The Humming Bird's Choice

by Samuel J Fox

  The Hunter hysterically laughs,

  “I didn’t think my first kill was going to be this easy! But I must say kid, that was pretty good shot with that rock you threw. It’s a shame you won’t be alive to do it again.”

  Sparky stands firm with his spear tightly locked in both hands.

  “I would have thought it would have knocked some sense into that tiny brain of yours. It’s also a shame you won’t be around to realise you shouldn’t have messed with us!” Sparky shouts back, cutting the Hunter from his rage of laughter.

  The Hunter begins to pull out a wooden bat, longer than my arm, which dozens of rusty dagger heads stick out from.

  I watch as Sparky slowly edges backwards. The sight of the Hunters weapon probably has struck fear into him, but he’ll never show it.

  “Funny that,” the Hunter says. “No Hider has ever spoken back to a Hunter before. Guess I’ll have to show the public why it’s best to stay quiet.”

  The Hunter takes off, his bat dragging along the floor, striking sparks into the ground as he charges towards Sparky.

  This is it, my brother’s strategy is either going to save him, or kill him.

  Zach and Jessy begin to push the boulder towards the edge of the cliff as Sparky retreats to a safe distance. He doesn’t take his eye of the Hunter, who surprisingly is sticking to the straight path they seemed to anticipate.

  The Hunter begins to roar like a bear, letting out a rumble which can only come from the pit of his stomach.

  Come on, just a little closer, just a bit more.

  I quickly look back at the Zach and Jessy who are struggling to push the boulder of the cliff. Jessy suddenly catches his foot on a rock and tumbles over the cliff edge. His hand barley manages to catch the edge, leaving him hanging in mid-air. Zach continues his struggle to push the boulder with all his might before the Hunter reaches sparky.

  My heart is pumping so fast I feel like it could burst at any moment.

  One more push and he’s done it.

  Then, without reasoning a flash of white and blue crashes into Zach. They tumble down the cliff into a dark corner of the arena. Slashes and piercing screams can be heard from the darkness, Zach’s thunderous cry causes the Hunter to stop in his tracks, directly under the spot where the boulder would have fallen. The sound of bones being crushed and clothes being torn fill the cavern.

  Then all of a sudden, the loud screaming and plea for mercy stops.

  I struggle to find the creature which attacked Zach. The further I stare into the darkness, the more it begins to engulf the arena. But then I see it, a saber-toothed tiger appears from the shadows. Its razor-sharp teeth stick out from under its lips, blood drips from both. A low growl can be heard as it retreats down to the Hunters side.

  I guess this was the new toy King Helfer was talking about.

  17

  ‘The screaming stops at this point but the cracking of bones and the thuds of punching continues.’

  The vicious tiger stands firm by his master’s side. It’s piercing claws curl into the ground beneath. The Hunter begins to laugh while he pets his new side kick. For a moment, I thought Sparky had done it, finally defeated the Hunter. Deep down, for a few seconds I had a feeling we may all be able to walk home together, as one.

  “I see your friend has met Stripes,” says the Hunter. The name probably coming from the blue and white striped pattern that covers the tigers fur. A patch of blue covers one of the tiger’s eye, giving an effect of the eye being smaller than the other. “You can come stroke him if you want? I promise you, he doesn’t bite.”

  The Hunter continues to laugh as he looks above his head.

  “Ah, so that’s why you were acting tough! You were going to drop that huge stone on my head and kill me,” he says, acting slightly surprised. “I’m guessing that was your idea,” he points at Sparky. “Pretty good, shame it didn’t work out well, otherwise you would be on your way home right now. You would have been knighted the first Centaur to ever kill a Hunter.”

  His voice echoes through the entire cavern. Everyone stands in silence in the viewing stands.

  Sparky stands there stunned, although his spear still firmly locked in his hand, his face tells me that he still can’t believe what just happened. As if the game has become a reality.

  “You can’t do that!” Sparky shouts. “That isn’t fair! You can’t suddenly include a tiger and think that we still might survive. The game has always been six Hiders and one Hunter!”

