Amateurs |work|: Overdeveloped

They stood frozen, two perfect monsters in the center of the ring.

“Begin,” whispered the AI referee.

The AI referee pinged. “Inactivity penalty. Resume combat.” overdeveloped amateurs

They didn’t attack. They just breathed. The air smelled of ozone and fear. They stood frozen, two perfect monsters in the

Leo glanced at the jumbotron. The livestream numbers were in the billions. Chat scrolled by in a blur of emojis and death threats. These people didn’t see teenagers. They saw gladiators. They saw products. They stood frozen

Priya spoke, just above a whisper. “I don’t want to do this.”

But he also knew that a week of feeling nothing was better than a lifetime of being a weapon for people who had never bled.