The bear slowly stalked towards them. They all huddled together instinctively. 

"Don't do that, guys. That's how we always end up with no survivors." The announcer shouted. The crowd was louder than ever, anticipating their probably horrible deaths. 

The bear did indeed charge at them, but they split off into two directions. Matt, JC, and Colleen on the right, and Roi, Manny, Teala and Sayfia on the right. They made sure to keep an eye on the other's group, but Matt was going into data overload. His eyes darted around for something, anything they could use to help them. 

The bear suddenly turned around and ran towards Sayfia's group. "Look out!" Roi shouted. In a daring move of sacrifice for the rest of them, he recklessly pushed the rest of them out of the way, before the bear slammed against the wall - and Roi. There was a crack, then a gasp from the crowd. The bear backed away, prompting a scream from Teala, which threw the crowd into an excited frenzy. 

Roi was against the wall, his blood spattered against the wall behind him. His eyes were closed, and his shoulders didn't move with that same breath of life that anyone else's would. 

"One down, five to go, who could be next, nobody knows!" The announcer shouted. 

The bear turned towards Sayfia, Teala, and Manny, slowly approaching them, all of them on the ground. Matt was still looking around, while Colleen pulled on his sleeve. "Aren't you going to do something? You said you want to live, that's great, so help us live, too!" 

Matt looked back over to where their boxes were. He grabbed JC and handed him on of the planks from his box. "Wait for my signal, then bang on the gate. It's metal." JC paused, but nodded, running to the other side of the arena. Matt went to one of the metal doors, and banged on it, attracting the bear's attention. The bear, now angry, started charging towards him, but Matt managed to dodge just in time, falling to the ground and backing away before managing to jump back up again and run as far away as he could from JC. 

Sayfia got a sense of their plan and locked eyes with Matt. She helped Teala up, hiding her behind herself, but soon realized that Colleen was alone, an easy target. Sayfia called her name, motioning for her to come over to them while the bear was distracted with Matt, but the bear heard the shout. 

Caught in-between a bear and the rest of the group, Colleen made a made dash for the rest of the group, getting there just in time, as the bear slammed itself up against the wall. The crowd roared. The group was together again, but the bear was backing them into the corner. No amount of Matt's shouting was helping ether. JC lifted the plank up, ready to strike, but Matt shook his head frantically. It wasn't right yet. 

They were all in the corner, Sayfia, Manny, Colleen, and Teala. The bear swiped at them, scratching Manny's cheek. Colleen was at the back of the group, the most closely pressed against the wall. Sayfia looked around, between Manny's cut, JC with the plank, and Colleen. 

"Sayfia?!" Teala shouted, terrified. 

Sayfia froze, but just as quickly sprung into action. "Distraction." 

"What?" 

"Run." 

All three of them, Sayfia, Manny, and Teala ran out of the way, allowing the bear to close in on Colleen, who, with a scream, was silenced by the bear's claws, scratching her deep in the neck, and forcing her to the ground. Blood was gushing out. 

"No!" Teala jumped out from behind Sayfia, who, despite calling after her, couldn't stop her from blindly running to Colleen's side, where she was quickly struck by the bear, it's clawed front paw scratching directly down her face. She fell on top of Colleen, dead. Colleen's eyes had gone glassy and her limbs limp. Dead as well. 

"Two in one! Down go two of the girls, our first captive being the last woman standing! Will she be the last person standing as well, or will the boys outlive her?" The announcer called out, to much uproar in the crowd. "Either way, we only have three left!" 

The bear finally turned it's attention back to Matt, stalking closer. JC started to panic. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. But Manny had an idea. 

He may not have looked it, but he was actually incredibly strong. He rolled up his sleeves and decided something then and there. He was going to help, with the strength that he had in his own body. Manny ran forward, jumping onto the bear's back. The bear moved backwards, away from Matt, who was able to get away. 

"We've got a bear-tamer!" The announcer shouted. "Thinks he's able to stop a bear, let's see how the bear returns the favor!" 

The announcer was right. The bear was MUCH stronger than Manny, but he was holding on well. Until the bear rolled over and Manny lost his grip. The bear scratched at his chest, and deep, too. It then walked right over him, killing whatever chance he had of surviving. Manny was dead. 

"Two more bodies! Who will survive!?" 

Realizing they were running out of time, Matt called Sayfia's name. He pointed to the gate, kicking one of the planks over to her. She nodded, picking it up and running to JC's side. 

"Now!" Matt shouted. 

JC and Sayfia banged on the gate, annoying the bear. It charged towards them, Matt running after it. Sayfia jumped back as the bear charged right into the cage. Matt dislodged one of the stones in the wall and smashed it against the rope for the cage a couple times, until eventually, it snapped. The cage slammed down, trapping the very angry bear inside. The crowd groaned and booed. 

JC rested his arm against the cage bars, exhausted from the adrenaline rush. But then, the bear swiped out, scratching his stomach all the way across. JC knelt down and clutched his stomach. The crowd roared once more, happy that even after the bear was caged, they still got their violence. 

Sayfia screamed. She ran over to JC and pulled him away into the middle of the arena, where he laid on his back, dying. She and Matt knelt down next to him. "No, god no..." She was smiling, but crying at the same time. "This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad." She looked at Matt. "Everyone's dying. Everyone I knew is dying." She turned back to JC. His eyes were closed. He wasn't breathing anymore. 

"The final two! Now that Fuzzy's caged up, let's solve this a more fun way! Boys! Give them a hand!" 

Two Daggers threw two weapons into the ring. Two daggers, simple in design, but easy to use. And just as deadly as any sword. 

"So, you two." The announcer faced them, and Matt and Sayfia looked up. "Here's your final test. Survival is one thing, but to be a Dagger, you're going to have to know how it feel to kill." The announcer pointed towards the daggers on the ground. "So... let's kill!" 

The crowd cheered loudly. Matt thought that neither of them were going to move, until Sayfia stood up. "Pick it up, Matt." 

"What?"

"Pick it up." 

Sayfia picked up the dagger and pointed it towards him. The crowd was going insane. Matt slowly reached over and picked up the other dagger, holding it tightly, but not quite ready to use it. 

Sayfia then dropped her hands, but still held the knife. The crowd murmured in confusion. "I'm not doing this." She said. Matt was still on one knee, knife in one hand, the other on JC's stomach. "I... am no Dagger." She chuckled softly. 

The crowd was silent. She dropped the dagger, which clattered on the floor. Finally, the announcer sighed. "Well. You heard her, guys." 

Another Dagger, this one with a crossbow, aimed for Sayfia. "Wait!" Matt shouted, but it was too late. The arrow went right through her chest. She stood there, frozen for a few seconds, until she finally fell, Matt running to her side. 

"Oh my god, Sayfia, no, wait. Come on, I can fix this... I studied a few anatomy textbooks that the adults smuggled in, I can-" 

Sayfia laughed softly. "Since when did Hope Square take risks? Textbooks? They've changed quite a bit, haven't they?" 

Matt was confused for a couple seconds, until he realized what was going on. "You're a-"

She cut him off. "The last of the runaway kids. The last one. You know why?" Matt shook his head. "I was curious. Curios enough to find a way out. Keep that curiosity, Matt." Her voice had become weak and raspy. "Have hope." 

"Have hope." Matt whispered back. He seemed to be on the verge of tears, but he remembered the silent advice she gave to him. They WANT to see your pain. Don't give them the satisfaction. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"