ã€ŠPyramid of Bloodã€‹


 Prologue

    Sam walked out of the military compound with a smile on his face, excited by the idea of his week off despite the snow-covered ground and the bite in the air on this Scottish winter morning. As always, some made it, excited by the prospects of becoming elite soldiers whilst most didn¡¯t, having packed up their bags and returned to whatever unit they came from throughout the process.

    Sam easily recalled his own trials for the SAS, he¡¯d been 24 at the time, making him one of the youngest potential recruits at the time. He shook his head with a grin at the thought, another few years in the Royal Regiment of Scotland would have done him some good, but his officer had been a bit of a knob, so he¡¯d immediately filled out his AGAI form, submitting his application.

    Sam trudged through the snow to his car, a two door, 90¡¯s American muscle, just about the worst vehicle to drive when you had to navigate Scottish country roads, covered in snow with no remaining light out. Not that he cared, this car was his baby and that was that. He slipped into his driver¡¯s seat and buckled himself in. He checked the rear-view mirror, there was a screw loose and he was always having to reposition it so he could see out the back properly. He smiled into it as his reflection looked back at him. Looks wise he wasn¡¯t too special, brown eyes, short cropped brown military haircut and a nose with a slight kink in it which spoke of it being broken several times previously. He was 6ft 4¡± (193cm), which meant his head touched the roof of his car, making his driving position a little awkward. To match his height, he was filled out with well-toned muscles which spoke of rigorous fitness training, bringing his weight to just over 110kg, making his car strain and sink a little too low to the road it travelled over. He started the ignition and set off back to Glasgow where he would spend the week, thinking back on his time in the SAS as he did so.

    When he¡¯d sent in his application those years ago, he thought the SAS trials couldn¡¯t be all too hard for him, sure they were renowned for their intensity and barely anyone passed them, but he reckoned he had decent odds due to his martial prowess. Before enlisting he¡¯d competed in mixed martial arts competitions, hoping to go pro. He never made the cut, a fierce right hook to his jaw which knocked him out in front of a talent scout had ended that dream, but his close combat skills and physical fitness were the talk of his unit, even being close to breaking the full kit 10km race record on a few occasions which had stood for over a decade.

    Fast forward a few years and several successful missions, he was asked to fill in during SAS close combat training as the instructor was unwell. That instructor never did make it back to full health and was given his honourable discharge. Sam was then offered the full instructor position and decided that sleeping in a warm bed each night with proper cafeteria staff nearby beat the hell out further dangerous, treacherous escapades through deserts- well, that¡¯s what he told those who asked.

    The truth was, he was tired. Tired of killing. People say taking your first life takes a serious toll on your mind, but they fail to mention the subsequent lives. What of kill number two, three or fifty? Should he just have grown used to it?

    After so many years he¡¯d hated it, hated what he¡¯d become. A man capable of turning off his emotions so he could eliminate an unaware target, complete his missions and return to base before they closed the cafeteria. The new posting hadn¡¯t just been a new job, it had been his lifeline. It helped him feel¡­ something again.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Sam glanced down at the dashboard of his car, it was just after 5pm and the roads were pitch black, his beat-up headlights on full beam barely revealing enough of the road. It would be his 33<sup>rd</sup> birthday tomorrow, which to most people was an unremarkable affair, likely celebrated with a slice of cake and a pair of new socks, but his mum profusely believed that every birthday was a major occasion. She¡¯d rush across town to his apartment for lunch, dragging his dad along with her who believed a phone call would suffice and she¡¯d make ¡®Sam¡¯s favourite meal¡¯ of chicken fajitas.

    There wouldn¡¯t be anyone else, he had no siblings, no wife, kids or even a girlfriend. He had plenty friends of course, but most of them were military and were stationed all over the world and he¡¯d largely grown apart from anyone he knew from his school days.

    He creased his brows at the thought. Before, he hadn¡¯t settled down with anyone because he was always being sent overseas and that was incompatible with family life, that and his lack of emotions pushed most potential partners away. But his role in the armed forces had changed now, he had a stable post, he was no longer being thrust into dangerous situations and at most he was only a few hours from Glasgow. Additionally, if by some miracle he found a partner, his on-base living arrangements would improve significantly, not that he should meet someone just for better living...

    Perhaps he¡¯d use this week off to make an online profile, maybe go to meet and greets, is speed dating still a thing? The drive home was pretty standard, he had the heating thrumming, almost shaking the dashboard as it was working overtime to keep his car lukewarm at best and the radio was smashing out the usual crap, he was relaxing into the drive when a written message appeared over his vision.

    Do you volunteer for the Pyramid of Blood?

    Sam slammed onto his break and clutch, bringing his car to an emergency stop. Glancing to his rear-view mirror he noticed it had flopped downwards from the sudden halt. He looked out his back window and saw that any car approaching would see him stopped and would have plenty of time to halt behind him.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±, Sam grumbled out as he looked around, yet the message remained in front of his eyes, no matter where he turned his head. What could it be? Technology certainly hadn¡¯t made it far enough to pull this off and he didn¡¯t think he was going mad, but what in hell was the pyramid of blood? It sounded like some B-rate horror movie. He spoke aloud,

    ¡°No.¡±

    The message disappeared.

    Sam waited for a few moments for something else to occur, for something else to appear, but nothing did. He began driving again, then the radio changed, cutting off the music,

    ¡°Breaking News! A message has appeared in front of seemingly everyone asking whether they¡¯d like to volunteer for something called the Pyramid of Blood. This occurred roughly a minute ago. One man in our studio who said ¡°yes¡± disappeared right after. Yes, disappeared. We are waiting on a statement from authorities as to what is happening, meanwhile we urge all to say ¡°no¡± if they have not yet done so. To repeat¡­¡±

    The radio began the same cycle, repeating the same message. Well, should he be relieved to know he wasn¡¯t going insane? Or spooked out by some creepy and frankly unexplainable shit going on? Sam huffed. Damn, whatever it was, it was pretty messed up. Before he could have any other thoughts on the matter a second message appeared.

    The Pyramid of Blood requires five percent of humanity to participate. Due to a lack of volunteers you have been randomly selected to compete.

    Sam read the message as he drove along the road, ¡°Ah, fuck me.¡±

    He disappeared.

 Chapter 1 - Bloodbath

    Sam appeared, or perhaps materialised, he wondered, in a scape of mud which rose around his ankles. His combat training kicked in as he spread his feet shoulder width apart, one ahead of the other and lowered his stance, looking around him and assessing for threats. He was in a flat landscape, he could see straight in any direction and as he glanced around, other people began materialising around him. They were materialising is a scattered, dotted fashion, perhaps if one viewed them from above they would see a pattern in their assembly, but for Sam, at ground level, the people all seemed randomly spread.

    There were people on all sides of him, the closest perhaps 10 metres away, a young, scrawny man, who probably wasn¡¯t even 20 years old with wide eyes turned to lock eyes with him before glancing down at his bare feet, surrounded by the wet mud.

    Mobility. Sam looked down at his own feet, lifting them experimentally. The mud didn¡¯t prevent movement. He took a step forward without issue, feeling the light resistance you¡¯d expect from mud. Sam figured it would certainly prevent someone from running around in this environment. He took another look at the terrain, mud was all he could see. This wasn¡¯t a marshland or places with dotted grass, or even a valley ¨C all places you¡¯d expect to see mud gather, no, this was just one flat, large plane, as far as the eye could see, of ankle deep mud.

    People seemed to stop materialising, he could see hundreds of people, perhaps thousands, as far as he could see in any given direction around him. Was that it? Was everyone who was going to arrive here already here? There was all of two seconds of stunned silence as people looked around them before chaos ensued.

    People bursting into tears, some fainting outright, others demanding to know what was going on, Sam took it all in, looking around in silence. Just what the hell is going on, he thought to himself. The young man he¡¯d made eye contact with earlier began stepping towards him.

    ¡°you¡¯re British army, right? I can see the flag on your uniform, mate. I¡¯m from Newcastle, what the actual fuck is goin¡¯ on? Do you know?¡±

    Sam wanted to roll his eyes. He was in his camouflage combat dress with a stitched Union Jack on the left shoulder, it was pretty damned obvious what he was, but he reminded himself, he was surrounded by people scared out their wits, and for this man, he was probably a sign of comfort at the moment. So, he bit his tongue and replied,

    ¡°Not a clue, come here and stay close.¡± Sam looked around, waiting for something to happen and spoke again. ¡°I don¡¯t like this, you got any combat experience, kid?¡± He wasn¡¯t hopeful, but another combatant in an unknown situation would be a blessing right now.

    ¡°Fuck you, I ain¡¯t a kid, and yeah, like last week when those scummy Man United fans came across and acting all hard before the game, I socked one of em¡¯, if his mate hadn¡¯t got in the way ad¡¯ have battered em.¡±

    Oh boy. A football hooligan, perfect company. No further exchange occurred as the third message of that day appeared.

    Participant, welcome to the first floor of the Pyramid of Blood. Kill nine others to ascend to the next floor. Ascension will heal any injuries obtained on this floor.

    Sam blanched at the message. Kill? Him? No, please no, he began to shake, not again. He wasn''t a killer... not anymore, he was past that now. He dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand, attempting to keep his mind straight rather than descend into a swirl of messy thoughts.

    If chaos had ensued before, that was nothing on the present. People screamed, more people cried, others took amateur combat stances or raised fists threateningly, but a quick glance over them and Sam knew they¡¯d never thrown a punch before. The Newcastle kid scampered away from Sam, likely thinking he was standing next to the largest threat to his existence, which attracted attention. Suddenly, it appeared as if everyone within a small radius of Sam was eying him warily, his uniform obviously signified he was trained for combat. Given the message, he could hardly blame them.

    Focus! Pull your shit together! He screamed internally. Look for a weapon, Sam tried to keep his mind busy, trying not to dwell on the message. He couldn¡¯t see one at first glance and everyone was currently still rather inactive, as if waiting for someone to make the first move.

    ¡°Siiilennnce!¡±, a burly man shouted. Heads turned towards him as he held his head high and stood tall. Sam, being more perceptive than most, noticed his sweating and hand shaking with fear. Yet, only the people within fifty metres or so heard him, Sam noticed that people further afield were still standing around wearily or still in tears, one man, about a hundred metres away had piss running down his leg. He continued,

    ¡°Look, we all need to work together and find a way out of here!¡±

    Sam would like to think he wasn¡¯t too pessimistic, but nothing about their current situation screamed normality or team building puzzle. He took another glance around, it could only be a matter of time before something happened and once it did, well, people were like sheep. A riot always starts with one punch.

    As if on que, a couple hundred metres away, a fight broke out, or rather, a beatdown. It was noticeable because their angered shouts were of a different tone and the people around them were backing up, creating an open space. Shifting to his left to get a better view, Sam took a guess at what had happened, it appeared a bigger guy, who looked thuggish, decided to start throwing punches at a smaller man who was feebly trying to raise his hands in self-defence. No one around them interfered as the large, bald thug with a tribal tattoo over his head knocked the smaller man unconscious with a vicious jab to the temple.

