The Belly of the Beast

Ch. 70, Teeth

"Of the many High Letter Trials I have observed, there is one in particular that stands out in my mind. It had been the subject of much discussion and passionate debate over the years, each retelling seeming to make it even more extraordinary.

Even though I was merely a child at the watching, the event stands out vividly in my memory. Perhaps I may finally lay to rest the many rumors swirling over the contested victory of the X-engineer who came to be known as "the Eel". To those who claim his partner willingly sacrificed himself to grant the Eel his victory, I tell you, you are wrong.

Most assuredly, he murdered his partner."

- The Fall of Earth and the Rise of Ark Nations

"Are you ready?" Dagger said, the lift raising the two of us up, the glow from the arena leaking through the darkness.

"Dag?"

"Yes?"

His eyes were guarded, and once again, I saw it, that hesitation, a pulling back. It almost justified what I was about to do. Almost.

"Did you know that the second circle sends electricity into the other teams?"

He stared at me, silent, but I didn't look away. Because the time it took him to answer was an answer in itself. Finally, "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He turned away, watching the rising lights when he answered. "Because I thought you would try and sacrifice yourself so I could make it to the Top." He shook his head. "I don't want to make it to the Top without you, Z. I can't. Whatever we do, promise we do it together."

I swallowed, and this time it was my turn to stare away from him. Because there was one other thing I'd learned of the trials. The only people to ever ascend to the Top Letter Trial had been male and female pairs. What else did Dagger know that he wasn't telling me?

"I said Team Zagger till the end, didn't I?" I said, and then the doors opened. The roar of a crowd exploded as I paced out onto the metal platform. Nerves made my body feel impossibly light, or maybe that was just the chant of the crowd screaming my name, shaking the walkways with the noise. Either way, I didn't look up at the screens, down at the structure, or at the roaring crowd surrounding us.

I focused my entire being on the plan.

And on the one man whose pride I'd gambled everything on.

The competitors all gathered at the center circle. I met Skull eyes across the way, and then searched for Lizard. He wasn't there. The first flicker of panic ran down my spine. Where the hell was Lizard? But I didn't have a chance to find him, because the commentator's voice boomed over the Arena.

"Welcome all, to the High Letter Trial! We've got a special treat for you today— a first in fact. Over the years, we have seen many of our victors retire in glory. Today, for the first time ever, one of those victors returns to the Letter Trial, to fight, one last time. Please put your hands together, and welcome, THE EEL!"

Dagger turned to me, shock in his eyes. Slowly, understanding dawned. And with that understanding came betrayal.

I'm sorry, I wanted to say, but even if I had, the crowd would have drowned the words away. The lift farthest from us opened, and, walking slowly, but steadily, came the Eel. Had I not helped Skull break a lock and steal an entire bottle of painkillers, I would have never guessed the crippling pain that must have burned through his legs right now. My iron arm panged, as if in sympathy, while he made his slow walk seem dramatic and regal, and not excruciating.

Are you sure you want to keep him in the dark, little fox? I thought he was your partner.

He's my partner, but he's also from the Top. We keep him in the dark until it's too late to betray us, and the Eel steps onto the platform.

And the Eel agreed to all this?

I told him the truth, that he's dying. This will be a quicker way to go.

Strange time to grow some teeth, little fox.

I've always had teeth. I just finally decided to use them.

The crowd's roar faded. I took the moment to lower my voice, turning to Dagger. "Change of plans. Skull found the Eel after all. He's going to stand on the second circle, and we take out all the remaining competitors while he does. But first we have to get him there. I don't know where the hell Lizard is, so we're going to have to fight without him. Even if they assign us another team member they won't know the plan, so we'll have to do it a man down."

He stared at me, the betrayal shuttering behind walls of darkness. "I'm with you."

Was he, truly though? How much did I really know about Dagger? How much could I trust him? There wasn't time to rethink anything now, not with the Eel making his way across the platform. Today, none of the vests glowed, the Highs wanted to make the final reveal of teams all the more dramatic.

It didn't matter. Wherever Lizard had gotten too, Skull, Dagger and I could get the Eel to the second circle. We could win— as long as the Eel still wanted to die.

A clock began to count down the time, and with it came a strange sense of deja-vu, of the first time I'd seen Dagger fight. Most people only cared for the fight, but the sixty seconds before told almost as much about a person. I'd admired him. And now here I was, on the other side of the screen, standing beside him. Yet I'd chosen not to trust him. Why?

The seconds seeped away like water clenched between fingers, impossible to hold. With each passing second my heart pounded faster, the adrenaline rose, everything in me screaming to move. And then a strange, cold quiet settled over me as the commentator called out "Live in the Beast!"

The whole crowd— the whole world— roared the answer, "Die in the Beast!" and like a wave, the noise rushed back over me, and it was too late for regrets.

"Yellow team, take your positions!" the commentator roared, giving last week's first place team its head start. The men jumped from the walkway, but I saw no flash of white hair, even though I'd seen Xyla on the walkway earlier. Maybe she'd switched teams after last week. But there wasn't time to worry about her.

"Green team, take your positions!" The voice called out. Skull, Dagger, the Eel and I all launched into empty air and slammed onto the platform. Twisted pipes and ropes hung around us, like the entrails of a Beast.

"Left! Go, go!" Skull shouted. I led the way, chasing after yellow vests. Behind me came Dagger, then the Eel, and in the back Skull.

I wove under and over pipes, sliding beneath a metal sheet and dropping down onto the next level. A minute later, and then another thirty seconds after that, the other two teams dropped, but we had enough of a lead on them into the structure, even with the Eel slowing us down. It was my job to lead the team on the fastest way down to the bottom, and I was so focused on my job that I suddenly realized I'd pulled ahead of my team.

My only warning was the slight prickle on the back of my neck.

A force hit me from behind, slamming me forward. There wasn't time to yell, or to cry for help. Instead, I fought as his weight pushed down on me, a hand searching for the kill switch on the vest. I kicked and twisted, anything to keep him from turning it off—

— and then a sudden grunt, thud, and falling scream.

I flipped over to find Dagger staring over the edge of the platform. When he turned back to me, I drew back.

There was a flash of some emotion in Dagger's eyes. Or maybe it was only a trick of the glowing red and blue lights that lit everything in a strange, otherworldly glow. "Yellow team," Dagger said. "He must have been waiting for you." He didn't offer me a hand up, and Skull and the Eel suddenly dropped down from above.

"Let's go," Skull growled. The Eel was breathing hard, face pale, but he said nothing.

I pushed myself up before anyone could say anything else, leading them on again, trying to not to dwell on the fact Dagger had just thrown a man off the structure. He'd saved me yet again.