Chapter 124 BONUS CHAP. 31 - FANGRYMES
\-CLEO'S POV-
Run! Cleo, run!
Fangrymes Survivor had begun.
The gates closed.
I sprinted down the dark passageway of the tunnel. Staying ahead of my rivals was vital since I was the number one target. There was a tangible black veil of gloom. A reminder of our date with death. The horrifying sound of ripping flesh resounded through the underground corridor.
One, two, three, four different utter shrills and pained howls announced their departure from the land of the living.
Speed, strategy, and perseverance.
Footsteps were a mere mile away. Their thirst and tenacity for blood clung to the air that surrounded us, coupled with the chilling wails of despair.
Musty air, grey brick walls, and dusty rock flooring sharply cut my bare feet. I tried to shift but could not. Wolfsbane mist must have been pumped into the PVC pipes in order for it to percolate into the tunnel from the utilidor to affect us.
Luckily, I had a disadvantage over the Omegas. After being marked by the Royal Gamma, my senses sharpened and I felt incredibly stronger. It's not strange, since he was the third strongest male wolf in the world. So I counted on my skills and abilities to get me through this night.
Was there anyone among the omegas who was not plotting to kill me tonight or did the fight for survival compel them to skin me alive? The likelihood that I would survive in this pack was slim-to-none, and slim just skipped town.
I detested everything about death-the thrill, the sensation, the sound, and the screaming. All of which surrounded me as the heart- rending shrieks reverberated through the murky tunnel. Quite frankly, I was not afraid. I simply had to live for the sake of those I cherished. I will not be the fly caught in the spider's web.
Several footsteps thudded on the ground behind me. Shit! I've got to create more mileage between us. I ran down several ancient cobblestone steps onto a double room-size landing.
Encountering five horseshoe channels with Moorish arches at an intersection, I dashed into the middle one.
Perplexity laved me. After racing for a long time with heaving gasps, I was back at the intersection where I had been before, facing the five different channels.
Quickly, I darted into the first one on my left. I ran for about two hours and, as expected, I was right back at the intersection again. My sprint continued despite the stones scratching my bare feet. The tunnel was a fucking maze.
Sweat clad me like a second layer of skin. The smell of the others grew near.
"Ayeik!"
A high-pitched, piercing cry and bones shredding rolled through the middle tunnel. Another Omega was killed.
Changing course, I entered the next tunnel on my right. Howbeit, I ended up at the same crossway. Where was the fucking exit?! I tried all of the tunnels and returned to the same junction.
So this was how they did it. No matter which terminal we chose, eventually we would all rejoin at this spot for the bloodbath. At times life may be as turbulent as the uncaring sea and right now I felt like a sailor who has lost his way in the fog.
Hypothetically, even if I made it through this night, I would probably be thrown back into the silver-caged cell which barely has enough room to walk around in. The two-foot wide bare bed in the corner with a tattered and scratchy blanket was intolerable as though it had been dipped in wolfsbane. To be chained to the bed like a dog on a leash with minimal length for me to move was beneath my dignity.
For the first time, I looked above me. My beacon of hope amidst the turmoil was the silvery moon that peeked through the shaft of the vertical passage that stemmed from the roof of the tunnel to the ground atmosphere, covered by a rectangular-shaped drain grate cover. Its celestial glare cuts through the accentuated darkness, which shrinks it as time ticks away. This could be the way out.
My heart wrenched thinking of Blayne and Zoe. I hoped he would be smart enough to hide this from Zoe. I didn't want her to be concerned. My wolf whimpered from the excruciating distance that impeded our union.
I prayed fervently that Blayne would miraculously appear out of nowhere and tell me that it was time to return home. It was over. It was the dream that I clung to strengthen my willpower to persevere.
My mate was the main comfort that I sought.
"We've got company. Move Cleo." My wolf warned from sensing danger. She cautioned me to be wary of deception and vile ambitions.
Something in my heart urged me to stay. Three omegas came on the scene. I gathered my courage and stood tall.
Friend or foe?
They gnashed their canines and roared. In response, a low growl escaped its way out of my mouth.
Definitely foe. My chest instantly tightened.
"Wait...wait. Hear me out." I held up both hands to stop them from lunging after me and they circled me instead. "Listen, I'm not the enemy. Alpha Krymes is and I know that here it is kill or be killed. But I promise you that tonight we don't have to slaughter each other." I entreated. Always aim for peace first, war second. "I'm sure that you can sense me to know that I am not a rogue."
