Chapter 8

Emeric barreled into the guard with pent up fury. The force of their impact sent the guard flying through the air. He slammed into the opposite cell's bars with a resounding clang.

He didn't get up again.

The man opposite Emeric's cell stared at him with wide eyed shock and amusement. Emeric didn't wait to see if he had anything to say. He ran down the hall, not sure where he was going. The other prisoners started yelling and slamming at their cell gates. Yelling at Emeric to get them out as well...But the ruckus had alerted the other guards.

Just as Emeric reached for the door handle that lead out of the cell hall, the door burst open inwardly. Emeric leaned backwards, barley getting out of the way in time. He stood frozen...half a dozen guards on the other side of the door mirrored the shock he was feeling.

Before they could react, Emeric drove his fist into the closest guard's jaw. He was out cold. Emeric moved on to the next opponent, but the guards had seen their fair share of escape attempts to know what to do.

They all simultaneously drew swords and protectively held it between themselves and the Rogue. Emeric couldn't attack any of them without being impaled. A frown of frustration crossed his brow as he slowly started backing up. He froze however when he felt the cold sting of a blade pressing into his lower back.

'It was worth a try.' Emeric thought bitterly as he raised his hands in surrender. Once again he had failed...It had been a major blow to his confidence...

His arms were grabbed and roughly bound behind his back.

"The sooner you realise that there's no way out of this, the better." One of the guards hissed in his ear.

Emeric kept back the train of insults that threatened to spill from his lips...They wouldn't do him any good.

He was escorted down multiple hallways. Each one added to the maze that Emeric had formed in his head.

After walking through dozens of twisted corridors, they finally came to a stop behind a large set of doors. Emeric listened carefully. The chanting of a large crowd could be heard through the thick wooden doors. The cheers sent shivers up Emeric's spine...

'What is one the other side?' was the only thought that kept running through his head. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

One of the guards rapped his knuckles on them twice and the huge wooden doors swung outwards.

They let out a mournful groan. 'I know how you feel.' Emeric thought. His thoughts were disrupted when a blinding light from outside hit him. After being in the dark confines of the cells for more than a week, sunlight tortured his eyes. He winced as the guards led him outside.

As Emeric took his first few steps outside in weeks, the crowds suddenly fell into a deadly silence. They all were shocked to see a Rogue. Most of them had heard of them, beasts that were to be killed on sight. No one in the crowds had ever expected to see one in person...let alone in the Dome?'

Emeric blinked a few times, but his vision failed to focus on anything.

That was until they came to a stop under a large pole that protruded from the tall wall four meters off of the ground. Emeric frowned as he took in the long chain that dangled down from it. The chain was locked onto the cuff around Emeric's wrist...he finally found the purpose.

Emeric's wrist was released from the binds. He reluctantly examined the iron cuff that now had a chain attached to it. The sight only brought more tedious questions to his mind.

Emeric slowly turned away from the wall to take in his surroundings. He paled when he saw that he was standing in a large arena. The walls all round seemed five or six meters tall.

No escape.

Hundreds of people sat on stands, looking down at him with terror and interest at the same time. In the center of the arena was a small stand with a single dagger.

Emeric shifted his attention to the far side of the arena where he saw another man...he too, had a chain attached to one arm. And he also seemed to share the horror that Emeric was feeling. He seemed as out of place as Emeric felt.

Emeric's mouth suddenly felt dry. He glanced up at the pole above him. The chain hung from a hook that had been driven into the pole. At the end of the chain, by the hook, was a key. Emeric could only guess that it was for the lock that tied the chain to his iron cuff.

He was still taking everything in around him when a low, mournful sounding horn blew. The dreary tone sent prickles over Emeric's skin. He watched the man at the opposite side of the arena. He was desperately flicking the chain with immense force, trying, but failing to get the other end off of the hook.

Everything became as clear as day to Emeric.

First off of the chain would get to the weapon first and then he would be able to finish the opponent easily.

It was meant to be a blood bath.

One had to kill the other.

The words of the man in the cell opposite Emeric's came back to him, "It's an easy way to get rid of the bad guys and entertain blood thirsty crowds at once."

Desperation surged through Emeric as he also started flicking at his chain, but the metal was to heavy and it didn't carry the motion to the other end. He needed a different tactic to escape.

Emeric hastily started climbing the chain. He traveled with surprising speed. When he reached the top he wrapped his legs around the thick pole and then, hanging upside down, he took the key and unlocked the chain from his cuff.

He ignored the people watching him as if he was a newly discovered creature. They had obviously never seen a Rogue. Emeric shook his head at their stupidity. The only thing that made him different from them was the color of his hair and eyes. It wasn't as if he had some unnatural physical ability that made him dangerous. He was just simply a well trained young warrior.

The chain fell back to the ground. Emeric quickly climbed down again. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and prepare himself for what he was about to do. He sprinted for the weapon. The crowds started cheering. The sound was terrifyingly loud and made the ground quiver. The hairs on Emeric's back stood on end as a frightened shiver crawled up his spine.

