《Twice Sold Tales》


 Chapter 1: Hall Pass

    <h1 style="text-align: center">Chapter 1</h1>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">Hall Pass</h2>


    Tick¡­Tock¡­Tick¡­Tock¡­ The clunking felt as if it pounded deeper into my eardrums with each turn of the cogs. Deciding to steal a glance at the clock my dreams of class ending soon have ceased to exist, as I realize less than 30 minutes have passed since class started. Releasing a long sigh grabbing the desk in front of me, I push myself to my feet as I lazily amble up to the teacher.


    (Ezra): ¡°Mr.William, may I go to the library to replace my book.¡±


    (Mr.William): ¡°Ah, Ezra, of course, let me write you a hall pass real quick.¡±


    (Ezra): ¡°Thank you, Mr.William!¡±


    Seconds later Mr.William extended his hand, within it was a square pink piece of paper reading Hall pass, it had his signature and time in the bottom left corner so that security at a glance could tell if the student should have already been expected back or not. On my way to the exit of the classroom, I lightly tap on my friend¡¯s desk letting him know he should come as well. Occasionally our teacher decides to not have lessons. instead, he allows us to do our homework we have been given that week. During those days, our small clique gets passes to go to the library where we lounge around for the entirety of the class. After arriving at the library I began looking for a book to read while waiting for others to start showing up. My favorite genre is fantasy, normally you can¡¯t go wrong with a good story about elves and magic. With that in mind, it was decided to head over to that section, it did not take long before I noticed a book stuffed into the corner of the shelf. Lifting it off the shelf caused a small amount of dust to spread through the air causing my eyes to become slightly itchy.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Taking a peek at the cover of the book impressed me at first glance. It had lovely artwork of a lagoon wrapped within a beautiful forest inhabited by mermaids who were happily playing together, some even braiding each others hair. Sitting down at an empty table I dove into the elements contained within this work that had such a lovely cover. Quickly it was shown that the writing was eloquent. Page after page sinking deeper into the rhythm of the story, plot thickening at every corner. At some point my hands began to feel cold and sweaty, my eyes losing focus as if zooming in and out causing me to finally awaken from my almost hypnotic state I was in while reading. Pulling my head back there was still no one from my friend group in sight.


    Where could they be? Normally we are trampling over each other for a chance to get a hall pass, the teacher could not give a shit less if we stayed or not as well. Looking up at the clock it seems class ends in the next 10 minutes, feeling a little disappointed at no one showing up I decided to walk up to the desk to check out the book. Oddly enough no faculty was in sight¡­let alone any other students. It was quite strange, each movement I made was vivid as if the only thing in existence. Thinking to myself I would just call out to the security in the hallway I poked my head out into what was supposed to be the hallway. What I saw made my skin stand at attention, I could not believe my eyes. Taking a few steps forward the crack of twigs mixed with the rustle of leaves came from beneath my shoes as illuminating rays of light shot down around me through huge gapes of shade. The invigorating smell of pine mixed with air fresher then I have ever inhaled flew throughout my body. In the distance songs of birds played, the whole experience was surreal. Looking around there was nothing but foliage as far as the eye could see. My legs began feeling like noodles as I felt a cold sweat wiggle it¡¯s way down my back, turning around expecting to see a door leading back to the library left me feeling as if my heart was going to jump out of my chest.


    I had no clue where I was, how I arrived here, and of course, no means to return.

 Chapter 2: Hall Pass Pt.2

    <h1 style="text-align: center">Chapter 2</h1>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">Hall Pass Pt.2</h2>


    I sat on a log, burying my head in my arms, completely lost. Part of me wanted to stay in this area hoping that the portal would magically appear to take me home. Knowing that this was falsely placed hope tossed that idea straight out the window.


    (Ezra):¡± FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKK!!!¡±


    Allowing some time to pass I Somehow managed to pull my head out of my ass, getting back on track thinking of what to do with myself. Deciding on moving out in search of a small town or maybe even a cabin would be the best plan of action. Camping was an old family tradition when I was younger. Although, that tradition has long come to a halt.


