The more Ged thought about his options the more hopeless he felt.
His path to ruin and his path to happiness ran shoulder to shoulder leading to his own death. More than anything he wanted to take up Jessie's suggestion and spar with him at the practice arena. But, when he saw Jessie and Zen, who were three years older than him, still practicing and still unable to make their arena debut, he realized that this would only delay his inevitable problem. He was hungry, the energy he got from the rivermud root was beginning to dwindle and although he might be fine with eating another meal of the disgusting plant, he also had two other people he was tasked to provide for. Practicing combos didn't bring in money to buy groceries, but fighting in an arena match did.
Ged anguished over his present situation.
With his sister refusing to fight and Ross having forfeited all his responsibilities, Ged shouldered the burdens of their futures in their stead. In his mind a cup was being filled with the stresses that came from his reality. It had every moment Brit called him useless, every single scolding from Ross, but more than anything else it was filled to the brim with his own self made frustrations. Ged saw the arena as his only way out, his only way to survive. Now on top of Jessie's claims that this path will lead to his early demise, Ged's cup of reality was beginning to show signs of spilling over...
In front of him he no longer saw the dancing colors of the red and green as the two fighters pirouetted around on the arena platform floor. Instead their red and green pinnies began to swirl and his eyes... they became obsolete...
Ged attempted to break free from his chains of reality.
The swirling colors scooped his eyes out of from within his sockets and hid them away, far removed from the harsh gaze of reality.
Ged was now looking at a dusty gray wall, staring vacantly at the billowing moving backdrop.
Behind the wall he heard a voice call out to him.
Ged focused his gaze into the abyss-like smoke, trying to see the owner of the voice from beyond it's smoky interior, but to no avail. Suddenly, the sounds of trumpets played and the wall in front of him transformed into a pair of curtains.
The trumpets ceased, and the curtains peeled themselves back, revealing a world of uniform green. In its center were three television-like screens.
In the first screen, he saw Ross, Brit, and himself all seated around a dinner table, laughing and eating a large buffet of delicious meat.
Within the second screen, he saw himself in front of a vast field of crops, where two children happily played with each other. He was smiling warmly at the scene while a beautiful woman was wrapped in his arms.
In the final screen, he saw himself as a king dressed in billowing green robes. He moved toward a balcony, gazing down at an uncountable number of people all lined up, cheering loudly at his presence.
The gray curtain closed, and a brand new pair of eyes settled into his sockets as he returned to reality once more. To escape his situation, he created eyes that could see the known and the unknown, with a dividing line of curtains which separated the two distinct realms. These eyes rendered him blind to the present, and instead gazing only at his three unrealized futures which hid behind the curtains.
With these new pair of eyes, Ged no longer cared about the reality of his own life or death.
"I'm going to fight" Ged announced.
Jessie looked at Ged with pitiful eyes; he saw Ged as just another Hugo, a hopeless individual who would choose an early grave over their own well-being and happiness.
However, when Ged looked at Jessie, he didn't see him at all in his eyes. Instead, all he saw were curtains.
"I guess we'll have to spar another time," Jessie replied, shaking his head.
"Try not to die," he finished
Ged nodded and thanked Jessie before moving toward the arena's exit. Descending its steps, he felt completely calm.
Standing in front of the red-roped entrance was Jen, the person in charge of the Rookie hall.
Jen didn't care whether Ged lived or died; she only cared whether he was fighting today or not.
When they first met, she was an attractive figure filled with knowledge and intelligence. However, seeing her a second time, she had changed. Her appearance now resembled that of a headless demon holding a sharp trident.
Ged looked closely at the demon as it stabbed its weapon into the neck of a figure that seemed to resemble him. But, he didn't see the violent scene, instead all he saw were curtains.
Jen had a big smile on her face. "Back so soon? Did you come here to sign up for a fight?"
"Yes, I'm ready to fight," Ged responded.
She looked at Ged with a seductive smile as she slowly peeled back the red rope leading to the waiting lobby for the rookie fighters.
"Take a seat in the lounge, and we'll call you when it's your turn to fight." She stepped aside, allowing Ged to enter.
Ged walked past the red rope and proceeded down the hallway of the arena entrance. Its blue walls were adorned with portraits of fighters and descriptions of their past accomplishments. He passed numerous empty blue couches with side tables holding fake plants until the hallway finally led him to a doorway adorned with the sign, "Fighter Lounge."
