Chapter 1
GRANITE’S POV
A
wink of an eye was all it took to lure me into her trap. At first I thought she was trying to make “friends” with me. But here I am strung up in the air by a net. Her evil girlish laugh was mocking me from the ground. Her strung up red hair was now falling out of place. She fixed her hair back into that pony tail.
“Who do you work for?” She asked sexily and mischievously.
“I don’t work for anyone. I am a escaped slave. I was running away when you found me.” I intended.
She scoffed and turned her back to me. She whistled a five note tune and a five note tuned answered back. I lay quietly in the net listening for something. The red haired girl began to descend from where I was strung up.
Realizing she was leaving me I started to outburst “Hey, hey, hey! You can’t leave me here. These woods are dangerous!”
“That’s exactly why I’m leaving you.” She said still walking away from my netted self.
“You can’t just leave me to die here!” I shouted at her.
I couldn’t see the fox faced red headed girl anymore.
Her voice flowed from the bushes “Watch me.”
I felt my anger grow inside of me. I was angry how the fox left me to die and the sun is setting. I have no weapon, or any type of food and I’m easy bait. A stick was poking me in the back. I shifted uncomfortably and pulled the stick away. After running for three hours straight my eyes were feeling heavy. For now I must fight off the urge to fall asleep if I wanted to survive.
My muscles relaxed and a thought came to me “If I want to die, I might as well die when I’m asleep. It would be a less suffering death.”
I let my eyes flutter shut and allowed my body to relax. I laid my head back.
I woke up to the sound of voices, a male and a female voice. I made it through the night! I might have made it through the night but now is not a time for celebrating.
Below me a Puma with its teeth smiling at me was circling me. It was probably deciding on how to kill me. Trying to decide if to rip my guts out or go straight for the kill.
“Holy bananas!!” I heard myself scream.
My body was doing stuff I didn’t want to do. I felt my body shove myself into the very top of the net. The Puma jumped for me and it was a hairline away from me. The Puma jumped at me again. I was pretty sure it was going to get me but an arrow went through the heart of the animal.
I heard the hustle of bushes and feet running towards me. I braced myself for the worst. Thieves? The Cranitors coming to take me back? Or Emperor Enmustiac coming for me himself or herself? Emperor Enmustiac’s gender was unknown. No one in the whole world knew it.
A small girl and a boy came into view. The girl was approximately five years old and the boy looked to be a teenager. The boy looked unnaturally thin. He had Brown soft, deer eyes like mine. His face was dotted red with raising dots. There was a pouch on the side of his hip which was connected to a belt. On that belt hung a few small animals. He was wearing a neon orange Tazmitazi shirt that was noticeably large for him.
The puny girl was a complete opposite of the teenager. She was large but I assume it is baby fat. Her eyes were an intimidating blue with specks of green. She too was wearing a Tazmitazi shirt but hers had rips and tears in it. This girl was holding the bow.
“Leslee, look! A boy is in that net!” The girl exclaimed.
The teenager named Leslee walked over to me and examined me with great care. He bit his lower lip and wetted his lips. I stuck my face through the mesh of the net. Leslee jabbed me in the stomach with his bony finger.
“Hey!” I exclaimed with my voice cracking.
Leslee looked at the girl and smiled “He’s more of a man.”
Leslee and the girl laughed at me. Or were they laughing at Leslee’s poke in my stomach. I don’t know. I’m lost of what is going on. Leslee tried and pulled the puma but he was not strong enough.
“Please help me” I begged with my lips pressed together.
Leslee swung his arm down and the girl nodded her head. She pulled an arrow from her holder on the back. The arrow was loaded and shot at the single rope that held the net in place. Without bracing myself, I fell onto the Puma and cracked my back with a painful blow.
The teen lifted me off the big cat and tossed me aside to the ground. He pulled the arrow out of the Puma and tossed it to the girl. The girl ran over to the Puma and gave it a hug and kissed its forehead.
“I’m Leslee and that girl is my sister, Claudia. She is a bit of a nature freak but she is great with a bow and arrow. And who are you?” Leslee intended.
It took me to realize he was asking my name. I stared at him a moment longer. His eyes examined my features.
“I am Granite” I answered back shyly.