  “The game changes kid!” The Hunter roars back, stopping Sparky from continuing.

  Something catches my eye in the top corner of the room. The mangled legs of Zach stick out from behind a huge rock. A burning feeling ignites in my stomach. I suddenly feel a surge of anger towards the King, including another chess piece in his sick game. A toy that takes the life of an innocent Centaur, his life was taken away in seconds, painfully. All the ambitions and dreams that lived inside him have been ripped apart all for the sake of the Kunzite stone.

  “I haven’t got time to mess around, lets finish this!”

  Without warning, the Hunter roars a language I have never heard before.

  “Moa-lak-ee!” The words erupt from his throat, initiating the saber-toothed tiger to begin climbing the rocks of cavern wall, up towards Jessy who still dangles in mid-air.

  Just as the Hunter begins to approach Sparky again, weapon at the ready, Mia, Haye and Casey appear from behind. All four now surround the Hunter, and as if a someone suddenly blew a whistle all five centaurs collide with each other in a frenzy of metal striking wood.

  I push through the crowd, and rush to the other end of the viewing stand on the left-hand side to get a clearer view of Sparky. The group continue moving in random directions depending on who lunges in first.

  Still my dad and Monni are no-where to be seen.

  The Hunter holds his ground as all four hiders swing their weapons. Mia and Casey both hold short stubby hatchets, while Haye holds only a wooden bat which already looks worn and beaten.

  Casey launches himself towards the Hunter, screaming as he does. It connects firmly into the Hunters shoulder, who screams in agony as he swings his huge arm around, crashing into Casey’s chest knocking him backwards onto the floor. The wedged hatchet remains in the Hunters shoulder as he continues to punch Sparky in the cheek and then go onto swing his pierced bat at Mia, barely missing her head.

  “Someone help me please!” I turn my head to see Jessy, who still remains holding on to the edge of the cliff, whilst the striped saber-toothed tiger continues to climb up the wall. The tiger loses grips and falls back down a few meters before regaining clutch. Loose stones and grey dust roll down the cliff after every step the tiger takes.

  I watch as Sparky regains his balance and dart towards Jessy. He ducks and rolls avoiding the collision of the Hunters bat, leaving the three Hiders to deal with the savage Centaur.

  The whole scene looks like a movie in progress, none of the actions seem real to me. I’m currently watching innocent Centaurs fight for their life, all in the name of the King.

  The thought of the unknown scares me, not knowing whether Sparky will come out alive, or whether another toy is going to be released into the arena. I can’t bear to watch, but I force myself.

  Sparky needs me more than ever and I’m not even down there to support him.

  “Be careful Sparky!” I shout from across the viewing stand, so loud I shut my eyes as I scream.

  Sparky stops in his tracks as he climbs up another route towards Jessy. He briefly smiles and nods his head towards me before continuing his rescue. His expression turns back to determination, more determined than ever before.

  I turn my head back down to the arena floor, where the Hiders continue to fight for their lives. During a brief moment of hesitation, the Hunter agonizingly pulls the hatchet from his shoulder and catapults it towards Haye. Embedding the sharp weapon in her head. Mia screams from the sight of Haye still standing with the h
atchet buried deep in her skull. The Hunters scoffs and decides to dart towards her next, his fist connecting with the side of her head. The horrifying screams stop and the Hunter stands over her, with his bat tucked firmly in both hands.

  But before he swings, Casey dives into his side causing them both to collapse to the floor, and the struggle continues.

  +++

  All the exhilaration causes me to forget about Sparky. I swiftly search the dimly lit arena for him. The sapphire stones increase in number as they rise up the walls, making the roof of the cave nearly as bright as the outside world. The cavern system which makes up the gigantic fighting arena is located just outside Barndale, east of Rockathorne. Far enough that we won’t be reminded daily of what goes on here.

  It suddenly hits me; my mum went through all of this. I wasn’t sure if she watched the Hideout, but she nevertheless experienced the pure fear for the safety of her sister. She experienced the pain of knowing her sister died for a cause which was not worthy, and I am watching my brother fight for a cause which still isn’t deemed worthy enough.

