Natalya POV :

No… no… I panicked immediately I saw the blood stains that came out from my mouth. It was really thick. Still in shock, the boy was busy stretching himself and changing position on how he would take me out.

I hastily kept my hand on the floor to support myself when I was standing, but my hand was weak. It slipped off, and I slumped to the floor unintentionally.

“Ahhh,” my whole body was a mess. Really, this shit was painful, no jokes. I rolled to the other end of the floor and placed my knee on the ring floor for support, and to my surprise, I stood, but I was practically bent slightly because the hit on my stomach was so painful that I didn’t want to stand up straight.

When the boy was sure that I was standing, he didn’t attack immediately, like he was waiting for me to recover a little so he could finish me off, or maybe he was surprised because I survived the blow on my stomach.

I have this feeling that he knows I’ve been hit thrice on my stomach, and a next hit would draw out blood, which it did.

Since he was just staring at me, not taking action, I decided to go first. I hate wasting my time over something that I know I can’t win, so I took a few steps closer to him, but nahhhh, I didn’t clinch my hands into a fist this time.

I just stood and stared back at him. I’m not too dumb to know that he wants me to take the first action, and I’m not trying that shit. We were still staring when the coach blew his whistle.

Now this is the second time this dumbass is blowing the whistle just when I’m starting to enjoy the game.

“Yo, what are both of you doing there, huh? We don’t have all the time, and you hawk, finish this piece of shit up. C’mon, let’s wrap it real quick, yeah,” he said and motioned on us to resume the fight.

And just as I was diverting my view to the ring… “Ouch.”

One of my eyes went dark, combined with the pain that accompanied it. Wait, bro, take it slow on me, yeah. This bro literally threw a blow to my eye. I better start kicking before he kills me.

I charged myself up. I wasn’t feeling that hungry now. I was just feeling the pain that I let this bro beat me into, and I haven’t even touched him yet since the game.

He swung his leg sideways, planning to hit my back, and I drifted aside, grabbed his leg, used my elbow, and gave him a hit right at his knee spot, and his bone cracked.

I knew I might have broken his bone because I could see veins creeping out of his neck, clearly stating that he wanted to shout but was holding it in. He rolled to the edge of the ring for support, just like I did when he hit my stomach.

Yeah, right. So he now knew how it felt to get hit, though his case was different. I just broke his bone. Well, that’s the rule. I smiled to myself. He might think I’m weird, but I just love it when I break bones. It’s my second favorite. My first could wait for later.

I wanted to rush him and finish this fight up, but he seemed to find it hard to stand, so I left him and just enjoyed the view of him struggling.

When he got enough energy and stood up, I stared at his knee. It was really no good because he was limping but trying his possible best to look normal. I love that. Maybe one more hit there wouldn’t hurt.

He took a step right in front of me and grabbed me by the waist. I would give it to him, he was really good at grabbing. He could lift anything, anytime, but nah, I have hit the ground enough. I’m not doing that shit again.

When he grabbed me by my stomach and lifted me up, ready to throw me, I released my weight on him by pressing myself down really hard. He saw that he didn’t stand a chance, so he immediately raised the same leg I hit him on to snap on my neck.

“Oh jeez, this guy really is dumb for real.” I mean, you can’t practically fight with a wounded knee because at that point, that’s your weakness, and your opponent will only target it. And I can’t just miss the fun.

When he swung his leg ready to take me out, I grabbed him by the knee. This time, I didn’t hit his knee. I brought his leg over my shoulder real quick and drifted to the floor, making the leg crack more. Hmmm, I like the sound of that.

He immediately grabbed his leg and winced in pain. I really wanted to go easy on him earlier, but his hit wasn’t helping, so now I had to retaliate in a very hard way. I went closer to him, bent over, and whispered to him.

“Bruh, just tap out or something. I don’t wanna kill you, but breaking a few bones here and there can do that.”

The statement made him look me in the eye. He wanted to say something, but the pain was obviously holding him back. I tapped him and said,

“Nah, save that for later. Now get your ass up, let’s finish it up.”

Before I could turn to the other end, I heard him mutter something.

“Fuck off, psycho.”

I hated it whenever I’m called a psycho. Just when I thought I was helping him, he still had the guts to call me a psycho.

“Oh God, this piece of stuff is really pissing me off.”

I immediately walked back toward him, sat on top of him, and gave him blows that totally ruined his face till he passed out. Yeah, he didn’t die, he just passed out.

I stood up and tapped the ring, notifying that my opponent possibly passed. The manager came closer, examined his pulse, and said that he was dead.

