"Move out! Now!" The guards yelled as soon as the truck stopped moving and Hellaine shakily rose to her feet as other slaves climbed out of the vehicle.
Finally, light pierced through her vision as she stepped onto the ground. Her mouth was wide open as she took in her surroundings.
The truck had stopped behind a very large building which looked like a stadium. It was clear this was the backdoor as there were guards rolling carts and carriages into the building.
What really caught her attention was whatever was flying in the sky. She could clearly see it wasn't a bird but rather something that vaguely resembled a car. Were those flying cars?!
Hellaine was unable to sightsee any further as she was pushed forward by one of guards.
"I said move it!" He hissed, and she rushed to follow the other slaves who were entering through the gate at the back.
The guards led them through a dark hallway, and Hellaine's ears picked up sounds of a large crowd cheering. Nerves bubbled in her stomach as she had no idea what to expect from this.
The slave boy had told her that this was a trap, and no one had ever been freed from this contest. Was she going to die today?
"Move faster!" One of the guards urged as the slaves climbed a flight of stairs. "Number one!" he called and an elderly man moved forward.
"Go in." The guard nudged his head and the old man entered a metal box which was shut behind him.
"There are different weapons in every cell, make sure you don't forget yours before heading into the arena." The guard said before pressing a red button by the wall and the box glided forward.
"Two!" The countdown continued, and each time a slave entered the metal box, it was pushed forward with the red button.
"Thirty!"
Hellaine was the only slave left so she marched forward to step into the metal box. It was like a very old elevator, only that it had a tiny window at the front.
"Good luck. Let's see who will last longer in the ring." The guard said snidely before pushing the button.
Hellaine's body jerked forward as the box moved down the hallway before it stopped abruptly. She looked around to find her weapon but she saw nothing but a long rope on the ground. What the heck?! What on earth was she supposed to do with a freaking rope? Hang herself to death?!
Hellaine cursed every single entity in Bermuda Triangle but picked up the rope and tied it around her waist. She never knew how it was going to come in handy. Then, she looked up to see the crowd through the small window in the cell.
The grand arena loomed in the sky, its stone walls towering above the sandy ground. From the tiny window, she could see that every single seat was filled up with people, men dressed in tunics and women in dresses.
"Freedom!! Freedom Day! Whoo! Whoo!" They all chanted in a chorus, their voices nearly making the ground tremble.
Hellaine watched with amazement as a man who seemed to be the MC of the program glided into the grounds in something that looked like a hoverboard. Effortlessly, he greeted the crowd with his booming voice and they all roared with excitement.
If this wasn't such a nerve-wracking and life or death situation, Hellaine would have felt pumped by their enthusiasm. Could it be that they didn't know what this was about or they were all into this together?
"I welcome our contestants for the day!!" The MC yelled as his hoverboard soared in the air and the door to the metal box yanked open.
Hellaine saw others coming out from their cells and her feet reluctantly stepped forward. The crowd's cheers got louder and Hellaine gasped at the scene.
The arena was even much larger than she had thought. She could see intricate carvings on the walls of the grounds. At the open roof of the arena, she saw what looked like the holo screens she had only seen in movies.
There were about four screens, with two of them filming the audience. The MC had a screen where his face was displayed for the audience. Then, he began calling out the numbers of the slaves and their faces started to appear on the last screen.
With this, Hellaine could confirm one thing. Bermuda ArchTri had a much more advanced technology than Earth but even so, she couldn't believe why they would still adopt something as inhumane as slavery system.
One of the screens changed to show a man seated on a throne, and Hellaine's heart skipped a beat when she saw him. The silver-haired man, Cladymor.
He was just as gorgeous as she remembered him to be. His silver hair left to flow down his shoulders with his sharp cheekbones and mesmerizing ruby eyes enchanting.
The screen zoomed out and she saw two other ladies sitting at either of his side, both of their seats were lower than his, confirming his overriding status in this realm.
The woman by his right looked older, with her black hair in an elegant hairstyle and her luxurious dress looking exquisite even from the far distance. The other lady was younger with her fiery red hair and her confident smile was nearly disarming.
"Number 030!!" The MC announced and Hellaine saw a tiny device which looked like a fly moving closer to her face as she appeared on the holo screen.
This was the first time she was seeing her reflection since she landed in Bermuda Triangle and to say she looked awful was an understatement.
Her black hair which was normally straight was messy, the strands flying out of her head like a bird's nest. Her face was stained with dirt from working in the mines and because the slaves were only allowed to shower once a month according to Hanriette, Hellaine was as dirty as a pig.
Her jade-green eyes which used to sparkle with life and determination looked dull now, signaling how done she was with life.
"Let the games begin!!" The MC clapped before his hoverboard flew out of the arena.
Then, the ground began to shake violently to the point Hellaine found it hard to stand on her feet. She fell to the ground on her knees and hissed under her breath at the pain from her scrap knees.
Her eyebrows remained furrowed as the center of the ground began to sink slowly with the grains of sand falling through the gaping hole. Then, her ears picked up the sound before her eyes saw what it was.
The horrifying growl sounded foreign, almost like it was from another world entirely.
Hellaine turned to look at the other slaves who were frozen with horrified faces. Great, she wasn't hallucinating the whole thing!
The crowd's yells got louder as the beast surfaced from the hole at the center. The red eyes stared right at Hellaine's soul and she felt her soul escape her body.
ROAR!!!
Hellaine's slim figure was pushed backwards from the gush of wind that came out of the mouth of the beast.
"I'll be damned." She gritted under her breath as her back hit the wall.