by Ramy Vance
For a second, Abby ran through what she could tell Anabelle about her plan with the nanobots. But she couldn’t see herself lying to Anabelle. Not now, not ever. “We’re gonna hack the Dark One’s chips on them orcs. Turn ‘em against each other.”
Anabelle’s eyes narrowed as she leaned over the table. “How do you know about that?” Anabelle asked, her voice colder than Abby had ever heard it.
The sudden change in tone threw Abby off, and she stuttered as she answered, “Martin. He hacked into HQ’s files and told me.”
A small smile broke across Anabelle’s face as she leaned back and relaxed. “So, your plan is to turn the Dark One’s tech back on him? Interesting. You think you can do that?”
“I know I can. Just don’t know if I should.”
An alarm sounded, and both Anabelle’s and Abby’s comms went off. Terra was about to head to the arena.
Anabelle was the first to rise. “We’re at war, Abby. What we have to do is what we have to do. We’ll figure out what’s right or wrong later.”
Chapter Ten
Terra stood in one of the candlelit hallways that ran through the arena like veins. She was surrounded by humans who were barely armed.
The cheering and bloodlust of the orcs who filled the stands could be heard through the vibrating walls. They were calling for a show. They wanted to see blood, to see suffering, to watch the humans crushed into dust.
Terra wondered where the orcs she had dined with had been taken. She didn’t know what kind of fight she was in for, but it seemed odd to have orcs who were being punished fight alongside orcs who meant to be doling out the punishment.
Could make sense to orcs, though. How was she supposed to know how they thought? Her first choice of punishment would have never been to erect an entire arena.
Heaving breath. Soft sobbing. Someone in the hall was crying. It was too dark for Terra to make out who had finally cracked under the pressure. Whoever it was, they were breaking apart. It could be heard in their tears. That was not how someone cried when they were afraid.
Those were the tears of the dead, of one who realizes there is nowhere else to go. Who has to look their death in the eye and fears how inadequate they might be judged to be.
Other than the weeping man, the hallway was silent. Terra wished she could do something to comfort him. She remembered how afraid she had been when she first woke up. Hell, she knew how afraid she was right now. The fear hadn’t gone away. She’d only gotten used to it.
Fear was something that could be forgotten, like anything else in life. Nothing had to be held onto, even if it was right in front of your face. You could choose when you wanted to stop seeing it. Even if it didn’t go away, it would be close enough for most people.
“Hey,” Terra called, trying to make her voice louder than the screaming above. “Who’s crying?”
The sobbing stopped, replaced by sniffling. Terra thought it was a much more pathetic sound. There was a certain strength in being able to cry freely. It was something Terra had never quite got the hang of. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” a voice croaked. “I’m just so goddamn scared.”
“Where are you?”
A young man with bleach-blond hair emerged from the shadows. He didn’t look any older than nineteen, nor did he look like he’d ever been in a fight. “What’s your name?” Terra asked.
The young man struggled to meet Terra’s eyes. “Eric,” he said after a few moments. “Name’s Eric.”
“What are you scared of?”
Eric glanced at the other men huddled in the hallway as if this were some kind of trick question. “What do you think I’m afraid of?”
“Hey, you want to pop off like an asshole, that’s up to you. But if you want to have a real talk, be my guest and mature the fuck up.”
“Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry. I’m…fuck, I’m scared of dying. That’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? All the other matches, everyone got weapons. We didn’t get anything. They’re just sending us in there to die like the fucking Romans did. We’re not supposed to have a chance.”
The kid started crying again, doubled over, his hands covering his face, not even bothering to look ashamed. His whole body trembled as he tried to force words out of his mouth.
The other two watched on in silence. Neither of them moved, not even to look at the kid. To look upon him would be to look upon their own fears. It was easier to focus on what you could deal with.
The kid’s shaking voice came through his sobs. “I don’t want to die,” he stammered. “I have a boyfriend. I have a fucking family. I’m supposed to go back home. I’m supposed to be home!”
Terra took the kid’s chin between her fingers, then she pulled him close and hugged him tightly as the crowd above them shouted for murder and mayhem. She held the kid as if he were the only person in the world. “You’re right. That’s why we’re here.”
She let go of the kid, who looked up at her, his tear-stained eyes bright in the candlelight. “I don’t want to die,” he repeated.
“Neither do I, but it is probably going to happen. That’s just the truth. I’m not dying on my knees or my back, though. If I’m going, it’s going to be on my feet. They’re going to have to beat me into the ground. That’s the least I can do for myself.”
Eric wiped his eyes and shook his head. “We saw you fight,” he admitted. “I’m not like you. I’m not strong like that. I already had one match, and I barely made it. I’m—”
“Probably going to die. We don’t have weapons, and we have no idea what we’re up against. So, you can hang in the back and get cut down with the first deaths. It’ll probably be quick, and there’s no shame in that. I’m not going to judge you. This shit is fucked up. This isn’t in the realm of normal. You could die curled in a ball, begging for your life. There’s no shame.”
Terra kissed Eric’s forehead and patted him on the head before she strode away, returning to the front gate. “These are ridiculous times. This is beyond the realm of courageous or cowardly. So, you do you, boo.”
