Blaze opened his eyes knowing it was time to tell Nova the truth. Something he had avoided telling her the day before. He knew if he had, it would have broken her. Blaze slowly stood up groaning and almost regretting having let Nova sleep in his bunk.

But then he saw how peacefully she slept and was immediately glad he had. Blaze smiled as he heard her breath, soft and peaceful. He didn’t want to wake her up, but he knew she would be whipped if he didn’t.

“Nova.” Blaze said and shook her gently just like he had done the night before. Nova opened her eyes and smiled at him, which just made Blaze feel more guilty about what he was about to tell her. “Follow me. Today is gonna be…a little different than any other days in this prison.”

Nova cocked her head but got up and dressed. She stood next to Blaze in front of two massive doors. An overseer was behind them and seemed ready to attack if Nova or Blaze did anything wrong.

“Where are we going?” Nova asked, eyeing the overseer warily.

“Just follow me, I’ll explain it on the way there.” Blaze gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

Blaze opened the doors and revealed a staircase going up a very long way. “Come On, then.” Blaze said and started walking up the stairs.

Blaze, Nova, and the overseer climbed for a long time until they reached another door where they stopped.

Blaze sighed. “Okay, Nova, listen to me. This prison is made to mess with the prisoners' heads. That’s why it's always the same thing over and over. Armor day. Whipping Day. Repeat.”

Nova nodded in understanding.

“It’s always the same food. And most importantly, there are always six prisoners. But everything changes if another prisoner is added.” Blaze breathed out loudly. “So the warden adds a very special day. Arena Day. The worst day of them all.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“What’s arena day?” Nova asked.

“The prisoners fight three overseers. Once a prisoner is killed, the game ends and then there are six prisoners again.”

Nova’s mouth dropped. “You’re kidding?”

“No, Nova, I’m not.”

“I have to fight?”

Blaze laughed. “No, you stay here. You’re gonna be forced to watch the battle with the warden.”

Nova flinched. She had never met the warden. Of course she had heard of him considering he was the keeper of all the Dark Force prisons. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” Nova asked.

“I didn’t want you to know until it was absolutely necessary.” Blaze said.

Nova growled, not really knowing why she felt so mad at Blaze. “Fine, see you later Blaze.” She started walking into the room but Blaze grabbed her arm.

“One more thing, Nova.”

Nova rolled her eyes and looked straight into his eyes making sure he knew how annoyed she felt.

“I’ve been here for eight years. I’ve seen so many people die in the arena. I can’t take it anymore. I…I’m gonna make sure it's me this time. I need to give the others a chance.”

Nova’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious, Blaze.”

“I’m sorry.” Blaze forced a smile then turned and left with the overseer. Nova watched him go, tears falling from her eyes.

She turned around and stared at the door, where she would probably meet the Warden. Slowly she turned the knob and peeked inside to find two overseers and the warden staring at her.

“About time, isn’t it Nova?” The Warden smiled. “Right then, sit down.” He pointed at the chair next to him.

Nova walked over and sat down, her eyes never leaving the Warden.

“So how has your time in this prison been?” The Warden asked her with a smirk that annoyed Nova.

“It’s been great.” She replied, glaring at him.

“Oh, that’s good.” The Warden Chuckled. “Cause things are about to get a whole lot better.” He turned his chair around to where he was looking straight at a big window. A window that was looking down on a gigantic arena.