by Kailin Gow
“Be safe,” she whispered before turning away and disappearing in the elegant home.
With no time to waste, Matthew turned to the direction she’d instructed. But as he passed before the Ruby District, he decided to stop in and give Jocelyn an update. She’d be frantic enough as it was and letting her know where Jacob was being held would hopefully soothe her.
“I know where Jacob is,” he said on entering the house.
Jocelyn jumped up from her chair and hurried to him. “Matthew, are you serious. You found him?”
“I haven’t seen him yet, but I know where they’re holding him. The Old Coliseum, out on the Granite Strip.
Jocelyn grabbed her jacket and headed to the door. “Let’s go.”
“What? No. I didn’t come here to get you Jocelyn. I just wanted to let you know how things were going and I’m going to head out to find out more. Stay here.”
“Are you nuts? My brother is out there being held in some coliseum and you want me to just sit here doing nothing. Stop arguing and let’s get going.”
“Look, it’s late. Your parents will be home soon and they’ll be worried about you. Maybe we can do this tomorrow.”
“No way.” She grabbed a small pad of paper off an end table and scribbled a quick note. “There. I’ve gone off to grab a burger with you and will be back soon.” She grabbed Matthew by the shoulders and turned him to the door.
***********
It took well over an hour to make it to the Granite Strip and past the residential areas. The night was dark, moonless, making it difficult to find their way through the dimly lit district, but affording them the perfect cover from detection by any Enforcer.
“This is horrible,” Jocelyn said. She rubbed her hands together, trying to rid herself of the invisible dirt that covered her. “Just being here, this dreaded neighborhood, feels creepy. It even smells funny.”
“Hopefully we won’t have to stick around too long.”
They approached the Old Coliseum and their pace automatically slowed to a crawl as they faced the imposing concrete structure. Everything about it was unwelcoming. No lights guided the way to an entry. No whimsical decorations or details reminded the perfect beauty of Arcadia. It was stark, barren and cold. Formidable, the Old Coliseum’s stony wall only held cold destitution inside.
Looking at this building, which appeared alive like a monster, pulsing with the grim secrets it held, Jocelyn and Matthew both heard the noise.
Cheers, clapping, and even laughter.
“What can they be doing in there,” Jocelyn asked as she shot a horrified glance at Matthew.
The cheers increased, taking on a festive rhythm.
Then a blood curdling scream pierced through the happy cheers, bringing a deadly chill to Jocelyn’s spine. Jocelyn’s entire body froze. She barely managed to ask, “What was that?”
“Do you really want to find out?” Matthew asked.
She breathed in deeply, remembering her task. She had to think of Jacob. She had to think of Jacob’s baby. “We have no choice.”
The cheers crescendo then subsided.
“Come on,” Matthew said. He took a hold of her hand and led her around the building that took up several blocks. “We’ll find a way in.”
Their best point of entry was found at the darkest section of the coliseum. The flimsy wooden door hung loosely on its hinges, yielding to Matthew’s gentle push.
Complete darkness enveloped them as did the dank acrid air.
“I can’t see a thing,” Jocelyn said. She reached out on either side of her, feeling the cold stones of the hall.
From below the moans and groans of captives echoed up into the narrow corridor.
“We’ll have to feel our way until we find some light,” Matthew said. “Stay close.”
They followed the sounds of pain and desperation. When the corridor split into two, Matthew turned to the right, bringing them closer to the heart of the Coliseum. A tinge of light glowed in the distance. As they made their way closer, Jocelyn questioned her ability to remain strong. She could feel the dread, smell the scent of…
Death.
And Fear.
Matthew stopped in front of a tall narrow opening in the stones, peering through, offering them a generous view of the field at the center of the coliseum. Now empty save for a few workers, it was clear something ugly and dreadful had taken place. The workers cleared the sand with rakes and shovels.
“I don’t want to know what it is they’re cleaning up,” Jocelyn murmured as she fought a violent gag reflex.
“The crowd is growing restless,” Matthew observed. He glanced up at the attendance, all Enforcers.
