Chapter 11 - An Old Man's Wish

I listen to her, quietly sipping on my increasingly bitter sag, trying my best to chase away the image of a dying parasite-infested girl fighting for her life deep inside a fight pit filled with sand vermin.

And yet, here she is, right in front of me, same creature, very much alive and just as defiant.

She puffs her massive chest out, clearly proud of her deeds in that miserable arena, but then her eyes seem clouded as she continues. Her gaze drifts off, staring through me. "Got sick from the bites, the rot got me, grew week, I was to be dead and thrown to their war haghks once dragged out of the pit."

I swallow hard. Her day had come, just as the old healer predicted. Those blood parasites started to multiply and spread inside her, clogging her veins, reaching her lungs and heart. She could no longer recover from her wounds, and each fight was crippling her a bit more. She survived by sheer will, but this was the end of the line for her.

Her eyes could not see much anymore. They dragged her and pushed her inside the pit. She kept to the mud wall, circling around, hearing the crowd cheering for her imminent death. And yet, she could feel it, movement, and if close enough, shadows moving toward her, fangs open, ready to take a bite of her weak body.

She felt the first bite, expected it. It happened far early than ever before. At least she knew what she was fighting against. She lashed out, ripping through flesh and bone as she always did. Half of the critters got mangled, the rest dashed away, keeping away from this savage beast, circling it cautiously. Everyone cheered, ignoring her blood painting the sand red under her scarred legs. Look, the small beast is fine! She's gonna survive again!

The mighty beast's voice trembles, her mouth dries, and her burning eyes fade.

Back then, the girl fighting in that pit was completely blind, away from the walls, surrounded by poisonous fangs from all sides. They circled her, hungry. One after another, they jumped at her. She couldn't hear them coming, always reacting after each bite. The crowd kept cheering with each strike, unable or unwilling to understand what was happening in front of their eyes.

Their voices grew higher as the pile of vermin corpses started to grow at her feet, she couldn't even hear the next strike. She was lost, barely standing, just waiting for the next bite, hoping to react before the creature retreated and another took its place. She was eaten in front of their eyes, piece by piece, while they all cheered, believing otherwise.

The end was near, and despite killing the last of the critters, her body could no longer take it anymore and finally gave up. She collapsed right there, in the middle of the small arena, on top of a pile of dead vermin. Finally, the pit won, and everyone who waged against her had something to celebrate.

The pit cleaners dragged her away and threw her with the rest of the vermin, ready to be fed to the Horde's hungry war haghks.

I wait breathlessly for her to continue.

"An old wise man saved me, he put a wager on me, sent a healer slow the rot inside," her voice comes back to life again.

I stare at her, confused. An old guy waged his coin for her? Why would anyone do that?

"He wasn't like them, he was like you," she smiles and points at me.

I look at her finger, shaking my head.

Like me? In what way?

Her eyes open, her past reveals itself to me.

He came from my world? He was a human? An old human saved her?!

"He bought me for the big pits, got me for cheap. No more vermin, no more poison! He found an axe for me, sharp as it could be, even got my chains down. I was to fight others!"

So much for the "good old man"!

The guy just wanted her to fight for him in the big men's arena, he was just trying to make more money as she was there, spilling her blood for him! What a fucking asshole! She was still a teen, for fuck's sake!

"Each yullun we fought with others, who survived, got food, drink, women, who died, fed the war haghks."

Her voice sounds normal again, yet her words disturb me even more. She survived only by fighting others, kill, or be killed, there's no way to get around it. Another murderous pit, another slice of hell. My stomach turns into knots just by imagining the pain and horrors she had to endure.

"I won, they didn't," she continues, grinning, eyes burning fierce, sending shivers down my spine again.

Wait! I thought...

Is she proud of her killing others in a fucking fighting pit?!

"Then he came to me, said sad words, cried, touched my head with his lips and give me the Th'al-nik. Taught me how to, and how not. He came to me right before the fights, and after."

Holy fuck! The old guy gave her the artifact and let her loose into the fighting pits?!

