Chapter 12: An Unexpected Checkout

When K4T13 departs the arena for what will be her last time, she makes her way to the house across town that serves as the control center for the contest and houses the network staff, representatives for the sponsors and the secretive organization that founded the competition a decade before. Even as she enters, she is handed her termination paperwork to sign and she happily signs it, listening to them yammering on about how disappointed they are with her choices and overall performance in this years contest. She listens with only half an ear and when they realize that she isn’t paying attention, they stop talking and escort her to the door with four armed security officers. She walks almost sprightly with them to the garage and climbs into the van that will take her to the airport, and later home. She will be kept under guard for the duration of the contest so she cannot unduly influence the competition.

She knows the protocols and knows that her cybernetic counterpart L10N3L B3ND5M0R3 was likely immediately dispatched to the arena to take over for her and she hopes that things will settle down as she knows her own presence had only exacerbated the tension that had already existed inside the arena.

What she didn’t foresee was Lainee; who is angry at Katie and resentful with many of the competitors so she calls down immediately after Katie’s departure to begin the next round of combat without the enforcer in place.



The car pulls up and Lionel steps out only ten minutes after Katie had arrived at the control center and is greeted by Lainee the Overseer when is just barely walking through the gates. Lainee seems to be friendly, not something he was expecting from her considering how acerbic her personality has been for the duration of the contest so far. He is fairly passive and as such, lets her speak about how nice it is for him to be here so fast to take over for the treacherous Katie. Lionel expresses his interest in getting to work and is about to ask when the next round will begin, but seeing them gathered in the ring, he assumes it already has and walks over to take his place near the only exit to the ring.



Lainee goes to change as the competitors take their places either in the ring; in the case of Ayasha and Tarik or sitting on the benches on the observation decks to wait their turns. When Lainee returns, she takes her place in the ring and puts on a bland look as the first pair of competitors begin the fight.

Both Ayasha and Tarik are focused and ready for their match, neither want to give the other an opening they can exploit for points. At Lainee’s word they begin circling slowly, not only taking their time, but feigning blows here and there to test their opponent’s reactions and skills. Tarik has come a long way from his first days here and Ayasha finds no openings in the initial exchanges. She begins to settle into a steady rhythm of punches and kicks, most without much hope that they will connect since he seems to be on his game today.

She sees a fevered light in his eyes and an intense furrowing of his brow in concentration as she looks up and almost falters in her attack, having to duck under a roundhouse kick, nearly getting struck in the jaw. His hands and feet work a delicate dance as they dart in and out and he even manages some flip kicks to no effect on the skilled martial artist.

Ayasha tries some more complex attacks routines, but they are stopped cold by the seemingly insurmountable defense of Tarik. The man knows he has been lucky thus far, any minute the woman will unleash her true skills and defeat him quickly. After another couple of minutes he realizes that it isn’t going to and goes on the offensive.Whether she is distracted, tired or just plain sick of this competition is unclear to Lionel. What is clear is that his single attack routine takes her off-guard so entirely that he strikes solidly with a fist to her sternum, elbow to her knee and roundhouse kick to the head while she is still recovering, sending her to the mat and into the realm of the defeated.



Simon and Rowena are the next to face off in the great ring; under the watchful eye of both the overseer and the enforcer. Rowena rushes in and attacks hard and fast with fists and feet a blur of motion, going for as quick a victory as she can. Simon is forced back by the strength of her attack and actually takes a glancing blow to his temple for his trouble. He remains on the defensive until her initiative wears down and comes in hard and fast, though only scores a single point with a sweeping kick across her shins. She rolls to her feet quickly to avoid elimination, but it’s a delaying action only as a second kick; a flying one nearly takes her head off, sending her to the ground outside the ring.



Soon it is time for Saraya and Owen’s match for round three and they take their places in the ring feeling a mixture of fear, nervousness and maybe even a little anxiety since both haven’t been doing well of late. All of those sensations melt away like the faces of the others in the arena around them and soon there is nothing but determination and the two of them locked in the nearly titanic struggle for a victory. The bodies of the two competitors become weapons as hands, feet, heads and most other parts are used in the battle. Owen and Saraya both have martial training and as such circle for many long minutes, neither landing a blow on the other. Owen feigns a misstep back and Saraya falls for the trap. As she rushes in to take advantage of the slip, Owen falls backwards on purpose, dragging her down with her and launching her up and over his head as he rolls backward and her impact against the side of the ring shakes the ground.

