by David Archer
He suddenly ran around Malkovich once more, in the opposite direction, but this time the big fellow kept spinning with him. Five times, six times, and then again and again Carson circled him, and suddenly Malkovich was becoming unsteady on his feet. He was getting dizzy from turning so fast, and had to stop. He planted his feet and put his hands to his head, and Carson decided it was time to strike another blow. He went straight at the man, and tried to plunge the stick into his solar plexus, but Malkovich swung his left arm out and caught Carson squarely on the side of his head, knocking him to the ground a good ten feet away.
Carson's ears were ringing, and he shook his head as he rolled, trying to get farther away from the big man. Malkovich was stomping toward him, and he knew that if he didn't get up the fight would be over. He rolled twice more, and then managed to get onto his feet.
Malkovich was still dizzy, which was obvious from the staggering way he moved. Carson took off to one side, planning to run around him again, and once more the big man stopped and started spinning. A few more circles and Malkovich was obviously dizzier still. Once more he stopped and put his hands to his head, but this time Carson didn't go for a frontal attack; he rushed in from behind and drove the stick into the other kidney.
Malkovich screamed and threw a hand back to hold this latest injury. He tried to turn, to see where Carson was, but his balance was so far off that he only staggered to the side. Carson kept running in circles, starting to feel a little dizzy himself, but he didn't let it slow him down. He waited until he saw Malkovich stop moving, then rushed in from behind and leapt onto his back. He wrapped his left arm around the big man's neck, then brought the stick around and drove it forcefully into Malkovich's right eye.
Malkovich grabbed his arm and threw it, breaking Carson's grip on him and causing him to fall to the ground. Carson scrambled backwards to get away from him, but Malkovich wasn't even trying to pursue. He was doubled over, both hands held to his face, and Carson decided it was time to get serious.
He ran toward Malkovich again, and threw up a foot to plant it squarely in the big man's ass. Malkovich went down, face first, still screaming and holding his eyes. Carson danced around him and kicked him with all of his might in the side of the head, and Malkovich rolled over onto his back.
This is it, Carson thought, and immediately drew back his foot for a kick to Malkovich's nose, but somehow the fallen giant saw it coming. He let go of his good eye and caught Carson's ankle in his hand, yanking hard and causing Carson to fall onto his butt.
He didn't let go, and suddenly Carson felt himself being dragged toward Malkovich. He used his other foot to kick at the hand that held him, but to no avail. He couldn't get into position for any kind of attack with the stick, and started to panic when he saw Malkovich move his other hand from his now-bleeding eye socket and reach for Carson's knee.
Instinctively, Carson raised his free foot off the ground, and when Malkovich had drawn him closer, he brought the heel down directly onto that ruined eyeball. Malkovich screamed once more, and his hands released Carson's leg. Carson rolled backward in a reverse somersault, coming up on his feet instantly. Malkovich had both hands over his face again, and Carson once more moved in for the killing blow.
This time, Malkovich swept his feet out from under him with one leg, completely catching Carson off guard. He landed on his back, and for a moment he couldn't catch his breath. Even while he was gasping, though, he was rolling, moving as far away from Malkovich as he could get. It took him several seconds to get his breath back and get on to his feet, and when he turned to look he saw that Malkovich was getting to his own.
“I'm going to freaking kill you!” Malkovich screamed, even though he still had both hands over his eyes. Carson ran straight at him again, and this time the stick found its way to Malkovich's breastbone. The skin broke over his solar plexus, and Carson heard the whoosh as his breath was torn away from him.
Malkovich staggered backward, one hand over his injured eye, and the other holding his chest. He was wheezing, gasping for breath, and Carson knew that he dare not let the man catch him. He rushed in again, and drove the stick into the other eyeball, then danced back as fast as he could.
The scream that came from Malkovich sounded more like it had come from a wounded animal, and Carson felt a pang of regret for the pain he was inflicting on the big man. He stifled his emotions, reminding himself that it was a case of his own survival versus that of the other man, and that he had no choice but to kill if he wanted to live.
Malkovich suddenly fell to his knees, crying like a frightened child with both of his eyes ruined and covered with his hands. Carson moved forward toward him, slowly and quietly, and suddenly found himself within a couple of feet of the big man. He looked at him for a moment, feeling pity, and wondering if he would be able to finish it.
