1 CHAPTER 1

Rain poured down heavily as if the clouds were pregnant. Water flowed through the streets soaking both man and clothes. Caleb stood in his favorite bookstore waiting for the rain to subside. He was late for work, rather what he considered work.

Papa would be mad he thought to himself.

He was sure he set his alarm to 8 in the morning but for some reason, it rang by 9. Now he was running late, and he was going to get more than just a scolding. For a moment as if reading his thoughts, the rain began to subside. He picked up the book he came to buy, paid the cashier, put the book underneath his sweater, and put his black hood over his white hair. He came out of the store and carefully looked at the floor beneath him. He couldn't afford to get his sneakers wet as he didn't have a lot of those. He walked slowly while people ran by him trying to avoid the instance of the rain picking up again. Someone bumped into him, and the book fell out of his sweater

"Damn it. Look where you're going" a middle-aged man holding his briefcase over his head yelled before dashing off

"Sorry about that" he yelled before bending over to pick up the partially soaked book "Thank goodness I bought it. No idea what I would have done if I borrowed"

This was supposed to be for mom he thought to himself Well nothing I can do about it now

He put the wet book underneath his sweater and held it in place as he ran on the pavement along with the incoming crowd. After running for what seemed like three blocks, he stopped at the nearest store he could find to catch his breath. He felt someone's eyes on him as he was breathing heavily. He turned to see a young lady and a kid who looked almost like her.

The child waved at him, and he smiled back

Your mom, he mouthed the words

My older sister the little girl mouthed back

She's pretty he mouthed again; the child laughed

He looked towards the sky. He could have summoned an umbrella or something, but magic was forbidden in this district. All half borns knew that, yet the temptation to break the rule was tugging at him. He looked down a bit and saw the child from before actually tugging at his sweater

"What's the matter little one" he bent down to ask her

"Nothing sir. I just told my sister you said she was pretty"

"You what -"

"She said she would like to speak to you" the little girl continued grinning

"Alright, tell her I would love to" he replied and sent her off. As soon as she was out of arm's reach, he continued his running from before.

After continuous runs and pauses, he finally got out of the muggle district. He brought out a ring from his pocket and wore it on his left index finger. An umbrella materialized out of thin air and fell on his arm. He whipped the umbrella open and continued his journey

Hopefully, I won't get punished was the only thing on his mind.

*

Papa was furious. He had placed bets hoping he would make a lot of money from this match but apparently, his dog was a no show. His daughter had been trying to pacify him, telling him that it rained so he may be late. Papa didn't want any of it. Thoughts of how to punish this incompetent slave were the only things he could fathom right now, and as he was about to decide on one, the door opened a little bit and there his dog stood. His white hair peeking out of his soaked black hoodie, his black trousers which were barely still his size, and his white sneakers which were giving up. He came into the room and prostrated himself before Papa as if to beg for forgiveness.

He got rewarded with a kick in the face for that display.

"Get up and get ready scum", he said spitting on his hair

"We have a match to win, and you better bring me that trophy"

"Yes sir" Caleb replied holding his nose in pain

Caleb got up from the floor, still holding his nose, and bowed before his literal owner. He looked at his two kids. Belmont, his firstborn, his only son, had brown hair and brown eyes like his father. The same cold brown eyes. He sat there as nothing happened and looked away from Caleb's gaze. His sister, Hilda on the other hand looked at him with pity. She was two years younger than Belmont but apparently, she had all his brains. She had brown hair like her dad but green eyes like her mom who he had only seen in pictures.

He walked out of the viewers' room and walked down the hall into the competitors changing room. A familiar face called up to him and he walked up to meet her

"Got kicked in the face again" she said and laughed to herself

"Ugh, the third time this week" he grunted still holding his nose

"They treat us like toys. Just cause we're not easy to break"

"Speak for yourself. I'm as fragile as a muffin"

"Humility won't take you anywhere Caleb. Not even away from your fight in 10 minutes"

"Thanks for the heads-up Ada" he said and chuckled

"No problem lollipop", she said and punched him in the shoulder

"That hurt you know", he said walking away

The lights from above the stage blinded him as he made his way into the ring. The ring was his comfort, his muse, and his near-death bed. Flashbacks of how he had been beaten mercilessly coursed through his mind, plastering a grin across his face. Looking forward he saw his opponent. A tall built man with muscles the size of his head. He had bandages wrapped around his fists as if halting blood flow. He had a scar above his right eye which glowed a faint white since he was blinded. He looked Caleb up and down as if analyzing his strengths and weaknesses. Caleb looked at his gloves. He remembered how many faces had suffered from his hits, yet he had felt no remorse. It had always been a game of win or be killed.

*

The whole place smelled like crap. Dried sweat hung around like a spell was cast. She walked into the viewing seats while her clone distracted the bartenders upfront; whatever this place was, they didn't hide it well. From the corner of her eye, she could see her target, the bureaucrat she was supposed to protect. She hated her job. She knew what she was doing, she knew it was wrong, but it was what the government wanted. She wasn't a fan of this kind of sport, but she decided to let it entertain her for the time being.

She sat up and saw the two contenders about to fight. A tall bulky man with a great build and a slightly average man. The second man didn't look so much like a man. The referee rang the bell and the two fighters lunged at each other. The bigger one reached out for a jab but the smaller one ducked. He punched the bigger one in the knee and shifted back. The bigger one held his knee, groaning and cursing before taking a stance again. Maria remembered why she hated sorcery fight clubs. There was nothing logical about it. Just two corrupted beating each other up to see who would kill the other. She didn't like the race, but she didn't think this was the way to end them either. The smaller man had just kicked the other one in the face before she stopped her train of thought. He seemed fatigued while the big guy looked like he was playing around. The little guy muttered something to himself before assuming a boxing-type stance. Maria knew this move. She wasn't interested in this sport, but she had heard of the one-shot tiger in the arena and his random type of skillset. Was that what she was about to experience?

Papa watched with rapt attention as he already knew how this match was going to end. His bet was on the other opponent, this slave was just another sacrifice he thought to himself. After all, that was the only thing their race was good for. Entertainment and violence. He chuckled to himself as his dog missed another jab at his opponent and was severely punished for it by a corkscrew to the stomach. He winced in pain and stepped back, coughed out blood, and stepped back. He looked behind to see his daughter looking away from all this fun while his son sat there numb, emotionless, expressionless, like a mannequin. Just like his useless mother used to, he thought to himself annoyed. He signaled the second man in the ring to end the match quickly.

Ada looked at Caleb trying not to show any concern or pity. He looked back at her and gave her a crooked smile. They both knew the rules of the fight club. It was eat or be eaten. The humans ate, the corrupted were to be eaten. No one dared oppose the fight club, not even the government. She knew they were eternally screwed, yet the only one who believed in some sort of redemption was having his ass handed to him by the same person who taught her everything she knew. He spat out blood after receiving another blow to his jaw. The other man signaled him to throw the match, but he seemed too determined for his good as he staggered and assumed another fighting stance. Ada closed her eyes and looked away, but in her heart, she hoped. Prayed. That by some miracle. If the god, the humans made noise about does exist. This would be that time.