She recovers quickly and scrambles to her feet just as Owen is coming in for what he believes to be his final attack. He is correct in that assessment, but not in the outcome as a fist connects with his throat and sternum in rapid succession and Saraya; unable to stop the attack sweeps him from his feet. Owen limps to the barracks to lie down on his bunk, gulping air through his injured windpipe, certain it will have some affect on his performance in the second heat.





Owen thought long and hard over the events in the arena and sees and inkling that perhaps something is amiss. Lionel came to attend him with a medical kit and his skilled metal hands, managing to coax life back into his batter windpipe and help him feel better about his chances in the next heat for round three. He goes up to the courtyard and finds Tarik; who until now has lost pretty much every round. The Egyptian is standing by the graves of Troy and Blaze, a somber look on his face and even Owen can feel the sadness emanating from the other man. Owen grabs his arm and turns him roughly around.

“What’s up with you?” He demands angrily. “Before now you’ve lost pretty much every round, how is it that this time you take on one of the best of us and win?” Tarik is taken aback by the other man’s aggression. He expects it in the ring, but not when the match is over and they are supposed to be at their leisure. “I see that fevered look in your eyes; I can almost hear your heart pounding through your chest… should I go to the overseer and tell her you are on drugs?” He growls. Tarik’s eyes widen, having never taken drugs in his life, so is astonished at the seemingly frivolous accusation.

“Perhaps you should brother, and once it is determined that I haven’t taken anything to enhance my performance, I will expect an apology for your errant judgment.” He says mildly, once the initial shock wears off. “Before the match began, I prayed most fervently to Allah, to take away my fear and for the strength to overcome my enemies… and to see my family again, nothing more.” He turns back to the graves, but Owen hears him say “Apparently my return to his sight after so long of being blind to him was rewarded. Perhaps it would have been wise to pray to your God for a better result of your own battle.” He finishes and turns to walk away, leaving Owen in stunned silence.



As he stares back down at the graves of his fallen companions his mind wanders back to the last day he spent with his family; how angry his wife had been at his choice to take part in the competition. “It doesn’t need to be this way!” She had shouted angrily, and it was one of the very few times in her life that she had stood up to her ordinarily domineering husband. “I think there is another way… I will get a second job or we will sell the house and buy something smaller… please don’t do this!” She was almost frantic in her anger, tears welling in her eyes. “I will do what I think is right!” Was his principal argument, that and his thoughts of not wanting to take a step back in life so to speak… moving back to smaller place, having to work excessively just to make do; though with two extra mouths to feed. This competition is a winning situation whether he wins or loses.



Her tears fell freely down her cheeks and she pled for him to change his mind. Her sobs and pleading tugged at his heart strings and he was about to give into her, but before he could even explain the rationale behind his insistence, she turned and walked up stairs, and it would be one of the last times he saw her. He heard the door slam upstairs, and as he went up, could hear her crying on the other side of their bedroom door. He could imagine her sitting on the bed with her head cupped in her hands sobbing, and a wet handkerchief in her lap. Breathlessly, she would be praying to Allah for guidance or strength to live with his decision; one she likely believed to be selfish. He is lost in thought through the whole of the elimination round and goes off to be alone, a bit depressed from thinking his wife may have been right.



Owen decides to take Tarik at his word since the next heat begins within a few minutes, taking all of his much-needed attention. Luckily he isn’t the first of the defeated to start the fight anew as Rowena and Ayasha get into the ring with everyone watching.

Rowena starts off strong like she did Simon, hoping this time will have a different outcome, hands and feet a blur as they attempt to overwhelm the other woman’s strong defensive stance. Ayasha is skilled and now more determined than she was during the first heat; made even more intense with the prospect of getting eliminated. How she will fare, she doesn’t know, but Ayasha only hopes Rowena’s initiative will wane, giving her an edge. It doesn’t really happen this time; the woman is pretty relentless in her attack. Ayasha manages a point despite the woman’s aggression and soon takes a fist to her jaw; almost in frustration; giving Rowena, the final point.



