FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Alright all, the second chapter of this story. I'm going to skip ahead, not detailing the years Synch spent in the arena because that's not going to be the central plot of the story. Anyways, thanks to everyone who read my last story and gave me useful tips! I hope they helped me. Main character descriptions: Name: Synch Lactos Current age: 22 Gender: Male Species: Leopox (leopard/fox hybrid) Description: Grown a bit over the six years in the arena, standing at 5'8'' now, 180 lbs. Much more muscular body, toned from fighting. Tail has grown an inch, to a length of 5'4'' Name: Lance, A.K.A. Broken Current age: 21 Gender: Male Species: Grey wolf Description: Stands at 6'0'', 210 lbs. Very muscular and built body, along with a great sense of discipline instilled from his time in the marines. He was found by a foreign arena scout, injured in a gun fight while executing a mission.

• * * Six years had passed. Six years from the horrible day he had lost everything: his parents, his innocence, and his life. The years in the arena have hardened Synch, killing him in more ways than one. It just felt like he had no soul, like the death he had caused made his body just an empty shell, cut off from those feelings of despair and loneliness buried deep inside of him. The only thing he had left to do was kill even more. He had become somewhat of a hero in the arena, remaining undefeated after all this time. In the history of the arena, it's said that no one had ever survived this long, and tonight a special fight had been arranged for him, just for the anniversary. It was kind of funny really, celebrating his survival by trying to kill him. That's just how things went in the arena though. He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door to his room. The leopox stood up and stretched a bit, looking around at the room. As a reward for winning all the money for his owner, he had his own private room and all of his own furnishings. It didn't make him feel better though. He knew that these things were only loaned to him, nothing really his. As his eyes traveled over the room, they came to rest on the two swords hanging on the wall. Well, he thought, there are two things that really belong to me. They were a traditional katana and wakizashi, handing from the wall on a red ribbon tied to the deep black sheaths. He smiled softly, remembering the one who had gotten him those. He had been an old cat, here only to heal those survivors from the fights. One day when Synch had received an especially deep cut, the old cat had been the one to attend to him. They had started talking and the cat had started teaching him about Bushido, the way of the warrior. He had decided, after he had left the cat, to take up the ways of Bushido. He had taken up the weapons, but found that he couldn't take up the way of life, the way of honor. His katana, believed to be a warrior's soul, was named Adora, which translated into beautiful one. It was the only thing in this place that was important to him, and actually, the only thing that was truly his. Another, more impatient knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts yet again. With a small sigh he walked over to the door and opened it, a smile spreading across his face when he saw a grey wolf standing there. The wolf, taller and more muscular than he, looked down at the leopox, his paw resting on the hilt of a small dagger he kept at all times. "Hey, it's the Broken Wolf! Come on in man," Synch said to the wolf, stepping out of the doorway. The wolf smiled back at him and walked into the room, looking the leopox up and down. "Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Broken asked, flicking his friend on the nose. "You know your 'special fight' is in about an hour right?" Synch looked over at the clock in the room and let out a sigh. "Damn, I guess I got lost in thought there. Oh well, there's still plenty of time left. I don't really think the fight will be any harder than any of the others," He said, not really all that concerned. It was just the same every year, they bring out a 'special' opponent that they shined up nicely to make him look good. It was nothing more than a show to make his owner more money. Why should he worry about it this year? "I don't know Synch. I've heard some rumors around the arena, whispers about a fixed fight. It might just be fixed in your favor, but... I dunno, I just have a bad feeling about this," Broken said, sounding a bit worried. The fact that his friend sounded worried actually made Synch worry a bit. The wolf was always a level-headed guy, always seeming in control and, as long as they had known each other, had never shown that he was worried. The leopox walked over to his bed and pulled out a box from under it, thinking his friend's words over. "Well, I don't see what they would gain from killing me. I think I'm worth more alive than dead. But, it never hurts to be safe, I guess. Get the others up and ready and position them around the arena. If something bad happens I'm going to be looking for you guys," he said, referring to a few other slaves