A Gladiator's Dilemma

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by Oliver Ma

thought for a few minutes, then continued, ”If

  that is the case, I’ll prepare a porch filled with chicken blood.

  When you strike my armor, the chicken blood under the armor will

  Gladiators

  split. I will then lie on the ground, pretend to be killed. When they

  abandon me at the disposer chamber, I will be a free man again.”

  “Good idea”,said Zing.

  Amighty creak sounded and their friendly squire, Durum, appeared.

  He unlocked the doors and brought them breakfast. They

  ate in silence.

  After they were done, Durum strapped Eric’s large breastplate

  onto his broad back. It seemed light. Then he strapped on Eric’s

  leg plate and gave Eric his helmet. Durum handed Eric his

  huge shield and arm guard, then left for Zing. While the squire

  helped Zing, Eric stretched.

  At 9:10, the gladiators started to warm up at the yard. They

  marched, trotted or ran, all decided by Roan and his whip.

  At 10:00, Roan taught the gladiators armed with halberds and

  polearms deadly slicing moves. He taught the halberdiers that their

  arms were long and therefore, took that advantage and tried to be

  agile. These gladiators were given little armors and must dance

  around, cracking at their opponents’leak in armors. They practiced

  how to pierce the toughest armors. Then, Roan asked them to

  practice hand to hand fighting.

  Eric watched in amazement as the halberds and polearms

  sliced at each other, seemingly everywhere at once, forming a

  shield around the gladiators.

  Roan moved to gladiators armed with club and ax and taught

  them the ways of the heavy weapons. He told them, “You have

  heavy armors like castles. Try to wield your heavy weapons to protect

  your few weak spots. Your weapons are deadly and will crack

  your enemy’s armor if you can hit him. ”The students practiced,

  wielding their clumsy weapons in rage.

  Then Roan taught the ranged gladiators their weapons, ”

  Bows and arrows are deadly, but ranged gladiators wear no armors.

  Against halberdiers, you just have to stay out of their way;against

  axmen, try to shoot at their weak spots;against swordsmen,

  stay away the best you can and shoot at their weak spots.“ Then

  the ranged gladiators started practicing.

  Finally, he came to Zing and Eric’s group. Swordsmen were

  halfway between axmen and halberdiers. Unlike the halberdiers,

  they had armors. But their armors were medium heavy, therefore

  more agile than that of the axmen. Their swords could be waved

  around at super fast speed. Roan told them, ”Against axmen, wait

  and dodge their first blow. Before your enemy is getting ready for

  the second blow, strike at him and try to penetrate his armor. Against

  ranged gladiators, use your shield until your enemy is out of

  arrows, then move in for the kill. Against halberdiers, use your

  sword to parry the enemy’s blows, or use your shield to block the

  enemy and try to get close to them, because you will have the advantage

  at close range.”

  At lunch, Eric and Zing met a boy named Jan Windgall, a

  Carthaginian captured two month ago in Macedonian. He was also

  a swordsman. The three became quick friends.

  Jan gave them a few tips,“Don’t mess with that guy, ”he

  pointed at a huge man named Acul,“He is a big bull, and try to

  make everyone’s life as bad as possible.

  When Zing was getting more olives, Acul decided to show

  the newcomers his power. He yelled at Zing to move aside. Zing

  refused. Acul yanked his plate and dumped all the olives onto

  Zing. Caucus, the bully’s follower, laughed loudly.

  Watching this, Eric and Jan ran up to the bullies and surrounded

  Acul and Caucus. The five gladiators started to fight.

  After about twenty minutes with no obvious side winning,

  Roan, who had been watching the whole time, broke them up, told

  themnot to fight like that.

  “You could kill someone, ”he patted their backs,“You could

  First battle

  do that. Just don’t hurt each other. ”

  At the daily skirmish, Eric and his friends dressed in blue.

  They have 23 swordsmen, 21 heavy weapon men, 15 marksmen

  and 26 halberdiers. Their enemy, the red team had Acul and 19

  other swordsmen, a full 26 marksmen, Caucus and other 17 axmen

  and 23 halberdiers.

  ZinggatheredEric andJan,“Let’s

  kill them.”Thetrionodded.

  The skirmish began. Men on both sides fell when they

  were hit. The trio mobbed Acul. Eric and Jan pinned him down

  and Zing brought down a killing blow. Acul screamed in agony

  and died.

