:OW OCT: Round 2 (Mayday vs. Yasmine) Part 1

Somehow, I have survived round one with miraculously minor injuries. Awkward-middle-of-my-chest injuries with bandages that completely ruin my style. But minor. And so what do I decide to do? Test my luck again. Yeah. That always works out in ever story never. But once again, they have ruined me for whatever great advice my common sense would have surely given.

I'd been relaxing in Grave dorm as per usual when the phone call came. Fortunately I was able to high-tail it out of there before my friends or boyfriend or anyone else saw my reaction. I've learned to compensate my complete inability to lie with an excellent ability to flee like a yellow-bellied coward. I'm just not...ready to talk about it yet. I keep hoping if I just do what they say everything will go away. Stupid, but I'm an optimist at heart.

The call came with the dulcet tunes of the Spice Girls, singing about lovers and friends and all sorts of wonderfully useless fluff. They have ruined that song for me forever. Just another tally on their ever lengthening list of evil deeds. Sitka's probably right: Getting involved with a swamp cult was definitely NOT one of my more brilliant moves. Desperate measures and all that...But I can't back out now...

"Ms. Hayes?" Dr. Chevalier's voice came through my pink cell phone unnaturally clear and nasal. In order to temper my fear, I like to imagine him with bug glasses and his pants up to his arm pits. Oh and with his mom's spaghetti sauce on his sleeves. And socks with sandles. I'm weak for the classics. He was probably the kid everyone ignored in high school and has still to this day never kissed anyone but his mother. I'm determined never to meet him in person so I can continue this delusion, thank you very much.

"We have reviewed your last battle and have found your actions rather...inadequate." My heart took a swan dive to my feet. Fingers clenched around my precious new i-phone, I waited impatiently for the Doctor to continue. What a way to start a conversation. No greeting, no attempts at common curtesy. He's worse than my mother.

"It seems that rather than show any real physical or magical potential, you relied not only on your warp, but also your opponent to protect you from it. It seems to us very...convenient." Oh how I'd love to show him 'convenient'- preferably with a fist in his big ugly glasses! The way he ended all his sentences with a pause before the last word was seriously starting to grate on my nerves.

"The demon l-law- er, I mean, uh...Cal...was a u-unique opponent," I mumbled in my defense. It almost felt as if my first opponent hadn't really wanted me dead at all. The doctor went on as if he hadn't heard me.

"However since the round was still called in your favor, we have decided to over-look this matter and focus instead on your next battle. Please be aware we will be watching specifically your decisions and abilities. Any further inspection of your worthiness for our...program...will be decided then. Do you understand?"

It took a great force of will not to chuck my phone out the window. Over-look WHAT!? I'd won hadn't I!? I'd done my best, hadn't I?! I hadn't dropped out yet, had I!? I was doing exactly what these pompous, over-zealous, freaky...freaks...wanted, and they still weren't satisfied!? I've met a lot of horrible creatures in Otherworlde, but some humans somehow still manage to top them all.

...but none of that mattered. Only finding the cure did...I could feel my curse hovering just below my subconscious. I'd have an illogical thought here, warped idea there... it couldn't be denied. It was getting stronger.

"I understand," I told the phone and tapped the red END button with all the delicacy of a pissed off warthog.

...And five days later here I am on this stupidly dusty sand again. I'd thought I'd be used to it by now. The sand, the gates, the crowd. But if any-thing I felt worse. Once again the arena was too. stupidly. NORMAL.

Would it kill them to use a nice traditional pit of flames once in a while? Or maybe throw a simple, straightforward Manticore in here. Really, how hard could that be? But no, so far all the battles in this round had taken place in spelled arenas with all sorts of nasty tricks. I've never taken a hexing class, but I'm sure their department had something to do with this. I didn't know what this one would be, but I knew it had to be bad. Heaven forbid all of us survive these wonderful little blood games.

The green skinned whatever-he-is began speaking into the microphone at that moment, effectively cutting off my silent rant.

