by T. S. Ryder
But she wished this moment would last longer.
"I don't like living like this," Gylden said suddenly.
"What?"
He turned towards her. "I don't like living like all I am good for is people's entertainment. It's been my normal for so long I've gotten used to it, but I hate it. Even if I win my freedom in these games, I won't be free. My life belongs to the public and it always will be. I have killed and killed for their entertainment, and I will either die for their entertainment or I will someday train others to kill and die for their entertainment. I have thought about escape, but I've seen what happens to people who try."
Bianca shivered as she moved closer, wanting to comfort him. "There has to be a way. I can't believe that it's legal to just go around stealing people and making them slaves! There are laws, aren't there?"
"Laws only apply to citizens. Humans are generally citizens, but if you didn't have your papers, then you're not a citizen. As for me, my parents and I lived outside of United Species territory. And I'm T'shav. Nobody cares what happens to my people."
Bianca's hands clenched, but before she could say another word, the door was flung open. Taskus Draw strode in, fury written all over his face. Drones buzzed around him like angry flies. He stopped in the doorway and sniffed the air. "So is this why you sabotaged our systems? To have sex and deny our viewers the sight?"
Bianca jumped to her feet, embarrassment flooding her face with heat. But there was anger, too. How dare he come in here and turn this beautiful thing that happened between her and Gylden into something to be ashamed of? A drone flew right into her face, bathing it with a red light. She swatted at it.
"We didn't turn off any systems," Gylden said, grabbing her arm. "We woke up and it was dark. But Bianca isn't used to being watched, so I thought it was prudent to take a moment to—"
"Isn't used to being watched? Is that what you think is a reasonable excuse?" He turned towards one of the drones buzzing at his ear. "This selfish woman wants to exclude you from not only her life but the life of Gylden, too."
"One moment to ourselves—"
"You both know the rules. You live for the public, and yet you deny them the pleasure of witnessing this major step in your relationship? You must be punished for this."
Bianca shrank against Gylden. She trembled. How could a moment so beautiful turn into such terror now?
"I think I have the perfect punishment as well." Taskus grinned. "Since you are so determined to keep yourself separate from the public, you will be locked together for three weeks in the dungeons. And when are released, you will enter the arena, just the two of you against half a dozen other gladiators. And if you can't fight together as well as you hide together… well, you'll die."
Bianca cried out in protest, but Gylden's tight grip around her waist reminded her to be quiet. If she didn't, she might make it worse than it already was! She trembled in his arms. Three weeks in the dungeons, and then she would have to fight for her life. And if she failed? Gylden said he would die with her.
How were they going to survive this?
Chapter Seven – Gylden
Bianca trembled from head to toe as the trainers dressed her in armor. Or what apparently counted as armor for her. It consisted of a chainmail skirt, split open on the sides, and a breastplate with two large breasts molded into it–if she fell face-forward, the cups would crush her sternum. It was designed to show off her figure, not protect her. At least she was given two lightweight blades that she would actually be able to wield.
Gylden clasped her hand once they were dressed. "I will protect you, Bianca. You have the promise of my life and blood that I will die before I let anything happen to you."
Bianca shook her head. "No. No, you can't do that. If you die, I'm dead. But if I die, you can still live."
"I won't want to."
They stared at one another for a long moment. Gylden tried to smile, to show some reassurance in the way he looked at her that his defeat was impossible. But of course it was possible. He could take on any of the other gladiators with a reasonable assurance that he was going to win but against half a dozen all together? He might not be that good. It just depended on whether the public was angry with them for not having sex before their prying eyes.
Bianca threw her arms around his neck when Taskus Draw called his name. Her body undulated against him, causing heat to burn through him. His arms circled her waist, pulling her flush against him. This could be the last time they ever kissed…
I could spend the rest of my life like this, he thought. I wish we had more time.
