by Rohan Healy
“ONE!”
The entire arena fell into complete silence, distant coughs could be heard, a baby somewhere cried out. ‘Who brings a baby to a place like this?!’
“BEGIN THE BATTLE!” The crowd erupted once again as Kevin the Kreep dashed toward the challenging team. Miles, Lucy and Maxen leaned forward in their seats in anticipation. Steiner released Quincy from his leash and the ravenous mutated rat bolted to meet Kevin in the centre of the pit as the other team members cautiously strafed the outside of the bowl. Quincy let out a deafening squeal that could be heard even against the spectating masses and using his powerful hind legs, launched himself through the air toward Kevin, his razor sharp teeth gnashing and frothing. Kevin, cool as anything, took one step to his left at the last moment and Quincy went skidding across the blood-soaked, sandy arena floor. Kevin raised the cleaver in his left hand as Quincy rallied to strike again. Despite being a dumb animal Quincy seemed humiliated by Kevin’s dodge and charged at him once again, this time with even more enthusiasm. Kevin could be seen smirking beneath his shaggy fringe thanks to a close up on his face that was displayed in real time on the screen. He dug his feet into the sand and pulled the cleaver in his left hand back behind himself, winding up to release. Quincy again sprang into the air and Kevin fired the cleaver directly at the huge giga rat. The heavy knife span like a circular saw, cutting its way through the air before striking the leaping monster square on the nose and then slicing its way to the base of the creature’s neck, splitting Quincy’s head in two. The dead animal fell to the ground resulting in a large plume of dust and an even larger applause.
Miles covered Lucy’s eyes instinctively as Quincy’s gory remains were displayed on the giant screen.
“Stop it, I wanna see,” said Lucy batting Mile’s hand away, “Ewwwww, that’s gross!” Lucy scrunched up her face in disgust and covered her own eyes this time.
“And Quincy is DOWN!” screamed the announcer, “that’s one for The Dustbowlers, and you know what that means!”
In unison the crowd shouted “REINFORCEMENTS!”
Four men appeared around the top of the field of play, each of them holding a cage that looked to contain some kind of wild animal. One of the men opened his cage toward the pit and a fifteen foot snake shot itself into the arena with the fighters.
“Holy shit,” said Maxen, “it ain’t just the other team you gotta worry about!”
The brown and yellow snake slithered around the field menacingly, observing the fighters and keeping its distance, for now. Kevin meanwhile made his way back to his team mates and Janice took centre stage running toward the two remaining Warriors who looked terrified. It appeared that Quincy was their ace player but now he was lying dead in the sand, strikingly large ants and flies buzzing and picking at his still warm remains. Janice screamed chillingly and began to spin her chain above her head like a rotor blade. She had her sights set on Steiner who fumbled for a pistol in the back of his pants. Eric cocked his shotgun and fired a shot at Janice who dove and gracefully dodged the volley. Eric had one more shell, he took aim and prepared to fire. Steiner finally managed to pull his pistol out and was taking aimless pot shots at Janice, his trembling hand making it impossible for him to hit his mark. Janice, now within range, sent her chain out in front of her and wrapped its tip around Steiner’s neck like a rope. Steiner dropped his weapon and clawed desperately at the chain that was choking him in an attempt to loosen its grip as his consciousness faded. Now that Janice had stopped, Eric took the opportunity to aim and fire his final round. But Janice, ever wary and battle hardened would not be beaten so easily. She tugged hard on the chain pulling Steiner toward her as Eric’s shotgun blast rang out across the stadium. The spray of birdshot made heavy contact with flesh, emanating a sickening thud. Steiner bled profusely as he continued to choke, Janice’s human shield working perfectly, leaving her without a scratch. As Steiner’s eyes rolled back into his skull Janice dropped his heavy corpse to the ground with a flop and the crowd went wild.
