The Arena: Ch. 14

Chapter 14: Torrin vs Nova&nbsp
My eyes faced the cieling, and my stomach rumbled inside my body. I felt sick, hot sweat beads rolling onto my pillow. My eyes were cloudy, filled with tears. Two more minutes and I would be placed in the Arena with the love of my life.

I hadn't talked to Nova at all, hadn't asked if she'd known about it. She did by now, I was sure, but it was still a dreadful thought. I gulped down my fear and sadness. I would not kill her. I refused to. Taking her life would be taking a part of mine.

Their was a familiar knock at the door, and Mr. War (Ares) walked in. His face was bruised and scratched from our recent encounter. He smiled a black,chipped-tooth smile and beckoned for me.

"Time to kill your little princess-" he began, but I was up in a blur of black, my sword against his throat.

"Want me to make you go through these walls again 'Mr. War'?" I said.

He snarled and pushed my sword down. Ignoring him, I inched slowly out of the door. I'd been dressed for hours, but the stench of sweat arose from my suit. It was the same sleevless vest I usually wore, Olympic Bane strapped to my side.

I sighed as I walked down the street to the Arena. As my feet patted the cobblestone softly I ran into something. Looking up I found Nova turning around to see me. Her eyes were filled with tears, her perfect face blemished by the bags under her eyes.

"Torrin-" she began, but I embraced her before she could speak. I pressed my lips to hers and they parted. The kiss was like our first had been, magical nonetheless. But this time, we knew that only one of us would come out of that Arena.

~

I waited on the couch in the small box they'd given me to sit in. I didn't know what the terrain was, but I could feel heat coming from up above. Somewhere hot, maybe a desert, I guessed.

The loud voice began counting down from 23, but I didn't here him. My mind was only on one thing: Nova. I was so distracted, I didn't even hear the "1!"

When the door opened, I sat there for a moment, staring blankly out into a blistering, brown desert. Only when the imaginary boot kicked me out of the room did I realize the match had begun.

The sun beat down hard on me and, dunes of sand were piled high as mountains. I couldn't see Nova- she was probably on the other side- so I sprinted north. I should've known that with her skills, it wouldn't take long for her to find me.

As I climbed to the top of a dune, an arrow appeared out of nowhere, slicing across my arm. Blood was spilt onto the sand, turning it from brown to velvet red. I could see a dark sillohuet sprinting across the sand sea towards me, hair swaying in the wind and bow in hand.

Nova raised her bow and fired another arrow, but I blocked it with a shield of Titan Mist. I willed the smoky substance to fire at her like fifty rounds. One by one the smoky bullets went towards her. Most of them landed in the sand with a soundless thump and a small explosion of sand, but one struck her right in the leg.

She fell to the ground, tendon torn, but she was still a fighter. She raised her bow, this time turned sideways, and knocked an arrow. The arrow flew at me like an eagle with a super sharp beak. The arrow zoomed right past me, but I ducked just in time.

As if in slow motion, the arrow grazed neatly across my cheek, drawing a single speck of blood.

Poof!

The arrow landed noislessly in the sand behind me. A surge of pain ran through me, and I lost it. I didn't even realize who I was attacking when I did it. All I saw was another contestand I had to kill, another opponent. I willed the Mist to launch me forward.

To her surprise, I landed directly infront of Nova. She drew a small blade, but I was faster. I drew Olympic Bane and swung. My blade clanged against her, the collision making sparks fly. I kept bringing it up and down, up and down. Our blades kept hitting eachother, over and over and over and over.

Finally, my rage took me over. It shrouded me from my vision, confusing Nova for a measily god.

At the split second when it was too late, she cried, "TORRIN!"

But it was over. My sword swung low, chopping off her hands.

The rage dissapeard, leaving only me with a bloodied sword and wounded girlfriend. My eyes clouded and widened in terror. What had I done...?

I cupped her face in my hand. "Nova..." I said.

She shook her head. "Don't," she said. "You have to do this. You have to kill me-"

"But Nova-"

"LISTEN TO ME TORRIN!" she screamed, tears and mucus spilling from her face. "Kill me! You have to be the one! You are a Wood! You have to finish what your ancestors started, remember? Save this world! End this tournament!" she sobbed.

"Nova," I cried. "I can't kill you."

She closed her eyes and hugged me. "Torrin," she said, breathing hard. "Kiss me."

"Nova-" I began, but she pulled me down, pressing her lips to mine. Despite the tears, blood, and salty mucus I kissed her more passionatley then I ever had before.

She withdrew. "Fine. I will, then."

"What?" I sobbed, wiping tears from my eyes.

"If you wont kill me, then I will."

"NOVA NO!" I screamed, but in a flash of light from her glowing blade, Nova was down.

Her body slumped to the ground, the last breaths leaving her lips. "Love...Torrin...Save...People...Goodbye..."

I held her body in my hands as her heartbeat ceased. Her head slumped over my shoulder, her red blood trickling down the back of my shirt.

I didn't notice when the Arena dissapeared, but I heard the Caller's clapping as she approached. This was over. This was the last straw.

"Well done, Torrin-" she began, but I rose as Hecate approached...and I swung. My fist socked her across the face, blood flying from her lips as well as a few teeth.

She fell to the ground and looked my way. "How dare-"

"I triple dog dare, you stupid b-"

"YOUNG MAN! STOP RIGHT-"

I flicked my wrist towards the oncoming guards without even glancing at them. I heard an oomph, and explosion and knew they were dead.

I clenched my fist and a rope of Titan Mist circled around Hecate's throat. She rose of the ground, feet dangling to the ground.

"This...is...YOUR FAULT!" I screamed, slamming her into the ground. Golden Ichor spilled from her nose as her face hit the ground hard.

She snickered as I raised her higher. "Fool. This is your doing. You let her kill herself. You let her die in your place."

Her words stung me like ant bites. I dropped her to the ground, and she rubbed her neck in pain.

"This is over," I spat. "I'm done. I will no longer-"

Her insane laughter broke my sentence. "STUPID KID!" she laughed. "You can not leave! When your name was drawn for this torunament, you were entered in a binding magical contract! You must fight till you die or fight till you win."

I drew my sword and pinned it up under her chin, drawing a single drop of golden blood. It split in two, running down the tip of my blade.

"Fine," I said. "I will fight till I win. I will win for Nova. Win for Diabla. And when I do, you will die first."

"Fool! Gods cannot be-"

My knuckels slammed across her jaw, and she dropped to the ground unconcious.

"We'll see about that," I spat, walking out of the Arena, and leaving the crowd in shock.

Next Chapter: Chapter 15: Apologies