An already hot day, sweat lifted beneath Spike’s collar from close press of bodies around him. He tugged on it to beat the itch threatening to bite into his skin. God only knew what the diseased felt inside its thick glass walls—if it felt anything. No doubt the container stank. Just the thought of it turned his stomach. Sweat, excrement, rot, blood …
The glass box moved over the main part of the crowd directly opposite, and Spike watched it get lowered until it swayed no more than four feet above their heads. Were the old hook to fail, at least twenty of them would be crushed instantly.
The people around Spike were loud, but they had nothing on those directly opposite. Screaming and shouting at the beast in the box, the crowd directed pure venom at the thing. It represented everything that stank about their lives. Jobs and homes in the same district for life, they were no more than cogs in the larger Edin machine with just one mission: to grow large enough to take more of the world back from the things that kept them imprisoned inside the city’s walls. The diseased deserved to be the focus of their hate, and as soon as Spike became a protector, he’d make it his mission to kill every single one of them.
Some of the crowd jumped up and banged against the bottom of the box. The onslaught against its prison sent the beast into a rage. A trapped animal robbed of its pride and power, it looked like it wanted to direct its fury at something but couldn’t. Clearly overwhelmed, the creature then fell to the floor as if possessed. It clapped its hands to its ears and writhed around like it could squirm free from the torment. Spike’s jaw fell loose to watch it turn backwards rolls before it fell flat again. It then jumped to its feet, screamed, and banged against the glass walls surrounding it. If only he could watch the spectacle from a closer angle.
Spike couldn’t tell what age the man would have been when he turned. Mid-thirties maybe. Always hard to judge because of what the disease did to them. Half-naked in a pair of torn jeans and nothing else, it had the familiar sag of the creatures. Its skin looked like it would slough off it. It added years to its appearance.
The knack, knack, knack of the winch called from outside the arena again and the box moved back over to Spike and Matilda’s side. Spike gasped. “It’s coming back!”
When the container got to within about ten feet, Spike bounced where he sat. “They’re bringing it around again.”
As the glass box drew closer still, Spike stood on the step like many of those around him. So high up, the back of his legs tingled to look down at the pit. When he focused on the box again, the sensation left him.
Were it not for his six-foot-two-inch frame, Spike wouldn’t have had a chance of reaching the glass prison. Watching many before him miss when they stretched for it, he balled his right fist as it came closer, and banged against the thick base. He hit it so hard it stung his knuckles. Despite the noise around them, it grabbed the diseased’s attention. In that moment, only Spike and the creature existed. The thing fixed him with its glossy red stare. Its cracked lips pulled back to reveal yellowed teeth.
Unlike all the other times, the creature didn’t go wild. Maybe it finally accepted its limitations within its prison. Instead, it dropped to all fours—the sound of its knees slamming down against the glass—and it pressed its face to the transparent floor of its box. No more than twelve inches between Spike and the beast, Spike’s heart ran away with him and his throat dried. He couldn’t see any white in the creature’s stare. Its eyes were swollen with the blood gathered in them.
The knacking sound continued outside the arena and the box passed over the top of Spike’s head. He sat down again, adrenaline lighting him up. “Did you see that, Tilly?”
In spite of her distaste for the whole thing, she held no judgement in her eyes. The noise around them damn near deafening, Spike read her lips as she mouthed happy birthday at him before flashing him another broad smile.
Chapter 5
The glass box moved away from Spike across the crowd to his left. The pallid and wrinkled creature inside appeared to have settled down. “Do you think it’s realised it can’t get out?”
Matilda watched the glass box for a few seconds. “I’m not sure they’re that smart. Do they even think?”
“Probably not. They seem more reactive than anything.” The creature continued to pace, twitch, and look at those around it.
“Maybe it’s exhausted. It must be hot in there,” Matilda said, fanning her own face, a very slight glow of sweat to her tanned skin.
Movement down in the ring dragged Spike’s focus away from the creature. A flutter ran through his heart to see who’d just entered. “That’s Jake Biggs,” he said as he watched him walk over to the centre of the arena and drag away the sheet of steel lying there. It revealed a hole about six feet long by about three feet wide. He then walked over to a winch attached to the wall.
When Matilda replied with a vacant look, Spike rolled his eyes. “Last season’s winner of the protector apprenticeship. He’ll be replaced soon by the new one. And then that one will be replaced by me.”
The noise in the arena had grown louder. The novelty of the diseased in the box had passed for many of them, but the activity down below told them they were getting closer to the main event. Spike raised his voice so Matilda could hear him. “It’s such an honour to introduce the protector to the crowd. A right of passage on the journey to becoming one yourself.” Pushing his hands together as if in prayer, he looked up at the sky. “I hope it’s Magma today.”
“It’s not.”
Spike turned to the woman next to him. Dark-skinned, she had deep brown eyes, her hair wrapped up in a colourful scarf on top of her head. Her vivid clothes marked her out as someone from the textiles district.
“Sorry to break the news, love,” she said, “but everyone’s saying Magma’s outside the walls at the moment.”
