ASTRID THE ANNIHILATOR
Cassie wasn't sure if it could get any darker. The fifteen year old stumbled through the dark, arms blindly reaching for the walls for support. She had tripped over her feet more times than she could count and she was fairly sure there was a chance she could get radiation poisoning. It felt every breath she was taking in was killing her, stealing her years and condemning her to live a short, unfulfilled life.
If the rumours were true, maybe it would be worth it.
She shuffled her way through the pitch black. She still hadn't adapted to it, her heartbeat thrumming rapidly against her rib cage. At any moment she felt as though someone was going to snatch at her, stowing her away in some unknown part of the Ark and make her their slave. Or worse - kill her. Maybe the rumours were only there to lure innocent victims in. Maybe it was so someone could get a thrill they couldn't seek in a heavily guarded hallway.
Her mind begged for her to turn back. Rumours weren't true, and if she died for a mere lie what would happen? Would anyone even find her body? This part of the Ark had been closed off for as long as she could remember, the radiation leak supposedly having made the entire space uninhabitable. They never returned to fix it, even with hazard suits. Cassie believed that it may be there to act as a reminder for what the Ark was doing. They were protecting them all from the dangers of the world.
Cassie scoffed. They weren't protecting them from the danger. They were the danger.
Her thoughts still raged on. She could vaguely remember how to get back, it would only be her time she wasted and not her life. Yet one tiny voice in the back of her head convinced her feet to carry her forward. There's always some truth in fiction. Even in the stories she'd grown up loving to read - 1984 was about a corrupt government and The Help highlighted the discrimination's faced all because of a different skin tone. Even though the plot lines were fictional, the stimulus that sparked the creativity was built in truth.
A few minutes later, she was grateful she hadn't given into her doubt. Her ears picked up on faint cheers, the roar of a barely containable crowd. The path beneath her feet smoothed, softened by those previously before her, leading her down a path of no turning back. Shortly after, her eyes caught onto the light at the end of the hallway.
Her pace picked up. Cassie's hand still trailed the wall, the only thing holding her up. She had been so anxious about whether or not the place was real that she had never really thought about what she would do if it was. Her mind could barely fathom that this intricately built, strict society had let something so maniacal slip through the cracks, but yet it had.
Swallowing deeply, she reached the source of the light. A door, looking worse for wear, let light stream for it, acting as a barrier between her determining her destiny or denying her needs. It looked like how she felt - nervous, with a questionable excitement thrilling through her veins.
She took a deep breath. The air was stale. She could taste the sweat and the blood and the anger and the pain. She could taste the freedom, the will to survive, the need that everyone had. To her, it was the most inviting thing about the place so far. That juxtaposition of tastes reminded her of the humans standing just behind that door - not fully good, not fully bad, just people who landed smack down in the middle. Where she belonged.
Cassie pushed the door open.
She didn't hesitate as her foot went over the threshold, the imaginary line now crossed. There was no returning from this moment. She had marked her fate with a seal stamp, and she couldn't stop the happiness spreading through her. Finally, she could do something.
The door swung shut behind her. No one paid attention to her presence, the crowds swelling inside the room. It was a corpse of a cafeteria, what seemed to once be a kitchen was now possessed by a tall tan man, his muscles bulging through his shirt and black hair tied in a bun at the nape of his neck. Above him were cardboard signs, marked down with names with numbers next to them. It took a moment for it to click. It was a table of their odds.
Cassie pulled her attention away from it. Betting was no use. She wasn't going to get what she needed by placing her necessities on one person. No, if she was going to do something like that, she would at least come to a few matches and see who was the real alpha. And when she was ready, even join the betting board herself.
Her eyes danced to the large space in the middle of the room. It was cut off by long, rectangular tables, making a jagged shape of a star. There was a small gap towards the other side of the room, a pair of doors directly behind it. As soon as her eyes fell on those doors, a figure pushed their way through.
Her breath caught in her throat.
A slender blonde woman sauntered out of the doors, a small smirk playing on her lips. The closer she got to the ring, the more details Cassie could make out. She was toned, her muscles pronounced by the tank top she wore. Half of her hair was shaved, the other half braided and falling in tied rivers down her back. The woman's eyes scanned the crowd, moving slickly over Cassie as if she was nothing.
Cassie couldn't help it. She cowered. The pure power the woman radiated made her feel like a little girl again, made her want to run from this place and hide away forever. It made her realise that this goddess was the alpha of this ring.
Her attention moved quickly when the doors slammed open again. This time, a bulk of a man thundered through them. It was like he was made of bricks, his foundation never to falter. Even from the distance she was at now, she could see the scars slicing over his body. He made no efforts to hide them, only storming over to the ring where the woman stood, her arms pressed firmly across her chest. She pursued her lips, digging at dirt in her nails.
Cassie didn't have much time to ponder it, a sharp horn cutting through the silence. The crowd around her stilled, all turning towards the person who honked the horn. She felt the pull too, turning her entire body to them. Standing on top of one of the tables, the man from behind the betting booth stood with a megaphone in his hand. Noticing that he'd grabbed everyone's attention, he lifted the megaphone to his lips.
"Hey everyone, welcome to the Pit!" At the mention of the name, a roar of cheers went out through the crowd. Cassie turned her shoulders inwards. "Now, you all know the rules. If you're down for more than thirty seconds, you lose. If you bring a weapon to the fight, you lose and you're banned from all future fights. If you get thrown out of the ring, you lose. Understood?"
There were nods all around. Suddenly the doubt crept in again. Maybe her initial fears about this place were true. Maybe this wasn't the place for her.
