Staxxx stands up super quietly so her bare feet do not make a sound on the concrete floor. The floor feels freezing cold like real ice under her toes but she doesn't even care because she has to do it. She looks at the small red light bulb on the wall and it looks like a scary eye. Her hands are shaking really badly and her heart is jumping inside her chest like a trapped bird. She walks over to Thurwar’s sleeping mat and looks down at her unprotected neck. The thoughts inside her brain are getting really loud and scary now. It feels like a big thunderstorm is rolling around inside her head. If she kills Thurwar right now while she is sleeping, the big match tomorrow will not even happen. She will win the whole game by default because she is the only fighter left. She will get to leave the prison camp tomorrow morning and go totally free into the real world.

This time Staxxx does not stop herself because the fear inside her head is way too big. She is just so tired of being locked up and hurt every day. She wants to live more than anything else in the world. She jumps straight onto Thurwar’s chest and squeezes her throat with all her strength. Thurwar wakes up choking and gasping for air. She tries to fight back and punch Staxxx off her but her arms are too tired and confused from her bad dreams. They roll around on the hard concrete floor in the dark making a quiet scraping sound. Staxxx holds on tight and closes her eyes really hard until Thurwar stops moving completely. Her body goes totally still and cold on the mat.

Staxxx just sits there on the ground for a super long time in the dark room. She looks at her own hands under the tiny red light bulb on the wall and they don't even look like her hands anymore. She feels like a mean monster in a scary movie shivering by herself while the whole building is quiet. She wants to take it back but she can't. She sits in the corner and holds her knees really tight until the sun starts coming up through the high bars on the window.

When the loud morning bell rings the heavy iron doors slide open with a loud buzz. The guards walk in to get them ready for the show but they stop when they see Thurwar dead on the floor. They look totally shocked but none of them look sad because the prison guards do not care about the chain-gang fighters. Backstage the TV field boss looks at the security cameras and screams with excitement. He is jumping up and down and spilling his hot coffee everywhere on his desk. This is a crazy unscripted twist that will break the internet and make them millions of dollars. They do not care that a person died, they only want the clicks. They go live on the air right away and tell all the millions of fans watching on their Links that Staxxx is the grand champion of the Chain-Gang All-Stars. The people watching start typing omg and crazy on their screens and sending thumbs up pictures. The big sponsors love the drama and pay for even more commercials because everyone is watching. The other Links on the network get super jealous of all the attention Staxxx is getting.

Staxxx gets her giant prize money check and her freedom papers. The paper feels heavy in her hands and has big shiny stamps on it. They open the big metal gates of the prison and let her walk out into the real world. It is super bright outside and the air smells like grass and cars. She buys a huge nice house in a quiet neighborhood and has all the food and clothes she ever wanted. She buys pizza and steak and ice cream every day and soft clothes that don't have prison numbers on them. She buys a big TV too but she never turns it on because she hates screens now. She walks through the big rooms but they feel way too quiet and scary.

But she is not happy. The big house feels empty and it is just like a different kind of prison. She locks all the doors but she still feels unsafe. Whenever she closes her eyes to rest her brain does not see freedom at all. She only sees Thurwar’s wide eyes staring back at her in the dark cell. She tries to play loud music on the radio so she can forget but it doesn't work. She feels like she can still smell the old concrete floor and the bad blankets from the cell. She can still hear the scraping sound of the floor in her ears.

Every time she hears a small noise outside her house or a car drives by the window she thinks it is a flying camera drone tracking her moves for a new TV show. She thinks the bad bosses are still watching her through the windows and laughing at her. She starts talking to herself out loud in the big empty rooms to keep from hearing the quiet. She walks around the kitchen saying you are okay, you are safe but her voice sounds weird. She screams at the white walls because she thinks Thurwar’s ghost is standing in the corner watching her eat dinner. She went completely crazy and can never be a regular human being again because her mind is totally broken by the violence. The guilt from this fight and all the bad things she went through in her life becomes too heavy to carry. She decides she cannot live like a monster anymore, so she takes a bunch of pills from the bathroom and lies down to close her eyes for the very last time.