Little Dead Monsters (15 page)

Chapter Thirty-Five.

It took two full days before the three slaves died from the crucifixion. They were all people Allegra knew and though she never felt as close to them as she did with Maria, their deaths depressed and enraged her nonetheless.

“That took long enough,” Ryker had said. “Another day of their whimpering and I would have shot them myself.”

Ryker had the entire thing done inside the pit. He figured the slaves would expire prior to the weeks end, enough time for his guards to take them down from their crosses before the next set of fights.

Allegra ventured nowhere near the pit during this time. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stand the site of it.

The look on the faces of the slaves that did visit the scene told the entire story — they had died suffering.

Ryker wanted to send a message, showing the slaves his authority was to be feared, and he succeeded. Everyone was terrified now, including some of his own guards.

While the crosses were erected in the pit, Allegra became a recluse and spent most of the time holed up in her quarters. In the beginning she was depressed by the entire thing, blaming Dog and then herself for Maria’s death along with the crucified slaves. But slowly, with each passing minute, she began building her anger and desire for revenge against Ryker, like stacking bricks to a house, only her house was constructed out of the desires for vengeance.

Finally she decided where Dog had failed, she would succeed. She would kill Ryker herself.

The rusty scissors were still sharp and had the ability to kill a man if required. Allegra often used them to cut stitches and bandages but today, she considered using it as a weapon. If she was quick enough, she could bury it in Ryker’s throat before he suspected a single a thing.

“You can’t be weak,” Allegra said to herself. “Be strong for once damnit.”

The fight between Dog and the ‘mystery opponent’ was still a week away and if all the rumours were true, Tiberius would be the one to face Dog, leaving Ryker vulnerable.

Sure, there were other guards present to protect Ryker, but none of them had Tiberius’s speed or reflexes. Three seconds, that’s all it took. She could kill the Goblin before the guards had a chance to shoot her. If her life were to end in this place anyway, it wouldn’t be as a coward.

Maria…

Allegra had spent the entire week plotting Ryker’s assassination. However she thought of two stumbling blocks that could potentially ruin her plan.

The first was hiding the scissors. The guards were always thorough. Too thorough, in fact, when they searched her prior to entering Ryker’s office. She needed a place to hide the scissors that wouldn’t be discovered.

The other was her will to live. A long time ago, Allegra had written a list of things she wanted to do once she gained her freedom: Take a bath, go for a long walk in the sun, read a book, and cook herself a meal. All things normal, dignified people did. These simple dreams carried her through the years of slavery and the constant threat of being raped. When it came time to plunge the scissors into Ryker’s neck, thus ending both their lives, would she be able to do it? Or would her desire to live be strong enough to prevent her from following through with her plan?

Allegra could feel Death’s eyes upon her. She longed to leave this place and sought God’s eternal embrace and she prayed that when the time came, she would be ready.

Chapter Thirty-Six.

Was he dreaming or awake? It was hard to tell, when everything was pitch black. He sat up and felt the ache in his back.

He was definitely awake. The pain told him so.

In the distance, he heard the chanting of his name, loud and passionate — it was what woke him in the first place.

The footsteps echoed down the hallway and his first thought was, it was time to eat. When they opened the iron door, the light burned his retinas and he squinted, leaving a tiny aperture just enough to see.

“Big day champ,” one of the guards said. Behind him stood Chatterbox who mumbled something through the wired contraption holding his jaw in place.

“Thanks,” Dog said as he stepped out of the hole. He staggered a bit as he waited for the blood to flow back into his legs. He looked at his arms and frowned. Though he exercised as much as he could in the darkness, it was not enough. He had lost quite a bit of muscle.

His back was sore from sleeping on the cold floor and he felt unbalanced from the poor circulation to his legs.

“How long until I fight?” Dog asked.

“You have thirty minutes,” the guard said. “Enough time for you to stretch and get your eyes adjusted.”

