by Zara Zenia
My knees knocked together as I waited in the line. The shuttle was bigger than I imagined and loomed up in front of me, its size a gargantuan symbol of the change that was taking place.
Despite all the people, there was silence in the airfield. It would seem that everyone was as scared and lonely as I was. Glancing behind, I saw most of the other passengers were slaves but there also appeared to be some better-dressed people too who were being fast-tracked to the front of the queue.
At last, a guard in a high visibility jacket waved us on and I was directed to a window seat at the back, squashed in beside hundreds of other people in the compartment. It already smelled like nervous sweat and it was hot and stuffy. I tried to take in a deep breath but only inhaled the stench of strong body odor.
The engine soon rumbled to life and I clenched my eyes tightly, balling my hands up into fists as I struggled to cope with the strange feelings. Everything was so different and bizarre. I was surrounded by faces I hadn't seen before and the shuttle was beginning to move at high speed. I felt my stomach lurch as we left the ground and I was gripped by the tight and frightening feeling that there was no going back.
I rested my head against the window and thought of my family. They would want me to do this. Eventually, my eyes grew heavy and for a fleeting moment, it felt as though my family was sitting beside me. I fell asleep imagining my mother's hand was in mine.
I woke up to the sound of shouting. There were desperate, angry voices in the distance.
"What's going on?" I asked the woman beside me.
She looked around the corner of her seat and down the aisle.
"It looks as though there's been a stowaway."
Whoever had climbed on board was raging mad and his voice seemed to be growing louder as though he was getting closer.
"Carina!" he called.
Surely he couldn't be looking for me. I must have heard wrong.
"Carina!"
Then it hit me, I recognized that voice. I stood up and saw Marco running down the aisle.
"Carina!" he lunged at me.
I screamed and shrunk back into my seat. Guards leaped on top of him and pushed him to the ground.
"What are you doing here?" I shouted.
"There was no way I could let you do this!" his muffled voice escaped him as a guard pushed him down onto his stomach.
"You're crazy!"
"Do you know this man?" the guard asked.
"No. I mean, kinda. We used to work together in the water mine. I don't know why he's here, though."
Across the aisle, an older man in a black suit was watching the spectacle with an amused look on his face. For a second, his eyes met mine and he smiled, then he returned his gaze to Marco.
"Illegal passengers are to be punished by death," explained the guard.
"Death?" I gasped.
He pointed to the airlock.
"There is no place for him on board."
"Throw him back down to earth!" a random passenger called out. "I paid good money for this seat. I don't see why he should be allowed on here for free."
The guard nodded in acknowledgment and began to drag Marco over to the airlock.
"No! You can't just kill him!" I screamed.
"Please, madam, return to your seat."
"Don't!"
The guard pushed his key into the lock and pushed open the door. There was a rush of air in the cabin followed by the roaring sound of the atmosphere blazing past the open door.
"Don't!" I screamed again, but no one seemed to listen.
They edged Marco over to the opening. Any second now they would be tossing him over the edge.
"Please!" I begged.
But the guard's eyes were shining with the thought of killing him.
"Say your final prayers," one of them said.
Marco yelled, struggled against their grip and looked over to me one last time.
"Stop!"
The suited man beside me was on his feet, waving some sort of warrant card in the guard's face.
"I'll buy this man."
The guards looked up almost disappointed that Marco would live.
"He'll make a good slave," the man said. "Bring him over here. I'll pay whatever you want."
He then turned to me and winked.
Chapter 5
Gar’zul
I was asleep in the pit when Davoth shook me awake.
"Yo... yo, wake up. There's someone here to see you."
"Eh? What?"
I looked up at him bleary-eyed and yawned.
"What are you talking about?"
"A woman. She's here to see you."
He shook my shoulder again and I pushed him off me.
"Okay, fine. Give me a minute. I'm still half-asleep."
Splashing cold water on my face and pulling on my clothes, I followed Davoth out into the corridor. It was early in the morning but the sun was already high in the sky, shining brightly and illuminating the dust particles in the air.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"I dunno. A real smart lady."
"Did she say what she wanted?"
He shook his head.
"Just that she urgently needed to see you."
A figure emerged at the end of the cloister. I recognized the stance, the white coat and the way she reached out her hand for me to shake it.
"Hello!"
"Gar'zul, I have news," she said as she got straight down to business. "I appreciate that this is all happening so fast, but your bride is on her way."
"She is?"
She nodded.
"Absolutely. I don't often come and tell people in person but...” She shuffled nervously from foot to foot. “It's not often we send human brides to gladiators."
I never expected to feel so anxious, or, what was it? Happy? I was happy at the thought of collecting my bride and for the first time in years, there was something to look forward to.
I hadn't seen much of the city since I began fighting at the arena. In a way, it was a self-contained city so there was little need to venture outside. All my friends lived with me, well, whatever people I could consider my friends. The gladiators were given everything they ever wanted, from food to drugs, Davoth provided it all. That's why when I set foot outside into the waiting shuttle car, I felt a little apprehensive. It dawned on me that I felt as much of an outsider in the city as my bride would. Maybe we could learn about the place together.
