The Red Kingdom Ch 6: Trial Of The Beast!

It was the sun that woke me.

That stubborn golden light broke through the cracks of the wooden cage and splashed across my eyes like a slap from a warm hand. I blinked a few times, groaned, and sat up slowly, my back stiff from the hard wooden floor. My stomach rumbled before I could even stretch.

Then I saw her.

Senaka.

The giant.

She sat near the dying fire, cross-legged, chewing on what looked like a massive chunk of meat torn from some poor animal. Her jaw worked slow and steady, her face calm, casual even—like she was just some regular woman enjoying breakfast. Except... her "snack" was bigger than a full-grown goat.

I watched her lips glisten with fat, her teeth tearing through flesh with wet crunches. And gods help me, my mouth watered.

I hadn't had real food since the Day of the Stones.

And now, here I was, watching a giant eat while my own stomach sounded like it was chewing itself from the inside.

After a few more mouthfuls, she licked her fingers—each one longer than my whole arm—and stood. Her shadow loomed over the cage like a tower collapsing in slow motion.

"Up you get," she said, grabbing the cage in one hand and lifting us into the air like a bucket of apples. She held us near her face. Her breath smelled like roasted meat and morning.

"We're close to the kingdom," she announced, as if we were travelers coming home. "If you're good... I'll feed you once we arrive."

She winked. I wasn't sure if that was a joke or a threat.

Then she started walking again, each step shaking our ribs like dice in a cup.

Time passed weirdly in the forest. I couldn't tell if it was hours or days. My legs were numb. My back ached. My thoughts drifted between strange dreams and half-awake hallucinations of food, warmth, and something that wasn't this cage.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Senaka stopped.

She knelt down and set the cage on the ground, dust kicking up around us.

"Alright, tinies," she said, her voice booming above us as she squatted low. Her thighs formed cliffs on either side, and her bronze boots sat behind us like monuments. "Time to prove yourselves."

The cage door creaked open.

None of us moved at first.

I looked at the others—still groggy, some scared, all silent.

But what choice did we have? I stepped out, my boots hitting the ground, followed slowly by the others.

I looked up.

Senaka loomed above us, one eye white and scarred, the other gleaming with something unreadable.

"You see," she said, resting her elbows on her knees, "not all of you deserve to join our society. You're going to have to earn it."

She raised a fist.

And without warning, slammed it into the dirt.

The ground cracked and shook. Dust exploded upward like a breath from the earth itself. Her hand burrowed deep, like a shovel digging into a soft grave.

She pulled her fist out slowly, dirt crumbling from her knuckles.

"Beneath the surface," she said, "live creatures we call Vurlaks. Nasty things. Blind, but hungry. Smell blood from miles off. Perfect for a little... test."

My stomach sank.

"The one who can survive for three minutes," she continued, a smile curling at the edge of her lips, "will be allowed to live in the presence of my people. As a pet. A little prize."

A few men behind me started murmuring. One guy—a younger one with patchy stubble and bruised knuckles—backed away slowly.

"Of course," Senaka added, tapping her chin, "if none of you survive, well... I suppose the Vurlaks will eat well today."

I swallowed hard, my eyes darting toward the fresh cracks in the earth. I could already feel something shifting underneath the dirt.

It happened in an instant, an explosion of rock and dust erupting from the ground, followed by a creature that looked almost like an over sized rat with massive claws and teeth. As soon as it jumped from the ground it began to go wild, running around without control, snapping at the very air.

"So..." Senaka asked looking towards us. "Who's first?"

I looked up at her like she was crazy. To get in the ring with that thing would mean certain death. But she was obviously not joking.

I looked at the other men and I could tell we were all thinking the same thing. One of us would have to go out there and survive.

"I'll go."

I along with every man in the cage turned and looked to see a man walking forward. He was pretty big, way bigger than me, with orange hair and wearing the same rags as almost all of us.

He looked forwards with determination as he walked out of the gate.

"Good, happy that I didn't have to choose one of you." Senaka said from above.

The guy didn't say anything as he continue walking forward towards the creature.

The creatures wild movement soon came to a stop as it noticed the boy.

In that moment I knew, The hunt had begun.

The forest had gone quiet again.

We all held our breath as we watched the creature with constant growls run towards the boy, it already, ready to sink its claws into the boy.

The Vurlak moved like a slinking shadow—its long claws dragging little scars into the dirt, nostrils twitching, mouth twitching with every breath. It paced in a circle, its massive front fangs jutting out like two ivory knives, too long for it to ever shut its mouth fully. Its brown fur was matted in places, clumped with dirt and grime. It looked ancient, starved, and pissed off.

The man— even though small seemed to have solid shoulders, and rough hands. I could tell he was trying. Gods help him, he was trying.

He didn't have a weapon, so all he had was his body and his nerves. He kept shifting, circling, keeping just outside the beast's range. The Vurlak lunged once—fast—and the man dodged, barely. The claws snapped at air, and a cheer nearly bubbled up in my throat.

Then another strike—he ducked. Rolled. He actually vaulted over the creature's back like some kind of performer, tumbling to his feet on the other side.

Even Senaka raised an eyebrow.

I wanted to believe, right then, that maybe he'd pull it off. Maybe someone could beat the odds.

But hope, like everything else in this cursed forest, dies fast.

The Vurlak whirled with a screech and swiped.

One claw tore through the boys back.

He screamed—loud and guttural—as his body arched in mid-air and crashed to the ground.

Blood hit the dirt.

He writhed for a second. Then stopped moving.

My stomach twisted.

"Okay, time," Senaka said, like she was calling the end of a round in a game.

Her massive fingers reached down, snatched the Vurlak by the tail like it was a yappy little dog, and held it in the air. The creature squirmed and screeched, clawing at nothing as it twisted in her grip.

"Get lost," she said flatly, and with a flick of her wrist, she hurled it over her shoulder like garbage.

I heard it crash through some trees in the distance—then nothing.

Senaka turned her attention to the man now lying in a slowly widening pool of red.

Her fingers—stained faintly already from the last guy she crushed—came down gently this time. She plucked him from the earth with care, almost like she was picking up a wounded bird.

"I guess we can make use of you," she muttered.

She tucked him near her side like he was a satchel. Just dangling there, bleeding, face twisted in pain.

"I'll have to take care of that bleeding first..." she added, more to herself than to any of us. Then her eye scanned the rest of us—nine now.

"Alright—next!"

I felt my heart drop into my knees.

Gods.

This was really happening.