Owen steps into the arena, resigned to accept whatever happens, though he will do his best to continue further into the contest, Tarik’s words stick in his mind and deeply affects his performance. The distraction is so profound that Ayasha scores two points on him before he can even go on the defensive. To his credit though, and such is his determination, he scores two points on her before he falls beneath her sudden and violent final onslaught.



Rowena takes her place in the arena and Owen’s determination is waning; though she is unaware of the fact. He is a tough opponent none the less blocking each of her measured strikes skillfully and with strength. Rowena’s iron determination nets her all three points, eliminating Owen from the competition. L10N3L comes forward from his vantage at the side of the arena and speaks with him softly, and Owen walks down the stairs without a fight.





As the droid watches, Owen passes through the doors to the cell and he hears the snap of the lock as Lionel locks it behind him. A flood of emotions overwhelms the doomed soldier and cries like never before. Even during the darkest days of his life; when it seemed like everything in his life was collapsing around him like a house of cards he never cried, just stubbornly got up off the floor and faced it like a man; like a soldier. Things are definitively different this time; his life is most decidedly over and he knows it won’t be long before he will find out for himself whether there is an afterlife or not. More than shambles, nothing left of his life remains except for regret and pain he has caused others. The main reason however is the sad truth that his life is over before it truly began; he had squandered the life he’d been given and that is the most profound pain he has ever felt, and it cuts him to the bone.

Outside the door Lainee charges down the hall and confronts Lionel, who is surprised at the overseer’s verbal attack. “You were supposed to escort him to his cell AFTER you inflicted some pain on him… at least that worthless K4T13 got that part right!” She says in a loud voice. “I carried out my duty as I saw fit Overseer… he is in the cell as he should be, how is inflicting pain on him before the end good for anything?” He says in his monotone. The overseer isn’t amused at the robots’ attempt at soothing her. “I am the overseer, and what I say in this contest goes… if you cannot abide by my wishes, I will find someone else who will.” She growls threateningly.

The simbot isn’t even a little frightened. “Nowhere in the rules of this competition does it state that the defeated competitor should receive anything more than an escort to the cell unless they attempt to flee. He didn’t make the attempt, so it was unnecessary.” He replies blandly and nearly shoves Lainee out of the way walking past. Lainee watches him depart, incredulous at the machine’s audacity and goes up to arena, all the while thinking of ways to pay him back for his impudence.

Neither one of them had noticed Saraya further down the hall, concealed behind one of the support columns. She had heard the entire exchange between them and before they left, slipped away unseen.





Lionel is a bit distraught over the whole incident with Lainee, she seems to think that just because he is mechanical and speaks in a monotone, he doesn’t have feelings or a sense of what is right and wrong. He needs someone to talks to and the first person he comes across is Saraya and for some reason she is a bit startled when he walks into the barracks behind her. It isn’t long before they are chatting amicably about her life before the competition. It is against the competition rules to talk about the competition itself except in the broadest of terms, so Lionel just doesn’t; only giving Saraya a general warning about the overseer.

Tarik was just walking in and heard the final warning too and Lionel glances over his shoulder at the man and simply nods when he sees him standing there. “You as well, she isn’t the person she pretends to be.” He says and walks back to the arena to clean up and Tarik himself is slightly troubled and decides to ask Allah for help in clearing his mind.



Simon finds Tarik in the grass near the arena and sees that he is praying, so decides to wait patiently for him to finish so her can talk to him about what Saraya has just told him. They had been in the kitchen having lunch; and as they ate, they talked quietly over a bowl of macaroni and cheese; the only thing really quick and easy. She had told him of the encounter she had witnessed between Lionel and Lainee and while he is a bit disturbed by it, he really isn’t surprised.





“Why are you going away papa?” Tanika had asked the last time he had seen her. Instead of going to face Melina, he decided to check on her instead. She had been in her room, quietly doing her own thing all day since she heard about him leaving Al-Simhara for Hidden Springs; halfway around the world. “I am doing it to make our family better. Grandma and Grandpa aren’t doing well, and your mom and I are having trouble paying the bills, the competition gives a cash prize to the winner.” He said, trying to keep it simple for his young daughter. She understood much more than he realized and she jumped into his arms and held him so she could look him in the eye.

