Arena

by Logan Jacobs

  Artemis was completely naked, covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and completely out of breath. Sensaria was nestled into the nook of my right arm, also completely naked and glistening. And to complete the group, I too was completely exhausted, completely naked, and covered in a fine sheen of sweat, with a grin so big I was afraid it was going to tear my face in half.

  Artemis purred slightly as she nuzzled into my neck. Sensaria was in a deep sleep and had just started to snore ever so slightly. It was kinda cute. I, however, was wide awake, although the memories since we had left The Breach an hour and a half ago were quite fuzzy.

  It was a funhouse jumble of images and sounds and tastes that were almost too good to be true. No memory of how we got this hotel room, but more than just a little emotional recall of the way Sensaria’s lips felt against mine. Or of being pushed back onto a huge round bed by one indigo hand and one flesh colored hand as two sets of eyes, each with their own naughty glint in them, looked up at me with mischief in mind. The explosions of tingles and goosebumps as two different mouths kissed, licked, and sucked from my lips all the way down and back up again. The weight of two very different bodies as they undulated on top of me. And the sounds! Gasps, moans, sighs, giggles, and cries of pleasure all woven together in a symphony of sexual ecstasy.

  It was an experience I could hardly believe I’d just had, but it was one that I would never ever forget in a million years.

  Outside I could see the sky just start to turn purple through the floor to ceiling glass windows. I nudged Artemis. She looked up at me with satisfied eyes.

  “Hey there, sexy face,” she whispered playfully.

  “Hey back,” I said softly and smiled. “I wanted to watch the sunrise with the prettiest, funniest, coolest chick I’ve ever known.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, then she just smiled sweetly and laid her head on my chest.

  The twin moons that served somehow as this weird ass planet’s suns rose up from the horizon and cast the sky in gorgeous purple and orange light like nothing I had ever even dreamed of before.

  It was the second most amazing thing I’d gazed upon that morning. The first laid on my chest, half asleep.

  Part of me knew that there would be more violence and bloodshed soon, but for the moment I was as content as any person could be. Period.

  Chapter Fifteen

  To say it was tense when I arrived at the Hall of Heroes on the day of my next Crucible of Carnage match would be an understatement of epic proportions. Late in the day yesterday we’d found out it was going to be a modified Deathmatch. Basically a kill’em’all free for all until only three Champions were left standing. Grizz and Artemis were really worried about it.

  When I walked in Artemis was busy checking and double checking equipment, computer readouts, and stats from all of my previous trials. Grizz just paced.

  They were so caught up with what they were doing that they didn’t even notice when I walked in. I watched them for a good minute before I coughed to make myself known.

  Artemis nearly jumped out of her skin, and Grizz drew his holographic broadsword and held it in a high ready position over his head as he whirled on me.

  “Whoa, guys,” I said as I held up my hands, “it’s just me. You know, the ruggedly handsome, charming, devil may care Champion from Earth?”

  I’d hoped my little joke would lighten the mood. I was wrong.

  “It is about time you got here,” Artemis scolded as she walked up to me and passed a handheld scanner over my face. “This is no time to polly choke around, mister.”

  “Lollygag, Artemis,” I corrected softly, “lollygag.”

  “Lollygag, polly choke, what difference does it make in your stupid fart face of a language!” she yelled at me, her face red with emotion.

  “Hey,” I hushed her as I turned her to look at me, “it’s okay, Artie. Fear and anger are pretty close cousins in the feelings family.”

  “Marc Havak,” she said as she looked up at me with tears rimming her eyes, “I have never felt anything like this blend of emotions before. It is quite awful. I am starting to think that the Crucible of Carnage is the worst thing ever invented.”

  “I don’t,” I responded. “If it weren’t for the Crucible, I never would have met you or Grizz, and I’ve gotten to do some goddamn amazing things.”

  Grizz just watched us from a distance. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he was busy battling his own emotions. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like having lost your life in the arena and having to watch someone go off to what you thought would be certain doom.