“Um… seems like I literally killed him.”

At least that would make my next three opponents, maybe by tomorrow, take note of their future possibilities. I don’t kid around in the ring, but I do give chances of survival.

I left the ring and walked up to the commander. He seemed too shocked to tell me anything. He just waved me off and left the fighting ground. My next three opponents might undergo strict training if they don’t want to die.

“Hey, Natalya, over here,” Tasi called out, and I turned immediately and waved at her. I wasn’t ready for a conversation or possibly to talk to her friends. I just wanted to sleep. I was really tired, so I walked back to our base immediately.

I swung the door open, walked to the bed, and slumped on it.

“Urrrh, this feels so good. After a long day, I get to have a stress-free nap.”

I hugged the bed tight and slept off.

I woke up the next day. Yeah, I really slept that long. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder.

“Hey, Natalya, let’s go for morning jog. I don’t wanna be late today, please,” Tasi was practically begging.

It was the rule here. It states that you don’t show up to any activity alone unless you don’t have a roomie, but if you do have one, then a very honorable punishment awaits both of you.

I jerked up immediately, took a quick shower, wore shorts and a sleeveless top, and followed Tasi to the field. We took a few laps, discussing personal stuff while waiting for others to join. Not less than two minutes after we got there, the commander showed up.

“Oh no!” Tasi screamed when she saw him, same with everyone around me. They seemed tense.

“Hey, what’s up? Why are y’all screaming for nothing?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Commander never comes to the field, and if he does, we suffer a lot. Today’s spot might be boxing,” Tasi said.

“Yeah, I mean, I love boxing. No big deal there.”

“Yeah, wait till you’re really hit on your body with that boxing stuff. It’s really painful,” Tasi said and drifted off to where her friends were standing.

I just stood at my own spot since I’m not the type that walks to people and starts a conversation. I’m kind of an introvert.

I was still taking in the view of the field when I heard a voice beside me talk.

“Natalya, you love the view, huh?”

I turned my back and faced the person fully, dashed him a smile, and drifted off to the end of the field. I’m not ready to have a conversation. I just want to have a peaceful morning without breaking bones.

Not long after, the commander came and we started off the training. We were taught cool fighting skills, though I already knew most of them because I went to Base One before I came here.

Then it was time for boxing.

“Aha, why did it take them so long to get here? I have been waiting long.”

The commander gave out the rules, specifically stressing the part about not killing your inmate, that it was just a game and not a life-or-death situation. I knew he was specifically talking to me with the way he was staring at me, but I didn’t care. I don’t go by the rules. If you try to slaughter me, game or no game, I’m definitely killing you.

The game kicked off when it was Tasi’s turn. I watched how she took off her opponent. She was really tougher than she looks. Damn. Her opponent tried to hit her face, she held her two hands at the sides of her face to prevent blows, then she struck him one time on the cheeks and he fell to the ground.

I gasped in shock. How the hell did she take a huge guy down with just one strike? Now I know why she’s called the Nightingale. She really doesn’t waste time on the battlefield. That is a skill I want to learn.

We went row by row till it got to my turn. I stood and ventured to the ring. My opponent was just normal-sized like me. Now I’m a little bit grateful they, for once since I came here, gave me someone my size.

Our fight kicked off when the commander himself blew the whistle. He wanted to keep a close eye on me so I don’t kill my opponent. I placed my two hands beside me to prevent future blows since I wanted to go easy on this little one. Yeah, now I’m calling my size the little one.

I threw a punch on him and dodged it, hopping from one angle to the other. I gave him a playful punch, and he staggered back. I mean, it was just a playful punch, why the hell is he staggering?

“Hey, Natalya, take it easy with the punch. You drew smoke outta his ear just now. I said knock him out, not make him deaf. Do you get me?” the commander asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said before diverting my attention back to the fighting ground.

I didn’t give out another punch. I wanted him to show me what he had got so I could level how I throw a punch at him. He came closer to me and was watching my movement to know how he would strike, but I just gave him a free pass and he hit me just as hard as I hit him. It wasn’t that strong, but it was a little painful.

Then I wanted to take him out this time, so I leveled my hand and threw a punch hard enough to take even a ghost out on his face, and he fell to the ground without shaking or even groaning.

Maybe he really was strong, but I paused my movement when blood started filling the floor. I screamed, “B… blood.”

The commander checked the boy’s pulse and shook his head.

“Oh shit, he’s dead!”

Natalya Pov:

I felt bad that I practically killed the boy, and to my surprise, I wasn’t given any punishment for killing him. When the game was over, I exited the fighting ground and rushed over for our meal.

