Reaper Inc.

by Thomas Wright

  "Message sent, Captain," Benda replied.

  ****

  11 hours 20 minutes. . .

  Silk took Tawniz's clothing and poured fresh blood on it. After a few moments, she had it put in a cage with the small beasts used for disposal in the arena. Fifteen minutes later, she had the beast keeper let them go in the arena and she retrieved the dirty, shredded remains and put them in a bag. She smiled to herself, anticipating the torment and anger it would cause him. They were going to play on that mostly because he would perform better in the arena with his anger unchecked. The spectators will spend plenty in the betting pools but also the master loved to torment and play with the minds of the chosen ones soon to die.

  Ben lay on his back, eyes closed, listening, trying to hear a cheering crowd but heard nothing but the sounds of the ship and its prisoners. It had been an hour since they took away Tawniz and the others. Maybe they were on a work detail. That could be a possibility on a ship this large.

  Footsteps echoed on the metal deck. Ben followed the sound all the way to his cage door. He heard the click of the lock and the squeak of the hinges as it opened.

  "Get up!" The guard yelled. "It is time for you to appear before the master again."

  Ben said, "Can’t wait!" as he slowly sat up and pulled on his boots. He walked extra slow so they pushed him all the way to the arena.

  "You drag your feet like a coward!" the guard behind him said. Ben took two more steps as if ignoring the comment. The smile still on the guards face was erased as Ben twisted his body, and his elbow connected with the guard’s head. The guard staggered, blood running from his mouth. The remaining guards grabbed at his arms. One ended up the recipient of a well placed head butt, while the other took a boot to the gut and an elbow to the back of the head as he doubled over.

  The first guard jumped back swinging a baton and Ben used his chain between his wrists to catch, wrap up and twist it from his grip. Ben punted the guard like a football right between the legs. He had no idea if there was anything there he could damage, but it was still a good location for taking someone out quick. Seemed it was a tender spot. The head butt victim charged with arms outstretched looking to choke Ben with his bare hands. Ben wrapped the chains around one of his outstretched arms and tugged him in to knee him in the groin.

  He lowered the moaning guard to the floor and walked on towards the arena. He could have ran, tried to hide or escape but he wasn’t leaving without knowing the colonel’s fate. The two guards at the door looked at the unescorted prisoner with confusion.

  "Where are your guards?" the one on the right asked.

  "They were tired and decided to stop and rest. I told them I could find my way." They put him in a waiting cell and removed his shackles. Ben walked to the cage door on the opposite side to see what was going on in the arena. There was no match in progress. He heard the guards returning; grumblings and moaning filled the air as the two helped their comrades to a seat against the wall.

  "We will come for you, human."

  "Heard that before. You come on, but you might want to take some time and heal first. Your master will not be happy if you are broken so bad you can’t work."

  Ben turned back towards the arena. He watched as two of the doors opened and three of the aliens who shared Tawniz's cage were pushed out. He heard the growls of two beasts. They looked like mutant kangaroos. The hind legs were larger and more muscular with four inch curved claws and a thick round tail that looked strong. Taking a hit from the tail would break bones. The upper torso had shorter arms with wickedly curved claws and a head with a beak that was made for crushing bone. It was covered in a dirty, matted fur, he doubted it would look that way in the wild.

  The beasts knew the drill. The prisoners began looking for weapons amongst the dead. Ben thought that by leaving the dead to rot and be eaten, it would psych out a lot of the prisoners. It was all a part of the game. Ben could see the intelligence in the beasts’ eyes as they stalked, slowly moving towards their prey. Two of the three found something to fight with but the third was too slow.

  Ben studied the arena, looking for weapons so when they put him in, he would hopefully have his hands on something immediately. The unarmed prisoner finally saw something to fight with and made a run for it. Both of the beasts caught him in three long hops. The crowd reacted knowing the first kill of the day was at hand. The screaming started. Ben watched knowing there was nothing he could do. The other prisoners could have, should have, attacked but they waited. They were not warriors and this would not last long.

