THE ARENA

Chapter 2

“Hey, you! Where are you going?! I am not a WIC! I am over 1000 years old with no children!” Dakota tried to get herself out of the situation when she saw the guard that has been standing on the same stage as herself walking towards the edge of the stage.

Dakota sprinted over to him, “hey! Are you listening to me, fool?!”

The guard pressed the button on a remote that was connected to a collar around Dakota’s neck.

Her words fell on deaf ears when she clutched her throat, electric bolts searching through her body, making her collapse into an uncontrollable fit on the floor. The guard took his leave, as it was time for the dozen contestants and their wives to enter the arena.

Nathan was pumped and ready to go in but Addison quickly placed her hand in front of him, “wait.”

“Why? I don’t want to be last in,” Nathan protested.

“Wait for it,” Addison warned, and the words was not even cold when the group that ran in first started to s***h at each other’s throats to get resources first.

“Is that not the whole point? How are we going to get resources to survive in there?” Nathan asked.

“I have everything we need,” Addison assured him.

“I thought we are not allowed to take anything in?” Nathan said, knowing that they have been searched so how was she going to snug anything in.

“Will you just trust me,” Addison said as she started to walk, slipping her hand into Nathan’s.

Addison was not too happy about the fact that her only son is entering the arena, but she needed the money. What Nathan didn’t know was that Addison planed to sell the WICS as she needed money to pay some of their pack’s debt.

Addison pulled Nathan aside as they slipped out of sight, passing the other contestants.

“I can get us some resources, mother,” Nathan protested, looking back at the Alphas and Lunas that was at each other’s throats.

“Your father and I have been hiding previous contest resources,” Addison filled him in as they made their way to the first hurdle.

“Just focus on my voice just like we practice,” she said giving Nathan a hug.

“Mom, do you have to be so clingy?” Nathan pushed her off him.

Nathan knew to expect a mist that will blind him for a short while, but he did not anticipate how much it will sting, “f*ck, my eyes!” Nathan cried out grabbing his eyes.

“Don’t!” Addison warned him not to rub his eyes.

“Crap,” Nathan stoped rubbing and took a deep breath.

“I am actually relieved that this obstacle is what we start with,” Addison tried some small talk.

“Why?” Nathan asked while he waits for the sting to go away.

“Normally when this obstacle is part of the Arena it means it is going to be short; difficult, but short,” Addison informed him.

“How is that a good thing?” Nathan asked.

“Time to get going,” Addison said as she noticed a few other pairs coming in their direction.

After carefully guiding Nathan through the maize with swinging objects that has send a few men to an early grave in a previous contest, Nathan’s sight started to return.

They ran to hide out of sight but ran straight into a trap, “this is new,” Addison said, both swinging from traps.

“We better get out of this quick,” Nathan said, noticing a pair that just came out of the first obstacle, thinking, ‘how did I survive that blind?’

“Swing your body,” Addison instructed as she started to sway her own body, having quickly figured out what to do.

They were able to grab each other’s hands and Addison claweded her way up Nathan's body with great effort, twisting her own body and reached the trap around his ankles. Addison released Nathan just in time for him to grab the Alpha of the pair and threw him aside.

“Nathan!” Addison yelled as the Luna of the pair tried to stab Addison but Addison was quick enough to grab her knife hand and was now facing the blade that was an inch away from her eye.

Nathan wraped his arm around the Luna’s neck, “let's call it a day?”

“No!” her Alpha called out, knowing if his Luna taps out, the both of them are out.

“I don’t want to kill her!” Nathan shouted at him as the Alpha found his feet but was still to dizzy to move properly.

“Kill her already!” Addison shouted.

The Luna droped her knife, “let's just go our separate ways, ok?”

“Don’t trust her!” Addison pleaded, still hanging in her trap.

“Just go but when we meet again, I will end you if you don’t tap out,” Nathan warned them off.

“Stupid fool!” Addison shouted at Nathan after he freed her from the trap she was hanging from.

“We agreed we won't kill anyone unless our lives depend on it,” Nathan stood his ground.

“Trust me, your life will depend on it sooner or later when it comes to those two. Do you think they would have shown you the same mercy?” Addison asked, angry, and walked away.

Nathan ran after her, “where do we find water?”

“Water? We just started and you are already wanting water?” Addison asked in disbelieve.

“It just started for you, I have been fighting for our spot for an hour,” Nathan protested.

Addison looked around on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Nathan asked, hoping she is looking for some water.

“Here, play around with this in your mouth,” she passed him a smooth stone.

Nathan put the stone in his mouth with fond memories of his father that taught him the very same trick.

Addison stopped after a while of running from one shelter to the next, staying out of sight, “here, help me.”

Nathan joined her where she was kneeling, busy digging in the ground with her bare hands.

Soon Nathans's hands felt something hard that was wrapped in cloth, and he dug it out. In the cloth was a Kukri blade, no bigger than Nathan’s hand, “I can’t even grip this.”

“That is because it is not for you,” Addison said, wrapping the cloth around the blade again before putting it between her breasts.

“Come,” she said as she ranto the next spot to dig out a blade for Nathan.

Addison dug out another Kukri knife, a blade as long as Nathan’s forearm.

“Now we are talking. Let’s just hope I don’t have to actually use it,” Nathan said as they walked off, him with his knife in his hand as he had nowhere to put it.

By the end of the night as the sun came up they had found themselves a secret hideout that Addison was familiar with, “you can sleep first.”

“What if we don’t sleep? Everyone will be exhausted by now, what if we make our way over to the stage and claim the WICS?” Nathan suggested, a bit worried about what would happen if someone else got there first.

“It does not work like that. You cannot claim the WICS until we are the last ones standing,” Addison informed him.

“You never told me this,” Nathan said, as he sat down on the floor of a broken-down building.

“If I did, would you have come?” Addison asked.

“You know the answer. I don’t like being tricked, especially by my own mother,” Nathan pouted.

“Just get some rest,” Addison said. After Nathan fell asleep Addison kept herself self-busy by digging out a few more items that she hid from the previous contest, one of the items being binoculars. Addison used a piece of paracord to climb a tree and once on top she used the binoculars to scout the arena. After finding half of the pairs, all in different locations she focused her attention on the bundle of red on the stage. Addison could see the blond laying on the stage, thinking, ‘Dakota? How the hell did she end up in the arena? Can she even have babies?’ Addison is not happy about the situation, feeling they all have been tricked since she knows Dakota and has never heard of her ever-having children.

“Nathan, wake up! We are quitting,” Addison shouted at Nathan.

“Huh, what?” Nathan jumped up, disorientated.

“We are quitting,” Addison repeated herself as she started to hide some of her items.

“Why? We can’t quit,” Nathan protested.

“The girl up there is no WICS, I know her; she is like 1000 years old, and I would have known if she could have children,” Addison said, ready to leave.

Nathan stepped in front of her, “I am not leaving without her.”

“There will be another soon enough, now let’s go,” Addison said, sidestepping him.