The trainers pushed them. Together they stumbled into the arena, not letting go of one another. Their kiss was being replayed in slow motion on the screens surrounding the arena, and a well of anger rose in Gylden's gut. So much of his private life, instances that should have been wholesome, pure, just for him to treasure in his heart, had been stolen from him and put on display. It wasn't right.
But there was no time to dwell on that.
Gylden tried to empty his mind as he faced off with his opponents. Two Odaps, a Suesue, an Aphrosian and a Rlabek. All excellent fighters, but manageable. None of them were men the T'shav had trained with, and for that he was thankful. He'd killed enough friends in this arena to last a lifetime.
"Remember what I told you," he whispered to Bianca as Taskus Draw repeated the stakes for whoever might not be up to date. "Your best defense is speed. Run. And if you can't run—"
"Aim for arms. I'm not strong enough to pierce through metal. I know." Bianca fell back several steps.
Gylden rose his broadsword, the pinkish traluthian steel flashing in the artificial sun. The Odaps would have to go first. With their wings, they could easily take flight and go over his head for Bianca. He shifted into a fighting stance as the other gladiators did the same. He gripped his weapon tightly.
"Fight!" Taskus cried, and the other gladiators charged.
As expected, the Odaps' wings started beating at once. Gylden could hear Bianca running around the edge of the arena, and he lunged into the center of the group. His swung his sword from side to side. Most of the gladiators jumped out of his way then turned to face him, but one Odap still went after Bianca, daggers flashing in its hands. Gylden elbowed the Aphrosian in the face. It stumbled back; he grabbed it and threw it onto the Rlabek's sword.
The Aphrosian squealed, a dagger dropping from its hand. Gylden rolled, kicking the Rlabek and Suesue off their feet, and grabbed the dagger. The first Odap was almost on Bianca as she ran. With a grunt Gylden threw his dagger; it sunk deep into the Odap's neck and the alien crumpled. The motion left his side unprotected though; the second Odap struck a blow across him. Metal screeched on metal as the Odap's sword skittered off his armor, but it managed to turn at the last second and scrape his arm. Blood welled out of the wound.
"And it looks as though our hero is drawing strength from his love, while the woman merely flees and lets him fight for himself!" Taskus Draw shouted over the clash of battle.
I am going to kill him, Gylden vowed, dropping his sword to grab the wrists of the Rlabek and Suesue and turn them into each other. The swords they both held pierced the cheap armor they were wearing. Both fell gasping, and Gylden quickly put distance between himself and them. The Odap looked at him, hefting its blade. Its wings fluttered.
The two began circling one another, waiting and searching for an opening in the other one's defense. Gylden's heart pounded. Perhaps Taskus Draw had decided to put public opinion over his own desires, after all. That had hardly been a fight, and four were down already. Bianca was far from them and there was only this single Odap left.
"It looks as though Gylden has won. But wait," Taskus shouted, as though reading Gylden's mind. "Didn't I say there would be six opponents? Why yes, I did! And here is our sixth champion… Huenal the Ernesian! They say he has a taste for human flesh."
The Odap lunged clumsily. All Gylden needed to do was dodge his enemy's blade while h
olding his own still. The alien impaled itself. Gylden whipped his sword out of the body and turned. Bianca was running back towards him, pure terror on her face. A gigantic, hairy Ernesian chased after her on all fours. Gylden ran towards her, but he was too slow.
Everything seemed to stop as he saw a silver blade pierce through Bianca's shoulder. She stumbled, a scream twisting from her mouth. The Ernesian behind her grabbed her by the back of the neck and laughed. His teeth were filed into sharp points. Gylden urged himself to go faster, but the sand beneath his feet seemed to suck in every step, slowing him. The Ernesian bit into Bianca's neck.
A roar of rage filled the stadium. Even Taskus Draw's voice was drowned out in it. The Ernesian looked up, blood dripping from his mouth. The last thing it saw was Gylden's blade driving directly into its eye. The T'shav stabbed clean through the alien's head, then withdrew his blade and swung in in a wild circle. Blade bit through flesh and bone, and the Ernesian's head went flying.