    The thug had a grin on his face as he went down on his knees to begin pummelling the unconscious man, presumably to death. However, Sam wasn¡¯t the only one watching. The large, burly man from before was yelling out for the violence to cease as he ran, crossing the distance between them.

    The thug was unaware of his surroundings as he smashed his fist down into the unconscious man¡¯s face and as such, didn¡¯t see the burly man charging towards him before kicking with all his might. The thug turned to see him just as his foot connected with his jaw as the burly man followed through with the action, as if he¡¯d punted a rugby ball. There was an audible crack as the thug¡¯s head whipped back and everyone nearby, including Sam just watched in stunned silence for a moment.

    Meanwhile, at the same time, various men and woman began fighting and scrapping with one another, initially in small, isolated pockets like the one Sam had just witnessed, but over a few minutes as more fights broke out, it seemed as if the group mentality shifted. People were no longer seeing themselves as equal victims to whatever this was that had to stick together, they began turning on one another.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    As if a lightbulb went off in Sam¡¯s head, he realised why. The message said they needed to kill nine others to ascend, whatever that meant. People would naturally seek out the weakest first as ¡®easy¡¯ kills. Therefore, the longer one waited, the harder it would be to ascend as only tougher people were left. Yet, Sam hesitated to make a move, it all just felt¡­ wrong.

    He wasn¡¯t ready for this yet. Sure, he was a close combat instructor, but that¡¯s all, he didn¡¯t kill anymore, he couldn¡¯t face the emptiness inside him.

    He stayed ready for combat and watched his back for anyone trying to get the jump on him as he watched the events play out around him. He couldn¡¯t kill people anymore¡­ he couldn¡¯t, it would irrevocably change him, he knew that deep down.

    The football hooligan from earlier was kicking an elderly lady in the face, the burly man was wrestling in the mud, trying to fight a middle-aged man and the unconscious man had already had his head caved in. Sam supposed that meant he was no longer unconscious, but rather, dead. These were images he was trying to erase from his memories over the years and yet here, they all came flooding back. He felt nauseous at the sight of the blood after so long.

    He realised almost everyone was engaged in a fight now except for him. Nobody was coming near him. There was a small bubble around him which no one would enter as if he¡¯d lash out at them for coming too close. Obviously, everyone sussed there were easier targets than a man in a military uniform.

    So many people here were going to die. He tried to do the mental math, which had never really been his strong suit. What if someone got to five kills before dying? The five people they killed would have died for nothing as they wouldn¡¯t count towards anyone¡¯s ascension.

    He frowned and clenched his fist at his side. What a waste of life. What¡¯s worse, he¡¯d have to participate. He looked over those in front of him once more. There. He saw an obese man, probably in his early thirties. He wouldn¡¯t survive this whole affair anyways, he¡¯d be considered an easy picking. If he walked away, the man would likely be dead within a few minutes. So, was it better for him to take the kill than someone else?

    This time would be different he realised, everyone he¡¯d killed previously had all been militants, those who had willingly decided to fight in a war. This¡­ these people were all civilians, those he was supposed to protect. Well, maybe not these people specifically, other than the football hooligan, there didn¡¯t seem to be other Brits around, but the point still stood.

    ¡°Sort out the now to the best of your ability, deal with the consequences later. Who dares, wins¡±, Sam muttered under his breath as he stalked towards the obese man. The fights around him seemed to disperse as he moved, nobody wanted to cross his path. He sloshed through the mud, by this point, it was soaked with blood. The obese man was lying on the floor, he¡¯d just choked a woman to death. Sam¡¯s soon to be victim had tears running down his face, clearly ashamed and terrified of his own actions. Ironically, that¡¯s how Sam felt too, although he was bottling it up in order to act without hesitation.

    He didn¡¯t see or hear Sam approach him from behind and wrap his right arm tightly under his chin, using his left arm to brace and hold the choke. The obese man struggled and flailed at first but couldn¡¯t hurt Sam in his state of panic.

    Sam looked around, preparing to drop his choke hold the moment he saw a threat approach him. The obese man was unconscious after twenty seconds and after another minute had stopped breathing entirely.

    8 kills remain until ascension.

    Sam nodded, that seemed as close to a confirmation of death as he¡¯d likely receive without exposing himself. He stood, a single tear rolling down his cheek. The last he¡¯d shed for now as his actions flipped the switch inside of him, the one he¡¯d hoped to bury forever. The switch of his internal killer which forced all his ¡®normal¡¯ emotions deep inside him.

    As he¡¯d choked out the man, he¡¯d been looking out for his next target, roughly a hundred metres away was a large free-for-all brawl taking place, it seemed chaotic. He¡¯d try to avoid that, an experienced combatant he may be, but with so many people, a wild swing could easily be his downfall.

    Instead he looked in the opposite direction and locked eyes with an Asian man, drenched in blood, likely a mix of his own and others. He¡¯d only been here for a few minutes, yet this guy looked as if he¡¯d been here for hours. He was much smaller than Sam, but that didn¡¯t seem to faze him as he grinned wildly and charged towards him. Sam settled into a krava maga basic stance as the man approached, he stepped aside his charge and tripped the man, sending him sprawling through the mud. At that moment, a woman charged Sam from behind, punching towards the back of his head to capitalise on his attention being elsewhere. He ducked forward so the punch just glided off his shoulder and swivelled on the front of his feet, swinging his body round to face his new opponent and delivered a solid left punch into her gut that had they full weight of his turn behind it. She doubled over in clear agony and he followed through with a right-handed uppercut, connecting into her face.

    Damn that stung his fist a bit. The woman was clearly now unconscious and falling limp into the mud. Others around him saw this and the opportunity for a free kill against a prone body, charging towards him, this included the small Asian man who had clear rage burning in his eyes.

    Assess the threats Sam, evaluate and prioritise, he thought to himself. Four targets approaching, all as individuals. The small Asian man seemed a little crazy, he knew the type, likely to happily receive a beating if it meant getting a scratch against him. There were two women, one approaching from either side, albeit more wearily and would likely engage at an opportune time, probably when the first man attacks. Neither seemed interested in him though and were eyeing the unconscious woman beneath his feet. The last was some body builder, stacked with muscle, but again, he wasn¡¯t eyeing up Sam, rather the woman to his right who only had eyes for the unconscious woman. What a cluster fuck.

    The Asian man reached him and swung wildly with a right fist, he stepped inside the blow and turned with his back facing the man and performed a floating hip judo throw. It was a basic throw that any beginner could learn. That said, it was rare to use in combat as you should avoid turning your back on an opponent at any given time, but this man he was facing was both untrained and he¡¯d confirmed nobody held a weapon here, for whatever reason. As such, he deftly pulled off the motion and slammed the man into the unconscious woman at his feet.

    Unfortunately, the other three had chosen that time to act. Only one of the women posed a threat, however, as the other was grabbed from behind by the body builder man and thrown to the floor. Focusing on his own incoming target, who realised she was now alone in her assault rather than aided by two others, went wide eyed. She decided Sam probably wasn¡¯t who she wanted to be messing with and turned tail and ran away. Sam pondered pursuing her before glancing down at the Asian man attempting to get to his feet.

    7 kills remain until ascension.

    What the hell? Oh. Sam noticed the unconscious woman had been faced down in the mud the whole time and had suffocated, unable to breath in the partially liquid terrain. That¡¯s interesting though, he mused, he was attributed the kill even though her death was indirectly in his hands. The Asian man at his feet seemed to be shaking out of his daze. He couldn¡¯t allow him to get up from a kneeling position and pose a threat so Sam slammed his combat boot into his back between his shoulder blades, sending him face first back into the mud. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings once more.

    Hundreds had died, he could see bodies scattered as far as he could see in any direction, yet hundreds more were still standing. How many were here? It said 5% of humanity? Jeese, how many hundreds of millions was that? Were they all in this flat, muddy landscape? If he picked a direction and ran, how long would it take for there to be no more people? Or a wall?

    These were questions for another time. The body builder was choking the other woman to death beneath his vice grip, she¡¯d already slipped into unconsciousness. Sam wouldn¡¯t have long to deal with this crazy Asian man before more trouble came his way. Rather inhumanely, he took a step forward and stomped down fast and hard on the back of the man¡¯s skull. He felt it crack and give way to his boot. When he withdrew it, he could see that man¡¯s brain matter on the bottom of his boot. It doesn¡¯t matter how tough you might be or what you¡¯ve been through previously, there are some sights which are just fucked up, this moment was certainly on that list.

    6 kills remain until ascension.

 Chapter 2 - Carnage

    The body builder stood, and eyed Sam. He¡¯d seen him execute the Asian man and it was clear he had no intention of picking a fight. Sam¡¯s eyes darted over the other man. Even if he excelled in close combat, it was never fun going up against someone with 30kg or so over you. Sam was about to turn and walk away to find easier prey when the body builder spoke up,

    ¡°Want to team up? I bet between the two of us there is no one who could take us within a few minutes of here.¡±

    Sam stopped midturn and looked him in the eyes. He¡¯d like to think he was a decent judge of character and It seemed like a genuine offer, so he replied,

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Jake¡±

    Sam had a small smile spreading across his lips as he heard the Kiwi accent and he studied him for another moment before deciding.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m Sam, we¡¯ll make a temporary truce. We try to find easy targets and gang up on them, taking one kill and then giving the other the next. We¡¯ll try to make this as easy as possible by avoiding any difficult confrontations. If you decide you want to go your own way, say so and I will let you. If you decide to attack me, I will kill you. Fair?¡±

    Jake gulped and nodded in agreement at Sam¡¯s no bullshit attitude before walking over to him, maintaining a slight distance in case of any sudden action or betrayal. Taking another bearing of the surroundings it was clear to see that the number of people left alive had dwindled. There were still loads of people, but Sam realised he could see much further in any direction without the dense press of bodies before him. Instead, the ground was littered with bodies to the point that it was almost unavoidable that they¡¯d trample over the dead, especially those that were half concealed in the mud underfoot. Worst of all, he¡¯d felt nothing for them, they were just part of the terrain to him.

    Looking around, it was plain to see that they weren¡¯t the only pair that had formed an uneasy truce. A group of four men, fifty metres away pointed over towards them and began making their way towards them.

    So long for finding an easy target, Sam grunted. One of them was badly injured however and now held a significant limp. From where he was standing, it looked like a classic fractured ankle. An easily obtainable injury given the uneven, squishy terrain, not to mention all the violence. The other three realised they were going to be slowed by the fourth and without hesitation they set upon him. The fact that he¡¯d been partnered with them moments before mattered naught as they toppled him over and brutally kicked him until he stopped moving. One of them must have received a message signifying his demise as they stopped and turned back towards Sam and Jack.

    Jack seemed to have gone rather pale in the face at the display and so Sam took the opportunity to try and take his mind off what they¡¯d witnessed.