  It’s always a huge shock for those who have never fought to have to listen to others being eaten alive or lying injured unattended and in terrible pain. Ben had experienced both many times fighting the Allith, pirates and on a few occasions, rebels. The beasts didn’t have teeth. They would rend the flesh with their claws and tear it away with the beak, swallowing the pieces whole.

  The screaming and moaning all but stopped. The handlers entered the arena dressed in armor with weapons in hand and something like a cattle prod. They had let the beasts eat their fill and herded them back to their pen.

  Ben watched a guard unlock his cage door and throw it open. "We are going to all enjoy watching the beasts gorge themselves on you, human trash. It will happen hopefully sooner than later, but it will happen. You are to fight until you die. There will be no reprieves."

  Ben replied, "Nice speech, so let me tell you how it will really go down. I will fight and kill a lot of my opponents. The crowd will be betting a lot and your master will see there is money to be made keeping me alive. Then I will walk from the arena and beat you till you wish death and throw your body in the arena for the beasts to eat while you are still alive."

  Ben faced the arena and walked out into the blood and death that lay all around.

  Chapter 26

  10 hours 30 minutes. . .

  He saw the trio sitting in their box seats. Silk sat holding a bag in her hand. She motioned for Ben to approach. He searched the field looking at the potential weapons, picking some up as he walked. He found the old nicked up sword he had used on his last visit to the arena. He searched the ground for a stone and found a flat one with a rough surface. He continued his journey, dragging the stone down the edge of the sword as he walked.

  It would still be full of nicks but it might have an edge. There was no time for sawing back and forth on a throat or an arm with a dull blade. It had to bite deep and be pulled through without snagging. He decided not to stop sharpening until he had to attack or defend. He hoped maybe it might be a little unnerving to his opponent. He looked around at the mangled bodies for any piece of armor that might be serviceable.

  The man door opened and a guard began yelling at him to hurry up. He ignored it and continued his search. The guard did not venture in to tell him face to face. If it irritated his captors, then he would certainly not move any faster, no matter how much some chicken shit guard yelled. He found a body with shoulder guards made of some metal. He knelt and began removing them, trying not to vomit. They were ornate with scrollwork and were probably quite nice when cleaned and polished. The rest of the armor didn’t match, straps were cut and some work would need to be done to get some of the pieces to fit him.

  Pushing the point of the sword in the ground until it stood on its own, hilt within 6 inches of his hand, he dropped the rock next to his foot and put the shoulder guards on. That accomplished, he picked up the rock, pulled the sword free and began walking, continuing to scan for something useful and sharpening the sword. The sound of a cage door clanging open and the pounding of heavy feet put him on full alert. He saw a thousand pounds of matted fur burned short in some places. Two angry, tormented eyes had locked on him as its target for destruction.

  Ben was sure it wasn’t a predator. The squared off teeth, its elongated block-like head and overall body shape reminded him of something bovine. It didn’t seem to have any defensive or offensive body parts other than its size and attitude. He s
tood motionless, its speed increasing, bearing down on him like a mag train. There was no use in running. He just hoped it had no agility moving at that speed. This was all about timing. If he moved to soon, it might adjust enough for a hit, too late and it would hit him, more than likely breaking most of the bones in his body.

  The beast must have thought he was frozen in fear and pushed itself to its limit. Ben spun his body, feeling the air whoosh past him. He brought the flat of the sword down on its rear haunch eliciting a loud snort in response. It must have had a slight effect because it kept running all the way to the wall and following it around, gradually slowing down to a stop and facing him about fifty yards away. Ben began walking towards it, closing the distance. He needed it to be moving slower if he was going to get a killing stroke and it had to be the neck.

