All of a sudden bright, cold light flooded the arena. Headlights lit up, pointed their beams directly at the two of you.

Within seconds you could feel your heart drop down to your stomach. That was it. They had caught you. Red handed at that.

"Fuck.", you hissed with clenched teeth.

Your eyes jumped through the arena, expecting dozens if not hundreds of enforcers to point their pistols at you. But it was nothing like that.

Instead the only uniform you managed to spot was the one of the sheriff. With his usual smug attitude and his chin lifted he stood above you and Vi, the jaw towering above his head like a helmet made of glass.

A shiver chased up your spine while hairs stood up straight in warning. With your teeth clenched you readied yourself for an attack.

But all you got was a flick of his lips.

"I offered you a damn good deal.", sheriff Marcus said, judgment oozing from every single word that left his mouth.

Annoyed, you rolled your eyes and gifted him an expression that was more than a threat but less than a promise.

"You can take that deal and shove it, Marcus.", you spat back.

Thick, black eyebrows drew together in displeasure.

"Fine. If you won't do it, I will.", his hazel eyes fell onto Vi. "You're not supposed to ever crawl out of this hole. I once told Vander the same. No wonder his daughter follows in his footsteps."

"The fuck you know?!", Vi sounded like she was about to climb the naked walls with here bare hands out of spine.

He smiled down on her, not very friendly but also kind of apologetic. Then he shook his head.

"You've got big enemies. Ones that I don't want to meet more than I have to. It's your life or mine. Nothing personal.", with a gesture of his hand he gave a signal for someone and vanished from sight.

Immediately sirens inside your head started ringing. Vi was busy throwing curses and insults up to the audience ranks but you spun around, your eyes chasing through the arena.

Pressure pushed down on your chest. Every hair on your body stood up straight. You could practically taste the danger.

It was nerve wrecking to not be able to see it. The beating of your heart was up inside your throat, also driving up your pulse and quickening your breathing.

You had fought so many times in the arena. So many times had you won by a hairs width. But this was different.

There was no way of calculating what was about to happen. You were bare feet and dressed in nothing but simple clothing that would not be able to catch a punch for you.

The odds were more than against you. And Vi wasn't even in it with her head.

The tension was all the way up in your throat while nothing seemingly happened. Your eyes jumped through the arena. For a brief moment you feared that the threat was once more hidden below the sand.

But there was no way they had managed to get their hands onto something like the desert worm again. At least that was what you hopped from the bottom of your heart.

All of a sudden the doors of the cages opened. On both sides.

You let out a low hiss.

"Vi!", you grabbed her by the collar. "Back me up."

You pulled her into the middle of the arena, your neck pressed to hers. In the distance the cages opened, revealing figures that made your stomach twist.

"Shit...", Vi muttered.

"What is that?!", you asked while the people, or rather creatures, approached.

All of them seemed strangely disfigured, their bodies sickly pale and marked by glowing purple veins that managed to shine through their skin.

Some of them had eyes as empty as a dead person while others were as sharp as the ones of a predator. But they all had one thing in common: they looked like their minds weren't quite there.

"Shimmer.", Vi explained as if it was obvious.

"What?", everything inside your body wanted to take a huge step back to get as much distance between you and these things as humanly possible.

"It's a drug. Silco deals with it, I think. Makes them... well... like that.", she gestured towards a man who could not have had any more muscles.

He was huge, with a massive body and arms that looked like they could break every bone inside a body with one single punch.

"Any way to get out of this?", you asked and tried not to make eye contact.

If these people were under the influence there was a good chance that they'd turn aggressive. Maybe they weren't even able to make a difference between anger and any other emotion.

Whatever it was you did not want to find out.

"We gotta fight, sweet cheeks.", Vi sucked in a sharp breath as two of the shimmer addicts came within reach.

You chewed on the inside of your cheek. Your eyes jumped around, hoping to find a way out. But the walls were too high and smooth to climb without help. And you would need a moment of calm to concentrate on it.

"Oh for fucks sake.", you growled under your breath and moved away as a hand tried to reach for your throat. "Is it too much to ask for a criminal to be left alone in peace?!"

You slapped the hand, earning a low sound of surprise from the creature. For a moment there was confusion visible within the bright glowing irises.

But that quickly turned into anger as the man bared his teeth, dirty and chipped. Screaming he rose to his full size while thick strands of saliva drooled from his heavy lips.

"Great, now he's angry.", Vi huffed with a glance over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I've got my way with men.", you replied sarcastically. "Just keep your side clean and don't worry about mine."

Agreeing, she lifted her fists, each one holding a blue orb tight.

"You said you got a way with men?", she asked with a chuckle. "I thought I'm the only one for you. Hurtful, sweet cheeks. Hurtful."

You rolled your eyes.

"I'll tell you the details once we're done here."