Chapter Six

We can't be friends kiddo, it's better if you just forget about me less hurtful for both of us.

Two Weeks Later

I had been here officially a month now and within that time a lot of important information was gathered. I learned about why I was here, why everyone else was here, ages of some prisoners, the warden, and more of the island's mysterious nature along with this dimension's atmosphere.

There was also something else as well. Running in with the amount of foreigners here I learned not only does your body stop aging immediately upon stepping foot on this island. Everything about yourself freezes including your ability to adapt to a new language. This was analyzed with my encounter with Frederick. Despite being 91 years old in all his years here he still couldn't sputter out the word hello in English.

My roommates had grown closer to me as time passed by. Especially none other than Dakota, the bubbly boy who isn't afraid to express himself verbally or show off a bit too much of that pale skin of himself.

During my time I spent with Percy me and him have grown a friendly bond. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a hold of the key from the warden. Luckily, he was very patient he had no choice but to be. His only wishes were apple pies cause he craved them and he wasn't gonna die from eating unhealthy anyway so why not right? Still, how in the hell am I gonna manage to get the keys from the warden's office without him noticing? Haven't decided any plans yet cause this task won't be done alone. I need help, a lot of help in fact which was needed from Kirk.

That boy has been nonexistent for the past two weeks. Last time we talked was at the bar that night. He was doing his usual things which included disappearing for long periods of time and that clever bastard even switched it up. I had no sight of him no matter how many times I wandered the halls. Which was unfortunate because we needed to talk about important matters. He won't escape me that easily he may be smart but I will find away to get a hold of him.

Everything else has been pretty good. Well, Jacan and me have had some type of interactions that weren't as serious as our first interaction. He's been nice to me and learned to keep those giant meaty hands of his off me. He's also kept his distance away from me not really paying that much attention to me. Why that is? I couldn't give an accurate answer but Jacan may be just observing.

Charley and I haven't butt heads yet even after being here for an entire month. There was a few notes passed back and forth every now and then which reminded me of how people would be keyboard warriors on YouTube going back and forth for days on end about some stupid video game or just a different opinion one of them had. Jealously is strong with this Charley character isn't it? But as I said a few weeks back we are bound to clash eventually it's just inevitable in a place like this.

"Zachie!" Dakota yelled as he clutched me from behind. "So, the numbers huh? I don't know anything about that! 4134 sounds confusing to me. I asked the other guys but they also didn't know."

"It's probably the amount of boys one of them slept with to be honest. All of them have the potential to do it." When I said this Dakota immediately fainted loosing his grip. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" I grabbed a hold of hand.

"4134? Ki-Kirky slept with all those boys and none of them were me...." he mumbled out.

"Relax, never said Kirk was the one who did it." Not after what he told me in that bar. "I do need to ask one question however."

Eventually, Dakota did come to his senses returning back to his original pose he had before. "Nah, I doubt it. Alex, Alexander, and Charley have way higher body counts then that and Kirky is nonexistent. Word goes around quickly and there would be no doubt in my mind that eventually someone would spill the beans about him cheating on me."

Ladies and gentlemen, the most complicated relationship reward goes to... Dakota and Kirk.

"I still don't think that's what that numbers mean. Think of it this way Zachie. It has some type of significance and Percy doesn't look like the type to give a care about somebody's body count. It's important and he wants to know about it." He let go of me and stood up behind me. "Anywho! I gotta go! It's game night!" With that, Dakota sped out the room leaving nothing but the sound of his boots stomping against the floor fading away.

Game night? And I wasn't invited surprisingly? That's a new one! No matter, I'm not focused on games anyway.

"Hey," a voice said from by the door. Already knowing the voice I turned around to see Jacan's tall figure leaning against the doorframe. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"Great. Mind if I take a seat on the floor? I'll stay right here I just hate standing for long periods of time." I nodded my head making him sit directly underneath the frame. "You been here for about a month, tell me what do you think of this place so far?"

"As much as I have a very bad feeling about this place. I'll admit, it's not bad just goes to show you I'm only human."

"Yeah, your right. Personally, I love this place better then earth and I am sure a lot of people can agree with me on that. Like many others, I remember just major events that can never leave me. My parents and I never really had such an interesting relationship there was no hate nor any love to be honest. It was more like a coexistence we just acknowledged that one another was there. Think of it as how those.... I don't know what those animals are called it's been forever since I've seen them."

