Here's a long chapter for you XD I hope you enjoy. It's a little boring. Leading into the good stuff though.

Dex Zabeth: I hope so. I'm planning it to be a lot of fun. Here's hoping.

Seabiscuit: Of course the dogs are cute XD

Guest: Ollo! Well, I've based Ren on one of my sisters. Pretty much down to the last detail.

Koryandrs: Thanks! I'm hoping to make this one longer.

Tanairy Cornelio: It will happen. Don't worry. Although there will be a rocky road between that.

Miss Writer Girl: Please don't kill me. I'm trying to be as nice as I can... Who am I kidding? I'm pure evil. Also they're gonna go through a lot more. Mwhahahaa.

Soaringphoenix86: Lauren isn't going anywhere. Trust me XD The dogs will be reappearing as well. As usual, like dogs do, getting right under everyone's feet. Have fun with this chapter, it's boring. My muse is snoozing because of the cold.

Robotic Unicorn Ninja Cookie: Zoe hasn't finished crushing on Jack. Don't worry. I'm planning more awkward stuffs between them. Lots of fluff and lemon. With a dash of gore and blood.


Chapter 2 – So many questions.

'Ren... Ren... Renny! God damn it Renny would you shut up for ten minutes!' Zoe almost shouted at her. 'Maker woman!' She says rolling her eyes as Lauren finally stops talking. Zoe throws a pillow at her; it hits her right in the face with an omph, making Zoe grin.

'Alright Zoby!' Lauren replies. 'I get the hint!' She says with a pout as she crumples the pillow between her arms. 'Your point has been made.'

'Well you wouldn't shut up,' Zoe laughs poking her friend.

'I can't help it, I got excited,' she replies picking at her nail polish.

'So, as I was trying to say, I would like to see him again, but I just don't think it'll be a good idea. I mean, I have to go to counselling and therapy, I'm on so many prescriptions, half of them I can't even pronounce. He's not going to want to get to know a crazy woman,' Zoe explains with a shrug.

'And I was telling you that your reasons are bull shit,' Lauren replies giving her a look. 'Come on Zoby, look at this dude!' She says picking up the sketchpad. 'If he's as nice as he is gorgeous, then you are practically committing a damn crime letting him walk away!' She opens the the sketchbook, looking at the rest of the pictures that Zoe had drawn. 'I don't know why you didn't go into illustrating and writing,' she said with a sigh.

'Oh don't start this again,' Zoe also sighed, but at least they were getting away from the subject that was; Jack.

'What about this then?' Lauren says showing Zoe a picture.

'What about it?' Zoe replies.

'A Russian Santa? I mean come on, who the hell thought of a Russian Santa?' Lauren laughs looking at the sketch, she looks at the other side of the page. 'What about this one: The Queen of the Tooth Faeries? She's covered in feathers,' Lauren says tracing the bright blue lines under her fingers. 'Here we have Sandman,' she adds turning the page, 'lil' dude is so cute.'

'What are you getting at?' Zoe asks taking the pad from her. She looked at the drawing of the Sandman, she smiled faintly. Which made Lauren grin.

'You have all these stories about these guys, you've even drawn them.' Lauren says giving her a look. 'Why don't you ever get them published?'

'Look, I have enough meds telling me what's real and not, I don't need to go delving into my mind to write stories about those who don't exist.' I reply rolling my eyes.

'What? So you think these guys don't exist?' Lauren raises a brow. She snatches the pad back and flicks back through. Zoe shakes her head and sips her tea while watching her friend go through her drawings. She reaches for the last biscuit which Lauren grabs with a cheeky grin.

'Of course these guys don't exist,' Zoe laughs. 'They're just stories, I didn't even believe in them when I was a kid.' Lauren gasps and shakes her head in disbelief.

'I know that we were told that the voices in our heads were imaginary, but I still believed in the Tooth fairy,' she smiles remembering a fond memory. 'Woah, who's this guy?' She said looking at a half finished picture. Zoe raises a brow and leans over.

'Oh, him, uh. That's Frost,' she says with a shrug.

'Frost? As in Jack Frost?' Lauren laughs.

'Yeah well, I drew all the others,' Zoe smiles. 'Felt like I should draw the whole set y'know?'

'Why's he only half drawn? You done like his legs and torso, also an arm. Is he supposed to be holding something? But you haven't drawn that... or his head?' She replies eating the biscuit. Zoe gave her a half smile.