    ¡°So Jacky boy, before all this, you ever fight?¡±

    Jack turned to face him, ¡°my gym taught boxing, I sparred a few times but wasn¡¯t too keen on it, prefer weights¡±

    No shit he prefers weights, Sam thought as he eyed the man¡¯s back, shoulder and arm muscles. He wasn¡¯t gay, but he could appreciate a fine specimen of a man along with the best of them, and damn, this Jack must have been a hit with the ladies.

    ¡°Right Jacky boy, I¡¯ll take the middle one and the one on the right. You take the one on the left. Just remember your boxing training. Keep your arms up, your face protected and make your jabs clean and quick. If nothing else, remember the five D¡¯s of dodgeball!¡±

    ¡°The what¡­?¡± Jack looked puzzled.

    To make sure Sam got the two they¡¯d agreed upon, he called out, ¡°Oi, you two shitestoppers, come at me ya wobbly headed pricks!¡±

    Yep, that certainly got their attention as they turned towards him, they eyed his uniform, but they clearly felt confident with their being two of them. Sam took several steps away from Jack, both to give them more room to fight but also so that he could come at them from an angle. After all, the best way to fight two people at once is to put one in front of the other.

    The one on the right was now closer, raising his hands into an amateur boxing stance, or at least a stance the man thought he should be holding. Sam readied himself, left foot forward. Most people are right-handed; therefore, most people will initiate an attack with their right arm and this man failed to disappoint. Despite his half decent stance, he threw a wide right hook. Sam countered by raising his left elbow, bringing his hand to his head, forcing the hook to glance off his arm, leaving the man¡¯s centre undefended for his right arm to draw across his body in a textbook transfer of weight for his fist to slam into his opponent¡¯s chin.

    Most people in street fights aim for faces and noses, but the chin is where the real damage is done, you see, when the chin is damaged, signals are sent from the brain, shutting down the body. The man rocketed back, landing on his arse. Not quite a one hit knockout, but he wouldn¡¯t be getting up for a few moments, that¡¯s for sure.

    The other man was slightly more interesting. He wasn¡¯t fazed by his partner hitting the deck as he drew into a wrestling sugar stance. That might have worked out for him if Sam had any intention of grappling with him, but Sam wasn¡¯t feeling particularly inclined towards rolling around in the mud. A feint to the left followed by a roundhouse kick to the side of his head sent him sprawling.

    He glanced over at Jake¡¯s fight to see him doing a ground and pound over his opponent who was desperately trying to wriggle free. His right eye looked like it would swell up soon but other than that he was unscathed. Jason kicked both his downed opponents in the head, knocking them unconscious. There was little fanfare over what happened next. Using the heel of his hard combat boots once more, he caved in another two skulls.

    5 kills remain until ascension.

    4 kills remain until ascension.

    Sam felt tired. He watched as Jake stood over his opponent¡¯s unconscious form and followed his lead, caving in the man¡¯s skull. He didn¡¯t even blink at the display. Less than 10 minutes ago he was sincerely doubting the use of violent action and here he was now, partnered with a guy who¡¯d choked a woman to death in front of him, simply because she was weaker than him and that made her an easy target. It wasn¡¯t the violence itself he fretted over, it was his lack of any emotional response. What did that make him? Someone who could stand by and watch someone who was unable to fight back get choked to death? But this isn¡¯t a normal situation, he reminded himself. It¡¯s not like he witnessed a mugging on the street, this was war, he told himself. A kill or be killed scenario, even if most people hadn¡¯t willingly participated.

    Jake stood up and locked at Sam, he just nodded in reply. Jake turned to the side and violently threw up.

    ¡°Easy there Jakey boy, take it slow. No one can sneak up on our position here, I¡¯ll give you a minute whilst we pick a new target¡± Sam spoke as he took in the new state of the landscape around him.

    As it happened, they were standing roughly where Sam had materialised, he knew that because he could see the corpse of the granny that the football hooligan had kicked to death. A dozen metres beyond her, he could see that boy¡¯s body, or at least what looked like him. The height and build looked right, but he wasn¡¯t about to start digging through bodies.

    Jake stood and asked, ¡°Who next?¡±

    Sam pointed in a direction at a man that had just finished beating another man to death in a one to one fight. Yet, even as a victor, he looked close to death. Jake saw the target and just nodded in agreement and Sam told him he could have the kill since he got two from the last fight. Jake had been somewhat useful, fighting off three men at once would have been a pain and he didn¡¯t want to give him any reason to turn on him.

    They drew closer and the man saw them approach. He begged. He didn¡¯t have the energy to stand anymore, never mind fight back and Sam saw doubt flicker across Jake¡¯s face. He simply told him that if he didn¡¯t kill the man, then he would. That seemed to be all the motivation he needed as Jake caved in yet one more skull. The pair began to walk to where they saw a large-ish cluster of people. A group of ten or so in a sort of standoff. Some in pairs, others in a trio, all facing towards one another.

    Just as they were heading over, Sam caught movement out the corner of his eye, a woman he¡¯d dismissed as a corpse suddenly lunged upwards, wrapping her arms around his legs and tackling him to the ground. Sam splashed backwards into the mud as she tried to clamber on top of him. Unfortunately for her she clearly didn¡¯t have much of a plan beyond sending him to deck and he swivelled on the ground, forcing her into an arm bar and snapping her right arm. She howled in agony as she cradled her now useless arm. By that point Jake had come over and began stomping on her face. Damn, what sort of trend had he started?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    By this point, all the people in the standoff up ahead were aware of their presence due to the woman¡¯s scream.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± Jake spoke, a queasiness evident in his voice. The pair of them stood in silence as they watched the large group ahead of them. Sam wondered what they were doing. He checked the other directions and saw various fights taking place between individuals, pairs and groups, nothing with fifty metres though. What to do? Decisions, decisions. A yank and snapping sounds, followed by a sickening crunch turned Sam back towards the large standoff once more.

    ¡°Hoooly shit¡± Sam drawled out. ¡°That man is fucked up, see that Jakey boy? I¡¯ve seen some wild shit but that really takes the biscuit.¡± Jake looked at where Sam was pointing. At the centre of the large group, a lanky, tall, pale man, drenched in blood had somehow managed to remove a femur from a body.

    The large leg bone was cracked at the ends where it had been somehow snapped off. How did he even access it from inside someone¡¯s leg? How did he reach such the bone which is buried so deep? If nothing else, Sam was intrigued as he sauntered forwards, Jake following close on his heel.

    The large group split apart as the two of them entered their circle around the man holding the femur outwards, as if wielding a club or baseball bat. Everyone around them seemed to be in a sickened silence. Clearly, someone needed to break the ice and Sam was feeling like a polar bear,

    ¡°I just wanna go on the record and say that you need help dude, your ass belongs in an institution. Y¡¯know, the ones with the padded walls?¡± Everyone turned to stare at him, even Jake raised an eyebrow in his direction. He¡¯d forgotten his change in humour when he supressed his emotions, it had gotten him in trouble before.

    ¡°Aw c¡¯mon, I¡¯m just saying what everyone¡¯s thinking.¡±

    The crazed man screamed and charged at Sam, holding the leg bone above his head as he ran towards him. Sam rolled his eyes and dashed inside the overhead swing, catching the man¡¯s swipe by the elbow to prevent the femur connecting with him. Wind milling his arm to grab his opponent by the wrist and tugging him gently towards him to keep him off balance, Sam rotated his body into a high kick, his heavy combat books connecting with the man¡¯s face. Sam¡¯s opponent stumbled backwards, dropping his makeshift weapon in the process as he looked stunned for a moment.

    ¡°Brah, I think the dudes on meth. Seen the type round my area before. It explains that wild look in his eyes, the fact he ain¡¯t speaking and why he probably didn¡¯t feel pain from your kick, he¡¯s tripping balls. Probably thinks this is all some just some extra dodgy shit he bought¡±, Jack piped up from the side.

    The other¡¯s who¡¯d been looking on from the side took involuntary steps back. Some looked at him with sympathy, others with disgust. Sam watched the man swaying on his feet. Poor bastard, he thought. He¡¯d seen some veterans turn to meth, trying to escape PTSD and silently wondered what this fellas story was. Still, this place was kill or be killed. He¡¯d have to end this and do it in a way that wouldn¡¯t invite anyone to attack him from behind.

    Sam approached in an MMA stance before throwing a test jab. The drugged-up man didn¡¯t so much as respond as he flailed backwards and fell into a tall blonde man with curly hair. Mr Blondy obviously felt this was a chance for a free kill and threw a punch to the back of the man¡¯s head. And then chaos ensued.

    Everyone who¡¯d been standing around watching the man on meth break a femur out of a corpse suddenly broke into action. Roughly a dozen men and woman, all trying to take the man¡¯s life for their own and Sam was trapped in the middle of it. Damn it, he knew he should have avoided large groups, but his curious nature had gotten the better of him. Sam tried to path a rout to the edge of the brawl, this time, curiosity might really kill the cat. Without a weapon he had no way to end a life quickly. Deciding his life was more valuable than confirming the kill, Sam backpaddled and reached out for the dropped femur. He gripped a hand around one of the splintered ends as a burly Indian man, probably some form of tradesman by the looks of things charged like a bull towards him. Sam swiped upwards, almost as if the bone were a police baton. It caught the man under the nose and blood spurted out his face as he fell to his knees and screamed.

    The femur cracked slightly from the pressure of the blow and some of the bone shards dug into the palm of his hands from his tight grip, but it was worth it. It offered him a brief respite to gain awareness of his surroundings. His back was safe, he now found himself at the edge of the brawl.

    Jake was in the thick of it, exchanging heavy blows with some South American dude. A woman dug her nail extensions into a kneeling man¡¯s eyes and another was kicking the back of a downed man¡¯s head into the mud below.

    Sam couldn¡¯t allow the Indian man to rise to his feet. It was the same as with the Asian man before, no sense in letting someone become a threat once more. Despite all the scrapping people, no one else was currently bothering him and he had to take full advantage of the situation. He grabbed the Indian man¡¯s long hair by the back of his head and smashed it into his awaiting knee. Once. Twice. His face was a bloody mess, he was missing teeth and now held a vacant gaze as his eyes partially lolled backwards. The third smash cracked the front of the man¡¯s skull. Letting him drop into the mud, Sam used what he could only describe as his new signature move. Using the weight of his combat boot, he drove his heel down hard into the back of the man¡¯s head.

    3 kills remain until ascension.

    He had to take advantage of the chaos. He charged his way through the brawl. Using his height to see a path through the rampage and his weight to barrel through anyone in his way,he aimed for those nearing the verge of death. In another time and place, one might look down on stealing another¡¯s kill, but fuck that. This was every man for himself. He reached the man with one remaining eye who feebly held his arm between himself and the woman assaulting him. Sam rammed her aside. She flew a metre back and skidded in the mood, but he no longer had eyes on her.

    Sam faced the kneeling man and delivered a Muay Thai front push kick. Against a standing opponent, this would knock their midsection, pushing them back with the purpose of creating some distance. However, against this kneeling man, it connected with the flat of his face, smashing him backwards into the mud. The last thing he saw was Sam¡¯s combat boot coming down into his face.

