Arena: Part One

by D. Michael Withrow

  “Mine too,” Cole said.

  Colston had the fight paused just before the killing blow. “See here how Marcus’ opponent is attacking with an overhand blow while his shield is held back where it does him no good? Marcus simply blocks the blow with his own shield then comes underneath with a mid-level thrust that kills his opponent by piercing his heart.” Colston moved out of the way and started the fight again. In less than a second Marcus performed the exact counter that Colston had described. Though it was much more graphic to see than hear explained.

  “Oh my god,” Anna said. “I think I’m going to be sick.” She ran past the protectors and out the door into the darkness. It was at least ten minutes before she returned. When she came back in Colston went to her and held her.

  “I’m sorry,” Colston said. “I should have paused it before the end. That was my fault. Are you okay?” She was shaking as he held her. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s just been a really bad day and that was the last thing I needed to see.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m so used to seeing these things that sometimes I don’t think about it.”

  “Well I’m sorry that you’ve had to witness so much violence. No one should have to watch such atrocities, especially at our age.”

  “Should we call it a night,” Cole said.

  “No,” Anna said. “I’ll be alright. Just as long as Colston doesn’t subject us to anymore killing this evening.”

  “It’s okay,” Colston said. “We can pick up tomorrow where we left off.”

  “But,” Anna said. “I don’t…”

  Colston pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “We don’t have to go back to the house,” he said. “We can spend the night in the tower.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Then it’s settled,” Colston said as he pulled back from her so that Cole could hear him now as well. “We’ll knock off for the night and pick this up where we left off tomorrow.”

  “You two take it easy,” Cole said. “Try to relax and have fun for the rest of the night.”

  “And what about you,” Anna said. “Back to that dingy little cell?”

  “It’s okay, Colston gets me up so darned early that I have to hit the sack pretty early anyway.”

  “Well, sweet dreams then.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” Colston said. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  “I never know,” Cole said. “Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing with you.”

  “Oh, it’s good. I promise you, it’s good.”

  The two of them laid in bed together with Colston on his back and Anna snuggled up to him with her head on his chest. “Are you going to be okay,” Colston said.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine. I just want to lie here and be with you.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking. But I know you’ve been pretty upset and I wanted you to know that I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

  She propped her head up and looked at him for a moment before speaking. “You’re awfully sweet. But I don’t need to talk. I just want to curl up with you and enjoy our time together.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he said again and smiled at her. She leaned in and kissed him then laid her head back down on his chest again. They were quiet for a long time.

  “Do you think you’d ever be willing to leave this place behind?”

  “What do you mean,” Colston asked. “You mean like leave for good?”

  “Yes, leave for good.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it before when my father has gotten really out of control. But where would I go? I don’t want to end up a…”

  “A what,” she said.

  “I was going to say ‘a debtor’. Sorry.”

  “Well, I can’t blame you. I certainly don’t think anyone should be owned by another person.”

  “But,” Colston said, “we can’t change the laws.”

  “No, I don’t suppose there’s much we can do to change those. But it doesn’t make it right. You see that, don’t you?”

  “It would be hypocritical of me to say I did, don’t you think?”

  “Why, your father owns the debtors here, doesn’t he?”

  “Well, technically I suppose,” he said. “But I bought Cole.”

  “With your money?”

  “Well, no. My father actually paid for him.”

  “There you go,” she said. “Your father owns him then.”

  “A technicality I think.”

  “I’ll take it,” she said.

  They were quiet again for a long time. Colston was thinking about what she had said. Maybe it was wrong to own other people. But the fighters were all criminals. All murderers. Except Cole, of course. But then, how many other Coles might there be out there? Innocent men wrongly accused of murder to keep a constant stream of fighters flowing through the arenas across the country. Anna was breathing deeply now. He was getting sleepy himself. He finally drifted off to thoughts of Cole and Anna and himself setting out on their own to make a life for themselves.

  21

  Anna was with Colston when he showed up at Cole’s cell the next morning. She had still felt some reservation about returning to the house to see her mother. Colston was okay with it for the morning as he had a surprise for Cole and he wanted her to see it as well. They walked along the corridor that led to Cole’s cell holding hands. When they reached his cell he was standing there waiting for Colston.

  “Well, this is different,” Cole said. “I take it we’re not going running.”

  “No,” Colston said. “I told you last night I had a surprise for you.”

  “How are you this morning Anna,” Cole asked.

  “Much better, thank you.”

  “So what’s the big surprise,” Cole asked.

  “Yeah,” Anna said. “I’m kind of curious myself.”