'I don't know, just... my imagination ran out that's all. I just can't picture him in my mind,' Zoe drinks the rest of her tea. 'I have these vivid images in my mind with the others, they even have personalities, although I'm never telling the whitecoats that,' she smirks. 'But when it comes to Frost, I know the personality. But I can't picture him properly. It just goes all fuzzy.'

'Wow,' Lauren murmurs before poking her in the head. 'You're really fucked up in there huh,' she giggles. Zoe scowls and thumps her lightly on the arm. 'Can't you make something up?'

'You're one to fucking talk!' She laughs. 'Maker, Ren, you've got a whole fucking choir in your head. And no, I can't, duh.'

'Don't remind me,' she giggles. Her watch alarm goes off. 'Time for meds,' she says to herself as she picks up her bag. 'Doesn't that mean you have to take yours as well?' She asks as she pulls out a pill box.

'Oh yeah,' Zoe says nodding. 'I'll, uh, get you a glass of water,' she says as she gets off the bed and leaves the room. She walks into the kitchen and goes to the cupboard. She looks at the side where her pills sat and automatically took out her prescription from the various bottles. She held the multi-coloured medications in her palm, looking at them in hate. She sighed and reached for a glass to fill with water. She caught sight of herself in the mirror holding them in her hand. 'Maker, what am I doing?' She asks herself softly. She looks at the floor breathing heavily. 'No more,' she mutters opening the bin and dropping the pills inside. 'No more meds,' she repeats.

'Zoby? What are you doing?' Lauren asks from the doorway. Zoe spun around, trying to look as nonchalantly as she could.

'Oh, uh, just getting you that water,' she said holding up the glass. Lauren wasn't one to be fooled.

'Are you...? Are you dumping your pills?!' She asks walking over and looking in the bin. 'Zoby Bear! What the fuck are you doing?' She says worried. She shakes her head and goes over to Zoe's medications and takes out the same dosage. 'Now you take these Zoe and we'll forget this,' she says her voice shaking.

'No Renny,' Zoe replied her eyes filling with tears. 'No more, I can't... They don't work,' she says softly.

'Y-Yes they do. They do work.' Lauren says forcing Zoe to take them from her. 'N-Now you t-take the pills and we'll, we'll forget this happened. T-That way the d-doctors can't take you away again,' she stutters. Zoe held the pills in her hand again looking at her best friend. 'Please, please Zoe, you have to take them.'

'Laur-'

'Take the damn pills!' She says shouting. 'You just take those! Zoe, god damn it! How could you be so stupid!' She says wiping her tears from her cheek with her sleeve. 'The meds are what keep us sane! We have to take them, or they take us to the loony bin,' she says softly. 'You know this. Do you want to go back?'

Zoe felt her own tears drop from her eyes. 'No, no I don't,' she mumbles. Lauren nods and hugs her tightly.

'Remember Zoby Bear, the pills help us. They keep us sane,' she says kissing her cheek and watching as Zoe put the pills in her mouth. She nods happily and takes the glass from her filling it with water before returning to the bedroom and taking her own medication. Zoe waits for a few moments before walking over to the bin and spitting the half mushed pills into it. She washed her mouth out with a sip of water. She threw a chocolate wrapper in the bin to cover the discarded medicine. She felt bad for lying to Lauren, but her friend wouldn't understand.

'They don't keep me sane. They keep me in the dark,' Zoe mutters looking at the prescription bottles. 'I hate the dark.'

Jack hummed to himself as he flew over the town. He had to find where she was living, or at least find out where she was working, if she had a job that was. Landing on a roof he looked around, it wasn't as if he could start asking people or anything. With a sigh he flopped onto the chimney and rubbed his eyes. This could take all week, not that he was complaining. He had already waited thirty years. He planned to simply watch the park, the woman had dogs. It made sense that she would return to the park in order to walk them. He sighed, putting in his headphones and settled in for the wait.

...

Lauren had calmed down after about half an hour, once her medication had kicked in. She hadn't stopped going on about the importance of keeping to our routines and dosages. I had to restrain from rolling my eyes after about the sixth time. 'Wanna go get some coffee? The proper stuff, not this crap that I have here,' I add, in vain hope that she'll agree. She looks at the empty biscuit packet and her half finished mug of now cold tea and nods.

'Alright but it's on you,' she says with a smirk.