“I need some water,” Dog said as they cuffed the chains around his wrists. One of the guards held a water bottle above his head and poured it into his mouth. The rest of it went on his head after Dog was finished drinking.

“Are you ready champ?” the guard asked.

“No,” Dog replied. “But what choice do I have.

“None,” the guard said. “None at all.”

“Mfffmmhmmm,” Chatterbox chimed in.

“Whatever you say,” Dog replied. “Whatever you say.”

Dog stumbled a few times as they led him down the hallways. He was so very weak.

If he were to fight Tiberius, there was no way he could win in this state. Though Dog had never witnessed the former champion fight in person, he heard countless stories from the other slaves: he was immortal, unbeatable, savage, ruthless, cunning, a legend. Dog believed every word of it.

If this was indeed Dog’s last fight he had no issues of having Tiberius being the one to end his streak, or life for that matter. For a man raised in such savagery, Tiberius had a dignity about him that was civilized. Human. Dog would fight, possibly die, and leave this world with only one regret.

“Allegra,” he whispered.

*

Allegra felt the greedy hands of Dallas scour every inch of her body and she shuddered. 

She had hidden the scissor blade in her hair, one of the few places they never searched. After all, it wasn’t much fun for the guards to run their hands through her hair when they had the rest of her body to grope.

She did her best to remain composed. If she looked even slightly nervous, they would suspect something.

Finally, Dallas gave her butt a tight squeeze before letting her go. “She’s clean,” he said with a smirk on his grimy face. Allegra almost wished she had a second weapon hidden away somewhere so she could use it on Dallas.

When she entered into the room, she was surprised to see a stranger sitting on the couch next to Ryker. The man glanced over at Allegra with narrow eyes and flashed her a smile that made her shiver.

He was more distinguished than Ryker, that was certain, holding his head high like a man of great importance. He was well dressed and attractive and his fine features were ageless but his eyes and smile unmasked something cruel and frightening about his character.

“This is the girl I was telling you about Damien,” the Goblin said.

“She’s not soiled?” Damien asked.

“Pure in between the thighs,” Ryker said. “You can smell the innocence in between it.” The Goblin glanced back at her and winked. Allegra imagined the blade sticking out of the Goblin’s neck, blood spurting uncontrollably onto his face. She tried to hide a smile.

“Don’t be disgusting,” Damien said.

“I’m telling you, for the price I’m offering, it’s a bargain. You can probably take her out on the market and get twice as much,” Ryker said. “Where else can you get a combination of looks, body, and smarts? She’s the total package.”

“I’ll consider it,” Damien said. “A whore is still just a whore.”

So the Goblin intended to sell her tonight. She always knew this day would come, but if she succeeded in killing Ryker, it made no difference anyway.

Behind them stood two large men in black suits that Allegra assumed were Damien’s personal heavies. Whereas Ryker’s guards were fat, dimwitted, and lazy, Damien’s entourage looked menacing and serious — professionally trained.

Allegra was no longer sure of herself. Damien’s men factored in a variable of uncertainty that made Allegra doubt if she could even get close enough to Ryker in order to kill him.

Ryker continued on in his negotiations, unsuspecting of Allegra’s intent. “Innocence is rare these days, especially at her age. I’ve kept her pure for this long. She’s like a ripe little peach, soft flesh on the outside and juicy inside. She’s ready to be consumed.”

“Stop talking,” Damian said. “I want to watch the fight without listening to your nasally voice. As I said the first few times, I’ll think about it.”

Ryker looked like a wounded animal, but he obeyed the man. Allegra was shocked. The Goblin had never let anyone else speak to him in that way before. Ryker stared glumly into the pits. He was clearly distracted by the verbal scolding Damien just gave him.

Now was the time. She had to do it, and hope that Damien’s men were too slow to react in time.

She concealed herself in the shadowy corner of the room and ran her fingers through her hair until she felt the metal tangled in her thick locks. She pulled on it and it came loose, resting in the palm of her hand.