he had formed a sort of alliance with. He dumped the box out on his bed and eleven leather rings dropped out onto the mattress, small spikes gleaming out from the smooth hide. He picked one of them up and tapped the end of one of the spikes softly, smiling when a crimson bead of blood came from his paw. He sat down on the bed and began fastening each of the rings along the length of his tail carefully, making sure his long fur covered over the metal of the spikes. "Do you think that maybe tonight is the night?" The wolf asked, a trace of eagerness creeping into his voice. "I don't know, it could be. It all depends on how tonight goes, and how it feels to me. Just remember, and remind everyone, that if I say it's a no go, they had better back down. I don't want anyone having to die needlessly." "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll try to keep them in line," Broken said a bit distractedly. "I'm going to get everyone ready now. Be careful and watch your back out there Synch. If you die, I know some other furs are going to do something stupid." With that last comment he left the room again, patting the leopox on the shoulder as he went. With the room empty again, an ominous silence settled in. The unsettling information his friend had brought was playing around in his mind. What if the wolf was right? What if they were going to fix the fight against him? Would he be able to handle it? He didn't know the answer to any of these questions, but he did know one thing: If he was going to go down, he was taking many furs with him. He stood up from the bed and walked in front of his mirror, looking his tail over carefully. Not a single glint of metal showed through his fur. "Heh heh... Perfect," he said with a small smile, swishing his long tail softly. He loved using these small spikes on his tail more than anything. It was always a surprise to those enemies that didn't know. This time, though, it would be a test for his opponents. No one he had ever fought had known about his hidden weapon, so if the odds were against him in this fight, they would know about his tail. If that was the case, this fight would be harder than he thought. He looked at the clock again and let out a small curse, seeing that he had only fifteen minutes left before it was fight time. "Dammit, I need to think less," he said out loud to himself, walking over to the wall where his swords hung and taking them down from the hook. He slipped them down into his belt at both hips, making sure the longer was on his left, and walked to his door. He put his paw on the handle, but paused there and looked back at the room. It may not have been his, but it was a bit homey, and he felt that he wouldn't be coming back. He might miss the place... but he doubted it. With a small chuckle he opened the door and stepped out into the hall, walking to his holding cell at a slow gait. When he came to a tall door he paused, looking at a large dog standing guard next to the entrance and letting out a small sigh before walking through the door into a dark, dank room. Inside the room there was only one sound, the deafening roar of the crowd outside. It filled his head and heightened his heart-rate with a sick kind of thrill. It always made him feel this way, always made him feel excited. It was the knowledge, the fact that all of these furs were here to see him kill. It was sickening, but he couldn't deny the feeling, couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. The leopox stood there and closed his eyes, listening to the clamor above with a detached interest. He wasn't really concentrating on the crowd, he was focused on himself. All distractions had to be closed out of his mind, all worries and feelings pushed back behind an emotional wall. These things would get him killed, so he had to be cold and calculated. Just another fact of life he had learned here in the arena. His eyes opened again when a loud, amplified voice called out over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlefurs, welcome tonight to the sixth annual anniversary fight of our most dangerous 'gladiator.' We've got one hell of a fight here for you tonight, so place your bets and we'll get started!" At this the crowd's noise level increased, furs cheering out for the fight to start. Another cheer sprung up, getting stronger and stronger as more joined in. "Synch! Synch! Synch! Synch!" The name was called out, getting louder and gaining intensity as more voices called out. Down in the holding cell, the leopox had a small smile on his muzzle, listening to the noise above, the crowd crying out for blood-shed. Another, stronger swell of excitement overtook him at hearing his name called. He was known, he was wanted by these furs. He was wanted to kill, and that was something he could do. It filled him with a sick kind of pride, because here in the arena, he was a hero. Here, he was a god. "Alright folks!" The voice boomed over the intercom once more, quieting the crowd down. "You asked for him and here he is, your arena champion: Synch!" In the cell, a door dropped down with a loud bang out into the arena, bright light flooding into the