Gladiator (Gauntlet Prime Book 1)

by Barry Solway

  “Might work,” Beats said grudgingly.

  “It will work,” Mel snapped. “But we have to fake them out. Riley, you better be right that you can run faster than Stoner.” She stood and motioned to the others to follow her.

  ***

  Situating themselves in the middle of the room, Riley and Mirage faced the door they were sure Stoner would come in through. Mel thought it would be the Whale, Stoner and Wicked attacking, and maybe Soryda. That would leave the other side unprotected, but they had been counting on Red Shirt to take out Harkin, which would have been a huge advantage.

  Mel’s idea was simple. Provide enough resistance that the attacking team thought they were defending the endpoint. Riley and Mirage were fast enough that they could stay back for a bit, while Beats, Gorgeous and Mel got a head start for the other team’s endpoint. Then Riley and Mirage would race to help them before Stoner and the rest could get back to support their teammates.

  Beats, Gorgeous, Mel and Sharon crept out the back, hiding in the shadows. They wrapped around three buildings before heading back towards the other team. Mel led them to the landing site, where they would be picked up at the end of the game. Their first job was to find a safe spot to hide Sharon and the goal.

  This led to an argument with Beats, who didn’t like where they were going, as he thought there were better places to hide Sharon. And Mel completely agreed with him. But she had another mission for Sharon and it would be important for her to be near the landing site. She finally convinced the others by insisting they didn’t have time to find a better place. Knowing that she was really Mel, Sharon agreed with her, which helped persuade the others.

  They tucked Sharon away in a small room of a building just off an ornate circle. As Mel turned to leave, she bent down and whispered in Sharon’s ear. “Remember the plan.” Reaching up, Sharon nodded and hugged Mel goodbye.

  Beats stared at Mel as she walked out of the room and shut the door behind them. “Are you and Sharon now best of friends, Harkin? I’m not sure I can handle the dissonance.”

  “Must be my sunny personality,” Mel responded.

  Gorgeous looked concerned. “This is the second time we’ve given the sphere to Sharon. It makes me nervous.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Mel said. “Let’s go. We need to meet Mirage and Riley.”

  They hiked to the prearranged meeting spot, near the endpoint the other team had staked out, and went into a building that Mirage said would give them a good view of the other team’s location. Riley and Mirage hadn’t arrived, so they scouted the area. Peeking through a window, Mel saw Soryda walking along a rooftop across a courtyard. The setting was similar to their endpoint.

  “There’s Soryda,” Mel said. “When Riley gets here, we’ll need to draw out Junkyard. I’m sure the Whale and Wicked are with Stoner.”

  A few minutes later, Riley and Mirage showed up, Riley panting heavily. “That was amazing. What was that, like a mile? I think I ran it in two minutes.”

  “Do you need to rest?” Mel said. “We don’t have much time before Stoner and the others return.”

  Riley shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Let’s get this started. What do I need to do?”

  “We need to draw out Junkyard. You and me. Sprint across the field, towards that statue. If we’re lucky, Junkyard will take the shot. I’m going to take up position down there and get a bead on Soryda.”

  “Won’t you be putting yourself in Junkyard’s sights?” Gorgeous asked.

  “I’m counting on it,” Mel said. “My armor should be able to take a shot or two. We can’t attack without knowing where Junkyard is. Once he fires, you, Beats and Mirage need to find him and figure out a way to take him out. Beats, as soon as we have a clear field, get out there and help Riley take out Soryda. We have to hurry, Stoner is going to be back here in minutes.”

  Everyone nodded and moved to their locations. Riley and Mel went to the door facing the courtyard. At Mel’s signal, Riley sprinted from the door, heading across the field directly towards Soryda. At the same time, Mel ran out at an angle to an abandoned vehicle. She set up behind it, resting the rifle on the hood. The location put her in such jeopardy that it seemed like an obvious trap. But it would be such a good chance that she knew it would be difficult for Junkyard to resist the shot.

  As she lined up on Soryda’s silhouette on the rooftop, a crack echoed through the courtyard and she slammed backwards to the ground. She gasped, barely able to breathe, but the armor had done its job. The chest plate had spider-web cracks radiating out from where the round had hit. She could feel the bruising on her chest and the armor pressed against it painfully. Slightly stunned, she struggled to crawl to cover. Another shot would likely kill her, and her eyes closed involuntarily when she heard the second crack. But it had been aimed at Riley. Mel crawled the rest of the way to the vehicle, hugging the ground on the far side.

