The air wreaks of blood and sweat.

  Tall columns hold the high ceiling of the dark hall. To his right, a man wearing nothing but cargo pants punches a large man in the cheek. The large man smiles with bloody teeth and punches him in the nose.

  To his left a man is sitting on another man's chest holding his opponent's legs locked between his shoulders. "BET YOU WISH YOU WERE SWALLOWED BY THE WORM RIGHT NOW" he lets out a manic laughter.

  Bell-shaped spotlights hanging from the ceiling light up circles on the floor, each occupied by two men fighting. To his front, a skinny tall young man takes his shirt off, unbelts the straps on his chest and removes his prosthetic arm. With only one arm he jumps and grabs his opponent. Both wrestlers slip and fall on the concrete floor, slippery with fresh blood.

  Outside the spotlights, men are cheering, screaming, laughing, and drinking from rusty mugs. Most wear simple T-shirts, cargo pants, and black boots. A large chalkboard at the far left shows names and betting numbers.

  Lucio, a tall hunched man with wide shoulders, approaches the Captain; opening his way through the cheering crowd.

  "I see you found yourself in the Rabbit Hole." He offers an open cigarette packet. The Captain pinches one out, places it between his teeth, and burns the tip with Lucio's lighter. "Should I announce that you are here?" The Captain shakes his head. He breathes the smoke in, slowly exhaling, he feels a long-lost joy.

  In the middle of the dark hall, wide steps lead down to a square pit. Brightly lit by neon blue linear spotlights, the pit is occupied by the only man the Captain was expecting, Roy; or as he likes to call himself, Hercules. The tall, muscular man is wearing a tank top and shorts. His nose is humped from multiple old fractures, his scalp is shaved on both sides. He jumps up and down pumping blood into his protruding veins, flexing biceps and laughing.

  The Captain is wondering whether he should challenge Hercules. He is weighing the pros and cons when CJ breaks his chain of thoughts.

  "Captain!"

  CJ looks nervous; panting. He has been running.

  The Captain inhales, "Wh’t?" he grunts, barely parting his lips, the cigarette clenched between his teeth. A flick of ash falls onto the floor.

  "We just finished cleaning the negative portal," CJ struggles between breathing and enunciating, "there's no sign of the water fountain."

  It takes the Captain a few moments to redirect his thoughts.

  "Captain," CJ cautiously raises his voice, his breathing improved, "I think one of the girls didn't leave."

  The stoic man turns his head to look CJ in the eyes.

  Inside the pit, Hercules growls in excitement as he grabs something from a group of audience. CJ is distracted by this scene.

  It takes the Captain a few seconds to realize that the cheering in the hall has changed, they all seem to be directed at the pit. The two men fighting to his left, stop and watch. The couple wrestlers to his front join the audience and howl at the pit.

  "LOOK WHAT I FOUND" Hercules's growl resonates in the hall.

  He is holding something between his fingers. Something white and hairy. A rabbit?

  The Captain's cigarette falls onto the floor.

  A white-haired woman is struggling in pain as her hair is being pulled between Hercules's fingers.

  The hall is loud, but not as loud as the shrill in the Captain's ears as blood broils through his head. Around him men scream. In his front a sweaty man drags a tiny woman in the pit as the crowd cheers.

  "CAPTAIN!" Lucio's shout breaks his chain of thoughts, "should I stop this?"

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Lucio and CJ's nervous gazes are fixed on the Captain's face.

  "No" he finally replies, not taking his eyes off the pit. "Time to learn a hard lesson." Something in the Captain's eyes scares CJ.

  The crowd is loud. Rayne loosens the giant man's grip one finger at a time, finally releasing her hair. She jumps out of his reach and backs a few steps to the wall behind her. Straightening her chest, she stands with her hands on her waist, shoulders stiff and uncomfortable. She skillfully puffs her white fringe off her face blowing from the corner of her mouth. A black sports bra and black stretch pants are the only covers of her body. On her arm a bird-like tattoo and around her neck a purple crystal medallion. Her breathing is fast, her abs contracted. She looks alert.

  Another man jumps into the pit, he is wearing a loose vest and jeans, holding both hands midair. With one hand he holds Rayne's black jacket waving it at the crowd. With the other hand, he is showing off a black compound bow; the equipment Rayne was wearing when she entered the rig.