    This brought upon another worry. If there happens to be nobody living in this area, I have no clue what the fuck I am doing. No water filter, nor tools I could use to even attempt at what I can only imagine would be a disaster of a camping trip. As a city boy, hunting is not something I have done either. To be fair, there was a weird phase were watching videos about sustaining life in the wilderness was a guilty pastime. Little did I know when the time really came years down the road, the information would fade away to the deepest parts of my subconscious telling me to go fuck myself. Aimlessly stumbling forward without any direction, refusing to stop, conscious of the setting sun. Which was only several hours from leaving me out in the forest alone, without shelter, light, food, water or heat, began to mess with my state of mind. Especially when the forest began to shine with a creamy orange glow as the gaps between the shade became less frequent.


    At Moments like these, I wish I had a cell phone. Even when out of the service area it could have been used as a flashlight. In this situation, it would be useful since it is becoming increasingly more difficult to notice what is in front of me. Flickering out In the distance, there was a small orange glow. I got excited at the hopes it would be a light coming from a cabin or small town. After walking for what felt like a straight hour, any sign of human life would have been a blessing. Closing in on the orange light, the glow seems to be from a small village. Even though I was expecting to come across a lone cabin or a small town, fuck it, this works as well. It might have been more remote than I had anticipated. Remote or not, this was the only chance at a possible meal along with a place to stay. That in mind, I pulled my back up straight and strode towards the village.


    Upon a closer glance at the village, it became quite obvious that it was rather primitive compared to my expectations. It was almost straight from a film about the dark ages. Small wooden cottages with thatched reed roofs. It Seemed villagers were gathering around a fire, having a meal accompanied by dancing, singing, and other festivities. Noticing the number of people, along with a culture I am completely ignorant of, caused my palms to turn sweaty and my throat to go dry, like what the actual fuck am I doing? What kind of situation am I actually in? this is some actual bullshit. How do I even explain my situation to these people? Do they even speak English? Will they even be willing to help some outsider in a rural area like this? I can¡¯t very well stride up there saying, ¡°Hey, my name is Ezra, I just got teleported into wherever the fuck this place is. May I have a meal? Also, your house looks mighty cozy may I sleepover?¡±¡­ Even if that is the truth, there is major doubt anyone would believe me.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Realizing that I had no clue how I was going to handle this situation, the entrance to the village was already right in front of me. Members of the village had already noticed my presence, my chest tightened, while my breathing turned rough. It was as if their eyes beamed lasers into all sides of my face giving the feeling, it is about to melt right the fuck off, hell I could practically hear what they were thinking.


    (Man): ¡°Stop! What is your purpose for coming to our village at this time?¡±


    Almost immediately, there was already a wall of men standing before me.


    (Ezra): ¡°I..I a¡­y-yeah, so¡­ I apologize for just popping up out of nowhere and bothering your festivities, but I woke up in the forest with no idea where I am¡­ would it be possible to ask to spend a night in your village?¡±


    These villagers spoke English which was a huge shock, let us be fucking honest for a quick second. Who would have been able to guess English was a language they would know in this damned upside down looking ass land. One luck-based instance did not stop me from feeling increasingly uncomfortable about my situation. They were wearing very simple clothes, it made them look like participants of a renaissance fair. Feeling confused and slightly flustered caused the nervousness to show through a crude stutter, luckily, managing to calm myself, quickly afterward, I was able to properly ask for assistance respectfully.


    (Man): ¡°Hmmm¡­ Chief, what do you wish for us to do?¡±


    (Chief): ¡°Mmm¡­It seems like a child who got lost or possibly even abandoned. We shall allow him to rest his head tonight, figuring out the rest tomorrow.¡±


    Luckily the people of upside down land seemed welcoming. Once the chief finished speaking, I was asked to follow. To be honest, there was still some hesitation to trust them even though I was the one asking for help. They lead me to the bonfire where we joined with the rest of the community. Villagers began passing me food and wine which again, there was a slight hesitation. Trying not to show disrespect by rejecting their goodwill, I accepted the food and wine. I figured if I am about to go out, this would be a better way then being eaten by fucking Simba in that godforsaken forest¡­ The food ended up being extraordinarily good though. The meat bursting with flavor, while melting in my mouth like butter. The wine was sweet, almost like juice, allowing me to easily drink it down, as the villagers continuously refilled my glass as we appreciated the beautiful dancing and singing. The villagers asked about where I was from, as I explained that America was my country, and spoke about being a young high school student, they looked a bit confused as if the words I spoke made no sense to them.