  “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  One of the two protectors unlocked the door to Cole’s cell and the big man stepped out into the corridor. Colston led the way with Anna by his side. Then came Cole with two protectors bringing up the rear. Colston led them across the pit to a side of the ludus where Cole had never been before. They entered a doorway and walked down what looked almost like a hotel hallway with doors on one side and numbers on the doors. They stopped at a very large door with the number 18 on it, at which point Colston stepped aside and let one of the protectors come forward to unlock the door. Once the protector had unlocked the door he stepped aside leaving the door closed.

  “Cole,” Colston said. “Would you please do the honors of opening the door?”

  Cole stepped forward and opened the door to what turned out to be a large, well-furnished apartment. The door was large enough that he could walk through it without having to duck or turn sideways. The rest entered one by one until Colston finally came in and shut the door behind him. “Well,” he said. “This is it. Your new home. What do you think?” The apartment was large not only in floor space but everything seemed taller, from the counter tops to the height of the cabinets to the height of the ceiling. The size of the furniture that filled each room was also much larger than normal. All to accommodate Cole’s enormous size. They were standing in the living room, having passed the kitchen on their way in. There was an open area that passed through the kitchen to a bar that was connected to the living room. Past the bar was the door to the bedroom. Inside the bedroom was a very large bed with a view screen hanging on the wall across from it. To the left was a walk-in closet and next to that a bathroom with a sink too high for Colston to wash his hands in and a mirror that he was not tall enough to see into. Even the toilet and shower head had been raised to a height that was out of his reach.

  “This is for me?”

  “Absolutely,” Colston said. “Do you like it?”

  “Well, after being in that cell for so long anything would look pretty good, but this, th
is is over the top. I’ve never had anything built to my size before.”

  “And you have a view screen in both the living room and the bedroom to study fights on.”

  “Is that all he’s allowed to watch,” Anna asked.

  “Well, no” Colston said. “I just figured he’d want every advantage possible when going up against Marcus.”

  “What an awesome surprise, Colston. Thank you.”

  “Wait,” Colston said. “I almost forgot.” He pointed to a box that laid on the bed. “That’s the real surprise.”

  Cole walked over and sat beside the box on the bed then picked it up and placed it on his lap. When he opened it he began to softly weep. Colston watched as he reached inside and pulled out a picture of him, his wife and son. There were other items in the box to include more framed photographs, trinkets, keepsakes and other things that Colston had imagined might be precious to Cole.

  “This was my family,” Cole said. He held out the picture for Colston to look at. The boy took the framed photograph and looked at Cole’s wife and son. He had seen the photo before as he was the one that had picked it out of Cole’s belongings to pack with the other things in the box.

  “How old was your son here?”

  “Six.”

  “Cute kid.”

  “Yeah,” Cole said. “He was. His mother and I were always laughing at the things he would do or say.”

  Anna stepped up next to Colston and took the picture from him to look at. “Your wife is beautiful,” she said. “Where are they now?”

  Colston shot her a glance that said she should not have asked the question.

  “They’re gone,” Cole said.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “It’s okay,” Cole said. “It’s been several years now. Though some days it seems like yesterday.”

  Anna sat next to Cole on the bed and put her hand on his. It was tiny in comparison. Like a father holding his newborn baby’s hand. “I know what it’s like,” she said. “I lost my father.”

  “We’ve all lost someone,” Colston said. “We could make a family with what’s left of the survivors.”

  “We’ve got one too many fathers,” Cole said.

  “No,” Colston said. “We don’t.”

  “No,” Anna said. “We really don’t.”

  22

  When Anna finally decided to go back to the house she insisted that Colston go with her. It was lunchtime by the time they made it back and Marjorie was cooking for the numerous people that lived or worked on the Carlson estate. She was singing softly to herself while Anna’s mother stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes. When the screen door slammed behind them Anna’s mother turned to see who it was. When she saw Anna a look of relief came over her face and she practically ran to get to her. She hugged her tightly and stroked her hair. “I was so worried about you,” she said.

  “I told her she probably with you Colston,” Marjorie said. “I knew she be fine as long as she with you.”

  “You were right Marjorie. You’re one smart lady.”

  “You just saying that because I feed you boy. Why don’t you and the young lady sit down and have a bite to eat?”

  “Well,” he said. “I am pretty hungry. I skipped breakfast this morning.”

  “You should never be skipping breakfast Colston. You know better than that.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I had something big going on and it just slipped my mind.”

  “Just don’t be making no habit out of it. You hear me?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  They smiled at each other and Colston went over and gave her a hug. By the time his conversation with Marjorie was over Anna and her mother had seemed to make amends. They were talking quietly in the kitchen just out of earshot of Colston. He decided to sit at the table and wait for her to join him there.

  “Where’s my father?”