'Deal,' I agree, sighing in relief. I'm starting to feel a little weird, but that's only to be expected when you refuse to take your medication, that you've taken religiously for the last ten years or so. I know it's a stupid decision, I do. But I can't bear the thought of swallowing another pill. I just can't do it. I don't know what will happen to me as I break the dosage chain. I've always been told that I'll become uncontrollably violent and the voice will come back. The voice that haunted me as a child. But I'm older now, I'm not a child. I know that any voice that isn't mine in my head isn't real. So surely I don't need to knock back half a medical cupboard to tell me that. As for the violence... I'm violent anyway when I'm pissed off. So I've just gotta stay calm, like Bruce Banner. The dude who turns into the Hulk when he's angry. I can feel the darkness inside, it's always been there, they said that the meds would keep it under control. Yet, that feeling has never changed, never increases, never fades. So what's the point of taking something that doesn't even help what it's supposed to? Maker, I'm thinking far to much into this. That's only natural though, it's on my mind. I need to keep calm and stick by my decision.

'Are we going or what?' Lauren asks as she pulls on her shoe. I grin and nod, pulling my thought processes out of the tangled web that was my mind and back into the present. I grab my Doc martins and yank them on, fiddling with the laces. I never do them up properly and it drives Lauren up the wall, how I casually just tuck them in.

'Shall we take the dogs?' I ask, as I grab a hair band and viciously pull my hair into a high ponytail. 'Also I'm thinking about getting my hair cut off. What do you think?' I ask as I drag a brush through the ponytail, wincing at a knot.

'No. To both things,' Lauren laughs as she puts on her fake fur lined jacket. 'We can't take the dogs into the café and long hair is beautiful.' She states as she tucks her own hair into her hood. 'I'm neurotic enough, but when it comes to my hair, I am truly insane. If I say a trim, I really mean a damn trim! Not a fucking inch!'

'Woah, woah, Renny, calm it.' I laugh hugging her from behind and resting my head on her shoulder. 'You're crazy enough that's for sure. Point taken. I'll keep it long,' I add. She grins and does her zip up. I roll my eyes and grab my bag, a black canvas tote. Slinging it onto one shoulder I look at her. 'Ready?' I ask after checking that I had my keys.

'You're only wearing that hoodie?' Lauren asked raising a brow.

'I like the cold.' I reply.

'You call me crazy,' Lauren says tartly as she picks up her own bag. I giver her the finger which she returns in double and sticks out her tongue. I laugh saying goodbye to the dogs, who were both laying on the sofa in the classic dead dog pose, all four legs in the air, tongues hanging out. They didn't reply, but I didn't expect them to. We make our way down the stairs, I refuse to take the lift. I hate the bloody thing and also you spend just as much time waiting for the damn thing to arrive as you would simply walking down the stairs. As we walk outside Lauren gasps and roots around in her bag for her gloves.

'What café?' I ask as she pulls on her rainbow knit gloves.

'Do you really have to ask?' She says with a grin.

'No not really,' I say rolling my eyes. We've been to this town a couple of times before I moved here. There's this one café on the corner of the road, next to the park that has this Barrister, he's cute. I'll agree to that, but Lauren has an awful crush on him. He's only just taller than her five foot five, which means at my five foot nine, I tower over both of them. What really gets her, something that she doesn't stop going on about, is his accent. He's Irish. Travelled to England for a better life or something. I don't really know, I wasn't really listening when she was talking to him. I've got to admit, they look sweet together, he has a soft face and curly dark hair. He's enamoured by Lauren. That much is clear, he always goes pink when we turn up out the blue.

'Do you think he'll be working today?' She asks casually as we link arms and begin to walk.

'I hope so,' for my sake that he is. Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it if he isn't. It's a Friday, quite a busy day, so I'm assuming that he would be. 'What's his name again?' I ask merely because I know she likes talking about him.

'Michael.' She says with a slight high note in her voice. 'But he told me to call him Ikey,' she added her cheeks going a little pink.

'Ikey?' I repeat.

'Yeah, it's a nickname. Because ''Michael'' is his father's name, it's like a tradition. Every first born son has his father's name. As his dad is still alive, thankfully, they call him Ikey to avoid confusion.' She explains, babbling happily.

'How do you manage to squeeze this much information out a man in the time it takes to make a latte?' I ask laughing. 'Honestly, why haven't you two hooked up yet? You have a go at me for the thirty second meeting I have in a park. Yet, you've can talk to him for up to ten minutes and get nowhere.' I smile at her, she pouts at me.

'It's not as easy as that. I'm insane remember?' She points to her head. 'It wouldn't be fair to a nice guy like that.' She says with a shrug.

