"Look, there they go," someone said.

I turned around and spotted another tiny window, out to the arena. I scrambled over and stood up on my toes, gripping the bars. I could barely see, but I wouldn't miss watching Tristam fight. I hadn't missed a single round with him in it, and I wasn't about to miss this one.

There he was, being roughly escorted out. Once he was visible by the spectators, the crowd went wild. Tristam didn't look at them; he just stared blankly ahead, just like he always did.

Odden was pushed out as well, and he was terrified. He kept glancing over his shoulder, as if he'd find his friend behind him. He'd never fought by himself before. Their moves worked well together, but not separate.

"Winner moves on," the announcer declared. "And the final winner, the ultimate champion, will be released."

This was new. Instantly, I watched Tristam perk up. His shoulders tensed and I bit my lip in nervousness. He always moved in a relaxed way, a smooth and graceful dance. If he missed his step with that hammer, his skull would be crushed in.

I glanced at Braken through the side window, and saw he was reaching as high as he could, but he wasn't tall enough to see. He was signing something, the same thing over and over, as if he was mumbling to himself.

I quickly turned my attention back to the arena. Odden was as excited about this new piece of information as Tristam was, hoping from foot to foot. The soldiers rushed out of the arena, and the announcer called for the round to begin.

Without wasting any time, Odden transformed himself, his giant hammer solidifying in his hands. "I'm sorry, Tristam," he said. "I have to get back to my family."

"Funny. I don't intend on losing." Tristam lept backward, dodging the hammer as it swung toward him with incredible force. He sent back a burst of flame and darted around his opponent, always staying one step ahead.

Watching him fight was amazing, as I had noticed many times before. Now, however, it was far less exciting, especially since I knew I'd be out there soon. I found my tight grip was turning my knuckles white.

"What's going on? I can't see!" another Unnatural shouted as the crowd let out a roar. The hammer crashed to the ground close to my window and sent dirt showering over me.

Tristam shouted something, but the crowd was too loud. Their screaming and thunderous applause drowned out everything else. It hurt my ears. I had always wanted to see a game in person, but not from this angle. Not if it meant I was most surely going to die soon.

My arms hurt, so I dropped back to the ground to rest them for a moment. Something clanged, like metal on metal, and I glanced over to see Braken banging on the bars, staring at me. "What?" I asked, more snappy than I'd intended.

He signed something.

"I don't understand that," I said.

He sighed loudly through his nose and jabbed his finger toward the fight. I could see his lips trying to form words, but his voice didn't come out. He tried again when I shrugged, and pointed even harder.

"What's happening?" I asked, and he nodded vigorously.

I turned back to the window and hoisted myself up again. Tristam had switched from defensive to offensive, and was trying to get close enough to finish the round. I knew how he finished them - with a flaming punch that sent the opponent flying. Their body burned, but usually, the impact of the inhuman hit killed them first. It was his way of showing he had a little humanity left in him.

"Tristam's winning," I said, stretching the truth a bit. In all honestly, it looked like he could very well lose. Odden was another finalist. He was strong, even without his counterpart.

Braken sighed again, this time in relief, but I ignored him. It was hard to see from this angle, and they'd danced across the arena to a corner where I couldn't see them.

Suddenly, I heard a sickening thump, and something skidded to a stop near my window. The crowd erupted into near chaos.

"Tristam suffers from a fatal hit by one half of the Pegboard Nerds," the announcer nearly screamed in excitement. "Will he get up, or is this the end to our seven year champion?"

Braken let out a loud gasp for breath, almost like a loud cry. I couldn't see him. I didn't want to. My arms were burning, but I forced myself to stay up and see. Sure enough, Tristam was crumpled on his side, his back to me. I could see blood spreading across the dusty ground underneath him.

"Get up," I whispered.

Odden slowly approached him, his expression impossible to read. "I'm sorry," he said, raising his hammer. He threw it down with tremendous strength, and I squeezed my eyes shut and dropped to the ground. I didn't want to see the mess this would make.

Instead of a crunch or a splat, like I had been expecting, the crowd exploded with cheers again. "I don't believe it!" the announcer yelled, barely audible over the crowd. "Tristam executes a stunning escape once again! If he had waited only a split second longer, he'd be flat as a pancake!"

Immediately, I jumped back up, but my arms wouldn't support my weight, and I fell hard, landing on my back. Before I could even get up, a chilling, agonized scream pierced my soul and silenced the crowd. A horrid smell filled the air - the smell of burning flesh. Odden's screaming lasted for a long minute or two, and then slowly faded into nothing.

The crowd burst into cheers and curses, applauding Tristam's phenomenal win as if he had saved them from total annihilation.

So this is what our world has come to.

...

They dragged him back down to his cell and dumped him on the floor about twenty minutes later. He didn't move. He was barely breathing. There was blood all across his left side, spreading across the floor. I'd never seen him hurt this badly.

