• It was January 10th, a Saturday. I remember it well. The day started out normally, nothing to special about it. My friend woke up before me and shook me in my bed. I glared at her and flipped her off, covering myself up with the blankets again. Ah, the sweet happiness of morning rituals. She jumped on top of me and would not get off until I woke up "NO! No sleeping! It is noon o' clock and you need to wake up and start your day right now!" She shouted angrily. Needless to say, I wasn't very pleased. I involuntarily rolled off of the bed, landing on the ground with a loud noise. Thank god there was carpet! "Why do you always do this to me? And how the hell did you unlock my door!?" I asked with a yawn, ignoring the pain from the fall. She shrugged her shoulders at me and smiled "I dunno." She replied like the smart aleck she was. I shook my head and looked at the clock, nearly growling from my rage and quickly sitting up. With a deep breath, I jumped on her and pushed her to the ground "Grr, you b***h! You lied to me again! It's only eight o' clock in the morning! WHY!!!" I shouted in a frustrated manner. She laughed at me and pushed me off of her, petting my mangy hair with wide eyes and a shocked expression "Why? Hmm...well, let's see," she looked up at the ceiling and began to count off her fingers, "reason number one, I am bored. Reason number two, you were having another nightmare. Reason number three, I am booooored! Reason number four...well...I did it because I'm bored." She smiled at me innocently and got up, walking to my vanity mirror. I sighed and shook my head "You could have just watched the television!" I shouted. She grabbed my hair brush and nodded her head "Yes yes yes, I know I know my dear. Here, catch!" She said merrily. I sighed and reached up, grabbing my hair brush and shooting a dirty look at her "Are you trying to tell me something?" I asked angrily as I took my hair out of its pony tail, brushing it and still glaring at her. She thought for a second and nodded "Why yes I am. Brush your hair, we have to go to the games today and we have to look presentable...we have very special seats this time around." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

    As she mentioned the games, I sighed and stopped brushing my hair, freezing in place with wide eyes. "The games", as they were called, were all just sick and twisted excuses for what I called murder. Innocent people were thrown into it for no reason and they never escaped. This week's games were supposed to be especially gruesome because the king had found a way to let us view all of the violence up close without being in the front row. Yay for new inventions. I sighed and let go of my hair brush, falling backwards on my bed "I refuse to go this time. It's not my wish to view all of this up close...that's why we always sit as far back as we possibly can from the violence." I said sternly. My friend's eyes grew wide and she pulled me up "Come on, we have to go! If we don't go, then we will be punished for sure! You remember that law, right! All who don't go to the games are committing treason! Come on Zona, we have to!" She yelled. I knew that she was just concerned for me, but I couldn't take it "No. I'm sorry Aziza, but I just can't. I'm getting sick of watching those innocent people being killed by that...that...thing!" My eyes were watering and my voice was shaking.

    In the games, people were sent into a maze to be eaten by the Minotaur. When he was released, he would automatically begin the hunt. The slowest one would die first, the stupidest one second, and so on. These people never received a trial for their "crimes", as people called them. They were simply taken into jail and never let out again. To me, it was infuriating because for some odd reason, I had always felt a connection to the people that entered the maze. It felt as if I knew them on a personal level and they were my friends. To me, every time somebody died, it was like losing a 036family member or a lover, both of which I had never even had before.

    Aziza grabbed my arm and tried to pull me off of my bed, though she was failing miserably "Please, Zona, you need to. If you don't, they'll come for you and--"

    "Hush, Aziza. I know of the consequences, and I am not afraid." I sounded confident, though I was stretching the truth quite a bit.

    "I...I won't make you go or do anything that you don't wish to do. But please, Zona...if you're not going to go to the games, then run away. I don't want you to go through that...and I don't want to have to pretend to be happy when you do." She hugged me and began to cry.