'Isn't that his choice to make?' I reply. 'I'm pretty sure that not half an hour a go, you were pointing out the exact same thing when we talking about Jack.' She merely grumbles in response, which generally means, as rare as it is, that I've won and that my point is valid. I avoid laughing and simply grin at her reluctant silence. We walk in comfortable silence turning the corner towards the café. I can see that Ikey is working from here. He's clearing a table outside. I feel Lauren perk up and smile. Now this goes a certain way. I'll give my order to Lauren and she'll go in and order without me. I tend to put Ikey off and make him go shy. I roll my eyes, I'll sit outside, which means that Ikey has to bring the drinks out to us. That means that Lauren gets another chance to talk to him. The things I do for this woman. We walk over the road only just dodging a car that refused to slow down.

'Hey Lauren,' Ikey said smiling as we came close, a pink tinge to his cheeks. Lauren went equally as pink.

'Hey,' she said with a grin just as big as his. I let her arm go and give her a slight push towards him.

'Usual order?' He asks holding open the door to the shop for her. She nods and they talk as they go in. I smile to myself and plonk at an outside table. I know that she'll be in there for a good fifteen minutes at least. I don't begrudge her a bit. I'm glad that she's found a guy that she likes. I lean back on the chair the front legs lifting up as I balance. I've got a bit of time to kill, so I take out my phone and begin to play one of the crappy phone apps that you get. The 3D version of snake. Sad I know. Then I receive a text from Lauren.

Message from Ren:
Zoby bear! Go to that bakery and get those cakes we like.
Pweetyyy please with a sprinkle on top?
Renny Roo xxxx

I raise a brow and text her back.

Message to Ren:
That's like a half hour walk.
You trying to get rid of me?
Zoby. Xxx

Literally fifteen seconds later I get a reply.

Message from Ren:
YES.
Ikey has an hour break and he wants to share it with me.
Pweeeeeeetttttyyyy please?
With more sprinkles and a cherry?
XD
PLEASE?!
Renny Roo xxxxxx

Maker knows how that woman texts so fast. I sigh. I can't blame her. I text her back, agreeing that I'll go to the bakery and get the cake she likes. Then I'll throw it at her. I won't, but I'll pretend to. That'll be funny. I roll my eyes at her through the glass and she gives me the thumbs up. I grin and give her the finger as I get up and leave. I shake my head as I walk across the street. It's not like this happens all the time and Ren seems to really like this guy, so I don't mind. So I cut the traffic and decide to walk through the park, it'll add about five minutes to the journey, but I like the park so it doesn't bother me. I decide to linger as I walk, I don't want to cut Ren's break with Ikey short. I'm still playing the crappy phone game, as addictive as it is. I'm on level ten and it's getting really hard. My reflexes are generally quite good but when I die for the fifth time I growl under my breath. I feel like throwing the damn thing away, but I won't. Instead I grumble and restart the level for the sixth time.

Jack perches in a tree and frowns. He thought it would be easier than this. Though he didn't know why. He just assumed that he would see her sooner rather than later. He looked around the park with a sigh, after a minute or two he laid down on the branch and ran a hand through his hair. He placed his staff on another branch above him, hooking it with the crook. Closing his eyes he began to think of ways that he could track her down. Suddenly the branch he was laying on became slippy. Which was strange, ice didn't affect him like normal people. He sat up almost falling off. 'What the?' He said to himself. Then he moved his foot a little too much and he fell out of the tree.

'Ow!'

He had landed on whoever was standing under the tree at the time. To his surprise they could see, hear and clearly touch him. Luckily, kind of, the snow was very thick around the base of the tree. Jack shivered, again which was strange. He felt the full affect of the cold. He sat up, the snow covered most of the other person, the drift from the tree having fallen down with him. He looked up and could see his staff hanging from one of the branches.

'What... pfffmph,' the other person said blowing snow from their face as they sat up. 'The fuck... pfffmph... just happened?!' She said shaking her head to dislodge the white powder. Jack felt his heart stop as he recognised her voice. He slowly tore his eyes from his staff and looked at her.

'Uh, hey,' he said feeling really stupid. She looked at him, her anger was plain but it softened when it dawned on her who had fallen.

'Jack?' She said shocked. 'W-What the hell just happened?' She laughed. 'One moment I'm standing under a tree, the next thing, you drop out said tree onto me,' she said shivering. 'Why were you in a tree? Better still, why the hell did you fall on me?'

