Linda and his group were escorted through a long, dark corridor. Suddenly, the light ahead intensified, accompanied by an overwhelming wave of cheering and the heavy, metallic stench of blood drifting from the Arena.
The circular spectator stand resembled a Roman colosseum. Men and women clutched their tickets in excitement, shouting loudly:
"Number 174, you’d better stay alive! I bet 1,000 pounds on you!"
"Little girl, number 35, try to survive for thirty seconds!"
"Number 36 is quite pretty, too. Such a shame."
Linda and his team members had numbers pasted onto their clothes: 34, 35, and 36.
In the center of the Arena, a rectangular scoreboard hung in the air, currently displaying 100 people.
Once the count dropped to ten, the feast would end, and the survivors would become official fighters.
One hundred people stood in line under the guards' orders, with the three members of the Fleur-de-lis Squad positioned in the very front row.
Chapter 174