    2 kills remain until ascension.

    The woman he¡¯d knocked aside saw what he¡¯d done and screamed at him,

    ¡°You bastard! Have some fucking decency!¡±, That made Sam smirk. Decency? In a bloodbath like this? Don¡¯t be a fool, lady. He let her approach and waited for her to telegraph her attack. She had short arms, he only needed to lean backwards to move out of the fist¡¯s range before he was able to counter. Sam stepped forward and performed a vicious knee stomp onto the leg she¡¯d leaned forward on. He felt her knee buckle and snap under the weight of his boot as she screamed. The woman partially dropped, trying to right herself on her remaining leg as Sam brought the femur down in an overhead smash across the back of her skull.

    Shed thudded down into the mud as Sam discarded the splintering bone. It was breaking up badly and he was confident he could use his appendages to more devastating effects. He¡¯d only really wanted it to ensure it hadn¡¯t ended up in someone else¡¯s hands. Not that it could deal too much damage, but its ability to keep an opponent at length was just a pain in the arse.

    Sam spun out of the way of a stray kick behind him and stomped down on the woman¡¯s head. Another one bites the dust.

    1 kill remains until ascension.

    ¡°Sam! Help!¡±, it was Jake. He looked like shit. His left eye was swollen shut and his body was turning a nasty shade of purple, completely visible, given that his t-shirt had been ripped off during the brawl. Of the original dozen, six still stood in the immediate vicinity, including Sam. The druggy man lay dead in the mud alongside thousands of others around them. There was Sam by himself, Jake, who was fending off attacks by a pair of South American men working together and another pair fighting, a man and a woman. She was easily holding her own in the exchange despite the size difference. If he were to take a guess, he¡¯d wager she took kickboxing fitness classes at her local gym. She held a practiced stance, yet it was clear she wasn¡¯t used to someone hitting back.

    He moved forward to help Jack, but he was too slow. One of the men grabbed the body builder by the shoulders and yanked him forwards, meeting him with a sickening headbutt which took the fight out of Jake, sending him down onto his knees in the mud. The two men saw Sam crossing the distance and down at the three bodies he¡¯d killed by himself in the last two minutes.

    They turned and ran, smart enough to know when to pick their battles it appeared. To his right, he witnessed the woman deliver a finishing spinning back kick. Not something he¡¯d have attempted in mud, but she pulled it off none the less and her opponent was down in the mud. She collapsed over him and began to ground and pound.

    Sam looked down at Jake, groaning in agony from his injuries on the ground. With injuries like those at home, he¡¯d easily spend a week in the hospital. He likely had fractured ribs and now that he looked closely, Sam could see the top of his ear was missing.

    He was done. There was no way he¡¯d be getting back up, never mind be able to fight again. Sam tried to convince himself that he cared for the man¡¯s fate. If he¡¯d met him a few days ago he would have. But now? He simply didn¡¯t. He had one person left to kill and there was an injured man lying before him. Those were the facts and all that he cared about in that moment. He was just so done with this shit, he just wanted to go home. He hated how he could be this way, acting so callous, emotionless, empty.

    To make it all seem laughable, from start to finish, it had probably been somewhere between twenty and twenty-five minutes. There was no way to know for sure. There was a tendency in combat to get caught up in the moment, time becoming meaningless. Yet still, what the fuck was this place? In less than half an hour it made his mental health go from improving, to worse than he ¡®d ever felt.

    Fuck whoever made this place, for ruining him. He just wanted to go home to try and salvage whatever semblance of normalcy was left. He clenched his fists in anger, he¡¯d rather be damned and dead than give up that dream.

    ¡°Goodbye, Jakey boy.¡± Sam spoke softly under his breath before he knelt and choked the man before him. Jake just gurgled on the blood stuck in his throat in reply. He wanted to say it had been a good ride, a pleasure knowing him or just¡­ something. But they¡¯d all be lies. A minute passed, and he was greeted by the final message on this hellscape.

    9 kills confirmed. Teleporting to second floor of the Pyramid of Blood.

 Chapter 3 - Stone Age

    Chapter 3 -Stone Age

    Participant, welcome to the second floor of the Pyramid of Blood. You may stay here for up to thirty day/night cycles before entering the ascension trial. You may attempt the trial at any time by speaking aloud, ¡°I seek ascension¡±. Ascension will heal any injuries obtained on this floor.

    Please select an ascension reward.

    <ul>

    <li>Stone dagger</li>

    <li>Stone hatchet</li>

    <li>Stone pickaxe </li>

    </ul>

    Sam looked around his new environment, crouching, ready for trouble. He was in a woodland area, grass and red pine needles underfoot. Looking upwards, he was surrounded by tall, red trees which reached at least eighty metres upwards, towering above anything he¡¯d seen in person before. Beyond that, above the canopy, a form of artificial light lit up the sky, or roof he imagine it was.

    The ground was no longer a single, even plane. Rather, it now held an incline, going downwards in front of him, with rocks strutting out, dotting the landscape. Compared to the first level, this all seemed far more natural.

    Sam still had the ascension reward message hovering in front of his vision. He was sorely tempted to select the dagger. If he¡¯d had it previously he would have decimated anyone he¡¯d crossed paths with using sharp, controlled strikes to vital areas. However, the first message said he could be here for up to a month, that implied some sort of survival aspect to this second floor. Additionally, for the first time since arriving in whatever this place was, he realised he was alone, there wasn¡¯t a single person in any direction. Could it be because he was one of the first to ascend? Or perhaps this floor was bigger than the last? No, that didn¡¯t make sense. If this was truly a pyramid and he was ascending within it, each floor had to be smaller than the last. Perhaps he couldn¡¯t see anyone because his field of vision was simply smaller? So many trees meant he could only see a few dozen metres in any direction.

    He sighed. So many questions, he thought to himself. He selected the hatchet. It was a compromise which would act as both a survival tool and a weapon. As he did so, a crude stone hatchet materialised before him, floating in front of his chest. The process took only a second before the tool fell to the floor.

    He lifted it and brought it to his face, it had a red wooden haft, just enough for a hand and half to rest on it. It didn¡¯t take a genius to realise it was likely crafted out of the same wood that surrounded him on all sides. The head was made of stone, about an inch thick at the butt and sharp at the blade, enough so that he could use it to shave if he wanted. The head wasn¡¯t entirely smooth rock, but it would do. He swung it across his body and nodded. It would do indeed.

    Sam would much prefer to be back in his car right now, the radio¡¯s music choices didn¡¯t seem all that bad anymore. Funny that, he¡¯d always found it took a really shit day to make you realise that overall, life wasn¡¯t bad at all.

    As his adrenaline wore off, his emotions started to seep back through him. Jake. He¡¯d killed the boy. Sam sank to his knees and for the first time since he¡¯d taken his new military post, he wept. He cried over the lives he¡¯d taken, over Jake, who in his final moments of life had asked him for help and he¡¯d killed him because it was the path of least resistance. Why did he have to be like this? Why did he become such a heartless bastard? He knew why, it was a coping mechanism, his way of dealing with his actions, simply severing the emotional ties rather than facing them, yet that answer wasn¡¯t sufficient.

    If any army psychologist knew of his condition, he¡¯d be relieved of duty immediately, so he¡¯d bottled it all up and now¡­ now it was his demon to bear as he moved forwards.

    He took a few minutes to collect himself, breathing deeply to calm himself. Think, back to priorities.

    If he¡¯d be here for a while, it was time to secure the basics. Water, shelter and food. Then he¡¯d seek out any clues there might be regarding the ¡®ascension trial¡¯. Water was normally easy to find, especially in a forest and he was beginning to feel dehydrated. All that combat had really taken it out of him. He calmed himself, survival 101. Close your eyes and just listen, he thought, you could normally hear running water from a few kilometres away. As Sam followed the advice a survival instructor had once drilled into him, he knit his brows in frustration. He couldn¡¯t hear much at all. No running water and no chirping of birds. How... disturbing it felt. There was only the faintest of a breeze rustling through the leaves and¡­ There! Voices.

    They were coming from directly in front of him. Just down the slope a little, perhaps a hundred metres away at most? He crouched and moved silently, watching the ground for twigs or anything that might give his position away as he held the hatchet in his right hand.

    He looked over a small, rocky outcrop. Perhaps five metres below and a dozen paces away, a small Asian man was crouched, holding a stone dagger in his hand, pointing it towards¡­

    Sam did a double take and only some well-honed recon skill prevented him from exclaiming out. Just what they hell was that thing? In front of the human, was something distinctly not human. Was it a lion? No, it stood on two feet with hands, or claws? It held itself upright with a straight back and a tail swinging between its legs. Its toned, muscular torso, hips and legs were all humanoid, clearly designed for bipedal movement rather than traversing on all fours. Sam presumed this lion¡­man¡­ thing was male, it had a mane after all which came down to its neck and sitting atop its shoulders was the head of a lion. Its gaze was proud as it looked at the man standing before him, clearly not threatened in the least by the dagger aimed at him.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Most of all however, it was the beings¡¯ overall majesty that Sam was dumfounded by. It held itself with such confidence, a true sight to behold. In its claws it held a stave, it looked to be a branch from one of the huge red trees overhead that he¡¯d carved for himself. As if the moment couldn¡¯t get any weirder, the lionman spoke in a deep, surly voice,

    ¡°put you weapon down, human. There is no purpose towards violence here. Save it for your trial.¡±

    The Asian man¡¯s eyes went wide and replied,¡± How do I know you aren¡¯t a threat?¡±

    Sam had watched as the man had replied, attempting to lipread in case he wouldn¡¯t have heard clearly from his distance. Huh, that was most certainly odd, he realised. This Asian guy clearly hadn¡¯t spoken in English based on his lip movement, yet Sam had heard him speak clearly doing so. And this lionman, he had spoken English too? Was there some language translator at play? Must be.

    The lionman snorted and waved a paw in the direction he came from, ¡°Oh, and why would I kill you, human? What would I have to gain? I presume you¡¯ve just ascended, yes? Consider this area relatively safe. Until you take your trial, you probably won¡¯t have to fight. Now, if you¡¯re willing to put away the weapon I¡¯ll lead you to the nearest settlement.¡±

    Sam¡¯s ears perked up at that. A settlement? Here in this place that he¡¯d witnessed nothing but death for as long as he¡¯d been here? The Asian man looked torn at first, then with a resigned sigh he tucked his dagger into his belt and walked forward with a hand outstretched.

    ¡°Sorry for starting off poorly. Let¡¯s start over, my name is Wei.¡±

    The lionman just looked at the outstretched arm incredulously, clearly not understanding the gesture, but responded in kind, putting out a hand as well, parallel to Wei¡¯s. For a moment there was a silent awkwardness as the two of them stood there, hands outstretched, the lionman not understanding what he was doing. Wei, for his part, looked suitably embarrassed, thinking himself silly for not considering his actions.

    ¡°Ah, apologies, this is a greeting. We shake hands like this at home¡±. As he turned and clasped his hand into the large paw. The lionman clearly found it rather funny.