    Eventually, the wine began to really get to me, so I decided to excuse myself and asked where I could rest for the night. One of the men showed me to an empty stable handing me a blanket apologizing that this is the only available place they had at the moment. Honestly, I was appreciative enough to have had a warm meal along with not being forced to sleep in the middle of that forest.


    Sleeping was rather rough at first due to the itch of the hay, worries of spiders, as well as other bugs crawling over me. Thankfully those thoughts quickly dissipated as I fell into a deep sleep. Due to my physical and mentally exhausted state. Oh, well¡­the wine helped too. Upon waking up, I felt my body shaking roughly causing small beads of sweat to form, as my mouth began to salivate and stomach began to churn. Reflecting on last night¡¯s activities. The wine from the other night was not the best of ideas. Wiggling in an attempt to roll over I feel restraint against my arms and legs preventing me from freely moving. Confused, I finally opened my eyes to unfamiliar surroundings, with the sound of creaking wood being bombarded by small rocks. Seconds later the realization hit me. Those god damned upside down land bastards!! Those fucks tied my ass up putting me on a damned slave wagon¡­Each one of these poor shmucks looked as if the world was ending, so one can safely assume that even in fucking upside down land slavery ain¡¯t much of a fun occupancy.

 Chapter 3: Slave Merchants

    <h1 style="text-align: center">Chapter 3</h1>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">Slave Merchants</h2>


    The beat of my heart became more rapid, the feeling of nausea also increased. Fighting against my panic, taking a deep breath, barely suppressing the urge to hurl, I once again decided to take a more thorough look at the surroundings. Slightly fidgeting with the rope tying my hands, the guard near the exit looked in my direction after noticing that I had woken up. He shot me a knowing look, before ignoring my existence completely. Minutes of fidgeting with the rope led to no progress.


    No nails or sharp edges were near me to attempt to cut through it either. Losing hope, I settled down in an effort to begin processing my current situation. Before even beginning, the loud neighing of horses, along with a sudden tug, indicated that the wagon had come to a halt. Guards walked up to the wagon standing at the sides of the exit, while the guard in the wagon jumped out moving to stand off to the side. Standing in the middle of the guards was a fat middle-aged man. Figures it would be some short fucking fatty, the little prick probably beats off with the hand of a slave the sick fuck. He poked his head into the wagon taking short glances at each of us, before speaking into the ear of one of the guards then walking away.


    Once the fat man dismissed himself, the guards began to untie the legs of individuals as they unloaded them from the wagon. Eventually, the guards grabbed the ropes tying my feet, dragging me towards the exit of the wagon before jumping off, roughly untying the rope. He reached over grabbing the rope, untying my hands pulling me to my feet, then points forward.


    (Guard): ¡°Move along with the others, don¡¯t fuck around!¡±


    Looking straight up, there was a line of broken-down people following a few guards. Beginning to follow inline, I could not help but stop in awe at the city around me. The streets littered with people as they looked at the wares scattered throughout the plaza. Fruit stalls, meat stalls, animal hides, you name it, this was not even comparable to those half-ass swap meets from where I am from, this is a full-blown bazaar, on some middle east shit.


    (Guard):¡± What the fuck did I tell you!¡±


    I jerk forward slightly as the guard motivated me to move forward with a nice shout, and sore shoulder to remember him by. Increasing my pace slightly, allowed me to catch up with the others after admiring the surroundings. We were brought into a large building where the guards began asking what skills we have. I thought about acting as if I had no useful skills, thinking that maybe it would lower my value as a slave and I could escape. Then again, I doubt they would just release me with a, ¡°Hey, sorry about that bud. Thought you would make a wonderful slave. Good luck and have a good life.¡± Instead, giving my self-value seems like the best chance for survival as of right now.


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    I racked my brain, digging around in my mind as hard as possible, hoping to find skills that might be useful in this Barbaric world. Wait¡­ That¡¯s it! Maybe I can sell myself as someone who is literate. Life would most definitely be a lot easier in a place like this with the modern education I have received.


    (Guard):¡± Next!¡±


    Shimmying forward damn near doing the Stanky Leg, I bring myself in front of the guard. He eyes me up and down, writing something down on a piece of parchment he had in his hand.