Braken tapped on the bars and waited for an answer, but he didn't get one. He tapped harder, more frantically, but still, Leo didn't move.

"Leo," I whispered. "Leo, are you okay?"

Braken suddenly slammed his fists down against the bars, his blue eyes burning with anger. He was trying to tell me something, waving his hands around and trying to speak.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't understand."

If he had had his voice, he would have been screaming at me. That much was obvious. I wished I could understand.

"S-sorry," Leo muttered, trying to shift his weight to a more comfortable position.

"It's not your fault," I said.

"You ... don't know anything," he hissed softly, "about ... about these games."

"I'm sorry -"

"Quit saying ... you're sorry, alright?" Leo dragged himself up to rest against the wall by the window and cringed, his hand squeezing his side. "'Cause you're not. You're ... not sorry. You're just a ... just a human."

His words struck home and I ducked my head. He was right, to a degree. I didn't know hardly anything about these games. I only knew what the Refs wanted us to know. And ... I was just a human. I really was finding it hard to sympathize with these two Unnaturals. I wanted Tristam to win because he was my favorite. I wanted to understand Braken so I didn't have to sit here in ignorance. They weren't human. They were game pieces. And now I was one of them. What did that make me?

Braken stuck his hand through the bars and took Leo's, squeezing him reassuringly. Watching them made me question myself. Of course they had feelings, but so did animals. Only ... these weren't animals. These were people with strange and deadly powers. They had the ability to think, to feel, and to live just as I did.

As I looked closer, I noticed the tears streaming down Leo's face. I always thought he was the strongest one. "Why are you crying?" I asked softly.

"Because it h-hurts, alright?" he snapped back, letting out a long cry of pain afterward. He pulled away from Braken's touch and staggered to his feet, though he couldn't hold himself up and dropped to his knees. "You just th-think we're all little pawns in your stupid game!" He gritted his teeth and hauled himself over to my window. I backed up nervously, but he was quicker and grabbed my jacket collar with his bloody hand before I could escape him. He yanked me up close, and if it weren't for the bars in between us, our faces would have been touching. I could taste the blood in his breath. "You may think it's all fun and exciting, but for those of us here, it's a living hell. You don't know what it's like to live like this your whole life, every waking moment spent in frantic planning, pointless agony, and if it were up to you, you'd give up, you'd choose to let them kill you, because death has got to be better than this. You don't know what it's like to have death constantly on your mind, to flirt with those dark angels as easily as you'd flirt with your girlfriend, your boyfriend, whatever stupid human you're attracted to, I don't care, and the only thing stopping you from giving up is your silent best friend who can't even talk, and you know they'd kill him without a second thought if you weren't there to protect him, and he's the only thing worth living for, and yet you know every time they take him out of his cell that he may never come back and there's not a damn thing you can do about it! You'd better start showing a little respect for us or you'll find yourself dead before your round even begins. Do you understand?"

I nodded quickly, but he shook his head and shoved me down on the floor. I hit hard and yelped, and he started to laugh.

"No, you don't!" he nearly screamed, his eyes completely insane. "You don't understand! You never have and you never will! You're a filthy human rat, just like the rest of them, just like the serial killers and the murderers and the psychopaths and the Refs and everyone else!"

He continued screaming curses and profanities, his voice growing more shaky, more choked with tears, and I started to feel guilty. I could hear boot steps - soldiers, most likely - running down the hall toward us. Braken noticed, too, and tapped frantically on the bars of the window. Leo didn't seem to hear him. He just melted to the floor, sobbing into his arms and screaming at me.

"What is going on in here?" a soldier demanded. "Hey! Shut up!"

"He's hurt," I said, and his attention shifted to me.

"And why do you care?"

"Well," I said, choosing my words carefully, "the fans won't be happy to find out the champion died in his cell instead of in the games. You wouldn't want to have to explain that, would you?"

"Bold words, prisoner," the guard chuckled. "And I hate to admit it, but you're right. We'll see what we can do."

I blinked in surprise, but tried not to let it show. Of course I was right. I was human.

A few minutes later, another pair of men came and took Leo away, off to hopefully try to heal him. I wasn't sure if my words actually did help, or if they brought more harm than good, but I wouldn't find out for a while. I glanced over at Braken, but he had sat down and disappeared from my view. It was too dark now to tell where he was.

Leo's words rang in my head over and over, echoing through my skull and settling in my heart. I didn't understand. I didn't know. I just couldn't figure out why I'd want to know - so I could be like them? I'd rather die a human than live as one of them.

"Braken?" I asked, glancing over at the window.

No answer.

"Braken, I have a question."

Still no answer.

"Do you really think I'll save you guys?"

This time, a wild mess of hair and brilliant blue eyes slowly rose above the bottom of the window. He stared at me blankly, every bit of emotion concealed.

"Do you?" I asked.

He hesitated another long moment before he nodded twice and ducked back down.

"Really? Does Leo?"

He didn't show up again.