"How long have you been here Jacan?" I suddenly had thrown out there.

The question had knocked him completely off guard pinching underneath his chin. "In two months it will be my 127th birthday." My eyes widen and he shook his head agreeing with my reaction. "Yeah, I found out from the warden not to long ago via note. 127 years and I still looked the same way 110 years ago. Well, I didn't always look like that this." My eyebrow questionably rose, "Yeah, I wasn't always this muscular. In fact, I never was. Sure I was tall like now but I never worked out a day in my life I was pretty close to being morbidly obese. People are a lot more relaxed now then back in my time. They were a lot more harsh, far more physical with everyone due to not have any type of control. It was so bad, I tried looking for a way out from the place I called hell. That's when I came across that red void you nearly fell into. I was one of those people who wondered whether or not if it was just an illusion and really the escape was right in front of all our faces. All I did was place my hand a few feet in there and immediately yanked it out due to the abnormal heat that should have burned my skin off yet, it didn't."

Interesting.

"The very next day, I noticed a change in my body. Something strange that soon everyone would begin to realize. I was close to five hundred pounds when I first arrived here a lot of people can vouch for me when saying this. That day though? I dropped over thirty pounds and my muscles began forming at an alarming rate. Each day would pass by and as they passed I dropped more weight in fat while gaining it back in muscle all of this was accomplished in with no effort from me. Eventually, this was my latest result." Jacan had stood up from his position slowly walking until he was a respectable distance right in front of me. "Punch me directly in the stomach as hard as you can."

At first, I thought that he may have been joking but when looking at his expression he was actually quite serious. I was aware of what was going to happen when it came to punching him. Strength was a flat zero in my genetic makeup, even if pumped up in my fight or flight mode I wasn't moving Jacan an inch from where he was standing. But since he insisted on me looking like a fool so I took to his challenge. Standing from the bed I walked a bit towards pulling back my hand that was now balled into a fist.

Bing!

The sound hit my ears hard but not as hard as the reflecting pain on my aching hand from punching what felt like the hardest iron in the world. "What in the hell?!" I pulled my hand back gripping it as hard as I could.

"My body... it became hard as if not harder then iron. I couldn't tell the limits of my body as there is no one strong enough to even hurt my body. It took years to get use too as it felt like I was walking with heaviest armor in the world. Even then, it takes much effort to maintain this body every single day. When you just hit me I intentionally held back otherwise your hand wouldn't be able to function ever again."

IT STILL DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT YOUR BODY IS STILL A SHEET OF DURABLE IRON!

Still, Jacan had clearly proved theory I had made awhile back. People on this island had access to supernatural abilities and it had something to do with the void. The same void I nearly fell into on my first day.

I rose my hands observing to see if they were any noticeable changes. I nearly fell in there so I must have had something special coursing through my veins. What it was remained to be seen.

"Your not the only one who's been wondering what you can do Zach. Ever since people told me you nearly fell in there I was always wondering when you were going to bloom. I may seem like a dumb giant but I do have my moments for decent intelligence when it comes to it. So, what do you think you have? Gotta have something."

There wasn't much of an idea what I could have. My body didn't feel like it was going through a change like Jacan's. Whatever it was, truthfully I was really excited about it! I didn't care if I got the lamest superpower ever every single one of them have there uses! I could give people papercuts. Okay, maybe not the power of papercuts but maybe something like... super speed! I always wanted to go fast and it could finally be possible.

From the corner of my eye I saw that Jacan was smiling from my excitement. Believe it or not, I enjoyed this little talk with him and saw he wasn't such a bad guy. "Jacan." We both looked in a unison at the person leaning against the doorframe.

"Your shift? Remember?" A boy in a yellow jumpsuit reminded him. When Jacan realized this, he quickly rose to his feet. "I'll catch you another time okay? See you then Zach." I bid him farewell watching his tall figure leave from out the room. Now, I was alone in this room with no one to chat with. Ah! Boredom is going to kill me if I don't get something to do.

Time to go exploring.

Massaging my hands a little bit more I stood up and walked out of the room and walked down the hallway. Like usual, it was a pretty silent walk due to everyone having somewhere to be. Maybe I could go to the arena that everyone was telling me about? It includes fighting and seeing potentially shirtless fit boys duke it out would wound me up a bit.