    ¡°Ha! What an odd thing to do, what if you had something unpleasant on your hands? Well met, Wei of the humans. I am known to my people as Krinor of Maahet¡±.

    ¡°Maahet? Is that your race? Or species?¡± Wei asked, curiosity evident in his tone.

    Krinor looked surprised at the question, ¡°you¡¯ve never met a Maahet before? It is my understanding my species has evolved independently on multiple planets, just like you humans. You¡¯ve never met one of us?¡±

    Both Wei and Sam had their mouths agape at that piece of information. Wei instantly replying, ¡°Wait, there are other planets with humans on them!?¡±

    ¡°Well not entirely the same, but genetically close enough for you to be considered the same species. For example, there are the tall humans with the pointy ears on Mindoor, The humans with purple skin and eyes on Avlonder, those with no hair and webbed fingers on Alduin.¡± Sam smirked at that last one as he heard it. Webbed fingers? We just call them the Welsh, he silently chuckled to himself.

    Krinor saw the expression on Wei¡¯s face before continuing, ¡°you truly did not know this? Does your planet not trade with other human planets? It is to my understanding that humans prefer trading with their own¡­¡±

    Wei opened his mouth to ask another question before just closing it again, lost for words. After a moment he said to Krinor, ¡°My planet, Earth, does not trade with other planets. Until today we were not even aware life existed outside Earth.¡±

    Now it was Krinor¡¯s turn to look surprised. ¡°Truly? That is odd, human. What backwater of the galaxy is this Earth located in? Oh, forget it, you won¡¯t know galactic coordinates will you.¡±

    Sam had heard enough of this conversation to suss out that it was unlikely violence would ensue, he stood up and brushed himself off and called down to them,

    ¡°Hey fellas, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear your conversation¡­¡±

    He was cut off as Wei turned towards him, drawing his dagger in a smooth action.

    ¡°Easy there Wei, I¡¯m not looking for trouble. If what Krinor here says is the truth, it¡¯d be meaningless if one of us were to die.¡± Sam spoke slowly and what he hoped was soothingly.

    Wei looked a little put out that Sam knew his name but decided not to comment. Sam took the opportunity to continue.

    ¡°as I was saying, as fascinating as all this interplanetary chat is, I heard you mention a settlement and I¡¯m dying of thirst. Oh, I¡¯m Sam by the way, pleasure to meet ya¡±

    Krinor perked an eyebrow at that, or what Sam assumed was the equivalent gesture, as the Maahet realised Sam had been listening in for far longer than was previously implied.

    He nodded slowly, ¡°Yes, come then.¡±

    He moved off as Sam and Wei stepped in beside him as he moved. Wei tucked the dagger back into his belt line, seemingly getting over Sam¡¯s presence rather quickly. Wei turned to Sam and said, ¡°That first floor was pretty brutal¡±. It was a statement, but he recognised the question behind it, probing for information.

    Sam just nodded in reply. If Wei had questions, he could come out and ask them, not pussyfoot around the issue. Instead, he turned his focus to Krinor,

    ¡°Hey Krinor, you mentioned the ascendance trial, do you know what it is?¡±. Out the corner of his eye he saw Wei was listening intently, as if afraid he¡¯d miss something important.

    Krinor, for his part, didn¡¯t even blink at the question. ¡°Yes, I have spent 28 light cycles here, preparing for my trial. I have witnessed hundreds as you can spectate from any settlement as you wish. We are almost there, you will see for yourself.¡±

    It was clear their escort was getting tired of all the questioning and so Wei and Sam reluctantly bit their tongues against further queries. They walked in silence for 10 minutes before they noticed a clearing up ahead, the trees parting before them into a wide valley floor.

    Thousands of people, or beings, Sam supposed, were in the valley, some standing out in the open, others huddled around fireplaces and wooden huts. Sam and Wei just stood there in a mutual stunned silence for a moment. Krinor just glanced back in their direction before huffing,

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s what happens when you have never met a new species before and you suddenly have this thrown at you¡±.

    Sam just tried to take it all in, his eyes darted around, looking at all the¡­ variety. Some had scales; tails, horns, fur, pincers, claws or chitin. The only commonality he noticed was that everyone he could see was bipedal.

    Krinor pointed to the centre of the settlement with his stave, a place with no huts. Instead it had a large ring, probably with a diameter of twenty metres or so. Reflecting in the light, there appeared to be an almost translucent dome over the ring.

    ¡°There, that is the trial. Eight enter and fight to the death, one ascends.¡±

 Chapter 4 - Battle Royale

    Krinor urged the pair of humans to keep up with him.

    ¡°Come, we¡¯ll watch the next trial and I¡¯ll answer some of the questions I know you¡¯ll have, this way¡±

    The trio seemed to attract a few stares as they moved through what could only be described as a shanty town. Huts, poorly constructed from the woodland¡¯s red wood (not the Californian one¡¯s mind you), tied together with vines and other plant material. There was little rhyme or reason to the huts placement, each just built wherever there was room to spare. The exception to this was a straight path which let up to the domed ring, which they now used. Krinor nodded in greeting to a few other Maheets. He broke the silence between the three,

    ¡°Every three day cycles a new planet is beset upon by the pyramid of blood, taking a portion of its sapient occupants and dumping them into the first floor. Today, you have joined us and everyone around us. The stares from others are just curiosity at the next wave of ¡®participants¡¯.¡± He spat out that final word, as if sickened to be saying it. He continued, ¡°Not everyone will have met humans before so expect some curiosity aimed your way. That said, it won¡¯t be long till other humans begin making their way out the woods. There is always a little tension at first from those who¡¯ve just ascended, not realising this place doesn¡¯t require violence.¡±

    Sam and Wei just nodded at that. If Sam hadn¡¯t met these two, he¡¯d be shuffling around in the woods with his hatchet trying to find water, game and build shelter. He¡¯d never have thought there might be settlements here.

    ¡°Why are you being so kind and telling us all of this?¡± Sam chimed in. He wasn¡¯t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Krinor had certainly gone above and beyond for them. He owed them nothing and from what he¡¯d said, he only had a few days left before he was forced into his trial. If the roles were reversed, Sam couldn¡¯t imagine spending his potential last few days doing a Q and A session with people he barely knew.

    The Maheet shrugged as the trio reached a watering well, positioned a dozen metres away from the wall of the dome. There were several dotted around the periphery of the dome.

    ¡°When I ascended, there was someone there for me, to answer my questions, this is my way of returning the favour.¡± Krinor bowed his head as he thought, before continuing, ¡°besides, there is only so much you can do around here to prepare¡±. He gestured towards the well, ¡°there is drinking water here. All settlements are built around locations with a domed trial ring and wells. The settlement wells are also the only place with water on this floor that we know of, so we are forced to congregate¡±.

    Out the corner of his eye, Sam saw a figure appear inside the dome. Yes, appear is the right word. Just like when he¡¯d arrived on the pyramid¡¯s first floor and seen the people materialise out of nothing. Krinor turned to look as well.

    ¡°It appears a trial will begin soon.¡± He stated. Others began crowding around the dome, vying for a good spectator position as other figures materialised inside the dome. Wei walked up and touched the barely visible dome. As his hand pressed against it, the area beneath and around his hand had a blue thrum to it that became visible on contact.

    ¡°Shield dome, prevents anyone outside the ring interfering, but also stops anyone form escaping once the trial begins¡± Krinor spoke softly to the two humans, answering the unasked question.

    As others materialised inside the dome, Sam turned and asked, ¡°you mentioned other settlements, what are they like, how many are there?¡±

    Krinor had a small chuckle at that question, ¡°most settlements have a few thousand people and are pretty much the same as this one. As for how many settlements? Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe? No one knows. You could walk in any direction from this settlement and find another easily within half a light cycle, some much closer than that.¡±

    The trio stepped away from the watering well as others took their place. Opting to find a good spot amongst the masses. They settled a few rows back from the dome. Luckily, those in front of them were a small furry species, almost like miniature, bipedal grizzly bears with opposable thumbs. The tallest of them was perhaps 5ft 9¡± (175cm) and if Sam wasn¡¯t wondering how to kill one of them in unarmed combat, he¡¯d consider them cute.

    Just as he had finished eyeing each of the little bear people, Wei spoke up, addressing Krinor, ¡°that¡¯s eight-people materialised, what now?¡± Sam looked into the arena and saw assembled four of the Maheets, two of the bear people, a tall, snake like scaled humanoid and surprisingly, one human.

    Krinor replied, ¡°they¡¯ll begin any second now. A tough group. You¡¯ll tend to find that whichever races are close to the end of their stay allowance will be more prominently represented in the circles. Ha! And a human, I guess some decided waiting around isn¡¯t their idea of fun once they¡¯ve ascended!¡±

    Wei asked the question that Sam had been about to ask, ¡°So who are those other species?¡±

    Krinor glanced over the competitors, ¡°the smaller, furred race is known as the Ungnyon. Not too many of them in the galaxy¡­ shame they got dragged into the pyramid really. The scaled people are the Cecropis, they tend not to mingle with others. They have strange customs, even by galactic standards. Outside of this pyramid, it¡¯d be rare to see one off their home planets¡±

    The contest started and immediately Sam and Wei watched as the four Maheet ignored one another and ripped into the four others. The bear like Ungnyons were clearly tough and held a lot of power in their muscles, but they couldn¡¯t face off against the agile Maheet who had far superior reach.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    The scaled Cecropis fared slightly better, keeping the Maheet it faced at bay with its long, slender arms wielding the stone dagger before it, but it was clear to all spectators how one sided the fight was going.

    Lastly, was the human man, Caucasian and wielding the dagger with a trained stance. Even from a dozen metres away, Sam could tell he was overwhelmed. Regardless of any combat training, the Maheet were bigger, faster, stronger and frankly, terrifying. The man overextended with a thrust of his knife and the Maheet¡¯s hatchet tore downwards, cutting straight through his wrist. The rest was a simple clean-up.

    Sam was battling with the raging emotions inside of him as he witnessed the bloodshed, still trying to come to terms with the change in his immediate reality. just how was everyone around him so¡­ undisturbed? Had these trials truly become such commonplace here? He and Wei shared a glance, if one thing was abundantly clear to the pair, it¡¯s that neither of them would be challenging for ascension whilst the Maheet were still around. Conversely, Sam realised, it seemed like a good tactic to wait until a weaker species was about to expire their stay before challenging ascension, that would make for an easier fight, right? What if he waited even longer? What if Sam waited until it was humans that were at the end of their cycles, surely it would be easier to fight humans than any of these tougher species?

    Sam watched as the four remaining Maheet eyed one another warily. Only the one facing the Cecropis had received an injury and even that was a rather light slash to the forearm. Nothing too prohibiting, all things considered.

    Sam looked at the other species spectating. Would he really have to wait thirty days, or was there a different, weaker specie he could dominate over?