room. The leopox winced a bit at the sting of the sudden light after being in darkness, but his eyes adjusted quickly. With a small smile he reached across his body and drew out his katana, the metallic ring getting lost in the noise from the crowd. He walked out of the opening, raising his sword up above his head as he went. Immediately the crowd let out an ear-splitting roar of approval, most standing up to look at the leopox. He walked slowly to the middle of the arena and lowered his sword, resting the point against the ground and leaning on the handle slightly. Synch looked around the arena casually, his eyes scanning for anything out of the ordinary. He caught a glimpse of Broken through a small window in the walls of the ring, probably looking into another holding cell. He was glad the wolf was here, at least, to back him up if things went wrong. He didn't see anything unusual here though, not at first glance. Maybe the wolf had been wrong... His thoughts were cut off by another voice booming over the intercom. "And now, the opponents attempting to dethrone our champion! We've been searching the entire year for just the right fighters to give our long-standing killer a run for his money, and here they are!" Just as the announcement finished, three door panels to more holding cells dropped down from the wooden walls of the arena. He watched as three furs walked out into the light, squinting slightly. The first one was a tall lizard of a muscular build. He was holding a great two-handed sword in one hand, the blade leaning back on his shoulder. The second one was a small, skittish-looking mouse with brown fur. He was holding a small dagger in one paw out in the open, his other hidden beneath a cloak he wore. Synch didn't like that. The mouse could be hiding anything under there. The third one to step out was a large African tiger, his fur showing bright orange and dark black stripes. The feline's body held an assortment of weapons that were visible; A belt of knives across the front of his waist, a small sword laying down his back, an assortment of blades hanging from his belt, and who knew what other hidden weapons he had. This one looked like he was going to war and the leopox was worried. If this opponent actually knew how to use all of his weapons... Well, he was in trouble. Synch stood up straight and lifted his katana up in front of him in a defensive position as the three furs approached. He reached across his body with his left paw and drew out his shorter wakizashi, the metallic ring lost once more in the noise of the crowd. He angled the shorter sword down towards the ground, its tip a few inches from the dirt below him. He began focusing on the three enemies, trying to decide which one to go after first, and was so immersed he almost missed the next intercom announcement. "Alright! Ladies and gentlemen, this will be a traditional fight to the death with only two ways of winning here: Either Synch dies right here in the ring, or all of his opponents meet their deaths. Either way, this is sure to be a fight to remember! Don't forget to place your bets, the fight will begin in one minute!" He smiled a bit and lifted up his left arm, looking at the five lines of scars on his forearm. He slowly cut another deep line into the arm, signaling another year he had survived here. It was just a little tradition he had on these annual fights, his own little reminder of what he had done. Synch looked back up at the three standing across from him and resumed his fighting stance. The three stared back at him with emotionless eyes, assuming their own solid stances. "Okay! The battle will now commence. Fighters, get ready, and... Kill!" Boomed over the intercom. As soon as the command was given, all four in the arena went in motion. Synch focused on the smallest one first, the mouse. He charged at the mouse and smiled when he saw the other two break out to either side. As he closed in on the small fur he was certain that this would end quickly, confident that the rodent had no defense other than the small dagger. The mouse's hand came out from under his cloak carrying a small hand crossbow and aimed right at the leopox. With a small gasp of surprise, Synch dove out to the side as quickly as he could when he heard the small click of the bolt firing. He felt a small sting on his leg as the sharp bolt grazed him but paid no attention to it. He tucked his shoulders under and rolled out from the dive, the momentum carrying him back up to his feet. Another small gasp escaped from his mouth when he came up only to find the large tiger a few feet away. With a loud growl the tiger swung down hard with his short sword, aiming to cleave Synch's head in half. The leopox swung up to meet the attack head-on with his katana, barely managing to make it in time. The force of the blow made him grunt and push back on the feline's sword, trying to over-power him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lizard running fast at him. Thinking quickly, he stopped pushing against the tiger and instead, threw himself back. He landed high up on his shoulders and kicked his legs up into the air