He thought of home, and of Charlotte, then a stream of thoughts rushed through him like a tornado. Of the University, and the rape case, and the horrible man who sent him here, and the horrible people who wanted him dead...and then of Roscoe.
Carson transferred the stick to his left hand and pulled back his right. With his fingers pointed upward, he screamed like a wild animal, and drove his palm with all of his weight behind it into the base of the man's nose. He heard the sickening crunch as the bone broke, and felt the blood that came rushing from the flattened nostrils pour over his hand. He bounced back and watched as Malkovich dropped his hands to his side. The kneeling giant swayed for a moment, his mouth hanging slack and open, and then he fell forward.
Goliath had been slain.
Carson stood there and watched him, uncertain whether the man would get back up again, but after what seemed like only a few seconds, a buzzer screamed out into the evening air. Carson had watched enough fights to know what that meant. It signified that the pulse monitor in Malkovich's neck had confirmed that he was dead.
Carson Pace had just killed a man. The reality of it hit him like a freight train, and Carson fell to his knees. A moment later, he was vomiting all over the ground.
He heard a noise, and managed to regain his composure enough to look around. A wheeled vehicle was approaching, its rubber tires crunching across the gravel and sand. Two men sat on a seat at the front, both of them guards, and they stepped off when it stopped beside Malkovich.
“Congratulations,” one of them said to Carson. “And thank you. I made some big money betting on you tonight.”
“Good for you,” Carson mumbled under his breath. He watched as the two men loaded the body onto the back of the little truck, and then they approached him.
“Can you stand?” the other man asked.
Carson nodded, and both of them reached down to help him get to his feet. “Climb on,” said the man who had first spoken to him. “We'll drop you at the elevator, then take care of the trash.”
Carson sat in the back of the truck, right beside the body of the man he had just killed. He avoided looking down at the corpse, instead focusing his eyes on the sky above. He felt something on his face and wiped a hand at it, and then suddenly realized that it was a tear. He was crying, but he didn't know whether it was for the man who had died, or for himself.
The truck stopped at the elevator, and the doors opened. Carson slid off the back and stood there for a moment, but the guard inside the elevator motioned for him to enter. He stepped inside, and was once again congratulated on his win.
“Did you win any money on me?” Carson asked.
The guard smiled from ear to ear. “About thirty grand. Normally, I don't bet that big, but everybody told me you were a sure thing. I've got to admit, though, I was watching and for a minute there, it looked like he might get you down. You pulled it off, though, so I've got to give you credit. He was one mean son of a bitch, but you took him out. Good job!”
The elevator doors closed, and Carson felt it descending into the ground. A moment later it was moving sideways once again, going in the opposite direction from before. When it
stopped and rose, he was escorted back down the hall and into the same room he had spent the day in.
“You got clean coveralls in there,” the guard said. “Go ahead and get yourself cleaned up, and then I'll take you back out to the compound.”
Carson stepped into the room, and then turned to look back into the hallway. As he did so, he saw Johnny being escorted toward the elevator. Johnny caught his eye and threw him a thumbs-up sign, then waved as he was led out of sight.
Carson ran another tub of hot water, and climbed into it as soon as it was ready. He sank down under the surface and stayed there for as long as he could hold his breath. The pressure on his lungs helped push out the pain and terror of what had just happened from his body. Then he popped up again. He let himself soak for a quarter hour, then reached for the soap and began scrubbing at himself.
He wondered if he would ever feel clean again, but just kept reminding himself that he had only done what he had been forced to do.
When he was clean and dry, he found the fresh coveralls and a set of clean boxers, and put them on. His shoes and socks were also in the room, and he pulled them onto his feet. He sat down in the recliner and was just about to try to watch Johnny's fight when the guard showed up at the door.
“Okay, Professor, you're out of here. Come on, I'll walk you out to the compound.”
Carson followed the guard through the building and stepped out into the still-bright sunlight when the door was opened for him. He walked toward the chow hall, hoping to spot Anita, but it appeared that dinner was already over. He looked around the compound for her, but she was nowhere in sight.
