Page 13 of Bound to the Alien Gladiator
The crowd hushed as the hum of a recharging weapon drew my gaze. “I dropped it, so don’t step on the damn thing.”
“I’ll try my best.”
He staggered forward, the water sliding down his body and exposing more of his shoulder. The skin, black and glistening, peeled back with a soft tearing sound, revealing even more stark white bone beneath. A faint, metallic tang hung in the air. His thick scales were far too weak to save him from the energy gun.
The water turned orange as our blood mixed.
The rumble of the crowd increased. Never a good sign.
Khit traveled deeper into the water, closing in on us. Tezakk stalked forward, using his less dominant arm to hold theaxe as the other fell limply at his side. He was better off throwing the damn thing than fighting with it.
Anxiously, I treaded water, my tourniqueted leg dragging me deeper down each time I caught my breath. I waved the bloody water toward Khit, hoping against hope the mix of all three strains of our blood would work.
Their weapon beeped. Fully charged. Khit smirked, close enough now that the brown water rose to their waist. They aimed the gun at Tezakk’s chest. “You should have said yes.”
Tezakk threw his axe.
Khit shifted, and it sailed past her, joining Khit’s own weapon on the sand. “Idiot.”
“Now you die.” Khit smiled, sharp teeth coated in their green blood.
They raised their gun.
The crowd roared.
Water exploded. The gun went off. Sharp teeth snapped down on Khit’s torso. Khit screamed as they were dragged underwater.
The crowd thundered.
Tezakk called my name as he spun in the water.
“Here!” I waved and swam in his direction. “We should get to fucking land before it comes back to finish the job.”
“Agreed.” He pulled me close, the flat of the axe pressed against my back. His tentacles caressed my head and shoulders. “Are you injured?”
I hesitated to touch him with all the damage he’d sustained. “No more than before. How’s your shoulder?”
“Hurts like a bitch.” He grunted and walked closer to land.
Khit surfaced deep in the water. Green coated their chest and neck, flowing from deep puncture wounds. Their panicked eyes met ours as they sluggishly moved toward a pallet. “Don’t sit there, help me!”
My busted wooden handle surfaced, followed by the rest of the beast.
“You’d better hurry.” I didn’t know who I was talking to, Khit or Tezakk.
I heard splashing behind us, but I focused on one thing only. Where had Khit’s gun gone?
“Tezakk,” I whispered.
“I know.”
He approached the spot where Khit was pulled under. The water retreated at a fast rate. What should have been chest high now hit my hips. “They’re draining the pit.”
“Yes. They want to get to the weapon before we do.”
I stumbled and fell as my leg tried to support all my weight. The gun, an illegal Fifty-Ought, sat half buried in the sand a few feet from us. A weapon that was known for its faulty trigger mechanism and long charge times wasn’t the best choice to smuggle into the pit, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Khit screamed and splashed behind us. But I couldn’t care less about the shrieks of a dying enemy when fresh faced and clean guards now stood before us.