    (Guard):¡± What are your skills in combat?¡±


    Wait a second¡­ weren¡¯t they asking for skills we had in general? Fuck! I can¡¯t believe it. The one saving grace that may have been available and now it¡¯s gone. Would they even be able to understand me If I told them I had mixed martial arts training? If not, how¡­ Does one even go about properly explaining combat abilities to people that lack knowledge of the style and concepts itself? Especially when I don¡¯t even know what styles of combat they would know here. So far everything seems very medieval. I suppose¡­ Downplaying the style and breaking it down into basic types they might understand, would be doable¡­Let¡¯s try it.


    (Ezra):¡± I am experienced in unarmed combat. Boxing for the standup game, wrestling for the ground game.¡±


    That was the most straightforward way I can explain it, without explaining boxing and wrestling itself. Even if they have no knowledge of mixed martial arts, boxing and wrestling have been around forever¡­Right?


    (Guard):¡± Hmmm¡­ Excellent, you might do well for yourself then, yeah?¡±


    Thankfully they seem to understand boxing and wrestling without going into too many details. They have been around for ages according to our history, but, who knows. Within this new society, I have found myself in, I don¡¯t know enough to be making huge assumptions right now. Also, what he said at the end had me trying to decipher what he meant.  Without giving me any downtime, another guard pushed me forward, leading through a hallway. Turning the corner at the end of the hallway brought us to a corridor. We walked practically to the end, before stopping at the very last door. He opens the door shoving me inside before closing it as he exits. Inside the room, a rat scurried across the cold wooden floor, leaving a high pitched squeak as it disappeared into the corner of the room. Looking up, the room itself gave me the impressions of a single-man cell, like in one of those television shows about prison. My bed was nothing more than a bit of hay, laid out with a thin itchy looking blanket, sadly¡­ there was no pillow. To be fair, it¡¯s a bit unrealistic to think they would give one anyways. Being a slave isn¡¯t necessarily a dream career.


    As for the bathroom situation¡­ Surprisingly enough, they had plumbing in this world. I would have fucking lost it if these fucks tried to get me to go in some fucking mop bucket. It was very shocking to see. Maybe this world has more to it than I believed. Up to this point, I had only seen it as some medieval nightmare, and I sure as shit am not wrong about that, but, at least it ain¡¯t a, hey, I have to shit in a hole and wipe my ass with my hand kinda bad. Now let us just hope they have soap in upside downland, and yuh boy might survive it here after all. Having made my way to the bed laying down, left alone to my own thoughts, may have given me a bit of time needed to reflect. In a situation such as this, one could not help but run the events that have happened on repeat, worrying about what is to come. Mentally a distinction of whether I¡¯m in a dream, asleep in the library, or if this is real, has yet to be made. Although the slight pain in my shoulder from where the guard pushed me earlier, had it leaning more towards the, ¡°it is real, and I¡¯m fucked¡± side of the scale.


    Eventually, I gave up thinking about it. There was no choice but to come to terms with reality. As bullshit as it sounds, I was brought to a different world. Sitting around, constantly acting like a scared puppy is not going to make anything better. Since I am still tired, it would be a good idea to rest while I have downtime. After my rest, I just gotta face my fears and do what needs to be done, hopefully finding a way back home in the process.

 Chapter 4: Slave Merchants Pt.2

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 4</h2>


    <h3 style="text-align: center">Slave Merchant¡¯s Pt.2


    Click...Clack...Click...Clack¡­


    (Guard): ¡°Get up, It¡¯s time to go!¡±


    (Ezra): ¡°H-huh...What!¡±


    The guard kicked my shoulder jolting me awake. Fuuuuck...I swear these fucks are hitting the same shoulder on purpose. Because of the abrupt wake-up call from the guard, I was a bit stumped at what the fuck was going on. It was like a damn wake up call from full metal jacket, during the basic training scene. Getting over it, I stood up beginning to follow one of the guards. I had not been able to pay much attention to my surroundings, nor the aesthetics of this new world. Since there has been a lot of battling with my own panic, as well as, trying to come to terms with what is going on. Now that I have had some time to settle down, I am constantly shocked by the aesthetics of this new world. Walking through this hallway for a second time is allowing me to take in how beautiful and huge this building truly is. Instantly, I figured some fishy shit was going on. No way in hell is a building this big, and nice-looking used just to store some damn slaves. Definitely got some fuckery going on behind the scenes.