Its bite was sharp.

Dog’s name was announced over the speakers which sent the crowd into a frenzy.

He was fighting sooner than expected. Allegra thought she had more time. She needed to kill Ryker now and put a stop to this fight and perhaps in doing so she could save both Dog and Tiberius.

She walked over to the bottle of whisky and took it in her free hand while gripping the scissor blade with the other.

Allegra would offer Ryker a drink and then plunge the metal deep into the flesh of his throat.

No doubts. No hesitations. Only the kill.

She raised the blade and zeroed in on her target. It was time for Ryker to die.

Suddenly a hulking shadow loomed over her. A strong hand gripped the weapon and wrenched it out of her hands. She spun around. It was Tiberius.

He concealed the weapon in his pocket as she looked at him hopelessly. She wanted to scream but Tiberius held her by the shoulders and soothed her shaking.

He spoke to her with a calmness in his voice, as if nothing transpired between them. “Serve him his drink.”

Allegra was dumbfounded and stood there, her mouth agape. She had failed in the only task that truly mattered.

“I saw nothing,” Tiberius reassured her. “Now serve him his drink.”

“You’re supposed to fight Dog,” she whispered. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I thought so as well, but Ryker changed the plan this morning. He told me he had another opponent in store for Dog, one that guaranteed his death.”

“I’m being sold tonight Ty,” she said. “And I thought you and Dog would kill each other. I have to do this. Please, just let me do this.”

“I can’t let that happen.”

“Then kill him for me instead. Please.”

“Serve him his drink.”

“Dog will die and I’m going to be raped tonight. Is that what you want?”

She thought she saw remorse on his face, but that soon passed as Tiberius gripped her firmly and repeated himself for the third time.

“Serve him his drink. Don’t make me say it again.”

Allegra bit her lip, took the bottle in her hands and walked over to Ryker, who was sitting on the edge of his seat, smacking his lips with anticipation. She poured the liquid into Ryker’s glass.

“Took you long enough,” he spat as he reached for his glass.

“Why isn’t Tiberius fighting?” Allegra asked.

“I’ve fooled you all, didn’t I?” Ryker smirked. “Dog’s going to die tonight. There’s no mistake about that. I’m not convinced Tiberius has it in him anymore. Besides, I like having Ty around.”

“Then who is Dog fighting?”

“It’s a surprise. But I assure you, no one here will ever forget this match.”

She glanced down into the pits and saw Dog standing there, waiting. Something was different about him. He looked unfocused, as if he were lost in the clouds. His appearance had changed as well, no longer the imposing physical presence he once was. He was thinner and seemed to have trouble even standing.

Imprisonment in the hole had taken a toll on Dog, both in mind and body.

“Look at our champion now,” Ryker sneered.

On the ground in front of Dog was a wooden bat, which he slowly bent over and grasped. His movements were slow and laboured as though he had the body of an old man.

“I’m rather disappointed,” Damien said. “I heard these wonderful things about your champion, how he was such a physical dominating force. He’s hardly what I imagined.”

“You weakened him,” Allegra blurted.

Damien raised a brow and turned to Ryker. “Is that true? Is our champion not fighting at his best?”

Ryker scowled at Allegra, before turning to Damien. “He killed a few of my guards and tried to escape. He needed to be disciplined.”

Damien laughed. “You’re an idiot. Look at the crowd. You don’t think they notice something wrong with their beloved champion?”

It was true, the crowd was in hushed whispers as they pointed at Dog and murmured amongst themselves.

“You better hope Dog can deliver a good fight — win or lose,” Damian said. “The fans aren’t stupid.”

Ryker sat there in silence, his hands gripping the sides of his chair, his face wrought with an emotion that Allegra felt all-too-often — Regret.

The gates finally opened and Dog’s mystery opponent stepped out.

Allegra screamed.