wait! Look at this, look at this!” He can barely contain his glee. “The male Ten! He’s coming in for a piece of the fun, too! Both of them against the female Ten!”
Jonah jumps onto the female, crushing us both beneath his weight. He grabs her shoulders and yanks her up. She doesn’t let go of me, grips my hands more tightly and pulls me to my feet. Jonah wraps his arms around her shoulders and flings her to the side. Her hands lose their grip on mine, claws raking my flesh. She flies through the air and strikes the side of the pool. And then I am living my worst nightmare—Jonah coming for me. He takes me by the waist and heaves me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“What? This is new!” the commentator blares. “Maybe he’ll body slam her into the wall?” The crowd cheers. “Bash her brains out against the floor?” They cheer louder, and I cling to the threadbare shirt hanging on my brother’s back.
Jonah hobbles to the side of the pit and stops, setting me gently on the floor with my back to the pool wall. He steps in front of me, faces the female, and crouches. I am stunned. Shocked. At this simple act of protection, tears sting my eyes, and my throat aches with the desire to sob.
The crowd starts booing. The female Five doesn’t budge from her side of the pool—just stands panting and staring at Jonah.
“What in the world? This is a first! It looks as though the male Ten is actually protecting the female Ten! I don’t believe it! Maybe he’s saving her for last? For dessert?” the commentator barks.
The governor stands and walks over the top of the pool, his hard-soled shoes clicking on the glass seal, and stops beside the commentator. Unheard words pass between them, while Jonah remains crouched in front of me and the female beast stays on the far side of the pool. After a moment, the commentator grins and the governor sits back down.
“It’s no wonder he got himself appointed governor! This guy is wily!” the commentator says with a chuckle. “He’s suggested another first for the day! Listen to this, folks … shall we add a … handicap … to the male Ten?”
The crowd starts pounding their feet on the bleachers and chanting, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
My cuffs fill with heat, but it is Jonah’s wrist cuffs that meld together. The female, as if sensing her sudden advantage, hisses and takes a step closer. Jonah crouches lower and waits. The female begins pacing back and forth, her blood-streaked body tense, eyes never leaving Jonah. It is like watching two caged lions.
A drawn-out minute passes, and then two, and the crowd begins to lose some of its enthusiasm. I look up and meet the governor’s nervous eyes. His mouth hardens, and he waves the commentator over. More words pass between them, and then the commentator moves to the very center of the pool, right above Jonah.
“Shall we add another handicap?” the commentator asks, lifting his hands into the air and spinning in a slow circle. The crowd cheers, chants again, yes yes yes. Jonah’s legs snap together and he falls to his side. His elbow crunches when it impacts the cement and he screams, curling into a fetal ball. Bone, pink with blood, protrudes from his elbow.
The female doesn’t wait. She’s soaring through the air, teeth bared, eyes locked on me. I stand to run and trip over Jonah, toppling to the floor, palms skidding on cement.
Something cinches around my ankle just below the cuff, and I can’t move. I’m dragged across the floor, back over Jonah’s writhing body, and lifted up off the ground. The pool floor falls beneath me, wind whips my clean hair against my face, and with a hearty crunch, my shoulder and head smack into the cement wall. Stars flash before my open eyes, and a numb tingling works its way into my fingers and toes, legs and arms, saturating my whole body as darkness hovers around my open eyes.
“Ha! Did you see that? Slammed into the side of the pool!” Delight fills the commentator’s voice. “And now, the male Ten has the Five’s ankle and he’s not letting go!”
Unable to move, I stare up at the glass seal, at the crowd of people staring down at me and cheering for my death. At the women—gasping, disgusted, but not looking away. At the men—drooling for violence and blood.