hard, flipping over and back up to his feet, his swords coming back up into the defensive position. These guys have been trained to work together, he thought to himself, starting to worry. The owners are really trying to kill me this time! He didn't have much time for thought before the three were on the attack again. The tiger selected small throwing knives from his belt and started hurling them, keeping Synch's attention from the other two circling around to his back. The leopox was having a hard time getting out of the way of the knives, ducking, weaving, and diving out of the way. He still kept tabs on the other two though, but was unable to do anything about it. He was too busy dodging to try and stop an attack from behind. He dove out of the way of another knife. He heard a curse and looked up to see that the tiger had fumbled with his next knife, dropping it on the ground. This could be my only chance! Synch rolled up from the dive, not regaining his balance all the way, but not caring. He fell over to the other side and, as he did, threw his katana at the tiger with a loud grunt of effort. The tiger, looking down at his belt for a new knife, didn't see the katana until it was too late. The soaring blade caught him in the stomach, running him all the way through to the hilt. The feline looked at the handle protruding from his stomach in shock, but stubbornly kept on his feet. He was stumbling around, making the effort to stay up. From behind him, Synch heard a roar of anger and rolled on the ground in the opposite way, wincing a bit when he felt the tip of a heavy blade graze his shoulder. He was back up to his feet in an instant, now facing the giant lizard with only his wakizashi. The lizard let out another furious roar and swung his heavy blade at Synch's head. The leopox let out a small laugh when he saw the reptile over-swing and thrust his sword into the exposed ribs, getting in close. "You see what happens when you get angry? You die!" He yelled in the lizard's ear. The only response he got back was a wet, desperate gurgle. With a sick smile, he pushed the blade forward, cutting a wider hole, before yanking it out. A fine spray of blood covered the leopox lightly, but he didn't mind. In fact, it felt amazing! He looked back to see the tiger still on his feet and trying to pull the sword from his stomach. With a quick look around he found the mouse again, against the side of the arena wall trying to load his crossbow again. Synch decided to "help out" the tiger first. With an evil grin he ran at the tiger, his empty hand held out. "Here, let me help you!" He said with a laugh as his paw closed around the handle, his momentum carrying him past the feline. With a strong jerk from Synch, the blade cut its way out the side of the tiger's stomach, intestines and blood spilling onto the ground. The tiger fell to the floor, trying futilely to stop his innards from spilling out. The leopox stopped his running and smiled, looking down at his blood covered blade with a look of amusement. He turned back around quickly though, remembering that there was still one left. The mouse was in the same position as he was before, staring out at the bodies of his former comrades, his crossbow laying at his side, still unloaded. He walked over to the mouse and found that the smaller fur was shivering. When he actually noticed Synch approaching, he tried to back away, whimpering with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! Oh god, please don't kill me!" He kept repeating in a small, quivering voice. The smile still on his face, the leopox wiped the blood from his blades on his shirt and re-sheathed them. The mouse stopped when he saw this gesture and looked up at the leopox hopefully. Synch moved closer to the mouse with a calm, comforting smile on his face and wrapped his tail around behind the mouse's neck, softly enough so that only his fur was felt. "You knew what you were getting into here," he said in a sweet voice. "And you know that you have to die." The grip of the tail around the mouse's strengthened considerably, burying three rows of spikes in his neck. The leopox smiled coyly and waved to the mouse before taking his tail in one paw, between the rows, and pulled hard. The sharp bits of metal shredded the mouse's throat all around, leaving the head dangling by the spine. He flicked his tail forcefully, shaking out bits of flesh from the fur, before walking to the middle of the arena. Something was wrong here, he realized. The crowd was silent, even the intercom was dead quiet. He looked around, bewildered that everything was silent as it was. He stood there for a moment longer before just turning around and heading back to his holding cell. This was weird, even for this place. All he felt like doing at the moment was getting the hell out of there. He was almost to his cell when six more men ran out of it, all armed and calling for his death. The leopox was taken aback. Never had anything like this happened here in the arena! He retreated a couple of steps, drawing out his swords once more, this time the metallic ring echoing around the silent arena. Synch let out a shrill