by Dante King
The vendor snarled. “Maybe I will scream like a child and say that you want to fight. Maybe then, the guards will drag you away, and I will buy my own ticket to watch you die in the arena. Hmm? Do you want to buy the ticket now?”
Maybe entering the arena wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I might find whoever Yaltu had heard about, the superpowered human who might have paid a visit to the Lakunae.
“Fat hairy is lucky Jacob is in hurry!” Skrew sneered. “Jacob reach down fat-hairy throat, grab fat-hairy’s little balls, and turn whole body inside out! Then, friends make fun and call hairy-fat!”
You still need a guide, I reminded myself. But I was having trouble convincing myself that it was true.
The vendor gasped, sneered at both of us, and inhaled deeply. I saw what was coming next and decided that I’d rather blow my own cover than let the nasty vendor do it. So, I flexed my arm, ripping it from the gorilla’s grasp. At the same time, I grabbed the creature’s bottom lip and attempted to pull it over his head, effectively muffling his scream.
It turned out that his bottom lip was a lot stretchier than I thought it would be, and I found it easy to pull it all the way up to his eyes. He flailed and tried to punch me with his hand, which was as big as my head.
I caught his fist mid-strike, reversed my grip, ducked under his arm, and took his elbow with my other hand. Then I used his own meaty hand to punch him in the face twice.
Skrew, meanwhile, was laughing hard enough to draw the guards all by himself. I silenced him by using the vendor’s arm to take a swing at the vrak, causing him to duck, stumble, and land in the little stream of urine. Then I turned my attention back to the vendor and used his own fist to whack him in the face two more times. When I paused to ask him if he was done, I noticed he was unconscious and didn’t bother.
A large crowd of aliens had gathered around the booth. They were already primed to see the arena fights, so, unfortunately, they were keenly interested in watching a human embarrass a much bigger opponent.
It was time to leave.
“Jacob,” Skrew hissed, “must go! Must flee. Guards will come. Too many eyes. Not fight on street, yes? Must flee!”
He was right. I hopped out of the vendor’s booth across his counter and met an immobile wall of aliens all gawking between me and the gorilla. I could easily leap over them, but that would only draw more attention, so I decided a distraction would be best.
“Free arena tickets!” I yelled before turning and scooping up a big handful of colorful slips of paper. I threw them into the air in great handfuls, and the aliens dove, jumped, and flew for them.
It was bedlam, and it was just what I needed to slip away as three guards in small hovercrafts arrived to survey the situation. A human carrying a vrak through a crowd of flying papers, aliens, and dust was almost invisible.
I knew I’d narrowly avoided the arena. The thought of it made me recall the old Roman coliseums where people would be pitted against one another and against beasts. Most gladiators were slaves, but not all. The idea that so many people would be entertained by watching one being fight another being to the death sickened me.
Once we’d moved far enough away, I put Skrew down and looked around to get my bearings.
“Good to smash fat-hairy,” Skrew mused. “Also bad to smash fat-hairy. Peoples liked fight. They remember and report Jacob. He is different.”
“Quiet down,” I said.
“Normally, humans squishy, soft. Not fight. Just die. Maybe throw rock. Maybe throw self. Always die. Jacob not die. Jacob embarrass fat-hairy. Was fun! But fun bad. Jacob must keep to moving.” His expression was grim, almost mournful.
Skrew and I slowly made our way through the meandering, crawling, slithering, stomping, and walking aliens.
Few paid me any attention at all, except to sneer or point. I pretended I didn’t notice. No use drawing attention with another fight again, even if it would satisfy me to wipe the smug looks off their faces. I looked up every few seconds to check my surroundings and noticed something.
At first, I thought my mind might be feverish, but when I checked again, I confirmed it. There was a face in the crowd I recognized, though I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I stopped, much to the chagrin of those walking behind me.