  Junkyard was in the building under Soryda. Mel hadn’t seen the window he was shooting from, but hopefully Gorgeous and Mirage had. Her hope was confirmed a minute later when Mirage flew through the air. She had morphed her form into a compact ball and Beats had literally thrown her from the rooftop. Mirage flew across the courtyard and crashed through one of the windows on the other side. Junkyard got another shot off, but he wasn’t expecting someone to attack from above and the shot went wild.

  While Junkyard was distracted with Mirage, Riley raced across the courtyard to the doorway of the building. Testing the door revealed it was barricaded from the inside, which Mel had expected. Hesitating only a moment, Riley started to climb.

  Climbing to her feet, Mel drew a painful breath. She fired two shots at the rooftop, providing cover for Riley. Mel glanced back to see Beats and Gorgeous waiting in the doorway of the building they had been hiding in.

  Beats crept over on his hands and knees. She guessed this was his attempt to sneak around unseen, but had to stifle a laugh. “Are you still alive, Harkin?” Beats asked.

  “I’ve had worse. I’ll be fine.”

  “Pity,” Beats said, turning away. Riley was halfway up the building, but Soryda had disappeared. They heard shouts from inside, just as Riley pulled himself in. A moment later, Riley and Mirage were at the window, and Riley waved down to them. They had taken out Junkyard.

  “This is going well,” Gorgeous said from behind Beats. “Let’s find the other sphere.”

  They didn’t have much time before Stoner and the others returned. She motioned to Beats and Gorgeous to follow her to the building that Junkyard had been in. Her best guess was that the building was their endpoint and where they would find the goal.

  Before they got to the door, Riley appeared at the window and jumped out to the ground, thirty feet below. He skidded next to them.

  “We have a problem,” he said. “Mirage interrogated Junkyard. Not pretty. But the sphere isn’t here. They did the same thing we did.”

  Mel cursed under her breath. “Did he say where it was?”

  “Yeah,” Riley said, pointing behind them. “Stoner has it.”

  Mel, Beats and Gorgeous turned to see Stoner and Wicked walk out from an alleyway into the courtyard.

  “A clever plan,” Wicked said. “But you have failed. Come, we all know you can’t beat us in combat. Give us the sphere and let’s end this.”

  Mel grabbed Beats and Gorgeous and pushed them back towards the building. “Find cover. I don’t know where Soryda is. She could be the roof with a rifle. Draw the other team to you.”

  “What do we do?” Riley said. “I really want to take on Stoner.”

  Mirage crawled down the side of the building and joined them in the courtyard. Thinking quickly, Mel turned to the others. Her original plan was to find the other team’s sphere and end the game without a battle. Since that plan had failed, she had to resort to her backup. But she would have to separate herself from the others to make it work.

  Her goal was to save everyone on her team. No more deaths, no more killings.

/>   “Beats and Gorgeous, you two take out Wicked. Teamwork, help each other. Riley, you and Mirage take on Stoner. Don’t fully engage him. Use your speed to keep him delayed and distracted until Beats and Gorgeous can help you. I’m going to find Soryda and make sure she doesn’t get into a sniper position. And keep an eye out for the Whale. He’s slower than the others, but he’ll be here soon.”

  She didn’t give the others time to protest, but turned immediately back to Wicked.

  “We’ll take the third option. The one where we take the goal and win. You’re too stupid to realize we have you right where we want you.”

  Wicked stepped forward. “I am surprised to see you fighting for these fools, Harkin.” Even across the courtyard, Mel could hear the rustling of dead leaves that was Wicked’s real voice. “I shall try not to kill you, for old times sake. Although I confess, I won’t be trying very hard.”

  A sudden fear gripped Mel that Wicked was delaying on purpose. She must know they had taken out Junkyard, but Soryda was still free. Mel’s team had only found one rifle, so it made sense the other team only had one as well. The one Junkyard used. That’s where Soryda would be heading, if she wasn’t already there.

  “She’s delaying,” Mel said to the others. “Move now. I’ll find Soryda. Beats, I could use some help with the door.”

