=== Afternoon of the following day

 

Grandma hadn't called out to us since yesterday, but while listening, I could hear her weak but stable breathing.

The door swung open, and the usual orcs entered the stall. Both looked stressed out.

"Today are... these two... and... this one's turn."

One of the two orcs pointed to two other rabbits and then to me. The others were lifted out of the cage with me and taken to the arena. Here we were separated because the other two were fighting their own fight. Both would fight together before me, so I had a little time before my battle began.

I tried to follow the fight, but the visible area was too small, but I spotted something, no someone, in the stands. It was the two figures who came into the stable last night. They sat in the front row and watched the fight below.

Are they these messengers the orcs had spoken of? But why were they in our stable?

Just like yesterday, their face and body were covered, so I could only speculate how they would look.

*OH!* *Yeah!*

Some time passed when exclamations and shouts of joy could be heard from the stands, followed by cheers and clapping. Two orcs went through the entrance to the arena, which I could equate to the fact that the fight was over.

While my focus was on the arena, I heard the front door creak. I turned away and looked at the newcomers. Two orcs came in with another box covered with a cloth, preventing them from seeing what was inside.

I watched as the orcs carried one of the rabbits back into a separate box. The second of them... was disposed of by the orcs. The lifeless body was thrown into a cart that stood at one of the exits.

You won, but it had a price...

I looked at the rabbit in the other box. It was exhausted and discouraged, and its eyes were blank. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't.

My box was taken by one of the orcs and carried into the arena. Another orc moved the cloth-covered box into the arena. The same thing happened at the other entrance to the stadium. Four cages were carried into the arena, including my cell, and with one swift movement, they were revealed.

A different type of rabbit sat in each of the boxes. The cages were opened, and the orcs ran out of the arena.

To my left was a Merbit. It was a bit taller than me, and its appearance told me that it was already a bit older, as its fin was scarred.

To my right was a rabbit with a horn on its forehead. At first, I would have assumed that it was a horned rabbit just like me, but the entire body was different. The fur was short and smooth. The front paws were like a mole's.

Hmm... I'll call it mole rabbit for now.

Across from me was a rabbit that I could describe with the word demonic. When I saw it, I had to think of the Ghostrider. I could see a skeletal skull with empty eyes... Its entire body was on fire, and itself didn't have skin, muscle, or fur. It was a being just out of bones and flames.

Where could such rabbits live? Maybe in an active volcano?

I could guess, but the orcs wouldn't allow that because the cages' opening marked the start of the fight. But the Mole Rabbit and the Merbit didn't exactly give the impression that they wanted to fight.

The only one who actually became active was the demonic rabbit.

I'm calling it Demobit for now.

While I was nicknamed it, it threw a ball of fire at each of us.

Fire? I can do that too!

I hurled my fireball at it. What happened now was the same as what happened to Si’s fireball. My fireball devoured it fireball, but the airspeed was lost, and the fireball exploded right in the center of the arena.

Clouds of smoke blocked my view of the other rabbits, and only the grandstand behind me could be seen.

"Kekekek."

A laugh echoed through the smoke, and even without knowing who it was, I could guess.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Further explosions shook the ground, but these didn't come from the arena. I immediately turned to the stands and looked up.

They're gone!?

The two black coats were gone. There were only orcs in the stands.

“Velora! The beasts are free!"

An orc screamed across the arena, and before I could hear her answer, the orcs panicked. They began to push others away, and some fell into the arena in the process.

"KEKEK."

The laughter from before was very close. Startled, I turned around, the Demobit was next to me.

“Today is your lucky day. Out there are better opponents. KEKEK."

It showed no threat to me because its prey had changed.

"I wish you every success, but I will escape now."

Half-heartedly, I said goodbye and ran out of the arena. The orcs were about to flee or fight the runaway creatures, so I could get to our stable unnoticed.

I have to go to Si and Grandma!

The wall of the stable was broken. I walked through the unexpected entrance and found a broken cage. There were no more rabbits in it.

Where is Si!? Where's Grandma!?

I approached the box where Grandma was in.

“En!”

Si jumped down from the top of the box and hopped on me.

“Si! Everything's fine with you! What about Grandma?"

"I tried to break open the box, but I couldn't."

I looked at the simply built box.

"I'll try it."

I scribble in front of the box.

Darkness!

The first one, then a second, and then a third spear pierced the box's outer wall.

“Grandma! Let us flee."

I poked my head through the opening and saw her lying at the other end of the box. Half of her body was covered in sheets.

She opened her eyes slowly. She noticed me and slowly straightened up before falling to one side.

Oh, God!

"I didn't want you to see me like that..."

Her front right leg was missing. I hopped up to her and supported her.

“Grandma… I… you're a bloody heroine. Without you, Si and I wouldn't have survived long in this hell! But now is our chance to get out of here."

I escorted Grandma out of the box before Si took the support from me.

"En, you will go ahead, and we follow you."

I nodded at Si's instructions. Her face spoke volumes because this was something I didn't know about her before.

I hopped out of the stable. Nothing was like it was a few minutes ago. The earth was burned and revealed craters wherever I looked. I watched some of the creatures running away. Many of them were running towards the nearby wall, so we'd do the same.

We were wandering slowly through the battlefield. Orcs mostly fought some of the enormous creatures they held captive, including what I would call a minotaur, a hydra, and an earth dragon.

Fortunately, none of the creatures paid us the slightest attention. Every now and then, an orc tried to grab us, but I stopped them. Usually, the orcs were prevented from making a second attempt because some other creature demanded their attention.

"The wall! We are almost there. "

A wide hole was carved into the city wall, putting our way out of here in reach.

I ran a little further forward when I heard Si’s voice behind me. I couldn't understand her, so I turned around immediately. Si and Grandma stood a few meters behind me, and Si’s face was full of fear.

In the corner of my eye, I could see that something was approaching me. I jumped back to see what it was. A massive snake was coming at me. The only giant snake I could think of was from the nordic mythology, Jormungandr. But this name didn't fit because this snake was a joke against Jormungandr.

Its body diameter was about a meter. I couldn't estimate its body length, but I would have guessed that it was 20 meters or more.

"What do you want from me!? Should I be a snack for you!? That will not happen!”

I hurled fireballs at it and lured it to follow me. When I was sure that all of its attention was mine, I signaled to Si that she should go with Grandma. I would get out of here somehow.

The snake jumped at me, its mouth wide open. I jumped back but quickly realized that it was the wrong decision. The snake's mouth swallowed even the loose earth.

I threw a ball of fire into the mouth of the approaching snake. At the same moment, I withdrew further.

The fireball flew into the snake's jaws, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

There!

When I created some distance, I could discover a hole or a crevice. I dodged past the snake and ran.

The snake tried to hit me with the end of its tail, but I pushed off, flew, and rolled across the ground into the hole.

I pushed my way through the tunnel in the dark. It wasn't long before the tunnel ended, and it turned into a ditch. Above me was a blue sky, as innocent as of any other cloudless days.

I stayed covered in the ditch for a while before jumping out.

I wasn't far from the destroyed city wall, the snake wasn't to be seen either, so I took my chance and left the orc city as quickly as possible. The city that took away about half a year of my life. She wasn't worth another look from me.

Si, Grandma... you others... I'm coming home.