“That’s two Wasteland Warriors down! I sure wouldn’t like to be Eric right about now!” the announcer jeered cruelly. ‘My God this is really quite horrifying,’ thought Miles to himself. He didn’t know what he thought arena fighting would be like, but he didn’t expect this. His skin crawled as a cold sweat ran down his back. He was suddenly regretting his decision to take part in the arena. ‘What the fuck have I gotten myself into here! What have I gotten Lucy into?!’ But there was no backing out now. Miles was smart enough to know that he wouldn’t simply be allowed to leave, and there were muscular guards at every exit. ‘Is Maxen even good enough to fight in this kind of situation? I just hope we get someone easier than The Dustbowlers.’
As Miles continued to sweat and worry, Eric down in the pit was being taunted by Roger Gunn. Another creature had been dropped into the field, a two headed alligator this time, which Roger was carrying under his arm and chasing Eric with. It was a pathetic sight, Eric, slightly overweight and thoroughly terrified was being pursued by a cackling giant of a man wielding two sets of snapping green, prehistoric jaws as the audience laughed hysterically at the poor man’s plight.
“Hey Miles,” Maxen shouted over Lucy’s head, “looks like they throw in another critter after every death.” Miles nodded stiffly in agreement. While he was busy freaking out, Maxen was taking notes.
The audience chuckled and jeered, The Dustbowlers really knew how to put on a show. But then the crowd grew impatient and began to chant.
“KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM…” and, ever the showman, it didn’t take long for Roger to oblige them. Taking the hissing snake in his free hand and using all his might, he launched both the mutated alligator and the giant snake toward Eric who was thoroughly exhausted. The two savage creatures attacked Eric mercilessly, the snake wrapping itself around his torso and sinking its poisonous fangs into his right thigh while the alligator heads mauled his face into an unrecognisable mess. Eric’s blood curdling screams blasted out of every speaker for the benefit of the crowd who wholeheartedly lapped up each gory second. But Lucy didn’t seem to be enjoying the show, she turned away every time someone was killed and who could blame her. ‘How on Carthage is she going to survive a battle if she can’t even watch one?’ Miles looked increasingly worried as he placed his arm around Lucy to comfort her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the winners are…..THE DUSTBOWLERS!” roared the announcer triumphantly and, on cue, the spectators showered the stadium with a powerful audio blast of approval. Kevin, Janice and Roger bowed and basked in the praise and adulation before making their way to the exit and disappearing from the pit.
“Hey Maxen,” said Miles with fear in his eyes, “do you really think we can do this? I mean thrashwings are one thing but those guys are killing machines!”
“Heh,” Maxen laughed, “you worry too much man, you’re gonna get an ulcer or somethin’, you just leave it up to Uncle Max.” He patted Lucy on the head and smiled down at her reassuringly, “besides, hopefully we’ll get an easier team than them guys!” Maxen laughed but Miles didn’t find it funny. ‘Hopefully?! That’s the plan? To hope for an easy battle?!’ Miles felt his stomach groan and tighten. He felt faint and waves of nausea swept over him as it does when one lets fear take hold.
Bizarre, crunching music was booming over the loud speakers during the intermission as people made their way to and from their seats. The fifteen minute break between fights felt like an eternity to Miles who was truly terrified. He’d felt the fear of impending death plenty of times since arriving on Gyaros but never had the stakes been so high. Failure here meant death not only for him but for Lucy and Maxen too, and he was so close, so close to New Fortune, so close to finding a way home. Miles gulped hard trying to keep the desire to throw up at bay when suddenly the music died down and the announcer’s familiar voice once again filled the arena.
“Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for the eighth and final fight of the day!”
The crowd
responded with the usual hoots and hollers.
“You three,” said a burly man to Miles’ right who was pointing and looking directly at him, “you’re up.”
Miles looked behind himself hoping desperately that the man was referring to someone else, but he was not. Miles, Lucy and Maxen were indeed up, Miles prayed that their number wasn’t as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 24
Miles' heart pounded loudly in his ears as they were lead down another dark tunnel by a large security guard wearing a fluorescent orange vest, pools of wet blood and patches of dry blood could be seen covering the ground beneath them, illuminated by dull fluorescent lights on the ceiling of the tunnel. Miles kept his right hand tightly wrapped around the revolver tucked into his trousers, making absolutely sure it was with him at all times, his left hand held Lucy firmly around her shoulder, keeping her close. ‘Holy shit, this is it. Just stick to the plan, let Maxen do the fighting. Everything is going to be fine...’ The cheers and hollers of the crowd above sounded distant and muffled from within the tunnel and the announcer could barely be heard preparing the bloodthirsty spectators for the next fight. As the end of the dark passage came into view, two men could be seen walking in the opposite direction, pushing large wheel barrows containing the lifeless, mangled corpses of The Wasteland Warriors. A chill ran down Miles' spine as he imagined himself, Maxen and Lucy being rolled away in a similar fashion. He clenched his teeth and pushed the gruesome image from his mind.
