I hit the metal grid of the arena ground once more. The worm creatures lie all around me, flapping and gasping in the air, drowning in oxygen, no longer a threat.
The crowd bursts into applause.
I look over and see there’s just one other competitor left alive. A boy of roughly eighteen. He’s lying on the floor too, his skin red and scalded like mine.
I realize then that there will be no more creatures to fight. It’s down to the final two. They want us to kill each other.
With a clunking noise, two swords are dropped into the arena. But I can’t even move. I’m exhausted, completely spent. My body feels like it’s on fire, the scalding water making every part of me hurt. It feels like I’m back in the desert again, when my body gave up and I just couldn’t carry on. My limbs are heavy, and m