For a moment, I saw her again and started pushing my way through the crowd. There it was again: a female face. I only saw it for an instant, but my heart leaped. She looked well, but she was thinner than I’d remembered her. She was being shoved down along the street by a vrak slaver. The woman and her slaver disappeared among the crowd.
I abandoned any semblance of trying to blend in and headed for the last spot I saw her.
It was Reaver.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The crowd was becoming thicker, as were Skrew’s protests and attempts to drag me by my arm.
“I saw one of my people,” I whispered to him. “She went this way.”
“So many humans for Jacob to choose from,” he grumbled. “Ugly females make nice with Jacob. No troubles he has to find mate. Why this human?”
“She’s part of my crew, part of my team,” I said from the side of my mouth as I craned my neck as best I could. “She’d give her life for me, and I’d do the same for her. No way I’m leaving without her.”
Skrew made a raspberry noise. I didn’t look, not because I wasn’t curious if he’d just covered his own face in saliva, but because I didn’t want to lose sight of Reaver.
Two rock-like aliens stomped the ground in front of me. They were as wide as some of the vendor stalls and three times as tall. They stared at each other with unblinking expressions, thumping their chests and scraping their granite-like teeth together in something that must have been communication.
I tried to go around to the left, but the crowd was too thick. I tried the right, but another circus cart was pushing its way through the masses. I couldn't go over them without drawing attention, and going under them was unreasonable, so I stiff-armed both of the rock-beasts and went between them.
I expected them to protest, possibly to take a swing at me, but when I checked over my shoulder, they only stood there with passive expressions and watched me go. They weren’t at all what I’d expected.
I had to duck to dodge the pointy ends of a huge parasol when a lusty-looking female alien with three breasts bounced by, carried in a kind of exotic litter. She smacked her enormous lips and blinked the huge lashes of her one eye at me as she passed. I couldn't help but shudder in revulsion. Skrew raised an arm as if to wave at her, but I caught it, possibly saving his life by the looks of her.
“Probably not a good idea,” I whispered.
I wanted Reaver to look my direction and see me. If she did, and she managed not to give it away, I could pass a few hand and arm signals to her. I could make a plan, see a response, and know what she needed from me. But, by the way she was walking, head down and subdued, I suspected I was the last thing she expected to see.
“Come on,” I told the vrak. “We’ll close the distance. I need to figure out what her situation is. I can’t lose sight of her. Not when I’m this close.”
“Jacob must carefully,” Skrew whispered. “Too close to arena. Guards looking for very much muscles and fight. Maybe not from human, though. Who knows? Maybe safe? Maybe they ignore? Maybe they try squash Jacob flat like dittle-bug when it land in food and make poops on top.”
I ignored him. I had Reaver in sight. She was only 30 or 40 yards away and was heading toward a building on the edge of the arena. I guessed it was the official ticket booth. There were aliens milling around it, but the transaction would give me enough time to confront the vrak who was escorting her. I had a pouch full of gold pings, and I hoped they would be enough to buy her freedom without attracting any unwanted attention. Then, I could get her to safety, free the dragons, and make my escape. That part would be fun. I’d probably just punch a big hole in the city’s wall and walk through. After creating a distraction to cover our esca
pe, of course.
“Too close,” Skrew hissed as he tugged on my arm. “Jacob must turn away. Must hide. Too close!”
Reaver and the vrak disappeared into the a small building beside the arena.
“Fuck,” I whispered as my heart sank.
“Must go,” Skrew said, still tugging on my arm.
“What’s that building for?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the door Reaver had disappeared behind.
“Is not for Jacob.”
“What is it?” I asked again, agitation and impatience turning my voice into a growl.
Skrew sighed. “Is the arena office. Make for fights there. Make for dead and pain and suffer. Is not place for Jacob. She fight.” The sincere sadness in his voice made me turn to look at him. “Reaver fight. Reaver die. Is all.”
“I need to get in there.”
“No. Is fight. Is to die. Not little, black mercenaries. Not Enforcer. Bad fighting things. Many fights. Many wins. Jacob get squashed like fruit. Not fight, Jacob. Come. Skrew take to Bada-dabu. We find other.”