"Rogue or not, once we kill you and the rest, the three of us will get an exemption from the games, in addition to the bonus reward." The black-haired guy with contemptuous amber eyes spat as he flashed his claws at me.
"We don't care who you are. You're stuck in here with us and that makes you a prey." The brunette-haired girl with drab blue eyes cackled though fear and panic dwelled underneath.
I shook my head in disagreement. "I'm from the Royal Dark Wolverson Pack. My mate will come for me and wipe the entire pack if he finds me dead." With due diligence, my eyes switch from one opponent to the other. "I can reward you if you name your price."
I was bluffing. What prize would I have to give to them? Blayne would have to think of something. And where the hell was he? I want to be in his arms again. The separation that deprived me of his embrace just stays at a constant level without reprieve. "We feel your aura but we can all take you." The auburn-haired girl positioned herself to shift. "How can we stand with you when you can't even defend yourself? The large number of warriors in this pack would kill us before we can even get to the border."
"There is no escape from this pack." The obnoxious black-haired guy took a step forward and my loud threatening growl stopped him. "They will send warriors in here to kill all of us if we don't fight."
My aura was toppling out since they were hell-bent on challenging me. The auburn-haired girl's grey eyes widened with fright, torn between fight or flight. While the brunette-haired girl was numbed
with fear.
I smirked, "Think hard about it."
A calculated look flickered out of the guy's eyes that showed clearly what his insidious intention was. "The werewolf king doesn't care about us. He's never set foot in this pack to do any investigations. For years we've been starving and tortured like lab rats. Where the fuck is our justice? Even death is better than living in this damn pack."
He surged forward quickly, trying to wrap his arm around my neck, but I slipped out from underneath him and sent an elbow to his ribs. He grunted from the broken bones to his side.
"Then choose to die an honorable death by fighting your real enemy. I have been marked by the royal Gamma." I exposed my neck by flicking my unruly strands aside. "And when they arrive, you can all
tell us about the brutality that goes on here." The auburn-haired girl's lids lowered. "Are you telling us the truth?" Turning the full impact of her eyes on me, the wish for freewill displayed itself acutely in them.
"We can't believe a captured prisoner!" The tactless black-haired
guy barked.
Swiftly, I charged at him, kicking his leg from under him and he fell hard to the ground. Buff! He groaned, rolled over on his stomach, and gingerly stood on his feet.
The girls watched, unsure of what they wanted to do. He came at me
and threw a few punches, which I blocked as we circled in the space. Proving my point, I slammed my fist into his jaws as teeth flew out of his mouth. He spun around, losing his footing, and dropped to his
knees with his back to me. His sharp face and crooked nose now had a
swollen split lip to go with it.
How pathetic!
From the hit, blood was on my knuckles. I cleaned it with my blouse. My nose caught a whiff of sewage, making me want to vomit.
"We must work together and buy time." The girls were more cooperative, so I addressed them. "When do they come to check on
us?"
"Twenty-four hours." The brunette girl answered, hugging herself in the oversized dirty t-shirt. The ease with which I had defeated her buddy left her feeling shaken.
"That will do." Blayne will come for me. He would not be able to last
that long without me. He will know where to find me. I believed in our mate bond and his abilities as the strongest male Gamma.
"But the others," The auburn-haired girl inquired with much distress in her voice. "They might refuse to work with us." "I'll deal with them." Goddess only knows how I'll convince them. Absolutely nothing will stop me from trying to make them see
reason.
After taking the beat down, the guy introduced himself as Gert. The
brunette was Beth and the other girl was Adele. Gert leaned his back on the brick wall to support his injured body.
"If you can convince the others to join you," he stated his condition
and breathed out harshly, "I'll do as you say."
I nodded.
was livid when Beth related various mistreatment in the pack. She
fidgeted and swallowed excessively. The morbid and vivid picture that she portrayed was horrifying. I clenched my fist so hard that my
knuckles cracked. The Krymes had to pay. I wanted him stripped of everything. I would go before High Alpha Vance and beg for his enactment for the downfall of the Krymes regime. Keeping one's cool was crucial in warfare, since anger distracted from the task at hand. I dragged in a long breath. Repeated five times and counted to ten while holding it in. Finally, I gain composure of
my rage after exhaling.
