by Grant Hunter
‘You look hot, Ms. Quinns,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘Everyone there is watching you.’ He nodded to one of the cameras.
‘Right.’ I put the glass away, grabbed a brush from the bedside table and drew it through my hair, so that it stood up all over with static electricity. Then I tied it into a ponytail.
‘Are you ready? The Arena of Death is waiting for you.’
‘What? Why of death?’ I still hoped that I had misunderstood him. ‘I... I don’t get it...’
He put his right arm around my shoulders, pulled me towards him and whispered in my ear: ‘Shush. Don’t worry. No one here wants to see you losing. I have seen what you can do, and also we drugged your opponents.’
I swallowed the acid that rose in my throat.
‘And you’ve got something that makes you invincible...’ He paused and I suddenly understood.
‘The orange juice?’
‘Yes. Shush, don’t speak so loudly. I already said that no one wants to see you lose, there is too much money at stake.’
‘Betting?’ I whispered.
He nodded. ‘The Chinese love Net X, especially for gambling.’
‘And now you expect me to trust you!’
‘I’m your manager. Of course you have to trust me.’ He looked deep into my eyes. He spoke out loud and clear this time.
‘I don’t know…’
‘Listen. You are the only one who has ever reached this level. You are the only contestant so far who has learned the truth.’
‘I’m grateful to you for that.’
I turned to the camera on my left and felt stronger than ever. It was as if everything fell into place. All of a sudden I saw everything sharply. All the loose pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, that I had solved in my head.
‘Well you seem ready. Now we start,’ Jack whispered and he let me go.
‘Is Jen watching?’ I asked emotionless.
He had a nervous twitch at the corner of his mouth, but he only shrugged his shoulders.
‘Don’t deny it, Jack. I understand everything now. Everything was planned, wasn’t it?’
He smiled. ‘I can only say that the network is bigger than you think.’
‘Of course you can’t say anything.’ I pointed at the camera. ‘Well done Robin, Joy and Jen. Applause!’
‘Stop!’ Jack shouted at me.
‘I don’t think so. You let me believe that I was being stalked, right? And all this time – all this time you were organising it. Gabe was only a small part of your plan. Damn, I see it now. I know. And Justin found out. He found out and wanted to warn me. You were posting messages in those comic books that he reads. Why did you do it? I hate you! And if I...’
‘For fucks sake, Naomi. Get a grip. Use the adrenaline rush for the competition.’
Something was pushed into my hands. A silver-coloured knife in a scabbard.
‘I’ll kill them,’ I hissed at Jack.
‘Use that hatred in the arena.’
I breathed heavily and then I thought I would faint from the adrenalin surge. I gripped the knife and stared at the twinkling blade. Right now. I could do it now. Stab him. But something inside me stopped me from doing it and with a sigh I put the knife back in the matching scabbard.
‘What is it this time? More wolves?’
Jack paused, I saw at his glance that he didn’t want to answer my question. Maybe I didn’t want to know it, either. I tied the scabbard firmly around my hips.
‘They are drugged, that’s all I can tell you,’ he said on muted tone. ‘Be careful with your knife, there is poison on it. And try to calm down, they will come to get you in a minute. Good luck.’ He grabbed my hand, pressed a kiss on it and left the room.
Perplexed, I walked to a corner, turned a quarter turn, so the camera could only half see me, and inspected the knife. I couldn’t find anything strange on it. OK, just calm down, Naomi. Breathe quietly. In and out. In and out... While I was trying to find my peace, I walked around the room. I didn’t know how many minutes passed. I kept breathing, getting slower - until the countdown began. It echoed through the speakers; Counting down from sixty.
