Everything drowns out around me, the gasps, the voices, the blaring of speakers, all sucked up in a vacuum like bubble that envelops me completely. The rest of the world blurrs and all I hear is the thumping of blood in my ears. It feels surreal as I sway on my feet and stare at the audience around me.

I see their mouths hanging open, their eyes wide with worry and shock. They don't look so happy with this announcement and somewhere deep down I feel a twinge of hope that someone, anyone will stand up and revolt against this new murderous rule but they remain silent and seated.

The invisible barrier between us seems to grow thicker and thicker as I feel them drifting further away. Even though the audience outnumbers the officials by the hundreds they're hopelessness gives them no courage. They have no voice here and it only reinforces how alone I am and that I will have to fight this battle on my own.

My movements seem reluctant and sluggish, it feels like I am moving in slow motion as I finally turn back to face Rosie.

For someone who has been fighting in the pits four years longer than I have, she looks just as flabbergasted. Her face is equally conflicted and it takes three long blares of the speakers to get us to our senses.

"Get started before we punish you both!" A Plutonian adjudicator shouts in frustration and his voice jolts me out of my trance like state, bursting the bubble around me.

Rosie and I finally walk to the wall with the weapons in synchronicity. I take an electro pole just as she does and then our dance begins.

We don't move like two fighters trying to kill each other, instead we attack and deflect repeatedly like two people buying borrowed time. The repetition soon becomes apparent after a few minutes and we hear the speakers boom again.

"Time extended. No weapons allowed!" Someone announces and I stare into Rosie's eyes.

Her expression is angry but her shoulders slump in defeat and acceptance.

"I'm sorry, Aria. I have too much to lose." She finally says.

I swallow hard and nod my head. My tongue turns into cotton and I am unable to speak as I realize what this has come to. She's not the only person who has something to lose.

I've survived every single day of being on this planet by promising myself that I will escape and now I am so close. I've won my first three matches in a row, Lucian's going to nominate me to the army and then I will be able to travel the universe, fly in spacecrafts and finally, finally go back to Earth.

It feels like I am about to cross the finish line only to have a chain wrapped around my neck, pulling me back and choking me just before I reach.

My gut twists painfully as I drop my weapon to the floor and face her with my hands up in defense. She drops her pole, the thin piece of metal hits the floor with a loud thump and then she charges at me.

There is no more inhibition, no more doubt. We both fight each other like we are complete strangers fighting for our lives. Rosie throws a punch my way and I duck just in time, hearing the swish of air as her hand glides past my ear.

I slide my leg out and kick her making her lose balance and fall to the floor. I jump on top of her and tackle her before she is able to get up but she is quick to catch me. She grabs my wrist and her other hand squeezes my throat making me choke at the impact.

She then throws me off her and I land on my back, coughing fervently as I hold on to my sore neck. I see her approaching me from the corner of my eye and quickly roll over to push myself up.

I am barely standing when she kicks me in the side hard. It is the same side Michael kicked in my first match and the same one Leslie struck with an electro pole. Her affliction causes me to fall over and clutch my ribs as the pain cascades like boiling water, burning every inch of my skin in its wake.

I gasp, feeling like my breath has been stolen from me. I need to think straight and pretend I'm fighting Cyscus not Rosie.

I hear Rosie's footsteps and quickly swing around, ignoring the smarting sensation it causes in my ribs. I kick her left foot which I had learned is her weaker one and she falls down on her back. She then kicks out at me as I grab her which works to my advantage because it makes it easier for me to flip her around so that her back is facing me now.

I grab her weaker hand -her left one- and stand on top of her with my leg holding her down firmly. Using the weight of my whole body I step on her back harder and pull at her arm ferociously, just like I had done with Christina.

A loud pop sound echoes around us and I hear Rosie suck in a breath after I dislocate her shoulder. Her body goes rigid under me and I release her arm which falls limply to the floor.

Rosie slowly rolls over but she is in a momentary spasm of pain, this would be the opportune moment to finish her off.

I feel a surge of adrenaline rush through my veins and my heart is beating like a hammer in my chest. I never thought I was going to win this match.

I drop to my knees and then climb over Rosie's trembling body. Her eyes are sealed shut but when she feels me climb over her, she quickly opens them and attempts to push me away. She manages to land a hard one on my jaw with her good hand but it isn't enough to deter me.

