Jirani fired a shot at the ground, making them jump back. “Enough! You are all targets now! Anyone else want to join the death march? You, come over here!”

From the crowd, the hooded person came forward, shaking his metallic cane. “How dare you order me around!”

“You do not have a choice! You will fight with us,” Jirani said. He scratched his angular chin with the tip of the gun, suspiciously eyeing the crowd of mixed people. “You, come here.”

A man, thirty-three-years-old, wearing a crimson, long-sleeved shirt tied with a black, gold-chained belt and dark green pants stepped forward.

“What is your name?” Jirani asked.

“I’m Grady,” replied the man.

“You are Arugian, you will fight on our side.”

“Yes, but I’m Gesnia-born. Why me?”

“Fighting is in your blood! You cannot stand against us! Now come!” Jirani handed the gun to his pudgy comrade.

Shigoh grinned gleefully, and stepped forward. “Who is that there?”

Everyone turned around to the silent, gangly man wrapped in grimy cloth, who appeared as a statue among the others. Some of the entrants moved away from the eerie stranger, whose arms dangled loosely by his skinny torso.

“The hell’s with him? He ain’t moved since we been here,” Kaffron said.

“Like the rest of us, he’s probably scared shitless,” Amali replied.

“You, grubby man! Step over!” Shigoh called.

After several seconds, the rigid person hunched forward as he dragged across the stage. Soft wheezing came from the covered stranger. Shigoh’s lips stretched, his nose crinkling as the peculiar being stood dumbly beside him. “Whoever you are, you will stand with us.”

Niko’s spine tingled as his eyes moved along the group of ghastly people before him. From behind, Alia, Kaffron, and Amali grabbed his shoulders as they grouped beside him.

“Guys, you don’t hafta do this,” he whispered.

“Hey, at this point, the money’s just a bonus,” Amali said, elbowing him. “Let’s put these motherfuckers in their place.”

Niko looked to the others, his fists gripping. “Thanks, guys.” He then faced his enemies, with arms stretched to his sides. “Okay, Jirani, it’s your move!”

Jirani’s eye twitched. “You are foolish! Everyone else, out of the ring! This is between me and the boy!”

Ekzera hurriedly gathered the others and they tensely stepped across the walkway to the sidelines. He faced Niko. “Young man, you’re certain you want to go through with this? I can get help!”

Before Niko could act, the Black Assassin rushed by, knocking Ekzera to the ground with his arm.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Niko shouted.

He ran toward the edge, when a bullet suddenly smashed into a nearby pillar by the temple.

“No one is leaving!” Jirani yelled. “Black Assassin, keep an eye on them!”

While Niko stood back up, the assassin raced down the walkway, drawing a dagger from his backside as he blocked off the others. Niko rolled up his sleeves, his feet slamming along the ground. “You two-timing bastard!”

“Enough! You will be last to die, Niko! Grady and Alia, you fight first!”

“What?” Grady said.

Jirani aimed the gun at Grady. “Defeat her, or else you will lose more than the match! Now go!”

With a deep sigh, Grady stepped to the center, his eyes glued to Alia. “This whole situation is doomed.”

Jirani and the rest of his group ascended the stairs of the temple, perching themselves above the field.

Alia held Niko’s hand. “I’m really sorry about this. I shouldn’t have gotten you involved.”

“It ain’t your fault. I’m not giving up now,” Niko replied, touching her arm. “Show ‘em what you showed me.”

Alia smiled and swept her hair away as she faced the arena. Her heart steadily thumped with every step, her nails digging into her palms. Niko and the rest climbed the stairs to the shrine, standing at the other end while Jirani watched him with a menacing gaze. He, Amali, and Kaffron nestled alongside some pillars, stooping on the stony subsets protruding from the floor as they watched.

“Can’t believe he followed me here,” Niko whispered, clutching the column shaft.

“Stay alert, kid. Just ‘cause we’re on the sides don’t mean we’re safe,” Amali said, catching a glimpse of the shady group.

“Didn’t he say there’s people inside there?” Kaffron said, peering around a pillar.

“I think so. You think they can help us?” Niko said.

“Maybe, if I get in. There’s no guarantee—they could be a buncha old farts like Ekzera.”

“Guys, hush. I’ll sneak in. No offense, babe, but you’re not exactly hard to miss,” Amali whispered.

“You sure? This time we don’t have home-field advantage. Just be careful.”

Amali kissed him, and slowly sidled along the pillars, her gun tucked in hand.

“What are you waiting for?” Jirani shouted. “Start now!”

Grady unfolded his arms, his black ponytail drifting in the cool breeze. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry it’s come to this.”