  “And I’m not done by a long shot, sister,” I assured her. “Marc Havak has just started to make a name for himself, he ain’t gonna go out now. Plus, he’s talking about himself in the third person, and that is a sure sign of winning.”

  Artemis hugged on to me for a moment and then pulled away. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and a steely, determined look came across her face.

  “All right,” she said with conviction, “let’s do this shit.”

  She turned and went back to her computer console and began to type as if her life, or more accurately, my life, depended upon it. I could hear the matter printer whir to life and hoped I’d be able to use whatever it was she was having made for me.

  Grizz strode over to me as I traded out my walking shoes for my now trusty combat boots.

  “I am not going to sugar coat this for you, human,” he said, his voice as stern as usual which was a relief. “I was hoping we would get another trial or two under your belt before a death match. They are incredibly difficult. Even a modified one such as this.”

  “Yeah, Grizz,” I said as I tied my boots, “I was kinda figuring that with a name like ‘Deathmatch’ and all.”

  “You have done a commendable job,” he continued, “more than I think anyone thought you capable of, but I do not wish to give you false hope. Unless you can find some way to form an Alliance, you are more than likely going to die today, human.”

  “Grizz,” I responded as I looked him right in the eyes, “I very well might. And if I do, I will go out doing the only damn thing I have ever been good at in my whole damn uneventful life. I am okay with that, but I’ve made some promises in these last few days, and dying would prevent me from keeping them. One, in particular, comes to mind, an evening of the scales. I need to avenge the death of a friend by an honorless lizard who betrayed him. So, I don’t plan on dying this day or any day soon. No, I swear by the Blade of the Sword of Fate, that I will live to carry out that promise.”

  Grizz’s eyes went wide at my oath. I had done some research a few nights before about Grizz’s culture and their beliefs. Swearing on the Blade of the Sword of Fate was as serious as one could get.

  “By that same Blade, human,” Grizz almost whispered, “I pray that you are right.”

  And with that, he got up and strode off into a corner of the room where he began to go through an elaborate sword drill.

  About twenty minutes before the Death Match was set to begin there was a ding at the door to our gym, and a tiny mail-droid floated into the room. It dropped a small envelope from its belly onto the computer table and zoomed off. It was addressed to me.

  Artemis picked it up.

  “Well, open it,” I said as I walked over from where I had been doing some stretches.

  She did and read through it quickly. Her face was a mask of confusion.

  “What does say?” I asked impatiently.

  “To Marc Havak, Champion of Earth, here is a little something to help even the playing field,” she read off in a formal tone. “Hope you bring your planet much prosperity. From, A Secret Admirer. It then has a code for a Combat Awareness powerup.”

  Grizz materialized right next to her.

  “By the War God’s Dagger,” he exclaimed, “you have an admirer.”

  “Um, okay,” I said confused, “what is that?”

  “Just like it sounds,” Artemis ex
plained, “you have garnered the attention of someone who can offer you ‘presents’ to help you in the arena. This particular boost will heighten your senses to the ebb and flow of a battle. Adrenaline will come with all the physiological benefits yet none of the downsides like tunnel vision, time distortion, or numbness in the extremities. It is meant for Champions with an experience level of fifty or higher. You are a twelve.”

  “How the heck does that work?” I was still confused. “Isn’t that cheating?”

  “No,” she said, a bit exasperated. “An admirer can grant any power up they want. One per match and it is only good for that match. Marc, this could be the difference between life and death in one like today’s. It is allowed as a way to help smooth out the skill differential between new and veteran Champions, but there is a downside. You can become beholden to an admirer by becoming dependent on their expensive boosts to sustain your success, and your life. Basically, a minion to do their bidding and when your usefulness is up, well, so are your gifts.”

  “So, what do I do?” I didn’t want to make the wrong decisions, or worse, to make the right one for now and a worse one for later.

  “You take what is offered,” Grizz said seriously, “and worry about the price later. You cannot pay back that which you owe if you are dead.”