  I’ve lost so many years of spending time with my mum, and I will continue to do so because of the Kings sickness.

  I finally catch sight of Sparky. His spear glimmers in the blue light from where he holds it in an attack formation.

  To make things worse the malicious centaur-eating tiger is already in reaching distance from beneath Jessy. Every time the tiger pounces at his feet from below, Jessy swings his legs to the side, only just about escaping the grasp of the tiger. If one of his legs were to be caught, the tiger would be able to pull him down and kill him for sure. The tiger looks like it has a taste for blood, his vicious snarl vibrates through the air putting me on a knife edge.

  Jessy’s scream fills the arena and his sobbing begins to sound infant like. As much as he tormented me through school I still can’t help but feel bad for him. Even though this seems like karma for all the horrible things he has done to other Centaurs. He no longer shows the brave and heroic smile he had shown at the Humming Birds anniversary.

  Sparky finally reaches Jessy and begins to pull him back up to safety. By grabbing him from the back of his neck Sparky yanks him back up onto safe ground. But before I even realise, the saber tooth tiger jumps high enough and latches hold of Jessy’s ankle with its strong jaw.

  I watch from a distance as Jessy kicks the tiger in the face causing it to let go and disappear down the cliff.

  But from the looks of it, the saber tooth tiger claws itself back up along the cliff and onto the top, standing just in front of Sparky and Jessy, who have just about regained their balance.

  The tiger instantly pounces on Sparky, pinning him to floor. His spear is knocked to the side out of reach.

  Jessy clambers around the tiger and begins to run away. The feeling of hatred comes back, reminding me why a Centaur like him doesn’t deserve to be saved. A coward.

  But as he runs away he trips over the tigers long white tail. Which grows longer than two of me, no wonder it manages to maintain its balance along the walls.

  The tiger squeals and jumps off Sparky, leaving only minor scratches. It jumps on Jessy from behind, and the tigers long sharp teeth dig into the Jessy’ neck, causing him to scream in agonizing pain. It then continues to lift Jessy of the floor and shake him around while its jaw is still clamped into Jessy’s neck and shoulder.

  Sparky swiftly jumps to his feet and runs for his spear. I can see the blood and sweat dripping from his face. He spits a mouthful of dark watery blood onto the floor before standing on all four hoofs in a strong position. The tiger turns and releases Jessy onto the floor, who falls motionless onto the ground.

  I stand and watch as the boy who bullied me for my entire life, dies right in front of me, and I feel no relief or pleasure what so ever.

  The flash of blue and white snaps me out of thought. It charges towards Sparky so fast I struggle to process its next move. But before it reaches Sparky, he throws his spear directly into the tiger’s eye. Killing it instantly and causing its heavy body to slide across the floor to Sparkys feet.

  I watch as Sparky releases a huge sigh of relief and bends over to pull the spear from the tiger’s eye. He then kicks the overgrown cat over the edge of the cliff, landing directly behind the Hunter, who is still fighting off Mia and Casey.

  For a moment, the Hunter stops, and so do Mia and Casey. He turns to see his beloved tiger dead before him. He kneels to stroke the tigers head, running his large rough hands along the soft fur of his loyal companion.

  He looks back up at Sparky, who stands over the cliff with his spear head pointing towards the ground.

  The Hunter screams up at him, stretching both arms outwards. He punches the ground in anger and bows his head.

  “You killed my Stripes!” he shouts. “You will die for this, you puny Centaur!”

  I feel like he begins to cry, but he returns to his feet and strides directly towards Casey.

  Casey picks up the bat Haye left and swings towards the Hunter. He grabs the bat in mid-air and it snaps almost by touch. The Hunter wraps his beefy hands around Casey’s throat and squeezes so hard it begins to crush his neck, slowly killing him. The Hunters sharp eyes stare into Casey’s as blood pours from his mouth, roaring as he does. With one last crushing blow, Casey’s neck snaps and the Hunter drops him to the floor like nothing.

