He was running through the desert with dry, rough air whipping across his face, sand finding its way into his sandals and sticking to his tanned skin, the grittiness an odd sort of comfort. 

Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop.

He ran until he tripped, foot sinking into a deep patch of the sand and stumbled hard, falling face first into the sand. Bitter sand filled his senses. 

"Get up!" A voice came from somehwere. "You cannot rely on anyone but yourself. If you fall, get back up again."

His small body was tired, but the voice was relentless.

"Get up! You can't be weak!"

He forced himself off the ground again and continued to run. His lungs burned and even when his legs grew numb, he kept running. On and on and on and…

“Hello?”

He woke with a start, jerking up only to feel leather straps dig roughly into his wrists. His eyes struggled to adjust to dark, mind foggy and senses disoriented. 

Brown, round eyes peered at him. "Oh, I see you're awake. I thought you'd never wake up." The girl paused. "Although I’m not sure if it’s better to be awake or not awake at this point…my parents sold me off into slavery, so I suppose yours must’ve done the same.”

"Wh-where am I? Who are you?” 

“Oh, that’s right,” the girl exclaimed. “I never mentioned my name. I’m Shengsheng and I don’t know where we are, but what’s your name?” 

He licked his dry, cracked lips, struggling to remember, but the fogginess in his head wouldn’t clear. “Xu-” He felt the words out. “Xuhong. I think.” He didn’t exactly remember, but the two syllables sound right enough. 

Suddenly, his stomach rumbled and Shengsheng smiled knowingly. “You hungry?”

Xuhong didn’t trust himself or Shengsheng, so he stayed quiet. But she still reached into her sleeves to take out a small loaf of bread and break it in half before handing one half to him and putting the other half back inside her sleeve. 

Shengsheng seemed like a nice enough girl, albeit a little too innocent, but Xuhong had long learned that kind strangers rearely had kind intentions so he sat curled up in the corner, refusing the hard, dirt-covered bread in the girl’s small hands. 

This was something Shensheng seemed to understand so she took a bite into the bread, the bread grating against her teeth, before handing it back to Xuhong. He grabbed for it greedily, gulping the bread down his throat in quick bites despite the unpleasant texture. 

The noise around them suddenly grew louder and turned from simple calls in the market to the hoots and laughter of the entertainment district before the cart rolled to a stop. Even from inside the makeshift cell, Xuhong could hear the roar of a crowd – almost as if they were about to enter a stage.

"Wake up you dirty slaves! Wake up! It's time for some fun and games!" Two men banged against the cart and flipped the rough cloth covering them up before unlocking the cells and pulling and pushing everyone out of the cart. 

Xuhong and Shengsheng both shuffled out of the cart and if he thought that the sound of the crowd was loud before, the sound was deafening now. Their screams fell like a tidal wave on him and after being in the dark for so long, the bright lights blinded his dark eyes and he flinched. For some reason, he had a sinking feeling that not everyone would leave this place alive. The arena looked like a cockfight…but for humans. 

Workers in the arena began ushering the slaves into an enclosed area, their dirt-stained clothes a stark contrast to the clean linens of the middle class and the colorful brocade silks of the nobles watching from above. At this point, some of the girls began to cry while others whispered furtively to each other.

Shengsheng scooted closer to Xuhong. “You don’t think they’re going to kill us, are they?”

That’s exactly what they’re going to do. But Xuhong made no outward reply – he merely pushed Shengsheng closer to him. 

The crowd began to chant, a loud, wild cacophony that brought dread into Xuhong’s stomach until an older man made his way to the balcony located in the center and held his hands up. Immediately, the crowd silenced and he smiled. Gold coins clinked like ominous bells in his pockets and his jewelry shined ostentatiously as did the gold swaths of fabric that covered his large body. 

Xuhong glanced up around, looking for some sort of exit route. Much to his dismay, the only way out seemed to be the way in which they came from, which was now completely sealed off. That is, unless he escaped from above. He looked at the peacocked nobles. Surely there would be one who’d venture a little to close and give him an opportunity to snatch them, would there?

A large gong sounded and the large man in the center began to speak, his voice booming throughout the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen, today, I present to you these slaves! As you all are very familiar with, I present to you only the very best entertainment. You came here to watch a show and a show you shall watch! These slaves will have a death match!” 

The crowd roared with excitement while the slaves paled in fear. Xuhong felt Shengsheng inch closer to him, tugging gently on his sleeve. "If you have never seen a spectacle such as this, now is your chance to do so – in no other place will you be able to find such raw bloodshed and feral slaves clawing and killing at each other. It will be a grand spectacle! But,” the man paused, dragging the silence to fuel the crowd. “Wolfdogs will join in, maybe have a tasty meal or two! It’ll just make everything so much more fun! So place your bets and have the time of your life!” 

The man grinned evilly and gestured towards a servant near him as people began to throw money at employees in an effort to place their bets before the match began. 

Xuhong steeled himself when he felt the ground shook. Two wolfdogs restrained only by a seemingly thin wooden cage, rose from underground. The wolfdogs were savage, skinny beasts, starved and abused and salivating at the mouths. They pawed against their cages in wild abandon, hoping to get to their meals faster. They looked harmless, but Xuhong knew that the starved and savage were some of the most dangerous creatures of all.

Shengsheng shook with terror behind Xuhong and whimpered in fear so he reached behind to grasp her hand in reassurance even if he himself was afraid.

No sooner did he have time to think before the wolfdogs were released from their cages and began leaping towards the slaves. The whole arena came to life once again as the crowd hooted and yelled. People stood up waving and shouting, clamoring to get a good view of the massacre that was to happen before them. 

Xuhong froze and looked on with distraught. We’ll all die from these wolfdogs before we even have the chance to ‘fight’ each other.