The fourth Contest commenced. Every time I looked at another Contestant I thought of Fina. My rage and confusion drove me to slaughter them.

Tears fell as I drove a dagger into the stomach of another Contestant, churning the knife around her stomach and into her chest. I cried angry tears. The Contestant fell to the ground, her heart rate slowly decreasing as she slowly, painfully died. Her mouth filled with foam, drool, and blood as she uttered her last words.

"I'm sorry, Ran."

Tears stopped as the last Contestant died. Numbness filled inside me. My fingers felt a kind of shock as I started to realize what I had just done.

I fell to the ground.

"No..." I whispered, "No. W-why do I have to kill!" I screamed into the black abyss above. I could kill Announcers, other nameless Contestants, someone who begged for death, but I couldn't - Who was Ran? Was she her - Sister?

Vond, oh Vond. Why did you leave me! I could have taken it! All of the abuse of being a Digger, the death, the bodies... I would have dealt with it for you!

I stood up straight and left, feeling empty inside.

A new Announcer accompanied me. I didn't have the strength to kill him. My hands shook uncontrollably so I couldn't even hold a knife.

Walking to where the Digger's sat, they all stared at me, as did Digger's mostly when they saw a Contestant covered in blood. With a hollow voice I said somewhat softly, yet with a voice that echoed across the room, "Where's Ran?"

A small girl ran up to me from the crowd, her chains clanking behind her. She was frantically tapping her foot and twitching. Her hair was almost as coal black as my own, but her eyes were a bright white-blue, opposed to my dark brown. She pressed her arms around her chest, she looked only a bit younger than myself when Vond left. Her eyebrows were raised and concerned. She said in a loud, frantic voice, "Where's Riva!" she looked at me, screaming, "Where is Riva!"

I asked quietly, "Are you Ran?" The frightened girl looked me over top to bottom, saw my bloodstained clothes. She shook her head, finally understanding.

"N-no. No!" She screamed and cried, falling to the ground. I sat there, unmoving. Unfeeling. Numbness control my body. Diggers looked at the girl as she sobbed, but continued on with their work.

That night, when we all went to sleep on a giant pile of each others bodies, I cried myself to sleep for the first time since Vond left.

...

I walked with the Announcer, the same one from the prior day. My heartbeat quickened, but my eyes looked at the ground and stared. I trembled all over and there was a sort of shock on the tips of my fingers. My face heated. There was a kind of anxious fear all around me, bubbling around my gut. Making knots inside of it.

The Announcer walked me to my final battle, the fifth. I asked the tall man, "Why are you called Announcers?"

He peered at me, having coal black hair, almost as black as my own. Most Announcers wore a red, slim fitting suit and grey trousers, as well as a belt and black boots. It was also common for Announcers to have almost unnaturally black hair and white eyes. They also smiled, grinned. The smile was what made them unhuman.

"We're called Announcers," the Announcer said, "because it's our job to announce the winners of the Contests. We're the ones that walk them too and from the different Contests and back to the Digger hole. Though it is unrelated, we also feed and take care of the Diggers."

I paused, "Are you human?" I almost spat at him, figuratively piercing him with my sharp eyes.

The Announcer looked at me, his lips were in an infinite grin, but his eyes were sad, "Are you?"

Puzzled by his answer, my heart began to null it's beating. Finally slowing. My eyes brimmed with tears, "Do you kill people?" I asked him.

The Announcer was silent, then finally spoke, "No." I didn't look at him, but I could feel his eyes on me.

"I was once told that you Announcers weren't people. That you weren't human. I was fine with killing any one of you, but then I killed one who smiled. Who actually smiled. It wasn't fake... It was genuine." I paused and began to weep. "I don't even know what being human means anymore. I used to think you were all monsters, that I could kill you and no soul would come out." Falling to the my knees, my arms felt like they were on fire as my stomach continued to knot up. My arms and hands trembled where they touched the stone floor. "Then I was told that your people feel just like me. Then I killed one of you in my anger." I was sobbing now. "I don't even know anymore! I can kill a Contestant! But not a Digger?! There just the same thing! Now I'm crying and I don't know why! I thought you were monsters! But you don't kill! I do!"

The Announcer stared at me silently. He said quietly, almost mumbling to himself, "I'm not human, but that doesn't mean I'm not a person."

I looked back at the man, unsure of what he meant. "What do mean?" I asked him.

"Well, a long time ago, when this society was newly established, the Creators knew they needed somebody to watch over the Diggers. We Announcers weren't needed until you Diggers and Contestants began killing the Creators. So the Creators grew something out of piles of flesh. We weren't human, but we're still sentient, sapient people. We are the servants to the Creators." The Announcer looked down at me.

I sat up, still sitting on the ground, below the Announcer, I stated loudly, "Well, if you're the Creators servants, than we Diggers are the Creators slaves." I glared at the man, though I knew I was just shooting the messenger. He knew it as well, and motioned to continue our walk to the Contest.

In was then that I stood up and began the walk to my assumed demise.

We reached the door and entered.

I nodded goodbye to the Announcer, somehow knowing this was goodbye, and held my arms outstretched. Basically daring the world to hit me.

And it did. Something hit my side, but I felt no pain. I collapsed to the ground and stared at the blade on my side. Blood rushed out, I gasped. Chaos erupted around me. Almost in slow motion, I watched as children and adults alike slashed and killed each other. Tears fell as I realized... They're not monsters. They're just people who... Are like me. They just want to find their own Vond, or save their own Fina.

Curling up in a ball, pain filled into my side as I moved. Knowing I couldn't take the blade out, as Kaynes taught me, or the blood would release and I would die of blood loss, but god it hurt.

I would die.

I'm already dying.

The world slowly went black, hazing from the edges of my vision until all I saw was black.

...

My eyes opened. I wasn't dead but my head and side ached. I mumbled something incoherently.

I looked over and saw two final Contestants fighting, both were badly wounded. They were screaming at each other as they fought, viciously stabbing each other and crying. They were screeching names, though I didn't know if they were of ones they loved or hated, either way. They stabbed just as hard.

At least, I thought, I didn't have to die like that. I'm dying right now, but I'm slowly fading away...