  "Look what we found lurking in the pipes." Hercules's booming voice echoes in the hall and silences the audience. He points to Rayne and waits for a response. Rayne stays silent. Hercules walks to the man wearing the vest and grabs the compound bow, puts it on the floor, and SMASH! The apparatus shatters under his foot. Rayne watches with her head down, her neck stiffens.

  "You can't move fast without this on your back, can you?"

  Hercules tilts his head, awaiting a response. Rayne stays silent. She takes a deep breath. The audience grows louder as they hear no explanation.

  “You're a robot, aren’t ya?”

  The crowd boos loudly.

  The anxiety in Rayne's eyes slowly morph into surprise.

  Hercules grabs her chin. Her lips, reflecting red under the neon blue spotlights, curl like a rosebud between his fingers. "You are a filthy robot! Sent here to figure out how to replace us."

  Rayne slowly uses her hands to open up the man's grip, one finger at a time. She releases her chin and steps back. Softly massaging her jaw.

  Someone in the audience shouts "TRIAL!". The crowd burst out in agreement.

  "TRIAL!"

  Around her men shout the same word.

  Rayne is listening, her forehead, wrinkled with apprehension, slightly smoothen up from the curiosity that is strengthening in her eyes. TRIAL! TRIAL!

  Rayne loosens her tense shoulders and stands more upright. Clears her throat, the cheering subsides. "Trial?" she clears her voice again, "what's in the trial?"

  Hercules looks delighted to finally hear the small woman's voice. He raises two fingers. "In a Salem trial, you have two choices," the crowd starts cheering loudly. He continues "trial by fire," he bends one finger, "trial by water." He bends the second finger.

  The crowd goes loud. Each man shouts his vote. FIRE! WATER!

  Rayne looks around. "A Salem trial? Where have I heard that before?" She searches for clues in the hall outside of the blinding spotlights. Her eyes have trouble distinguishing the silhouettes. A man rolls something on the walkway to the pit, he opens up a pathway between the audience pushing a large metallic barrel, he stops on the edge. To her other side, two men carrying large water jugs open up the crowd.

  "That must be water." Rayne keeps scanning, procuring something resembling fire; she finds nothing. "Maybe those jugs are carrying fuel" Her forehead wrinkles again.

  "SHUT UUUUP!" Hercules's growl silences the audience. He faces Rayne, his eyes threatening, "CHOOSE!" He grins. His teeth are covered with rough braces, sliver wires inserted through chrome bolts screwed on each tooth.

  Rayne takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes for one second and opens them, searching the audience one last time. She spots a familiar face, her forehead slightly smoothens.

  The small woman takes a deep breath "FIRST OF ALL" shouts Rayne, startling Hercules "ROBOTS DIE ON PLASMA RIGS."

  The crowd cheers and boos. Hercules's lips spread open to a crooked grin.

  "SECOND OF ALL," the crowd goes silent, " I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE." Rayne growls from her chest. The crowd goes loud. Some booing some cheering. "TO PROVE TO YOU THAT I AM A HUMAN WHO IS FUCKING GOOD AT EVERYTHING".

  She opens her arms like the christ, faces the crowd, opens her eyes and mouth and shows her tongue. Her tongue is ornamented by a purple crystal piercing. The crowd screams in a chorus of adrenaline-fueled chaos.

  "I CHOOSE WATER!"

  WATER! WATER! ?b! ?b! ?b! ?b! The crowd roars in harmony.

  "At least it doesn't smell." Rayne thinks as she checks the barrel full of a clear liquid in front of her. A man rolled the empty barrel to the pit's center and four men filled it with large jugs of a clear liquid. Rayne is not sure what she has got herself into, the lack of a gasoline smell is slightly assuring. Around her men are screaming their bets. The crew removed the betting chalkboard from the wall, now two men are holding the six by four meter board. A short man stands on a small portable ladder and writes numbers with a white chalk. In front of the board, packs of cigarette are stacked as bets.

  "HERE ARE THE RULES" Hercules shouts. The crowd goes silent. Rayne watches as he walks around the pit impatient like a hungry animal. "A ROBOT DOES NOT NEED TO BREATHE."

  The crowd cheers. "SO IF SHE DOESN'T DROWN, SHE IS A FILTHY ROBOT!"

  A single eyebrow creeps upward on Rayne’s face. Hercules jumps and strides around the pit, energetically goading the crowd's cheers. Rayne raises a hand to say something but changes her mind and covers her mouth, thinking deeply. She looks utterly confused.