"Tonight we have two wonderful fighters. They quake at the sight of her, the person of your nightmares and the one who will throw you off this ship if she wanted, it's Astrid the Annihilator!" The man announced, his voice growing in passion.
The woman, Astrid, rolled her eyes heavily. Cassie had to strain her ears to hear what the woman said, her voice as rough as her exterior. "Thank you for the warm introduction as always, Aidan."
The announcer, who she'd learned was called Aidan, simply winked at her. Cassie felt a smile creep on her face. Maybe she had over exaggerated when she heard the rules? It wouldn't be the first time she felt fear grip her heart, and it wouldn't be the last.
"And fighting the ferocious beast today, we have Fabian the Frightful! With the way his muscles easily squeeze around her neck, to his serial killer like ease, he is one you don't want to cross! Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a fight of the century, and you all get a front row seat!"
Aidan jumped off of the table, landing in the middle of the ring. He spoke to the pair in a low voice, Cassie summarising that he must be reminding them of the rules and the dangers of if they break them. It wasn't long before he'd stopped talking to them, moving back towards one of the tables and joining the crowd.
There was no starting whistle.
Before Cassie could even blink, Astrid slammed her elbow into Fabian's neck.
She was a viper. One moment, Astrid would be stood in place, and the next she would be driving her hand, her foot, her elbow, straight into his body, ploughing him down. He barely had chance to stumble before she attacked again, this time swinging her foot in a wide arc, her foot meeting his face. His entire body twisted from the hit, a loud crack reverberating throughout the space. Around her, the crowd just got rowdier, screeching their approval with each drop of blood.
It didn't last long.
Fabian the Frightful was left terrified, his body curled up on the floor in a ball. He was rocking slightly back and worth, cradling his left arm gently in his grip. The very arm that Astrid turned in such a way that made Cassie want to vomit at the sight. Blood was smeared all around him.
Astrid stood over the man, staring at him with a hint of disgust. Her face had a faint sheen of sweat coating it, that being the only indicator she had participated. She remained unscathed, and from the sounds of the people surging to the betting booth, it was expected that she would reign victorious.
"And he is down!" Aidan bellowed, megaphone long forgotten. His naturally loud voice carried over the sound of the stampeding people, his hand finding Astrid's. He pulled it upwards in the air, shaking it around. "We have our victor - Astrid the Annihilator!"
Cassie was in a daze. As everyone around her ran for any direction that wasn't the victor, she found her feet pulling her forwards. She caught snippets of a growing conversation, something that would've captured her interest if she hadn't had other things on her mind.
"-You did good pal, good work." Aidan patted Fabian's head, oblivious to the heated glare shot his way. Instead of reaching for the hand that Aidan offered him, Fabian smacked it aside, clambering to his feet unsteadily and slamming his way through the doors. If she looked carefully enough, she could see his blood smear on the metal.
Astrid scoffed. "I can't believe you complimented the guy."
A laugh passed Aidan's lips. It was just as loud and boisterous as he was. "Gotta give them something nice to think about when you just broke about three bones in his body. The guys not going to be able to move that arm properly for at least a week."
Pride was underlying his tone. Cassie hated to admit it but she was just as much awe as he was. She tried to convince herself that was why her feet had her stepping over the tables, and straight into the ring. But she knew the truth.
The pair hadn't seen her yet. Their voices dropped an octave. Her ears perked up, her body craning forward instinctively. If she hadn't been so in tune with the pair, she wouldn't have noticed the slight movement of Aidan's hand, the movement of something into hers and her subtle hiding of the object. A trickle of satisfaction leaked into her veins. The rumours were true.
This was the place that would help her save her dad.
At that moment, Astrid's icy blue eyes snapped up and met Cassie's brown ones. She had to withhold the urge to gulp, staring her down with an equal level of ferocity. Aidan stopped talking to Astrid, his eyes darting to Cassie. His lips turned at the corners. "I'll let you deal with the adoring fans."
With a clap on her back, he was gone. Cassie wanted to ask if he could stay - he seemed friendly and she needed to talk to him about her plan anyways. Yet her words died in her throat the longer Astrid kept her gaze locked on hers.
"What are you doing here?" Her words were just as cold as her eyes. Cassie mustered what courage she had, forcing her words out of her mouth.
"I assume he gave you rations, right?"
Astrid brow lifted. Instead of answering the question, she brushed it off. "Aren't you a little young to be here?"
"Depends on your definition of young." Cassie continued, her voice stronger than it sounded in her head. "Did you get those rations because you won?"
"You really should leave before something bad happens."
Her threat fell on deaf ears. Now that she was in the limelight, she feel heavy gazes pressing into the back of her head. As long as she was near Astrid, she wasn't concerned. They wouldn't dare go near her after having watched her dislocate a man's arm in a single move.
"Can you choose what you win?"
Irritation bubbled on Astrid's face. Her jaw clenched. Fire spat past her lips as she stopped dodging Cassie's questions. "Yes you can choose, now will you leave me alone and go back to playing with your doll house?"
The harsh words went right over her head. Taking the woman off guard, a smile engulfed her face. After uttering a note of gratitude, she practically danced all the way back home.
She knew how she was going to save her dad.
-
hey guys! not gonna lie, this was a really exciting chapter to write. i love astrid with all of my heart and i hope you all love her too ❤
also since i only have 16 chapters left to write of this book i figured it would be a good time to start posting on both mondays and fridays, so expect more updates!
anyways i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, see you soon!
-thirdwheelchurchill