Davoth said goodbye as the car door glided shut. Waving through the window, he grinned like a schoolboy.
"Good luck buddy!"
Then the car slid out onto the tracks and sped away. The city of Awarth was large and looming and glistened with tall, glass structures that caught the strong sunlight. It was a beautiful city, a place I regretted not being able to see until now. Lying back and enjoying the scenery, I readied myself for a relaxing trip out to the spaceport, but then something made a noise on the dashboard. Looking over I saw a red, flashing light.
WARNING
WARNING
DANGEROUS URBAN ENVIRONMENT AHEAD
“What?”
I began to tap on the screen to get some more information.
"Hello?" I spoke to the car. "What dangerous environment?"
A female voice replied mechanically.
"The neighborhood to the east of the city center, Llunot is approaching."
"Okay..." I said. "What does that mean?"
"All doors have been securely double-locked."
Whatever. We were traveling through a dangerous neighborhood, so what? I was a gladiator and could fight anyone.
The car turned left off the highway and soon we were in the heart of the city. The car was right, it did look dangerous. It was hard to believe that it was so close to the center where the huge, crystalline buildings signified prosperity and happiness. Here, the broken down shacks constructed from reclaimed materials only signified misery and poverty.
"People live in here?" I said to myself.
"The popula
tion of Llunot is four point five million," replied the car. "The five-hundred-year-old mining town has the highest crime rate on the planet Duwort - 77xz. There are an estimated one thousand murders here every week."
"Whoa..."
I pressed my hands to the window as we passed through.
"I've never seen anything like it."
People were gathered on street corners, begging, fighting pleading for me to stop and feed them. I wanted to help everyone, wanted to stop the car and hand over whatever I had on me but there were simply too many people. I couldn't help them all. Not to mention that the car was pretty much holding me prisoner for my own safety.
As we rounded a corner, there was one solitary shack that seemed to be separated from all the others. I saw how the roof had caved in and how what windows were left had been smashed to pieces. On the doorstep sat a woman, her skin green, and her tail ragged as it flicked out from under her. She was cradling something in her arms, something that was so small I never thought it could possibly be a child. Then I saw it, the tiny green tail that was winding up from her arms.
I stared at her with a sinking feeling in my heart. There was something so innocent about her, something that looked so vulnerable. As we approached her house, she looked up at the shuttle car and her eyes met mine. I had never seen a deeper sadness. Without thinking, I reached out for the door handle and pulled it. All that happened was that an alarm was triggered.
"You are not to leave the shuttle," said the car. "I am requested to confine you until we reach the safety of the highway."
The house passed by, I looked out the back window but the woman was gone. Then as we turned the corner, there was another shack with another young mother sitting on the steps outside. Then another, and another. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes.
"We are just exiting Llunot."
I opened my eyes. The highway was in sight with the turnoff only a few yards away. I breathed a sigh of relief but still couldn't shake the memory of the mothers and children existing amongst the squalor. I wondered how much I could help them with some of my winnings. For a moment, my spirits lifted at the thought of becoming a philanthropist. It would mean my life, with all the misery I had left behind, would mean something once again, it could be a powerful force for good instead of sadness.
Then there was a crunch, the sound of metal hitting metal, a scream, the screeching of tires on the ground. I looked up and saw two cars had collided in front of me.
"Is anyone hurt?" I asked the car although I was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to tell me.
There was no answer.
"Please! Let me out. I wanted to see if anyone is hurt."
I tugged at the door handle but it refused to budge.
"Fuck!"
I pulled at it again.
"I am requested to confine you until we reach the safety of the highway," repeated the car.
"You asshole! Let me out!"
Meanwhile, the cars in front were beginning to catch fire with the smell of smoke, burning rubber and fuel drifting up into the air. I jumped forward onto the dashboard to get a closer look, pushed my face up to the windshield and looked for signs that the passengers were alive. I caught sight of some movement in the back. There was the vague outline of a body in the front seat. Looking at the front door to see if I could break my way inside, I saw a trickle of viscous dark blood slithering its way out from under the door.
"Someone's hurt!" I shouted, yanking the door handle out of its socket.
An alarm sounded in the car.
"You are not permitted to leave the shuttle," the car spoke.
But I was already tearing the door off its hinges and leaping out. I'd help these people no matter what. Lunging forward to the front seat, I saw a body.
"Hello?" I rapped on the window. "I'm coming in to help you, just hang on."
The body moved, the head turning slowly toward me then, when I was expecting to see the face of an injured man, a smiling boy looked at me instead. He was laughing as though it was some kind of joke. Then I saw what he was holding in his hand. A plastic packet of fake blood was crushed between his fingers, leaking its contents out onto the street.
"What the fuck is going on?"
The boy laughed again. A crunch sounded nearby; the sound of heavy feet on broken glass. I turned around, there were people in black cloaks coming out the nearby shacks.
"Who are you?" I yelled at them.
