There was no more lost thoughts when it came to everything. The tunnel he was forced to enter made everything turn from worse to trundles of all possible horror that could only wait to be unleashed. The time to come, fight and show his true colors was coming to an edge. Like a mountain climber looking off the peak after a month long trek. As the stars glimmered and their breath could be seen through the frosted range.

It was all the same with the angel. Their was nothing that could possibly be used to deny him the chance to live, embrace life and accept all he's become of. That chance never came, all that crossed his darkening eyes was rage. An empowering streak of pure anger that flashed through the obsidian of his iris'.

Zachariah's hair had been precisely placed so it feathered around the back of his nape before being slicked up and created a crest. His temples pounded hard against his skull, the thrusting ache made it feel like his skull had been cracked from the inside.

There was no chance of this ending without blood he'd. Zach knew that much from the moment he'd stepped into the boundary that separated the lands. He finally had learned the planned of what he was expected to do. Kill or be killed with nothing but a thin line separating the two feuding opposites.

He couldn't help the nervous bounce that entered his step. The thought of seeing his best friend, Loche, up there with no sense of direction made it more sickening to bare. The colors all mixed together until it became a vividly clear black.

The rattling tunnel--or so he wished was shaking--was in fact gliding with ease down the journey filled track. It was uneasing to feel such a light weight that had been manipulated at the hands of mortals made slaves. Air that was unnaturally delicate entered his lungs and made them feel fresher than cut grass.

It was finally time once the platform stopped, riding him straight to the arena were only one would come out. Only one would be able to escape the nightmares that were just starting. With a final end, nothing more was in preparation and it was up to the tributes to decide the outcome.

The arena was nothing like Zachariah expected. It was more.

The mountains seemed to fall upon themselves, rolling and twisting until they became an nonuniform assortment of both swirls and peaks that broke the ashed sky. The clouds rained down the flakes of a leftover fire. Everything had a serene beauty to it that sat unnaturally thick in the intestines of Zachariah. Dotting this, examining and ripping it apart until there was nothing more to say. The possibilities were endless when it came to just what appeared in this arena.

Yes, arena. The same things gladiators of the past used to show honor through victory of being the last standing in a pile of bones and gore. For some reason, this sent a strip of exhilaration up through Zachariah until a small smile couldn't be helped from the curl of his lips. This was a new world. One that was filled with tyrants, kings, and those few ordinary people that took this as the chance to turn the tables around and experiment.

Pulling the few strands of hair back that had been clouding his vision, the angel feathered out his wings. Letting the accumulating stairs from the other tributes fall over him. Although not completely open and sprayed like he wished them to be, they still caste a shadow, prolonging a define edge in the side of his jaw and giving him a wicked glimmer.

His skin burned from all the human contact it had been through lately. Though that was nothing that stopped him from continuing to cross the threshold. Pacing around the spectacle of a platform, it was hard to contain the impulse to leap up and see just how far he could go before the explosives that had been planted to keep them contained were set off.

From how neat and ordinary everything else was, only a millisecond would be filled with his last breath before his skin and insides splattered across the desolate ground. Although there wasn't a countdown, something inside him knew that it was time to go. Move. It seemed to whisper in a ghoul voice. The sound barely audible but enough to get Zach rocketing away as if his life depended on it. Bitterly, it did.

His brain was in scrambles. The pure choice of running away, not tormenting himself enough to try and get any supplies necessary played around made the insanity worsen. Not only would be left with no sense of coverage, but he drew the line at protection. Though his thoughts were cut short when he saw a wild Loche running circles as he humbled around, obviously in search of his best friend.

Seeing him like that, a hopeless shell of a boy, made everything much more intense as Zachariah lurched forward. Prepared to tackle anything that laid in the ground between the two males, the angel let his guard down for a minute as he clasped tight to the still dazed boy.

"Fuck you Wyders," was the only thing that Zachariah could manage to get out through groans and grudges as a dagger fled the scene through the narrow slit that filled the space that separated their hunched shoulders.

They both ran until their feet gave way underneath them. The world before them, abandoned and left to nothing seemed to carry them forward. The circuital design of everything was fascinating was it was. Zachariah had no idea what to expect. The only hope he had left was that the obsidian coated gates that raised from the ground only miles away would lead them somewhere better, somewhere they held the answers to all their many questions.

Tugging a very tired Loche into his side, he knew he'd have no other option. It was either carry him and pray that he could successfully manage both their weights, or drop his friend to leave, only to come back. The latter wasn't even an option to the angel. Knowing that the growls and shrills had to be coming from somewhere darker than the hazy fields they collected in now.