He stopped when I yanked my arm from his grasp.
“Go to Babu-dabu.” I tossed my ping-pouch to him. “I’m going for Reaver.”
Skrew glanced toward a nearby food stall. “But—”
“You find Babu-dabu. I know where one of my people are.”
After I turned, I didn’t look back, but neither did I hear any more protests. He knew I was serious, and I sincerely hoped he was walking away to obey my orders.
It was time to go talk to one of the guards.
I checked over both my shoulders, noting the location, direction, and equipment of the guards. There were no more than 50 of them, but only about 10 in my immediate area. If it came to it, I would have to fight no more than 10 at a time. The odds were a little in my favor, but I’d do my best to make it look like an even fight.
“Hey!” I called to a guard who eyed me suspiciously.
“What do you want, human?” the guard said, drawing the last word out like it was some kind of slur. He wore dark, metal armor, completely unlike those the Enforcers wore. There was no sign of any advanced technology, so I wasn’t too worried. It was just armor.
“I want to fight in the arena,” I answered.
The guard laughed, as did the two others who stood at the entrance to the building.
“Go away, little human,” the guard said, wagging his three sausage-like fingers at me. “The arena is no place for soft, squishy humans. Maybe you can go find a ca-a child to play with. I saw some over there. I’m sure they will be gentle enough not to leave too many bruises. But if you say the wrong thing, it might eat your face.”
I stopped a yard away from him and crossed my arms, staring him in his dark eyes. He stared back, and for a while, neither of us spoke.
“Why do you want to fight, human?” he asked. “You want to die? Life is too hard? Go throw yourself in front of one of them. It will be quicker.”
I glanced where he was pointing and saw the rock aliens again. They only watched, more curious than anything else.
“I’m here to fight,” I replied, growing impatient. “I understand your concerns, but either you let me fight in the arena, or I’ll fight you, then fight in the arena anyway. You seem like a nice person. I’m really not interested in hurting you.” He was being nice, so I hoped he’d be able to sense my honesty.
“Hurt us?” the guard to his right scoffed. “Puny, nasty human. Go away! My patience is nearly gone! Go now, or I’ll grind you into the soil myself!”
“I’ll tell you what,” I said as I scratched my chin and stared up into the sky, “I’ll let you have the first hit. Then, I’ll make you,” I said pointing to the guard on my left, “kiss his ass.” I pointed to the guard on the right.
“I’ve heard enough,” said the guard on the left. He handed his halberd to the other guard who only looked at me and shrugged. I knew what the gesture meant. I’d asked for what was about to happen. I’d try not to kill anyone. I needed to get inside alive. They weren’t taking me seriously.
It was time to show them that I wasn’t your garden-variety human.
The guard raised his meaty fists and extended a filthy-looking chipped claw from each. I was more worried about infection than I was any other kind of injury. His claw looked like he played in the dirt every day, and nobody had taught him about germs. It wasn’t my place, so, instead, I decided to teach the beast not to underestimate humans ever again.
The guard sauntered up like he had all day. Maybe he expected me to lose my nerve and run. The closer he got, the less certain he appeared. He kept that expression until I slapped him across the face. It was a gentle touch meant only to incite him, but his head rocked back, and he stumbled.
He growled and slashed at my face with his claws but found only air when I ducked under his strike. I closed the distance and slapped him twice. His head snapped back from the blows, and he started to topple. He wasn’t over far enough for my liking, so I hooked his forward leg with my arm and pushed him over. He landed on his back with a huff and a huge gust of wind from his lungs.
The guard I’d been speaking to earlier didn’t attack like I’d expected. Instead, he watched with mild fascination as three more guards surrounded me. Two had left their polearms behind, but the third, the only one who looked nervous, kept his at hand. He’d have to be the first to go down. He was the only real threat.