    Floors throughout the building looked to be made out of wood, they had a beautiful shine to it. Following through the corridor going in a different direction from the other day, I was lead to an elaborate staircase. Reaching the top, it branched into two directions, one of the guards pushed me towards the left. We continued moving in that direction, which brought us to another short hallway with one door at the end. Opening that door brought us into a room that reminded me of a locker room. Within, there were already a few people sitting down while others were changing.


    (Guard): ¡°You all have five minutes be prepared!¡±


    (Ezra): ¡°Wait, what the hell!! Five minutes for what exactly?¡±


    Without bothering to reply, the guard gave me a slight grin before exiting through the door behind him, leaving me standing confused staring at the door. What kind of setup is this? How are you gonna just say some plot changing nonsense and leave me in here? Be ready for what exactly? Turning around, I am met with looks of interest, while others completely ignore my existence as they continue to clothes themselves. The room was filled with lockers that surprisingly looked just like the ones I am familiar with from my own world. Syke, we are fucking slaves. They had little partitions positioned around the room with little woven baskets that seemed to contain some clothing¡­.ah fuck, I can see some of the guys putting theirs on. Figures, it''s some leather chest piece. Ah, yup, it resembles armor. Fuck me... Seeing a majority of the people changing into the clothes, gave me enough information to know that, I should be putting on the clothing within the baskets. In the back of the room was an untouched basket, I decided to claim it for myself. My walking felt a bit wobbly as it was uncomfortable to be walking towards my destination with people staring holes through the back of my head.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Opening the basket, confirmed the idea I was hoping was wrong, we were in some gladiator typesetting right now, and I was most likely gonna have to fight some big fuck that looks like a certain robot from the future to save a Conor fellow. Inside the basket was an undershirt, leather chest piece, one gauntlet for some fucking reason. Like these cheap bastards, can''t give me two, like seriously¡­.pricks. Oh, wait, what''s this! Under the other clothing items laid a short sword. Pulling the sword out I give it a quick turn around. It seemed like a really cheap sword but, let''s just hope it''ll help get the job done.


    (Slave):¡± Hahaha!!¡±


    Hearing one of the people laughing, I raise my eyes only to see these shmucks laughing while pointing at me. The hell is so fun...oh, looking around I noticed most of these assholes had spears or bows. What kind of battle royal type shit have I gotten myself into?¡­-Sigh-. Welp, fuck me, I''m not the tallest prick anyways. Now I gotta worry about my stubby little t-rex arms trying to use this funky ass little short sword, against these damn spears and bows, fuck...me...sideways. One guy next to me walks a tad closer.


    (Slave 2):¡± Hey, if you need a bit more range you can always just throw it at your opponent, HAHAHAHAHAH!!¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s not a ba...Hearing him burst out in laughter made me realize he was fucking with me...what a dick. For a second, it didn''t sound too bad.


    ¡°BANG¡±


    (Guard):¡± Grab your equipment and begin walking¡±


    They directed us towards the door on the opposite side of the room. I did not even notice that door yet, hadn''t really had a lot of time to figure out my ass from my head, to be honest. Quickly gathering my items, while still trying to dress as I moved, we were lead through the door. Walking through it opened up into a giant area with seats all around. It was almost like watching a bunch of basketball players entering the court from that little slit through the bleachers in the movies. Well, except, you know, with weapons. So kinda like if the basketball team was gonna walk in with spears and shishkabob each other. The spectator''s seats were high enough off the ground, with a flat-surfaced wall underneath, so it was impossible to climb or jump on. I bet an arrow could accidentally make its way up there if someone aimed high enough, although, that wouldn''t be much of a grand idea with the number of guards this building has. A 1:1 Kill death ratio probably isn¡¯t worth it.


    Oddly enough, the people watching were mostly quiet, as if they were evaluating us. As we walked closer to the middle of the arena, we could see another group consisting of the same 5 or so amount of people inching closer. The guards from both sides stopped our movements, then left the arena.