The cleaning lasted more than twenty minutes, leaving the Enforcers thirsty for blood. As the work crew left the field, electricity filled the air as wild cheers of anticipation reverberated throughout the coliseum. The volume increased once again when a dozen prisoners were escorted to the field.
“I don’t want to see this,” Jocelyn murmured, closing her eyes. This was proving to be more horrific than she could have ever imagined. Despite the sickly feeling that rose to her throat, she watched the prisoners, looking for her brother’s familiar face. The prisoners were bare except for a narrow swatch of leather around their hips. Their backs ripped with open wounds from being repeatedly lashed. Their faces, either resigned or horrified, were all pale and gaunt. Jocelyn couldn’t bear look at their faces. She wanted to cry for them, anyone of them could be her brother.
Each held a weapon of sorts; a large fork, a dull and rusted knife, a metal mallet.
Fear beaded on their brows despite the lack of clothing and the chilled night air. At the far end of the Coliseum the heavy grating sound of metal against metal announced the opening of the cages. The crowd roared and rose to their feet as four-legged beasts made their way to the vast expanse of the playing field.
“What are they?” Jocelyn tried to focus on the fast approaching creatures.
“Dogs,” Matthew said after a moment. “Feral dogs.”
Jocelyn swallowed the knot of nausea that instantly rose to the back of her throat. It was an unfair fight. The dogs were massive and powerful, the muscles visible, even from a distance. Though they were chained, it was clear they had ample room to run and were treated well.
They ran to the center of the field, their eyes determined and fixated on the prisoners, their angry rabid smiles made cruel with the sharp teeth they bared, ready to tear into the flesh of the prisoners. They salivated, the drool dripping from their jowls as they made their way. Each paw hit the sandy field with anticipation while the men in the center of the field could do little more than wait with their inadequate weapons in hand. The prisoners knew their weapons were no match for these rapid dogs, doom shone in their eyes.
“It’s probably best you don’t look.” Matthew put a tender hand to her shoulder. “I’ll keep a look out for Jacob.”
Jocelyn turned away just as the beasts lunged at the group of men. Pounding and snarling blended together in an ugly song of pain and the will to survive. One heavy, bone crunching blow was followed by a whimper. One of the prisoners who held a mallet had wounded an approaching feral dog. Just as quickly, the sound of teeth piercing skin and bones was followed by a horrible shriek.
“I can’t stand this,” Jocelyn said, covering her ears and humming to shut out the nightmarish screams of death.
There were some growls, barks, and the sounds of painful screams, followed by another. The sounds were deafening, and Jocelyn legs nearly gave out underneath her. She would have crumbled to the ground in unbelief, if Matthew was not holding unto her. Minutes passed before a sickly silence settled onto the field. Then there was cheering and clapping.
“A little over 5 minutes,” one of the Enforcers laughed.
“Longer than that last group,” another voice said cheerily. “Those bitches always win. They’re getting fat like pigs,” he went on laughing.
“Humans can be so cruel
to each other, why not make it a sport to watch them?”
“They are the cruel ones, not us,” someone said. “They destroyed their own lands. Stupid pigs.”
“Indeed. Stupid fat slugs. This is good entertainment, a good way to spend our evenings. Who is the Master now…these slugs that we serve? No!”
Jocelyn dared a glance.
“I think it’s over,” Matthew ventured.
Though the fight was over, the scene on the field was something Jocelyn regretted seeing. Bodies, mutilated and dismembered, were scattered about, blood pooling here and there. The dogs’ trainers slowly pulled them back toward their cages. Some dogs carried the arm or hand of its prey.
Most of the bodies remaining in the center of the field were dead, though a few moaned as they were dragged away to die in a pile at the far end of the field.
“Wow, Melanie sure got her story wrong. This is far from a gentle innocent time.” Sarah shook her head in disbelief.
“Arcadia’s dirty little secret.”
“I can’t believe what I just saw. I didn’t even see it all and I still can’t believe it.”
