by Mark Tufo
“And just exactly what are those two points?” I felt I already knew the answer to one of them; the pain in my leg was testament to that fact.
“One, they did the bare minimum to fix your wound, basically to just make sure you didn’t die.”
“And the second?”
“They dropped your ranking down to one hundred fifty second; last place.”
“Death sentence,” I mumbled.
“What? Don’t say that!” Deb cried.
“Come on, Debbie. They left me injured and dropped my ranking. I have only come out of one fight unscathed and I was healthy for all of them. I’m going in there now with one good leg against my toughest competition. What do you think is going to happen?”
“Stop yelling at me. I don’t know the answers. I only know what I want and that’s you. I don’t want to be on this godforsaken ship playing the aliens’ godforsaken game. I just want to go home.” She broke down in heart wrenching sobs.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you anymore than you are. I… I’m just not feeling too well at the moment. Could you please close the door on your way out? I would really like to get some sleep.”
“Of course,” she said as she wiped the few remaining tears away from her face.
But sleep was the last thing that happened that night. I thought about all the wondrous and glorious ways I was going to die next week. It’s amazing how humans think—I mean, I’ve always known I was going to die, but when you put a date on it, it becomes almost insufferable. Death seemed to be all around me. The smell of it seeped through my bandages. If I tried hard enough I felt I could catch a glimpse of him gleefully flitting around my room waiting for his opportunity to come. “Not yet, you bastard!” I yelled. The women did their best to comfort each other, but they knew the score as well as anybody. If I died they died, plain and simple just like algebra, a equals b.
The next day, or what I perceived to be the next day, I awoke and jumped out of bed. Oh crap! I thought to myself, I am going to pay dearly for that move. I waited for the blinding pain to sear the front of my brain plate and then I waited a little more and then I waited just a little bit more. Ah there it was, but it certainly wasn’t the stampede of wild stallions I expected, it was more like a lone small donkey. The pain had been replaced by a slow steady throb. I finally opened my eyes and unclenched my teeth; I must have been somewhat of a sight.
“What is going on?” I yelled.
“What do you mean?” Deb said as she entered the room with a huge smile.
“You know damn well what I mean, woman. Yesterday…”
“Three days ago,” she interjected.
“Okay, three days ago you were all depressed and I was in a great deal of pain.”
“Well, from what I can gather,” she started, “is that large amounts of drakka…”
“Huh?” I asked.
“Money,” she continued. “Drakka is money on this ship.” I nodded in understanding, barely. “It is wagered on these events and apparently there is a fairly significant amount of drakka or money riding on you. So an alien doctor was paid off.”
“They have corruption too? It’s good to know that’s not just a human condition.”
“So you feel better?” she asked hopefully.
“I’m almost perfect,” I said as I grabbed her in my arms, twirled her around, and was regretfully rewarded with a doubling of the pain. I tried my best not to let her see me wince.
I felt curious enough or possibly morbid enough to sneak a peek at my wound. I unwound the bandage that had this incredibly sticky feeling to it, but stuck to nothing but itself. The doctors on Earth would love to get a hold of this stuff. When I was done I could only stare in disbelief. What had been a life-threatening gash and at best a crippling wound now appeared to be no more than a briar scratch. My skin didn’t even look as if it was going to scar. As I reapplied the bandage, I was convinced that within another day, the throb and scratch would cease to exist. My mood healed almost as quickly as my wound. As long as I was mobile, I still had the proverbial fighting chance, and I was oh so close to seeing Beth again.
I knew it had to be done but I was having the hardest time convincing myself to do it. I walked into the adjoining room where the women were. Stephanie appeared to be about to speak. I shot her a glance that could have frozen a glass of mercury. Needless to say she got the hint and let whatever she was about to say drop. I made a beeline for the huge screen. I soon discovered in these advanced rounds the competitors could do more than just watch reruns; we were also given short snippets of information on each contestant. Lord knew I could use all the help I could get. But to be honest, all I was concerned with was Durgan’s last competition. The terrain had been similar to my last bout. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Even though they say seeing is believing it was still difficult for me to grasp. Durgan was even bigger than when I last saw him. Schwarzenegger was never this big. I hoped the added bulk would possibly make him slower and less agile. But almost as if he heard my thoughts he did a standing back somersault for the benefit of the crowd. Obviously, this was his new signature move before every fight. The aliens had to be feeding him straight steroids, there could be no other explanation for his massive increase in size, strength and speed. What was even more surprising was his nonchalant attitude. He looked like he was going out to get some lunch, not kill another fellow human being. He couldn’t even be bothered with getting a weapon. Number 254, one Derek Sanderson (a formidable looking character himself), opted for the two handed sword.
