He made a dull “D’uh!” noise as he took the blow. His mouth sagged on one side. I thought his jaw was broken.
But that didn’t mean I was going to take pity on him.
He was in my way.
I slammed the creature in the jaw again.
He spun slowly on the spot, seeing stars now. His arms hung long and lifeless at his sides and dragged along the floor.
I balled up my fist and delivered another crushing blow to his chin. It snapped off, the bone and blood visible underneath.
The crowd gasped. A couple were sick.
The creature’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. He stumbled and landed, head first, in the dirt.
I peered up at the observation window.
Hold on, Ivy, I thought. I’m coming. I’m coming very soon.
I didn’t know when exactly, and I didn’t know how, but I would reach her.
Somehow.
Ivy
I had never been into gore and I couldn’t bear to watch the alien fall at Kren’s feet. It was bloody and it was disgusting. Kren did it to stay alive and be with me. And so, I watched.
The Supervisor growled at the back of his throat and marched over to the control desk. He pressed a button on the console.
“Send in the best,” he said.
“We’re supposed to send in increasingly harder opponents, sir,” the voice on the other end said. “The rules say—”
“I don’t give a damn about the rules!” the Supervisor said, slamming a fist on the console. “Start sending in the best or you’ll be next!”
“Yes, sir.”
The Supervisor turned to face me with a grin on his face. He rubbed his hands together.
“There. That should make things more interesting.”
“You’re cheating. You changed the rules!”
“When you’re in charge of the rules, you’re a fool if you don’t take advantage of them.”
The Supervisor was many things, but he wasn’t stupid. Still, Kren deserved to know the rules had changed.
“So, tell him you’ve changed the rules,” I said. “He deserves that much.”
“He’s a prisoner under my control. He deserves whatever I decide to give him. Now—”
I was out of the chair faster than he could blink, spurred on by my desire to help Kren.
I sprinted to the console and reached it within two long strides. I slammed my fist on a bunch of the buttons around the communication button the Supervisor had pressed a moment ago.
If there was any logic to this thing, the communication controls would be around the same area to the button he’d just pushed.
Half a dozen communicators hissed as discussion channels opened. The speaker system outside whined electronically as it came on and I heard the feedback over the speakers. I didn’t know which button did that and I didn’t care.
“The fighters will be stronger now!” I bellowed at the console.
I couldn’t speak into the microphone because I couldn’t see it. But it had to be there somewhere because my voice echoed across the pit and entire prison.
One of the guards wrapped his arms around me and swung me back to the chair. I kicked and struggled to escape but it was no use.
The Supervisor flipped the other buttons and switches off and wagged a finger at me.
The guard pressed me into the chair and the Supervisor slammed his fist on the chair’s controls.
A dozen cords extended from the armrests and lashed across my chest and legs. They pulled taut and locked me into place.
“You’ll pay for that,” the Supervisor said.
He grinned, and for a moment, I saw the harsh shadow of madness dance across his features.
“Or should I say, he’ll pay for it?”
An icy sensation shivered across my body and made me feel cold to my core. Had I once again made things worse for my beloved Kren?
Kren
Hearing her voice was like hearing the voice of an angel. It wrung my heart that she sounded so distressed.
I peered up at the observation window to see her manhandled by a guard who forced her into the chair.
The blood drained from my face. They could do anything to her right now and there was nothing I could do about it.
I needed to escape this pit. I needed to reach her.
But first, I needed to rescue myself.
The pit’s walls were high. I couldn’t reach them alone, no matter how high I jumped.
But maybe…
“Wait,” I said to the guards who grabbed the elastrax and dragged him away.
I pressed my hand to the creature’s skin and absorbed what ability he had. I felt my body realigned, my DNA shifting to adapt to this new input.
I let the guards go and didn’t use my newfound ability until they were gone. Then I focused my mind and peered at my hand.
My fingers stretched and extended, becoming long, reminding me of a spider’s legs.
The gate on the other side of the pit clanged open as my next opponent came barreling out from the tunnel.
I turned in the other direction and spotted a railing high above me. Could I stretch my limbs enough to reach it?
The hardest part of absorbing a creature’s ability wasn’t the absorbing, it was learning to use it. Some abilities had a significant amount of crossover. Elements like ice and wind and fire and earth could be used similarly. But changing body part shapes and sizes? Not so much.
It didn’t hurt when my arms, hands, and fingers extended toward that railing but it wasn’t pleasant either. It was like I was forcing my body beyond its usual range of comfort. My joints cracked as they popped out of their sockets.
I’d stretched halfway to the railing now. I sensed my body could only get so far.
Then how about my legs?
I extended my legs the same way I had my arms and gradually, inch by inch, I began to rise.
I glanced over my shoulder at the grinding gate on the other side of the pit. With any luck, I would grip that railing and be out of there before he reached me.
And…
Just a few more inches to go…
I did it!
The tips of
