Morgan Rice by Arena One: Slaverunners

Author:Arena One: Slaverunners [Slaverunners, Arena One:]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Morgan Rice
Published: 2012-02-13T08:00:00+00:00

F O U R T E E N

I am marched back down the corridor, still handcuffed. As I go, I can’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision. Not about giving up my life—but about giving up Bree’s. Should I have said yes for her sake?

By refusing, I have effectively given her a death sentence. I feel torn by remorse. But ultimately, I can’t help but think Bree would rather die, too, than see innocent people get hurt.

I feel numb as they shove me from behind, back down the corridor from which I came, and wonder what will become of me now. Are they marching me to the arena? What will it be like? And what will become of Bree? Will they really kill her? Have they already killed her? Will they put her into slavery? Or, worst of all, will she be forced to fight in the arena, too?

And then an even worse thought comes to mind: will she be forced to fight against me?

We turn the corner to find a group of slaverunners marching towards me, leading someone. I can’t believe it. It is Ben. My heart floods with relief. He is alive.

His broken nose is swollen, there are bruises under his eyes, blood drips from his lip, and he looks as if he’s been roughed up. He looks as weak and exhausted as I do. In fact, I hope I don’t look as bad as him. He, too, stumbles down the hall, and I assume they are taking him to see their leader. I assume he will get the same offer. I wonder what he will decide.

As we walk toward each other, only a few feet away, his head hangs low and he doesn’t even see me coming. He’s either too weak, or too demoralized, to even look up. It appears he has already accepted his fate.

“Ben!” I call out.

He lifts his head, just as our paths cross, and his eyes open wide with hope and excitement. He is clearly shocked to see me. Maybe he’s surprised I’m alive, too.

“Brooke!” he says. “Where are they taking you? Have you seen my brother?”

But before I can respond we are both shoved hard from behind. A slaverunner reaches over and clamps my mouth with his disgusting, smelly palm, muffling my words as I try to call out.

A door is opened, and I am pushed back into my cell. I stumble inside and the door is slammed behind me, the metal reverberating. I spin around and bang on the door, but it’s no use.

“Let me out!” I scream, banging. “LET ME OUT!”

I realize it is no use, but somehow, I can’t stop myself from screaming. I scream at the world, at these slaverunners, at Bree’s absence, at my life—and I don’t stop screaming until I don’t know how much later.

At some point I lose my voice, tire myself out. Finally, I find myself slumped on the floor, against the wall, curled up.

My screams turn to sobs, and eventually, I cry myself to sleep.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.