"Well, well. Looks like most of you idiots survived the first round. Whoop-di-f***ing-do. I'm gonna keep this sh*t show moving so more of you can hurry up and die already."

Yup. Great motivation. Thanks.

"In the west corner! A sniveling coward!"

I walked obediently out onto the sand, wondering if the MC even knew my actual name. Probably not. Though to be fair, I didn't know his either...

Ugg. Dusty sand, soaring walls, roaring crowd. Becoming familiar now, but more unnerving than ever. I forgot the intensity that the summer sun beats down on this place. Next time I'd remember to wear sun screen. If I get a next time. Peeling skin is a total turn off regardless.

"And in the east corner! Another useless weakling!"

I tuned back into the battle and looked at my new opponent for the first time. They seemed not to mind the MC's grating words. They didn't seem bothered by anything at all. Calm and collected. An easy sort of confidence that sent chills down my back. I winced inwardly. As a tactical fighter myself, it's unlucky to get pitted against someone else who thinks before they move. I'm not an idiot, but I'm no genius either. If they were smarter than me...it'd be all over.

Arg, why did they have to look so normal!? Totally impossible to tell what their strength's were. I couldn't even tell their gender?! Assuming they had one, which is generally a stupid assumption anyway.

"Please go kill each other and put the rest of us out of your misery," The MC went on cheerfully. I hardly registered him speak as fear began to creep up my bones. The demon lawyer was scary but at least he showed some emotion. This person was like a cold, flat stone.

"BEGIN!"

...

"AND I MEAN ACTUALLY F***ING START THIS TIME!"

Ah...of course he would remember the last fight and not my name. Figures. But it didn't matter what venom the MC spat. I smiled smugly to myself. The green-skinned-thing didn't get it. We weren't all cold, heartless monsters bent on destroying each other. In fact most of the other students I'd met had true hearts under their terrifying physical beings. Not one has tried to eat me yet...er, well, tried seriously anyway. I bet this person didn't want to hurt me any more than I wanted to hurt them-

"ADKJSFKL," I screamed, barely moving in time to dodge the wicked fast black blur. Pain bloomed on my upper thigh, sending sharp little sparks down my leg. A scratch, but a rather deep one. They'd have run my leg through if I moved a second later.

 I did a double take...that wasn't a shadow tendril was it!? I'd never seen one move that fast. Shadows shouldn't be ABLE to move like that. I whipped back to face my opponent, expecting them to be staggering or gasping or something because that was no little magic trick.

...all they'd done was raise a hand. My heart began to triple time. So this is what it's like facing an expert shadowmancer... One that clearly had no qualms running me through. Perhaps they had some sort of shadow affinity as well. There went half my spell arsenal.

"D-Don't just start because he t-told you to!" I cried without thinking. Okay. So it was technically a no-holds-barred battle royale...in which death with likely if not expected. And of which the whole point was to damage your opponent but...well...couldn't they be a little more remorseful!? Or at least dramatically size me up or something!! Starting when the MC says to is just so...so...Arg!

Blood began to drip sluggishly down my thigh and around my knee. First blood went to them, I supposed...But maybe... maybe they were just confused.

"We don't have to k-kill each other, you know, we can- HEY!!" The opponent hadn't even been LOOKING at me this whole time!! "ARE YOU LISTENING!?"

Clearly not. They seemed totally absorbed with something on their leg. But they were too far away for me to figure out what the big deal was. That distance would be a problem. Since I can't hit a billboard at five feet with any sort of weapon, my single ranged skill are shadow tendrils. Which would be a really, really bad idea against an opponent with shadowmancy skills like theirs. They could probably take control away from me with the bat of an eye lash! And if I was going to die on this sand, it would NOT be by my own damn shadow. Even I have some pride left.

Which meant that if I wanted to keep my skin in one piece, I'd need to get up close. And not get sliced to smithereens by their shadows in the process. Right. Easy. I'm small and fast but I'm not some sort of lightning bolt. C'mon, think, Yasmine!!

Suddenly the opponent looked up and met my eyes. Dark blue on purple. I felt a shiver and sudden harsh conviction.

...They know something I don't...