    One of the Maheet lunged at another before stepping back. The female Maheet who¡¯d faced the human, identifiable due to her lack of mane, had feinted an attack to test the others and it had worked. The others clashed in a flurry of swipes and stabs sending one scurrying backwards with a dagger stuck in his shoulder, the offender now left weaponless as the four were back to their stand-off.

    Sam couldn¡¯t help but feel waiting out the thirty days was asking for trouble. Krinor had said a new specie arrived every three days and it was seemingly random as to what they¡¯d be. It would be rotten luck if some seriously tough bastards entered the pyramid and decided to wait for the squishy humans to take their trial, knowing they¡¯d be easier to fight. As always, too many variables, Sam sighed.

    The crowd around the ring had differing reactions to the blood sport spectacle. Some species jeered and made encouraging noises, others watched in silence such as Sam, Wei and Krinor. Across, on the other side of the ring, Sam spotted a human woman watching him and Wei. Sam gave her a toothy grin in turn.

    The Maheet with the blade in his shoulder, given his blood loss, realised time wasn¡¯t on his side and charged the other injured competitor, the one with blood dripping down his forearm. The two met, roaring as they charged and slammed into one another, meeting once more in a flurry of stone weaponry and kicks.

    The other two pounced on the fighting pair, the female Maheet hacking with her hatchet whilst the male who¡¯d lost his dagger used his sharp claws to slash into their closest opponent¡¯s backs.

    Sam watched the fight descend from a tactical free for all into a vicious, savage scrap. The two injured parties giving up any notion of self-defence as they tore, ripped, bit and slashed at one another with wild abandon. Their chests entirely shredded by one another. Their blood was smeared around them and on one another¡¯s claws. At this point, they looked less like sapient, civilised people and more like what Sam would expect to see on National Geographic.

    The other pair, still unharmed, had leapt back as the others fought it out, having no intention of getting injured when those two were willing to do the job for them. They waited and watched as one tore out the others throat before lying in a pool of his own blood, softly whining in agony.

    Three alive, only two with a chance of winning. One a female with a hatchet, the other a male with naught but his natural claws and canine teeth. Neither injured, watching and waiting for the other to make a move.

    The male Maheet let loose a mighty roar towards the female, loud enough to make Sam put his hands over his ears protectively. It was clearly intended to make his opponent intimidated, it certainly made several spectators nervous.

    However, it didn¡¯t seem to faze his opponent in the least. The female smirked and spoke up so that all in attendance could hear, ¡°You know what they say about men that roar the loudest!¡±

    Dozens of spectating Maheet¡¯s broke into fits of laughter in the audience which made the male growl in anger.

    The female continued, ¡°Oh, getting angry? It must be true! Your second tail below that loincloth must be small after all!¡±

    All the Maheets around Sam and Wei were laughing now, even Krinor who had been acting rather formally up to this point was struggling to supress a chuckle.

    The male roared in fury before charging straight for his opponent, crossing the twenty-metre gap in a time that would give any football coach an erection. He went for a tackle straight into her midsection, slamming her backwards into the side of the dome. The spectators behind the wall flinched before nervously chuckling at their folly.

    The female Maheet had hoped to rile up her opponent into making an attack in anger, praying he¡¯d make a mistake for her to capitalise on and oh shit, she¡¯d gotten more than she¡¯d bargained for. She¡¯d prepared for a clawed strike or kick, never had she expected he¡¯d use his brute force to slam her into the dome.

    Recovering quickly, she brought down her hatchet into the males exposed back. Over and over, raising it up and slashing downwards into his back. It seemed as if his only saving grace was his thick layers of muscles which prevented the hatched from reaching bone.

    Sam noted however, the male hadn¡¯t given up. After slamming her into the dome, he¡¯d set about slashing furiously with both his claws into her body, ripping flesh, stomach, intestines and other unidentifiable body matter from her insides.

    Sam muttered to Wei, ¡°fucking hell that¡¯s gory. Who¡¯ll die first? The man getting his back cleaved apart or the woman getting her insides turned out?¡±

    Wei looked as if he were just about to answer when the male slowed and ceased his attacking, dropping to the floor, succumbing to his injuries and losing consciousness. The female stood there for just a moment before collapsing over the male¡¯s body.

    The arena went silent. What was happening? Ten seconds must have passed before a bright light shone down and enveloped the victors body.

    ¡°haha! Idiots! The pair of them!¡± Krinor pointed.

    ¡°No fucking way¡± Sam felt like laughing, as sickened as he was by the sight before him, he still appreciated the absurdity of the moment.

    Surrounded in bright light, before disappearing, was the downed Maheet from earlier, dismissed as being as good as dead.

    ¡°Lucky bastard¡± Wei agreed.

 Chapter 5 - New Faces

    The crowd dispersed once the trial had concluded. Krinor looked at the pair of humans,

    ¡°See what I¡¯m up against? My odds are slim¡± he sighed and pointed towards the staff he carried in his hands.

    ¡°I made this after I¡¯d seen a few trials with the hope it would keep other fighters at a distance until the final few were left, but I¡¯m not sure, the dome may be too small for me to wield it properly.¡±

    Sam and Wei glanced at each other, neither sure of what to say. Fortunately for them, the woman Sam had made eye contact with earlier during the fight walked over at that moment.

    She was short, roughly the same height as the Ungnyon, with shoulder length brown hair. She was wearing what had originally been a white vest top, now caked in mud from the bloodbath on the previous floor with deep green combat khakis and boots, military issue, Sam noted. That was confirmed by her military tan, aptly named because only the areas of revealed skin in combat dress were tanned, the rest of her was rather pale, giving her a slightly comical look. Sam took the chance to change the direction of the conversation, hitting her with his finest pick up line,

    ¡°What¡¯s a girl like you doing in a place like this?¡± he grinned.

    ¡°Fuck off, pig.¡± She turned her attention to Wei who only shook his head at Sam. Krinor stepped back, happy to watch this meeting play out. Wei returned her attention, saying,

    ¡°Pleased to meet you. I¡¯m Wei and this is my¡­ acquaintance, Sam. Have you seen any other ascended humans?¡±

    Sam feigned hurt, ¡°Wei!? After all we have been through, we are at least best friends!¡± For the time being there was little to worry about that he could personally impact, he reasoned, so he might as well lighten up and enjoy himself a bit. Besides, if nothing else, joking around kept his mind off Jake.

    Wei just ignored him as the woman replied, ¡°Pleasure Wei, I¡¯m Sergeant Chasha Alterman of the Israeli Defence Force and no, I¡­ appeared on the edge of this place after I ascended and walked towards the commotion, which from what I¡¯ve overheard appears to be the next ascension trial¡±, she glanced around, her eyes resting on the remaining human corpse inside the dome. None of the deceased had disappeared yet.

    Sam wanted to roll his eyes, why was she introducing herself by her military title? She might as well have a sign around her neck saying, ¡°please kiss my ass, I¡¯m impressive¡±. Sam snickered to himself which earned him a sideways glance from the other two. It¡¯s one thing to be proud of your service history and be respected for your service by others, but just throwing your title it into your name in a scenario in which it has no bearing seems a little attention seeking and tacky, or so Sam felt.

    Wei was giving Chasha a recap on what Krinor had told them both and so he tuned out of the conversation and looked around. Chasha¡¯s presence got Sam thinking about who he might expect to ascend from the first floor. At the top of his expectations list were those who¡¯d been in the armed services for their countries, those who¡¯d taken lives having seen active combat. Yeah, it would make sense that they would not only be better prepared physically to fight but also possess the mental fortitude to keep their calm when shit hit the fan.

    If he was right, then he¡¯d expect most humans to come from the countries with the largest active militaries such as China, India, the US and North Korea. That said, he glanced over to Chasha. Perhaps more people would come from countries which had mandatory service such as South Korea, Israel and so on. Only time would tell.

    Other than those with military training, he¡¯d expect to see a large group of combat athletes, although he hadn¡¯t yet seen him in action, he assumed Wei would be in that group, judging by the way he held himself. Perhaps some gang members and other criminals who aren¡¯t shy about taking lives would also be in the mix.

    He must have looked like he was drifting off in space as Chasha turned to him as he was about to yawn,

    ¡°Can¡¯t you at least pretend to give a shit about our situation!? Here we both are trying to make a plan to help us survive and you don¡¯t even seem to care!¡± Chasha chastised him, clearly pissed off by his nonchalant attitude.

    Sam snorted in response, ¡°you don¡¯t think I¡¯m considering our current situation, oh mighty sergeant?¡± He paused for dramatic effect before continuing,

    ¡°We might as well stop and take a breather, calm down a bit. We have up to 30 days here, we aren¡¯t necessarily in a dangerous situation until we take our trial and if you haven¡¯t forgotten yet, there will likely be tens of millions of humans arriving on this second floor over the course of the next few hours who we will have to not only bring up to speed, but likely coordinate with. So, tell me, what is it you hope to achieve now which won¡¯t be a moot point within half an hour?¡± Sam stared her straight in the eyes as he spoke.

    She stared back, unflinching to his gaze. He respected that, there weren¡¯t many people he knew willing to meet his gaze dead on. After a few silent seconds and an awkward cough from Wei at the side-lines, her eyes softened.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wait for a bit then, but when others arrive, you¡¯ll participate in a discussion seriously?¡± She asked. Sam curtly nodded in reply.

    Krinor had remained silent up till now. He twirled his staff, clearing his throat before speaking up, ¡°Wei, Sam, it was nice to meet you, but I must be back to my personal training now. If you wish to find me, walk in that direction and then ask any Maheets around for me, they¡¯ll know where to find me.¡± He pointed off to far side of the camp from where they¡¯d entered it before offering them both his paw which they each shook.

    ¡°Definitely a weird gesture...¡± the three humans heard him mutter as he wandered off back to his hut.

    The three humans stood in the clearing around the dome in silence for a minute after Krinor had left. Clearly Chasha was still peeved at Sam but was willing to put further complaints on hold for the time being. A few minutes ticked by before Wei pointed,

    ¡°Over there¡±

    Chasha and Sam looked across and watched as a pair of humans walked out of the woods, staring dumfounded at the settlement before them. A man and a woman. He was older looking, middle-aged but looking in good shape for his years. Judging by looks he was central American. The woman looked Eastern European, she just had that look about her, the clothing, hair style and what not.

    Wei waved to get their attention. Luckily their eyes came to rest on the dome in the centre which meant they spotted him soon after. The quickly began making their way towards the trio, staring at the other species around them with unconcealed awe.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    So far, Sam had been shown the Maheet, Ungnyon and Cecropis by Krinor. That meant, excluding humans, there should be another six species on the second floor. Glancing around, he saw them. The one that caught his attention the most due to a nearby cluster was a rough skinned, almost leathery looking humanoid with a tail. It had two small, angular horns protruding from its head and it stood on a pair of cloven hooves. They¡¯d look almost demonic if they weren¡¯t all varying shades of blue.

    ¡°mmm, definitely some Halloween inspiration¡± he joked to himself as the pair of humans approached. Honestly, Sam wasn¡¯t sure what he was doing. Why was he meeting these others? Was it simply human nature to congregate and do things together? He shook his head in frustration.