    Why did she have to cry? Aziza knew very well that crying was the only way to get into my head, the stupid b***h. I sighed and pushed here away, rolling my eyes as I agreed to go to with her "Fine, I'll go. But! I won't like it." I said quietly. She sniffled and let me go, looking up into my eyes and smiling a little bit "R-really?" she asked with hope. I nodded my head and she hugged me "Thank you." She whispered as I rolled my eyes, she had always been an overly emotional girl. "Hey, let's just get ready and head out..." I said calmly before I pulled away from the hug. She nodded her head and gasped, her eyes wide "Ooh, ooh! Before we go, I have something I want for you to wear," she headed towards her room, "I found the most gorgeous dress yesterday, and I think that it would look just beautiful on you!" She began to rummage through her closet. I sighed and walked into the living room, plopping down onto the couch and shaking my head "Uh, no. I will not wear a dress." I said firmly. Aziza whined as she took a dress out of her closet and walked into the living room, holding it up for me to see "Awww, but Zona...it would look beautiful on you! You see, when you spin in a circle, it just flows around you and you look like an angel!" she exclaimed. I smirked and shook my head once more "No way! You may be able to get me to go to the games with your little crying trick, but you will never get me to wear a dress." I kept the smirk on my face as if to dare her to challenge me on my resolve. She made a puppy dog face at me and quivered her lip at me, but I just wouldn't budge. Now that I think about it, perhaps I should have worn a dress. Maybe if I had worn the dress, we wouldn't have gotten into the amount of trouble that we'd gotten into.

    After a few minutes of her making the puppy dog face at me, Aziza finally gave up and put the dress away, shaking her head "I swear woman, one of these days I will make you wear a dress!" she said with a grin on her face. I rolled my eyes and got off of the couch "Uh, yeah right. You couldn't make me wear a dress at the orphanage, and you won't be able to make me wear a dress now." I stuck my tongue out at her. She flicked my nose and looked up at the ceiling, her hands across her chest "Hmph." she said angrily. I chuckled a little bit and tussled her hair, fixing it after words "Come on, we have to get to the games..." A slight sadness crept into my voice as I mentioned it. Her smile faded away and she looked down at the ground "Right...we do." She whispered. I grabbed her coat and handed it to her, putting on my own and getting ready to go.

    As I got prepared for the games, an awkward silence hung in the air. Aziza sat down on the couch with her hands in her pockets, a glossy look to her eyes as she stared at the wall in front of her. I checked in on her every now and again, simply looking through the door at her from my room, but she never changed. The entire time I was getting ready, she just sat there silently with no expression. When I finished, I whistled at her and she looked up at me, smiling weakly and standing up "You ready to go?" she asked me quietly. I nodded my head and we left the house for the games, though it was obvious that neither one of us wanted to.

    The trip to the games went the same way that it always did. Aziza was silent and I was humming a little tune to try and lift her spirits. Of course, it was a failed attempt every time. People were talking on the streets with excitement and all I could think was that they were barbaric for even pretending to be happy about watching their own race get slowly exterminated, it was just disgusting!

    "Did you hear? The king said that he has a new way for us to see the deaths! Isn't it exciting mother! I can't wait!" A seven year old girl.

    "I know, I heard darling. It is so very exciting!" The mother.

    They innocently held hands and laughed with each other. I glared at them both and shook my head with disapproval, biting my bottom lip to keep myself from barking at them about how disgusting both of them were. The seven year old girl was so young, and she was already talking about how exciting it was going to be to see the deaths up close and personal, it was sad.

    As I was glaring at the woman and her child, Aziza clutched onto my hand and somehow managed to keep herself composed. She smiled and pretended as if nothing were going to happen, she pretended like we were going to an exciting event. I looked at her smiling face and grew a smile as well, I just couldn't stay angry when I was with Aziza, she was far too innocent and calm about everything. I nudged her with my elbow and smirked at her. She laughed a little bit and nudged me back "Hey, rood!" she said merrily. With a chuckle, I nudged her once more. She was laughing and that was good. A laugh was one of the only signs of humanity that we had left in the world, and it was a little bit pathetic.