Alia shook her head. “I’m not one to fight one of my own, but nothing’s gonna stand in my way.”

Grady’s brows furrowed, his head bowing before he rushed towards her. Their bodies overlapped while their limbs smacked against one another. She leaned over to break away and delivered a light blow to his stomach. Grady’s leg crashed against her forearms as she knelt down to block him.

“He definitely knows what he’s doing,” she said.

Grady leaned into a roundhouse kick and struck Alia’s head. She jumped up and kicked him in the back while he faced away, then yanked his ponytail while punching his backside.

“Damn, she’s good,” Niko said.

Kaffron’s jaw slowly fell. “Holy shit, that chick is ruthless.”

“I cannot lose this,” Grady said, coughing up a drop of blood. “This is all your fault!”

Alia scowled at him. “I’m not the one who did this!”

Grady sprinted forward, his arm flailing. “We are all trapped here! I’ll make sure you go back!” Alia grabbed his leg mid-strike and twisted his limb. Grady yanked her down with him and stabbed her in the back with his elbow, then rolled onto his feet and kicked her in the side of the head. Alia crouched and drove her fist into his gut. He punched her ribs while she retracted, then she punched him in the face. Grady writhed around, clutching his bloody nose while Alia snuck behind him. Grady kicked his leg back to strike her, only to be grabbed by the legs and heaved into the water. He eventually re-surfaced and crawled back into the ring, soaked with water and blood.

Alia’s eyes trembled while Grady limped closer, his nose dripping with blood. She shook her head, her eyes filling with water. “You really want to keep going?”

Grady’s arms slowly rose. “I can’t stop…he’ll kill me.”

He leapt up and sailed down at her, his foot slamming into the rock as she weaved aside. Grady swung his torso, his fists banging into Alia’s ribs. She quickly yanked his fist and pulled him, ramming her knee in his back. He hit the ground, heaving for air while blood dripped through his nostrils. Alia scooted back, her eyes rolling up toward the temple.

“There’s no way around this. Unless…” She threw up her arms and faced Jirani. “I give up!”

“What is she doing?” Kaffron said. “If she just throws it in…”

Jirani gritted his teeth as he stepped toward the stairs. “Stupid girl! You cannot outsmart me! We still win by one! Grady, get out of there!”

Alia leaned beside Grady and pulled him onto his feet. His dark brown eyes tensed.

“That was very noble. Forgive me,” he said.

Alia held onto him as they left the arena. “I’m not letting anyone else get hurt.”

Grady and Alia slumped up the steps, and she propped him against a pillar, his head leaning back to clot the blood. Niko and Kaffron hesitantly stepped over.

“Alia, that was amazing,” Niko said.

She turned to him. “He’s gonna pay for this…look at what he’s done.”

Niko put a hand on her back. “I’m real sorry.”

“Hey, you did the right thing,” Kaffron said, holding his hands out.

Alia crossed her arms and leaned against a column. “Please, what would you know about that?”

Kaffron sighed as he walked over to Grady. “I guess I’ll look after him for a bit.”

A shadow fell over Kaffron as he stooped down. He quickly stood up and turned, where Shigoh stood beneath him, shoving his gun in Kaffron’s face.

“Ah, what are you doing, hairy man? You and I are next!”

Kaffron shifted away. “You can’t be serious, you midget! All I gotta do is step on you!”

With a hiss, Shigoh pulled the trigger, crumbling one of the pillars to pieces. “Ah, your choice, big ox! Fight like a man or die like a rat!”

Kaffron’s fists shook as Shigoh backed away, sniggering. “You little shit…fine! Get your chunky ass down there; you’ll see how a man fights!”

Shigoh handed the gun to Jirani, then sauntered down to the ring. Kaffron scoffed as he hurried by the others. Niko grabbed his arm. “Hey, Kaff?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful. We still gotta find that treasure,” Niko said with a wink.

Kaffron grunted, and slapped Niko’s arm. “Deal.”

Around the rear of the temple, Amali crouched behind some columns as she approached a little stairwell winding up the side wall. Rectangular windows with curved arches lined the walls, supporting the massive, angled roof. “Weird design,” she said while climbing the steps. Some pebbles broke away as she ascended, her hand resting on one of the higher window sills. Her eyes bulged as she looked inside; the drab, barren temple stood beneath her, surrounded by winding levels of stone walls and graves. All cross the fractured cobblestone floor, chipped remnants of marble statues and decorative columns lined the room.