Her fist collides with my cheek sending a bolt of pain right through my skull. My mouth fills with blood and I quickly spit it out and lock her arms to her sides with my legs, ignoring my throbbing face. Even though she is flexible enough to lift her body up and kick my back, it still doesn't stop me from wrapping my hands around her neck.

I squeeze and her eyes quickly meet mine.

"End.. it.. quickly," She chokes between her words and my grip falters slightly.

My lips form a tight line as I squeeze harder. I try to focus on giving Rosie a quick death even though it feels like my mind is being ripped in half by the inner conflict. The crowd starts cheering suddenly but it is much more hollow than before. I look up to see mostly Plutonian's screaming while the humans stare on in silence.

The human's cowardice and Plutonian's voices drive my body in anger while my brain slowly shuts down. Their voices reinforce my efforts to choke Rosie but suddenly a flash of lightning crosses my vision and Michael's face replaces hers.

My chest constricts and my fingers loosen as I see Michael's dead crumpled body and then Christina's broken arm. I then see Leslie's writhing electrocuted body and the realization creeps into my skin as I slowly recognize the poison of my own two hands.

A few Plutonian's nearby shout at me to finish Rosie off and I glare at them fiercely. I feel like throttling them instead.

What have I become?

What have they created?

I release Rosie's neck and stand up quickly, feeling a tremendous amount of self loathing and disgust. Was escaping this world worth killing her? It took me awhile to come to my senses but I think I always knew the answer to that.

Rosie rolls to her side and coughs loudly and then she looks up at me in shock.

I ignore the cries of disbelief around me and stand my ground waiting for her to get up. Time goes still as she gets up slowly and then walks up to me.

It's weird, the sense of calm that goes through me is so potent that I barely feel a thing when Rosie grabs me by the collar and throws me through the air. I close my eyes, the feeling of flying is brief and reality hits me just as my back collides with the hard unforgiving floor.

A million needles of pain dig into my skin and spread throughout my back like fire. I feel Rosie's weight as she climbs on top of me and sits on my stomach making it harder to breathe. The pressure on my ribs grows tremendously and it feels like they have burst.

"What are you up to?" She grabs my shoulders and brings me up to face her.

My vision is blurred with tears and it takes awhile for Rosie's distorted face to come into focus.

"I c-can't do i-it. Just e-end it quickly. Please," I murmur. Blood trickles down my lips and pools at my chin. Even speaking feels like too much of an effort. I just want to sleep. I want it all to disappear.

"Are...you..sure?" Rosie frowns as she holds onto me in a vice like grip.

"Finish the match. Or you both will be killed for insubordination!" An adjudicator suddenly shouts through the speakers angrily.

I give her a weak, bloody smile, having never felt so certain before and then I nod my head.

Rosie slowly nods her head back in understanding and then her eyes focus in resolve. She punches me again, just as hard as the first time and I fall back to the floor.

I look up at the artificial sky, which is aptly dark and gloomy. My head is swimming in a mixture of numbness and pain, it whips to the side as I feel another blow to my skull. Black spots start to block out the dull sky, they dance around my vision and slowly coalesce becoming larger and larger.

"Stop fooling around. Kill her! Now!" I hear someone scream and then the blow of a whistle. Suddenly I hear a roar of voices, mostly of dissent, like a large group of people have started fighting each other.

Everything is black now, I might just be imagining it. It feels like I'm floating away and after a few seconds silence ensues.

I'm in an abyss of nothingness and even though I don't see anything I can hear my father's warm voice calling me downstairs. Soon my mother's voice joins in, telling me she's made my favorite fluffy pancakes and that there's loads of maple syrup for me to share with my brother.

My brother, I used to find him so annoying but hearing him challenge me to a race to the kitchen makes my heart ache with such a longing, it paralyzes me.

I've missed them so much and in this moment of nothingness where my parents argue about the clothes in the dryer and my brother steals the maple syrup and makes fun of me, I feel peace.

I feel nothing but peace.

It's a really sad ending to the chapter. Please tell me what you thought and if Aria will survive. Did any of you expect her to lose? I'm so curious. Also do you think this is the end?

Also I have exiting news which I will post on my profile for readers interested in a live chat to discuss this story which was created by a really wonderful reader. I don't know why I can't tag her here using my laptop so I will tag the link and her username on my profile. It can be a fun place to get to know each other as well if you're interested.