    As I was looking down at the ground to make sure that we wouldn't get stuck in the foot with any used needles, Aziza came to a sudden halt. There was a loud ruckus just a few feet in front of us, and it was incredibly loud. I looked up to see what was going on only to be brought down even farther by it. A guard was kicking a woman to the ground and beating her brutally. She spat out blood and looked up at him "No...no please! I promise, I won't do it again...I didn't mean to do it...I didn't even know that I was violating the rules. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry! Please...please don't do this to me!" She shouted with tears streaming down her face. The guard smirked down at her and stuck his foot in front of her face "Tch, I might let you go if you kiss my feet." He said in a teasing way. She looked up at him with hope in her eyes and kissed his feet without hesitation, her desperation showing with that one move. The guard laughed at her and grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her up in one single movement. She winced from the pain and kept a scream from coming out. His next movement caused me to question all of the things in this world that I knew of. A sweet smile was on his face and he looked into the girls eyes. For a moment, it seemed as if he was going to let her escape, but she wasn't that lucky. Her eyes filled with hope as the guard's grip began to weaken and she smiled at him, blood still dripping down her face. "Oh thank you kind sir...thank you so much." She said with relief. The guard said nothing, but he kept the sweet smile on his face, moving his free hand to his side belt. I knew exactly what was going to happen, and it fit the way the world was perfectly. He quickly grabbed his handcuffs and, in one smooth movement, pushed the woman to the ground. He had her cuffed in less than thirty seconds.

    The crowd that was gathered around shouted out to the guard and cheered him on, smiling happily and laughing at the happenings. To them, this was just an appetizer for what was to come. The woman screamed and kicked and wailed, but that would not change the fact that she had lost the battle with the guard. He forced her up and pushed her harshly in front of him "Come on, we have to get going to the games." He told her tauntingly as he smirked to the crowd. To him, this was just another way of getting recognition from his "adoring" public. Another loud cheer was heard from the crowd as the guard chuckled. The woman looked down at the ground and continued to cry, her tears meaning nothing to anybody other than Aziza and myself.

    The crowd waited for a few moments more to see what the guard would do and Aziza and I remained there as well, though it was our deepest wish to leave. If we left, then we too would be in the same position as this woman. The guard sighed and pushed the woman in front of him, forcing her to walk to her doom. The crowd followed him to see what he would do to the poor woman, waiting for more of the appetizer. The lady fell to the ground and seemed to pass out, but that didn't stop the selfish guard from feeding his hunger for recognition. He nudged her with his foot and spat on her when she didn't respond " Get up you lowly worm!" he shouted. The crowd screamed at her and laughed, throwing things and spitting on her just as the guard did. He kicked her and snarled "GET UP!" he yelled as he grabbed her wrist. When he picked her up, her body was limp. Her eyes were closed and she didn't appear to be breathing, God only knows what had happened to her before any of us got there to witness the guard beating her.

    The guard sighed and decided that he would just drag her. He held her wrist tightly and just pulled her along his path, her body dragging on the ground and making dust come up. A piece of paper fell out of her pocket as the dust came up, but nobody noticed. All they cared about was witnessing her being beaten to a pulp. They wanted more blood, more torture. They wanted to see a brutal death before the true brutality began. I sighed and shook my head, waiting for the crowd to move on past us before I went to the piece of paper. Aziza looked at me and bit her bottom lip, looking down at the ground with pity in her eyes "Don't do it." she muttered as I picked it up. What I felt next could only be described as pure horror.

    The piece of paper was actually a picture. The woman stood in the middle with a small child on her shoulders and a teenager beside her. Another little boy stood on the other side of her, holding her hand and sucking on his thumb. This woman had been a mother. She had been a lover and a friend. She had a life and a future that she should have lived. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about what sort of a life she had led, what sort of a life she could have led had she not been stopped by the guard. Aziza put her hand on my shoulders and smiled at me weakly "Come on now Zona...we have to go. If we're late, we will suffer the same fate as this poor woman." She spoke calmly, though I could tell that she wished the world were different. I nodded and sniffled, wiping away the tears that had escaped. Without her knowing it, I shoved the picture into my pocket and held her hand again "Let's go." I said as we headed on our dreaded path to the games. Sometimes, the walk to the event made me wonder who the real monster was, the human race, or the beast in the maze.