Token (Token Chronicles) (16 page)

The next morning is dismal. Yency and I walk our way to the pit for our last day of training. I did not share with Yency what Zander told me last night about today. I did not want to worry him. Zander did not even tell me what was going to happen. He was too vague.

Before we reach the pit, I see Silon standing outside waiting for us standing beside Zander. Larger amounts of the Grods are present as well. Some of them armed.

“Welcome Tokens, to your final stage in Training. I hope you have listened to Zander with care, as today, your skills will be put to the test.”

I look to Zander hoping he will reveal what is to come next, but his eyes are down looking at the ground. I feel uneasy.

“Go ahead,” Silon says, “jump in the pit.”

Yency and I look at each other with concern, but we know we have no other choice. We both jump down into the pit, and see what has been placed in our weapons usual spots. Instead of the two wooden swords, there are two real swords. Swords whose blades have been recently sharpened. We both look back at Zander, but he is still staring at the ground. Silon begins to speak again.

“As you gentlemen know, the Melee begins tomorrow, but what you don’t know is each Elite camp only sends one Token to the battle.
Only one
.”

This is great. Yency can stay behind. I will go and fight. If I win, I can come back to free Isamar.

“The hardest thing for Tokens once they are in the Melee,” Silon says, “is the first kill. But I have come up with a resolution to solve this problem quite well,” he says proudly. He slaps Zander on the back, “Isn’t that right, my boy?”

Zander still keeps his eyes fixated on the ground.

“You two will fight to the death! The winner will go on to the Melee.”

No! We can’t. I won’t. I look to Yency, and he is just as dismayed.

“What if we won’t fight each other?” I ask.

“Then I will kill you both, and send Zander back to the Melee. But you will fight, they always do. If you can kill a friend, you will have no problem killing the strangers in the battle. Especially the ones trying to kill you.”

Zander drops down into the pit and slowly walks over to us.

“I am sorry this has to happen. But there is no sense in both of you dying. Just fight, and the winner can live. One of you at least deserves a chance at your freedom.”

“You had to do this too?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yes, I came here with Mable and my friend Ryder from my Island. I killed him, but it allowed me to save her. I had to. You have to do what is necessary to survive. Don’t ever forget it boys.”

Zander leaves and jumps back out of the pit.

“He’s right, you know,” Yency says. “I heard you two last night. I went to go help with the firewood too. I overheard you talking. You have to go to the Melee, Benja. You have to win to save Isamar.”

“I can’t kill you Yency. I would not be able to live with myself.”

“Well, one of us has to die. We can’t both walk out of this pit.”

“I won’t fight you.”

“We will see about that.”

Yency quickly drops to his knees and picks up his sword. He is lunging at me with his sword raised above his head ready to strike. I instinctively grab my sword and block his blow. My training has kicked in. He swings his sword at me from every direction, but I continuously block his attacks.

“Yency! Stop! Stop! What are you doing?”

My efforts are futile. He keeps coming at me again and again. I have no choice, but to fight back. He begins to swing his sword over his head again for another strike, and I go up to block, but instead, he sweeps my legs out from under me. I am lying flat on my back on the ground, vulnerable. He begins to jump on top of me with his sword raised ready to spear me. I automatically raise my sword up to protect myself. When he sees this, he doesn’t stop. He continues with his jump, but at the last second, he brings his sword back down. He lands directly on top of my sword, the blade impaled entirely through his chest.

I now realize what he was doing. He was never trying to kill me. He made me fight back. When he saw his opportunity, he took it. He fell on my sword on purpose so I would win. Damn him! Always trying to be so noble. How could he do this?

“I am sorry,” he barely forces out. “You have to win, you have to save Isamar.”

His blood is dripping down the sword landing on my chest. I am forced to watch as the light fades from his eyes forever. And just like that, he is gone.

“Very good show. Very good show, Benja,” Silon exclaims.

I feel arms grabbing me pulling me away from Yency’s body. I am being dragged away. I can’t take my eyes off of him. Lying there motionless, with my sword still pierced in his chest. He is dead because of me.