The fighter lounge was a large room with rows of seating lining its walls and center. On the opposite side was the entrance to a hallway adorned with the sign, "Arena Entrance."
Ged walked into the room and took a seat, preparing to wait for his fight. Some people in the lounge were talking cheerfully amongst themselves, but the majority wore a vacant stare. As Ged looked into the eyes of the different people, he realized something...
The fighters at the arena were all blind, just like him.
***.
Jen stood beside herself, feeling bored. After Ged had entered, the arena seemed to quiet down, both its participants and spectators. She mindlessly fiddled with the red rope that blocked the entrance, passing the time.
But she knew this dullness wouldn't last long. Ever since Hugo's death, it was as if there was a ticking timer in the rookie fighting hall, counting down to the arrival of a man and his headache-inducing speeches, leaving a trail of disgruntled government employees in his wake.
As Jen treasured her last few minutes of boredom, a strangely dressed older man and a young, fit man were talking to one of the two guards at the entrance.
"Goose... I came as soon as I heard the news," the older man mourned.
"Ralph, it must be very hard for you. Death is much too common here," Goose replied, shaking his head thoughtfully. "Hell, counting the one today, that will total four different deaths just this month."
"It is really too much," Ralph paused. "I'm here to talk with your rookie fighting coordinator. I hope you don't mind giving Fern and me entry in." Ralph then attempted to move past the guard and enter the building.
However, he was stopped by Goose's arm.
"I'm sorry, Ralph, I know you're the mayor and all, but you have to abide by the rules just like everyone else," Goose said, gesturing for Ralph to hand over his Fighter Card.
Ralph's face turned angry and red before he quickly hid his frustration, replacing it with a warm smile. "You are absolutely right; I forgot. Fern, would you please hand over our Fighter Cards?"
Fern reached into a bag wrapped around his shoulder and took out two Fighter Cards, handing them over to Goose. Goose scanned the cards with a red light before returning them to Fern.
"I'm sorry about this, Goose; you know how we are. We just want things to get done," Fern spoke up, burying the cards back into his bag.
"Please remember to also check in at the central security point when you get in as well," Goose replied flatly.
Fern nodded, and the two entered the building, walking toward the center kiosk.
"Those arena guards are absolutely heartless," Ralph complained. "Here we are dealing with somebody's untimely demise, and still, they only care about security. What would happen if a mother doesn't have a Fighter Card when she comes here to mourn her son? Would they dare to refuse entry, even to her?"
Fern frowned at Ralph's words. "That's just the way things are run here. Every arena I've seen has this same policy."
"Don't speak like you and I are the same as these people. If four people had died in a month on a property either one of us owned, we would be absolutely devastated and would be doing anything and everything in our power to get it solved. This laxness and the lack of awareness demonstrated by the people working here is appalling," Ralph replied, continuing his tirade against the government workers.
They approached the small kiosk with the portly man, who had given Ged a hard time the first time. As soon as Ralph and Fern approached, however, he immediately put down what he was reading and set aside his pipe.
"It's good to see you again, Ralph! Don't worry, I've already entered you and Fern into our system. I'm sure you two are extremely busy; feel free to use any of the three hallways," he flattered Ralph.
"Thank you, Vetch," Ralph replied. Without spending a moment longer, he and Fern walked over to the Rookie gate.
"At least some of these mongrels have a sense of duty," Ralph continued his criticism.
Fern was starting to lose hope in fixing Ralph's attitude as the two of them opened the gate and began to walk down the hallway to where Jen was stationed.
"Please, do not lose your temper with Jen. She's one of the few people who will help us get food for the town by directly negotiating with the Agriculture and Food Department. You've made your points about this topic last time; let's keep it brief with her, pay our respects to the deceased fighter, and then leave," Fern warned Ralph.
"I understand what you're saying, but when I speak, it always comes from my heart. I will never filter out what my heart says because I know it's always singing a song for a better and brighter future," Ralph spoke eloquently.
Fern furrowed his brow at Ralph's meandering comment. Instead of reiterating his worries, he decided to offer a small prayer before they approached the now-smiling Jen.
"Jen! How are you? You look absolutely stunning today, might I add," Ralph spoke with grand gestures, laughing heartily as they approached. "I'm sure you already have an idea why I'm here."
"Ralph, right on time. I was growing impatient waiting for you to arrive," Jen spoke, her face plastered with her patented smile. She placed a sign near the red rope that read, "Be back in a minute," before gesturing to the two. "Come on, follow me. Let's go and see Hugo."