  It saw him moving towards it and began to charge. Ben ran at a steady pace and at five feet away, he jumped. Swinging the sword in a high arc, he brought it down into the neck till it hit bone. The sword was ripped out of his hand as he bounced off the beast’s side. Hitting the ground hard, he rolled, coming to a stop on his back. He heard it running away, its pace slowing till it came to a walk. Ben turned his head and watched as blood shoot out of the wound, the pressure from the beast’s heart pumping its life away. He sat up and watched as it knelt till it rested on its stomach, and its legs folded underneath its body.

  Ben approached the beast cautiously. Even in its current condition, it might have the strength to strike out with a kick which could break his leg. There was a pool of blood on the ground and a stream running out of the wound. It must be getting close to bleeding out. He pulled the sword free and continued his walk towards the master and his two freaks. He stopped fifteen feet from the wall and waited.

  Silk sat watching him with her unsettling stare. He expected her to speak when the other one pulled her hood back and stared at him with her stolen blue eyes.

  "The master thanks you for killing the Boonstang so cleanly. It is a delicacy and will bring a premium price from those who dine on it tonight."

  Ben didn’t feel like any response was necessary and stood staring at her. Silk felt it was time for her little reveal and threw the bag she held at Ben. He caught it one-handed and held it, gauging its contents. It had weight but was not heavy so he ruled out it being someone's head. Could be a hand wrapped in material. He stuck his sword in the ground and opened the bag, pulling out the material inside. He recognized Tawniz's clothing immediately. They were bloody and had been ripped and torn, not cut. They had let the beasts get to her. He dropped his head and closed his eyes.

  The spectators in the arena did not know what was going on but could see his response clear enough. Those who attended often knew of the games and deceptions that were used to get more emotion out of the prisoners. Anger almost always guaranteed some excitement.

  Ben threw the clothing on ground and turned to walk away. Silk stood up behind him and yelled. "I told you what would happen if you didn’t cooperate. I told you she would die."

  Ben spun and threw the sword as hard as he could. Silk's eyes got big, for a split second forgetting the force field. The sword hit and sparks flew as it ricocheted off and landed on the ground. She started to jump into the arena when a hand grabbed her arm. She sat down immediately, her master speaking to her, she dropped her head staring at the ground and listened.

  It took a couple of minutes of slow walking to get back to his cell. The guards just smiled, not moving to open the door.

  "You aren’t finished yet. Today you will fight until the master says you are through or you die."

  Ben heard cage doors this time. Two different doors opened and one of the champions walked through one and something new walked out of the other. It was humanoid with gray skin, two eyes but no mouth, nose or ears. It also had no hair. The champion knew what it was and didn’t want to have any part of it. He turned and grabbed the cage door and began pulling and yelling. Ben ignored him and began walking back the way he just came.

  10 Hours. . .

  The champion worked his way along the wall of the arena in the direction of the sword. Ben cursed under his breath for getting angry. He knew better. Now he faced an unknown weaponless. Anything with only a pair of eyes was not good, had to be a robot or android or someone's idea of a synthetic life form. It moved fluidly towards him, ignoring the other for now.

  Ben reached down and picked up a femur from something big that had been dead for a while. It was stripped clean and heavy. It would take two hands to do anything effective with it. He walked towards his new adversary ready to dance.

  ****

  The queen sat in her state room, eyes closed, thinking of possible futures. Revenge on her mother’s killer, and a mate of her own. The human was ignorant of many things and one of them would be that being her mate was voluntary. She hoped he would not let emotions cloud his judgment and would go with her back to her world. He had no hate for her warriors and drones and she had seen his ideas to help feed and provide for them and establish a peace between the other races and the Cjittan.

  She knew he had found her attractive although he had stimulated himself with drink beyond his body's limit. What of the other females, one of whom was of royal blood in the Trillond Empire? She could not just kill them, she would pay them to leave or they could come and be servants except for the young one. She could accept her as family, give her a title and position. Her children would have an older sister, something she never had.

  Would love be too much to hope for? Her empire has not had a ruling couple who loved each other in a thousand years. Everything was planned, plotted, arranged and sometimes forced. He had better be alive when they get there or there will be no mercy; she would not restrain her soldiers.

