Tip.

Tip.

Tip.

Water leaked into Light's cell from somewhere, a roar in the silence of his thoughts as he mechanically tuned his weapons.

“If I win I get to quit the games. If you win the Vantry tribe is disqualified.”

This was the wager he'd made with the organisers of the coming-of-age games. The response was cynical laughter. His attitude was comical to the tribe leaders. All except one agreed to his request.

The outnumbered Vantry tribe chieftain snarled at Light.

He had won them over. His vulnerability was the mitigating factor that made the bet worthwhile and the show more exciting. For their own humor the Erris provided him with ingredients to make weapons.

“I have a chance,” Light said to himself not for the first time in his lonely, large, dirty prison.

No sound passed through the thick walls. Nothing seen, nothing heard and he was okay with this because he was trying to make his axe sharper. How sharp was sharp? He didn't have anything to test on in the middle of a dusty cell.

Reluctantly Light pulled a hair from the back of his head and let it drop on the axe.

“Still not sharp enough,” he complained. He bashed the weapon against the ground, echoes bounced across the walls. He repeated this banging. The axe had to be attached properly to the handle. He couldn't afford to have it fall off mid battle and if the twine did loosen, he wanted to know how much durability it had before things fell out of place.

As he was engineering his weapons an invisible entity wafted to his cell.

There was a knock. He almost jumped out of his skin. No face appeared in the slit in the door.

“What's going on?”

“It’s me!” Said a ghostly voice.

He paled, a ghoul was speaking to him. Slowly he rose to his feet clutching his axe defensively.

“Light, it’s me,” the ghost said again. This time a figure materialised. It was Hafsa.

“What are you doing here?” He hissed.

“I came to get you out of here.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I’m not leaving here. I have to stay.”

“What are you talking about, Light? You want to fight? You can’t. It’s not safe.”

“I made a promise. I have no other choice.”

“You have to get out of here. I’ll get you out. I have the keys. I-”

“Get away from here. I’ll stay and fight. I won’t run like a coward. I’ll win my match and be freed.”

Hafsa grew desperate. “Do you think you’ll really be let go? Please, listen to me. Leave with me. I have a plan.”

Light dropped his gaze. Staring into her eyes was challenging. She was determined about this jail break. If he left with her what then? He would be found one way or another. He’d bring humiliation and what would the Erris do with him after he was caught? He’d be slaughtered.

Keys were jangling now, echoing in every chamber of his brain. A key entered the lock of his cell and clicked into place. The door swung open. Hafsa was standing there. Her eyes were ignited with fire. He sighed. When he had resigned to this, why didn’t she let him?

“Why are you doing this?” He asked her.

“Because I have to. I won’t let them hurt you.”

His heart twisted painfully. He clutched his chest. What was this feeling? Light didn’t understand why but knowing that she was there, wanting to help him made his heart do something funny. To hold such power over him, was she a sorceress? He knew he shouldn’t listen to her. He wouldn’t. Light knew if he did, this heart jerking feeling would grow.

“I won’t go anywhere. They’ll find me and they’ll find you too. Get out of here. It’s dangerous.”

Hafsa chewed her lip. What could she tell him that would convince him? She knew what his future held and it wasn’t good.

Before she could come up with anything to say a loud hissing came from behind her. Light’s already pale complexion ashened. She dared not turn around. She felt the shadow of a monster snake its head behind her. Her breath came shallow, her heart crashed in her ears but even those thumps couldn’t mask the thundering hissing that paralyzed her.

Her brain shouted at her to turn invisible. She had come equipped with this ability when she’d slipped into the comic this time. Invisibility, invisibility, she couldn’t remember how.

The tail of the beast came around her in the shape of a snake. Hafsa was plucked from the ground. Suddenly she was hovering over the scaly spine of the animal that divided the beast into half bear and half wolf. These latter two heads spun around and she found herself staring into the faces of the Vantry chief. Each head breathed frigid, rancid air on her.

“What is this?” The wolf head asked, sniffing at her.

“Is it food?” The bear head asked.

“Is it poison?” The snake head whispered.

“Light, what is this creature?” The Vantry chief asked of him.

“I don’t know,” Light answered. “I’ve never seen it before.”

The heads looked at him, at her and then had a consultation with each other.

“Is it a magical creature from the utopia?” The wolf questioned the snake.

“I have never seen anything but Erris on this part of the world.” The snake replied.

“It stole the keys to this chamber, I saw it with my own eyes. Magical creature or not it should be punished.” The wolf declared with baring fangs.

“Do we send it to the desert Erris? They will know what it is.” The snake debated.

“I am still hungry