  “Fair enough,” I said, now convinced it was the right thing to do. “Load it up.”

  Artemis punched the code into the computer, and I felt a mild buzz as the information uploaded into my nanochip.

  “It will activate once you arrive in the Crucible zone,” Artemis informed me. “Now let’s get you suited up. I’ve picked out a hybrid sectional armor that I think you’ll like.”

  She pulled a bin from the matter printer and laid out pieces of matte black armor with dark purple accents. It was sleek and looked highly functional. I started to snap it into place on my jumpsuit.

  “It’s made from a special polymer that should help disperse kinetic energy,” she rattled off.

  “I have no idea what the words you are saying mean in a sentence, Artemis,” I said as I clicked the chest piece onto my sternum.

  “You can handle most small arms fire or a punch to the chest from a big bad baddie and come out relatively okay,” she dumbed it down for me.

  And before I knew it, it was time, and I stood inside the plastic transport tube that was getting to be like some twisted birthing chamber. I never knew what kind of fresh hell I was going to be delivered into.

  As the timer counted down until transport Grizz walked up close to the tube and looked me in the eye.

  “I’ve grown to not hate your face with the fire of a thousand suns, human,” he said with unwavering intensity. “Let’s not change that. If the opportunity presents itself, make an Alliance, but never lose sight of why you are there. Allies can become enemies at the toss of a coin. Fight well, Marc. May your fury be fast, fierce, and final.”

  And he flickered out of existence.

  “Wow,” Artemis uttered with disbelief. “That is a salute reserved for the noblest of warriors on his planet.”

  “Thanks, Grizz,” I said as I swelled with a bit of pride.

  “Granted,” Artemis added, “one that is given to warriors who face almost certain doom.”

  “Well, then I’m even more honored,” I chirped back with my now familiar scoundrel smirk.

  “I want you to kill them all, Marc Havak,” Artemis said with eyes that burned with purpose. “Kill them all and let the gods sort them out.”

  “As you wish,” was all I was able to manage before my atoms were blown apart in what was now a familiar sensation.

  A moment and a lifetime later, I was deposited on top of a large junk heap. I shook the matter transmit cobwebs from my head and looked around.

  There was nothing but garbage and junk for as far as I could see in every direction. Mountains and valleys of the stuff under a sky so blue and pristine it looked like a painting. In the distance, maybe three or four miles away, was a giant tower made completely of scraps of metal like some kind of cyberpunk Jenga come to life. Near the top it had a huge cannon that swiveled on a railing that ran a full three hundred and sixty degrees around the top of the building. It lay dormant for the time being.

  The contrast of the amazing blue sky and the horrible garbage surface was a little disorienting, and I quickly made my way off the heap.

  Chi-Chesire’s grinning cat visage appeared in the middle of the blue sky.

  “Welcome to the scrap heaps of Morath 9. Junk planet of the Kobayashi system. This is a Deathmatch round where only the last three standing shall move on. Form an Alliance or kill everything that moves. It is your choice, Champions. May you live to fight another day. Weapons are scarce and good weapons even scarcer so keep an eye out for special loot crates with all sorts of guns, goodies, and maybe a few special tricks, oh my! Watch out for the anti-gravity field and the Tower of the Nine Vengeances. That’s a Hadron Particle Cannon you see… so, look out. I know I can’t wait to see that baby in action. How ‘bout you? Good luck Champions. And remember, your worlds are counting on you.”

  As his giant cat face disappeared, I could see more and more Champions dropping onto the construct planet. I felt my nerves tingle as the Combat Awareness upgrade kicked in. Everything came into sharp focus, even my peripheral vision, and it was suddenly like I could see three steps ahead. My brain ran through threat probabilities, and my instincts kicked up to the power of ten. Conscious thought became a thing of the past as my warrior-self kicked his way into the driver’s seat. And he was a cigar-chomping, ass-kicking, act first and pay the devil later kinda fella.

