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Chapter 5
Sarah
Undisclosed location
Combat Royale - Phase I
Analyze, detect, kill.
I sat on the floor with my eyes closed and my legs crossed as EminemTill I Collapseblasted through the arena.
The meditation was helping me empty my thoughts. It also harnessed my energy in preparation for my fight by focusing my attention on the aggressive beat.
“Smile, Orion, you’re on TV.”
I ignored the fighter as he taunted me and continued the mental exercise.
The first thing they taught you at the Academy was to detach from everything and concentrate on the task at hand.
The exercise was different for everyone and could be quite difficult for some, but not so much for me.
My brain compartmentalized everything naturally, so all I had to do was visualize emptiness. This allowed me to concentrate on the finish line and erase anything between me and my goal.
“Are you ignoring me, bitch?” The man hit his cage like an ape when I didn’t respond.
“I can’t believe they gave you to me as an opponent. Easiest win ever.”
“I wouldn’t underestimate her, Skull. You don’t get to be on this island unless you did some nasty shit,” another voice said to my right.
“Tsk, the day I fear a girl is the day they bury me six feet under. Do you hear me, bitch? I will do to you what they did to that Portuguese whore. You will bleed!”
The brute must be talking about Diego’s mother.
I wondered how many times she’s heard this trash. Better yet, how many times had her boy listened to it, knowing he couldn’t do anything about it? Poor kid.
The sound of a baton clinking on the bars of my cell made me slowly open my eyes. It was followed by a soldier shouting, “Attention!”
Everyone turned to see Jacob Hayes come in. He walked around silently and stared at everyone with disdain before stopping in front of my cage.
“Are you ready to play, little mouse?” Hayes asked. “I hope you appreciate my small token of affection. You may hurt him as much as you want. Consider it practice for the grand finale.”
“What are you talking about, Hayes? Look at her. I’m going to squash her like an insect and win my freedom from this hellhole,” the man sneered.
Jacob turned away from me with great difficulty and lasered in on my opponent. “I wouldn’t bet on that if I were you, Mr. Skull. You saw what she did to your friend.”
“Yeah, well, she caught that fucker by surprise. I’ll be ready. Do you hear me, little girl? I’ll rip you in two! And this time, you won’t have a stick to defend yourself with. Let’s see how tough you are then!”
“I can reassure you, Mr. Skull, she doesn’t need a weapon to kill you. And I should know, I was the one who trained her,” Hayes stated as he flicked away an imaginary lint from his uniform. “But who am I to ruin the surprise? You’ll see soon enough what happens to loudmouths who don’t know their place.”
I stood as two guards came in with titanium laser batons and followed them to the threshold of the arena.
While they unshackled me, I took in the people wearing animal masks and cheering on their favorite fighters.
Diego explained the entire event was sold to these hyenas as a vacation package a la Survivor, complete with gladiator matches to the death.
I wasn’t sure if I should feel disgust, hatred, or anger toward these clueless morons. Maybe a combination of all three will do.
The emcee walked to the middle of the arena under their applause. He then took the mic and said, “Welcome to Combat Royale. The fighting tournament that answers all your questions.