A smile peered on face at the thought and my mouth began to drool unconsciously. "Arena it is then." I said to myself walking a bit faster to get there in time.

As I turned the corner a boy leaning against the wall with his arms crossed was looking down at his feet. "Hey," I called to him making him lift his head up. "Know where the arena is around here?"

"Keep going straight down this hall and when you reach the end. Take a left, go further down, take another left, go outside, go right, go right again at the end, go around a curve, turn right again, take another left, go down the middle path, go right, then at the big snake statue turn right, and finally you'll be there at the arena in which then you have to go all the way around to the entrance."

My head hurts.

I did go through with his directions though which after twenty minutes I had found the large arena building where I could hear screams erupting from within it. "This place is huge. Where is this damn entrance so I can see shirtless boys! I have been walking for an eternity." It didn't take long for me to find it and when I did I just walked straight in without hesitation. It was about time I let myself a little more loose.

"Hey! You made it!" I turned around quickly wiping the obvious drool from my mouth. It was Rodney and Parker with their hands intertwined with one another's. "Are you watching or fighting today?"

"Huh? No I can't fight..." I told them, "I rather watch from a safe distance I only came to see shirtless boys grapple with each other."

Both Rodney and Parker laughed at my bluntness walking past me. "Come on then thirsty boy. Let's find some seats. Rodney has a match today so I think he'll appreciate a bit of good luck from you queen."

The three of us walked together going further into the arena. Screams only grew louder as we drew closer to the entrance and from a distance I could see people sitting on stone like bleachers and sand with thousands of footsteps. "I'll catch you later good luck on your fight! I love you!" Parker and Rodney exchanged one last quick kiss before Rodney went an opposite direction. We then went into the arena to find seats which despite how crowded it look still held thousands of more open seats. Most were occupied further up the arena while the lower seats were left mostly empty. Parker and I decided we wanted the middle seats not to far from the action but not too close to it either.

I decided a great time to come cause the fights hadn't even begun. Parker had informed me that these fights are a great form of entertainment and go on three times every day. The more interesting part is there was a ranking system not drawn by anyone. It was there electronically and with it you could see exactly where you ranked. Only people who participated in the arena would see where they would rank. So far, only three thousand prisoners have took part in this. A few familiar names caught my eyes. One of them was Rodney who out of all three thousand was rank 580. They may have seemed low but compared to three thousand at least he was decently high.

Another two were Jacan and Kirk who were in the top five. Jacan being five and Kirk being four. Jacan wasn't surprising after what he showed me. Crazy strong and with a body made of iron if not stronger then iron what regular human could hurt him could bypass that kind of durability with just their fist. Then we have Kirk who is number four, the guy who I could definitely see beating Jacan in a fight if only just using raw power. Jacan claimed no one has ever been able to hurt his tough body but that may be because Kirk and him have never actually fought. That wouldn't make since however Kirk couldn't just jumped ahead of him without going to a fight.

Shoot, I even saw Dakota's name on there which out of all I saw really surprised me. He never really looked like the fighter type and to see his name of all people? His rank was well... three spots above last. Still, gotta give him credit for trying!

Looking down in the middle I saw a few group of boys standing in the middle with half their jumpsuits hanging down by their waist and all could be seen was six pack abs! Jackpot this is exactly what I came for, too see nothing but chisled abs tangling with one another!

"Hey Zach, your drooling you know?" Parker said on the side of me wiping away my drool with a towel he had equipped. "You remind me of myself when I first came here I could hardly contain myself."

Baka! Be silent and let me watch!

All ten boys stood in the middle of the sand pit the crowd roaring with excitement as was I with drool going all over the people below me. Hate to say this but I didn't care that I acted like an animal ever since I had been here I've been uptight. To be truthful I still am but this place takes over you eventually in some type of way. It was time like Dakota said to be myself for a bit. Well, I wasn't this uncivilized back at home but you get the point I am sure of it. Down at the end I could see Rodney who was flexing for Parker in the crowd. "God he's such a goofball." Parker said looking away with a blush.