He reached the dagger and picked it up. It was a simple weapon, but would easily take a life. The thought sickened Emeric as he slowly started approaching the other man who was still trying to get the chain off of the hook.

When Emeric was a few paces away, he stopped. The man also halted his struggles with the chain as he turned to face Emeric. He was as pale as a sheet. His fear shone vibrantly from his eyes.

Emeric swallowed as he adjusted his grip on the dagger and then took a step closer...

"Blood, blood, blood!" The crowds shouted...urging Emeric to attack.

They sickened him.

The man, he was somewhere in his twenties and only appeared a few years older than Emeric, was desperately tugged at the chain.

"Blood, blood, blood..."

Emeric slowly shook his head as he lowered his eyes. He couldn't do it...He couldn't murder someone...He wouldn't...He wouldn't do what these people wanted him to do. He had values that he had to live up to.

He had made a promise to himself after his mother's death that he would never be like the men who had taken her life. He would never send anyone to their grave.

He wasn't prepared to let go of what he believed just yet.

He raised his tormented eyes to the young man once more. He was looking at Emeric with fear and confusion marking his face. The sight saddened Emeric. He was already feared just simply because he was a Rogue. It was something he hated. He didn't want people to be afraid of him.

"What are you here for?" Emeric asked. The question took the other man by surprise as he tried to calm his breathing. "Theft...My family needed food...We don't have money...My kid is only one year old...I couldn't let them starve." The man hesitantly, yet fearfully explained.

Emeric shut his eyes. Now he would never be able to hurt the man. He had simply been trying to save his family. He didn't deserve death.

Emeric turned and let out a sigh. "You won't die by my hand." he said. As he walked away from the shocked young man, he lifted his eyes to the stunned crowd that had fallen silent when they realised that he wasn't going to kill his opponent.

He searched through them until his eyes landed on the person he was looking for.

Hyatt, the Dome Keeper. He met his eyes defiantly. Making it clear that he had no intention of killing the other man.

As Emeric turned away, he hurled the dagger with extreme power and precision. It traveled quite a distance before it came to a quivering halt in the stand where Emeric had taken it. But instead of being placed on the stand, I was no buried into the stand's side.

The crowd watched in a stunned silence...To put things bluntly, this had never happened before. Someone had never refused to spill blood in the arena.

'There's a first time for everything...' Emeric thought with mild amusement.

Emeric's attention went back to Hyatt as he consulted with a small group of guards. He gave orders and the guards hastily dispersed. A full minute didn't pass before half a dozen guards entered the arena. They were each armed with deadly looking cudgels.

They were heading straight for Emeric. For a second he regretted throwing the dagger away. He took a step backwards as they approached. "Stay where you are, Rogue." One of the guards ordered with a carrying voice. Emeric read their threatening body language...he wasn't comfortable with staying where he was, but he reckoned that he was already in deep trouble...running from the guards would only make things worse.

He stood his ground valiantly as the guards marched closer at a brisk jog. Two stopped at Emeric, the other four moving to his opponent. Emeric turned to the other guards, worrying what they might do to the man who was still chained to the pole.

As his back was turned, one of the guards hit him with a cudgel. The thick wooden baton made Emeric crumple with pain as it hit him. It tore a painfilled moan from his lips. He collapsed to the ground and hastily turned so that he could face his attacker.

The guard was already bringing the cudgel down. Emeric barley managed to bring his arms up in time to protect his fragile head. His arm went limp after the impact. Emeric was grateful when the guards grabbed his wrists and tied them behind his back...none to gently...but he wouldn't be beaten again.

They pulled him to his feet and man-handled him to his opponent.

"The Dome Keeper says that the only way to harden you is to make you watch." One of the guards stated in a menacing voice as he directed Emeric.

Emeric felt the color drain from his face as he realised what the guards were planning. "No!" he cried as the guards started beating the chained man.

His cries of pain physically hurt Emeric as he struggled against the guards holding him. He wanted to save the young man, to stop the beatings, but the guards were too strong for him. And so the pained cries of the man dragged on for what felt like an eternity.

Emeric kept yelling at the guards to leave the man...to beat him instead...But the beating continued until the man's cries fell silent.

The man had been beaten beyond recognition. Emeric's legs collapsed out from under him and his stomach emptied itself. He stared into the ground, trying to get the picture of the man's bleeding face out of his head, but the harder he tried, the clearer the image became.

One of the guards holding him grabbed his hair and jerked his head up so that he was looking at the chained man once more. Emeric shut his eyes, earning himself a blow from the cudgel.

He watched in horror as one of the guards drew a dagger and placed it at the chained man's throat. It wasn't clear if the man was still alive or not, but regardless...Emeric was forced to watch as the dagger suddenly robbed the man of his life, as it sliced through his throat...