But no one moved an inch. They all just stood there, giving each other judgmental glances with no intention of moving forward at all much to the consternation of the man who was screaming. With Corbin gone, their unity is gone as well. Seeing this, a knowing smile spreads across my face because Bertrand’s tactics can even work down here.

The human mind is a fascinating thing and when Bertrand was drilling his swordsmanship into me, he always emphasized learning human behavior in fights was just as important as the sword fighting itself. He said if I could somehow read the minds of everyone I fight, I’d never lose a fight in my entire life. In his own words, “You can swing a sword around all day and all night and still lose your head if you can’t anticipate how whoever you’re swinging at reacts to it. I’ll always put my money on a scrawny kid who has had to scrap his entire life to get by instead of a pampered baby born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”

Ordinarily, during a group fight, Bertrand taught me to always prioritize killing someone with my first blow. Normally this means aiming for whoever looks the weakest but that’s not always necessarily the case. If the weakest looking person in a fight has good positioning like being in the middle of their allies and I can’t get to them without losing my life, then they’re not the priority anymore. The utmost priority is killing someone because it forces the rest of whoever I’m fighting at the time back to reality.

It sounds weird to say but time and time again I’ve seen firsthand how true Bertrand’s teachings are. Fights are stressful no matter who you are and no matter how many you’ve been in. Having allies around you gives you a sense of safety and alleviates that stress to a great degree because there’s strength in numbers. But kill one of them and all of a sudden, that fake sense of security comes crumbling down and reminds them that they themselves could be the next to die. The death of an ally is the ultimate deterrent in a fight for the inexperienced and it can also become our greatest tool.

It won’t work for veterans with dozens or even hundreds of fights under their belts but for a tiny place like The Pit, it’s a perfect place for me to showcase everything I’ve learned from Bertrand. Well, except for the sword fighting. Seeing them still hesitating, I turn to look at the couple a few yards behind Corbin’s crew and gesture at them with my eyes before turning around and running away. No matter how good I am in a fight, I’m still only one person going against seven people. If I had a major advantage over them like my sword and shield, I believe I could clean them up pretty easily right this moment but right now the playing field is pretty even.

Taking a glance back, I can see them still standing in place, arguing about what to do next. Corbin really was the king rat down here like Hawthorne said and without him taking charge, they’ve lost their organization. Instead of the frenzied rats I was overwhelmed by last night and even this morning, they’re lost rats now. The one who just shouted to get me wanted to take control of the group with Corbin now dead but he didn’t realize how frightening it is to watch one of your friends die right in front of your eyes. He also didn’t realize how hard it is to become a leader, especially during times of distress. They’ll probably get themselves back on track and come after me in a few moments but these precious few moments are exactly what I need.

Halfway back to my cave, my thigh starts throbbing painfully, forcing me to stop running and start hobbling instead. Even my shoulder is starting to ache with all the moving I had to do. I really wanted to take some time to rest and recover after realizing how battered my body was from this morning’s beating but this is my only opportunity to take control of this place. When I saw Corbin’s crew split into two and distracted with the man and the woman, I knew this was my only chance at taking them all down. It’s risky as all hell but if I want to get out of here and get back to Midriver, I have to take the risk.

Bertrand taught me to take advantage of distracted opponents and take their lives for not devoting all their attention and focus onto me. I’ll be putting this lesson to use on both Corbin’s crew and The Fold after I get out of here. I’ve already dealt heavy damage to Corbin’s crew and it’s only a matter of time until I get rid of them all. Once they’re taken care of, I’ll become the new Corbin down here and forge everyone down here into a blade that I’ll sink right into The Fold’s back.

It’s a big plan and I mean big. It’s risky, there’s countless variables that can fuck me over before it completes, and in all likelihood, I’ll die before I even see it to the end. But it’s the only thing I can think of that’ll get me out of here. When I’m almost at my cave, I shout out, “Jonas! Jonathan! I know you can hear me! It’s time to show your worth. Get your asses to my cave right this second!”

Those two likely won’t be able to do anything but just their mere presence will be helpful. Maybe they can provide a distraction if nothing else. After I pass Corbin’s body that’s starting to smell, I arrive at the entrance to my cave. Before I can get inside, two dark figures walk out from my cave, one tall and one short. It’s Hawthorne and Slyvia.

Hawthorne looks at me with a grin and says, “You look like you could use some help.”

