Jonas pushed the doors open, and then he and Jaden fist-bumped before separating.

"See you later, J."

"Take it easy, bro," Jonas smiled and made his way to a corner of the barracks. He had never been inside, but it looked as he had imagined. The room was long and had dozens of bunk beds lined against both walls. Each bunk had a chest on either side, and most had things dangling from them: clothing, bedsheets, and shoes. Jonas knew to keep things up high because mice would chew them. The room smelled like musty farts and sour body odor, but it was much better than the slave room, which smelled like feces, blood, and broken dreams.

It wasn't long before Jonas spotted his crew because they had taken up an entire corner of the room. There were four bunk beds between Ralph, Pete, Simon, and Johnson, and Jonas could tell that they had stolen a lot of things from Wolf's fighters because their bunk beds also had tons of clothes and shoes dangling from them. All eyes were on Jonas, and while some faces contained fear, others had mild curiosity or respect.

"Jonas!" Simon was the first to say. His other crew members quickly greeted him.

"How did it go?" Jonas asked, and Simon explained how they had taken over the room, threatened Wolf's men until they disbanded and pissed themselves, and acquired some benefits. After Jonas finished speaking with each of them, he mentioned Jaden and the breakout.

“Are you sure it was alright to tell him?" Johnson was always the most skeptical of their group.

“He’s cool,” Jonas nodded. “Plus, he’s one of the more talented guys here.”

“If you say so, boss,” Johnson shrugged, but he knew as well as any that they would need as many allies as they could get if they were going to have a realistic shot at breaking out.

"I spoke to Brow and received good information from him. However, we'll need more," Jonas described his conversation about the password, the exits, and the impossibility of their plan.

"Jesus," Pete looked crestfallen. "A password to get out the front door, or we kill our way through an entire gang just to leave through the backdoor. The odds are shit."

"I'm with Petey on this one," Ralph sighed. "I'd say the front door is best, but goddamn, that's a difficult situation to work with."

"Our best bet is to wait in the entrance for the leaders to return to the gang: jump them, kill them, and leave. Or, we wait for them to return, figure out who they gave the password to, and try to escape during the day. What do you think?"

"I think we need more information," Simon crossed his arms. "We can't do anything until we know more."

"Then you'll be in charge of information gathering," said Jonas. "How many guards, the best time to attempt to escape, who will oppose us, who will help us? Find out the answer to these questions. I trust you the most to get it done."

“Got it, Jonas,” Simon nodded. He was probably the most observant of their entire group.

“Ralph and Pete,” Jonas said, “Do you think we could convert any of the former wolves? I wouldn’t mind if you tried to recruit them if you thought they were trustworthy.”

“Don’t hold your breath on that,” Ralph whispered. “Petey and I are the only two former associates of Wolf who truly had a change of heart. Plus, I doubt they'd want to join us after last night."

“Fair,” Jonas nodded. Perhaps he'd been too hopeful that there were some decent men still left. “Just be sure they aren’t plotting to take us out when we sleep. Then, help Simon gather information."

“I doubt they'll cause any problems, but we'll keep them in line," Ralph glared across the room as he knew every former associate and where they slept.

“Johnson,” said Jonas. “You focus on trying to recruit the people that Simon tells you are trustworthy.”

“Why me?” Johnson asked. “Do you think I’m the best recruiter?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Jonas gave a warm smile. “You might not be the most pleasant guy, but you’re as blue-collar as they get, and the other fighters and slaves can relate to you the most.”

“Thanks,” said Johnson, who grinned sheepishly. “At least, I think that was a compliment."

“Anyway,” Jonas licked his chapped lips. “Our inner circle will stay tight, and information about the dance stays between us. However, after Simon determines who is trustworthy, Johnson will drop hints that something big might be coming, and they need to be ready. The smart ones will be able to take the hint, just like Jaden. Let's treat people fairly, not how Wolf or Garth treated them. Be kind to the slaves, and don't bully the small-time fighters. If anyone has questions or asks for help, let them know that Jonas Arial has their back."

“From what I’ve been hearing so far,” Simon said. “The other fighters respect that you’re a top-five fighter, but they want to see how you act around them before they come to any conclusions.”

“Good,” Jonas nodded. “I’ll show them they have nothing to worry about; being my friend is good because they already know what happens to my enemies.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“That they do,” Johnson nodded. “Remember how you won us over with beer and food?”

“I thought it was my charisma and charm,” Jonas mocked. “Of course, I remember how I won you fatties over with food.”

“Well, why couldn’t we do that with the other dummy slaves?” Johnson whispered. “They would be great for information gathering; we could train them to be fighters. Maybe we find a diamond in the ruff like you,” Jonas gave Johnson an appreciative expression as he contemplated the idea.

“Good idea,” he patted Johnson gently on the shoulder. “When you get a chance, bring some beer and extra food to a few slaves of your choice, and make sure they know that it’s courtesy of Jonas Ariel. If anyone tries to give you shit, let them know that Vice President Brow has approved it."

“Got it,” Johnson nodded.

“Now that we've got that worked out,” Jonas began his next bit. “Ahmed, Yuki, and I will focus on getting stronger and acquiring any benefits that might help us dance.”

“Some weapons would be incredible,” Simon said, “I’m still not sure how Wolf managed to get two shanks.”