whistle before the first fur was on him, coming towards him strongly with a thrust of his sword. Synch hopped to the side in time to dodge the stab. With a loud growl he caught the stabbing fur as he passed by, his wakizashi cutting a gaping hole in the fur's throat. The next fur came too fast for him to do anything and he was bowled over under a forceful tackle. They hit the ground in a tangle, knocking the breath out of Synch hard. He struggled to find his feet again, but as soon as he rose, another fur knocked him back down. He felt two pairs of strong paws take his arms and pin him to the ground roughly. A smirking lion came over to stand to the side of him and rose his sword over his head. "You're not the champion any mo-" Was as far as he got before the point of a sword pushed through his chest. A spurt of blood landed on Synch's face as the lion fell to the ground, revealing Broken standing behind him holding a bloody sword. The two holding him down were suddenly thrown backwards as two other furs pounced on them. Feeling the weight gone from his arms, Synch sat up again, looking back to see the two that had been holding him dead. The two allies, a tall golden retriever and a muscular pinto, stood up and nodded at him. Laughing, he turned back to the remaining four opponents, who had stopped in their tracks, and let out a loud roar before jumping into the middle of them, the other three following closely. Within a few minutes the other four attackers were either dead or bleeding badly. Synch grinned and looked around at his friends once, his eyes thanking them. He looked up into the stands to see that the crowd was in turmoil, many angry furs shouting out at all the money they had lost. He laughed a cold laugh when he realized he had just won a fixed fight with the odds stacked against him. "Come on guys, it's time." Synch said to the three and began walking through the still open holding cell. He paused a bit when he got through the other side, a small smirk crossing his face. Right outside the door, the guard who had been there earlier was pinned to the wall, the cross-guard of a sword poking out of his chest. He turned back to Broken to see the wolf grinning a bit proudly. "I think it looks good for him." The wolf said, the grin still on his muzzle. Synch just shook his head , looking amused, and ran down into the halls, thinking to make one last stop before fighting his way out of here. He had an idea who had gained all of the money the crowd lost, and he wanted it back. He had earned it, after all. The group ran through the halls quickly with the leopox in the lead, guiding them to their destination located deep inside the underground of the arena. "Hey, Synch. This doesn't look like the way out man, where are you going?" Broken asked from behind him. "I'm going to get what's mine, something that will help us on the outside. Just follow me, I know what I'm doing," the leopox said confidently back to them. He didn't really know what he was doing though. Right now, he was just winging it. No plan, no back up, no anything here, but he didn't care. Right now all he was thinking about was securing a good future for them, at all costs. They rounded another corner and Synch came to a halt outside a large polished oak door. He looked over at the other three and motioned for them to stay here. They nodded and fanned out to guard either side of the hall. The leopox took in a deep breath and pushed the door open, stepping into an expansive, brightly lit room. In the middle of the room was a tall female cheetah, two large duffle bags at her feet. "Well hello there, my little money maker," Chissa purred at the leopox. She smiled softly and faced Synch fully. "Have a nice fight, did we?" The leopox growled at his owner, his claws expanding out of his paws as he flexed them. "I'm leaving, tonight, and that money at your feet is going with me. I don't care if I have to kill you right here to get it," he said in a low, cold voice, leaving no question that he was serious. Chissa laughed at him and turned her back, walking to a desk against the far wall. She leaned against the desk and pressed a button on it, a smirk still on her face. "You're not ever leaving here. You're going to die here. The guards are coming Synch, just give up now before you get hurt. You know you don't stand a chance here alone." "I'm not here alone. You should know I wouldn't do this alone Chissa. I thought you knew me better than that," Synch said in a mocking voice. From out in the hall he heard the sound of gunshots and screaming. He looked back at the door for a moment, tense, but relaxed when he realized he didn't recognize any of the voices screaming. He turned back to the cheetah and let out a sigh. Chissa now held a small, one shot pistol pointed at him. How could he have been so stupid? "That's right, I do know you. I know that the only thing that could stop you right now would be to kill you, but I'm not wanting to do that. You make me too much money here. I'm going to tell you again here, go back to your room and give up before you and your friends die here." Outside the door, the sounds of fighting