Page 40 of Blaze of Our Lives

“Truth hurts,” I said with a laugh.

“Fuck you,” she spat.

“Nope. You’re not my type,” I said. It was time to do it. The guys had lined up at the starting point. My heart pounded in my chest, and my mouth went dry. “You ready for this?”

“I was born ready,” Pandora supplied. “Do not fuck it up.”

“Umm… thanks for the pep talk.”

“Anytime,” she replied. “Anytime.”

The walk to the starting line felt like a walk to the guillotine. It wasn’t for my death, but the temporary death of my new friends. I shook off the unsettling feeling and got back into character. I’d perform my role with absolute attention to detail. Offing my buddies was going to be the easiest thing I did. Even with a head start and knowing they wanted no part of the game, I was still in trouble. I scanned the obstacle course. It was more like a colorful torture chamber. The steam coming up from the hot rocks was not fun to look at.

“Are you ready?” Heff Brobst shouted. He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he pulled out a bazooka, aka a recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher and fired it into the air. Ten of the muzzled birds fell to their death.

Heff was a fucking menace to society.

“What the hell was that?” Pandora shouted.

“The starting gun,” I said.

“Then GO!” she said in a rallying cry. “Kill your friends!”

The command was absurd. I followed her orders, but I added my own flourishes. I was an actress by trade, and I was going to use my gift.

“No one will get the prize but me!” I bellowed, drawing both purple fire swords. The guys stood together. I was off to their right. It was strategically perfect to end them with one mighty blow. “It’s time to say nighty-night, Demons.”

“Think again, plebian,” Drogruzun growled, gnashing his sharp teeth and drawing his own sword.

They stayed shoulder to shoulder and ran at me. Heff Brobst was losing his debatably sane mind. His whooping and cheering for a bloodbath made me want to turn my swords on him. I didn’t. At the very moment before the guys got close enough to attack, I swung. I swung with both skill and might. The slick, wet sound of my sword slicing their heads off at the neck was horrific. The visual was worse. The grins on their faces right before their heads lolled sideways onto their shoulders then tumbling to the ground at my feet with a thud would live in my nightmares. Watching the light go out in their eyes made my stomach roil. I wasn’t cut out for this kind of acting. Reality TV was so not my bag. If I’d had a stunt double, I would have happily bowed out of the scene.

I didn’t have a stunt double.

This wasn’t a show.

It might be a dream state, but it was my life and Pandora’s in jeopardy, and the outcome of the competition would determine whether we moved on to find the Higher Power or remained in this tropical hell with Heff and Phyllis. Getting stuck here was not an option.

“Go, go, GO!” Pandora urged frantically. “It has to look real. Move your ass.”

“On it,” I said as I sprinted to the netted mud box while scanning the ground for hidden landmines. “Have to belly crawl through the mud with a net over me.” I quickly retracted my swords and dropped down to all fours.”

“That’s disgusting,” Pandora hissed.

“Tell me about it.”

I didn’t waste a second. The landmines weren’t so hidden. I was able to avoid them. As I dragged my body through the rank sludge, I didn’t my best not to get any in my mouth. The net over me made it slow going. The mud was tarry black, warm and gooey. It smelled like the culinary disaster that Tim had prepared for lunch. Lunch felt like it had been a lifetime ago. I’d give anything to be in my living room eating food with my friends. I’d even ask for seconds of Tim’s icky casserole.

“Shit,” I choked out as a dollop of mud made its way into my mouth. “Ewwwww.” I spat, trying to expel the foul crap from my tongue.

“That tasted GROSS,” Pandora shrieked while coughing. “Whatever. Keep going.”

I didn’t know why she was complaining. I had to taste it first. Still, I apologized. “Sorry. Only a few more feet,” I huffed out as the mud weighed me down like wet cement.

The suction noise as I lifted my hands to drag myself forward was sickening. I felt panic, fear and then more panic. If I got stuck in the mud, I’d lose my shit. The mud seemed to get thicker and more cement-like with every inch I moved forward.

“Faster,” Pandora hissed. “You’re a Demon Goddess. PROVE IT. Move your wimpy ass.”

She was a nasty motivator, but it helped. Screwing up both my courage and strength, I hauled myself to the end of the box. Pulling the net off my filthy, caked body was tantamount to putting on tights over wet legs. It took some doing, but after a short struggle, I finally got it done. I gave myself a brief moment to bask in the small victory before I heard the commotion behind me. The guys were screaming and attacking each other. I could time myself by their deaths and regenerations. It had taken me only five minutes to get through the box, even if it had felt like a year. I wanted to turn around and watch the next part of the performance, but I didn’t dare. There were far too many dangers in front of me to look back.

---