The door slammed open and two bodyguards stepped in, dressed as executioners. Before I could resist, they grabbed me by both arms and dragged me out of the room, through the hallway, up the stairs and finally down a narrow corridor into a large shed. The space was lit by bright spotlights, which cast their beams onto a round cage with a podium inside that had a large X in the middle. There were big professional looking cameras on top of the cage with swivel arms. On a raised platform was a floor with a circular grandstand around the arena. Because of the tinted glass I couldn’t see anyone. Yet I was able to make a guess at who was sitting there. Jen would be there. With a grin while she rejoiced at my struggle between life and death. Robin, who would tell everyone that he knew this star better than anyone else. Maybe he was sitting next to Gabe - who would deny that. Would Joy be there too?
‘Ten... Nine... Eight...’
An even brighter spotlight was turned on and the cameras started to turn around automatically on their pivoted supports. The other lights in the shed were turned off, so that I was the only one in the spotlights.
‘Six... Five... Four..’
Shit, I felt dizzy, I could faint any time or have to puke, I didn’t know anymore.
‘Three... Two..’
At One, a second spotlight flashed on and I stiffened when I saw a huge animal. It bared its teeth. Its imposing mane hung like a golden halo around its feline head. Cold sweat dripped down my back when I pulled the knife out of the scabbard and braced myself. The animal took a step forward but was stopped by a chain.
‘Ladies and gentlemen...’ The voice said from the intercom. ‘Welcome to the arena of Net X.’
A muted applause and cheers came from behind the podium. ‘Tonight you are the X in exclusive: Net X offers you a real life experience, like you have never seen before. Let’s welcome our first Gladiator: Naomi…’
Again, there was a cheer from the watchers.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. Net X is going to offer you an experience that has never been seen before. Enjoy the show!’
Then the iron chain that had held the animal was released. Everything around me stopped in a single frozen moment. The circling cameras did not exist anymore. The audience did not exist anymore. Everything disappeared, only me and this monster were still there.
‘Kill it, Naomi.’ I whispered to myself.
The lion moved strangely. Slow.
‘Thank you, Jack,’ I whispered as I lifted the knife up. Should I wait until the animal attacks me or not? I thought. The beast didn’t move anymore, it did not attack. I moved and a euphoric feeling came over me.
‘And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to see the way this majestic animal fights with our champion. Who is going to be the prey? Who will be the predator?’
A crack sounded, followed by a flash that hit the animal’s fur. Immediately a trickle of blood squirted over the floor. The lion roared in anger and flew at me. In a reflex, I held the knife further up. As he jumped at me, we hit the floor. Claws grabbed me, dug into my shoulder, and I turned my head away when I saw the muzzle open, targeting my neck. I couldn’t reach its side. I closed my eyes and screamed out. Something hot flowed over the hand that still gripped the blade. Suddenly the weight on me weakened. When I turned my head, I saw its huge head lying next to me, its eyes wide open staring at me and its tongue was hanging half out. White foam flowed out of its mouth.
A loud cheering filled the room. I screwed up my eyes but I couldn’t see anything other than the bright spotlight. The guards from earlier dragged the animal away from me.
The wound on my shoulder was, strangely, not deep. I scrambled up and waited for someone to acknowledge my victory and let me go. I shoved the knife back in the scabbard, waiting to see what was to come.
‘And the first round goes to our champion, ladies and gentlemen. A big round of applause fo
r Naomi!’
‘No!’ I shook my head. ‘What do you mean? The first round?’ Before I could get over the surprise, the presenter’s voice was drowned out by a tune that reminded me of the old Rocky films I had watched with my father.
‘And now ladies and gentlemen, a round especially for the mysterious Mister X. And you know the question: who will be the prey? Who will be the predator?’
Again, the stirring music. Spotlights swung over the stage as if it was a discotheque. The next moment everything went black. I ran my hand over my forehead to wipe away the sweat. The countdown began again.
‘Ten... Nine... Eight...’
‘Not again.’ But I had no choice. So I clenched my teeth and tensed my muscles to the maximum.
‘Four... Three... Two...’
The spotlight jumped on me and the applause rang out again.