The rusted iron gates creaked as they began to rise. “Guess it’s showtime,” she said. “Like I told Eric, you guys can die however you want. But if you want to put up a fight, stick with me, and we’ll give them something to remember.”
Four orcs waited on the other side of the gate, and they motioned for the humans to come out into the arena. Terra stepped out first, followed by the rest of the nameless human males, Eric trailing in the back. Terra was the only one who walked with her head up.
The stands were even more packed than the day before. A special podium had been erected at what looked like a VIP spot. An older orc, all withered with a bulbous beer gut, sat on a purple couch, attended by four scantily clad orc females, who were fanning him.
As the humans stepped out of their gate, the old orc stood, grabbed a cane, and made his way over to the microphone at the podium. He cleared his throat, a disgusting phlegmy sound that almost made Terra gag upon hearing it. “Welcome, humans,” the orc shouted, “to the battle of the Red Lion!”
The arena had been set up almost like an interactive theater production. A section of a bar had been built up, complete with enough tables and seats for all of the humans. There were already a handful of orcs and goblins sitting at the table. The ones from the dining hall.
Nib-nib and a few other mantiboids were behind the bar, wearing aprons, washing dishes, and serving wine.
Not knowing what else to do, Terra approached the bar and sat in front of Nib-nib. The rest of the humans stayed rooted to their positions.
The only human who bothered to follow Terra was Eric. He sat at the bar with her while the old orc narrated from the top of the arena, saying, “This battle will commemorate our glorious victory over Myrddin’s pathetic MERCs.”
“Here we find the MERCs drinking in the canteen, delving fully into the lifestyle which has engendered such weakness in them. Do you see discipline? Do you see dedication? Do you see any of the
strength the Dark One looks for in his disciples?”
Terra leaned toward an orc sitting at the bar next to her. “If this is what the Dark One’s orcs are like, I can see why you guys didn’t want to join them. This is worse than going to church. What is that guy going on about?”
The orc drank from his jug of wine. “You might want to try some. They at least gave us the kindness of a drink before our death. And the old one is speaking of one of the Dark One’s first defeats.”
“I thought he said this was commemorating a victory.”
“He’s lying. It was the first real defeat the Dark One experienced. They tried to ambush the MERCs during some sort of party, and they wiped the Dark One’s forces out. A shameful thing, to attack during a celebration of your enemy’s victory. Those are no longer orcs.”
Terra picked up the jug of wine in front of her and handed it to Eric. “Drink up, dude, for tonight we dine in hell,” she joked.
Eric's hands shook as he took the jug and drank. “I hated that movie,” he whispered.
“Honestly, I fell asleep in the first ten minutes. There’s only so much of a movie you can hold up with buff, shirtless dudes. But to each their own.”
The old orc was still rattling on as Terra, the orcs and goblins, and Eric drank their wine. When death nipped at your heels, what more was there to do than savor one last drink? But the time for savoring was done. Now the old orc reeled backward, cackling madly as the crowd cheered.
Terra scanned the bar. She hadn’t seen any weapons when she first walked in, and nothing had changed. She and her fellow warriors were still being served up on a platter for the spectacle.
The old orc’s laughter mingled with the crowds shouting, echoing throughout the arena.
The gold gates facing the open bar began to rise. The humans stood, and the orcs continued drinking. Terra and Eric turned to see what would come from the gates as Nib-Nib walked out from behind the bar, anxiously rubbing his mandibles together.
Six orcs strode out from behind the gate, each holding a torch.
Terra leaned over and nudged Eric. “Not too bad. I can take at least three of them. We’ll get out of this alive.”
As Terra spoke, the orcs near the gate separated, making room for six more orcs guiding something that was chained up. They were struggling with the chains.
Out of the darkness stepped a chimera. The creature was nearly eight feet tall, with the body of a lion. Its tail was a three-headed hydra, its head a lion’s, its mane filled with snakes. When the lion head roared, its mouth split down the middle, and a horned goat’s diminutive head forced itself out.
Terra had nothing to say to such a grotesque sight. Even the orcs at her side seemed to be dismayed.
Before Terra could offer Eric any form of encouragement, a posse of twelve orcs rode out of the gateway, each atop a warg, brandishing all manner of weapons.
The orcs released the chimera’s chains, moving away from the beast to leap onto the extra wargs that had run out into the arena.
The old orc’s laughter punctuated the scene. “Let the slaughter begin,” he shouted.
Chapter Eleven
The tracker was broadcasting from the top of the arena, supplying a bird’s eye video feed. Abby hadn’t been told by Anabelle to broadcast this fight, but Abby figured it should be done. If the point was to keep humanity informed of what was going on, it didn’t make any sense to stop now.
The other reason for the tracker being so far from the action was because it was busy sending nanobots over through the hadron collider. Creon and Martin had rigged it to send a small batch of nanobots directly to Abby’s tracker as long as the device remained stationary.
Distance wasn’t a problem, though. The tracker had immaculate video-capture capabilities. Even being more than a hundred feet away didn’t take away from the video’s quality, which was good because the scene Abby was watching was insane.