Amali took a breath and vaulted herself through the window, her hands clasping the ledge of a narrow protrusion in the wall. “Shit! Wish this were sturdier!” A rock cracked, and her grip loosened. Amali hit on her feet, her hair sweeping over her eyes as she stood up. She found herself on the ground floor, where yards ahead she saw sunlight creeping through the main door. Dust quietly fell around her, her eyes tracing along the pasty, crumbled walls. Her body drooped slightly from the ancient landmark’s daunting presence. She stepped quietly, her boots grinding over loose rock. Grand figures capped the pillars around her, each one in a different pose. To her left stood a wide, curving arch, beyond which lie a narrow hall. Amali looked ahead, then scooted down the musty passage. She looked up to the time-worn friezes and sculptures in the walls, along with the scattered urns and splintered wooden spears on the floor. Amali picked one up, her thumbs rolling along its corroded point.

“This is unreal. I wonder what else they’re hiding in here.” She clanked the weapon to the floor and walked further. Her eyes came to a little marble altar atop a series of juxtaposed blocks. Nearly touching the ceiling, a stylized figurehead adorned the monument, ensconced by tiny columns. Amali’s eyebrows perked at the precariously-placed wicker chest resting in the figure’s hands. “Son of a bitch—that’s where it is.”

Tightening the grip on her gun, she moved further down the hall, passing through the shadows cast by the colonnades on either side of her. Just then, some tiny marble granules pitter-pattered across the floor. She quickly looked up, where from one of the pillars, one of the figures suddenly opened it eyes, casting his blue eyes on her. “Whoa!” Amali said, aiming her gun.

The pasty human leapt from the column, landing behind the pillar and snatching a nearby spear from the floor. Amali shifted away, her gun pointed at the tilting pillar shaft while the strange man’s spear peeked from behind it.

“Who goes there?” he said in a deep voice.

Before her eyes, the other figures on the pillars slowly shifted and bound down from their roosts, surrounding her.

Outside in the ring, Kaffron and Shigoh stood across from one another, staring each other down while positioning themselves.

Who the hell are these guys? Little fathead’s not even five feet tall! Whatever the case, without his gun he’s nothing, Kaffron thought.

Shigoh tugged down his black vest and rolled up the cuffs of his emerald-green undershirt. His little mustache twitched while his arms rose to his sides. “Hmm, this big ox seems short-tempered. That is his weakness.” Kaffron ran forward and heaved his heavy boot into Shigoh’s midsection. Shigoh skidded backwards across the arena while re-balancing himself. “He is swift for his size!”

Kaffron slung his thick arms, banging into Shigoh’s forearms as he blocked. Shigoh stooped down, socking Kaffron’s gut with his foot while forcing his arms back. Kaffron withdrew his arms, swinging into a kick and clocking Shigoh upside the head. Little runt can’t reach high enough to hit my face—he’s gonna strike elsewhere, Kaffron thought.

Shigoh bounced forth, digging his feet into the ground as he threw a punch. Kaffron smacked Shigoh’s arm aside, his legs vulnerable as Shigoh kicked his shin. Kaffron tripped forward, right into Shigoh’s fist. “Try that shit again!” Kaffron growled, snatching Shigoh’s leg mid-strike. He twisted Shigoh’s body around, driving his elbow into his back. Shigoh forced himself up, swinging his leg into Kaffron’s belly. Kaffron jerked Shigoh by the arm and rammed him in the face, knocking off his glasses as he tumbled along the ground. Kaffron wiped a smidgen of blood from his lips and spat onto the ground. Cheap little bastard, just like I thought! The one spot he can hit me…!

Shigoh pushed himself up, his chubby legs shaking. “You are strong. If only you were as smart.”

Kaffron sneered. “Are you serious? I ain’t the one gaspin’ for breath!”

“You are stupid for interfering! You could have lived!”

“Shut the hell up and do somethin’ about it. You’re the ones who have no business here!”

Shigoh sneakily reached into his pants pocket. “Again, you are wrong—and that will be your downfall!”

Inside the temple, Amali found herself in the center of a circle of foreign people glaring at her, their arms held out while the central man clutched his spear. They all wore crimson vests, thin black pants, and white sashes. Black bands wrapped around their forearms, and black headbands covered their foreheads. “Are you in pursuit of the king’s treasures?” he asked.

“Uh, I was, but there’s a bit of a situation outside,” Amali replied, her arms held up.

“We won’t harm you if you drop your weapon.”

Her eyes glanced around the empty hall as the white, powder-covered people stared at her. She bent down and set her gun down. “There.”

The man lowered his spear. “Why have you entered our temple?”

“We were here for that King’s Challenge thing, but a couple of guys ambushed us! Now we’re all forced to fight each other.”

“Where is Senior Ekzera?”

“The old guy? He’s still out there, but I don’t think we have much of a chance of gettin’ out of here. Can y’all help us?” Amali asked.