‘One.’
When the second spotlight clicked on, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was expecting something that would look fierce. Full of teeth. With deadly claws. But this time it was not at all like that.
A young woman with a pale face was standing there on shaking legs. The powerful white light made her look even paler, as if she was half dead. She did not look like a worthy opponent. She was holding something that looked like a spear. The weapon was not pointed at me.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. We are pleased to present you our new contestant. Let’s see if this angel can fly!’
‘No!’ I screamed loudly. ‘I won’t do this. You are crazy!’
A loud booing sounded throughout the hall and echoed all around me. Cautiously, I moved closer.
‘Kill them both!’ shouted someone from far away.
‘No. I won’t do it. Come down here, you with the big mouth, let’s see if you dare.’
‘Oh, Ms. Naomi is becoming rebellious,’ said the presenter. ‘Let’s see if she still has so much to say when she has to fight.’
‘Loser!’ shouted a muted voice.
I leaned forward to the woman, so close, that she could easily stab me with the spear. ‘Trust me, I have a plan,’ I whispered in her ear. ‘Play the game with me. I won’t hurt you.’
When I pulled out my knife, immediately the room was filled with a wave of enthusiastic shouts. ‘I’ll pretend to kill you and you fall down. Understood?’
For the first time she looked at me. Her eyes were clouded and red. There was a dreamy look in her eyes.
‘If you don’t cooperate we will both die. Come on!’
She nodded, barely noticeably.
Damn, Naomi! I thought when she looked up. She is going to be the death of you. Just kill her.
I smacked my head to drive the voice away.
‘Do it!’ I whispered to her and I drew my arm back and made a move towards her body. She jumped aside, lost her balance and crashed to the ground. I leant over her. She scrambled up, stepped to the left and struck me with the lance. The thing hit me surprisingly hard. I saw her worried look, but barely noticeably.
‘It’s fine,’ I whispered as I made a new move, towards her stomach area. She gave out a chilling cry that terrified me. But the wink she gave me before she fell, told me that it was part of our plan.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. That wasn’t much of a challenge for our champion. Let’s give her some applause anyway.’
I threw my hands in the air and turned around.
‘Does our champion have a chance to win her final victory in the last round? We will see it! At Net X…’
The spotlight went off. From the corner of my eye I could see that a man stepped over to the motionless body of the woman and grabbed her legs. This was it. This was the chance I had been waiting for. Nobody would seem me in the dark. I could not break my promise and leave her to her fate.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. Get ready for the final bout. It’s going to be great...’ The voice echoed around the arena. When the cheers again erupted, I jumped forward to the person who dragged the woman, and struck him with the. Then a muted cry sounded and a strong arm grabbed me by the throat.
I pushed the knife further in and pulled it out again in a rapid movement. The man made gurgling noises and let me go. Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me along. My eyes were slowly adapting to the light, and in the semi darkness, I could see the guard lying down on the floor, with the spear in his back. ‘Hurry!’ the woman whispered.
‘Ten... Nine...’ said the echoing voice.
We didn’t wait for the countdown, we ran as fast as our legs could carry us, far away from the podium.
36
‘Three... Two...’
I heard him say “One”, then the sound stopped. We ran further on. Closed the door through which I had been brought in. Raced through a hall full of pictures. I pulled her with me as she lagged behind. She was out of breath. I didn’t care.
‘I-I -can’t go on any more ...’ She whined, but I held her hand tightly. Pulling became dragging. The weight became too heavy and I let her go. She immediately collapsed.
‘Get up!’ I shouted. Nervously, I looked around me.
She shook her brown curls and looked at me with wide bloodshot eyes.
‘Leave me, you can go on alone.’
She shrugged.
‘Maybe that’s best...’
