Death won’t hurt.

No one taught me this. I feel it in my bones, buried deep beneath my scales. It is a secret hidden inside my armor. I know this truth in the same way all creatures must.

 

What hurts is knowing that I will die without a name.

 

This realization drags me down, following me as I plummet back to the arena. I reach for the stands, my claws grasping for a small, outstretched hand in the crowd. A shrill voice calls out to me, but it is drowned out by the boom of the fireworks overhead.

 

* * *

 

There were more fireworks than usual. Like the rest of my pod-mates, I had heard them but never had the chance to see them. To us, it was the loud cannon fire that signaled release for the unlucky few. We huddled near our crimson cell doors, though not close enough to endanger ourselves. Our doors were made of light, but as many newly hatched learned, they could leave severe burns.

 

All our lives had been spent waiting in the dark — waiting for this moment.

 

“Is it time?” I asked, quietly enough that I thought no one else could have heard me.

 

“Time to fight!” the cellmate across from me growled.

 

Since all of us looked the same, it was useless to try to attach names. I had once tried to use my claws to give myself a scar on my forehead to stand out, but it healed too quickly and never caught on.

 

Across paced back and forth, until his cage door faded. He leaped for joy and charged out of his cell. On his way out, a mechanical arm with a needle at the end of it pricked his neck. A few seconds later, Across was howling enthusiastically.

 

I wished I shared his single-minded drive. Yet, when my cell door faded, I ducked to avoid the ensuing needle. I wanted — no, needed — to keep my wits about me. None of us knew what lay beyond the long, dark hallway that had been our entire world. But I was determined to meet it sober.

 

The rest of my pod jostled and pushed me toward the portal leading outside. I tried to drag my feet, digging my claws into the tiled floor, but my pod-mates eagerly went ahead.

 

Soon, I was on the other side. Blinding light shone down on us. Instinctively, I adopted a defensive posture, using my tail to block my face.

 

“Glory!” one of my pod-mates shouted behind me.

 

Slowly, my eyes started to adjust. Green blurs swept around me, as my pod-mates ran on ahead. Surely they were just as blind as me. Whatever they were injected with kept them from caring.

 

“Glory!”

 

This time it came from out in front of me. My pod-mates sprung across the hot, soft ground that sunk wherever they stood. Meanwhile, I took in my surroundings. The field was encircled by tall, sheer walls that led to rows of seats. Their occupants were strange, blue people who stood upright on two feet. How revolting.

 

“Glory!”

 

Just as my pod-mates began chanting this, their shouts died off abruptly. From the far side of the field, bolts of light shot out. Whoever they touched melted into slag.

 

I hid behind one of my pod-mates as a bolt of light disintegrated him. Looking past him, I saw a group of those blue creatures wearing silver armor and wielding long staffs that shot blue light. My pod-mates were content to rush them even as they died by the handful. I was not.

 

I scrambled over the mound and toward the opposite wall. As I tumbled down the hill, I landed with a splash in the moat that surrounded the arena. When I found my footing, I looked around to make sure I was safe.

 

“Obla Dareeeeeeeeeen!” someone shouted from the crowd above.

 

I looked up to see a tall blue creature attempting to grab a small one that had been resting on their lap. The small creature must have been reaching out during all of this commotion, causing it to fall out of its guardian’s arms. They plummeted, screaming the whole way down… until they fell into my hands.

 

Dareen looked up at me with wide, black eyes. They were the same color as the cell walls — the same color as home. I spread my fingers so that they could curl up on my hands without worrying about my claws.

 

One of my pod-mates emerged from behind me, shouting, “Quick, use it as a shield!”

 

I batted him away with my tail. As he slunk away, I put Dareen on my back, so they could loop their arms about my neck. I waded through the moat to get to the wall where I stabbed my claws into the sheer barrier. There was just enough purchase to begin the slow climb up the wall.

 

As I ascended, the roar from the crowd above grew louder. I could feel Dareen’s grip loosen, so I moved more quickly. Just as I began to fear Dareen would lose their hold entirely, we reached the top of the wall. Their guardian frantically grabbed them, pulling them to safety.

 

For a moment, I stayed there in that in-between spot, neither a part of the action below nor the crowd beyond. All the while, Dareen looked back at me. Just as I made my decision, a bolt of light crashed into the stone next to my face. I lost my grip, falling back.

 

* * *

 

I know it won’t hurt. Not for long, at least. Not long until I come crashing down. I see Dareen reaching for me as their guardian takes them away.

 

As the arena comes closer, I hear my remaining pod-mates shouting, “Glory! Glory!”

 

This time, it feels like they’re calling me home.