"You know Spirit, you need to learn how to be a man" Glacier stated as she lounged on a rugged armchair, the fabric torn and the stuffing was gradually coming out of the holes, she was examining her bitten nails as she did so. "I mean, out of the three of us, you may be the fastest on a good day, but you have no stamina or strength what-so-ever" she stated, looking pointedly at his thin figure.
The two children were currently sitting in an abandoned house, the plaster on the walls cracked and crumbling due to the heat of the atmosphere and neglect. The carpet would have been thick and cream in colour, however, it was now thin from usage and dirty from mud, food stains and other unknown substances.
The fireplace hadn't been lit for years due to the lack of need for it had started to rust and grow mold. As the doors looked worse for wear were barely hanging onto their rust hinges, cupboards were missing doors and had huge chunks of wood chipped off and the window was thick in dirt and dust however this was an advantage as it stopped the sun from penetrating the house too much making it cooler for the occupants.
"Gee thanks Glace, my esteem just skyrocketed…to the bottom" he retorted, pulling a displeased face as he unloaded the food that was in his arms onto a makeshift table made up of bricks for legs and a wooden plank. "I could say the same for you though, you barely fight-"
"I fight more than you do" she cut across him as she reached for a slice of bread, "you ru-"
She was silenced by the door slamming shut as Kai walked in, his footsteps echoing through the room, his eyes watching them amused, "you two stop flirting" he smirked as their faces turned red and spluttered out their mortification.
"Me? With the bird nest over there?" Spirit exclaimed upset, "I'd rather go out with that ugly fat man down the road, you know the one with the huge mole on the end of his nose!" his face went pale just thinking of the man in question as he sat down on a cushion.
"Hey! I wouldn't go out with Spir even if you gave me four lives worth of food" Glacier growled as she smacked the arm of the chair.
Kai started to laugh at how predictable his friends were as he laid out on the well-worn sofa he had found a few weeks ago in an abandoned building, it had taken all three of them to move it back to their base.
The room fell into silence, each one in their own thoughts and eating the food that had been brought in today.
"…isn't it almost time to go visit The Spot?" Spirit voiced up quietly as he looked at the floor, his face blank.
"Aye" Kai sighed looking at the other boy, "We'll set off when dusk arrives in three days' time", he stood up swiftly as the two younger children watched him, "I'm gonna get an early day, you should do the same if we want to take up that challenge". Kai trudged towards the door "and don't forget to store the food!" he called out just before the door shut after him.
The room lapsed into silence once more as the two occupants went into their own worlds.
"Who challenged us again Glace?" Spirit enquired as he watched her from across the room biting his nails.
"The Snakes" she answered, "they painted their mark on ours, the one that Skye painted" she growled out, her displeasure showing on her face.
"The bastards" Spirit exclaimed as he slammed his foot down on the floor, "how dare they think they can just get ta'way with tha!"
"Oi! Don't let Kai hear you swear or he'll ave ya hind" Glacier interrupted casting a side glance at him, "you know how he feels about swears...and besides, it's not like you can do much anyway" she teased, sticking her tongue out "he'll let them have it" she smirked as Spirit chuckled.
"Aye, that he will" he grinned at her "they don't know that they've released a monster" he stated as he started to gather the food and putting it away into a cupboard. "But he's right, we need an early day" he looked at her pointedly as he knew she liked to stay up.
"Hey Spir" she called out as he reached the door causing him to look over his shoulder at her in return, "where do you think we would be if Kai hadn't have found us?" asked Glace quietly as she looked out of the window at the sun.
There was a moment silence until the door handle clinked and turned, "do you even have to ask that?" he asked opening the door, "we'd be dead" he answered quietly as he shut the door behind him leaving the girl on her own.
"Yeah, I know we would" she whispered sadly as she watched the fiery red rays of the sun rise higher and the heat distorting the air outside of their base, before she too, stood up to join the others in slumber, "I wonder what life would be like, if the world was still intact?" she whispered into her makeshift pillow.
"C'mon you two" Spirit called out from on top of a crumbling building, "hurry up or we'll be late!" he said as he jumped down, hopping from ledge to ledge. He had reached the bottom as Kai and Glacier reached the top, the latter gasping for breath as she stood with her hands upon her knees. "Who's the one who lacks stamina now?" the younger lad called up to her smirking, the only reason he could see her was due to the street lights that lit up the darkness, keeping it at bay.