    (Short Fat Middle Aged Man):¡± Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another week of slave royal, where you the audience, get to watch these slaves fight to the death. Keep a close eye on them throughout the match in-case they fit what you are looking for. The winners will sell for a pretty penny, and many will seek to purchase them for their own military force.¡±


    Wait, fucking what now? I swear every step I take I just sink deeper and deeper into this rabbit hole from hell. Glancing at my group, they all lost any sign of joking and or overconfidence. They were now completely zoned in, one thing I feel we could all agree on at this moment, is that shit just got real.

 Chapter 5: Fighting For Tomorrow

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 5</h2>


    <h3 style="text-align: center">Fighting For Tomorrow


    -Complete Silence-


    No sound or movement had yet been made. The arena was so quiet; I could hear the rough breathing of the man next to me. This was the most tension I have ever felt since crossing through that library door. Hell, This is the tensest moment of my entire life. No bear Grylls episode could ever prepare me for this situation. Watching the men to my left, I waited. Hoping they would guide me. Fuck that. My life was depending on them knowing what to do. But, they didn¡¯t, No one did. We just sat there. We were Staring at each other from afar. Dozens of heartbeats later, someone from the other side took the first step. Almost immediately, as if it had signaled the beginning, men from both sides began sprinting at each other, shouting at the top of their lungs. I was petrified, not even able to take one step.


    ¡°I have to do something. I can¡¯t just stand here doing nothing.¡±


    -Wham¡­Wham-


    I balled up my fist, slamming into my legs.


    ¡°Move!¡­ Fucking Move, Damnit!!¡±


    No luck¡­. I wasn¡¯t going to be able to just overcome this stifling fear by punching my leg a few times. Part of me knew this, but I continued. Disappointed in myself, I lift my tear-stained eyes to the sharp screech of death, as clanging metal furiously bashes against each other. I¡­I have to help them. Even if not for them, for myself. Death is only waiting for me If I don¡¯t.


    (Slave):¡± Come! I know its terrifying! But we must fight!¡­ Just standing there will do nothing for you. Make death sip the bitter taste of defeat. Together, we at least have a chance. Let us fight for tomorrow.¡±


    The man grabbed my arm, pulling me close to him. His eyes¡­His eyes, they¡­ reflected nothing but fear¡­Deep within that reflection, laid a small flame of hope, flickering, as it struggles to stay alive. His hands shook as he clenched with all his strength. He¡¯s right. I have to put up a fight if we want any chance at living for tomorrow. I want to see my family, my friends. I have to find a way home. Released from my petrified state, I dug my foot into the ground, tightly gripping my blade, pushing forward with as much force as I could muster, chasing after the man¡¯s back.


    We were running as hard as we possibly could. The man from before abruptly stops to ready his bow, knocking an arrow right as I was passing next to him.


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    -Fwooo-


    Something flew past my face, just barely missing as it ripped through the air. Within my peripheral, the man¡¯s body disappeared.


    ¡°No!..No!..No!¡­Fuck! Fucking shit!.¡±


    I knew an incoming arrow had shotted the man.


    ¡°Fuck! Any closer, and that would have hit me instead!¡±


    Even so, I did not look back. How could I. The sense of fear was so strong, I wanted to ignore it, act like it was all just a lie. The strength to handle that scene at this moment was non-existent. It would completely kill all momentum currently building, screeching my body to a complete halt. Instead, my mind blocked it out, pushing my body to continue forward. My heartbeat began to ring in my hear.


    -Bump Bump¡­Bump bump-


    My mind became fuzzy, a jittery feeling overwhelmed me, giving a strange burst of energy. Ah, this must be fight or flight. Movies always depicted situations such as these, sparking conversations on message boards throughout the internet, people arguing what would be possible and not possible ¡ª such a dumb waste of time for a fictional scenario. Or so I used to think. But now¡­ Part of me wished I knew more¡­. Fucking hell, guess we are about to find out if those movie scenes are realistic or not. It¡¯s just a shame we must find out using our lives.


    Coming up on the backs of my group, I am blindsided as immense pain coldly slid deep into my side.


    (Ezra):¡°AAAAAAHHHHH¡±


    Somehow managing to stay moving, I spin Ninety degrees, thrusting my shoulder into the man¡¯s chest, grab his arm, and throw him over my shoulder. Falling to my knees in pain as the movements put pressure on the blade, still sticking out of my side. Next to us laid a quiver with broken arrows sprawled around it. Having dropped my sword during the scuffle, I pick up the head of a fractured shaft, stabbing it into the man¡¯s eye.