The only response Spike had in him would be laced with poison. He shouldn’t take it out on her, so he directed his attention back to Jake and felt the gentle touch of Matilda’s hand against his back.
As Jake wound the winch, Spike drew several breaths. So what if he didn’t see Magma today? There would be other chances. He shook his head and continued his conversation with Matilda. “Jake’s a big lad. I thought I was tall, but he’s huge. He must have bossed the trials. I wonder if anyone even came close to challenging him. What do you reckon he is, six feet four? Six five?”
Matilda leaned forward in her seat as if those extra few inches would help her assessment of the apprentice. She squinted as she stared for several seconds. “I’d say six five at least.” Looking up at the top of Spike’s head as if it would give her some kind of reference for Jake’s height, she raised her eyebrows. “What are you, six two?”
“Yep.”
Another look at the protectors’ apprentice, his arms bulging with the effort of turning the winch, she shrugged. “Yeah, six five.”
The crowd’s noise fell away again, the sound of Jake’s winch rattling as he bobbed up and down, winding it with all he had. A cage slowly rose from the hole in the ground. It had a sheet covering it, hiding the protector inside. Leaning so close he could smell the floral scent of her perfume, Spike spoke so only Matilda could hear him. “I don’t care what that woman just said, until I see it’s not, I hope the protector in that cage is—”
“Magma, I know.”
“Sorry, I’m repeating myself.” His attention back on the covered cage, Spike said, “I know being a protector is all I ever go on about, but I want this so badly. More than anyone else who’s going to be going for the apprenticeship. And to see it now. To see Jake and know that’ll be me there soon.”
“And you’ll get it. I’ve never known anyone to want anything more. You’ll be fine, I’m sure, but promise me one thing.”
Spike looked at Matilda.
“Promise me you’ll put all your focus on national service first. Only fifty percent of cadets survive it.”
“You sound like my dad.”
“You�
��re being flippant, Spike. Don’t let your arrogance kill you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Statistically, only one of us will.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
The question made her wince, her reaction sending a sharp pain into Spike’s heart. In all the time he’d known Matilda, she’d not trusted anyone but Artan. As a child, she’d trusted her parents and they’d let her down. “There’s a reason people don’t talk about national service. I’m saying you need to go in expecting it to be hard and harrowing. We all know plenty of people who have come back changed.”
“We’ll both be fine.”
“How can you say that? How can you be so certain of something you know nothing about.”
“And you do?”
For a second, Matilda looked like she wanted to say more. That second passed. She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest.
“Look,” Spike said. “I’m not an idiot. I know national service is going to be hard.”
“I’m not sure you do.”
Tension made the muscles in Spike’s back ache. Acid in his tone, he said, “Stop putting a downer on my day, yeah?”
Before Matilda could reply, Spike turned away from her and looked down into the fighting pit at Jake winding the handle. He’d come here to enjoy this, not to be made to feel like a child.
Chapter 6
After a few seconds of not speaking to one another, Matilda touched Spike’s hand again. Brief, as always, she did it to get his attention before pulling away. “I’m sorry.”
“Why do it, then?”
She waited for him to look at her. A glaze covered her eyes, magnifying her grief. “Because I worry about you. I worry about us. Tomorrow, we’re going to do national service. Whether you feel scared about that or not, you should; it’s a big deal. I expect it to be one of the most traumatic things we have to do in our lives, and I’m worried. I’m worried I won’t make it. I’m worried you won’t make it. I’m worried about leaving Artan, which means I can’t even try to be the next protector because that’ll mean leaving him alone with my dad for even longer than the six months we’re away for. I’m worried that puts too much pressure on you to succeed.”
“I can cope with the pressure.”
“I’m worried it will change us. I’m worried something might happen that’s out of our control, which means we won’t get to see each other once it’s all done. None of those worries are about you not being good enough.”
“So what do we do? Run away together?”
For a second, she looked like she considered it, her eyes narrowing as she stared out across the noisy arena. “National service is going to happen. We both know it. All I ask is that you concentrate on that. Expect it to be a challenge so you’re ready for it. Put all your energy into the next six months. Focus on being the next protector once that’s done. So many things can go wrong between tomorrow and getting to the end of the apprentice trials. Even if we both survive national service, there’s so much more to do beyond that.”
“I need to focus on the end goal. I can’t imagine a life without it.” He wanted to say without you.
“Of course, but don’t lose sight of the next step. And maybe it’s just me, but I find it overwhelming to think too far into the future. Will Artan be okay while I’m away? Will the next six months screw with our heads like they have with my dad’s?”
More than she’d ever said about her dad, Spike waited to give her the chance to elaborate.
“Will we end up as a lonely couple on one of the benches in the square?”
“That won’t happen.”
“How many of those who go there every night thought that?”
Spike shook his head. “It won’t happen. Anyway, I thought we agreed we wouldn’t be negative about the future?”
“I’m worried we won’t have a future.”