The pageantry of this battle put the others to shame. The fights before seemed to be about violence. This one looked to be about something else, a narrative the viewers needed to see. Didn’t seem much different from what Abby was doing.
Abby checked to see how many human channels she’d been able to co-opt since she began broadcasting, which was most of the major ones. Any station she hadn’t hacked into had picked up the broadcast from someone else.
The whole world was watching, and she was just as eager as the rest of them to see what was going to happen. The only difference was she had a say in what was going down.
Martin’s plan still made her feel uncomfortable, even with Anabelle’s approval. The elf’s detachment from the question had put Abby on edge again. It didn’t seem like Anabelle was at all concerned.
Abby didn’t know much about the history of the Dark One or what had been going on with the war. She only knew what had happened to her father, and that the Dark One was responsible for it. Revenge had been the reason she’d come to help Myrddin.
Now that Abby was in the midst of the war efforts, she could see how things were more complicated. Not necessarily that the bad guys weren’t the bad guys, but that she could navigate the kinds of choices she’d be called to.
Already, Abby had been instrumental in bringing a new kind of intelligence into existence. An intelligence humanity had been debating for the last forty-something years. And it had been an afterthought for her and the rest of her team.
Then there was the off-handed suggestion of her own creation. Mind control. What was next?
There would be other times to try to work through these ethical dilemmas. The most important thing at the moment was to save as many lives as possible. Abby had been prepared to help Terra, but now there were more humans as well.
Not only were there humans, but there were also orcs and goblins, and something Abby couldn’t recognize. Were they Abby’s responsibility as well? And what about the orcs? How did she know they weren’t secretly on the Dark One’s side?
The more questions Abby had, the harder it became for her to figure out what she was doing. Thankfully, this time around, the lab wasn’t full of spectators. Only Creon and Abby were in the lab, and he was glued to his computer.
The nanobots were nearly finished uploading. From there, all Abby had to do was guide the tracker to a few of the orcs who were microchipped and overwrite the programming. Martin had projected they had enough nanobots to take over three or four hosts. Any more might stretch the virus too thin.
Abby saw the gates opening on the other side of the arena. Then she watched the creatures flooding into the arena. Shit, she thought. This is even worse than the last time…and…they don’t have any weapons??? Are you serious?
A ping went off on the computer. The nanobots were ready. It was now or never.
Orc riders raced across the arena, whipping up dust as they circled the makeshift replica of the Red Lion. They were hooting and hollering, sounding like a band of merry banshees or wraiths fresh-pulled from the bowels of hell.
Shrieks from the chimera punctured the air as the creature bounded about, seemingly mindless, oblivious to friend or foe as the orcs on foot rushed away from its grasping claws toward the Red Lion.
Human, goblin, and orc alike took shelter behind the bar, Terra among them. There did not seem to be any other option. They were unarmed, and a horde was fast approaching.
Terra leaned against the side of the bar, trying to catch her breath. She looked at Eric, who no longer trembled, but now stared dumbfounded ahead as if the little bit of life worth worrying about had finally cast itself free of his mortal coil.
On her feet. That was how Terra had said she was going to die, not cowering behind some bullshit bar. If she were going to die in a bar, it should at least be one of her choosing.
She inched over to the side of the bar, past the rest of the chosen sacrifices. She peeked around the corner. A few orcs were approaching on foot. The rest were making a show of the chaos, no doubt playing to the audience.
; This wasn’t supposed to be a fight. Terra knew that now. This was a spectacle. They were probably expecting her and the rest of the unarmed to be frightened, hiding, and without hope.
Two orcs stepped into the bar. Terra could see them grabbing her and the rest of the humans, dragging them out into the open arena, and slitting their throats. It was too easy to imagine.
Terra leapt out from behind the bar, racing to the two orcs. She extended her arms and barreled through the both of them, catching them in the throats and knocking them off their feet. Then she grabbed a dropped ax and brought it down on one of the orcs’ chests.
As the other orc tried to regain his feet, Terra hit him in the face and slashed his throat. Then she scooped up his weapons, an ax and a short sword, slung his shield over her shoulder, and retreated behind the bar as the crowd screamed.
Terra tossed the sword, ax, and shield on the ground before her compatriots. “Who’s coming out there with me?” she asked.
The humans exchanged glances, as did the orcs and goblins, which was the real surprise for Terra. After what seemed a decade of silence, Eric grabbed the short sword and shield. Nib-nib took the remaining ax. “If we get weapons, will you fight?” Terra asked.
Still silence from the humans. Grave looks of disappointment from the orcs. One such orc looked up and said, “If you have the courage to fight, human, so do we.”
“Good. Because I’m fighting.”
Terra stepped out from behind the bar as more foot soldiers headed her way. She screamed and beat her chest as she rushed at the orcs, Eric at her side, and Nib-nib not far behind. They didn’t wait to see if the rest were coming with them. They sprinted toward glory.
Abby steered the tracker through a throng of orcs. The arena was getting chaotic. Terra and two others who Abby didn’t know were fighting tooth and nail in the bar. Only foot soldiers had entered the bar. The rest were still outside, working the crowd up.
