It Rained Red Upon the Arena by Kenneth Champion

belief that making friends in the arena was not a good idea. Being alone felt more comfortable for him. The Refect walked Nick back to his cell. In the cell hall he heard a familiar voice come from one of the cells, “Good job.”
    “Hey, shut up! It’s lights out. No talking,” said the Refect.
    Nick knew it was Phillip who spoke out. He could not help but have a smile light up on his face. Nick arrived at his cell and sat on his blanket. He had a little time to reflect on the day. The first encounter with the arena made him tired, he laid down and shut his eyes. Sleep never sounded better to him.
    ***
    Before he knew it, Nick found himself on the sandy grounds of the arena again. Rain was pouring heavily before he made his first steps towards the center of the arena. The gusts of wind made the climate unbearably cold, his body began to shiver. He looked up into the heavens and saw that snow had begun to fall. He was wet, cold, tired, yet determined. A young Reza male stood in front of him as he reached the center of the arena. A smile so twisted and malicious, Nick could not wait to deliver a similar result to the man as he did in his first match.
    The bell rang, and the fight had been initiated. The crowd grew silent, the snow fell heavily, and Nick drew his sword.
    The Reza conjured a reckless fireball that missed Nick entirely. Nick took advantage and lunged his mighty sword towards his foe. The Reza quickly turned sideways to dodge the attack.
    A high-pitched roar was heard from the sky. Nick pulled his sword back towards him and looked into the Reza’s eyes. Nick had seen fear before; he was good at spotting it in people’s eyes. What he saw in the Reza’s pupils was terror. The Reza dropped his hands to his side and began to run away.
    Nick turned his head and looked up into the snow filled sky. A loud gust of wind was created by an eerie yet unfamiliar sound. Beyond the thick haze of the snow Nick witnessed the terror first hand. A black dragon descended from the sky and was heading directly towards the arena.
    It flapped its wings and made a deep sound as it caught the wind. It’s black scales were darker than night. It’s eyes were a dark red, just like blood. Its body was massive; it was nearly thirty feet in length. Dragons had not been seen around civilization for centuries, yet here was one heading straight for Nick.
    The black dragon placed the claws from its feet along the gate that was above Nick’s head. It gripped the gate and with ease, it ripped a massive hole in it. The dragon landed and stood in front of Nick on the sands of the arena. The crowd was in a panic and nearly everyone had already left.
    The dragon had to lower its massive body to be close to the ground in order to stay under the gate above. The dragon opened its mouth and revealed its hundreds of razor sharp teeth while unleashing a terrifying roar. Nick took no time to think, now was his chance. As the dragon roared, its eyes were shut. In that split second, Nick took his sword and hurled it towards the dragon’s mouth. As he released his sword, he noticed that it had become a sword made of solid gold. The gold blade whipped through the snow and twirled towards the beasts open mouth. In a split second, flames spewed from the mouth of the dragon. Fire reached Nick before his golden blade even made it halfway to the dragon. A click and ramble of metal was heard.
    ***
    Nick’s eyes opened to a Refect unlocking, and then opening his cell. A nightmare , thought Nick as he looked at his sweaty palms. It was only a nightmare, a terrible one, nonetheless. It was strange how it felt so real. The dragon, it was as if I could feel the heat from its flames.
    He hoisted himself off the cell’s floor and stood at his feet. His stomach growled at the thought of what would come next.
    Nick met with Phillip in the kitchen for breakfast. Phillip spotted Nick walking towards the table and gave him a big smile. “Come and sit down, Nick. Tell me