“Did you notice who was in attendance,” Matthew asked.
“Yeah, I saw the leather bands. Enforcers. I don’t get it.”
“It’s probably a way of rewarding them for all their work.”
“What kind of heartless person can even find amusement in what just happened? It’s more than barbaric.”
“I guess there’s a whole lot we don’t know about Arcadia and Arcadians.”
“Matthew.” Another wave of nausea threatened to take over Jocelyn’s gut. “We have to find Jacob. We have to find him before they bring him out.” A little voice at the back of her brain questioned the possibility of already being too late, but she refused to pay any attention. Jacob had to be all right. He just had to be. If even for a moment she let that optimistic thread break, she knew she’d lose her mind.
“We’ll go back to the cells… back where we heard the prisoners’ cries.
As the cleaning crew prepared for another blood bath, Matthew and Jocelyn navigated through the numerous corridors and pathways. A narrow stairwell led them down to a dark and more ominous level. The foul odor intensified, while the cries of the prisoners sounded feeble and muffled.
In silence, Matthew and Jocelyn passed one filthy cell after another, peering in with the hopes of finding Jacob.
Looking at the dirty, lice-infested men, Jocelyn wondered if she’d be able to recognize her own brother. The conditions were sub-human and her heart ached for every one of them, but the thought of Jacob… it was too much to bear.
“I can’t believe Jacob is in a place like this, Matthew.”
Reaching the end of the corridor, Jocelyn grunted her dismay, but refused to admit aloud that finding Jacob alive was becoming less and less likely.
Matthew tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a narrow and short door with a small barred opening at the top. “Over there.”
Jocelyn hurried to the small door and knelt to peer through the opening.
Curled up on the rough stone floor, her brother laid, his back to her, his legs curled up to his chest, his hair shorn.
“My god, Matthew, it’s him.”
Matthew knelt beside her and peered inside. “How can you tell? You can’t even see his face. Like this he looks like all the others.”
“I know it’s him, Matthew. I just know.”
Without so much as a piece of cloth to cover him, he shivered and shook, rattling the bones that were so tightly wrapped with nothing more than transparent skin.
“Jacob,” Jocelyn whispered, with tears in her eyes.
He waved her away, not even turning to look at her.
“Jacob, it’s me, Jocelyn. We’ve come for you. I’m with Matthew. We’re going to do all we can to get you out of here.” She grabbed the tiny bars of the opening and stuck her face in further. “Jacob? Can you hear me? It’s Jocelyn. Please look at me. Jacob?”
A group of cockroaches scampered across the floor. Jocelyn recoiled, but quickly returned to wake Jacob out of his lethargy.
“Jacob, Melanie is at the house. She’s asleep in your old room… and the baby is fine. She’s doing great. They’re doing great. I promised Melanie I’d find you. Jacob, Melanie loves you and she’s home waiting for you.”
At this he stirred and twisted around to peer at her with fuzzy eyes. His gaze was unsure, as though caught in the gloom too long. “Melanie?” he grunted.
Jocelyn smiled, ignoring the heartbreaking sound of his familiar voice. She’d made it through to him and that was what really mattered. “Yes, Jacob. Melanie is home, with your unborn child. I came here to bring you back to her.
With great difficulty he shifted his frail body onto all fours and struggled to stand. He was horrifyingly thin - dirt and mud was caked to virtually every part of his body.
“I’m being transported,” he said as he came to the small door and settled his bones. He was skeletal, even thinner than Melanie.
Jocelyn glanced at Matthew in confusion, but he offered only a vague and confused shrug in response. She returned her gaze to her brother, taking in the distant look in his eyes. Could he be delirious? Was he already lost to her, even as he stood just inches away from her?
“Jacob,” she whispered. “What do you mean? Where are you being transported to?”
He seemed far too frail to be transported anywhere.
“They’ve forgiven me. I’ve been exonerated. They’ve offered me clemency. Retribution. Freedom. It’s not so bad. I’m good… a good Arcadian… good citizen.” He sounded more and more incoherent as the words tumbled through his chapped lips. “I told them Melanie carried my child and they offered me a way out of here - Transportation.”