"Shut it you!" she gasped having difficulty breathing from the dry air, "its dryer than normal alright?" she called down to him when Kai placed his hand upon her shoulder making her turn to look up at him.
"Take your time alright" he had a small kind smile as he looked down at her before he went down to join Spirit, "you don't need to rush, they can wait" he called up to her as he and Spirit started to walk towards an abandoned, crumbling stadium in the distance, walking past over turned cars and hopping over holes in the ground.
"Yea, sure I can" she grumbled as she slowly made her way down, "and let you guys have the fun?" hopping over a hole, she started to run after them "I think not!" she yelled jumping to smack Kai on the head.
"What they hell?" he protested, rubbing the back of his head as he looked at her smug face, "I was only being nice" he pouted as Spirit poked him in ribs.
"The almighty Kai, brought down by a walking birds nest" he teased as both Glacier and Kai glared at him, "what would the other Packs say?"
Kai just grunted, his mood dampening with every step they took to the stadium, the others noticed this and went silent, taking in the surroundings.
They all had wondered at some point in their lives what it would have been like to live in the past, where the grass was lush and the trees bore leaves and fruit in some cases, where the roads were intact and you could drive from one destination to another. Mostly they wondered what it would be like to have a family, a Mother, a Father and siblings that were connected by blood not just by a common cause for survival.
However, they knew this was just a dream as they looked around them; no form of real plant life was around, the ground hard and cracked from the lack of moisture and how night and dad had swapped roles in life because of the increased heat meaning instant burns. This is what their ancestors had left them, a broken planet where all their nightmares are a reality. And all these children had to say was "...Thank you very much" by the way, that was sarcasm for those who didn't pick up.
The three looked up at the stadium looming above them, it like any other building was crumbling, however, due to this being an area that was used often, many of the Packs worked together to maintain it so that it was usable, they included did this. They walked through the recently mended doors and saw few people in there, some turned around to look at them, offered them greetings that were returned with a wave or a smile from the younger two as Kai just carried on walking through another set of doors forcing them to catch up.
"He seems to be in a rush to beat them up today" a voice called out to them from behind, turning around they saw a woman in her mid-twenties walking up to them. She wore a pair of dirty blue shorts that stopped at her knees, a lighter blue t-shirt and a black over shirt on top of that, her feet covered in black ankle high army boots. Her eyes were a friendly brown and her purple hair was cropped short, which made many people look twice because at first glance you'd think she was a young man.
"Hey Bluebell" Spirit greeted her with a smile as Glacier scoffed, turning her head to the side with a frown.
"Awww, ya still sore that I beat ya in the mock games Glace?" Bluebell teased as she ruffled the younger girls already messy hair, "I don't know why ya dun cut ya hair like mine, it's much easier to handle" she grinned, running a hand through her own hair.
"What? And look like a boy? Nah, I'll pass" Glace shot back with a wink.
Bluebell laughed at the comment, rubbing the back of her head and she shifted her weight from one leg to another, "So, what's got Mr. Gloom an' Doom in a serious mood?" she asked as she looked past them at the doors he had moment ago walked through.
Spirit's face turned to an angry frown as Glace grinded her teeth together, "The Snakes painted their mark on one of ours for the challenge" Spirit spat as he clenched his fists.
"Oooooh fuck" Bluebell sighed, "they're challenging you for all your territory then" she stated, making Spirit turn to her confused.
"What ya mean?" he asked "I thought it was a normal challenge for that surrounding area".
"Nope my little spitfire" she replied, humor not lost, well not for her anyway, "normally for a challenge on that area they would paint their hand in their colour and leave a hand print on the side of your mark. It means that they still respect you. However, if another pack actually paints on your sign it means that they want all your land and they have no respect for your pack. And in this world, respect is everything" she informed them, "I'm surprised that Kai hasn't told you about this" she commented.
"Well Kai and Skye used to try and keep us out of challenge fights if they could" Glacier mumbled, biting her thumb nail.
"Aye, I guessed they would" Bluebell laughed, "under all that exterior he's a big old softy for you two" she smiled down at them "ya blessed to have him as ya Alpha, shame what happened to Skye though, far too young for the heavens to have 'er".
"That's another reason why he's so angry" Spirit said looking downcast, "They painted over the last mark she made for us".