I played with my hands nervously, hoping they wouldn’t recognize me or my name. I should have given them a fake name. Leslee smiled sweetly.
“Don’t worry, Granite. You don’t have to be afraid. We won’t tell anyone. Claudia, come on!”
Claudia had made a flower bed around the animal. It was beautiful in every way possible. The black fur was surrounded by pinks and purples and whites. The purple was easily classified as a lilac. The other two colors were unknown to me.
“May God forever be with you.” I heard Claudia whisper to the animal.
Claudia walked over to Leslee and gave him a hug. I watched Leslee and Claudia begin walking away. Leslee turned to me while taking baby steps.
“Are you coming or what?” He asked me.
I fumbled to stand up, bringing a storm of dirt up as I did so. I brushed the dirt off of me and smiled at Leslee. To my surprise, he began to laugh.
“You are so weird. Now come on.” Leslee said through a giggle.
I hurried forward to meet up with them. I followed these strangers, now hoping the best for me. I couldn’t help but let my curiosity run wild with questions.
“We know who you are. How’d you become part of the ring?” Leslee asked me. This question took me by surprise, even though I knew it would be talked about up eventually. I was baffled because he asked it so suddenly.
“Well, I guess I can tell you” I began, “My family was kidnapped by the Emperor and I was used for showmanship. I had to fight for food. It was rather losing my family or fight.”
I held back about telling them that I was also a slave and how badly they treated me. Whippings ever y day, the thoughts if my family was still alive, and having to kill so many people. The memory made me shudder.
“You’re good with a weapon in your hands.” Claudia squeaked at me.
“I only fight when my family is in danger. Do you guys know where they hide the prisoners?”
“I’m sorry, no. I know they are hidden somewhere near the mountain.” Leslee was apologizing.
I heard a sound behind me and I snapped my head back to see if there was danger. I tripped over an upraised root and I felt myself fall. Instead of falling and hitting the ground, I hit the ground and rolled. I kept on rolling and rolling, and by now, twigs and rocks were hitting me. I finally came to a stop when I hit my head on a tree. I felt myself lose consciousness.
******
I could hear my brothers playing in the creek by my house. I smelt the chicken dumpling soup my mom must have been making. I’m lying in my bed with the covers drawn to the top of my head. I pull the covers off my face and my older sister is sitting on the edge of my bed. She smiles at me when I do. She moves the hair out of my eyes.
“Hi, Sleepyhead. Are you feeling better?” She asked kind-heartedly. Her hand slipped to my forehead. “You seem a little better.”
Better? What did I do? I felt extremely hot and I had a fairly large headache. Was I sick? Did I knock myself out of consciousness? I tried sitting myself up.
“No. No. Don’t move. You’re too ill to be moving right now.” She said as she gently pushed me back down.
I looked up at my sister with a kind of fondness. Moments like these were meant to be savored.
“Yvette?” Yvette was my sister’s name. “What happened to me?”
Yvette gave me a look of sympathy. Her smile turned into a frown. I could tell she was still smiling in her mind though, like she was about to laugh. Well, there goes that savory moment.
“You fell head first into the creek.” Yvette said, “You caught a cold and you have a severe head injury. Well don’t worry. Mom is making you some soup and Dad went to town to get you some fresh water.”
I took a deep breath. I touched the temple of my head and I felt a warm liquid. I brought my hand down to my eyes and I saw blood. The temple of my head started to throb and I had to clench my eyes closed to ease it.
I heard the door to my room opened and I opened my eyes. The throbbing came back. My mother came in with a tray in her hands, with soup. My mom had to turn sideways to enter my room because of her plump body. Her hair, which was usually lying on her shoulders, was now in a tight bun. Yvette welcomed our mom. I would have done the same thing but those simple tasks that I’ve done, have completely drained my energy. I must have looked pale because she gasped when she looked at me.
“Granite. Granite. Granite. Granite” She said my name over and over again, with no emotion.
******
I came back to reality and Leslee was calling my name. That was all a dream. Words can’t express how much I want to have that life back. That was a memory from my childhood.
My arm was under my back and it was twisted funny. I sat up on my bottom and I felt my head spin and dance.
Claudia looked at me “You had a hard fall there.”