“Promise me you’ll come back papa…” She had said tearfully, her voice cracking as tears overwhelmed her and turned to piteous sobbing. “Promise me…” She said weakly as he held her close for many long minutes, her sobbing leaving a large wet spot on his shirt. “I will do my best… with Allah’s help.” He replied weakly, on the verge of tears himself. “I’ll try…” he said over and over until they both stopped crying and just sit on the bed and talk very candidly about what the competition is all about. He stopped in to kiss his wife and the one she reciprocated with was nearly cold with rage, though her face had the façade of serenity.



He comes back to the present day and wipes the tears away from his eyes, hoping and praying to Allah to protect his family and to give him the strength to face whatever comes. He stands up and turns to see Simon watching him, sympathy plainly etched on his face. He quickly tells Tarik of the conversation Saraya had overheard between the enforcer and the overseer and he mentally files it away for later and they suddenly change the subject as Lainee comes up to inspect the arena, pretending to joke about something Blaze had done several days before… something that had infuriated them then, but they find it funny now that the man is gone. Lainee gives them a suspicious look, but when they start laughing, changes it to a scowl and stalks off grumbling under her breath.



Rowena; having spent the last few minutes cooling down with a nice glass of lemonade, goes toward the arena, having forgotten the book she had taken with her but had never managed to read, so intently focused on the action as she had been. When she nears the cell, she hears loud sobbing and wailing coming from inside and it cuts of suddenly with a choking sound that sends chills up her spine and sends her running to find Lainee; who is the only one that can get that door open.



She is truly frightened for Owen and tells Lainee in a rush what had happened, how she feels and what the Overseer should do. “There is nothing I can do until tomorrow; when he is scheduled to have his final ceremony, the rules of the competition state that very clearly.” The woman says blandly, as though Rowena is bothering her with what they are having for lunch, or if she can get some makeup sent in to her. “But he may be dead already!!” She says frantically. The other woman gives her a flat look. “Am I supposed to care?” She asks and turns to walk away, leaving Rowena feeling completely helpless and still feeling deep concern for Owen. She tells the others of what happened and none of the contestants sleep that night, all deeply worried for the man in the cell, who has made no noises since then and who makes none during the long night; possibly the longest night of the lives of everyone. 

No one is quite prepared for what they see the following morning when Lainee finally relents and opens the cell door.

Chapter 11: A Task Completed

When the overseer announces that they will have the day off, Ayasha high-tails it to the secret room she had discovered three days earlier and teleports for what she hopes will be the last time to the home of Professor DeHaviland. She had received a text message in the wee hours of the morning from her grandfather. He had said he looked forward to seeing her in the morning and she knew exactly what that meant.

He is standing there patiently as she appears and walks over and gives him a hug; not something she would normally do; but considering that she may not see him again, finds it strangely fitting and finds that he returns her hug; another oddity considering his normally old-fashioned and reserved nature. “Everything is arranged… shall we finish this?” He asks and she nods, turning to the house, where the strange professor is standing in the doorway regarding them with his quirky smile.



Ascending the stairs, they enter the house and the doctor gives them a brief welcome, but knows they are a little pressed for time. Ukito is soon ensconced in the kitchen with a cup of tea with a particularly talkative housekeeper named Francine keeping his porcelain cup filled and his time filled with conversation. Ayasha is taken to the study where she is offered a glass of lemonade, which she takes and sips as he speaks.





“Everything is prepared as per your instructions and those of your Grandfather; we are expecting guests in only a few minutes but I thought to give you a chance to see what we have created and expect that should you survive your upcoming trials, we could perhaps do business again in the future.” Ayasha just nods, unsure of how to respond, taken by surprise by him knowing of her situation. “Thanks, that would be nice and I hope the same… you have been very accommodating.” She hopes that is sufficient. She has really never been good about expressing herself or articulating herself in anything other than anger and it give her an unfamiliar feeling of awkwardness. 

Sensing her unease, he lifts his glass. “Here is for the conclusion of our project and to your continued survival.” He says cheerfully. With the clinking of their glasses, each of them finishes their juice and sets the glasses down on the table.