Surprised, I ask back, “Are you sure about this?”

“Like I said before, this place might have hardened me but I’m not heartless. I wasn’t expecting you to risk your life for a pair of strangers you’ve never met but you’ve impressed me.”

Oh shit. His impression of me might be a bit off but I could use all the help I can get. “Why’d you bring the little girl though?”

“Slyvia? I’ve taught her how to fight and she can hold her own. In a few years, she might even be able to take me down.” Slyvia gives a firm nod as a response.

“Alright, if you say so. Keep in mind most of them have knives on them though.”

“I’m not worried.”

A moment later, both Jonas and Jonathan come scrambling toward us in a hurry. Jonas has a worried look on his face as he asks, “What’s going on, Boss?”

“It looks like the two of you will have to show me your worth a lot earlier than I first thought. The rest of Corbin’s crew are going to come over in a little while. I’m not expecting you to lay your lives down for me or anything like that. But if you can at least distract them for me that will be enough. I’ll consider ourselves even for what you tried to pull earlier.”

Jonas turns to look at his brother who only nods back at him before responding, “Alright, that’s a deal. If things are going south though, you can’t blame us for keeping ourselves safe.”

“I won’t.”

Before long, the boy from Corbin’s crew shows up in front of us by himself. He looks more tired and nervous now, especially since he’s alone. After a moment of hesitation, he starts speaking, “We don’t want to fight with you anymore. We apologize for messing with you and interfering with you but from now on, we won’t bother you any longer. All we want is a truce between our group and yours.”

I’m a little stunned at what I’m hearing. I was expecting some sort of response from them but not this. I rapidly go through all types of scenarios in my head because I’m not sure what they’re going for. Is this a trap? Maybe they’re telling me they want to give up and once I let my guard down and fall asleep, one of them will sneak into my cave and cut my throat.

But it doesn’t seem like he’s lying. Now that I’m taking a closer look at him, there’s a couple of new bruises on his face that I’m pretty sure weren’t there before. Infighting? But why?

Running through everything I saw and heard the past hour, I try to figure out their perspective on all of what’s happened thus far. How many people did I even stab? One, two, three, four… I managed to stab or cut five people but most of them aren’t even dead. They’re all hurt pretty badly but I don’t think any of them should have died so far except for the one I stabbed through the throat.

Maybe seeing four of their friends writhing in agony on the ground was what broke them? I mean, who better to ask than the source himself, right? Looking into the boy’s eyes, he flinches away and opts to stare at the ground instead. Where has all that vitriol from earlier gone? “Tell me what happened after I left.”

He seems to think for a moment but shakes his head and answers, “We all started fighting after you left. Some of us wanted to chase after you because of what you said and thought it would be best to end it all tonight. Others wanted to try and make peace because we were afraid of getting hurt any further. Seeing the awful wounds on the ones you attacked, we didn’t want anymore trouble.

“But then when we saw you and Hawthorne grouping together, none of us wanted to fight anymore. Instead, the shouting and fighting got louder and louder until our group ended up splitting into two. The group I landed in don’t want to fight anymore and they sent me to tell you our stance. We just want the fighting to stop and the killing to end.”

It’s surprising but not surprising at the same time. Without Corbin keeping them together, they disintegrated as a group the moment they faced their first trial. But I guess this is the normal response. It’s hard to acknowledge the dire circumstances you’re in sometimes and knowingly choose to face it head on, putting your life at risk, rather than run away.

I’ve been put into those situations innumerable times but I’ve always had someone reliable backing me up at those times. Whether it was Wraine, Bertrand, Quinn, Derriv, Angelene, or even Riane, I’ve always had someone to support me and push me forward during those hard times. Perhaps if I never met any of them, I’d choose to run away too like these guys. Damn, I miss my friends.

I don’t know what to do. Do I tell him to go fuck himself and keep hunting the rest of them until every single one is dead? Honestly, I’m pretty tired of all the fighting as well and all I want to do right now is get into bed. But I’m scared. What if they decide to kill me in my sleep?

When I threatened them that only one of us was going to survive the night, it was more bluster than anything else. I just wanted them to feel afraid and use that fear against them. But now that fear has come back around to me. What if they took my words to heart and truly believe this doesn’t end until either of us dies? Fuck. Me and my big fucking mouth.

Unsure of what to do, I turned to Hawthorne and asked him, “What should I do?”