were getting closer to the door. Synch knew they didn't have much time left, this was taking too long. An idea came to mind then and he reached down into his pocket, pulling out a small coin-sized metal disk. He started flipping it up in the air and catching it, keeping his eyes on the cheetah across for him. His body was slowly tensing, waiting to release a vast store of energy. "You know that I won't give up. You know, after all this time and all the people I've met here, you're the one I hated most. You ordered my parents to be killed, you forced me to fight and kill, even thought I didn't want to. You took away my childhood and everything I could have had in my life, all to make a profit. And you should know, out of everything you do know about me, that you're going to die. Here, catch." He said the last calmly and flipped the coin one last time up in the air, arcing it towards the female across the room. Synch grinned and burst into action when he saw the cheetah's eyes flick up to the coin, rushing forward with all the speed he could muster. He looked like a red blur racing across the room, ducked over in his running. Chissa looked down at the oncoming leopox with wide eyes and tried to get the pistol lower, but failed. He was already on her, his strong arms forcing hers upwards. The shot rang out inside the room, slamming a slug into the roof before the leopox hit her with all of his momentum. The two flew back and came to a bone jarring halt when the cheetah's body hit the desk behind her roughly. The breath flew from the cheetah's body in a rough wheezing sound, no new breath coming in. Her mind was a blur of white noise, but the blur only worsened when she felt Synch's fist crash into her muzzle. A loud cracking noise filled the room, the sound of the bones in her face shattering. The impact threw her sideways and down to the ground. The leopox stood up, breathing heavily in restrained rage and looking down at the injured cheetah. Blood was pouring from her ruined muzzle around small white specs of bone poking through the skin. Synch smiled and watches as the female tried to relearn how to breathe through her ruined muzzle and kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking out what little breath she had managed to take in. She curled up on the floor and let out a small whimper, a whimper that seemed to cut the leopox. He didn't know why, he had no idea how he could, but he felt sorry for her at that moment. "No more..." He said softly, half in shock, to himself. He leaned over and grabbed both sides of Chissa's head firmly and looked at her for a second. "Goodbye," was all he said before twisting her head with a grunt of effort, her spinal chord snapping with a loud crack. He watched the cheetah's life fade from her eyes with no emotion before standing up again and walking over to the two duffle bags in the middle of the room. He picked up the bags and walked to the door, noticing the fighting outside had seemed to die down. He pushed the door open hard and walked out into the hall to see his three friends still alive, all carrying handguns instead of their normal weapons, and covered in blood. Broken was panting a bit, but he winked at the leopox. "No problem Synch, we could handle a few guards," he said with a small smirk. The leopox nodded and threw one of the duffle bags at the wolf, who caught it easily. "Our good life outside of this place. Come on, it's time we got out of here." Synch said to the three, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. The two without the bags went first, running through the halls quickly towards were they knew the exit was. They had been planning this for quite some time, they all knew the way out. Both Broken and the leopox stayed back from them, wanting advanced warning if they ran into more resistance. They made it most all the way through the compound without meeting any resistance. But, when the two in front turned the final corner, they froze in place. "Uh guys, we've got a problem here," one of them yelled back to the wolf and leopox. They both dropped the bags behind the corner of the hall and ran up to join them. There, standing in front of the door, stood a group of ragged looking furs. Synch counted them and found that there were nine there, but he couldn't understand why they were there. Every single one of them was a slave in the very same arena. One of the furs, a tall, skinny panther, stepped up in front of the group, looking at the four in front of him boldly. "We can't let you pass here! You are slaves in this arena and you don't have a choice. If you leave here, if you escape, it will only make things twice as hard on us who are left here!" He shouted at them, brandishing a short sword. The others in the group nodded and yelled out their agreement, taking out weapons of their own. Synch stepped forward too and looked at the group dangerously, not about to be blocked by anybody. "You will let us pass and you may come with us if you're so afraid of the conditions we will leave behind. We will not, however, stay here. I don't care if I have to kill every last one of you myself. I'm tired of