[AoS] No More to Lose (Solo)

The roar of the crowd. That was all Penelope knew any more. Living at the Pit was loud and it could be scarier, but the rest of the world was far more terrifying. The raiders, the monsters, the insanity that people took into their minds, no, Penelope was safer here then having to go out and deal with all of that other nonsense. At least here, in the fighting pits, she knew exactly what to expect. Days were blended together in a mix of cheers, jeers, blood and pain. Though Penelope never used to like these concepts, they were what she needed to do to survive; so she adapted.

Besides, it was not SHE was actually hurting anyone. No…it was only HER…

Sitting back on the bench just outside the doors to the arena, Penelope remained quiet as she sat, swinging her legs gently as she thought. She couldn’t help it, but thinking always made her thing back to the old days. It was only three years ago, but considering what the world turned into in the meantime it might as well have been an eon.

The day of the explosion, that was the worst day of her life. She lost her best friend, Chase, she lost her home, she lost Mr. Tickle. But, worst of all, was that the last thing she remembers whenever she things about that day is—

“Is everyone ready for the final match of the day!?”

A roaring crowd answered.

Standing up, the thirteen year-old dressed in the remnants of what used to be black clothes, casually made her way out into the bright light of the day. She could hear their cheering pounding in her ears, but she didn’t look up at them. Instead, the young girl kept her eyes on her bare feet as they casually walked across the tear and blood stained ground. The first days it bothered her, but now, she barely noticed the stickiness. After all, it was not like she was going to have to deal with it for long.

“RAWR!”

A massive man, a human she guessed, was already standing ahead of her. The man was huge, covered in muscles, and brandished a baseball bat with nails driven into it. He laughed, heartily, as he eyed Penelope, figuring this to only be a joke. He beat his bat against the ground, shouting for his real opponent to show himself. When it was revealed that Penelope was said person, he merely scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Penelope saw none of that though. Instead she was remembering again. The worst thing, the last thing she ever saw of her old life…was her sister. Lilith, standing in the park, trying to shield Penelope from the blast. She didn’t know that Jezebel was already taking over, that Jezebel would really protect her. Instead, all Penelope witnessed was her sister collapse, ripped apart by the concussive wave that made her erupt into ashes. It reminded the young woman of leaves. Leaves scattering in the wind…

She growled as he eyes narrowed. She snapped her attention at the burly man that as trying to argue that he was not going to fight a defenseless kid. His back turned, he laughed with the crowd and demanded a real fight.

He never saw the molten yellow eyes.

He did witness the dots of red that overtook her body.

And he definitely didn’t hear the giggling, sadistic laugh that now poured out of the red amazonian’s mouth.

The crowd grew silent, their eyes wide and anxious. They knew the amount of blood they would see next, and they were eager for it. It was because of the silence that the opponent finally arched his brow in confusion and turned.

His screams filled the arm and large, female hands grabbed and ripped, pummeling the flesh that was left over. He never stood a chance. Few opponents did against Jezebel Tickle.