“Fucking Thomas,” Jonas shook his head.“He put the entire gang at risk, and I got carved like a Jack-O-Lantern for defending myself against a crazy psychopath.”

“I don’t think it would be a bad idea to try and get something from Brow,” Pete added, “Maybe you can convince him to get you a few shanks.”

“Or better yet,” Jonas scratched his chin. “We could get Brow to bring us something he wouldn’t suspect as a weapon and break it down to use the parts for building a shank.”

“Like?” Johnson leaned in closer.

“You can sand wooden toothbrushes until they're sharp enough to penetrate,” Jonas said. "You can melt plastic too. The only problem is they aren’t good for long."

“How do you know that?” Johnson gave the teenager an incredulous expression.

“Not all the boys' homes I lived in were sunshine and daisies,” Jonas shrugged. “Drake taught me a lot of shit that would come in handy in case we ever got separated.”

“We could also try stealing kitchen cutlery?” Pete suggested.

“What, plastic sporks?” Johnson scoffed.

“They don’t cook with plastic sporks, you moron,” Pete rolled his one eye.

“Not a bad idea,” Jonas approved. “I haven’t been in the kitchen, but I assume they must have some good stuff in there,” he wondered whether the gang regulated kitchen tools.

“Either way, the weapons aren't for us—they're for the rioters,” Jonas explained. “The big difference is that we’re Sinners capable of doing incredible things; they need weapons if they’re going to take out all the guards.”

“Fuck the low-level guys,” said Johnson, “They’re not going to be much help. I doubt they could go one on one against the lowest-ranking guards.

“Uh, Erik,” Simon looked at him disapprovingly. “You’re a low-level fighter.”

“Anyway,” Jonas interrupted them before they could start a quarrel. “That’s all I’ve got right now, so it’s best if we all just stick to our roles, slowly contribute, and who knows: maybe this time next month, we will be breathing in fresh air underneath the red skies of Hell.”

“I can’t wait to get a Torture Supreme from Burger Monster,” Pete licked his lips. “I’m gonna order like five."

“What the hell is a Torture Supreme? I've never heard of Burger Monster,” Jonas looked bewildered.

“Torture Supreme is a half-pound of red meat served between two toasted buns. They cover it with layers of bacon, habanero cheese, specialty hot sauce, sour cream, and little crispy onion rings,” Pete's one good eye widened with excitement. “I’ll take you there after we break—I mean, after we dance,” he corrected himself quickly.

“Sounds delicious,” said Jonas. “I've only been to Demon Donuts, though I didn't have any money. So, do they have pizza joints in Hell?”

“Of course they do,” Pete laughed.“You ain’t had pizza 'til you get a slice from Pizza Slut.”

“That’s not its actual name, is it?”

“Damn right,” said Pete approvingly. “It’s sort of like Hooters but with pizza, and they’re way more honest about their intentions. The Pizza Slut girls wear these little cheesy tube tops that have pepperonis where their nipples would be."

“Burger Monster and Pizza Slut,” Jonas nodded his head. “Sounds like a plan. Alright, you guys, let's get this day going," nothing else needed to be said, and they headed toward the sandy fight pits where Ahmed was waiting for them. The sparring went by quite quickly, and after some great exercise in the gym, it wasn't long before Jonas was heading in the direction of Yuki's room. Perhaps, he had been rushing his day for that reason in particular.

He reached her door, and just as he was about to knock, it swung open, and Yuki's pretty face greeted him.

“Jonas,” she said slightly breathlessly. “I thought I heard you.”

“Heard me?” Jonas looked a bit surprised. “Is that some weird girl-speak that you know the sound of my footsteps?”

“Oh, shut up,” her cheeks tinged red. “How are you feeling? Why didn't you come by last night?"

“I'm fine. I was tired and wanted to sleep,” Jonas slid past her and went to the lounge. Immediately, he poured himself a glass of wine and sat down.

“I’ve got some ointment,” she looked concerned, and Jonas felt butterflies.

“Thanks, babe,” he kissed her hand. “You know I’ll be fine, look,” he pulled up his shirt, revealing his bare chest that was perfectly perfect because all the bloody letters were gone.

“I’m just glad you're okay. I hadn't expected Howard to do anything to you."

"Me either," Jonas shrugged. "Wolf wasn't that talented, it wasn't Howard's fighter, and Thomas deserved to take a loss after what he did to Keal."

"He probably wanted to humiliate you or show you who was boss, you know?" Yuki brushed dried blood off his cheek.

"I agree."

“You killed a top-five fighter,” said Yuki. “Don’t get me wrong: I was upset that Garth did that to you, but I expected a bit of torture. It happened to me after I killed Keal. I wish I had done something more—I feel guilty," Yuki bit her lip.

“Nah,” said Jonas. “It wasn't your fault at all. You would have made things worse for yourself and revealed our relationship to Thomas."

“So true, very true,” but she was wearing a strange expression.

“What?” he chuckled.

“You’re supposed to forgive me,” she pouted with shiny eyes.

“I did forgive you, didn’t I?”

“You said, ‘Nah,’ that's not forgiveness,” she pinched his cheek. “You have to say the words.”

“I forgive you," and then Yuki pressed her delicate lips against his.