They descended on me, five sets of limbs pulling at me and pushing me to the ground. Their faces were covered but I could smell their clean bodies and the scent of their freshly washed clothes. These were not inhabitants of this neighborhood.
"Who are you?" I yelled again as they covered my face with a hood.
I struggled as hard as I could and for the most fleeting of seconds, I managed to break free. Just enough time to see the cloak of one of the figure fall from his head. I recognized his face. I'd seen him at the arena.
"I know you!" I screamed just as the hood was replaced around my face. "I know you! You work for Furi!"
Suddenly, there was a dull thud, a sharp pain in the back of my head and the sensation that warm blood was gushing down my back, seeping into my clothes. I could hear the blood rushing through my ears, my own heartbeat picking up pace. I could taste the blood in my mouth, feel its heat as it ran between my teeth. I coughed on it and tried to kick at the unseen assailants but I couldn't move. These were no ordinary men. They were big like me and trained. I felt a fist in my gut followed by searing pain. Then blackness.
I woke up at the side of the road and could no longer feel the weight of them holding me down. Behind me, I could hear the whooshing sound of the highway as cars sped past my head. Closer to that was the sound of voices.
"Hey, you think he's dead under that cloak?"
"Maybe," said another.
"Why do you think he was in this neighborhood?" someone else asked.
"How should I know?"
The smell of marrowdust was lingering in the air. For a moment, I played dead and lay still, plotting my next move. My hands were tied behind my back but as I pulled at the restraints, they fell away easily. Amateurs, I thought. Did they really think they could tie up Gar'zul?
Next, I wriggled free of the ropes around my ankles, trying to keep my movements to a minimum so I didn't attract attention to myself.
"Hey, the champ's going to love this, isn't he?" one of them chuckled.
There was the sound of him sucking on his pipe and exhaling out a lungful of smoke.
"Yeah man, the champ'll be real pleased with us. Might even pay us a bonus."
I could still taste the blood in my mouth that was now drying up. I spat it out into the inside of my cloak while rolling over slowly. I took a deep breath. I would only have a few seconds to execute my plan. I took another deep breath, remembered where I had to be and thought of my new bride waiting for me. I imagined her bright-eyed and new to this planet. She needed me to be there for her. Do it, Gar'zul, do it!
I ripped the hood from my head and ran. The men caught sight of me, threw their pipes to the ground and scattered at the sight of a blue brute like me with blood bubbling at the corners of my mouth.
"I'll kill you all!" I roared.
Pouncing on the nearest one, I pummeled his head into the ground, raining blows down onto the back of his skull until his body stopped moving. Then I moved onto the next.
"Please, don't! I have a family!" he squealed as I straddled his chest and punched him in the jaw.
"You should have thought of that before you tried to kidnap a gladiator.”
I punched him again, harder this time and his head collapsed beneath the weight of my fist. The other three were watching, trembling in fear and frozen to the spot. As I stood up, they shrunk back.
"Who's next?" I raged.
They ran and I gave chase. Quickly catching up with two of them, grabbing the back of their cloaks and throwing them to the ground. They cried as I bat
tered them off each other, the blood coming up in waves as I crushed their bodies.
With one left, I was almost finished but angrier than I'd ever been. I caught a glimpse of his cloak rushing into a shack and I followed, bursting through the fragile door. Once inside, I soon realized I was in a family home with makeshift toys littering the floor and ragged clothes hanging from every surface.
"Where is he?" I seethed.
A young couple looked up in shock from where they sat on the floor huddled together. The woman, with her wide, red eyes and pale green skin, pushed out a quivering finger into the direction of a cupboard in the corner of the room. I gave her a silent nod and walked over. Grabbing the door handle, I could hear the sound of the person within shaking and crying. There was a sniff, the sound of someone gulping in air.
"You only have a few seconds," I said.
The crying intensified as he began to sob. Ripping open the door, I saw him huddled with his knees pulled up to his face.
"Did the champion send you?" I asked.
He didn't answer, just shook violently as I picked him up by the scruff of his neck. Dragging him outside, I lay him out on the road.
"Did the champ send you?" I bellowed.
Again, he didn't reply. I didn't have time to play games. Grabbing his lower jaw between my fingers, I ripped it clean off his face with his throat coming with it. Then I left his corpse in the middle of the street with the smoke from the burning cars engulfing his body. Climbing in my own shuttle car, I closed the broken door.
"I'm sorry about that."
"I told you not to leave the vehicle," said the car.
"Just take me to the spaceport."
"Fine," she said as though she was throwing a little, mechanical temper tantrum. "But don't blame me when you get kidnapped again.
A few minutes later we were pulling into the entrance to the spaceport. Jumping out, I ran inside. The large clock on the wall showed that I was almost two hours late.
"Shit!"
I ran to the reception desk and a neatly dressed woman with a snooty upturned nose recoiled when she saw me. It was then that I realized my clothes were all torn and bloodied. There was a cut to the back of my head that was still pouring blood and my knuckles were bruised and swollen.