“Follow me… I thought you’d want to see the fruits of our labors before everyone else.” He says leading her deeper into the house and takes a set of spiral stairs recessed into the floor that lead to the basement. It is dimly lit with candles and colored in reds and blacks as she follows him down the short hallway and passed by two doors, one on the left, then one on the right and wonders only idly what lay behind them. She is strangely hesitant about this but if she can stare down her enemies than this should be easy… but it’s not. 

Professor DeHaviland rests a hand on her shoulder warmly and turns to enter the last door they had passed and there is a slight metallic smell intermingled with chemicals as the door closes behind him.





She steels her will and opens the door. He is sitting at the computer playing chess and all she can see is the back of his red head and his orange shirt through the slats in the back of the chair. Like the rest of the basement, the room is decorated in red and black, but the coverlet on the bed, seat of the chair he is sitting on and an area rug on the floor are set in patterns reminiscent of his namesake and apparently chosen by him since it kind of clashes with the rest of the decor. 

“Blaze?” She asks, moving into the room so she can see his face and is taken by surprise at the hint of familiarity in it. It is very likely that this is what his namesake looked like when he had been a child and it’s wonderful to see that he seems to be smart, but she is curious if he has that endearing (and slightly annoying) childish nature he had.







He looks up from his game and regards her with a look of intense concentration. “Do I know you?” He asks after a moment. “I don’t think so… I am Ayasha Miakoda.” She replies slowly and he gets to his feet. “How do you know my name?” He asks and she just looks down at him. “I knew it when I saw you… if that makes any sense.” She says quietly. His smile is pure innocence and trust. “It’s kind of the same thing as thinking I have seen you before… but haven’t.” He replies with a happy smile. 

“The Professor told me some people were coming to take me home today… are you them?” He asks, suddenly serious to which she shakes her head sadly. “I would love to take you home and make sure your life is as easy as possible… but I just can’t.” He hugs her. “It’s okay, we can still be friends.” He says idly and reaches in to hug her and for the second time today feels the strange comfort in having someone give her a hug. “Of course we can…always.” She replies and pulls away from the boy, blinking to keep tears from forming. Even she hadn’t really known what the outcome of this venture would be… she had succeeded in giving Blaze a second chance.

He seems to sense how she is feeling. “I was reading something about Llamas the other day and wondered if Llamas’ had a religious leader, who would it be?” At first she thinks he is joking, but by his serious face, perhaps it is really something he wants to know. She thinks for a minute, but can’t really think of any intelligent response to his question. “I don’t think they have a religious leader.” She replies simply and he laughs… “Sure they do, the Dalai Llama!!” He replies, bursting out laughing; which is so contagious even Ayasha chuckles at the prospect of all the world’s llamas listening to the prayers and musings of probably the most holy man in the world. She tousles his hair playfully getting an impish grin from him. “Are you ready to meet your new family?” Ayasha asks, changing the mood back to sober and he shrugs noncommittally. “I guess.” He answers and she leads him out of the basement and into the living room.



A married couple, Hector and Marisa Medina are sitting on the sofa and look over at them as they walk into living room and seem on the border of rushing over to the boy. Blaze doesn’t seem to be frightened or even concerned when he sees them; in fact it seems to Ayasha that he is eager and a bit curious. He stops a few feet from the sofa and Ayasha goes to sit down on the loveseat to make sure he will be in good hands.





Hector gets to his feet and advances slowly on Blaze, who takes a couple steps towards him. The man smiles as he looks over the boy. “Hello Blaze, my name is Hector Medina and this is my wife Marisa. She and I would really like to have you come and stay with us. I have a gift for you, but don’t think that means you have to say yes.” He says warmly, producing a package from behind his wife’s back. “Thanks a lot!” He says happily and tears into it, revealing a stuffed bear made up to look like a rocker… complete with a spiked Mohawk, sunglasses and studded leather jacket.”Wow, it’s so cool!” He says hugging the bear close and something about the bear tickles the back of his memory, but he can’t figure out what. 

