My partner was dead.

That fact sent a cold chill down to my stomach. I had been trying to think of a way to save him, to make him a better Bokor. In the end, all I could do was watch as he was thrown into a pit of zombies. The only positive thing was that I couldn’t see it from where I was being held. I might not have watched it, but the sound of my partner’s final moments and the screaming of my name was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

Which was going to end in a few minutes.

I glared up at Darren, “I’m going to kill you.”

The wrangler laughed as he kicked me. I tried to buckle with the blow, but the man on my back had me pinned. I felt more than heard a rib crack. I gritted my teeth, I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

“That’s enough,” The mayor cast a nervous glance at the horizon, “we need to finish this.”

Darren bent down so he could look me in the face, “You want to go next don’t you?”

I spat in his face.

The man on top of me slammed my face into the stone. The world spun as I forced myself to hold onto consciousness. If I got knocked out before they threw me in the pen, then I’d be dead for sure.

Darren wiped the spit off with the back of his sleeve. I was pulled up to my knees when he waved for the men to stop.

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“Not yet.” Darren cast a hungry look at Val, “Her.”

I struggled as they forced me back down. Val started kicking as they hauled her to her feet.

“I’m going to kill you!” She screamed, “I’m going to kill every one of you!”

Guards grabbed onto her legs. It took three of them to hold her, but she still fought as they carried her to the edge.

Darren patted her cheek. She tried to bite his hand but missed.

“Be a good sport.” He grinned, “I know you’ll last longer than the last one.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but never got the chance. While the guards still had her held, Darren kicked the back of her knee. As she stumbled he grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her over the edge.

The guards cheered as she fell. Unlike Max, she didn’t scream. The only sounds coming from the pen were grunts and the growls of the zombies.

The guard on top of me craned so he could see what was going on. That must not have been enough, because he stood up so he could watch. The only thing holding me down was his foot.

Everyone was watching the fight, which allowed me to roll to my right and out from under the pinning foot. I tucked as I rolled, bringing my hands in front of me.

The guard glanced down, but he was too late to act. I clenched both hands together and swung. My fist ached as it smashed into his helmet, but it knocked him down. As he fell I rushed for the ledge. Most of the guards were too busy watching the fight to notice me. The one that did only saw someone about to knock him into the pen.

He did what any sane person would do when faced with the same split-second decision.

He moved out of the way.

I charged through the hole he had made and lept into the air. As I passed Darren, I thought about grabbing him but didn’t want to risk not being able to pull him down with me. There would be time later for revenge. Right now, the only thing I needed to focus on was saving Val.

My heart thundered in my ears as I began to fall. I hadn’t been able to save my partner. I hadn’t been able to protect Sera. I wasn’t going to fail Val.