I planted my feet and quickly checked my surroundings. My exploits had already gathered a crowd of locals who were getting a free show outside of the arena. Some looked like they felt badly for me, while others were amazed.
They hadn’t seen anything yet.
The two unarmed guards took up positions to my left and right. The third, the nervous-looking one, approached from the center, directly at me. He bellowed a warcry, raised his polearm, and stomped his foot. Instead of retreating from him like I’m sure he intended, I lunged toward him. He flinched and almost tripped over his own big feet in an attempt to escape whatever it was the little human was about to do.
“Made you flinch,” I said with a laugh.
He took a panicked swing at me with the halberd, but it passed harmlessly over my head, and I rewarded his effort with a light tap to his face. He flew backward as though I’d just hit him with a sledgehammer. The other guards drew closer, and they were joined by two more, creeping up behind me.
Good. I wanted to commit enough of a crime that warranted capture. It would mean reuniting with Reaver, and then we could escape from here.
But was this enough? I’d slapped two guards, but they might just kill me here and now. I needed to show them that I was worthy of the arena. They’d probably earn some kind of finder’s fee for bringing a superpowered human to their superiors. Hell, I needed to amp things up a notch.
I dashed toward the nearest guard, grabbed his weapon with both hands, and twisted it hard but only managed to twist myself in the air. He had a powerful grip. So, instead of yanking it from him, I yanked his whole body, lifted him from the ground, and planted him between myself and the two charging guards who tried to rush me from behind. The collision sounded like someone smashing a full-loaded baked potato against a gym locker.
A guard climbed out of the tangle of arms, legs, and armor faster than I’d expected, but not fast enough. His fingers and arms were extended like he wanted to strangle me to death with his bare hands. There wasn’t any time to retreat or advance, so I decided he looked like a fine grappling partner. As if in slow motion, his face turned from a spit-slinging snarl to the crazed grin of someone who just got the thing he most wanted in life. I jabbed him in his throat, and I heard something shatter. His eyes bulged as he reached for his neck and wheezed.
The other guards seized the moment and charged me, but I jumped ten feet into the air and landed behind them. They all shared dismayed looks while the crowd cheered.
“I heard you have a superpowered human in the arena,” I said. “How about letting another on
e join?”
I almost choked on my own tongue when I realized that Reaver might actually be the person Yaltu had referred to. If she’d visited the Lakunae, then it was all the more reason for me to find her.
The guards recovered from their astonishment and charging with their polearms leading. I didn’t think any of them were going to do anything except try to run me through. I waited and focused my attention on the immediate threat.
The two guards in the lead thrust their weapons out at me as if they were a single unit. Their precision was impressive. Each had the exact same idea of aiming for the center of my chest.
I stepped to one side and slammed my fist down hard on the wooden poles behind the metal blade. That, combined with the momentum of their charge, turned the two guards into pole vaulters. First the guards went up. Then they soared through the air like they’d done it on purpose. Their form could have used some work, but if I were a judge, I would still have given them a solid four out of 10.
They landed right on top of two other guards, who threw their own halberds to the side just in time to prevent their flying comrades from impaling themselves on the weapons. The landing was nothing but twisting legs, tangling arms, and huffs, squeaks, and grunts. Their score dropped to a measly two out of 10.
A guard behind me did something mostly right. He came in low, moving fast but using short steps. His movements were noisy, but they would allow him to change directions quickly if he needed to.
He swung at my calf with the non-business end of his halberd. Obviously, I had his respect, and he wanted me alive. Otherwise, he would have tried to cut my leg off rather than try to disable me. I knew it would hurt, but I decided to take the blow.
Well, the attack didn’t hurt in the slightest. It was little more than a light touch, but it also broke his weapon’s wooden handle, sending a piece right at the forehead of a guard who’d just managed to untangle himself.
The guard glanced at the broken end of his stick, then shifted position. I probably could have killed them then with a single punch to his head, but I wanted to be taken into the arena, not stand outside it with a pile of corpses surrounding me.