"It hurt me too," she continues, pointing at the bracelet. "I cried and cried. Every day it spins and I cry, but he brings me zanther root and then I go sleep. He gets the Th'al-nik away with him, gave it back days after. Said one day I'll get strong, too strong for the pits, one day I'll be free!"

She stops and reaches for another hunk of meat.

"What happened?" I ask.

"I got strong." She smiles, flexing her arms, bulging her massive giant biceps in front of my eyes. I stare at her body with renewed awe. Incredible fibers of power all tighten at once as all her veins and muscles seem to rip open through her skin.

Did the bracelet make her like this?

"They got mad, I was too good at killing, was no fun for them, lost a lot of wagers. They put me back in the cage, got beaten and starved, but the Th'al-nik kept me alive. They couldn't hurt me like that anymore. One day they tied me down, dragged me away and thrown me out in the sands. Just like he said, I was free!"

I shake my head. More like they were throwing her out there to get rid of her and die. But yes, she was free from their bloody pits if that was the old man's plan. Free to die alone in the desert... pray to the elements...

"Walked the sands, killing ash'ek, theelk, wargs, until Urek found me, or I found them," she remembers ,smiling wide, showing her sharp and elongated fangs.

She found them...

A cold sweat runs down my spine as I suddenly remember I'm having dinner with the strongest creature I've ever seen. A human-shaped beastly alien that survived the savage Ar'thagk horde's fighting pits all by herself, lived alone in the desert and then took hold of an entire tribe of savages, becoming their mighty top chieftain.

And I'm here right now, inside her den, sharing her food, staring at her body!

She can break my neck on a whim, crush my skull with a single hand, and there's no saying what those fangs can do to human or animal flesh. What's worst is that I know there's not a thing I can do to defend myself from such a creature. I should be terrified, dreading for my life, yet somehow, there's not a single trace of fear inside me.

Does this mean that I'm just getting used to the beast?

"His Th'al-nik saved me, but it could not save him," she continues in a deeper tone.

"The old man?"

"Paid an Ar'thagk chief, he brought his body to me. He died after I left. Burried him in the sands like he asked me to. He knew the old rot was about to get him, he wanted me to have the Th'al-nik and find a way back home."

He knew he was about to die? I stare at her, stunned. Back home? The old man wished for her to go back to her home?...

"It's not good for me anymore, too weak." She points at my bracelet, crushing a bone between her teeth.

My jaw drops!

She.... she's stronger than the alien bracelet itself!? How can that be? She must be joking, right?

"Searched the sands, found not much, only secrets, not many answers, too stupid for that." She smiles, eyes saddened somehow.

Her words confuse me. Too stupid for what?

"The old man told me many things, he was looking for a way back, found others, knew how secrets worked, lived a lot, he was very wise," she continues, sighing. "But the old rot got to him and he thought one like me could go deep into the sands, find new doors and face the beasts."

I stare at her in silence, trying to understand as much as I can.

The old man was looking for a way out of this place. He was a smart fellow, traveled this world, found some clues about these gates, but his time came, and he knew he wouldn't live for much longer. One day others told him about her, a wild, strange girl, a captive savage that refused to die, fighting her guts out in one of their blood pits. He made his way to the pits, never walked inside such places, always despising the horde for doing this to their captives.

And yet, once seated, he marveled at the sight. Alone she was, fighting a sand beast two times her size. While others fell, cut down by fangs or poison, she fought on, ripping the monsters with her bare hands, sinking her teeth in them, and surviving against all odds.

His old heart beat strong once more. She was not from this world! His intuition was right, he found another one! And just in time, as the last battle ended, her shivering, shredded body could not take it anymore, and the girl collapsed right in front of his eyes.

He got to her and saved her life. Her life was his to save. He gave her his most precious possession, the bracelet, and helped her get stronger, too strong for the fighting pits.

One day they'd get rid of her, the old man had seen it before, the usual way, thrown out in the desert to die. He planned it all along. He wanted her to escape and to continue his work, to find what he failed to find, a way out of this blasted world!

"I looked everywhere, sent men dig the caves, look under shifting sands. If a door stands, I'll go, if one crumbles, I'll know," she continues, staring through me. "I tried all of them, did as he asked, hunt all of them down."

