"Don't push me, 'cause I'm close to the edge."

-Heart on Fire, Indiana

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"I see you didn't back out," Naomi says harshly once we arrive at the centre of the ditch where an eager crowd is forming.

I clench my fists and reply dryly, "I'm not afraid of you."

She raises an eyebrow, before turning her attention to Alec, standing aggressively beside me.

"You're taking her side, I see," she grunts, to which a few of the Fighters at her side scowl.

"I'm not taking anyone's side," he murmurs darkly, cracking his knuckles. Everyone around us is silent, clinging onto every word like he's feeding his words to them.

"Always were a sucker for the pretty ones, weren't you, Alec?" she says mockingly. I look away as he frowns even further. I don't know what she meant by that, so I choose to ignore it and keep my mind focused.

"Shut your trap, Naomi," says a new voice behind us. The boy with the olive skin and blonde hair that was talking to Alec at lunch the other day pushes through the crowd and takes place beside Alec, and I assume he's the owner of the voice. He's tall, maybe a little over six foot three, but he's lankier than Alec, skinny arms and long legs. He looks friendly enough though.

"Stay out of this, Seth," snaps Naomi, eyebrows angling inwards at the blonde boy, who has a playful smirk toying at his lips.

The boy—Seth—rolls his eyes and turns to me. "What's your name, doll?"

"Olivia."

"Oh, boy, have I heard a lot about you," he says, motioning with his eyes to Alec, who is glaring at his friend. "I'm Seth."

"What are you doing here, Seth?" Alec asks, changing the subject.

"I heard what's happening, and couldn't wait to watch this thing go down. But are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asks me unsurely.

"I'm sure."

"I like your enthusiasm," he remarks with a light chuckle, turning to Alec and patting his chest. "She's a keeper."

Alec shoves Seth in the arm, who laughs playfully. They are obviously good friends, despite Seth being far more playful than Alec.

"Are we done with the chitchat? I have a fight to win," hisses Naomi, who is rolling up her sleeves.

The crowd steps back to create a large circle around us, until the only people left inside the circle are me, Alec, Seth and Naomi.

"Bit of advice, Naomi is mainly all bark but no bite," Seth says quietly as Naomi stretches her arms about ten meters away. "But her barking throws people off, which lets her win fights with ease."

The fire is blazing and crackling nearby, but the area surrounding the pit remains unnervingly dark and silent.

"Seth's right," Alec says as I watch Naomi from afar. She has a big build, and I can tell she's much stronger than me. Her size also gives her an advantage. But if her body mass is higher, it means I'm faster. That could be my advantage.

"Seriously, it's all about the mental warfare with that one," Seth says, eyeing Naomi with caution. "She really knows how to fuck with the mind."

"Tell me about it." I shake my head and regret seeps into the back of my throat, making me feel a little sick.

"Don't lose faith now," Seth says, before someone calls his name loudly from the crowd. "I gotta go, but good luck." He's about to walk away to find a space to watch the fight when he adds over his shoulder, "I like you, Olivia, you've got spunk. Try not to die."

I chuckle, and it makes me feel a little better. "I'll try."

He salutes me over his shoulder and stands at the front of the crowd to our right. Now it's just me and Alec.

He puts his hands onto my shoulders so I'm staring straight up at him, our eyes burning into one another. The fire reflects in his brown eyes, making them look a scorching amber colour. "Liv, be careful."

"Always am," I say, even though that's a lie.

"I mean it, I don't want you to be in hospital because of this," he says, squeezing my shoulders.

"I won't be. I have a plan. Do you trust me?" I ask.

He pauses for a moment, before he cups his hand on my cheek and presses his lips to mine. In front of everyone. There are a few whoops and hoots from the crowd, as Alec's soft lips brush against mine, sending electrical sparks around my brain.

"Come on!" Naomi huffs. We break apart, and he smiles, his first time doing so for a while.

"I'll take that as a yes?"

He nods, and finally, he steps away into the crowd, not letting his eyes stray from mine.

And I'm alone.

"You ready for this?" Naomi calls, putting a five meter distance between us.