Yeah, I didn’t want to miss it. At least it could minimize the way I randomly slaughter people now. It’s seriously getting out of hand.

I got my share of food and went over to an empty seat and started eating. Then I felt all eyes on me.

“What… what are y’all staring at, huh?” I said when the eyes got too much. I practically turned my head and my gaze fell on "NIKITA (the Nightmare)"—that was his base name.

Tasi once warned me of him in one of our conversations, telling me that no matter how strong you think you are, be careful enough to dread Nikita.

He isn’t someone you would want to see in real life, and here he was, right behind my seat.

When his eyes met mine, I smiled and turned back to my food, but he moved my plate away from me. Now this is what normally pisses the fuck out of me.

“Look, bruh, I don’t want trouble. Can I please have my fo—”

Before I could complete my sentence, he dropped my plate to the floor, totally making a mess of my food.

“Oops, my bad. Was that your plate?” he said, staring at me to know my next action, but I was too hungry for this shit.

So I bent down to scoop out the upper part of the food that spilled on the floor, and he stepped on it. This guy really is getting on my nerves.

“Nikita, man, I don’t want trouble. I just want to eat, and now you’ve ruined mine. I would have to go hungry for the rest of the day,” I said in the calmest voice I had. I didn’t want to show him how obviously angry I was.

“Oh, I never knew an animal like you could go hungry. Okay, what about this? I bet with my fo—”

I didn’t wait for him to complete the statement.

“I’m all in.”

“Woah, you didn’t even allow me to complete the description of the game. I love your energy. Why don’t we go one-on-one tonight at the back base, huh?” he said, challenging me over food.

“Bruh, you got me. I’m in, as far as I get to eat before then. I’m all in,” I said, which made him grin. He didn’t utter another word; he just nodded and left his food for me.

I didn’t waste time and dug into the food immediately, then went over to my room to get some sleep since today was my rest day and my remaining battle line starts tomorrow.

I just took a small nap before a knock came on the door. I lazily stood up to get the door, which is something I never did. It was mostly Tasi who grabbed the door when someone knocked, but she wasn’t back yet, so I had to get it.

I twisted the door knob and slowly opened it, and my gaze fell on a high-built man.

“Good day, sir.”

“Are you Rose by name?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. Any problem?” I asked, because he was acting kind of weird.

“Your dad said I should pass this parcel to you. Please do sign here,” he said. He was possibly shaking when I took the pen from him.

“Sir, are you alright? You seem kind of tense,” I asked him, but he was just staring at me like he was dumb or something.

Whatever. I just signed and shut the door.

I practically tore the stuff they used in decorating the parcel aggressively. I wanted to know what my dad got me, because he hardly gives me gifts. When I opened it—wait, what? My dad got me chocolates, different sizes and huge bars.

“Oh my God.” Now I’m starting to regret why I had to bet for food when initially I might get this. I was so excited. I mean, I know I don’t like my dad. He can be an asshole sometimes, but now I know why the guy was shaking—he was secretly sent to deliver this.

When I heard movement by the door, I hastily hid the chocolates and gift immediately. At least I’m not dumb enough to get caught.

I rested for some time and made sure I had enough water to keep me hydrated and ready for tonight. I know I’m going to be beaten up, since even Tasi is scared of him. Tasi doesn’t bluff when she talks. She always talks facts.

Immediately the bell for six in the evening rang, I warmed up a little and walked out of the room, heading to the back base.

Where I’m going to be beaten to hell for eating lunch. It’s not my fault. I’m always hungry-natured. I shouldn’t take blame for that specifically.

When I got to the back base, most of the inmates had already gathered. These ones don’t care whether you die or not; they just want to have fun, and that’s what I’m going to give them if I survive tonight.

Not long after I arrived, Nikita approached me and ran his hand over his neck, indicating that I was dead. Nah, that’s not going to happen. I mean, if I die, then who’s going to eat those chocolates I hid? Or are they going to treasure-hunt it for days? Whatever.

The whole thing got set. The fight was going to be a reckless one because both the commander and the whistler weren’t around, so I might actually be killed for real.

“What’s the rule of the combat?” I asked Nikita, because I don’t want to get beaten for what I don’t have enough information on.

“There are no rules, buddy. Just do your thing. There’s enough ground for you to be buried, but we’re going hand in hand, no weapons,” he said with a mischievous smile, but there was something about the way he said *no weapons* that alerted me.

Thank goodness, for I still got my table knife beside my waist just in case, because I don’t trust this guy even an inch.