Gylden dropped to his knees beside Bianca. Her eyes were wide, blood pooling from the fingers pressed to her throat, but she was alive. He gathered her into his arms, his chest so full of anger and helplessness that he felt hollow. His mate clung to him. What was he supposed to do? How could he save her? If any arteries were cut…
"By popular demand, we are sending in paramedics to see if the human can be saved," Taskus Draw said from somewhere above him, but Gylden didn't listen.
Blood pounded in his ears, adrenaline coursing through him. When he saw four Rlabeks in green uniforms jog out onto the sand, his terror-filled brain didn't see paramedics. He only saw more threats. He howled as he jumped back to his feet, charging at them with his sword at the ready.
There was a shout, and one of the paramedics pointed a gun at him. A bolt shot from it, striking him square in the chest. Pain blossomed from the impact zone. An electric current swept through him from head to toe. Bright flashes of white and black splashed across his vision. He fell to his knees, clutching his head and screaming with pain. When the agony stopped, he collapsed, breathing heavily. Through hooded eyes, he saw the Rlabeks put Bianca onto a stretcher.
They were going to take care of her. Patch her up. Save her. His body sagged into the sand in relief. They could save her. They had to save her.
"And here is our hero, driven to the point of exhaustion from pain and worry."
Taskus Draw's shadow fell over his face. It took all of Gylden's strength at that moment not to pick up his sword and drive it into the network host's body. Who was he, to preside over such death? For all his talk of viewer votes, the truth was that Taskus held the guillotine over all their necks.
Gylden drew in a deep breath and forced himself to get to his feet. He would be expected to stand and talk when all he wanted was to run after Bianca. Hold her hand and reassure her that it was all going to be okay.
"Can you tell me what you're feeling right now?" Taskus asked him.
A drone flew directly into his face, the beam of light narrowing onto his eyes. A dramatic close-up. The sight of his own black eyes was reflected back to him from all around the area. Gylden stared back at his eyes and saw the truth in them.
"Horror."
He turned and looked at the dead bodies of his fellow gladiators. Taskus liked to emphasize how many of the fighters were condemned prisoners, but how many of these fellows had been? How many were like him, raised from childhood to kill or be killed? How many like Bianca, stolen and thrown into this mix without a prayer?
"I am horrified that this is allowed to happen. That the United Species has not stepped in and ended the barbaric practice of forcing sentient beings to kill each other. And I am horrified that there are billions of depraved people who think that my life exists only for their entertainment. I am horrified that I have been here since I was a child and all of you are allowed to sit in your cozy homes without the slightest bit of guilt from the fact that you are all murderers."
Gylden nodded, satisfied with what he had said, and strode towards the exit. He had to be with Bianca.
And if she dies, so does every single person who failed her. Starting with Taskus Draw.
Chapter Eight – Bianca
The cameras were never going to turn off.
Bianca didn't even have the option of closing her eyes and pretending she was somewhere else. With the blood pumping from her body, the paramedics had injected some sort of paralytic into her. She couldn't move, not even to breathe on her own. That was the job of a machine she was hooked up into.
Surgeons worked around her, describing what they were seeing and doing. Several injections of bloodstore were used. Fleshseal wasn’t going to be enough to save her life, so intense regeneration was used on her throat.
Bianca could feel what was happening, but distanced, like the memory of a dream. There was pain, but not so much that she could actually be bothered with it. More pressing was the fear. She didn't know how much of what the surgeons were saying was real and how much for the show.
The regeneration of her throat was happening too slowly. The machine was in need of repairs. If they didn’t start on her arm soon, she might lose it. The blade had cut through bones and tendons. There were no other regeneration units available. There was just a flap of skin holding her shoulder together. She was bleeding out still, the fleshseal wasn't stopping up the detached limb like it should.
"Her throat is healed now," one of the surgeons said. "Get the regenerator on her shoulder."