fighting and living my life knowing that at any second, someone could kill me." "We won't come with you!" The panther said, a bit shocked. "They will find us all and make things worse than if we stayed here. You will not leave!" He yelled out in rage before charging out at the four friends. The others in his group were quick to follow behind, but were too late to help their panther friend. The cat came directly at Synch, swinging his sword recklessly down at his enemy. The leopox stepped to the side of the wild swing and hit the cat hard in the throat, crushing his windpipe. Out came all of their up close weapons, the handguns tossed aside. It would just be unfair to shoot them all. The eight behind the panther closed fast and leapt on them recklessly. The first one, Synch managed to get his shorter sword up, the momentum of his own leap impaling the other, more inexperienced fur. The leap, however, knocked the leopox to the ground under the weight of the body, blood pouring all over him. He tried to get back up, to move the fur off of him, but more and more bodies piled on top of him. All around, he heard furs screaming and growling. The hallway was filled with the coppery smell of blood, the soft, wet sound of the red liquid hitting the ground. Twice, he thought he heard the sound of screams he recognized, but he couldn't be sure. The more he seemed to struggle against the weight, the more it seemed to pile on, making it harder and harder for him to breathe. Finally, the sounds of fighting stopped and he was worried. Who had won? "Hey, Broken! Anyone! Are you still alive?!" He yelled out loudly, hoping he could be heard from under the bodies. He felt a bit of an increase on the weight before a body was thrown off of him. Someone was digging down for him. Finally, the body on top of him was lifted off and he saw Broken standing there, covered all over with blood, some of it coming from cuts on his fur. "Hey bud. Glad to see you're still alive under there," he said in a voice hinting sadness. "You're the only other one." Synch stood up quickly and looked around, not wanting to believe the wolf. Sure enough, he found his friends in the mass of bodies. The golden retriever was propped up against a wall, his head split open by a large, plain looking axe. The pinto was cut open in many places and was surrounded by a puddle of his own crimson liquid. A tear formed in Synch's eye, running down his cheek to mingle with the blood on his face. It dripped off his muzzle as a crimson tear of blood. It seemed suitable for the occasion, seemed to fit the situation perfectly. "Come on, let's go..." Synch said in an emotionless voice, wiping his face roughly. The wolf nodded his consent and they both turned to gather the duffle bags. With the bags over their shoulders, they walked to the door to their freedom and kicked it open, knocking it off its hinges. Outside the door was an indoor parking lot, a few cars of late leavers still there. They walked over to one of them, a black Sedan, and broke through the window, wincing a bit at the car alarm that ensued. Broken moved up and opened the door, lying down on the seat to fiddle with something. Within a few moments, the car alarm stopped and the wolf sat back up, smiling a bit. "Something I picked up in the Marines," he said before unlocking the passenger side door and lying back down to fiddle with something else. Synch smiled and shook his head a bit before picking up both duffle bags and walking around to open the passenger door. He threw both of the bags in the back and sat down in the seat, closing the door. A few moments and curses later, Broken got the car to turn on and sat back up, grinning. "Glad I still remember that," he said and put the car in gear. Synch nodded and smiled at his friend, glad that he had survived this. They drove up and around until they came to a low exit. Up out of the ground they came, emerging into the night air surrounded by trees. Up above them the moon and starlight shined down upon the dirt road and the seemingly endless trees to either side. No sign that the arena even existed was present above ground, no sign of the constant death that happened down there. Another tear fell down the leopox's muzzle as he looked around at the outside world for the first time in six years. The soft light of the full moon shining down gave everything a soft, majestic quality, made it all seem unreal. "All this beauty above the very spot of all that pain," Synch said softly. "It doesn't even seem possible from up here." "I know... but we're out of there now Synch," Broken said back, a tear falling down his own face, before driving out onto the dirt road and turning left. They didn't know where they were, or where they were going, but it didn't matter at that point. All that mattered was that they were heading away from the place of their nightmares. This was their last day in the hell called the Arena... Or so they thought. * * * Alright everyone, the third chapter will be coming soon. If you have comments or questions, feel free to E-mail me at [email protected], or just post a comment here. Much criticism and tips are welcomed^^