“Look, seeing as we’re talking about it, you need to know that I don’t want to be one of those lonely people in the square either. Of all of the reasons to become the next protector, that’s the biggest. I want the freedom to live where I want, go where I want, and love whom I want.”
Matilda flushed red. They’d not said it to one another before. Only fools in this city fell in love with people from other districts. Protectors, politicians, and fools.
After glancing at the glass box—the sound of the winch clacking from outside the arena—Matilda looked back at him. “So you understand why I’m petrified?”
“Of course.” Spike gulped. “I’m petrified too. I want this more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. The thought of failure is overwhelming. But if I don’t keep a positive mindset, I don’t stand a chance.”
A moment’s pause, Matilda said, “I believe in you, Spike.”
While filling his lungs with a deep breath, Spike nodded.
“I’m going to stop being negative now. Let’s focus on today. You’ve waited a long time to see the main event, the least you can do is enjoy it.”
When Matilda flashed him a tight-lipped smile, Spike smiled back. “I’ll make sure I put everything into getting through national service. I won’t underestimate it for a second. The price of failure’s too great.”
Matilda’s eyes glazed. “I lo—” She let her words trail off. They’d never said it to one another. “Happy birthday, Spike.”
And he wanted to say it back. He wanted to tell her exactly how he felt. But they’d promised they wouldn’t. Only fools fell in love with someone from another district. Protectors, politicians, and fools.
Chapter 7
Spike tried to put his conversation with Matilda to the back of his mind and focus on the main event. He’d waited too long to get here to be distracted by anything else. Besides, the fact he loved her wasn’t anything new.
The crane had moved the diseased in the clear prison, so it now hovered over the centre of the arena. Suspended above the ring, the cage with the sheet over it continued to rise straight up from the ground. The suspended glass box swung gently from the creature inside pacing from end to end.
When Jake stepped away from the winch, Spike looked at the cage with the sheet. It had a protector inside. Jake walked over to it and looked at the glass box above him.
The diseased stopped and stared back. The crowd fell silent again.
While cupping his mouth with his hands, Jake turned outwards to face the onlookers and slowly spun on the spot. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to introduce this week’s protector to you. First and foremost, I want to thank Edin council for continuing to put these games on.” He nodded at the front row. “We think it’s important you see what your champions do for you and what they face every day to help with the cause. Just like you all work hard in your districts to keep Edin productive so we can grow and reclaim our world, the protectors go outside the city’s walls to fight on the front line. Because everyone does their part, Edin survives. It’s a hard life, but we’re all pulling in the same direction.” He held up a clenched fist and shouted, “Praise be to Edin.”
The two-hundred-strong response came back at him so loud Spike felt it in his seat. “Praise be to Edin!”
Jake gripped the sheet covering the cage, his face reddening as he shouted, “As a child, all he wanted to do was kill the diseased. As an adult, all he wants to do is kill the diseased. If he’s not protecting this fine city, he’s planning how he can do it better.”
Spike twitched on the stone step, damn near ready to burst with the anticipation of it as Jake continued his introduction.
“The protector we all aspire to be like. The one. The only …”
“Magma,” Spike said, throwing a sideways glance at the woman next to him. “Please be Magma.”
Jake tore the fabric away as he shouted, “Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmagmaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.”
His fuse lit, Spike jumped to his feet with the swell of the crowd. Hard to see the ring for the people in his way, but he joined in with their jubilation by w
hooping, yelling, and punching the air. He turned to Matilda and screamed, “Can you believe it?”
She smiled at him, any hangover from their previous conversation gone from her face.
The chant started and spread through the people until they were all shouting the same thing, “Mag-ma! Mag-ma! Mag-ma!” They stamped their feet to the rhythm—some people even danced. The collective thud of boots felt like it could shatter the foundations of the stone structure.
It took a few minutes for the crowd to sit down. Beginning with those at the front, it rippled outwards all the way to the back. It finally gave Spike a clear view of Magma. At only about five feet ten inches, the stocky protector stood as wide as he did tall. The shortest of all the male protectors, but the fiercest too. Naked from the waist up, his huge muscles bulged, stretch marks ran around his pecs, and scars lashed across his skin. The man looked to be chiseled from rock rather than made of flesh and bone. His double-headed battle-axe—Jezebel—over his shoulder, he stepped from the cage he’d been in. He spun a full circle, slowly taking in the crowd, his face sombre as if he might slaughter everyone there when he’d finished with the diseased.
A true professional, Magma milked the crowd by sneering at them while the winches both inside and outside the arena sounded. Jake lowered the cage Magma had been in, while the crane from outside the arena lowered the diseased to cover the hole Magma had emerged from.
Now he’d done his job, Jake made a quick exit through a reinforced door in the wall surrounding the ring.
The diseased’s box made a crunching sound when it touched down on the stone ground.
Spike gulped against the dry itch in his throat, his leg bouncing in a bid to spend some of the energy running through him. The sun burned into the side of his face while he stared down at his hero, sweat lifting on his brow.
Protectors - Book one of Beyond These Walls: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Page 3
