The gladiator pit

Cassandra's tail swung ferociously behind her. She held in her anger. "Thanks, but I'm good," she said serious.

Biff did not seem pleased. "You seem to not understand what a big deal I'm around here. Being kind to me means being kind to everyone here. Now, if you would kindly get on your knee-"

"Pass. I'm much more afraid of Tamara than I am of you," she blurted.

The man gripped the bars as if ready to rip them apart. He pressed her lips with an angry twinkle in his eye. "Suit yourself," he said moving away. Stomping towards the exit, he muttered something only audible to him. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Once left alone, Jane clapped slowly. "Bravo. Bravo. You just made the worst mistake of your hellish existence," she said.

"Yeah, three cheers for the new girl. She won't be here for long," Sara added.

Cassandra let out an irritated grunt. Moving into the dark corner, she closed her eyes and ears, not wanting to listen to their mocking cackles. The passing of time was torture by itself, since she was never really sure how much of it has passed.

Once the bosses came back for the girls, all except Cassandra were taken out. After a while, Biff returned for her. He was silent and disinterested, as if nothing happened. "Is this another training?" she asked as they entered a third hallway.

Refusing to answer any of her questions, Biff moved at a steady pace. Sounds from the outside were becoming louder. Reaching a large bright opening, the man pushed the new girl into the arena, making the rowdy crowd roar. Unlike during practice, it was filled to the brim with onlookers screaming and demanding blood.

Tamara took a megaphone, announcing, "And now for our newest attraction, give a warm welcome to Cassandra!"

The girl's palms sweat as she watched the demon looking creatures jump and shout from their seats. Looking around, she could see Jane, Sara, Ninja and Lavinia standing opposite her. Jane had two broad swords, Ninja a shotgun, Lavinia seemed to have nothing more than a large shield while Sara carried a chain saw.

"So," she spoke taking in deep breaths. "Who am I fighting?"

Jane grinned menacingly. "All of us, silly."

"What?" she stuttered.

"Come on girls. Give the crowd a good show," Tamara yelled, as the people screamed from their seats, "Kill! Kill".

Sara smirked, pulling on her chain saw. As it roared, she shouted, "This could get messy. I can't guarantee you will leave this place with all of your limbs."

The lonely fighter looked at them with terrified eyes. Her chest moved rapidly, tailing the beat of her heart. She glanced at Biff, who conveniently averted his gaze. Fed up and frustrated, she slowly turned towards her opponents, calming her breath.

"Are you scared, new girl?" Jane teased.

Clasping her weapon, Cassandra held it up and let. "Try me" she let out a hoarse scream.

Her opponents made a semicircle around her. Lavinia went first. Hiding behind her shield, she flung small knives at her opponent with incredible speed. Her head bobbing in and out of sight like a seedy rabbit. Cassandra had difficulty trying to dodge them all. Yet that was just a distraction. Jane had already snuck up behind her and tried to shove a dagger into her back. Luckily, Cassandra's stick weapon was long enough to keep her at bay. She swung it around her body, both repelling the flying weapons and stopping Jane from hurdling towards her. The little fighters finally ran out of knives, but then the tougher girls stepped in.

Sara came running with the roaring chainsaw above her head. She swung it at the weapon. Cassandra gasped, fearing it would break, but the sturdy mace survived. Metal shards flew, giving her some time to position herself. Sara tried to get close, but the long range weapon managed to block all her attempts.

Ninja got involved. She signaled the girls to grab the mace. As they held it down, she ran with her sword towards her exposed side.

Cassandra, still holding her weapon tight, she lifted her leg towards her. Dislodging a pin, a spike flew out of the boot's heel. Stunned, her opponent swung her sword. Cassandra's leg moved in a rotating motion, disarming her. The spike hit the side of Ninja's face, making blood flow down her flushed cheek. She fell to the ground, with her hand on her face. The demonic audience roared, clapping and yelling her name.

The moment of confusion enabled Cassandra to regain the control of her weapon. Jane attempted another attack but stood no chance alone. The mace head hit her chest, making her fly to the other side of the arena.

Lavinia ran around, collecting her her knives and throwing them again. However, she could do little except antagonize her opponent. Sara's attempts were futile as well, since her strength seemed equal to Cassandra's. Ninja lost her confidence, fearing what other secret weapons were there.

The audience cheered at first, yelling out all sort of creative profanities. As the fight grew longer, the patience of the audience grew tired. Still, the most important influence was held by those in the tall booth. In their special area, surrounded by their minions, sat the most important demons. Among them was the most powerful and frightening of them all, the mayor of Helltown himself.

"This is boring!" one demon screeched.

"Yeah, bring out the real fighters!" another chimed in.

Tamara and Biff were standing from their spot, listening to the crowd nervous.

"What are we going to do?" Biff asked.

His wife shrugged. "You heard them. Bring out the main show."

The girls were unceremoniously dragged back into their cells. Locked again, Cassandra leaned into the dark corner. The place was filled with loud banging on metal bars, along with an occasional moan of pain. Not able to get what he wanted, Biff took out his frustrations on another. Once done, Jane fell to the floor and crawled deeper into her cell, crying.

Passing the new girl's prison, Biff pointed. "This isn't over," he said through his teeth. All the girls were silent long after he left. Only an occasional sob could be heard.

Cassandra wanted to say she was sorry, but what good would that do.

The next fight came much quicker. This time, Biff only took her. Pushing her inside the arena, he raised his head smug, taking his place by his wife.

The gladiator girl gasped seeing her opponents. On the opposite side stood around twenty male fighters, some as big as a mountain. They had metal masks over their faces, and strange contraptions from swords with fire-blasting abilities to near hand tanks. One had a hook-like weapon. He snickered at her, placing a skull in between the pincers. The bone cracked in an instant.

She made herself small, holding her weapon close to her chest.