The rules of this pit were simple. The ten were split into five groups the two in each pair were either higher in lower then one another. For example Rodney is lower then guy he's paired with so he's fighting to go up one rank. If he beats that guy, he'll move on to the next fighter who won their battle. Depending on how Rodney does he can shoot up a whole ten ranks easily. Since he was the only one I recognize I was rooting for him to win this mini tournament.

Over from the side I saw a blonde headed boy walk into the middle of the pit something similar to a mic in his hand. "Welcome all! I am your host Sam!" Sam? Where have I heard that name before? Sam.. Sam.. who the hell is Sam?

King Alexander, Queen Charley, Prince Sam, and Duke Kirk. These four acquired these specific names because they were here before all of us.

Recalling what Dakota said to me on my second day I was shocked to see Sam right here hosting the tournament.

God was he gorgeous, he was blessed with genes of a god. Brushed back blonde hair blonder then anyone elses I've seen thus far, flawlessly trimmed brown eyebrows, with one of the most rare colors of eyes that being emerald green eyes. He sported a jawline that was so sharp I wouldn't be surprised if he could cut an apple on it. Sam had quite the lean physique as well which was extra bonus points for me. Funny thing was, unlike all the other prisoners in this place he wasn't wearing a jumpsuit. Instead he wore an open black vest revealing his defined chest and abs along with black jeans. Everyone in this entire place was in a jumpsuit except him.

Not that I am complaining or anything but it would feel nice if I got the luxury of having something different to wear besides a jumpsuit with Kirk's nosebleed on it.

"With introductions out of the way. Let's begin the tournament! Rodney! Casey! You guys are first!" Whoa, I was too busy talking about Sam that I hadn't realized the fights had started. Wait, when is the last time I have seen a Sam this hot before?

Rodney and Casey were standing well over 100 hundred away from one another with Sam standing in the middle. "I want you boys to have a clean fight! Don't pull that curly hair of his Casey or you'll automatically lose! Get ready." Both the participants got into their respective stances. "And go!" As soon as Sam gave them the go ahead the two charged toward one another as fast as they possibly could go. The crowd roared with excitement Parker joined in the yelling cheering for his boyfriend.

The two fighters pulled back their fist and at the same time hit one another in the face as hard as they could. "I'm not holding anything back Rodney!" Casey bellowed going for a massive swing which was blocked by Rodney with his forearm. He then grabbed Casey's arm with both hands pulling him over his head for a hard slam on the sand.

"Rodney knows a thing or two about fighting! He isn't the greatest but there is a reason he's the rank he is!" Parker was right Rodney was a pretty good fighter in fact Casey was too. These guys weren't just throwing haymakers until one connected. These guys were dodging, punching properly, using proper spacing, and at the same time kept the respect they had for one another.

As we continued to watch I noticed from my left eye view that Sam was walking up the steps. At first, I thought he was going towards someone else. That's until he walked in the same row where me and Parker were seated. Why was coming over here towards us?! What in the hell did he want for me. "Come with me." He simply said holding out his hand for me to grab it. I looked at Parker who could shrug his shoulders as a response.

Softly taking his hand he helped me out and took me out the arena into a dark hallway away from the crowd's view who was still cheering loudly. "Can't have a decent conversation if you hear nothing but screams every second. Anyway, Zach isn't it?" He asked his lean figure pressing against the wall. "I've been waiting to meet with you just never got the chance as you can see I am running a tournament over here by myself."

"You see, out of everyone here I am the only one without a significant other and you know why that is Zach?" He paused pushing himself off the wall walking a bit closer to me. "It's because not anyone can just be with me. Zach, do you have any idea how lucky you are to catch MY attention?"

Self centered asshole reward goes too...

"You can be treated as a queen with my name by your side." He was closer to me and it didn't help that me and him were literally the same height so he could just lock eyes with me. His body began to press up against me and his hands started exploring my back. "I can make you feel so good if you allow me too." That same hand began squeezing my butt forcing a little gasp out of my mouth in which I was trying to hide from him. "That's what I was looking for." A smile formed on his face and his nose touched with mine.

Suddenly he stopped himself backing away from me still with a smile on his face. The smile left me blushing and looking away from him. I saw that he bit his lips and a bit lower a tent was beginning to expand in his black jeans. "Meet me in the cafeteria tomorrow I'll remember to pick you up okay? I'll show you the way a man should treat you."

I can't wait till Dakota hears this one.