  Beats kicked the blocked door as Mel raised her rifle and fired at Wicked, who quickly pivoted behind Stoner. Suddenly appearing from an alleyway, the Whale bellowed and lumbered on his thick tentacles across the courtyard.

  Mel turned to Beats. “You can’t hold back. You’re here, in the gauntlet. You have to fight, to stop the Whale and Wicked or other people will die.”

  Beats stared at her for a second. Mel’s translator registered a range of emotions on his face. Surprise, shame and excitement. “I’ll do my job, Harkin,” he said stiffly. “You do yours.”

  Mel climbed over the wreckage of the door and into the building. She turned to see the others engaging in the courtyard. Beats and Gorgeous attacked the Whale in unison, while Riley and Mirage headed for Stoner. Wicked was running across the courtyard slightly behind the other two, angling towards Riley. Mel dropped to one knee from the doorway and fired. She nicked Wicked’s arm, forcing the alien woman to dive the other direction. Mel took another shot at the Whale, hitting him in the shoulder. The giant Beats bellowed, but it didn’t seem to slow him.

  Mel cursed. She really wanted to help her friends. With the rifle, maybe she could help eliminate the Whale and Wicked, leaving all of them to take on Stoner. But she knew if Soryda got into position, it would completely change the tide of the fight. As tough as Stoner was, he wasn’t fast or strong enough to hurt Riley or Mirage. At least in the short term. Mel had the means to end the fight, she just had to find Soryda.

  Gritting her teeth, Mel forced herself away from the courtyard and raced up the stairwell to the third floor. Running down a hallway, she burst into the room with her rifle raised. The room was empty, except for Junkyard’s unconscious form tied to a desk. Next to his body was a rifle, just like the one Mel had. There was no sign of Soryda. Where could she be?

  Mel rushed to the window and looked down on the battle below. Spinning her staff, Gorgeous danced around the Whale, landing multiple blows to his head. His tentacled arms lashed out, but she managed to duck under them and retreat. The distraction allowed Beats to wade in from behind, wrapping up the Whale and dragging them both to the ground. Gorgeous pivoted to face Wicked, who was armed with a short sword. The two feinted in and out, flowing with a series of compact movements that quickly turned to a blur.

  Mel raised the rifle to take a shot at the Whale, but Beats had landed on top. For a moment, he tried to pin the Whale down. The Whale’s tentacles had wrapped around one of Beats’s arms and the other around his head. Mel couldn’t get a clean shot. She pivoted to Gorgeous and Wicked, but that was even worse. They danced around each other so fast, she didn’t trust herself to shoot without hitting Gorgeous.

  She pivoted quickly to Mirage and Riley. Mirage had transformed into the skateboard-like form with all the tentacles at the bottom, but this time the front of the skateboard was a large blunt battering ram. She skittered around Stoner’s form, avoiding his long arms. Unexpectedly, she would crash into his legs, sending the alien tumbling to the ground. But Stoner would always bounce back up, without any apparent damage. Riley darted in and out, using the twin long knives he had found. He had no problem avoiding Stoner’s wild swings and hitting Stoner in the chest and head, but none of the sword strikes appeared to do any damage. Mel considered shooting Stoner, but she already knew from experience it would be a wasted shot.

  Cursing, she turned back to the room. It made no sense. Soryda should be there. What else could she be doing? Had she just run, abandoning her team? Mel doubted that. So what could she be doing that was more important than getting Junkyard’s rifle?

  A sudden coldness took hold of Mel. It would be obvious to Soryda that Sharon was missing. And Soryda would realize that when her teammates returned, it meant they couldn’t find the sphere. The logical conclusion would be that Mel’s team had done the same thing Soryda’s team had and taken the sphere with them. But Mel’s team didn’t have a Stoner to protect the sphere, so it made sense they would hide it.

  Was Soryda going after Sharon?

  Mel’s mind raced and she tried to calm her heartbeat. Soryda wouldn’t know where Sharon was. Would she really race all over the city trying to find her? That seemed unlikely. And it would have made more sense for her to get the rifle first.

  Calming herself, she returned to the window, halfheartedly aiming at the Whale, who was still locked with Beats. The Whale used his huge leg tentacles to drag Beats across the courtyard, towards the building Mel was in.

  “Beats!” she yelled. “You have to fight back!”