“Yeah, cool,” I just said. I didn’t want to talk much to save my energy for whatever he had for me.

When I made a step to climb to the floor, something grabbed me fiercely and pulled me off, and I lost balance immediately, which made me snap.

“Yo, what the—”

When my gaze caught the person, it was Tasi, and I kept shut. I know I can run my mouth like a parrot at times, mostly to myself, but I just have this respect for Tasi.

“Natalya, you know you don’t have to fight him. I can fight for you if you want,” she offered.

“Now there you go, but you said before that you wouldn’t want to cross paths with him,” I sarcastically told her.

“Yes, but not after you stupidly ventured yourself into his trap. I just don’t want you to die. Nobody—and when I say nobody, I mean even the commander—gives him respect, and here you are climbing the stairs to your own death,” she said, clearly serious, which amused me more. She is never like this.

She didn’t find it funny when I started laughing.

“Don’t worry, Tasi—”

But she cut me short immediately.

“Don’t call me that outside.”

“Alright. Don’t worry, I got it. If I die in that ring, that means I’m really dumb, not after winning those two horrible fights. I mean, what’s the need if I’m going to die, huh?” I assured her, but practically myself mainly.

“Just whatever. Just try not to die, okay?” she said and let go of me to go find a place to sit.

The way she dragged my clothes made them slack a little, so I pushed them back to their normal position and went ahead to climb the stage, which was already set.

I don’t know, they seemed kind of forced to do it, so I’m going to call them his slaves.

Nikita didn’t rush me or anything. He let me take my time, which I practically overdid because I started doing unnecessary things, but he didn’t even move. When I was ready, I signaled him.

“Bruh, you sure you’re ready, or do you need more water? Because I don’t want you to faint early. I want to take my time breaking every inch of you,” he said with excitement.

“Woah, the audacity. Bruh, chill. You haven’t tasted what it’s like to fight me yet, alright? I think we should start judging by the end of the game.”

He didn’t retaliate. He just nodded and took off his shirt. Now I think I just added to his anger volume. Why didn’t I just keep my mouth shut?

I was tensed, but I didn’t make it obvious. I just kept hopping, stretching my body. At least it should be ready for what it’s about to take.

At least every mark that stays, in the future, I’ll remember what I went through before I get to whatever level I might be in. Wait, what the fuck am I doing thinking about the future? Ugh, I really need to get a grasp of myself.

He signaled one of his puppies to ring the bell, which they did, and he took a step toward me and stretched his hand for a handshake. That was weird.

“Hope you remember me when you get to hell,” he whispered in my ear, and that seemed to make me smile, unlike me, who should have been angry by that statement.

When I wanted to take my hand off, he held it firm and stared at me one last time before letting it go and drawing a punch to my mouth immediately. It took me off guard, and I winced in pain.

“Ahh… now I’m not going to enjoy those chocolates in peace.”

I made an attempt to blow him, but I decided against it. Everybody knows he’s a careless fighter. He might have known his weakness or the area where he strikes his opponent most times. Fighters fight you based on their weak points by trying it on you, and the first attempt he just made was my jaw, and I counted that as one.

I took a step forward, triggering him to hit my upper arm elbow in order to make my joints weak enough not to throw a punch, and surprisingly, it worked. That shit hurt like hell, but I didn’t make it obvious, though I knew my stupid neck vein was already making it obvious.

I just stretched my hand a little and counted that as two. I raised my hand to manage to throw a punch, but he swiftly changed position. Hmm, he was fast.

He immediately went over my back, drew me by my long hair, making my head draw backward, and struck my neck with a hard stroke of his hand. All the glow in me vanished, but I couldn’t retaliate just yet because my neck really hurt big time.

Now there’s no chance that I’m licking those chocolates today.

I still struggled to hold my neck to at least get the few active bones to support my head till this shit was over. Nikita didn’t strike me. He let me take my time and enjoyed the view of my struggling.

Now I know how it felt for that guy whose knee I broke.

When I was sure I could manage to breathe properly through my mouth, because my nose was disappointing me, acting like it was the only part of my body affected by the blow, and when I was sure I got on my feet, I decided I better deal with this once and for all.

So I moved closer to him and struck his jaw first, and he staggered backward and looked surprised. I wasn’t meant to be surprised, but I was shocked he staggered. Does my blow really come with force the way people talk about it?

I didn’t care. I just took a step forward to finish what I started, then I noticed a sharp pain just below my stomach, and something dripped off.

What the fuck… he came with a weapon.

Bruh.