“That kind of shit requires electricity, and I don’t exactly have that either.” I said, drying off.
“You should catch an episode, mate. Every week some poor bloke gets his head cut off, and then the ladies get their kit off.”
“Kit?”
“Their clothes, mate. They show their diddies, their chebs… you know, their tits?”
I shrugged.
I raised an eyebrow, pointing again to the promotional poster. “That guy is the five-time champ, huh?”
“Indeed,” Frank replied with a nod, but before he could go further, two men dressed in matching kilts and a beautiful blonde entered the tent.
Frank instantly walked over to greet them. “Sir, sir, miss. It’s lovely to see you again. I hope all is well with you.”
“Thank you, Frank,” the first man replied, extending his hand for a formal but warm handshake. “My niece and I are doing well today, thank you. It appears the same cannot be said for Thor.”
“Yes, sir,” Frank said sheepishly, his head bowed. “He had a bit of a…mishapon the leg press.”
The first man turned to me, giving me the once over. “And you must be the young man Thor keeps calling ‘the Runt,’” he said. “Ben, is it?”
I’d signed up for the competition under an assumed name just as I had for every amateur fight, wrestling match, 10K run, or obstacle course I’d been a part of. I never competed twice and never for money, so anonymity had never been an issue.
I let out a grunt, fighting back the overwhelming urge to tell this man every secret I’d ever kept.
“Sorry, your name. It’s Ben, right?”
“Arric, actually,” I corrected him before I realized what I was doing.Shit.I don’t know what compelled me to give him my real name, but the words sort of fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Please, forgive me,” he replied. “Well, clearly, Thor was having a bit of a go at you. You certainly look fit enough to compete in our little games.”
“And who are you?” I asked.
“Do you honestly not know who this man is?” the second man asked, looking both shocked and offended.
“It’s alright, Alasdair,” the first man said, politely waving the second man off. “Our young guest has come all the way from America. Besides, the Gunnach family doesn’t do much business in…” he paused in thought before saying, “Alaska.”
My spine stiffened. “How the hell did you know I’m from Alaska?”
“I have a knack for knowing where people are from. It’s a bit of a party trick, really.”
“Sure, it is,” I said suspiciously. “Gunnach, huh? I get the feeling you’re sort of connected to all this,” I said pointing to my surroundings.
“You could say that. The Gunnach family has held these games for many years,” he replied. His smile seemed genuine, but it did nothing to put me at ease. This guy seemed to look right though me.
“Right on,” I said. “Thanks for having me, then.”
Gunnach continued to study me, his gaze seemingly locked onto my chest. His brow furrowing ever so slightly as his gaze deepened. “Those are interesting tattoos you have there,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied, not sure what this guy’s angle was. On the road, I’d run into just about every kind of creep there was, and they came in all kinds of packages. This guy could be a pervert for all I knew.
“Did you get those done here in Scotland?” he asked.
“No, this is my first time here. I got these... a while ago. Why do you ask?”
“But the markings…” he said, surprised.
“These?” I asked, pointing to the patterns and shapes that made up my chest piece.