  “I’m right here son.”

  Colston looked over towards the hallway that led to the kitchen and there was his father half obscured by the wall which he leaned against.

  “Colston,” he said. “Please come into my office. I’d like to talk to you about something.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Colston got up from the table and followed his father down the long hallway past the debtor’s bedrooms to his father’s office. He did not like going into his father’s office because anytime his father asked him in there to discuss anything it was never good news. In fact, he could not remember the last time his father had given him any good news. When they were inside the office Colston shut the door before his father had a chance to tell him to. He knew he would anyway so why not save time and just get it over with. His father sat down behind his desk so that he could talk to Colston like he would any other person that he did business with. “I’ll get right to the point,” he said. “I’m going to sell the mother and daughter that I just purchased.”

  Colston was dumbfounded. Surely he did not mean Anna. Had he purchased some other debtors since Cole and Anna that the boy was not aware of? He could not have without Colston knowing about it. It had to be Anna he was talking about.

  “You can’t.”

  “Oh, I can,” his father said. “I own them and I can do as I please with them.”

  “But,” Colston began. “You said I could have her as a friend. And now what? You’re just going to take her away from me?”

  “Look, I’m sorry son. I just can’t see paying for two workers and only getting one. And it’s not fair to split them up. So it only makes sense to sell them both and get two other debtors to take their places.”

  “Since when are we so tight on money that you can’t afford to hire an extra worker?”

  “Since I lost Thomas and you spent a small fortune on that monster you call a fighter.”

  Colston could not believe what he was hearing. He could not fathom losing Anna. Colston had to do something. He just could not see what it was at the moment. Maybe Cole would know what to do. But he felt as though he could not wait that long. He had to do something now. So he did the only thing he could think of at the moment and that was to lash out. “You’re an asshole,” Colston said. “You’re a lying asshole!”

  “Now just a god damned minute. You do not speak to me that way.”

  “Or what,” Colston replied. “You’ll beat me? You already do that so what else ya got?”

  “Colston!”

  “Go fuck yourself! You’re the worst excuse for a father that ever drew a breath!”

  And with that Colston bolted from his father’s office and ran through the house to the kitchen door, which he let slam behind him as he ran to the ludus to be with Cole. His father would not dare go in there to get him unless he had a full escort of protectors. And even that was frowned upon. A fighter’s housing was considered his one sanctuary. Even the most ruthless owners did not often violate that unspoken rule.

  As he ran toward the ludus he heard someone running behind him. He was sure it was his father. But he was also sure he could outrun him.

  “Wait,” she said. “Where are you going?”

  He stopped when he recognized Anna’s voice. “Not here,” he said. “Come on, let’s go to our room.”

  “He said what,” Anna asked.

  “He said he’s going to sell you and your mother.”

  “No, I heard you. I just can’t believe it.”

  “I know, me either.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “I don’t know,” Colston said. “I was thinking of asking Cole for his advice.”

  “Maybe I should talk to him.”

  “Who, Cole?”

  “No, your father.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “What, you think just because I’m a girl I can’t come up with a compelling reason for him to keep us on?”

  “No, I think because you’re a debtor that he will only see you as such and not hear a word you or your mother might say to try to convince him to keep you on. Yo
u have to understand, my father does not see you as a person. He sees you as a piece of property.”

  “Yeah, I get that. He’s a special kind of asshole.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “I still think Cole is our best option. Or maybe even Doc. I’m just not sure how sympathetic Doc will be to your plight.”

  “So let’s go talk to Cole.”

  “I don’t think we should go just yet,” Colston said. “I said some pretty nasty things to my father back there. I’d like to wait awhile, just to make sure he doesn’t come looking for me, before we start wandering around the ludus.”

  “I still think you should let me talk to him.”

  Colston let out his breath. He looked into her eyes and could see that she was not going to let this go. “How about this,” he said. “If all else fails, you can speak to him. I’ll arrange it myself. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  They were quiet for a moment as they sat on the bed in what had become their place. Anna looked worried. Colston hoped that he did not look as worried as he actually was. After all, he felt it was his place to calm and reassure her that everything would be alright.

  “So what should we do to pass the time,” Anna asked.

  “Stay quiet and hope my father doesn’t come looking for me.”

  “Well, I know a way to stay quiet,” she said and leaned in to kiss him. He held her close and returned the kiss and prayed there would be no knock at the door.

  23

  They waited until it was dark to go see Cole. They moved quickly and quietly in the shadows. When Colston knocked on Cole’s door his heart pounded loudly in his ears. He hoped to god that his father was not in there with a squad of protectors. The boy was quite relieved when Cole opened the door with a puzzled look on his face.