An oozy and sticky liquid slid slowly down my eyebrow. I didn’t have to be a gladiator to know that this was blood. The temple from my memory throbbed. Claudia and Leslee helped me up to my feet. Pain shot up through my right arm as I moved it.
“Ouch! Leslee. Leslee. Leslee!” I said quickly. “I think my arm is broken.” I complained even though I was trying not to.
Leslee’s eyes flew open making his deer-like eyes seem larger than they already were. Leslee hoisted my good left arm around his shoulder.
“Are you sure it’s broken?” Leslee inquired.
“I can’t feel it or move it.” I countered back, showing my anger.
Leslee’s arm tightens around my shoulder, probably to comfort me. I leaned my weight on him and even though my leg was not broken.
It feels good to be around people who care again. I haven’t felt like this ever since I came to the arena. But I don’t know if I can trust them just yet. Momma taught me not to trust strangers.
Claudia’s voice interrupted my thoughts, “I think you hurt the tree.”
Hurt the tree? Hurt the tree! The tree injured me more than I hurt it. But I couldn’t say that to the little girl. She was too sweet to burn down. So instead of saying that, I came up with a better solution.
“I’m sorry tree. Please forgive me?” I said talking to the tree pretending it was a real person.
Claudia smiled and I knew that saying that had made her happy. I felt warm inside me. Not warm as if I was sick but a warm tingly feeling that felt good. I’m starting to take a liking to this little girl. She reminds me of Vernon and Luke, my little twin brothers.
Leslee leaned close to my ear and whispered “Thanks for playing along.”
We all walked along in dead silence. The only sound was the chirping of the birds and the occasional chirping of the squirrels. We walked in silence until we came across a small cottage. It was made of grey roughly stones. The roof was made out of brown curved shingles, commonly used in Mexico.
“This is where we live.” Claudia said so suddenly, it made me jump.
Leslee shakes his head in disapproval. “ For a gladiator who fights three four times a week, you are too jumpy.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m afraid of the Cranitors.” I managed to squeak out.
The Cranitors were the Emperor’s big, fearless, warriors. They acted as if they were the Emperor’s pets. The Cranitors wouldn’t stop for nothing and if they did it would have to be by the Emperor and only the Emperor’s commands.
I was taken inside and instructed to lie down on the bed by the door. Leslee had disappeared for a couple of minutes leaving me with Claudia’s intimidating stare watching me. I closed my eyes to escape my fear of this girl. I knew this girl was nothing compared to the people I have fought against. It was that she was not trying to kill me… at least I think. This was all that made it eerie.
I heard the rip of fabric and my eyes twitched but I forced myself to keep them closed. A large but gentle hand had grabbed my arm. Almost instantly, pain shot through my arm. I couldn’t help it but my eyes shot open. I jerked my arm back a bit but Leslee made his grip tighter.
“Ouch! That hurts!” I yelled at Leslee.
“Just relax, Granite. This is a fabric that will help you heal.”
He showed me the fabric. It was neon yellow and very think. He began wrapping my arm as he spoke.
“It’s called a Gilac. It is very effective and very powerful. If you use it too much, it will dig through your bone. My dad invented it to help patients heal quicker. Like for example you.”
“He’s not here now because he went to go and sell the product around town. One day he will return.” Claudia added on.
“He taught us how to make it.” Leslee said while he finished wrapping my arm.
Leslee went to a sink and filled up a cup of water. He grabbed something also out of the drawer but I couldn’t see. Leslee walked over to me again. He lifted my bad arm. The object I couldn’t see was a baster and he took a few drops of water into it. The drops of water went onto the Gilac and it swelled up. I was amazed.
“Yes. It needs water to become hard.” Leslee said when he noticed my surprised face.
The whole time Leslee talked to me, he never rose his voice nor should any type of anger. The way he was treating me made me regret yelling at him, multiple times. My arm stiffened up and the pain that was there earlier was executed. I felt sweet relief and comfort. I smile at Leslee reassuringly and he returned the smile. Suddenly I ask myself the question, “Where are these kids’ parents?”
The father is out on business but how long has he been gone? Leslee seemed uncertain with his answer. What about their mother? If I wasn’t so skeptical and shy, I would ask all of these questions. Only this is the way I am. I question people’s decisions and try to stay quite.