Hell's Pit.
They called it the place of final reckoning. The ultimate place for the judgment of demons and fallen angels on Earth, presented with a chance of retribution or collapsing under the weight of their past sins and eventual destruction. To me, however, it all sounded pretty religious for a massive, psycho penitentiary.
It was funny how I didn't see myself in that category of being a prisoner, even when I rotted away as one. Funnier still that I had no recollection of what I must've done that granted me a one-way ticket to this hellhole. I was just dumped into one of the many disgusting cells surrounding the exteriors of the Pit months ago, with no prior knowledge of my crimes whatsoever. Worst of all, I had no memory from before then. It was like someone took my brain, restored it to factory settings, and shoved me blindfolded into the wild. I must've appeared so deplorable to my fellow inmates, who I considered to be the most hardened criminals on the face of the earth, that even they took pity on me and nursed me back to health. No, they weren't able to restore my memory, but they made me sweet promises that they might return one day if I was lucky. I took it as a running joke.
Of course, not all the prisoners in Hell's Pit were that nice to me.
Goliath's blood-thirsty roar reminded me that it was the worst time to reminisce on my recent agony. I shook myself out of my reverie and tried to focus on my massive opponent, which was rather difficult as the deafening screams from the crowd sliced through my sensitive eardrums.
I'd heard about the big guy's exploits before, watched him a couple of times as well. He was quick for his size and needed no weapons to snap, crush, or disembowel his opposition. Beating him was going to require insane levels of speed and skill that most didn't possess. And I was about to find out if I was on that list.
"What are you waiting for, girl?!" He thundered. He began to wiggle his hips, and beneath all the noise, I could hear the sound of flesh on flesh, no doubt his genitals slapping against his thighs. I decided the real fight that night would be trying not to puke.
"It's an all-you-can-eat buffet," he continued with a wry smile. "Come get some."
I decided to deploy a tactic my lovable cellmate, Maddison, once told me about that was bound to flip any man off.
"I have a better idea. Why don't I come there, chop your little sausage off, then show everyone that you're really overcompensating?"
Fortunately, it worked. Unfortunately, it worked. After a brief murderous glare, the sand beneath my feet rumbled as the giant ran towards me. I had about ten seconds to gather my composure and strategize an effective attack. Then, with wide eyes, I realized he'd crossed the space between us in less than ten seconds. In a single powerful leap, Goliath was several feet into the air, aiming to bring his oversized fists in a downward arc as he descended quickly.
I held my ground and kept my eyes on him, timing his rapid fall. At the last second, I propelled myself forward with a roll. Sand mercilessly sprayed on my exposed skin as he pummeled into the ground like an atomic nuke dropping from the sky. Without hesitating, I spun around with my swords, slicing deep into Goliath's heels.
Bellowing, he turned and attempted to pound me into the ground. But I was quicker. I'd already moved to his blind side and swung again, peppering his arm with twin cuts. In a series of quick maneuvers and rapid strikes, I kept dancing around the mountain of a man, narrowly dodging blows that could split my head like a hydraulic press on a banana. The plan was relatively simple: because I couldn't match his physicality, I intended to cover his body with just enough lacerations for him to bleed out. Then, in his weakened state, I'd finish him off.
But there was one problem: Goliath wasn't bleeding at all. In fact, his wounds were closing up seconds after I'd inflicted them. Scowling, I wondered why I was offered swords if they weren't made of silver. How else was I supposed to kill this giant buffoon? Even worse, I was starting to get slow and sloppy, and Goliath noticed it as well.
As I kept darting around him, trying to figure out a new way to stay alive and see the next sunrise, I made a fatal error. I'd failed to realize that Goliath had somewhat figured out the pattern of my movements. He threw a punch in my direction, hitting the sand after I'd skipped away, then swung his arm in an outward arc. The result was the back of his enormous hand connecting with my torso, swatting me away like the annoying insect I was. I skipped on the sand like a pebble across the surface of water, then slammed into the wall bordering the sandy battleground with so much force that it exploded with a massive crack.
For the first few seconds, my body went numb with shock. Then the pain hit so hard that I nearly passed out. With blurry vision, I watched blood—my blood—seep into the already red sand. I struggled to breathe, my head felt like it'd been blown apart with dynamite, my lower back felt disconnected from the rest of my body, and I'd probably broken more than a couple of ribs. But all my problems were pushed to the background when I felt the ground rumbling again.
Energy reserves from heaven-knows-where kicked in, and I zipped to the side, barely avoiding Goliath's charge. He smashed into the wall I'd already weakened, widening the already-existing crater. Just when I realized my rather useless weapons weren't within reach, Goliath was onto me again.
"Where are you going, doll face?" His voice, deep as a bottomless abyss, came with a sneer, but I couldn't see him under the thick dust cloud. When I did see him, however, it was too late. He broke through the dust, bearing down on me with another raised fist. I knew I couldn't move fast enough to evade his attack, so I did the first and the dumbest thing that came to mind—I instinctively crossed my arms over my head, attempting to block the strike.
I should've been flattened to a bloody mess after he'd hit. I should've been a grotesque combination of gore, mashed internal organs, and sand. But, shockingly, I wasn't just alive, I was standing. The ground beneath my feet had widened into a cavity, a product of the shockwave Goliath's power had created. Still trying to figure out how I wasn't dead, I looked up and saw him still hunched over me, with his fist still pressed onto my crossed arms. The shock on his face, although quite satisfactory, was completely relatable. How I was able to stop the equivalent force of a descending meteorite and remain in one piece was beyond me. But I had no time to dwell on the fact that I'd just done the impossible.
Capitalizing on Goliath's state of shock, I kicked his shin as hard as I could. Surprisingly, he howled in pain and limped back. Again, I had no time to react to the superhuman strength I suddenly possessed. I was given a second chance at survival, and I didn't plan to misuse it. Without thinking twice, I picked up a huge piece of the wall that had broken off (which was probably twice the size of Goliath's head) and hurled it at him. It smashed against his rigid chest like a glass sheet, doing little damage. But I was quick with a follow-up. With a sprint, I launched myself at him, driving my knee into his sternum. The impact made him crash into another wall, releasing yet another cloud of dust.
For the first time, I noticed the crowd around me. How quiet they'd gone. It was clear that the turn of events had stunned them to silence, and I couldn't blame them. Even I was struggling to come up with a logical explanation as to how I was still alive. But it wasn't over yet.
"That's it!" Like thunder rumbling after lightning, Goliath's voice boomed from behind the dense dust cloud. "I'm done playing around. This ends now!"
His eyes glowed like rubies as he stepped into the light. His transformation was immediate—brown, shaggy fur had enveloped his massive frame, his legs had become long hindquarters, his hands had turned to large paws with razor-sharp claws, and two of his canines had elongated like saber teeth. Most terrifying of all, he'd grown bigger and more menacing.
It was at that moment that the crowd cheered and roared to life.
Great, I thought as Goliath, now the humongous werewolf, lunged at me. Now I'm completely fucked.