  ****

  E'Aria sat thinking about what they would do once the battle was over and they could board the ship. Her plan was that she would go over and leave Lorelei in charge. In the event she or Benjamin did not return, Lorelei would return to Anubis and leave Natalia with the Vander Hoyts. She and Nick could work out the details of the company. Ben and Andrea's shares passed to Natalia on her eighteenth birthday if both were deceased. She wrote everything she had been thinking into a sealed file and imprinted her signature.

  "Binda, can you have Grubb and Buddy report to the bridge please?" E'Aria asked.

  "On their way, captain."

  Three minutes later, the door opened. "You wanted to see us, capt'n?"

  "Yes, I want you and Buddy to accompany me when the time comes to retrieve Benjamin from that ship. Do you have armor and weapons?"

  "Yes, capt'n I believe there are two sets that will fit us in the armory."

  "We will not be alone. I am sure there will be a number of boarding parties. Once he is located, we will need to get to him as soon as possible with a medical kit."

  "You think he is going to be hurt or wounded?" Buddy asked.

  Lorelei turned and said. "Guys, this is Ben we are taking about. What do you think?"

  ****

  Ben hit the android as hard as he could. It rocked its head but it was not organic and didn’t get disoriented because of the punch. He dove to retrieve the femur bone he had knocked out of his hands just a minute earlier. He came up swinging, connecting with the android’s chest, knocking it back a few inches. Ben had decided earlier it wasn’t a robot. He had dealt with a number of unknowns lately and decided to think of them as what he felt they were closely related to.

  The asshole with his sword hung back, waiting for a moment of weakness out of either of them before he would strike. Ben was not going to get killed by a sword he had just spent his time sharpening. He ran at the so-called champion and swung. His adversary parried the swing and brought an overhand swing at Ben’s head. He was hoping for it as he held the bone with both hands; the sword biting deep, he twisted and ripped the sword right from his opponent’s hand. A quick kick to the chest backed him up while Ben stepped away.

  The andr
oid was almost on Ben when he swung the sword with the bone still attached and the android grabbed both ends of the bone. Ben jerked the sword free and stepped back. The champion ran seeing both his opponents now armed. The android gave chase while Ben stood and watched catching a breather. The crunch sound was the loudest Ben had ever heard as the android hit the running champion in the back of the head with the bone. The bone splintered and broke where the sword had been embedded and the back of the champion’s head exploded. Ben paused to think, he had been hit by the android and it hadn’t broken anything in his chest, yet it just pulverized that guy. Did it have orders from someone to do that or was it that it just didn’t like the coward? It looked at the body for fifteen seconds and moved in Ben's direction.

  The bone was shorter now so it would have to get in closer to use it effectively. Ben felt it was time to see exactly what it knew about hand-to-hand combat. He knew it was many times stronger than him and very fast. He couldn’t stand still for any period of time so he charged, turning sideways and bent at the knee's to present the smallest, lowest target possible. He swung for its leg one-handed while dodging a downward swing at his head. Brown liquid that looked like motor oil ran down its leg after he pulled the sword free.

  When Ben dodged the swing, he didn’t retreat. He moved just enough to swing a second time at the other leg, connecting just at the knee joint. He didn’t move fast enough to dodge the back swing and caught it in the back adding some additional momentum to his steps. He heard the android move behind him and he reversed the grip on his sword and swung rear-ward at an upward angle. He felt it bite as he pushed back, driving it inside the android. The bone came down hard on his shoulder guard driving him to his knees and breaking his collar bone. He pulled on the sword and dove forward, trying not to black out as he rolled away from android. Like the Boonstang beast, the android was losing valuable fluids and although it was still on its feet, it was not moving very fast. But neither was he. He saw the android looming over him with the bone poised to bash his skull. He took his sword and thrust it between the android’s legs. It penetrated the outer skin and traveled half the length of the blade before hitting something hard. That something sent an electrical shock through the sword and into Ben and that was the last thing he remembered.