  The Hunter then turns to Mia, who I think is backed up in a corner of the arena beneath me. But she is so far under I struggle to see her. I watch as the blood thirsty Hunter runs under the cavern wall towards where Mia’s screams originate.

  I can’t see what happens, but I hear it. A body slams into a wall, crushing a number of bones as it does. The screaming stops at this point but the cracking of bones and the thud of punching continues.

  Moments later the Hunter returns.

  “See what happens when someone becomes a hero?” The Hunter spits as he points at Sparky who still stands in shock on the edge of the cliff. “They all died because of you. You ever wonder why these games always end so quickly? Because they always decide to take the easy way out and spare the relentless, unbearable pain of death. The more you resist the worse it will be kid, and you have proven that today in front of all these Centaurs! They all died while holding on to a glimmer of hope. A hope which you gave to them!”

  “Stop!” Sparky shouts back. “Stop it! You’ve done enough damage tonight!” I can hear his voice welling up.

  “But we all know that is never going to happen!” The Hunter roars back.

  “I said stop it!” Sparky screams as he charges down the cliff. Almost tripping over his own hoof as he does. His spear drags behind him in the stones as he sprints down the steep edge.

  The Hunter gallops back into the discussion, teasing Sparky into chasing him.

  I push through the crowd, who also run back into the main stand. Arms flail around, everyone eager to watch the Hunter face off against the final Hider. The lights suddenly turn yellow again, and I begin to see the flickering of flames. King Helfer sits up from his throne after hearing the noise of the excited crowd.

  I squeeze into a gap between the crowd at the front, only to see Sparky and the Hunter standing face to face.

  18

  ‘How about we finish this?’

  King Helfer waves away two elegant girls, one holds a vine of green and red grapes, the other holds a giant glossy feathered fan, laced with feathers more colourfull than a rainbow. Blending from lime green into a vibrant yellow and then into a fiery orange. He leans over the edge, grinning with his bright teeth shining outwards. I’ve never seen a Centaur more fascinated than him. He licks his lips slowly from one side to the other, lathering his thin lips with saliva.

  Neither Sparky nor the Hunter makes the first move. They both stand there in silence, staring each other out.

  But Sparky abruptly charges at the Hunter, killing the silence with his powerful shout.

  My heart beats faster than ever be
fore. Sparky is the last Centaur the Hunter has to kill to gain freedom. Either the Hunter or Sparky will die in the next few moments and I can’t bear to watch.

  The Hunter dodges Sparkys first attempt at jabbing him. He then smoothly ducks and pivots to avoid Sparkys next few attacks. Sparky attacks with much more power and precision than before, this time connecting with the Hunters forearm and thigh.

  The attack doesn’t seem to deter the Hunter, neither does it seem to cause him pain.

  “Good shot,” I hear the Hunter mumble from under his breath.

  He jumps to his feet and begins throwing his dagger infested bat around in Sparkys direction. Sparky blocks a couple hits with his spear, but the shear force from the mighty Hunter is too much for Sparky to handle.

  I fearfully watch on as Sparky attempts to block every overpowering swing from the Hunter, and no attempt to fight back. It seems a battle Sparky is losing and everything inside me wants to stop it.

  I spot the look in Sparkys face, he looks tired and in pain. It causes more tears to stream down my face. My fingers interlock with each other and fidget uncontrollably, I can’t stand still, like my body wants to jump in the arena and stop this ruthless game.

  I feel powerless and useless, I can’t do anything to help my brother in need.

  “Sparky!” I scream, choking on my own words as he trips over his own feet.

  He buckles backwards and slams into the dusty ground beneath him. His spear rolls away from him out of reach. But as he leans to the side to grab it, the Hunter stands on his arm, pinning him to the floor.

  “Guess this is it kid,” says the Hunter, struggling to breath at the same time.

  He throws his bat behind him without looking, not taking his dark eyes away from Sparky.

  Sparky begins to punch at the Hunters dench hoof in hope to get free of his grasp. But he kicks Sparky in the chest with his free hoof and continues to slam his fists into my brothers face. The sound of the fierce connection runs through my skin. A relentless feeling of anger flashes through me as I watch my brother get beaten to near death.