Jacky’s POV
The five hours were nearly up. Malia, Jessy, and I had agreed to sleep it off. The maze was cold and silent, the only noise coming from our shallow breathing as we lay on the ground, too wary of each other to close our eyes for too long. The last thing any of us wanted was to wake up with a blade at our throat, but none of us seemed to trust the others enough to fully rest. My back felt like it was made of steel, tense and unwilling to release the knots of exhaustion creeping into my shoulders. There was no trust here-no alliance, just three contestants, each of us certain the other was the traitor.
I could hear other arguments ensuing from other teams. We were all experiencing the same nightmare. Why would Alpha Roman create this sick game? The maze trials are meant to be death games. Contestants rammed into a ring and fought until one remained. But this was a mind game. This was meant to drive each of us crazy until we’re shells of who we once were. Only then could Alpha Roman fashion us into the dolls he wanted.
I knew one thing, I would not let him break him. I will not let him win.
While the maze divided us with long walls, if I searched well, I could find the paths in between.
As I shifted in place, trying to find a more comfortable position, the chill of the stone floor beneath me reminded me of the impossible task ahead: surviving the maze until the bell rang to signal the end of the trial. But the trial wasn’t just about surviving the maze. It was about surviving *each other*. The traitor in the team could bring us down at any moment, and I wasn’t sure whether I was more afraid of Malia’s sword or Jessy’s silence.
Jessy had her reasons to be scared of me, and Malia had her reasons to want me dead. I didn’t need to guess. The Blood Ring wasn’t just a fight. It was a declaration. A challenge that marked me as a target to both of them.
After what felt like an eternity, I couldn’t stand the oppressive silence any longer. I pushed myself up onto my feet, my muscles protesting the movement. They both were still lying down, avoiding eye contact. I didn’t need them to tell me they suspected me. It was written all over their faces. I could see it in Jessy’s wary, darting eyes, and in Malia’s rigid posture, the way her sword never strayed too far from her side.
“Don’t think you’re fooling me,” Malia said finally, her voice cutting through the still air like a blade. Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword, fingers stroking it as if in comfort. “You’re the traitor. I can feel it.”
I clenched my jaw but said nothing. Her words stung more than they should have. She didn’t believe me. She didn’t *want* to.
“And you think I’m just going to sit here and let you accuse me without a fight?” I finally bit back, my voice steady but icy. “If anyone is the traitor, it’s *you*, Malia. You’ve been stirring trouble from the start. You’ve always been the Alpha’s little lapdog, doing whatever you were told.”
Her lips curled into a snarl, but she didn’t reply. She didn’t need to. She was convinced, and I wasn’t about to argue with someone who was ready to kill me anyway.
Jessy, lying a few feet away from us, shifted. Her body seemed smaller somehow, cowering in the corner of my vision. I could feel her eyes burning into me, but she didn’t say a word. I wasn’t sure if she was more afraid of me or of Malia.
With a sharp breath, I turned my back on them. “I’m going to find firewood,” I muttered, knowing it was only a matter of time before one of them struck.
It was a risk. The last thing I wanted was to turn my back on either of them, but it was necessary. We had no choice but to sleep, but I wasn’t about to lie there and let them have the first move. If they were going to betray me, then I’d be ready.
The crackling of the fire seemed to echo through the silent maze as I walked away from them. I bent down to pick up some fallen twigs, my eyes still darting between the shadows. But when I straightened up, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. They were moving. *Toward me.*
I barely had time to react before Malia lunged at me. Her sword came slicing through the air with terrifying speed. I barely dodged, throwing myself to the side just as the blade whipped by, grazing my arm.
“Not so fast, traitor,” she hissed, stepping back into stance. She was relentless, like a wolf with its prey, eyes wild with bloodlust.
I scrambled back, but there was nowhere to run. The maze walls felt closer now, trapping me.
“Get up, Jacky! You’re not getting away!” Jessy’s voice followed, shrill and panicked, as she tossed a rock in my direction. It sailed through the air and slammed into my shoulder, throwing me off balance. Another hit-this one worse-was a burning piece of firewood, a cruel, improvised missile aimed at my chest. It seared the skin just above my ribs as I twisted to avoid it, the heat from the flame sinking deep.
“Get her!” Malia screamed to Jessy, who seemed more than eager to obey.
I had no time to think. The only thing I could do was defend myself.
Malia came at me again, and this time I didn’t move. I met her blade with my own, the shock of metal against metal vibrating up my arms. The force pushed me back, but I held my ground. She was fast, stronger than I remembered, and I could feel the deadly weight of her sword in each clash. She wasn’t pulling any punches.
“Come on, Jacky! Fight back!” she taunted, her smirk biting, cruel.
I swung my sword at her, the movement a blur, but she was already sidestepping, her own blade slicing the air in an arc aimed at my midsection. I twisted away just in time, but the tip of her sword nicked my side, drawing a line of blood.
Behind me, I heard Jessy’s breathing, quick and shallow, like she couldn’t decide what to do. Was she hesitating? Or was she just scared? It didn’t matter. The fight wasn’t just about Malia anymore.
In the next moment, Jessy’s voice rose again. “I can’t believe you’re making us do this, Jacky!” she screamed, throwing another rock, but this one didn’t miss. It hit me square in the face, sending me staggering backward. My vision blurred with the pain, and I barely managed to catch myself on the maze’s stone wall.
I didn’t have time to recover. Malia moved in again, slashing wildly, and I barely parried in time. The force of her blow sent my sword flying from my grip, landing with a clatter a few feet away.
“Got you now!” Jessy’s voice shrieked, and I felt the stinging slap of something hot against my back-a burning ember thrown with brutal force.
It was too much. Too fast. And still, the questions twisted in my mind. Who was the traitor? Who had the right to strike first?
I stumbled, barely managing to stay on my feet. “I’m not the traitor!” I shouted, my voice hoarse with exhaustion, my legs buckling beneath me. “Malia, please-*please*-don’t do this. I’m not the one you should be killing!”
I could see her hesitate. For a moment, just a flicker of doubt passed across her face. But then the rage came back, and with it, her sword was at my throat.
“You think I’m just going to believe you? You think I’m going to fall for your act, Jacky?” Malia’s voice was cold, biting, every word soaked with venom.
Tears burned my eyes, exhaustion setting in as the last of my strength drained away. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this.
“Please,” I gasped, “We can win this together. We can survive. You, Jessy, and me. We don’t have to fight like this. We’re all scared. We’re all just trying to survive. Please believe me.”
But Malia didn’t listen. She only saw me as a threat, a traitor to be eliminated. Her sword glinted, ready to finish me off.
In desperation, I threw Jessy aside, using the last of my strength to throw her off me. She cried out, but I didn’t have time to care. Malia was already charging.
And that was when Jessy-*that traitor*-pulled a dagger from her waist.
“No! Don’t!” I shouted, but it was too late.
The blade sank into my side. My sword fell from my hands, useless now.
“Die, bitch!” Jessy screamed.
I staggered back, the dizziness hitting me like a freight train. The poison was worse than anything I’d felt before. It burned through my veins, and as my vision darkened, I realized just how much danger I was really in.
But Malia didn’t stop. She was already closing in, ready to finish me off, her sword raised high.
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. The poison was taking me.
And then-
*The bell rang.*
A sudden, deafening sound.
Everyone stopped. Even Malia. Even Jessy. They all froze in place, their eyes wide, staring.
And that was when I collapsed.