Valko-Zeke

Chapter 3

"Oh my god, she's so cute," I began to hear whispers. I shifted in my cozy spot and groaned, pulling the fluff over my head, and darkness returned to me once again.

"s**t, she's waking up!"

I felt something soft stab my cheek so I squirmed out of their touch, banging my head on the roof in the process. I glared at the guilty-looking culprits. They both gave me a sheepish smile before turning to look at each other and running out of my cell. I growled and hurled off my bed to follow them, stopping when they slammed the cell shut and locked it again. This deepened my anger even further. I pulled back my sheet from the door and saw a few of them laughing outside of it.

I felt humiliated, but then an idea formed in my head as I looked at the bars. These idiots might not be able to fit through them, but I can. I raised my eyebrows at them and smirked. They stop laughing and watch me as I quite easily slip through.

I'm kinda glad as they pale and scurry away up the stairs because I wasn't actually sure what I was going to do if they hadn't.

I watch where they're going carefully, and grip the cold, metal bars in my hand. I wipe off the sweat from my feet onto the ground so I won't slip, and embark on my journey upstairs. My method proves to be much faster than their stairs and causes quite a scene within the prison. I look down as everyone watches me with wide eyes. I looked at the stupid boys who poked my face emotionlessly as they laughed and checked the stairs behind them. When they don't see me, they all burst out laughing.

I take this as my opportunity to sneak up behind the one who touched me by traversing across the bars. As soon as the first one spots me, I lunge at my planned target and latch myself onto his back.

"What the f**k?" He sputtered, losing his balance.

I planted my feet on the ground to counter his fall and leaned close to his ear, "Don't ever touch me again, f**k boy." I whispered, lifting my knee so it hit him square in the balls.

He doubles over in pain as I let him go and watch him fall to the floor. I set myself up for an easy escape when I noticed he was recovering, and flipped onto the other side of the bar. Then, we made eye contact as I descended downstairs and walked away with a new-found hop in my step.

"Amalia!" I heard someone call my name in the distance. I turned around to see it's Jack who was jogging over to greet me, "I see you had a lovely morning."

"It was..." I paused to think, "Amusing to say the least."

He chuckles, "You gotta excuse Shawn, he's always been a little bitch."

"Hey!" I heard the guy, Shawn, call from the stairs, "This is not over! And stop telling people I'm a b***h, Jack!"

I give him a weird look and he grins at me, "How did you sleep?" Shawn taunted me.

"How are your balls?" I mimicked.

He frowns again, but I simply walk away, uninterested in those antics. They both call after me, but I brushed them off, and lag behind as everyone makes there way to go get breakfast. As I approached the cafeteria, I could hear the sounds of clanging pots and pans, and the smell of cooking food filled the air. My stomach rumbled at the thought of finally getting some real food, but I knew that I had to be careful. I couldn't let my guard down for even a second.

I stepped through the doorway and scanned the room, taking in all of the sights and sounds. There were prisoners milling about everywhere, some of them eating, some of them talking, and some of them just sitting there in silence.

I made my way to the food line and tried to blend in as much as possible, keeping my head down and my eyes fixed on the floor. I had been told that it was best not to draw too much attention to myself, especially as a new prisoner.

As I reached the front of the line, I was greeted by a gruff-looking man who handed me a tray and a metal spoon. "What'll it be?" he growled, eyeing me up and down.

I hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what to get. Everything looked unappetizing and I wasn't sure if I could stomach any of it. In the end, I settled on a bowl of porridge and a cup of water, hoping it would be enough to sustain me for the day.

As I made my way to an empty table in the corner of the room, and began quickly eating.

I felt many glances being thrown my way, and it seemed everyone was trying their hardest not to stare at me for too long. I quickly grew tired of it and began getting antsy about finishing eating.

Suddenly, a large fist slammed down on the table in front of me and swiped my food from the table. I gasped and looked up to see Bellamy smirking at me.

"You don't get breakfast until you fight, little girl," He growled, and then I realized his growl was directed towards me, "You all know what happens when we don't fight!" He said to the crowd who nodded back to him.

I gaped at the scene awkwardly until Jack stormed over to where Bellamy stood, "Bellamy, stand down!"

"You know what happens when she doesn't fight!" He yells back, "Everyone knows."

"Bellamy!" Jack shouted, gripping his wrist, "Go back to your cell."

Bellamy growled and then Shawn and a man I didn't know went over to grab him, but I stopped them. "What happens if I don't fight?" I blurted out.

"Amalia, not now," Jack said, trying to escort me away from the scene.

"No!" I ripped my hand away, "What happens?"

"Amalia, if you fight I know you'll die! There are no rules."

"What. Happens." I pressed.

"He'll kill you, " Bellamy informed me, "Alpha Valko-Zeke will kill you. You have a better chance of fighting one of us."

I gasped.

"Amalia, you're not a warrior, you are barely even a criminal. If we wait we can figure something out!" Jack pleads with me, but I froze and looked at him in shock.

"Why would you keep that from me?" I yelled, "You want to pretend like your on my side, but you're not!"

"Amalia, I am. The alpha will have mercy on a woman." He explained.

"No he won't," Bellamy scoffs.

"Shut up, Bellamy!" Jack growls, "There is no reason she has to do this."

"No, if everyone else had to fight, then I do too" I said, finalizing my decision, "I will fight. Tonight."

"The next in line to fight is Valentino," Bellamy informed us grimly.

"I know," Jack says angrily, glaring at Bellamy. "She'll die."

I shrugged them off, trying to appear casual even though I'm a bundle of nerves. "Have you ever been in a fight before?" Jack asked nervously.

I nodded my head, thinking back to how the boys in school used to pick on me. "Yea, I have."

"I can help train her." Bellamy offered, to which I shot him a strange look.

Jack still didn't seem convinced. "I will have nothing to do with this," he said grossly. "I'm not in the business of killing little girls."

Bellamy shared a look with me as Jack stormed off. "Jeaze, what is wrong with him!" I asked. "I have a right to know this information before he decides on my behalf!"

I turned to Bellamy, but he just squinted his eyes at me. "This doesn't mean that we're friends," he stated. "I'll swing by your cell before lunch." He walked away in the other direction, leaving me standing in the middle of the dining hall, all the prisoners' eyes on me.

I sighed and glared at my breakfast that was now sitting on the floor, no thanks to Bellamy. Perhaps he could have talked to me privately before resorting to such dramatic theatrics.

After cleaning up the mess, I grabbed a bagel and excused myself.

...

I sat on my cot in the prison cell, staring at the ground, when Jack came over and sat next to me. I could feel his concerned gaze on me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Amalia," he started, "I know Bellamy told you that you have to fight or Valko Zeke will kill you, but I don't think that's true. Valko Zeke is a ruthless man, but I think he might understand when it's not a fair fight."

I looked up at him with fear in my eyes. "But Bellamy said that's what would happen. I don't want to take that risk."

Jack shook his head. "I know, but Bellamy is a strange guy. He wants to protect you, but I think he's underthinking this. Valko Zeke seems to care about fairness and justice."

I thought about it for a moment. It's true, Bellamy is a strange guy. But what if he's right this time?

"But why take the risk? Why not just fight and get it over with?" I asked Jack.

"Because you will die," Jack said seriously. "I'm warning you."

Suddenly, we were interrupted by a knock. I looked up to see Bellamy smirking at me.

"Lets go, Champ. I'm going to train you now."