*

The transport has come to a halt. We must be there. The doors fling open in the back and several Grods come inside. The transport backs up to a gate. As the gate opens, the Grods unlock my shackles and roughly toss me out of the transport into the cage. The gate quickly slams back shut. The transport is driving away in a flash.

I walk over to the other side of the cage and look through the rusted iron bars. I can see the same arena, the same pit we trained in. I look at all the other gates, and I can see the eyes of my opponents. Silon was right about one thing. I do not care who any of these men are. I will kill them without a second’s hesitation. They are just another obstacle in the way of me saving Isamar, and I will not let that happen. I must win for her, for Yency. I look down and see my weapon. My sword. Then I hear it. Gong. Gong. Gong. All of the gates open to the arena. The Melee has begun.

Chapter 10

I have to be quick. Ruthless. I can show no mercy if I want to be victorious. I can only hope none of my opponents are Tokens from my Island. It will all become much more… problematic. If I don’t know them, maybe I can erase their faces from my memories after I take their lives. I already know killing a friend is something that cannot be repressed. No matter how hard I try, I will always remember the image of Yency’s life ending at my hand. I cannot go through the same thing again. There is a possibility Kincaid or Nayze could be here from Ridian. I just hope they are not so ill fated as I.

“Tokens, please step forth into the arena,” a voice blares from the speakers.

As I step out of my gate, my bare feet hit the hot sand of the pit. A rush of exhilaration hits me. I am electrified with confidence. A faith in myself I did not even know existed. I will not lose this fight. I have too much on the line. Too much has been sacrificed already. I begin to charge out into the middle of the arena to take on my challengers, but I find I am unable to leave the spot in front of my gate. My feet are frozen in place the same way they were when we went through the auction. I glance around and notice all of my opponents appear to be petrified in the same spots in front of their gates too.

The voice booms again, “From the Aut Elite Camp.”

I look across the arena at the Token who is illuminated in a bright white light. I can see him raise his right arm in the air to acknowledge his pride in his camp. I will do no such thing. I am not here fighting for Silon. I am fighting for Isamar’s freedom. I am fighting for Yency’s sacrifice. I am fighting for my right to live.

The voice continues to acknowledge each Token in the circle and reveal which camp they are fighting for. I couldn’t care less where they are from. I just know if I want to make it out of here, none of them can be breathing when I leave.

“From the Ridian Elite Camp,” I hear the voice say.

I was so overwhelmed with my blind desire for victory, I forgot to check if Kincaid or Nayze are here. I look over to the brightly illuminated spot, and I am frenzied with worry. All I can make out is the blond hair of their Token.

“Please, not Kincaid,” I mutter to myself.

When the light leaves his body, I can make out the rest of his characteristics. It is not Kincaid or Nayze thankfully. The Token may have Kincaid’s blonde hair, but the resemblance ends there. He is a much larger man with a beard. His demeanor is much more threatening than the rest of the Tokens here. His complexion is much more pale in comparison to the rest of us. It’s as if he has not seen the sun in years. Nonetheless, he will not get in my way.

I am the last one the announcer from the speaker reaches.

“From the Silon Elite Camp.” My right arm automatically raises in acknowledgment. I understand why everybody’s arm raised. They were not controlling their own bodies. We are being controlled while we are locked here.

“The last Token alive wins the Melee and his freedom. Good luck gentlemen.”

In the center of the pit, a substantial arsenal of weapons is presented before all of us. Axes, knives, crossbows, and more swords. I was always handy with an axe back on the Island. Although I have been training with the sword, I would like my odds if I could get my hands on the axe. One of the Tokens begins sprinting towards all of the weapons. We are unfrozen. Damn. He is going to get there first. He picks up one of the extra swords and begins to venture away from the weapons cache. He stands there ready to face his opponents. Suddenly, the sand explodes all around him. Three metal-toothed saws come flying around the circle of weapons. He sees them too late. He tries to jump. The saws have completed their path. He is standing there holding on to both swords as he falls to the ground cut into four quarters. The weapons cache is booby-trapped. One down, thirteen to go.