I ran on further, past a toilet and cursed myself when I stopped. Something inside me made me turn and I ran back to the huddled figure. Without saying anything, I dragged her along to the toilet. I closed it behind us. Only now I took the time to take a look at the young woman. She had long dark lashes and everything about her radiated a frightening melancholy, as if she was more dead than alive.
‘You were the woman on that boat,’ she whispered.
‘Right,’ I sighed. ‘Damned. I fucked up. Now I’m sure that they’ll never let me go alive.’
‘But we escaped…’
‘No. We’re on an island.’
In the distance I heard the crowd screaming.
‘They will start looking for us and then – I’m sure they’re going to execute us for what we did...’
I looked at the window above the toilet, climbed on the bowl and looked outside. ‘We are in luck, Net X is moored here. The guests have most probably been dropped off by it,’ I whispered as I pointed to the port, where Jack’s ship was.
‘Which guests?’
‘Those people you just heard. They bet money on us and control our lives and our deaths. They are gamblers and spectators of this fucking reality game on the internet.’
Her lips became a thin slash. ‘I didn’t know that. My manager told me he had arranged a screen test for a movie.’
‘Well... He lied.’
‘This isn’t a show?’
‘Yeah. It’s a show. A reality game; Prey and Predator, where I should have killed you, but now I have a problem.’ I grabbed her shoulders and looked hard at her. ‘This is real and if something happens to me, you’ll have to do whatever it takes to survive and tell the world the truth.’
‘I will do what you want...’
‘Good! That ship there is owned by Jack Willow. It’s called the Net X. Tell the police that it is a cover for a media company that broadcasts live events on the dark net.’
‘Dark net?’
‘A network within the Internet that can’t be found by normal search engines. I have no time to explain. You just have to know that people are betting money through the media channel of Net X, which broadcasts live executions within the dark net.’
‘Oh my God.’
‘A customer offered a lot of money to see how I would kill you, because I am a popular player. They even offered me a million, but I don’t think I’d ever get it. I don’t believe they will ever let me go.’
‘You saved my life. Thank you, err...’
‘Naomi. And you?’
She put out her hand at me, which was a bit strange in these circumstances, but still I shook it.
‘Angel.’
‘ … Of course!’ I held her
fragile shoulders, ... ‘we have to survive this. I have a plan.’
She nodded.
‘You stay here, close the toilet door and wait, OK?’
‘W-what are you going to do?’ She said with a high and shrill voice.
‘To save our lives, with this...’
I pulled the knife out of my scabbard, crept out the cubicle and pressed my finger against my lips as I hid behind the door of the toilet. I saw Angels face getting a colour back. From very pale it reddened. We heard voices in the hall, and I carefully closed the door of the toilet.
I waited tensely. It had to be done fast, without hesitation.
Suddenly the door swung open next to me. From the corner of my eye I saw two over dressed women walking in. They talked about which hand bag best suited their shoes. At first, they didn’t notice anything. They walked towards the mirrors, took their lipsticks out of their purse and spread their lips almost simultaneously. One of the two women noticed me in the mirror and gave a high pitched shout, the other drew a red streak over her face. From that moment on, it was as if someone else had held the knife and took control over my body. I jumped on the smaller of the two, grabbed her by her hair, put the knife to her throat and pushed while she screamed like a suckling pig.
‘Shut up,’ I growled at her and I drew the knife in a smooth movement across her throat, after that she slipped out of my hands.
The taller woman was still standing there, covering her mouth with her hand. She was like a statue, with her eyes wide open, a deathly pale face. Even when I stabbed her in her belly, she barely made any noise. I pulled the knife up into the soft abdominal flesh. Warm blood splattered over my hands. I pulled the knife back out and jumped aside before her weight fell forward.
In the distance I heard voices. I hurried to the door and tried to block it with my weight. ‘Angel, Come here!’
The toilet cubicle flew open and I thought that Angel would faint. She staggered, slumped to her knees and pointed with shaking hand to the two blood-soaked women on the ground.
‘Don’t clown around and come here!’
