Clap.

  The lights in the stadium cut out. Darkness closed in on everything. The endless roars of the crowd died instantly, replaced by an eerie, suffocating silence.

  My heart beat faster, drumming against my ribs like a warning bell.

  "Isaac? Rona? Are you guys still here?" I whispered, waving my arms blindly to avoid bumping into anyone.

  Then, light. A single spotlight appeared at the bottom of the arena.

  A man with slick blond hair and a pristine monocle stood on a floating platform. He rose slowly, dramatically, as if this was all part of an over-rehearsed stage play. With a flick of his fingers, the stadium lights snapped back on.

  The lights restored. I finally saw the arena properly.

  We were sealed inside a colossal metal box sunken into the stadium floor, its walls slanted slightly inward, curving like the inside of a massive steel bowl designed to funnel anything that ran toward the center. The floor was broken into uneven metal panels, some slightly raised, others thin enough to flex underfoot, as if the ground itself were testing our weight. Four angular corners jutted out like broken teeth, narrow wedges of space where the curving walls failed to meet.

  There was nowhere to climb. Nowhere to hide. Just a huge space to run.

  The man cleared his throat, trying to grab our attention. "Ahem!" He flashed a devilish grin, bowed, and adjusted the mic attached to his ear.

  "Welcome, you sick wackos, to our main event of the year: The Blood Bathe." His voice boomed with flair. "I am your host once again, the dashing and still-very-single Mr. James. Ladies, take note. Ahem. Ahem." He threw a wink at the crowds.

  Laughter exploded from the crowd.

  He raised both arms into the air and announced. "Just like last year, we've gathered some adorable little contestants straight from Eden."

  "Eden?" I asked quietly.

  Isaac replied, "It's what they call the surface. Where we used to live. Above ground."

  "Above ground?" I blinked.

  "We're in their domain now. This place, they call it The Valley. It's an entire civilization built underground, hidden from the world. They've been living down here for generations, away from prying eyes."

  "Ouish… Imagine building an entire society underground without anyone knowing. That's insane!"

  Mr. James raised a finger. "But this year, we've made a few delightful changes. Instead of cramming everything into one bloody mess of a day, we're spreading it across several. Why, you ask? I don't know. Not my business. I'm just the poor little emcee." He winked again. "But not too poor. Ladies."

  The audience chuckled again.

  "There will be three games in total. First up, our cute little bunnies will hop around a maze of obstacles; sunken panels, collapsing floors, little accidents waiting to happen. Think potholes, but hungrier. By the end of it, we'll have our champion jumpers!"

  "Potholes?" I scanned the floor. Where? I don't see any and I'm definitely not blind. I have 20/20 vision.

  Mr. James, as if heard what I've said, pressed something on a floating blue screen and a little soft Click was heard.

  A trapdoor snapped open, and a child fell straight down into a pit of darkness. That poor child didn't even have time to scream.

  "What the...? Huh?" I blinked. I couldn't even form a sentence. My brain was temporarily offline.

  "Oopsie," Mr. James giggled softly. "Such clumsy fingers."

  A boy near us shouted, "What happened to him?!"

  "Isn't it obvious?" Isaac muttered. "He's dead. Either that, or he jumped in willingly."

  "I don't like him. I prefer Isaac!" Rona announced as she hugged Isaac tightly.

  Isaac shoved her off. "What is wrong with her brain?! No, wait. Does she have one?!"

  Mr. James leaned in with exaggerated drama. "What happened to the boy, you ask? Why, he was eaten by Monica!"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Monica? Who's that?" The same boy asked.

  "Our dearest mascot! The cute and very lovable Monica! Isn't that right, everyone?!"

  The crowd roared.

  Rona's eyes sparkled. "I wonder what Monica looks like. I bet she's gorgeous!"

  Mr. James pointed down.

  We followed his finger, and saw it.

  Yellow-red eyes glinted from the darkness below. A massive mouth stretched wide inside the pit. It didn't look like a mouth.

  It was a pit.

  A black void lined with interlocking teeth, its hunger pressing outward like heat.

  "Cute? Lovable? Where?! Who?!" Isaac whispered. His voice shook with disgust.

  Rona stared into the pit, transfixed. "Monica, duh. Her eyes sparkle like stars~"

  "That's not sparkling. That's predatory glow. You need to get your eyes and brain checked." Isaac scooted further away from her. I better stay away. Her stupidity might be contagious.

  I gulped, my body shuddered. "She just has… a unique taste."

  Somewhere in the crowd, a banner waved: MONICA, PLEASE EAT ME!

  Isaac glanced at it. "Then why doesn't he jump down? No one's stopping him."

  Mr. James's mouth puffed out a little. "Alright, alright. Let's not steal my spotlight, folks."

  The crowd quieted immediately.

  "Thank you," he said. His mouth less puffed out now. "Now, the rules. There are none."

  The kids around us went rigid.

  "But there is a time limit, 60 minutes. All these bunnies need to do is hop. Sounds simple, doesn't it?" He gave a wide grin. "We wouldn't want the event to drag too long. Wouldn't want to run out of bunnies before the main course!"