I hear footsteps charging me from the left. I turn just in time to block my opponent’s strike. His strikes are unrelenting. Blow after blow. I am on the defensive. All I can do is shield myself from his fierce attacks. I hear more steps coming at me from behind. I block his next strike and dive out of the way in time to watch another sword pierce through his chest. The Token withdraws the sword meant for my back from his chest. He begins to advance towards me with a fire burning in his eyes. A lust for blood. A desire for freedom.

The sand explodes behind me. The saws make their path again around the weapons. They are on a timer. My new opponent is rushing me just as I reach my feet. I can see his arms raised up ready to take a swing at me. I remember what Zander told us.

“Many of your opponents in the ring are going to be overzealous. Aiming for the kill with every strike. They will not use proper technique. They will expose themselves. Wait for them to make the mistake. Not you. You have to keep a cool head. No matter your situation, you must remain calm. Just breathe.”

I wait for my opportunity, his mistake. His arms are too high. He is going to aim for my head. When his sword comes down towards me, I fall to my knees and shove my sword through his stomach. I remove it, and he falls over on his back. I prepare to make the fatal strike, but I make the error of looking into his pleading eyes.

“Please, don’t kill me,” he forces out as he begins to cough up blood.

Yency may have died by my sword, but it certainly was not intentional. This is the moment of truth. Can I do this? He was just trying to kill you I tell myself. He would do the same. I plunge my sword into his chest for the kill.

“I am sorry,” I apologize as I withdraw my sword.

I recollect myself quickly prepared to take on any oncoming attackers. I glance around the arena to see several others engaged in battle. I take count of how many opponents are left. There are four different pairs of Tokens engaging each other. Eight. I see two bodies lying around the other side of the pit. Ten. The three I have already watched die. Thirteen. I make fourteen, but where is the last Token. I whip around towards the weapons cache in the nick of time. One of the Tokens has timed the mechanism and made it inside and has the crossbow. He has taken aim at me and fires just as I begin to dodge out of the way. The arrow strikes me in my left shoulder. I let out a loud yelp.

I pull the arrow out, but he is already preparing to take his next shot at me. I roll over quickly and hide behind the body of the Token I just killed. Another arrow strikes his dead body in the back. He keeps firing, but his shots are useless as long as I am hidden here. I keep looking around to make sure no one else is coming towards me. For now, I am safe. I peek over the body towards the weapons, and I see the saws making their path again. The Token waits for them to recede back into the ground and swiftly jumps out. He is hurdling towards me with the crossbow in one hand and his sword firmly grasped in the other.

I grab the sword from the dead Token, and I prepare to defend myself with two weapons. I pick the sword up with my left arm, but I can barely support the weight of the weapon. There is no way I will be able to use this arm in any capacity. The arrow must have hit a nerve. I stand up ready to take on my attacker. He fires another arrow from his crossbow, but I dive out of the way in time. I grunt in pain as my shoulder hits the ground and is screaming at me again. He takes aim for another shot, but he has run out of arrows. He tosses the crossbow and readies himself with his sword. His offensive posture indicates he is more experienced with the weapon than my last attacker. I drop the extra sword from my left arm. It will only slow me down at this point.

He takes his swings at me, but I successfully block each one. I can only hold onto my sword with my right arm. He is powerful. His strikes increasingly growing with more and more force. One after the other, they grow stronger. He swings at me one more time. My sword flies out of my hand well out of reach. I fall down scrambling to find another weapon, but my luck has run out. There is nothing. I am deflated. I am defeated. What is worse is he knows it. He is reveling in it. Standing above me preparing to make his fatal strike. The sword is raised above his head ready to be driven through me. I close my eyes and think of Isamar. I have failed her. I have failed Yency. I cringe waiting for my impending death.

There is a deafening clank of metal. I open my eyes to see another sword has blocked his blow. It belongs to the Token from Ridian. He has saved my life. But why? What is the point? Only one of us can walk out here. He should have just let me die if he wanted to win. He begins to attack my assailant with full force. He is without a doubt the most skilled fighter here. In only a few seconds, my assailant has been disarmed and terminated.