"It's not fully healed. She'll scar if I move now."
I'd rather have a scar on my throat than lose my arm! she wanted to scream, but couldn't even blink. A nurse dropped some sort of liquid in them and closed her eyes before opening them again.
And those stupid camera drones were still all over the place, relaying everything to billions of strangers.
"There," said the head surgeon. "All healed up. Now let's take a look at that arm… oh. Oh, dear."
There was a sound like scissors snipping through a fish fillet, and Bianca saw her arm lifted up, out of the way. Her body didn't respond, but her mind whirled. Everything blacked out for a moment, unable to process what she was seeing. Even the voices of the surgeons faded away, and she was able to think of Gylden, and nothing by Gylden.
The rawness in his eyes when he stopped her escape attempt… she should never have almost left him behind. She should have invited him to go with her from the start. But he had found her, stopped her, and they had shared something together that she had never shared with anybody else. Of course she'd had sex before, but Gylden made love to her.
And no matter what happened, nobody could take that away from her.
The surgeon's voice pierced through the black in her mind. "Well, look at that. She's pregnant."
Everything rushed back into focus. She could see the surgeons above her, holding a scanner in their hands. Pregnant? Were they serious?
"It won't survive her injuries."
No! Bianca fought against her paralysis to no avail. It didn't matter that she had just learned she was pregnant, and that she could only be three standard weeks along–less than that in Earth time–she couldn't lose her baby!
"It must be the T'shav's child," another surgeon said. "They're a hardy species. It might survive."
The blackness overtook her again.
***
There was an elephant sitting on her chest. It was hard to breathe. Her eyelids weighed a ton. A desert had taken up residence in her throat.
Bianca's eyes slowly fluttered open. She was back in Gylden's room, cool air brushing against her skin, her T'shav's arms around her. She moaned as pricklings of pain shot up and down her arm. It felt like she had been lying on it for a few hours, and was just coming back from the bloodless numbing such an action would create.
"Bianca?" Gylden propped himself onto his elbow and gazed down at her.
She opened her mouth to say his name, but at that moment she remembered what she had heard just before she blacked out t
he second time. "I'm pregnant."
"I know." Gylden gently kissed her. "I watched the surgery."
"Am I still pregnant?"
He nodded. "The baby survived."
Bianca sagged in relief, her eyes closing again. Their baby survived. A baby she hadn't even known about. How could she be so attached already? But if it hadn't survived… she didn't know how she would have been able to handle it.
Gylden stroked her hair. "I was so worried about you."
"I'm okay. I'm a little thirsty."
The gladiator slid out of bed and retrieved a glass of water. He helped Bianca sit, and she reached for the glass with her injured arm. It was amazing how, now that the pins and needles had disappeared, it was just the same as always. These alien technologies were amazing, to be able to reattach a limb so well. Would she even have a scar? She wore an elbow-length shirt, so she couldn't see.
"I'm sorry," Gylden said, his voice thick as she inspected it.
"Sorry? For what? You saved my life."
The T'shav looked away. A drone flew into his face. "If I had been quicker, you wouldn't have lost it."
"Lost…"
Bianca looked back at her arm. Her hand trembled as she pulled up her sleeve. Just beyond her elbow, the smooth, pale skin melted into a bluish material that was as sort as skin. It was transparent, showing the whirling mechanics inside. An access door went from shoulder to halfway down her bicep.
"It doesn't matter." She pulled her sleeve back down, though her stomach churned. "You saved my life, and it doesn't feel like I have a new arm at all. And I can wiggle my fingers still. It doesn't matter."
Gylden glanced at her. "If I—"
"I'm alive. You're alive. Our baby is alive." She gulped. Their baby. "What are we going to do now? I can't go back into the arena, the baby…"
The T'shav wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her in tight. When a drone zoomed into her face, she turned and buried her face into Gylden's shoulder. He stroked her hair in smooth, even strokes, relaxing her.