Gods of Arena
A Second Chance

The lights flickered for a second in the hall. That was unusual. Technical difficulty was a strange term in the Arena till the spin gave the wrong results for a fight. The Larger Figure, dressed as a Janitor, kept moving, pushing the truck, as the gate to the Arena closed behind him. The sound of the moving wheels on the ground filled the air. The soldiers were back to their original posts and the Arena was empty already. The fight had been over for hours already.

The janitor glanced at the body in the push truck for a second, as the lights flickered. He could swear he saw the body move for a second. He stopped pushing and stood still, staring at the body with the utmost attention. The lights gave him some support and stood still for a few seconds.

"Soldier!"

A voice startled him. "Yes sir!", he saluted. It was a soldier. The badge on his chest showed the soldier had an higher rank.

"What's in the truck?", the soldier asked, staring at the push truck from the distance. The flickering lights made it hard for him to discern what was in there. He looked up.

"It's the fighter that got killed on the Arena", he replied. "I'm taking it to the disposer"

"Oh, that's right. Sorry for the unnecessary question", the soldier said and looked up at the lights. "What's up with the lights? It's never been like this"

"I have no idea. It started, about a minute ago❞

"Alright. Make a report to anyone at the lab. They should check it out as soon as possible"

"Alright", the Janitor replied and continued pushing.

He headed straight to the oven. Every dead fighter and condemned equipment had to be taken to the oven and destroyed in the fire. "Carmichael?"

The Janitor slipped, almost pouring the truck sideways. "Come on! What's it?!", He retorted.

"Oh. Sorry", the guard replied, staring up. "What's up with the lights? It was still, some seconds ago"

"I will inform the guys at the lab", Carmichael said and drove the truck into the oven, pouring the body in. He wheeled the truck back out and slammed the door, walking despondently towards the lever. "You'll forget to close the door again"

"What's the use, for crying out loud?", he got to the lever and pulled it down. "See? Nothing"

The door burst open and a boy rushed out with fire on his back. He bent his lean body backwards for a second, revealing his ribs. "Get back!", the guard howled, raising his gun immediately.

The boy flipped swiftly, kicking the guard back. He dashed down the narrow path, shoving Carmichael aside swiftly. "Go after him, idiot!", the guard howled and stood up, quickly.

They ran after the boy. The boy was moving pretty fast so they had to follow the trail of fire from his back. The boy took a swift turning and they dashed towards him, almost losing sight of the trail. A soldier showed up ahead and they stopped swiftly. "Fuck!", Carmichael muttered, silently. "He must not know about this"

"I warned you. It's you in trouble", the guard whispered back, staring directly at the soldier and trying to keep any suspicious look off his face.

"We are both in trouble. You could have prevented it. It was your job-"

"What are you both whispering about?", the soldier asked, standing in front of them. "And what are you doing here together?"

"Nothing really. We should get back to our post"

"Yes. We are sorry for leaving our post", Carmichael added and faked a smile. They turned and walked back, slowly, keeping their paces as steady as possible. "We didn't even lock the door before running after him" "You're lucky he isn't behind us to check", the guard whispered back and held his breath, as he slowly turned his head to confirm his guess. "Yes. He isn't behind us"

"What are we going to do about the fire boy?"

"Let's start cooking up an excuse before they find out"

**** PRESENT

"Crane?"

"Shh", he mutters, putting a finger across his lips, as he quietly advanced towards the bed. "Be quiet. They are after me"

"They can come in here. How will you hide?"

"They don't know which room I entered. They will turn", Crane replied and laid back on the bed, breathing heavily. "Wow! That was scary and fun"

Kang sat up, still wondering what was happening. "How are you here? How are you alive?"

"I don't know what to say, Kang. I guess I managed to heal from my wounds and now, I'm back again"

"That's a totally weird story", Kang replied, staring at him. Crane remained relaxed on his bed, sleeping off quickly. "Crane?"

Their eyes met, immediately he stepped out of the room. Romeo kept staring. He probably wondered if he was seeing the same person or a lookalike. Crane also stared back, with a simple smile on his face. "is this a good idea?", Kang asked. "Considering the fact that you were chased in here, they are probably watching you through the cameras right now"

"Ana is backing me up, right now", Crane replied. "She will see me first and order that I be left alone"

"You sound so sure of that"

"Yea. I've been there- hey, Romeo"

"Crane?", Romeo muttered, loudly, staring widely. "How are you here? What happened?"

"It's a pretty short story. I just woke up and started running for my life", Crane replied, as they walked up the stairs together.

"Do you think it's alright to join the spin again? Do they even know you are back here?"

"They didn't", Crane replied, confidently. He definitely looked a lot different. It didn't even feel like he was the same person anymore. The doubt was written all over Romeo's face like a tattoo. His usual frown stood as a camouflage. "But they probably do now"

Romeo and Kang stared at each other for a second before proceeding to press their buttons. Crane also pressed his and cracked his neck. "Are you sure about him? That was the same overconfidence I saw in him that day. I watched him die on the Arena."

"You speak of his overconfidence. I don't even know if I should believe he is the same Crane", Kang replied. "He looks the same but I don't trust him. I think he's a trap. He is a clone sent here to get something"

"I should be the one saying that after watching Todd gut him in front of everyone", Romeo said. "No one could have survived that"

The spin began and the beep started moving around the screen on both sides.