Use your speed to your advantage, a voice instructs.

We make circles around each other, eyeing one another cautiously. She smirks, trying to make it seem like she's brave. But cockiness isn't courage, so I don't let it get to me.

"I was born ready for this," I reply.

"Sorry, I kind of assumed you came to earth by crawling out of hell or something, my mistake," she says in return, smiling smugly. It's not even a good comeback.

"That was lame," I remark calmly, nose crinkling. A few members of the crowd laugh.

She scowls. "Like you."

I sigh pitifully. "That was also lame. You really suck at this."

The crowd laughs, and she notices. Just as she does, she charges at me from across the circle like a bull. At the last second, I step out of the way but put my foot out so she goes crashing to the floor.

Fighters burst out laughing around me, and I see Alec also laughing, which gives me a bit of faith.

Naomi scrambles into standing position, and charges at me again, but this time she knows my tactic, so is wary of me sticking out my foot. So instead of doing that, I push her in the side.

I think it works, but at the last second, she grabs my arm, and I tumble to the floor with her. I graze my cheek on the ground, and I can taste blood in my mouth from my teeth biting into the inside of my cheek during the fall. She gets up before me, pins me to the floor and throws a punch to the side of my face. The burning sensation is more than just burning. I think my face is on fire.

I hear Alec yell my name and I vaguely see him jump out of the crowd- my vision is clouding- but someone pulls him back. The rules are no interferences. Not even from their leader.

She punches my face again, this time below my jaw, and it stings just as bad. That's when my danger mode kicks in and I squirm under her human restraints that are keeping me on the ground.

When I realise it's no use, and I can see her fist pulling up again, I think quicker and more strategically. As her fist comes at me, and there's an intake of break from the crowd, I clutch her fist before it makes contact. Keeping hold of it, I use all my strength to bend her arm back. She winces in pain as I stand up from beneath her and I kick her in the ribs.

The crowd cheers as she rolls across the ground. I spit blood onto the floor and wipe my hand across my mouth, before kicking her again. She cries out, but I don't stop. Not until I win.

I know I can win now, but a voice deep down is telling me to keep going. Losing all sense of what's around me, I sit on top of her and swing my fist around.

The crowd stop cheering and start muttering to one another, but I don't stop.

Keep going, keep hitting her until she doesn't scream anymore, the voice instructs. Many more voices join, and it's a symphony of instructions and yells and screams inside my head. It's too much, and I'm suddenly not me anymore.

It's not my mind any longer. I can't control it. It's like that day. The day I killed her...

I want to stop but they won't let me.

Flames from the fire pit. They're just like fire from the school going up in flames with my best friend inside.

I keep hitting her. Again and again. She's not making any sound. Just a continuous stream of punches and hits...

Until I'm pulled off her by four strong arms. I squirm under their restraint as sound finally returns to my ears, and I can see Fighters crowding around Naomi, who is lying unconscious on the ground.

I stop fighting when I see her on the ground.

"What happened?" I ask, frowning. I remember kicking her on the ground but everything after that is a blur.

"You...you don't remember?" Seth asks, who happens to be one of my human restraints. Alec is the other, and he's giving me a knowing look. He knows about the voices while Seth doesn't. He knows what they did last time. And he knows it has happened again.

"No, I-" I'm interrupted by the Fighters picking up Naomi's body and shuffling out of the ditch, taking her to the infirmary.

"Oh my God," I whisper, hands shaking. Alec is staring at me with more than just worry in those soft brown eyes. "It happened again, didn't it?"

He nods, and Seth shoots us both uncertain looks. "What happened again?" he asks, obviously confused.

"Alec," I say, my voice cracking. Tears fill my eyes and my hands begin to quiver at my sides.

He pulls me into his warm chest, resting his chin on top of my head. "It's okay, I got you," he murmurs into my hair as they take her unmoving body away. For the first time in a long time, I cry. I don't fight the tears. Not this time.

"Alec, I'm scared," I whisper through my quiet sobs. I thought I wasn't really afraid of anything anymore. I was wrong.

I'm afraid of myself.

"I got you."