporting a new black ring around his arm. It seems like he's starting to like it here, even if he won't admit it.