    He supposed it came down to a lack of reasonable alternatives, what else would he do? Go and build a hut? Practice swiping with a hatchet until the Maheets were gone and then challenge the dome himself? Perhaps he simply didn¡¯t wish to be alone. So long as there were others, his mind would be active, and it wouldn¡¯t wander to subjects like¡­ Jake. He sighed and kicked at a weedish plant on the ground.

    Cracking jokes at Wei and Chasha, getting a rise out of them, that¡¯s all it was, a way to keep his mind from breaking down, from thinking about what really mattered.

    He supposed he was hoping someone would tell him what to do, take the burden of responsibility from him. That others like Chasha might come out with a sensible idea and all he¡¯d have to do was follow.

    The pair finally made their way over. His name was Luiz and hers was Julia. Sam shook their hands and mumbled out a greeting before going back to just absentmindedly looking around.

    He didn¡¯t feel like cracking jokes anymore. Not once he¡¯d realised why he was doing it. He just felt lost, overwhelmed. He¡¯d been so happy just a few hours ago, now he didn¡¯t know what to do with himself.

    The corpses in the dome had vanished and within a few moments, the first new contender appeared within the dome. Sam was surprised, but it made sense. With so many hundreds of millions of people likely on this floor, of course there would be a fast turnaround of trials.

    As the competitors appeared, so too did a few more humans, walking out of the woods, weapons held tightly before being waved over by their group. Sam didn¡¯t bother introducing himself this time, there was enough of them for him to stand around by himself on the groups periphery. Besides, all the newcomers were more interested in watching the trial.

    ----

    The second trial concluded. Surprise, surprise, another Maheet ascended, reaffirming in Sam¡¯s mind that when it came to physicality, none of the other present races came close. Meanwhile, the group of humans was growing. It was clear that Sam, Wei and Chasha had all ascended rather quickly and only now were humans arriving in droves.

    There were a few screams and exclamations from those who materialised around the edges of the settlement, believing they¡¯d immediately have to fight again, but nothing serious that resulted in fights.

    As more people arrived, Wei and Chasha disappeared under a sea of questions as it quickly became apparent they knew more than everyone else. No one bothered Sam though. He stuck to the edge of the group which made him appear as a newcomer and he was giving off an anti-social vibe to anyone that looked his way, brooding away over his recent actions and emotions.

    ¡®This isn¡¯t helping, I need to speak to people, not mope around like some emo kid.¡¯ He reprimanded himself. But all these people? They just reminded him of those he¡¯d killed not so long ago. He pushed through the crowd of people, getting a few eyes staring daggers at him as he did so, not that he cared. He reached the centre of the gathering where Wei and Chasha stood in the middle explaining what they¡¯d heard about other settlements.

    ¡°Hey Wei!¡± He spoke loudly, cutting off the explanation. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on him,

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go find Krinor again, I¡¯ll hopefully be with him if you need me.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t Wei who responded, but Chasha who turned with incredulity, ¡°you¡¯re just going to walk off, like that?¡±

    ¡°yeah¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your fucking problem, Sam? We¡¯ve decided we¡¯ll make a longhouse for all of us to sleep in, something that will be to your benefit. You aren¡¯t going to participate?¡±

    His problem? Sam stifled a laugh. How about being forced to kill when you vowed you¡¯d never do it again? Or killing someone who¡¯d trusted him enough to call out for help without a shred of emotion? Worse yet, he was so good at it. He never vocalised these thoughts however, he just turned and left, walking away from the kind of sensible idea he¡¯d been hoping for.

    No one stopped him, parting before him and watching him leave in the direction Krinor had indicated. He strolled for a bit and looked at one of the other races along the way. A smallish humanoid with a chitin instead of skin. They weren¡¯t at all insectoid as he¡¯d expect, they had hands and feet like a human, but they were far more angular than his. Their faces were creepy, not displaying any emotion.

    He imagined fighting one. Their vital areas, or what he assumed them to be, were all secured under the hard bodies, the only visible weakness was at their joints which the chitin didn¡¯t cover. In a weird way, it would be like facing down a medieval knight in full plate.

    After a few minutes, he reached the end of the encampment which seemed to almost exclusively house the Maheet, stopping a passer-by and asking for Krinor. It turns out he wasn¡¯t boasting when he said most of them would know him as he was shown to a small, lopsided shack, like all the rest.

    ¡°Krinor, it me, Sam¡± he called out. It wasn¡¯t like there was a door to knock on.

    ¡°Oh? Here so soon? I was just about to go through some stave forms¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t want to be around the other humans, but also didn¡¯t want to be alone. I don¡¯t suppose you have any food?¡±

    ¡°food? Why, are you hungry?¡± Krinor asked.

    Sam was just about to say that of course he was, he hadn¡¯t even had dinner. He¡¯d been hungry when he left the military base. Hungry in his car. He paused. He wasn¡¯t hungry anymore though. Suspecting krinor knew more he asked,

    ¡°Why am I not hungry?¡±

    Krinor smirked, ¡°No one is hungry in the pyramid. We don¡¯t know how or why, but given the lack of food sources around, it¡¯s pretty obvious what¡¯s responsible.¡±

    ¡°The pyramid? Why do we still need water then?¡± Sam asked with disbelief.

    Krinor shrugged in reply, ¡°Who knows? Maybe to control our distribution? Perhaps it¡¯s as simple as being unable to do with water as it achieves with food. Either way, this isn¡¯t something I care to discuss in my final days¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a defeatist attitude if ever I heard one. Most fights are won before they¡¯re fought, and attitude plays a large part¡±, it seemed a bit rich coming from him of all people, but it was true none the less.

    ¡°mmm and how much do you know of the pyramid, human? Even if I ascend, I¡¯ll never leave this pyramid alive. No one has.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that? You knew of the pyramid before you entered?¡± Sam dug for any new information.

    ¡°Yes, my home planet and many others have records of its existence. No one knows where it came from, who built it or when. Many have speculated on it over the years but there has never been any proof of what it is or what it does. Of all the theories, none of them guessed it was¡­ this.¡± He gestured with his paws around them. ¡°All that¡¯s truly known is that it visits planets with sapient life on them every few thousand years and takes 5% of their population. There¡¯s no escape. No one has every returned alive.¡±

    Sam just stared at Krinor, hoping to hear that what he¡¯d said was some sort of joke, that he was making it up. When Sam didn¡¯t reply, Krinor walked to a small clearing and began slowly moving his staff before him, twirling and thrusting it around his body.

    No way out? There had to be. Sam had to get out, he had a life to live at home. Over the last few days he¡¯d finally felt as if he was improving as a person, becoming the man he¡¯d always wanted to be. He¡¯d finally been proud of himself for succeeding in life at something over than killing.

    Just like that, faster than one could snap their fingers, his dream, his hopes had been stripped from him. It had a cruel, sadistic irony to it. That he¡¯d been thrust into this pyramid and forced to kill to progress. What if he played by its rules? Was there a chance that he could leave this one day? Could he one day return to that life he so desperately sought? He had to believe so. He¡¯d tasted joy and he¡¯d do everything in his power to find that peace again. Even if he¡¯d have to become a killer once more.

    Sam watched Krinor¡¯s controlled, steady movements. Even if he said there was no escape, deep down Krinor must feel the same way as him. Why else was he out here training with his stave? If he truly believed he¡¯d die here, why would he bother?

    Perhaps it truly was nothing more than a ludicrous hope, but it was one Sam would cling to. Would he ever be able to return to his life? Sam bit his lip. He¡¯d damn well try.

 Chapter 6 - Worst Birthday

    Sam sat with his back to the hut and watched Krinor dance with his staff. He was lost in thought, but content for the moment as he knew what he¡¯d do, he had a plan. He was going to fight his way up this damned pyramid. Ok, maybe it wasn¡¯t a plan per se as he had no idea how he¡¯d do that, but he had a goal, to return to his budding life on Earth. Having a concrete objective made him feel better.

    The ¡®natural¡¯ light above him began to fade and as he looked around, the settlement began to quieten down for the night. Krinor walked over and sat beside him, neither spoke, just sitting comfortably in one another¡¯s company. It was the Maheet who eventually broke the silence,

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take my trial tomorrow¡±

    ¡°I understand¡±

    ¡°you do?¡± Krinor looked over at Sam as he asked him.

    ¡°I think so, you have two days before the pyramid forces you into a trial and you¡¯d rather go in on your own terms, of your own volition.¡±

    Krinor chuckeled, ¡°you¡¯re smarter than you let on¡±. The pair returned to their companionable silence. This time it was Sam that broke the silence,

    ¡°Don¡¯t suppose I can have your house?¡±

    ¡°Pahahaha!¡± Krinor buckled over in laughter. ¡°When I take my trial, regardless of the outcome, I won¡¯t return. I don¡¯t believe my approval makes any difference to you¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was just being polite.¡± Sam smiled cheekily as he replied, sending Krinor into fits of laughter once more.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m glad I met you. Better to laugh tonight than sleeplessly worry.¡± The Maheet sighed. Sam nodded at that.

    ¡°Will you let me know when you challenge ascension? I¡¯d like to support you¡±

    Krinor looked over his way, ¡°that¡¯s not how it works. When you take your trial, you will appear in a random settlement¡¯s domed ring. Presumably to stop people teaming up in advance. Well, that¡¯s what we assume anyway. All we actually know is you won¡¯t appear in the middle of this settlement.¡±

    ¡°oh¡±, Sam felt saddened by the thought, he wouldn¡¯t get to see him fight, to either succeed or rest in peace. The two sat in silence after that, each lost to their own thoughts. One, a human, thrust into an unknown situation and trying to wrap his head around it. The other, a Maheet, reflecting on his life and whether he¡¯d made the most of it.

    As Sam was drifting off to sleep he muttered, ¡°I know we met only a few hours ago, but thank you for everything¡±. He paused before finishing, ¡°Good luck tomorrow¡±.

    ---

    Sam woke as the light was still increasing in the sky/ roof.  He stood and stretched off, cracking his neck to either side before twisting his back.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the life¡± he moaned in pleasure as each vertebra cracked in descending order. He was feeling good, clear headed with a spring in his step. He looked around before calling out,

    ¡°Krnior, you there?¡±

    He ducked and went inside the hut. He wasn¡¯t there. Neither was his stave. The only thing left in the hut was a hatchet, identical to the one Sam had hanging round his belt, propped up against the back wall.

    ¡°You the human called Sam?¡±

    He spun around, coming face to face with a Maheet looming down over him. Holy crap! That scared the piss out of him, he hadn¡¯t even noticed him approach. Sam was caught off guard but quickly righted himself.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me¡±

    ¡°Krinor left for his trial. He says you can have his hatchet, that he didn¡¯t want it. He also says good luck.¡± With that, the Maheet spun on his paws and left a dumbfounded Sam, alone and staring at the hatchet against the wall.