  I started to scan my surroundings and quickly noticed the corner of an elongated rusty metal case poking out of a pile of scrap metal and computer innards. I made my way over to it while I kept my head on a perpetual swivel. I grabbed the crate and spun it around so that I could rest with my back against the pile of junk I’d pulled it from. Had to keep my six protected.

  I popped the top on the three foot long by foot and a half wide by foot and a half deep metal crate and took inventory of what was inside.

  “Not the best,” I said to myself in a whisper, “but certainly not the worst, soldier.”

  Holy crap, I wasn’t sure if I could stand to listen to myself for too much longer if this was how I was going to talk.

  The crate held two Beretta Px4 Storm pistols with upper thigh single leg strap holsters, five extended ten round magazines per gun nestled into quick-release holders on the belt of the holster, two electro-stun grenades, and a hand-held plasma torch.

  I quickly slung the holsters around my hips and snapped the thigh straps around my legs. As I ran a routine check on the magazines to make sure the bullets were seated properly, I could feel PoLarr’s presence in the back of my mind as she shook hands with Sgt. Cigar Chomp. I hoped the two of them were going to get along. I also hoped I wasn’t going fucking crazy.

  I racked the slides on both Barrettas, pleasantly surprised at how well the compact guns fit in my hands, and slid full mags into the butt of each. In one swift motion, I let the slides ram home which put a round in the chamber, and holstered the Italian-made smoke wagons.

  The stun grenades fit in between my mag holders and the plasma torch had a pouch that angled off the right side of my belt, roughly the size of an elongated mace container. All geared up, I took stock of my position, clocked the Junk Tower on the horizon, and took off at a jog.

  I could hear small arms fire all around but nothing that sounded like imminent danger. I rounded a small hill of junk and looked out upon a clearing the size of a football field. Patches of dirt and weeds dotted the surface of the junk clearing. I was in the midst of figuring out how to get around the damn thing when two opposing teams stormed onto the field.

  My Occuhancer HUD display let me know that these were two Alliances of about ten each. The combat enhancement must have unlocked an upgrade for them as well because that was the first time I’d eve
r seen information with the surgically implanted lenses.

  The opposing Alliances roared at each other from across the clearing and charged. I hunkered down and began to walk down the ‘sideline’ of the field. If I could let these guys take themselves out, it would save me twenty bullets. The Alliances met in the middle with a roar and clash of metal on metal. The battle was fierce and apparently well matched. It looked like it could have gone on for quite a while when I caught a flash of bright blue out of the corner of my eye.

  I toggled my zoom and saw the cannon that was mounted on the junk tower charge up with power. The cannon spun up with power, and the barrel began to track across the surface. Bright blue energy pulsed as the cannons maw settled and a moment later a blinding blast of supercharged ions streaked across the sky.

  I dove for cover as the beam smashed into the middle of the field. There wasn’t a massive explosion but more of a loud FWOMP and then silence.

  I peeked my head over the mound of gnarled junk I’d dove behind but all I could see was smoke. Lots and lots of acrid smoke. The breeze carried it toward me, and it hit me like a fist to the face. The stench was unbearable, like scorched rubber mixed with hot tar... and something else. A smell that came on like a hurricane aftertaste that was oily, and rich, like fat burning on the bottom of a grill and I used the fabric of my jumpsuit on my left arm to filter some of the smoke.

  Then the screaming started.

  There is nothing like the sound a burn victim makes, no matter what species or planet you come from. It is a soul tearing, animal noise that is devoid of any conscious thought. It is raw pain incarnate. The sound of a million nerve endings being burned out of existence. The sound of flesh melting. Bones popping. Skin peeling.

  Horrifying alone, when combined it is almost too much to bear. I must have heard at least five different beings screaming at that instant.

  Whoever or whatever fired that cannon was more than likely going to do it again, and it made me a sitting duck unless I was somewhere the cannon couldn’t reach. I quickened my pace and jogged onto the charred ground. I could get to the entrance of the little pathway if I cut across a corner of the field.