Death's Feather

Chapter 8: Friends

Emmanuel had to tear a piece of his own shirt to cover Ignacio's wound and stop the bleeding. Ignacio was so weak and pale, they had to find something to help him walk. Emmanuel handed him a long stick that happened to be lying on the ground. But even like that, it was hard for him to move.

"This is insane." Said Emmanuel for the hundredth time. "You can barely move. If those beasts find us again...well, I'm just letting you know I won't carry you all the way to the exit."

Ignacio sighed.

"Good to know my friend."

Emmanuel stopped.

"¿Friend? ¿Why would you call me your friend? I mean, it's weird. We're supposed to be enemies and you..."

Ignacio stopped too, even though he nearly fell forward.

"¡Fine! You don't want to be called friend, got it."

Emmanuel looked like he was on shock. Ignacio made a move to start walking again but then he said:

"No. I mean... I just... No one has ever called me their friend."

Ignacio was feeling uncomfortable again. His twitching eye threatened to appear so he hopped a little until Emmanuel was at reach. He put a hand on his shoulder and Emmanuel laughed.

"¡I've never had a best friend before! This is bananas."

"¿We're best friends now...?

"¡The best of friends! When we get out of here, I'll introduce you to my lady friends." He smiled vehemently. " If you know what I mean..."

Ignacio laughed.
This guy.

"Actually, I already have someone waiting for me. But thanks."

Emmanuel shrugged and started walking again.

"Anytime, best friend."

It turned out, the rest of the halls and passages inside the giant three, were nothing more than a different kind of maze. There were so many paths they could take that it'd be impossible to find Amelia before the beasts found them; or the wild fire reached them from the outside burning the tree to the ground.

"Maybe we should split..."

"No way." Said Emmanuel. "If we go our separate ways, we'll never find each other again. Besides, I'm out of rocks and little twigs."

Emmanuel had been leaving a trace for them to find the way back to the exit. A bunch of little rocks and twigs. Ignacio sighed and Emmanuel cleaned his palms on his tights.

"We can't just go back and leave Amelia. She's here. I know it."

"¿Why do you care so much? We're fighting to the death. She's our enemy."

Ignacio narrowed his eyes.

"¿Our enemy? You and I used to be enemies. And now we're the best of friends."

"That's different. We know each other better than we know her. ¿Do you even know why she's in the tournament; what did she do to end up here? Because last I heard, everyone in this tournament did something so awful, only Death could grant forgiveness."

Ignacio didn't answer. Of course he didn't know why Amelia was here or what she did to deserve this fate. But it's not like they had enough time to sit and chat while beasts and maniacs lured around them for their blood.
Whatever she did, it couldn't have been so awful... she's barely twenty years old.
But then again, Ignacio's barely twenty years old and Emmanuel is twenty two.
If he'd learned something from his time down here; is that everyone is capable of anything if the incentive is good enough.
But maybe she did something horrible for the right reasons. Ignacio did something horrible for a good reason. True; his methods were wrong at the end, but he took responsibility at his final moments and started to change, in his own messed up way.
Maybe Amelia did the same.
Or maybe she did something like Emmanuel, who ended up regretting it and now is fighting to make things better.