They chat for a few minutes before he is comfortable, then Blaze goes up to Marisa. “I’m Blaze… and I was hoping you could tell me why in the Lion King movie Simba’s dad died.” He says with a straight face looking up the woman. “I think it was because he was trampled by wildebeests.” She ventures a guess, having only seen the movie once or twice and only vaguely remembers the plot. He shakes his head sternly. “Nope… because he couldn’t Mufasa… get it… move fasta?” He says triumphantly with a laugh to which Marisa just laughs with a rueful shake of her head. 

To Ayasha; who is watching the exchange, it is definitely a sign that Blaze will get a second chance at the life he was cheated out of; maybe even a better one. She watches as Marisa crouches before the boy. “I want to tell you how much it would mean to me and Hector to have you come and stay with us; to be our son, and so we can be your parents.” She says soberly and the boy catches onto the seriousness. 

“We cannot have children of our own, but want nothing more than to have a family. We’d do our best to make sure you always have love and support… I won’t lie and tell you that everything will be perfect because it won’t. We will likely have disagreements, hurt feelings and maybe even yell at each other. But we will put your welfare above our own and try to give you the best life we can afford to.”



There are tears in young Blaze’s eyes as he extends his arms up to Marisa. “I would like a family.” He says softly, almost too softly for Ayasha to hear even a handful of feet away. With a long hug, they thank Professor DeHaviland for his time and service and meet with the social services workers that are waiting outside for them to sign the necessary paperwork and Ayasha watches them drive away from the window while waiting for her grandfather.



During that exchange, Professor DeHaviland is meeting with Ukito Miakoda in the study. “I have fulfilled my obligation to you in this matter. I can assume the debt that I owe you and yours is dispatched?” He asks hopefully and with a touch of nervousness. “It is indeed, you performed admirably in fulfilling what instructions I gave you. Perhaps the time will come when I will have debt to you.” He says simply but with a knowing smile and with a clasping of hands, the deal is concluded and Ukito walks out without a further word. Ayasha thanks him and bids farewell to her grandfather for what may be the last time and returns to the arena the way she came.





Simon and Saraya are heading for the courtyard above when they hear a strange grinding sound and see a door opening in what had seemed a solid wall. At first they are concerned for what could possibly be coming out, but when the door swings fully open, Ayasha steps out into the hall, freezing when she sees them standing there. All three are surprised by the situation and don’t see or hear the door close seamlessly behind Ayasha.



“So this is where you go when you disappear for hours… what’s in the secret room? I think I should let the overseer know so she can take care of it.” She growls as she steps towards Ayasha threateningly. “I can explain…” She stammers, but Saraya starts yelling at her again. “I think it’s extremely selfish of you to keep such a room from the rest of us… how do you know that we don’t want a place to hide too? What were you thinking keeping something like that a secret?” She demands. Before Ayasha can even begin to explain, the other woman throws her hands up and stalks away, muttering under her breath.





As Ayasha rounds the corner a moment later the far door is closing behind Saraya, but Simon is standing there in the main hall waiting for her. “I found it a while back…” She says defeated; assured that the crazy Saraya is already looking for Lainee and telling her all about Ayasha’s secret hideaway. “I was going to tell everyone, but I had something I needed to do and needed a quiet place to do it.” She finishes. 

Simon sighs heavily and adjusts his glasses. “I think you should have told us when you first found it… hopefully Saraya doesn’t do anything foolish.” He says in his squeaky tenor. “I hope so too…” She says softly, her sentence fading to a whisper of exhaled breath. They part ways once and she feels strangely fortunate to have Simon’s trust in this matter, hoping most ardently that Saraya didn’t go looking for Lainee or Katie.





Saraya is on the ramparts of the arena staring out at the beauty of Hidden Springs and wondering if she will ever be able to leave this place. She is upset about Ayasha keeping a secret like that, but the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that everyone likely has secrets. “Look at Troy being gay… he kept that a secret to the end. It didn’t really do him any good though.” She says in a low harsh whisper. “And poor Blaze having such a hard life, but he still kept laughing and joking like it never happened… I hope it helped him there at the end.” She continues rambling to herself for several minutes before she hears someone coming up behind her and turns to face Ayasha.