    (Slave):¡±AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! MY EEEEEYYEEEE!!!!!¡±


    Quickly turning my body crawling to my blade, the man grabs my leg as he holds his eye, screaming.  Kicking my free leg backward managed to barely knick the arrow protruding from his sight, sending him flailing in pain once again. Finding my way to the blade, I pick it up, clutching it tell my knuckles turned white. Facing back towards the man, I launch myself off my knees, lunging with the sword pointed towards the earth, stabbing down as hard as possible. The blade falls on his throat, blood shooting into my face as the blade is pulled back. Sounds of gurgling as the man struggles on the ground echoed in my ears.


    I no longer had any energy to move; pain is all I could think about as it overloaded my whole body. Flopping over on my back, laying as my consciousness fades, sounds of gurgling became fainter, eventually fading into silence. Along with it, the sound of blades clashing ceased.


    Crunch¡­Crunch¡­.Crunch¡­.


    The only sound left in the arena was the crunching of the ground as an unknown person walked towards my direction. Having no energy, all I could do is lay there, hoping it was an ally. His footsteps stopped, a light sound of clothes wrinkling could be heard. Once the noise stopped, I could feel the cold chill of a blade on my neck. There was a pause, for some reason he was waiting, did he stop because of guilt? Slowly lifting my eyelids to get a glimpse of the situation, I was welcomed by the sight of a blade held against my throat. Oddly enough, the man that held it there had been looking into the distance. I tried racking my brain thinking of a reason why. For all I know, the man has just lost his fucking mind, zoning out into lalaland for whatever fucking reason. To be fair, we did kind of just get thrown into a wagon brought to some city then forced to fucking slaughter each other.


    From how everyone acted, in and out of the previous waiting room up until the end fight. I doubt any of us are used to these kinds of situations. Especially with the fact that he has paused, it seems like this took quite a toll on him mentally, even being in the winning corner. Suddenly his face looked down, displaying a perplexed look. Without saying anything, he stood up, leaving the arena, leaving me in complete disbelief. Without being able to comprehend what was happening, my vision turned black.

 Chapter 6: Somehow Another day has come

    Opening my eyes introduced me to an unfamiliar ceiling, as my blurry vision struggled to focus. Pain flooded my brain, becoming the only thing I could focus on. My body felt as if it was on fire while every muscle I had ached.


    ¡°Tap¡­Tap¡­Tap¡­Tap¡­¡±


    My chest tightened for a moment. Hearing someone¡¯s footsteps made me nervous; currently, I¡¯m at my most vulnerable, unable to even move as I shiver in pain in some room I am unfamiliar with. I could hear the tapping of the shoe¡¯s halt, but I felt no presence next to me. I decided to look to my left only to see a man at the side of a bed looking down at a body that seems to be sleeping, I can just barely see the chest slowly rising. Wait, what the hell is happening right now? Wasn¡¯t I just fighting in the arena? I thought it was a till the death, one side takes all kinda deal? So why am I alive? I obviously lost consciousness. I mean, I¡¯m not complaining about surviving, just a bit shocked and lost by the situation at hand. Let me just look to my other side.


    Yeah¡­more beds, so it seems like I¡¯m in an area for the injured. Not gonna lie, knowing this definitely released some stress. Although I am still wondering why I¡¯m alive, actually, u know what. Not gonna even think about it, time to move forward. Definitely, don¡¯t wanna jinx it. They obviously left me alive for some reason, so let¡¯s keep it that way.


    (Ezra):¡± Hello! excuse me!¡±


    Trying to catch the attention of the man, I called out to him. I¡¯m a lot more banged up then I had initially thought. Just that action alone caused a lot of pain. Looking over at the man I called out to, I can see him slowly turn his head towards me before going back to his previous task. I did not really know what else to do; instead, I just sat there. It seems like he¡¯s doing checkups on the other beds. I suppose he will come my way when he¡¯s done.


    ¡°Tap¡­Tap¡­ Tap¡­Tap¡±


    I closed my eye¡¯s listening to the tapping of the shoes as the man walked, taking in the rustling of clothes as he checked over the patients. It was all so¡­oddly calming. I can¡¯t put the finger on why, but, as I listened, my pained body felt slightly better as I slowly drifted off.