Exhausted, and sore in places he didn't even realize existed before that day, Carson went to his building and climbed the stairs to get to his room. He had retrieved his tag from the waiting room, as well, and the door opened for him.
Anita was curled up on his bed, her face streaked with tears. She was half asleep, but when the door opened she slowly opened her eyes. It took a few seconds to focus, but then she squealed and was up in a split second, and then Carson felt her arms go around him.
“Oh, God,” she crooned over and over. “Oh, Carson, I'm so glad to see you!” Her voice was broken, and her body was shaking with sobs of relief. Carson put his own arms around her, and just held her close for several minutes.
“I'm here,” he whispered. “I'm still alive. Shh, it's okay. I made it.”
They moved into the room and let the door close behind them, and Anita began undressing him. Suddenly, Carson remembered how he had always told Charlotte that violence made people want sex, and as he thought about it, he knew it was true. But his body was tired, and his mind was worse. All he needed right now was her comfort, and her company.
He felt strange refusing her advance, but she looked into his eyes and could see his pain. She smiled and simply led him to the bed and wrapped her arms around him. After several minutes, she said, “I knew you'd make it,” then nuzzled her head deeper into his chest. “I knew you'd come back to me. That's why I got one of the hackers to help me get in here, so I could be here when you got back.”
Carson smiled at her. “I'm glad you were,” he said. “I went looking for you, as soon as they let me out of the guard shack. I didn't find you, so I thought maybe you were just in your own room, or hanging out with friends.”
She kissed him. “There's nobody else I want to hang out with,” she said. “Only you.”
It wasn't long before they drifted off to sleep, and neither of them heard the curfew buzzer go off. Apparently, Johnny had been right. As long as you weren't out after curfew, the dicks didn't seem to care where you slept.
Morning came, and they stepped out to find a badly bruised Johnny waiting to join them for breakfast. Carson threw his arms around the man, hugging him close, but Johnny grunted.
“Easy, easy,” he said. “Sore ribs, man. Let's save the hugging for later, okay?”
“Sorry, buddy,” Carson said, as Anita gave Johnny a quick kiss on the cheek. “I'm just that glad to see you.”
Johnny grinned, but it was lopsided because of his fat lip. “Not half as glad as I was to see you come back alive last night,” he said. “There's an awful lot of very happy dicks running around here today. They made a bundle on you. I just wish I'd had somebody out there who could have put a bet on you, myself.” He looked around for a moment, then, as if to make sure that no one else could overhear. “Now I've got some news for you,” he said. “Georgie caught me as I was coming out this morning. They got a call from somebody that said your case has been reopened.”
“What?” Carson asked with a gasp. “Are you serious?”
Johnny nodded. “Georgie seemed pretty sure,” he said. “Now, don't get too excited, it doesn't change a whole lot right now. All it means is that somebody's taking another look at your case, and it could be that they'll figure out you were railroaded. If they do, you could get out of here and go home, but it doesn't change your sentence until they make that decision. You have to keep fighting until then, but I thought you might want something to live for.”
Carson turned to Anita and tried to speak, but no words would come out. Finally, she just leaned over and kissed him.
“It's okay, baby, it's okay,” she said. “You got a chance, a real chance to get out of here and get your life back.” She laughed. “And if I make it, which I intend to do, I sure hope you'll come look me up.”
Carson stared at her for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “If I get out of here, going back to my old life is the last thing I want. If you're out there, I'll find you. If you're still in here, I'll wait for you.”
Johnny patted his shoulder. “Okay, can we save all the mushy stuff for later? I don't know about you, but I'm starving.”
GUII: SHADOW CAGE
The word has gotten out all over the world that Carson Pace was framed for the crimes that put him in Justice Net. The public is demanding his release, but Justice Net regulations say that no one can be removed from the fight roster until the courts have officially overturned any conviction that put them there.
Carson will have to fight one more time, but now he has a dilemma. Someone, trying to make sure he survives, has pitted him against a handicapped man who doesn't even understand what is happening to him. Carson is forced to decide whether he could murder an innocent in order to save his own life.
The question is, would he still be an innocent man after that?
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GU: Justice Net (Science Fiction, Dystopian, The G.U. Trilogy Book 1)