“I had meant to tell you…and the others” She stammers, not in her usual, confident way. “I just had something to do first.” She finishes in a rush. It is all unnecessary and Saraya is strangely cool and relaxed, definitely not her normal, psychotic self. “It’s alright… most of us have secrets… good to finally see yours.” She says idly. If only the woman truly knew her, she’d know that she has many secrets, and some of them dangerous enough to kill her if they are revealed. This is a slip, nothing more. “I appreciate your discretion, thank you.” Feeling like she has a mouthful of peanut butter by the time the last two words come out.



When Ayasha departs, she heads down to inspect the newly furnished barracks; which had had workers busy all day clearing out debris and building the new military style bunks instead of single beds. She finds Simon selecting a bunk and approaches him. She had had a change of heart in all her musings on the wall and tells him so. “I decided not to say anything to the overseer, or the others. Perhaps we can keep it as our little secret for a while too; maybe one of us will find some use for it. Simon isn’t normally one for secrets, but knows if even one of the others lets it slip to the overseer or enforcer, they could all be in serious trouble. In the end he agrees and lies down for a nap after today’s events.







Each of the others come to pick their bunks since the sun is going down outside and the workers have finally left. Owen and Katie are standing near one of them and she is surprisingly verbose and wanting to express to Owen how she feels about yesterday’s events. Since her manufacturing at Simoptic Industries thirty years before, she has tried to be a model of behavior for a simbot, never getting into trouble or causing harm to people, but this job has inevitably changed her; and not in a good way. She has grown more testy and violent in the company of such violent and potentially deadly people. 

The first one to call her “Rusty” was a woman named Noe White and she was defeated in the first ever competition 10 years before and called her that when she was “escorting” the young lady to the cell. The girl had tried to run, fearful for her life and nearly escaped from the arena before Katie brought her to heel. She screamed “RUSTY!!!” over and over as she was dragged to the cell forcefully. Even now Rowena and Noe’s harsh words echo in her cybernetic brain and bring her pain.

When Katie finishes telling part of her story, Owen is surprisingly sympathetic to the simbot as he was in a similar situation himself. “I was exactly like you are now, so I know what it feels like. I was in the military and like you it changed me the longer I was there.” He says sternly at first, but softer as he goes along and some of the others present stop to listen. 

“I was with my unit and we had charged into a warehouse where the enemy was supposedly hiding. We made contact and opened up with our guns in their position. We had searched long and hard for them and I was so overzealous that I didn’t hear the change of our orders until it was too late. Two men from my unit were dead and I had killed them. I was court-martialed and sent back to the world in disgrace.” He says with a sigh. “There are only two things you can do, either live with it… or leave it behind like I did.” With that he goes to lie down on the nearest bunk and pulls the blankets up around his shoulders facing the wall and it seems to those watching that he is crying.





Katie ponders her dilemma for a while, but eventually reaches the only logical conclusion in her mind; to find a way to get out of here before she does something worse than shredding the furniture. She finds Lainee in the training room, practicing on some dark stone and confronts her, though the woman still seems cross with her since she is smashing the stone block with an almost inhuman fury. “I want to resign my post.” She says plainly and the other woman turns to regard her with a sour look. “You signed a contract… there is no resignation without two weeks’ notice and likely this contest will be over by then.” She says gruffly. “I don’t want to do this anymore!” Katie reiterates, putting as much strength in her monotone voice that she can. “Too bad… I will take your words as a two weeks’ notice, but you signed the contract, so you are here until that two weeks is over.” She says acidly and starts to turn back to her board breaker.





Katie grabs her arm and spins her around roughly, her hard metallic hard lancing in to smack the overseer with enough force to shake the woman’s teeth loose. “How dare you!” She hisses as she recovers. “For that I should be expelled.” Katie says impassively. “I don’t think so… you leave when I say you leave… not a minute before!!” The ruckus brings everyone into the room to watch the event and Katie simply turns back to face the red haired overseer. “You don’t control me, the sponsors do and their rules state that should the enforcer ever strike the overseer, they are to be immediately removed from the arena. Now it is my wish to go… or should I slap you around again, harder this time?” She replies blandly. “Get your sorry ass out of here before I make your Rusty insides your outsides!!” she shouts at the retreating simbot, who pays her no mind as she walks out of the arena forever; with a certain levity to her spirit and if she could smile, she’d have one from ear to ear.