The Belly of the Beast

Ch. 30, Serious as a Shark Attack

The beast had a long, powerful body, and tore through the swimmer. Dagger sucked in a breath and I swore as several submarine-esqe machines zoomed into the area. They were maybe the size of my head, with lights that sliced through the darkness, and some sort of mounted camera. I guess they have to have some way to show the people what's happening down here. The lights from the machines must have scared the beast, because it went careening back into the darkness, but not before it took the other swimmer with it.

It all happened in the space of a few seconds.

Then, slowly, the lights on the bottom of the tank faded, and the submarine cameras dispersed, until there was only darkness, and my own reflection watching myself wide-eyed in the glass, the all-consuming sounds of deep water pressing in.

"What was that thing?" I whispered.

Dagger didn't respond. But then I remembered an animal described in a book I'd once read, about a group of men on a small boat, trying to kill an animal called a shark. I'd assumed it was a made-up creature, like a dragon, but Xyla bet me it was real. Guess I owe you one, Xy. I pushed thoughts of the shark away and buried my panic by examining every inch of the cage. There had to be something I'd missed, something that could help us. Instead, I felt the water inching higher to my calves.

"There has to be something they didn't think of... something we can use against them. If we could just get to the platform, maybe I could— "

"They used the mark of infinity," Dagger said from his spot on the ground. "An unwinnable challenge. No one makes it out alive."

"You said the mark of infinity means that all of us are allowed to survive, just that it would be difficult to do so." I sounded obstinate even to myself. "They wouldn't make a trial with no way to survive. The whole point of the Letter Trials is there's always hope for redemption."

Dagger gave a short humorless laugh. "There's no such thing as redemption. Not on the Beast and certainly not here. Welcome to the Letter Trials, Z."

Suddenly it was easier to focus on my shitty partner rather than my shitty situation. "Screw you, Dagger."

He arched a single, perfect brow. "Excuse me?"

Anger rose now. "You heard me. Screw you. Screw you for giving up. Screw you for letting them walk all over you. Screw you for being a shitty partner. I would have been better off with Skull."

I saw it again; a flash of anger, a spark of the man I needed back. And now to fan the flame.

"I'm not going to play their game." His voice held a hard edge. "I won't be a pawn."

"Well too bloody late, you are a pawn. And a pretty damn useless one at that." I made my voice mocking, throwing his own words back at him. "Welcome to the Letter Trials." I slid down the glass wall, splashing into the cold water beside him, and put my head on my knees. On instinct I undid one of my fingers and began to twirl it under and over, under and over.

There was something I was missing. Something I hadn't thought of. There had to be a way out of this. Yaneli would have found it. Xyla would have been able to convince Dagger to help her. There had to be a way... There had to be something I hadn't seen...

Dagger surprised me when he spoke, so softly I barely heard him over the low rumble of the water. "This wasn't what I thought the Trials would be... I thought there would be honor. But there was no honor in the way I killed the men in the pit."

I met his eyes, and for the first time, wondered if maybe Dagger and I weren't as different as I'd thought. "I killed them too...But I'm not just going to lay down and die. That's a coward's way out."

There was a long silence between us, broken only by the creak of the box, the trickle of rising water and the vast low rumble of the water beyond.

"Is there a difference between a coward's way and a brave way if you die either way?" Dagger finally said.

"Yes."

"I didn't ask for us to be partnered."

"No, but they did anyway, because that's what the crowd wanted." My breath fogged the glass before me, obscuring the water beyond, making our world even smaller.

What would you do, Yaneli, if it were you here?

She had told me to fight in the first trial, but I didn't know how to fight here. I closed my eyes, took deep steadying breaths, and forced myself to think. Yaneli would have paused, backed up, looked at the entire picture, even the things that weren't obvious.

So what did I have? My arm? My wits? A shitty partner?

Just like that, I realized there was one more thing I had. One thing I hadn't counted on.

A crowd watching. A crowd that had wanted to see us together.

"Get up, Dagger." I rose from the water, my chest heaving, insanity or brilliance crashing together. "I have a plan."

"What is it?"

I gave him a slow, dark smile and waited until he rose. Then I stepped forward, over the circle of dark water, my heart beating hard in my chest. "The guards put us in this box for a reason. Because the crowd asked for it. So we give them exactly what they want."

"How do we do that?"

I took a deep breath, memorizing this exact moment, so I could tell Xyla every single detail and answer every question— of which I was sure there'd be many. 

"You kiss me."

(Bet you weren't expecting that ending ;D! So what do you think? What does Z have up her sleeve now? Any guesses?

Thanks so much to those of you reading and commenting--we are little by little seeing some new readers pop up! Welcome to all! 

Let me know: what is the first letter of your real name, and where would you be on the Beast? Any A names out there? I'd be doing pretty good as an H, haha ;D

Thanks also to those of you who have purchased my second published novel THE LAST CITY! It is out in hardcover, is available on Audible, and is also available as an ebook worldwide. 

Have a wonderful day and remember, live in the beast....

... die in the beast. 

-H.J.)