“She’s actually going to do it,” Sylah murmured to herself. The other team hadn’t had the sense to cover their flag, so it was already leaning into Anoor’s outstretched hand as she plucked it from the earth.
“Left, look left!” Sylah screamed as if she could hear her. The opposing team had seen the oncoming attack and had leaped out of their sand cocoons. They were coming in hard on the left, batons raised.
The tidewind rose again, and when it settled for a brief second, Sylah saw blood. She breathed easier when she saw the red color.
“Now that…is disgusting,” Kwame commented, taking another swig. One of the competitors had knocked someone’s helmet off, and the tidewind had come in and grated their flesh off their bones.
Sylah looked for Anoor, but she was no longer holding the flag. Another faction of her team had come in and taken it and was running the last leg back to their base.
“Ten paces, come on, you can do it…”
She screamed, Kwame whooped, the arena roared.
Anoor’s team had won.