Adrenaline danced inside his veins and his heart raced, pulsing in the arteries and letting the pounding flush his ears. Both their pants became labored as Zachariah gripped the underneaths of Loche's arms. Battling hard to keep them both slightly elevating through the sky.

Grinding his teeth together, he could practically feel them chipping apart. He searched the horizons, knowing that the double gated entrance was nearing. Still, the idea of going into unprepared did nothing to fill the worried thoughts.

His arms felt weakened, becoming taut as the muscles restricted. The grunts from lone fights could still be heard from behind but he had no way of knowing what was truly happening. Their was no time to risk a glance behind, and he very much doubted that a now unconscious Loche would like to be dropped from this high.

The angel had a limited amount of strength and it was running out quickly. Suddenly a pain shot up the length of his calf and made everything go stiff. Looking down, a dagger sat lodged to the hilt. Fucking hell. The blood seeped from his skin and like an erupted volcano, seemed to burst in blotches as the pressure began to build. There was no chance of making this out alive it meant he'd be limping the entire time.

Not even hesitating, Zachariah reached down with an eerie determination and ripped it straight out. Biting down the pain, he ignored the throbbing and didn't rest until they burst through the gate. Ringing out from the sudden disturbance, it clattered open and allowed them entrance. Even though Zach still was was deceased to the mystic beauties that the land held, he knew that there was no such thing as a safe haven around here.

His wings shuttered before closing involuntarily, telling him the very last of his energy had been drained to a bare minimum. It would take hours before it was fully restored and Zachariah had no time to waste moping around. By this time, Loche had shook himself awake and was alert to the sudden change of venue. Although they both still were at a standstill with what to do next. A small amount of relief swept through him at the sight of something gleaming. Round and stocked with what he thought had smelled like the glorious scent of lethal weapons.

Gunpowder filled the air and the two boys stared at each other before picking themselves up, and wiping the gravel from their patched clothes. This was a sight worth seeing. After all the trials that led to this, neither could have asked for a better reward.

By the time Zachariah managed to scrape his way to the Cornucopia, they were both bloodied and bruised. The sense of incompetence filled him whole. There was no where left to run and he knew that the only way to get out from his certain predicament was to fight through it.

Everything took a turn for the worse when a girl no older than fourteen stepped up to the plate. Trying hard to go unseen by the keen eyes of the angel but admittedly failed when he spotted her trying to sneak around, and out of his line of vision.

Of course that couldn't happen, and Zachariah let it show with the way he sneered in her direction. The animalisitc facade that appeared from out of nowhere seemed to overcome his usual cocky attitude. Even Loche stood, wandering with a lofty smile as he cradled his crossbow like a newborn baby. Although it seemed amateur compared to an angel sword, or anything else for that matter. No one weapon had to be sharp to pierce through a heart. You just had to have the right leverage. Something that Loche had well when it came to shooting. Zach watched from the ground as he spit blood. He had no idea how he ended up with the rock dust becoming a veil across his legs, but he didn't pay attention and focused intently on his friend.

Loche pulled tight on the drawstring, holding it centimeters from the dip in his noise before immediately letting out a breath and aiming it with enough force to ricochet through the air. It left no sound as the silence was used to shadow the sounds of a gulping gasp.

The girl who had once appeared from thin air now stumbled to her knees, and clutched the arrow that decorated her bleeding chest. Although she tried to rip it free before puncturing the wound too deeply, there was nothing left to do but watch as the girl's eyes rolled into her skull and her limp body fell against the cement ground with a sharp echo.

The two males seemed to go into defense, unwilling to give up what was rightfully theirs. This was not the first time they killed. Animals, demons and humans. All the same to those heartless souls. As Loche tried hard to fight the tears from spilling over and onto his cheeks, Zachariah couldn't help but loath him for the innocence he beheld.

Loche was the definition of manipulative, controlling and overall everything that the angel knew he could control. Deplete enough to keep him from causing an uprising. The boy was seconds away from revolting against the system that initially ruled them. A ticking time bomb that had waited this long and was long overdue an explosion. Though he stilled held a certain look that screamed everything but danger. The way his soft complexion hid his doe eyes that were constantly filled with awe.

Zachariah's tongue jumbled over his words and before the angel knew it, the noises became louder. The low thumps of footsteps that where making their way towards the two panting boys carried throughout the silent walls.

There was no way they had enough time to get out and into safety before they'd spot them both. The angel signaled to his friend that there time had come. They would have to fight given they had no other option.

There was only darkness after that, and it came from the merciless angel.