'It wasn't on purpose,' he smirked, which was totally true. He got up brushing the snow from his hoodie before holding out a hand for her to take. He felt ecstatic, he had managed to find her. Albeit an accident, but he found her nonetheless. 'Don't worry, I won't say anything cheesy like; falling for me already are you?' Zoe grinned and took his hand, blushing a little as he pulled her up.

'You're right, that was awful,' she said nodding. Jack chuckled not letting go of her hand, she blushed more as she gingerly took her hand back. 'Oh, my phone,' she says breaking the spell between them. She began to look in the snow drift. Jack mentally slapped himself and started to look as well.

'This it?' He asked picking up a purple flip phone. She nodded and took it from him gently slipping it into her snow covered bag.

'Thanks,' she says softly. 'Hey, uh, seeing as you just like fell on me and that. I'm not even going to ask what you were doing up the tree,' she adds with a grin. 'I've got an hour before I meet my friend, I've been sent to the bakery to get some things, uh. Would you maybe, um, want to uh, walk with me? If you're done climbing trees and all.' Jack smiles and reaches over brushing the snow from her shoulders and face, he lingers on her cheek before realising that he was breaching serious boundaries. The pink on her cheeks said as much. He dropped his hand quickly and smiled at her.

'I would like that,' he said nodding. Her smile made his heart flutter.

'Oh, okay, cool,' she said trying to stop herself from grinning like a total fool. She brushed her fringe from her eyes. 'Promise not to fall over on the way?' She teases as she steps out the snow drift. Jack chuckled running his hand through his hair again.

'I can't promise,' he says giving a half smile. 'I'll try though,' he adds. He shoved his hands in his pockets, suddenly aware of how cold his fingers had become. He was confused for sure. For the first time in his reincarnation he felt uncomfortable in the snow. Which was unheard of.

'You okay Jack?' Zoe asks looking back at him. 'You look uneasy, you don't have to come. I don't mind,' she says softly. Her undertone making it very clear that she would mind. He forces himself to put all the strange thoughts and feelings that were crowding his mind into a box and lock the lid. Jack looks at her and smiles properly, making her blush.

'I'm fine, Zoe.' He says reassuringly. 'I really am.'

Zoe pays the cashier, a young man that insisted that she return, making her feel a little awkward seeing as Jack was waiting outside for her. She simply nodded and took the bag that he held out for her, tucking it into her tote. She couldn't figure out why Jack wanted to wait outside, but she didn't ask or push him to come in. He was leaning against the wall, managing to look incredibly attractive by simply doing nothing. Zoe berated herself. What was she doing? She had asked him to walk with her and they had chatted, she found out that they liked a lot of the same things. She couldn't grow attached. As soon as the doctors found out she had stopped her meds she would be taken straight to a facility. But there was something about him. She couldn't place her finger on it. He was like her almost. You could always tell, something about the isolation changed you. She wouldn't ask. That would be rude, she would just have to wait. She was planning to tell him about her... condition later on, if he stuck around for a while longer. Get that out the way. She was pretty sure that when he found out what a nutcase she was, he wouldn't want anything to do with her. She steps out the shop and walks over to Jack.

'Hey, get everything you need?' Jack asked smiling. He had been noticing that people were looking at him. Someone had even bumped into him, which was a shock. At the moment, there were a couple of girls sitting at a bench over the road and he could see them looking at him. They were about eighteen, maybe older. Which confused the winter spirit seeing as they were far too old to believe in him. Zoe caught his eyeline and saw that he was looking back at them.

'Cute are they?' Zoe teases.

'What?' Jack says coming back to reality. 'What?' He clicks onto what she said and looked at her. 'Oh. Uh, no, it's not that,' he says quickly. 'No, I uh,' he coughs into his hand. 'I'm just not used to people looking at me,' he admits. 'But anyway.' He says wanting to halt that conversation, before it even started.

'Uhuh,' Zoe said clearly not believing him. 'And yeah, got everything,' she added. 'Um, I'm walking back through the park, are you.. going that way?'

'Yeah,' Jack nods. He could feel his heart pick up, he was going to ask for her number, hopefully she'll give it to him. He felt like a proper teenager. A good feeling and a very bad one at the same time. It was like all the years he spent with Zoe didn't matter. Even though he knew everything about her, at the same time, he didn't. They begin to walk, chatting again, he managed to make her laugh a couple of times, her eyes lighting up as she did. Halfway through the park, Zoe wobbled. Jack raised a brow.

'Woah, just had like a sudden wave of dizziness there,' she said with a small worried laugh. She held herself up by leaning on a tree. Jack was by her side instantly.