"Well I'll be! That truly is an insult" Bluebells growled, her face quickly flashed angrily before it went back to her happy self, "Don't ya worry about them after this, me and my Pack, we'll...sort them out" she grinned before she turned and started to walk back to her fellow members "ya'll go on to Kai now, I've kept ya long enough" she called back to them, "I'd wish ya good luck but ya don't need it" she laughed again.
"What you two standing around for?" Kai called out, his head poking out of the door, a small frown played on his lips, "C'mon!"
The lights for the battle ground flicked on as both packs walked onto the field. The Snakes had five members in the pack, three males and two females, all of which looked above the age of twenty-five, some even had grey splashed in their messy hair, the skin tanned and wrinkles starting to show.
"So you oldies ready to rumble?" Glacier called out, smirking with her arms folded, releasing an aura of smugness as she looked upon their opponents, "you sure you don't want to sit down first to catch your breath?" she teased them causing the crowd around the two groups to laugh.
"You should respect yer elders girlie" stated a male who stood in front, "but then again, I do like a tongue on a girl" he grinned perversely at her, his yellowing teeth flashing in the light as he winked.
The younger Pack all looked at him in a mixture of disgust and anger as the other members in his group laughed.
Kai was forced to grab Spirits arms as he went to attack the other male, "I don't go for old men sorry" Glacier retorted, "after all your all wrinkly and waaaaay past ya sell by date and I can smell your old man smell from all the way over here" she waved a hand underneath her nose to emphasize on this fact. The old man growled at her as she laughed and added "and you're probably cheesy too".
The referee came out before the old man could make a lunge at her as the crowd laughed, he was a small but well-built man as his job was to keep fights within the rules and interfere if things went out of hand.
"OK. We're gonna go with the one-on-one seeing as the Pack numbers are uneven," the small man stated "One person from each side will come up front for a one-on-one fist fight, the first person on their backs for more than thirty seconds loses". He called out to the crowd as they cheered. "Also, it will be done in The Cage, requested by The Snakes, which has been accepted by the Lions" this made the crowd go quiet as they mumbled to each other and the two younger Lions to look at each other confused. "Will the two teams go to their benches to decide who will battle" the referee's voice boomed across the mumbles of the crowd and Glacier could see Bluebells' worried face in the sea of people.
Kai had already walked past the two and was now sitting on the bench, he had taken off his jumper and was now wrapping is fists in bandages to protect them from the impacts they would be making within a few moments.
"What's The Cage Kai?" Spirit demanded, marching over to stand in front of the elder boy, his hands on his hips as he studied Kai's movements, "How come we've never heard of it?" his voice lowered so that the three of them were the only ones who could hear.
"The Cage is as its sounds, it's a cage" he stated, not once glancing up, choosing to concentrate on making sure his fists were protected, "Two contestants fight in the cage until one person goes down for thirty seconds" he finished as he stood up and started to stretch, looking across to see that the other Pack were laughing and talking, none of them were making any movements that showed that they were preparing.
"Can you get out of The Cage?" Glacier asked, her eyes narrowed at the contraction as it was being brought onto the field by several well-muscled men.
Kai then glanced at them, his face not betraying any emotion, "Only when the loser has been decided" he told them after a moment silence, studying their faces, he scoffed, "And as if I'd lose" he smirked.
Glaciers' eyes narrowed more as she looked at Kai in suspicion, they widened as a sudden thought crossed her mind, "Kai" she said, her voice cold as her name, "How many times have you been in this 'Cage'?" she asked, looking at his scarred arms as Spirits' own eyes widened and jaw slacked in disbelief.
His smirk fell as his face became emotionless once again, "...including this, three time" he sighed, eyes becoming ice as he stretched his arms.
"Why didn'tcha tell us?" Spirit exclaimed angrily standing in front of the older boy.
"Look, I don't have time for this, alright! My first fight in it was before I even met you guys" he growled walking past them to stand at the door of the cage, the man from earlier coming to stand in front of him, leering at Glacier over Kai's shoulder. "Oi, you keep your eyes on me old man" Kais' voice was low as he growled at the other male who smirked confidently down at him.
"Ya should 'ave just let us 'ave the girlie boy and given up ya territory" he laughed, "It would 'ave saved ya the pain, unless ya wanna back out now".
"There's one thing you should have heard about me old man" Kai grinned confidently as he stood so he was chest to chest with the repulsive male, "Is that Lions never run away", his eyes locked onto The Snakes, "I never run away".