Hunt all of them down? Her words trouble me as I realize the massive amount of time and effort this incredibly strong and powerful creature has invested in finding a way out of this damn world.

My heart sinks, my soul rages inside.

If the chieftain of the burning sands clans, the deadliest creature I've ever seen, can't find a way back to her home, what the fuck can I do?! What are my chances? She's a fucking animal! A monster! An abomination of nature! Why even hope at this point? In her place, I would be long dead right there in the first pit, in the first battle, eaten alive by poisonous sand vermin!

A shaking cold grabs hold of my body as the realization sets in.

I'm trapped here, forever stuck in this fucking world!

There's no way I'll ever go back!

"The only ones that open are those damn red ones. Ar'ght'ern! Miserable things always trying to kill you! There's nothing in there but blood and evil anyway. I don't know why he wanted me to find those!" She speaks, shaking her head before reaching down for another gaeng jug. "He told me that one day I'll get it. Get what?"

I stare at the table, confused, trying to make sense of her alien words. What is she speaking about? Red gates? I scratch my head, trying to remember. Mine had a gold glow, barely visible, nothing like the ones she talks about.

Are there other types of gates out there?

She speaks of miserable things inside, yet the old guy wanted her to find these gates, why? Why did the guy ask her to do such a thing? I wonder what blood and evil mean. Her words leave no doubt about it, there are some really dangerous things inside. Seeing her reaction, I fear the worst, yet I can't imagine it.

What are these red gates hiding?

My brain feels exhausted and defeated already, and so does my body. There are so many questions I have to ask her, so many answers I need to know. This world, her world, the gates, this damn alien bracelet...

I'm lost again, confused, my mind too tired to make sense of it all.

Right then, the slap comes! It hits hard, right on my back, forcing all the air out of my lungs. I gasp for breath as I turn around, outraged, just in time to see her eyes burning with excitement.

What the fuck?

She's grinning at me...

"You're a wizard, ur smart, you'll find out!" She nods at me, clearly proud of her assessment, teeth showing, and all that.

But I'm no...!

I wish to deny it, but no words come out. My life depends on her believing this nonsense, yet I'm beginning to painfully understand that soon enough, my "wizard" skills will be tested.

And when that day comes... I'll be dead...

"It's your turn to get good and find us the door back!" she proclaims, rising out of her seat and collapsing on her massive bed, face down, half-naked, showing off her muscular ass to me, not giving a fuck, instantly shutting down.

My turn? My turn to do what? Are you fucking kidding me?! There's no way in hell I can find what you and the old dude couldn't! I'm too weak for this world, remember? You even said so! I'm no wizard either, you should know that... eventually...

And another thing, I silently lament, still gasping for air, one day, we'll have to talk about how not to encourage people by breaking their bones. I have a limited number of ribs, damn it! This is not funny and hurts like hell! You're a fucking monster, and I'm... I'm just a.. normal guy... from Earth...

My complaints stay silent as always, not that it matters, she's already sleeping, her breathing slowed down, her body completely relaxed.

I get up, limping around the den, looking for a good place to sleep, trying my best to recover whatever is left of my breath and my dignity. Not that I got much left of that anyway.

The floor is completely covered in furs, all the way to the side of her bed and more. It looks fine to me, I couldn't ask for more. I lie down and roll one of the soft furs into a pillow, leaning it against the beast's bed frame. I drag another one over myself, just as soft as the first. Amazing, this is by far the best sleeping accommodation I've got since I set foot in this damn world!

Tomorrow we'll have a talk about these slaps... I lie to myself, rolling tight in my newfound shelter.

Deep inside the furs, the Th'al-nik's rotations send sparks of blue across my skin. I can feel them somehow, annoying twitches, and wish for them to stop already. I shake my arm a couple of times, unwilling to wake up. The numbness fades away, or so I think. I'm way too tired to check or care at this point.

My mind quickly shuts down.

Bloodthirsty beasts fill in my dreams as giant burning red gates collapse one after another.

There's no way I'll make it alive out of this place...