    (Man):¡± Are you ready for a quick checkup?¡±


    (Ezra):¡± Hmm¡­Uh..ah¡­yeah.¡±


    Damnit, I was so close to falling asleep again.


    (Man):¡± Alright, let¡¯s get these bandages changed and have a look at your wound.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    (Man):¡± Hmm¡­Yup, everything seems fine. We stitched you up and have given some medication that will accelerate the healing process, so let¡¯s just rebandage it now.¡±


    (Ezra):¡± Sir, do you happen to know why I was kept alive? I was sure that I was done for?¡±


    (Man):¡± I just help the injured, I don¡¯t know too much about what happens within the arena. I did hear something about a mercy plea happening during a fight right before you came in so, if that¡¯s related to you, then, that would probably be your answer.¡±


    (Ezra):¡± Mercy plea? I wouldn¡¯t think that would be allowed in that situation? Weren¡¯t we put in there to slaughter each other?¡±


    (Man):¡± You are not wrong about that. In certain situations where it boils down to a one versus one, the winner can ask the loser to be judged. When given a thumbs up, they are allowed to survive. In cases of being given a thumbs down, they have no choice but to end the other person. Usually, the judgment is only successful if they are a capable fighter that can make a lot of money or are unique in some way.¡±


    (Ezra):¡± Gotcha, thanks for the information.¡±


    He nodded at me before turning away, continuing his rounds. My body has been progressively feeling a lot better, especially compared to when I initially got stabbed. That medicine must be fucking magical. I guess I got pretty lucky there. Managed to just barely survive, I wonder why they passed my mercy plea. I don¡¯t remember doing anything that amazing and only managed to hardly protect myself against one person. The recollection of the feeling the sword gave when piercing another man¡¯s flesh made me cringe slightly as a slight shiver went up to my spine. Ugh, I don¡¯t even want to remember. Such a gruesome experience I am hoping to put behind me. I am sure I will have to deal with much worse shit in the future, so I better find a way to adapt as soon as possible.


    (Ezra):¡± Oh yeah, just a quick question, how long have I been out for?¡±


    (Man):¡± umm¡­Only for about a day.¡±


    Oh, wow¡­ a day, and I am already feeling the effects of healing that¡¯s insane. This place has some interesting secrets. I was mainly happy when I found out plumbing existed, and now seeing the odd mix of medieval themes with modern makes me question what kind of place I have come to. What kind of backward ass world has thatch-roofed houses with plumbing along with medicine this effective¡­so odd. My body was beginning to feel a lot less sluggish, the aching lessened a lot as well. I decided to sit up, taking a better look at my surroundings. Partitions were setup around beds spread throughout the room. Not the most comfortable of beds but, enough. I mean, what else could I ask for? Its better than the floor or a large stone platform.


    After some moments of silence and daydreaming, I heard the slight creaking of the hinges as a pair of guards entered the room. They looked around before stopping in front of the man doing his rounds. They saluted, continuing to walk up to him.


    (Soldier 1): ¡°Afternoon Mr.Edgar. We have come to see if Ezra has awoken yet.¡±


    (Edgar): ¡°ah, wonderful timing. He awoke not long ago, I have already done his checkup he should be fine enough to walk.¡±


    (Soldier 2):¡± excellent! we shall take him to see the boss then.¡±


    My body was beginning to heal, but I still had a slight struggle when getting off the bed. Sliding myself to my feet, I walked over towards the guards. I continued to walk out the door as they turn around, leading me down the hall. After doing some zig-zagging through the hallways for a bit, we stopped at a large door.


    (Soldier 1):¡± Go ahead, the boss is waiting for your arrival.¡±


    I reached out for the giant golden handle, slowly opening up my view to a spacious grandiose room. I suppose it¡¯s quite fitting for a prick that runs a business such as this. This room definitely costs a fortune just looking at the fine details carved into the door and walls, not to mention the paintings spread across the room.


    (Short fat man): ¡°ho-ho¡­ Ezra, welcome. I see u have healed up well. Now, let us get right into why you are here. I can assume you are also interested in why you are still amongst the living.¡±