“You and Lucy just stay back and let me handle the fightin',” Maxen reminded Miles as the three of them drew closer to the arena, Miles nodded his head, fighting off another urge to be sick, and looked down at Lucy who hadn't said a word as they made their way through the tunnel, her brow was furrowed and her lips closed tightly in a look of intense focus. Miles’ mouth was as dry as the red desert and his stomach felt like it was housing a roller coaster, he’s never felt such a powerful sense of dread as he did at that moment.
The roar around the stadium grew louder and louder as the three members of the opposing team could be seen through the arch of the tunnel's exit.
“Wait a second...” shouted Miles as he looked out at the three fighters on the other side of the pit, his heart rate going up yet another gear, “that looks like The fucking Dustbowlers!”
“Shit,” replied Maxen placing his hands on his head, “we're fighting them too?” Miles’ heart sank to his stomach as he realized they were to fight the same team which had altogether destroyed The Wasteland Warriors in less than five minutes. They were only six meters away from entering the battleground when The Dustbowlers noticed them. Miles swallowed hard and took a deep breath before stepping into the sandy pit of the arena with Maxen and Lucy. He looked back down the tunnel. ‘Maybe we can make a run for it.’ But the heavy guards looked just as forbidding as The Dustbowlers. At the sight of Maxen’s Marauders the crowd exploded again with a combination of deafening cheers, boos, and whistles. Miles was shaking uncontrollably as adrenaline coursed through his veins. It was one thing to watch savage conflict from the stands above but standing in the blood soaked sand with hundreds of thousands of spectators crying out for your gruesome and brutally entertaining death was an entirely different experience.
“Feast your eyes on our next challengers!” The booming voice of the announcer almost gave Miles a heart attack as it blasted through the speakers from above, the giant screen was now displaying a close up shot of Miles, Maxen and Lucy. The fear on their faces was apparent and the audience loved it.
“All first time combatants here at Titans Arena,” the announcer continued, “the big fella with the shiny arm is Maxen Ward, I don't know about you folks but I wouldn’t wanna get on this guy's bad side! In fact, there's been a rumour going around that just a week ago, he took down a thrashwing queen single handed!”
The audience roared loudly for Maxen as the opposing team rolled their eyes and made rude gestures towards the three challengers.
“And accompanying Maxen in the pit, on a very special daddy, daughter day, Miles and Lucy Stanton!” Miles pulse shot up even more as he was introduced to the stadium, he felt like his heart would simply give out at any moment.
“These two may not look like much but Miles has one big ass revolver on his side which I'm guessing he knows how to use and little Lucy here has a few tricks of her own, let's hear it for MAXEN’S MARAUDERS!”
The massive crowd erupted, physically shaking the arena and Miles knew that it wouldn't be long before the combat began.
“Let's not keep you fine folks waiting any longer! You're here for blood and you're gonna get it!”
“This is it, Miles,” Maxen shouted over the noise of the stadium, Miles nodded and took another deep breath. There was no going back now, within minutes Miles knew he would be either dead or on his way to New Fortune.
“FIVE!”
The Dustbowlers once again prepared for action as the countdown began.
“FOUR!”
Maxen stepped in front of the other two, shifting his arm to its weaponized form.
“THREE!”
Miles drew his revolver and held it tight with his right hand, keeping his other hand on Lucy's shoulder, holding her close.
“TWO!”
'Maxen knows what he's doing,' Miles assured himself desperately. 'Just stay back, protect Lucy and everything will be fine.'
“ONE!”
The audience again fell dead silent as they waited anxiously for the battle to commence.
“LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!” The deafening roar of the spectators returned in an instant, the battle had started and The Dustbowlers began to fan out across the arena ground, staying in formation. Kevin the Kreep took the left flank with Roger Gunn supporting from the right while Janice slowly made her way down the centre of the pit, swinging the heavy chain above her head with a terrifying grin across her beautiful, but battle scarred face. Maxen remained alert, keeping track of every opponent as he contemplated his first move. Miles and Lucy stayed behind him in an attempt to avoid conflict, but remained on their toes and ready to defend themselves if it became necessary. Maxen waited no longer, pointing his cannon in the direction of Kevin the Kreep he fired the devastating weapon. A blue ball of energy hurtled towards the cleaver clutching combatant but before it could make contact, Kevin dived out of the way, barely managing to evade the deadly projectile, part of his long flowing jacket was ripped by Maxen’s blast, making him visibly angry. The energy ball continued past its target and headed toward the audience. Miles held his breath but the blast hit an invisible force field and dissipated. ‘Huh, a shield to protect the audience from the battle’. Taking advantage of the brief moment of confusion, Janice sprinted wildly toward Maxen, her long chain building momentum. Maxen turned just in time to see the bloodied chain swinging towards his face horizontally, instinctively bringing his robotic arm up to deflect the blow with a loud metallic crash. The crowd “oohed”. Maxen had saved himself from certain death though was knocked to the ground by the heavy strike. Miles' terrified eyes watched the scene unfold in front of him as Janice stood over Maxen, swinging her chain once more in preparation for a final attack. Miles raised his gun to shoot but he didn’t have a clear shot, the way his hands were shaking he was just as likely to hit Maxen. Janice raised her chain into the air, grinning like a maniac. But before the bloodthirsty woman could bring the chain down on Maxen and finish the fight, Maxen pulled his right leg up to his chest and released a powerful kick to her stomach, causing her to stumble back, breaking the flowing swing of the chain and letting it fall forcefully onto her knee with an audible crunch.
“Ah, FUCK!” screamed Janice, clutching her shattered kneecap.
Quickly scrambling to his feet, Maxen aimed his cannon at Janice and charged another shot, this time he didn't miss his target, the blazing projectile ripped through the enemy fighter, tearing apart the top half of her body and covering a significant area of the pit with a layer of thick
red liquid, leaving only a pair of blood soaked legs laying on the sand.
“Woah! That thing really packs a PUNCH!” the announcer shouted excitedly over the speaker system as what remained of Janice's internal organs spread across the floor of the pit. The crowed loved it. Miles covered Lucy's eyes once again with his left hand, keeping his right wrapped around the revolver. ‘Shit, stay alert, this isn’t over yet!’ Kevin and Roger looked at each other in disbelief, their eyes bulging in their sockets. But their shock soon turned to rage at the death of their comrade, their faces contorting freakishly into psychotic grimaces.
“Looks like it's time to bring out our first critter!” The stadium roared louder still with cheers and screams as a large black boar was thrown down into the pit. The creature began squealing frantically and charging toward Roger Gunn. But it didn't last long as the muscle bound monster made quick work of the wild animal, ripping both long tusks from its mouth and thrusting them through the boar's eyes and into its brain. He held the dead boar aloft and then tossed it away, roaring into the sky, veins bulging from his immense muscular chest, shoulders and arms. This distraction allowed Kevin to close the distance between himself and Maxen.
“Maxen, watch out!” Miles screamed at the top of his lungs as the dual cleaver wielder tackled his team mate's killer to the ground. Miles reacted quickly, bringing the sights of his gun to his eye and aiming the weapon at Kevin. But before he could fire, Miles felt a large hand wrap tightly around his neck as his feet were lifted off the ground by Roger who smiled sadistically, now choking the life out of his helpless victim. Miles dropped his revolver and brought both hands up to his neck in a feeble attempt to loosen his attacker's grip. Meanwhile Maxen and Kevin struggled and scrapped on the arena floor. Kevin would strike with a cleaver and Maxen would block with his metal arm and return a punch to Kevin’s face with his other fist. It was impossible to tell who was winning the brawl as the two savage fighters took turns of pinning the other on the ground and raining down blows.