  They finished Caucus the same way.

  The red side still won because their marksmen rained arrows

  at them. The mock battle was done. Two dead bodies lay on the

  battle field.

  The trio were scolded but not punished at all. Roan claimed

  that they had to be cruel to be good gladiators.

  At four, all the gladiators started running toward a run down

  shack. Jan was rushing to the shack too. Eric caught up and asked

  what was going on. Jan said,“Just run as fast as you can.”

  When Eric’s turn in the long line came, he got massaged. It

  felt good.

  After dinner, Jan told his friends his cabin number, 121, right

  next door to Zing. They chatted and practiced. Then, they went to

  Zing’s chamber.

  At 7:00, Roan prepared them for a 10 mile long march around

  the city. People laughed and jeered at them while they continued

  their hard march.

  Just in front of the gladiator school entrance, Eric heard his

  name called. It was familiar, but he couldn’t think of whom it belonged to.

  Roan herded him into the school before he could find out.

  That night, when he was about to go to bed, his door was

  opened by Durum. A girl was standing there, smiling at him. It was

  Searching for the Lover

  Siri! Her black hair over her pretty eyes, she rushed forwards and

  fell into Eric’s arms.

  “Eric,” She cried with joy,“I can’t believe you are still alive.”

  Eric fumbled her soft hair and asked,“How did you find me here?”

  Siri said, “My bother saw you in front of the gladiator school.”

  She continued, “After the war, I went to Carthage to see you

  but they told me you had died. I went to the battle field of Zama in

  hope that you were only captured. They told me you had died too.

  I was so sad and sailed back to Rome...

  “My brother told me that you are a gladiator here in Rome.

  It’s hard to believe. I persuade the nice squire to let me in, and

  here you are, safe and sound. ”

  This girl was giving her heart to a gladiator who might die any

  day. Eric kissed her eyes and said,“But Imaydie tomorrow...”

  Siri stopped himand hold himtighter.

  Not long after Siri moved to Rome with her family, she had

  heard the news of Hannibal’s great defeat.

  Roman soldiers paraded in front of her house, but Siri’s mind

  was not on the parade. Her world fell down on top of her and her

 
; heart screamed Eric.

  She asked everybody coming back from Carthage and inquired

  every details about the battle. Eric was in the junior elites,

  one of the major participants of the battle!

  The battle was intense and complicated. At first, Hannibal’s

  Gauls and barbarians defeated the Roman green hands and push

  forward. Then, the Roman cavalry defeated Hannibal’s Nubian

  horsemen and war elephants, chasing them for miles and miles. As

  the Roman veterans defeated the Gauls and battled Hannibal’s

  veterans, the Roman cavalry started to massacre the Nubian horsemen.

  As the Carthaginian veterans defeated the Roman veterans

  and battled the Roman elites, the Roman cavalry started to head

  back to aid their ally. As the Roman elites defeated the Carthaginian

  veterans but was pushed by Hannibal’s elites to a breaking

  point, the Roman cavalry attacked fromboth flanks.

  Hannibal’s elites and junior elites were completely surrounded

  and almost completely wiped out, since many refused to surrender.

  There were plenty of veteran and Gaul prisoners but little

  elites or junior elites prisoner.

  Ten to one Eric got killed. Siri packed her belongings with

  tears in her eyes. She decided to head for Africa to check the prisoner

  in war camps.

  She arrived on the coast of Africa, and landed right next to

  the battle field. To her horror, thousands of bodies lay dead on the

  ground. She could see wolves feasting on the decaying flesh of the

  casualties, and hear the hooting of owls.

  She headed north all day, and reached a Roman controlled

  port. A stupid soldier guarded the gate. He wasn’t supposed to let

  anyone who couldn’t prove to be a Roman step in.

  Siri, who left home in a hurry, did not bring her proof. But a

  light peck on the man’s cheek did its job, and he let her in. She

  consulted the governor on the prisoner of war list.

  “And what did you say the name of your boyfriend was?”

  “Eric, Eric Aldon. ”

  “Sorry, Madam, no Aldon here. I should say, General Scipio

  Killed so many of them, there isn’t any Carthaginian junior elite left.”

  About a month after Siri’s visit, the gladiatorial contest began.

  At 9:00, the gladiators marched into the sunny center of the

  mighty arena.

  The editor of the games was sitting in the front row seat. He was known

  As ”Bloody Heracles“ because he never let go of any

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