Others joined us in groups of twos and threes. The first set attacked the four of us. I broke one of their arms, and another ended up with a fractured leg. Realizing that they could not battle me, they surrendered and waited as I instructed.
The second trio appeared. Turning sideways, I prepared a defense- offense posture. They launched an unreserved assault and I lunged in the air with a high kick straight under his chin as I flicked back. The
chubby guy stumbled into the wall and flopped down on his ass. The others who boldly challenged me fell to the ground, one after the other, writhing in agony. My stamina was half-depleted. Hence, I had more fights left in me.
However, because our peaceful numbers had grown in concord, the balance of omegas who came afterward did not even bother to attack. They were more intrigued by what was occurring within the coop,
causing me to simper in satisfaction. Twenty-one people, by my calculation, were still alive. Nine were
killed. It took great effort to forge persuasive phrases together to calm them down to be receptive.
My faith relied on Blayne rescuing me along with this pack. My hot
time,
gorgeous mate that I missed extremely badly. At this distressing I was pining for the crisp electric sparks that only he could give me. A part of me desired to wallow in the depth of how terribly I wanted him at my side. What was he doing? Has he discovered my
location yet?
Snapping out of it, I focused on the present because I held the lives of these omegas in my hands.
"Today, none of us have to give Alpha Krymes the satisfaction of
spilling our claw mates' blood." Clasping my hands together, I closed my speech hoping that the scared and hopeful faces before me would open their hearts and stand for the greater good. I appreciated that they gave me the chance to talk to them. "Nice speech." A puny eighteen-year-old blonde girl scornfully snickered, strolling forward and stopping at arm's length. "Getting out of here requires a big plan because we are at the bottom of the hierarchy. Going against an Alpha is a death wish." "She has her Gamma and her King. Who do we have?" A Latina grumbled as she rose from sitting on the ground and folded her arms
across her chest.
Taking two steps to stand in front of her, she winced. Her fear of me broke my heart. Aiming to provide some consolation, I avowed, "I am in your corner and I will do everything that I can to ensure that
this pack becomes one where people can live happily and with better living standards."
Everyone's volition had become blurred as they contemplated. If only they knew the spiral of destruction that was coming. After witnessing High Alpha Vance's misery without his Luna, I deducted that Blayne would be equally ballistic without me. My heart rested in overconfidence that he was on his way. It was like intuition or something.
"They force us to fight each other in order to control the omega population and to instill fear in your hearts, making you feel powerless to resist or cry out for assistance." I scrambled through my mind for ideas while soliciting them. "Open your eyes. Isn't it better to try even if there is the slightest chance that we will all leave
here today?"
"Well, it's worth a try." A chubby male mumbled. "Though I'll be the first to kill you if I find out that you're playing us." "That's a deal." I vehemently concurred.
I grew silent as my thoughts began to race one hundred miles per
minute. My brows creased as I became mindful of something. Cameras must be concealed in the brick walls of the tunnel. Standing still and doing nothing would alert the Alpha to dispatch his warriors
and pour them in on us.
"Let's pretend to play the game," I suggested as lowly as possible.
"How?" Gert's brows pinched together in concentration, holding his left hand across his wounded right ribcage. "We run from each other and fake the attacks. No one is to be seriously hurt, but you will have to lie on the ground as though you were dead. It's the only way to keep the game going without raising suspicion." Exhaling deeply, I expressed and went on, "We just have to improvise on when the last man falls in order to buy us time." Each person listened keenly as I expounded with reassurance. I could
see their worried faces. Their murmuring erupted like weeping shores and then quelled.
"Ms. Cleopatra, we will do as you say." A weak voice said from behind me. I swung around to look at her. This girl looked exhausted with an open wound on her forehead and blood-stained face. "But please know that we are counting on your rescue team not to fail us. We've been through too much at the hands of this wicked Alpha." A soft smile of gratitude printed on my lips. A few nodded their heads. A long loud groan came from one and several hummed. Personally, I wanted them all to live. Together we did as planned. Our little alliance was working. The acting dead ones were thrown over our shoulders and brought to the junction. Sticking close together was key in case they opened the gates and sent warriors in. We could attack as a group.
It went on for hours. Blayne, I'm waiting on you.
BOOM!
Suddenly, an explosion happened. The tunnel grounds quaked and
even the pretend-dead rose to life.
"What the fuck was that?" Gert blurted.
Panic ensued.