Matthew tapped Jocelyn’s shoulder. “Sarah said the Enforcers were incapable of mercy. They have no empathy.”
Jocelyn stared at him. She wanted desperately to believe her brother had been spared the awful fate that awaited prisoners on the field, but Matthew’s words rant true. The blood thirsty brutes she saw up there seemed incapable of any and all empathy. Even she had heard talk of the Enforcers and their capacity to be hard and harsh, but what she had just experienced was nothing she could have imagined.
Jacob grabbed the bars, his fingers brushing against Jocelyn’s. “Little sister,” he whispered. “Little sister who is soon to become a woman. You will be given a choice like I did at 18. Each has consequences.”
Tears filled her eyes as she met his crazed gaze. She was looking at a stranger… a man she barely recognized.
“I came for you, little sister.”
“You shouldn’t have come back,” she blubbered through tears. “It’s not worth it. Not you in here, and Melanie…” Her heart was suddenly heavy with memories of the big brother who’d always protected her. He had been her hero on more than one occasion, making her proud, making her feel important. Despite being from the Ruby District, he had always been the football hero in high school and the boy all the girls in his class had a crush on, handsome and strong. He and Melanie had been so much in love. The only other couple in school that appeared just as in love or more so, was Kama and Liam. In a way, despite being from different districts, and despite Liam being the Governor’s son, Liam reminded Jocelyn of Jacob. Would the same fate happen to Liam, if he decides to challenge Kama’s Life’s Plan? Jocelyn stared into Jacob’s vacant eyes as reality sank into her head. Even Liam would not get mercy so why should Jacob?
She controlled the urge to crumble and weep helplessly.
The inmates suddenly became restless and loud, shaking the bars of their cells and crying out like animals. The one closest to Matthew and Jocelyn shook his head back and forth with such violence spittle flew from his frothing mouth, landing at Jocelyn’s feet. “Don’t just stand there, get us out!” he said.
“Someone’s coming,” Matthew warned. “We gotta go.”
“Jacob…”
&
nbsp; He smiled. It was a crooked and awkward smile that was far removed from the glorious smile she remembered. It exposed the two teeth he was now missing and the rot and decay of those that remained.
“After the last fight,” he said. “At the main terminal of the top level… that’s where they’ll prepare me to be transported.”
Footsteps inched closer.
“After the last fight,” he repeated. “The top level. Take care of yourself, Melanie, and the baby.”
Jocelyn gripped his fingers through the bars. “I love you, Jacob.”
“Come on,” Matthew urged. “We gotta leave… now.”
She rose as her heart fell to the floor. With complete faith in Matthew, she followed him blindly, disregarding all they passed by. The shock of everything, especially seeing Jacob like this, disoriented her, and she couldn’t think. Matthew stumbled here and there as they made their way through the maze of endless cells.
Cries of horror bounced off the walls and followed them at every turn. Prisoners could be heard calling for mercy as they were escorted out of their holding cells and up to the field of certain death.
“He said the last fight,” Jocelyn muttered. “This is pure horror. How much more?”
“I have no idea. I would have never guessed there were so many prisoners in all Arcadia to begin with. Some of them have been there a long time. Did they keep them there all this time…for this?”
“I can’t believe we’re peaceful, beautiful Main Street is but an hour away…all those people who disappeared, all those people who said they were leaving Arcadia…here?”
They settled into a quiet alcove and waited. Two long and excruciating hours passed before the final combat was announced.
“Should we start heading for the terminal now?” Even as she asked the questions something sounded wrong. A transportation terminal within a coliseum of death; it didn’t make sense.
They headed to the nearby flight of steps. The Stone Age walls gave way to bright white halls. Well-lit and amply-suited for the transportation of many, the halls offered Jocelyn a glimpse of optimistic hope. The floor were immaculate, the walls pristine and the windows offered an enchanting view of all Arcadia.