    ¡°Fuck me Krnior, you know how to make an exit¡±, he joked to himself, but if one were to look closely they¡¯d see the sadness in his eyes. He looked up and closed his eyes momentarily. ¡®I hope you made it¡¯ he sent a silent prayer up.

    He looped the second hatchet into his belt for safe keeping and wandered towards the dome, aiming directly for the watering well. Sadly, fate had other plans as an angry Israeli interrupted his path.

    ¡°Chasha, for what do I owe the pleasure¡± he drawled. Not bothering to stop, instead, just continuing at walking pace towards the well. Realising he had no intention of stopping she quickly walked up alongside him, demanding,

    ¡°You said you¡¯d discuss and participate in in dialogue. Will you?¡±

    ¡°How many humans have arrived at the settlement?¡±

    ¡°About five hundred, most of us are as a group but there is also a hundred or so like you by yourselves¡±

    That was news to Sam. ¡°Ok, so what do you want with me?¡± Please just get to the point and leave me alone he wanted to remark. He didn¡¯t. He held his tongue and waited patiently. He knew he¡¯d gotten off to a bad start with her yesterday, but who could blame him? He¡¯d challenge anyone who said he hadn¡¯t had a rough day. It was only natural tensions would run a bit high. He¡¯d had a chance to sleep on it so to speak and with hindsight he knew he¡¯d acted less than admirably.

    ¡°Wei said you¡¯d gone to speak with that lio- Maheet. We are all trying to understand what¡¯s going on, has he told you anything new about our situation?¡± She wasn¡¯t snapping at him anymore which was a good start, so he reached out with an olive branch, telling her some new information that Krinor had mentioned. She asked some questions which he dutifully answered.

    In return she told him some new stuff. Apparently, the blue demonic people were called the Eomon and despite understanding you due to the pyramid¡¯s translation ability, they lacked the capacity to speak back.

    The second race he¡¯d noticed were the chitin covered humanoids. Chasha said they were known as the Shelne and like us, their planet had never previously had any contact from others.

    However, the most interesting thing he learnt from her was that there had been a murder. He was leaning over the well at the time and had to be careful not to spray his mouthful of water everywhere.

    ¡°Fuck sake, we haven¡¯t been here a day, what happened?¡±

    She looked grim as she spoke, ¡°turns out one of the ascended humans was an ISIS militant, slit an American soldier¡¯s throat in his sleep¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Fucking hell¡± Sam was caught off guard. ¡°Then what happened?¡± he growled.

    ¡°Well, the US army guys slept close together and apparently he was praying aloud about his holy mission as he did it which woke the others up around them, they beat the bastard to death¡±

    Sam didn¡¯t know what to say to that except good riddance, so he moved the conversation onwards,

    ¡°So, what now? You seem to have established a leadership position amongst us here? What¡¯s your plan?¡± he asked with genuine curiosity.

    She snorted. ¡°There is no one in a leadership position. People respected Wei and I because we could shed light on the situation, but now that everyone has been brought up to speed people are splitting up. We built a shelter and those that came later followed suit. We have water and don¡¯t need food, honestly, there¡¯s no need for a leader, no need to stick together.¡±

    Sam thought for a moment, ¡°it¡¯s almost as if the pyramid doesn¡¯t want hierarchy to form¡±.

    By now, the pair had moved away from the well. Going over to the dome and taking a seat as the first few competitors appeared inside. The Maheet only had a day left before they¡¯d be thrown in forcefully, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that seven of the eight were of their specie.

    Chasha looked over at him, ¡°that not a bad hypothesis, it kind of fits, I think.¡± They watched the trial in silence. Another brutal affair, the final Maheet slamming the other into the dome wall face first before biting him in the neck, ripping his artery out between his teeth.

    Sam spoke next, ¡°I don¡¯t plan to stick around. The Maheet will all be gone by the end of tomorrow and we have no idea what kind of specie will arrive afterwards. The Cecropis will be the next specie evicted and I reckon the best odds of surviving are against them.¡±

    ¡°I came to the same conclusion. I¡¯m just not sure I could do that, risk my life in two days when I know I could live peacefully here for another few weeks.¡± She made a good point. It just wasn¡¯t what he wanted to do.

    ¡°Each to their own I guess¡± he stated. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you know anything about those species?¡± pointing to those he wasn¡¯t familiar with around the dome. She knew as much as he did ¨C nothing. One was covered in a bark like substance, another appeared to have a mellowed grey skin, almost like a rhinoceros. Other than their outside appearance, Sam reckoned they could be mistaken for humans.

    The remaining two species were a little odder.  One was a tall green skinned species with tusks protruding from either side of its mouth. The closest thing he could think of was a fantasy orc he¡¯d seen in movies. Yet, he couldn¡¯t call them that. Where those were portrayed as savage brutes with more muscle than sense, these people acted rather haughtily, striding around gracefully as if they were some galactic nobility. They also lacked body weight entirely, if they¡¯d been on Earth, Sam was sure they¡¯d be classified as having an eating disorder.

    The last group was a light grey skinned people who chose to live in the woods rather than with the other species around settlements. He watched a few of them come for water throughout the day but other than that, they left others alone and were left alone in kind.

    Running out of conversation topic, they relapsed into silence. A dozen minutes went by and catching them both by surprise, it was Sam who broke the silence,

    ¡°Y¡¯know, it¡¯s actually my birthday today.¡±

    Chasha¡¯s eyes went wide before she just laughed, attracting the attention of those around them. She snorted funnily, that cute thing girls do when they can¡¯t help themselves,

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Sam, this has to be the worst birthday imaginable¡± she giggled and after a moment, he laughed heartily too.

    ¡°you¡¯re right, I suppose it is¡± he smiled mirthfully at her. ¡°Shame there isn¡¯t a beer in sight¡±

    ¡°Sadly not, I¡¯d run through glass for a cold pint¡± Chasha grumbled.

    It was Sam¡¯s turn to laugh now. Chasha was quite nice he realised, once they¡¯d calmed down a bit after yesterday. She offered to show him what they¡¯d built, citing that she¡¯d rather not bear witness to another trial so soon.

    They reached a clearing on the edge of the settlement where six large longhouses were built and as she¡¯d said, there were hundreds of humans milling around, chatting, joking and relaxing. Honestly, it was rather surreal, so many people acting¡­ normal. Especially knowing that each of them had taken so many lives to reach this point.

    Sure, there were others, a few dotted around the outskirts of the group who were visibly shaken. One man clutching his knees, rocking back and forth, but he was left alone. No one approaching him or others who looked to be in a similar state. That was sad he supposed, that the sorts of people who¡¯d made it this far weren¡¯t the sort to aid another in their time of need. Sam grunted and wondered what that made him, seeing as he didn¡¯t fell particularly inclined to step in either.

    Sam spotted Luiz and Julia who¡¯d apparently stuck together amongst the crowd, but Wei wasn¡¯t is sight. Chasha led him through to a small circular area in which it appeared close combat lessons were being given. A few individuals were instructing a crowd around them on how to utilise a knife in combat whilst dozens of people watched, asked questions and participated in demonstrations.

    Sam didn¡¯t like it. This was why he hadn¡¯t come here the previous night. All these people¡­ they just brought memories of what he¡¯d done to get here to the forefront of his mind. Stomping on the unconscious lady¡¯s head, bashing the Indian man¡¯s head against his knee and Jake. Yes, Jake.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Chasha, I can¡¯t be here¡± he stuttered out. ¡°I¡¯ll be at the dome¡±. He turned and walked back the way they came, even as Chasha called out after him.

    He sat there the rest of the day. He watched dozens of trials, each one as devastatingly savage as the last. It didn¡¯t bother him. Why? Why was he so broken over killing those people, yet not fazed in the least by watching hundreds die before him?

    He sat there all day, nobody bothered him and before long, the sky began to darken. He got some water from the well and then headed back to Krinor¡¯s, his hut, alone. He hadn¡¯t done much today. He¡¯d spoken to Chasha, seen where the other humans congregated and then watched a few trials. There really wasn¡¯t a lot to do, which reaffirmed his decision to attempt the trial early, least he turn senile, he joked.

    He sat there in the same position as the previous night. Back against the hut, only, this time there was no Krinor. He wondered how he was doing, if he were still alive as he drifted off to sleep.

    ---

    Waking up was an odd experience. He¡¯d taken over a hut in the Maheet area of the settlement, but as he woke, he realised they were distinctly fewer in number. He absentmindedly wondered if they¡¯d chosen to go or been whisked away against their will.

    He made his way back to the well and dome. He¡¯d noticed a few common tactics yesterday as he¡¯d spectated, ones he was considering the application of himself. They were simple yet effective. For example, acting small and unthreatening so that others ignored you until the final few were left. Conversely, acting aggressive and insane so no one wished to go near you also held an appeal.

    As the day went on, boredom set in. That was until Wei ran up to him, panting,

    ¡°Sam! You won¡¯t believe it, a human appeared on the edge of town! Said she was on the first floor for almost two days!¡±

    ¡°Two days?¡± he muttered. Sam couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what that must have been like. ¡°That is a long time, when did the last person arrive before her?¡±

    Wei thought for a minute, ¡°Not entirely sure, I spoke to a guy that appeared yesterday morning, said he spent eight hours in that hell hole. Said the problem was that all the remaining people became stretched far apart. That at one point he had to walk for twenty minutes over the dead to find another living person¡±

    Sam paled at the thought. That would have been revolting. The two walked away from the dome, up towards the human encampment where there was a huddle of people surrounding a woman in her twenties. They approached to hear as she spoke to the group,

    ¡°¡­I was alone, for a whole day I was by myself. I limped, trying to pull myself. I needed two kills left and I was missing some fingers that were bitten off. I wrapped my sweater around my hand and¡­¡± She sobbed. No one pressured her to continue, giving her time.

    ¡°¡­I thought I was the last person left, the only reason I made it was because I heard people, half dead, moaning in pain in the mud. I was thirsty, weak¡­ ¡°She stifled more sobs.

    ¡°Poor women¡± Sam said to Wei, getting a few nods from others around them who agreed.

    ¡°I reckon she¡¯ll be one of the last to make it here. In a few hours it¡¯ll be exactly two days from when we were dragged in here. That¡¯s a long time to survive without water¡±. Sam continued.

    Wei replied, ¡°It¡¯s weird isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ve spent almost two full days here and other than the murder yesterday, we¡¯ve mostly reverted to acting peacefully¡±

    Sam nodded, ¡°I imagine this will act as wakeup call, that this isn¡¯t a place to take lightly¡±, With that, he turned to leave, raising a hand to wave in Wei¡¯s direction,

    ¡°Don¡¯t know if Chasha told you or not, but I¡¯m taking the trial tomorrow. It was a pleasure, Wei.¡± He walked off, back towards his hut, not waiting long enough for a reply. He spent the rest of the day stretching, shadow boxing and mentally preparing himself before drifting off to sleep.

    When he awoke to the light the next day, there were no Maheet left in the camp. He drank some water, stretched his muscles and removed his hatchets from his belt loop. Once he was all set, he spoke aloud,

    ¡°I seek ascension¡±