There were too many prisoners for the guards to handle by themselves. The inmates grabbed the guards and wrestled them to the ground.
A powerfully-built prisoner with straggly hair seized a guard’s arm that held the rifle and smacked it on the ground powerfully with all his strength.
The guard lost his grip, or perhaps he lost his consciousness, as a second prisoner had his arm wrapped around his neck and choked him out.
The prisoner wielded the shock rifle. His comrade rolled off the guard, who gulped and gasped for oxygen. The prisoner unloaded the rifle into him. His metal armor sparked and flashed as the lightning filled him.
The guard’s body shuddered aggressively. The prisoner didn’t let up until smoke issued from the armor in a wispy haze.
I raised a hand to my nose to block the stench of cooked meat. I could smell it even from as far away as I was.
The prisoner released the trigger and peered at the rifle with a sense of wonder. He grinned maniacally at this new sense of power.
Another prisoner bashed him over the head and took the rifle for themselves.
Easy come, easy go.
Over there, two alien gangs attacked each other, stabbing and pummeling. They were all fighters, and it made for a very vicious battle.
I backed into the room and the door slid shut. I felt relieved—a little—that it was happening out there and not in here.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
A riot had seized the prison.
A riot. At Ikmal!
How had this happened? Why had it happened?
All questions, no answers.
I shook myself and focused on what really mattered.
My safety.
How could I stay safe?
Should I head to the Prize Pool? There would be more of us there and we could mount an effective defense.
Except we were weak females, alone in a prison full of marauding masculine creatures.
And there was no doubt in my mind the Prize Pool would be the first place many of the prisoners would head to. If they couldn’t win a battle in the pit, many wouldn’t have felt the warmth of a girl in years.
The Prize Pool could well be the most dangerous place to be right now.
I would stay here, I decided. It was the champion’s quarters. It would be the last place any of the prisoners would go. No one would want to fight Kren. He was the champion for a reason and nobody wanted their heads bashed in.
Plus, this was where he was most likely to return. If he came back here, I could follow him, and I would be safe.
I caught a glance of myself in the full-length mirror that hung on the front of the wardrobe. Dressed the way I was in this silk negligee, it wasn’t exactly the best clothing to wear in a prison during a riot.
I opened the wardrobe and pulled out the champ’s clothes. A baggy T-shirt and a pair of fighting shorts that swamped me.
Nothing less sexy than this, I thought.
I could even pass for a small alien inmate if I had to.
Now all I had to do was wait. It was only a matter of time before the guards restored order. An emergency contingent would be sent by the warden and they would retake the prison.
I just needed to stay away from the other prisoners and wait until the riot was over.
The door shifted open and my heart leaped into my chest, hoping it was Kren.
The blood drained from my face as a trio of vicious aliens entered the cell carrying metal poles and lumps of wood.
Their eyes passed over me, then quickly scanned the rest of the room. There were four of them. The largest was called Fayn. He was the leader of this motley crew. They spread out and checked the bathroom, the other side of the bed, and the wardrobe.
I backed away, pressing my back to the wall.
“Where is he?” Fayn said.
I couldn’t speak, I was so terrified. I knew what the alien Fayn and his gang were capable of. They were known as one of the most vicious crews in the entire prison.
“I said, where is he?” Fayn growled, drawing closer to me.
“W-Who?” I said.
“Kren,” he spat. “I have a score to settle with him.”
“I… I… Don’t know,” I said.
Fayn turned to his other men. They finished performing their search and shook their heads.
He wasn’t there.
They eased, relaxing a little. My guess was the others didn’t really want to find him.
Fayn looked me over.
“You’re his latest prize?”
I nodded.
“He left soon after he brought me here. I’m sure he’ll be back any minute.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Fayn said. “I placed a large wager on him only lasting until the third round in the pit during the Survivor Challenge. That was before the power went down. He escaped and I assumed he would come here.”
If I could tell them he went somewhere, perhaps they would leave me alone and head there themselves.
I thought of the place furthest from here but my mind was numb with fear. The only place I could think of was the Prize Pool but I didn’t want to send Fayn’s gang there. The girls had enough trouble already.
“The… Supervisor,” I said, my mind latching onto the idea. “He went to see the Supervisor.”
Fayn fixed me with a sardonic grin and his eyes flashed with amusement.
“Did he now?” he said. “And what business would he have with the Supervisor?”
“He… didn’t tell me,” I said.
“I suppose he wouldn’t, would he?”
His eyes drifted over my face, and then down the new ensemble I’d chosen for myself.
I didn’t like the way he leered at me, or his buddies.
“Take off your T-shirt,” Fayn said.
He removed his own jacket and let it pile on the floor at his feet.
Horror settled in the pit of my stomach. In staying put in this room, I had just condemned myself to what I feared most.
Why didn’t I run? Why didn’t I try to escape? It would have been harder