  The crowd exploded in laughter.

  A massive countdown screen slid into place above us.

  BIG SCREEN:

  3

  2

  1

  BEGIN!

  The ground jolted violently. Everyone fell at once, bodies slamming into metal as screams collided.

  Buzz. Beep. Whirr. Clang. Hiss.

  The sounds layered over each other, crawling through the metal beneath our feet.

  The box trembled as unseen machinery whirred to life around us.

  Then, silence.

  A boy scoffed. "Is that all?"

  Thump. Clang. Ring. Ring.

  The sound echoed. Something was coming.

  I leaned closer to them and whispered, "Rona. Isaac. Let's team up. We might have a better shot at surviving."

  Isaac leaned in. "Do you know what's coming?"

  "I have a hunch. I think it's… a giant metal ball."

  "Ballzy!" Rona giggled, clearly excited.

  "You didn't hear it? The rolling?" I asked.

  Isaac shook his head. "My hearing's not that sharp. How do you know?"

  "I'm sensitive to screeches. Metal-on-metal… it's a sound I can't ignore."

  Isaac nodded. "Then stay sharp."

  THUD.

  A massive metallic sphere dropped into the center of the arena, denting the floor panels outward as it struck.

  My breath caught. "Oui. This ain't good…"

  The moment it started rolling, chaos erupted.

  Everyone ran.

  I turned to grab Rona, but she was gone.

  "Rona?! Where are you?!" I screamed.

  Isaac grabbed my arm. "We need to run! Now!"

  I turned. The ball was already on us.

  We bolted. At the last second, we dove to the side.

  WHAM!

  The ball passed us with a hair's width.

  I gasped, "Wait! Wasn't it going the other direction?!"

  Isaac was breathing heavily. "It changes direction. Unpredictable. And it's getting faster."

  "Ouuiii…" I bent down, catching my breath. Then I looked up.

  "Behind you!"

  I yanked Isaac away just in time.

  "Thanks."

  "No probs. Got a plan?"

  Isaac pointed. "The corners. A ball this big can't roll into sharp corners. If we stay in one, we might be safe."

  "You're a genius."

  "Thanks. But let's save the praise for later. We might not make it before the ball catches up."

  "Of course… there's always Monica if you prefer getting eaten instead of squished."

  We looked over the edge.

  Monica stared back at us.

  "Ugh…" we both groaned.

  Just as we moved, something snapped shut around our ankles.

  CLINK.

  Cold metal cuffs clamped tight around our ankles, biting into bone. Short chains fired from them, skidding across the floor before locking into recessed slots between the panels with a violent click. The chains pulled taut all at once, yanking us off balance as the floor anchors retracted, dragging us flat. We crashed face-first into the grimy metal floor.

  "…"

  Isaac's glasses were skewed across his face as he bit back a groan. "There better be a good reason for this."

  "Ouuii… my poor face."

  Isaac scowled. "Forget your face. Think of all the filthy shoes that have touched this floor!"

  "You look fine."

  "Do you even know how many germs are down here?!"

  "Mic test. 1, 2, 3~" Mr. James chimed in. "Looks like the mic's still working! Tick-tock! It's already been 20 minutes!"

  "Only 20?!" I collapsed again.

  Mr. James smiled. "So many bunnies still hopping. Let's heat things up. Shall we?"

  Without waiting for a response, he pressed a button on his screen and something moved.

  Click. Clack. Weeee…

  Tubes slid out from the box walls.

  My head spun. "I have a bad feeling about those."

  FWOOM.

  Fire blasted from them.

  The heat slammed into us like a furnace door thrown open. Screams cut off mid-note as flames swallowed bodies whole, reducing them to drifting ash before they could even hit the floor.

  I could barely breathe. "The heat… it's insane."

  "Flamethrowers?" Isaac guessed. "No… worse."

  He looked at the ball.

  Flames crawled across the giant orb, clinging to its surface as it began rolling again, turning it into a burning sun with momentum.

  "Now it burns and squishes?!" I stared at it, stunned.

  "There goes our corner plan…"

  The metal ankle shackles released with a sharp click and disappeared. Above us, Mr. James lounged in midair, savoring his premium tea. He lifted the cup, inhaled deeply, then took a delicate sip.

  "Such an exquisite aroma and taste," he sighed. "Reserved only for refined gentlemen like me."

  Across the arena, near the opposite wall, we spotted Rona. Skipping between scorched floor panels, humming softly, untouched by the chaos around her. My stomach hollowed as dread pooled heavy in my chest.

  The ball was heading straight for her.

  "Rona! Rona, come here!" I screamed.

  "LalalalaDoDoHaHa~" she sang, lost in her own world.

  Isaac yelled, "Come here, you dimwit!"

  She finally looked up.

  Just as the flaming ball bore down on her.

  "RONA!" we screamed, our voices tearing out of us at once.

  This marks the start of the first “game.”

  You can probably guess: not everyone’s making it out of this one.

  Thanks for reading. Feedback and theories always help!