'Are you alright?' He asks softly. Zoe looks at him with a pained smile. She didn't feel right at all. The darkness inside her was beginning to move. It was hard to explain, but something was wrong. Was it because she skipped her meds or was it because of Jack? She didn't know. She looked around. The park was almost empty. Which was a good thing seeing as she was pretty sure that she was going to have a funny moment. It wouldn't be all that funny.

'I don't feel right,' she mumbled holding her head.

'What can I do?' Jack asked worried. She smiled half heartedly at him before her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed. Jack managed to catch her as she fell toward him. His heart thundered in his chest. 'Zoe?' He said panicked as he checked her heartbeat. It was racing. Just like his. He looked around, not knowing what to do. He had to get her out the cold, somewhere safe. Some where better than the park. An idea hit him and he stuck a hand into her bag and managed to find her phone. Holding Zoe up with one arm, he flips her phone open with his other hand. He looks in her recent phone calls and clicks on the name Ren.

'Zoby! What are you calling for?' A young woman's voice said as she picked up.

'Uh, hi. Look-' Jack began. He was pretty sure that seeing as everyone else in this town could hear, see and touch him, this Ren would be able to as well.

'Who the fuck is this and how did you get Zoby's phone?' The woman cut him off angrily.

'Listen, my name's Jack-'

'Jack? As in Jack! As in guy who got knocked over by dogs?' Ren replied.

'Uh... yeah. That Jack,' he said totally confused. 'Listen, Zoe has collapsed. We're in the park, I don't know where she lives or anything. Are you close by?' He asked, he could feel his pulse rise. There was nothing he could do. There was no point getting his staff and taking her somewhere. She was meeting a friend and the last thing Jack needed was someone to file a missing report when she didn't appear. He heard the sharp intake of breath from the other end of the phone.

'She's collapsed?' Ren repeats. 'Right, can you carry her?' She asks panicking.

'Yeah,' Jack nods adjusting his grip on her.

'Carry her to the other end of the park, towards the café, you know the way?' She replies speaking quickly. He could hear her moving and talking to another person.

'The opposite way from the bakery?' Jack clarifies.

'That's the one,' Lauren says. 'I'll meet you at the entrance,' she hangs up. Jack drops Zoe's phone into his pocket and picks her up bridal style. She was as light as she ever was, Jack took a moment trying to calm his heartbeat. He pressed his forehead against hers.

'Please be okay,' he whispered before he began to walk quickly.

Zoe coughs, she can feel sand underneath her. She moans as she opens her eyes. Bright light of the sun hit her face, the heat was intense as well. She could hear the roar of the crowd. Groggily she sat up. That's when she noticed that she wasn't dressed in her clothes. She was wearing a toga thing. It had a bit of plated metal over her shoulder and around her shins. She stood up, slipping a little on the golden grains that shifted under her sandal. She looked around, seeing a large wall around her. She was in the middle of a circle stone wall. Shielding her eyes against the sun, she was able to see the crowds that seemed to hover above the wall. Her mind eventually kicked in. She was in the Colosseum. She dropped her hands and backed up against the wall, terrified. She tripped as she moved, a large weapon had caught her foot. She fell to the ground with a yelp.

'Time for round one!' A familiar voice cried out. The crowd went wild, screaming and roaring. Zoe was beginning to panic. She already felt tears drip down her cheeks.

'Round one?' She whispered to herself. 'What do you mean round one?' She asked loudly at the people around her. 'Where am I? How did I get here?!' She screamed at them. They gave her no answer. Then she heard the sickening slide of a stone over metal. Sharpening. A large metal grate on the far side of the wall began to rise and a few men walked out. One of them wore little armour and the rest of his skin was bare, apart from the scars. The others were dressed in similar attire. All of them wore helmets which covered their faces.

'Here we have our Gladiators!'

Zoe whimpered shuffling back towards the wall. To her horror the floor was beginning to shift next to the Gladiators, who moved away. The sand trickled down an opening hole and a roar drowned out the crowd. A large beast rose from the trapdoor that was being pulled aside. It had a thick chain around it's throat which kept it tied to the post that was deep inside the trapdoor alley. Zoe screamed as the lion roared again.

'Can she survive round one?' The voice shouted in glee. 'Only time will tell.'


Uh. Yeah. So.

Long chapter, I've had a lot of time off.

As usual please review.

I know it's boring. But I promise in the next chapter, there will be a lot of gore and blood.