  Beats glanced up towards her window. Beats roared at her, then sunk his fingers into the flesh of the tentacle around his head and pulled it off. Acting with a sudden ferocity, Beats pummeled the Whale’s face so viciously, that even Mel was taken aback.

  Wicked pressed Gorgeous towards the building Mel was in, which put Gorgeous between Mel and Wicked. Stoner tried to avoid Mirage and Riley, but his path of avoidance was taking him towards the same place Gorgeous was heading.

  Things moved so fast. She tried to think. What else could Soryda be up to? If not Sharon, then what? Mel squinted at the courtyard below. There was something there, something she was missing. It suddenly clicked.

  Whale, Wicked and Stoner were dragging, leading, and guiding Mel’s teammates towards her building. There was only one reason Soryda would ignore Junkyard’s rifle. She knew Mel, or Harkin, would come looking for it. Everyone would be in or near the building. And Soryda was planning to blow it up.

  Mel raced from the room. Where would Soryda be? In the basement? There wasn’t time to find her. She had to get the others out of range of the blast.

  Leaping the wreckage in the doorway, she yelled at Riley. At the same moment, Wicked pressed forward towards Gorgeous. Gorgeous faded back to avoid the sword, then dropped and struck out with her staff, sweeping Wicked’s feet out from under her. Wicked landed hard on her back, her head bouncing on the ground, just as Gorgeous pivoted and brought her staff down on Wicked’s face. Her body went limp.

  Riley darted away from Stoner and skidded to a stop next to Mel.

  “I can’t do this much longer, Harkin,” Riley said. He was sucking in large lungfuls of air and sweating profusely, even in the cool night air.

  “We have to get everyone away. Soryda rigged the building to blow, and they’re trying to lead everyone into it. Tell Gorgeous we have to get clear now.”

  Riley swore but gritted his teeth. He ran towards Gorgeous as she moved to help Beats. But Stoner beat them to it. Racing the short distance to Beats and the Whale, Stoner slammed into Beats, sending him rolling across the courtyard. Beats roared and surged back to attack Stoner. The Whale lay
on the ground, weakly waving one tentacle, pink foam bubbling around his mouth. Stoner and Beats traded blows, until Stoner wrapped his long arms around Beats’s waist and threw him to the ground. Grabbing Beats by the leg, Stoner swung him around and threw him into the side of the building, just to Mel’s left.

  Stoner advanced on Beats. Mel fired five shots into Stoner face, pulling the trigger until the magazine was empty. The force of the blows sent Stoner reeling backwards and he dropped to one knee, trying to shield his head. She dropped the rifle and took out her sidearm, running towards Beats, who was struggling to stand up and shaking his head in confusion.

  “Beats, move. NOW! You have to get away from this building. It’s going to blow.”

  Riley and Gorgeous were just behind Stoner, but Mel waved them off. “Get away!” she screamed.

  Unsteadily, Beats rose and Mel tried to push him sideways, along the building but away from Stoner. Given his size, it didn’t have much effect. Stoner stood, shaking his head. Mel didn’t need the translators to tell her that the look on his face was pure rage.

  “Move, Beats, move! Mirage, do it now!” she screamed. Beats staggered away, but Stoner was getting closer. Just then, Mirage sped from behind and knocked Stoner off his feet. Stoner fell on top of her and Mirage shifted form again. The battering ram split into multiple rope-like tentacles that wrapped around Stoner, holding him down on top of her.

  Mel kept pushing Beats, trying to get him to move faster. She paused for a moment to yell at Mirage. “The building is rigged to blow. Go now!”

  Mirage stopped for a second and waved a loose tentacle at Mel. Stoner wriggled on top of Mirage, trying to break free. Moving faster now, Mel led Beats at a jog across the courtyard towards Gorgeous and Riley. But as they passed the Whale, lying unmoving on the ground, Beats bent down and grabbed one of his tentacles. He started pulling the Whale across the courtyard.

  “Beats, there’s no time!” Mel yelled.

  “I won’t leave him to die. Grab Wicked.”

  Mel sighed in exasperation. She ran to Wicked’s unconscious form and slowly dragged her across the courtyard. A moment later, Riley joined her and lifted Wicked’s legs. They carried her back towards the vehicle Mel had originally hidden behind. Mel checked on Mirage, who was locked in a struggle with Stoner near the door to the building.