I was not under the impression something as unwieldy as a two-handed sword was a good idea against an opponent so fast. But I thought he was also under the false impression all that bulk was going to make Durgan slow and vulnerable. Big mistake, one I personally wasn’t going to make. Durgan had no fear, he just strolled up the middle of the arena like he owned the place. Sanderson, upon seeing Durgan had no weapons, decided to try to take advantage of the fact. He came running at Durgan as fast as the sand would let him, sword raised and poised to strike. Mistake number two. While closing the distance, Sanderson lowered his weapon. With lightning quick speed Durgan stepped to the side and avoided the strike, leaving one foot behind and with his right hand pushing the flailing Sanderson to the ground. His sword went flying through the air and landed some fifteen feet away. Durgan deftly placed himself between Sanderson and the sword. With what seemed like considerable effort, Sanderson raised his body from the sand. Blood oozed down and dripped from his hands. Warily approaching Durgan, he never saw what hit him. If I hadn’t had the luxury of rewind I wouldn’t have caught it either. With blinding speed Durgan did a roundhouse kick that would have easily broken the neck of a lesser man. As it was, Sanderson’s jaw was clearly broken, some of the bone protruding from the right side of his face. I thought if he were to live he was going to have a hard time eating, but I don’t think that was his biggest concern at the moment. He went down fast.
Even as dazed and confused as he had to have been, I’m pretty sure he knew what was going on. Durgan picked Sanderson’s slack body up and proceeded to raise him up over his head with no more effort than a basketball player puts into lifting a basketball. He then found the nearest Joshua tree and threw Sanderson on it. The spiny plant pierced Sanderson’s body in multiple places. His scream will haunt me until the end of my days. Durgan had no desire to make this a merciful and quick killing. He proceeded to put his foot on Sanderson’s midsection and push until some of the spiny leaves began to make their way through his body. Thankfully his screaming began to lose some of its velocity, as blood began to fill his lungs Sanderson’s eyes got the thousand-yard stare. To rouse the crowd even further Durgan pulled off one of the spiny leaves and jabbed it directly into Sanderson’s left eye; apparently he was not far enough in shock. He managed one more scream that rivaled all the previous ones combined, then gave one final convulsion. I tried to imagine he was just a scarecrow stuck on Velcro, that was far
more palatable to swallow than the truth. I was about to turn the set off but my lack of better judgment prevailed. I wanted to see what Durgan did with his newest gift.
He strode with all the pride of a peacock to the woman helplessly tied up. What he did next surprised and disgusted me. He knelt down on one knee before the woman and yelled up into the stands, “I will have no woman but the Goddess of the games,” He stood up and put his hands on either side of his captive victim’s head almost as if to caress her and with a sudden twisting motion he broke her neck. That was probably the most humane thing that monster had done on this ship since he arrived. She was dead and that was that. I was not as appalled at the death as I should have been; I guess I was getting desensitized. What horrified me more was the thought of that Cro-Magnon with my Beth, that was ripping my soul apart. Well, I thought to myself, he vowed to have no other woman, so I must do the same. I had to focus on one thing and one thing only—survival. But now the focus wasn’t so much on myself anymore, I had to do it for Beth. The guilt I felt for having been with Debbie was already beginning to consume me. I had needed her then, I still needed her. When I felt I wasn’t going to survive, I needed her comfort but now that I had a chance, even as slim as it was, I had to focus all my attention on that possibility. Beth was my reason for living and fighting. I had to forgo Deb’s comfort, I told myself. I know that sounds selfish but I had to be true to myself in order to be true to Beth. I decided to check the rankings to see who my possible opponents would be, if I made it through the next round. That’s when my biggest break thus far showed itself. I kept telling myself it had to be divine intervention. If so, I would forever be in debt to God. The competitors’ names, vital statistics, and rankings came up and by some twist of fate only one hundred and fifty-one names showed up. Sometime between the decision of the alien board and now, one of the victors had died. It was only later that I learned it was not by wounds suffered in battle, but by a jealous woman in one of the competitors’ growing harem. These women were proving more and more to be my allies. Confidence was beginning to build; now it was time to see what number 2 was made of. I looked over at Tanya, she stood there proudly, hands on hips, defiant even. That was a good thing, I thought. Even if I didn’t make it through to the end, I had given these women something invaluable: hope. I grinned at her and she grinned back. No words were needed; we both knew we had saved each other’s lives out there. Most likely her actions weren’t as altruistic as I would have hoped, but either way the outcome was the same. I was alive and I could continue on my quest. And yes, that’s what I felt it was, a quest. I was now on a mission I did not yet fully understand the magnitude of.
I turned back to the Jumbotron to check out number 2, Adam Kirkland. My confidence waned ever so slightly when I saw him. He was nowhere near the size of Durgan but every part of him was pure muscle. The best way I could describe him would be to take a picture of Hugh Jackman and shave his head. Obviously, this guy had studied martial arts before he ever stepped into this three-ring circus. He, like Durgan, didn’t believe in using weapons, he had no need for them. Kirkland disposed of his latest victim quicker and with more finesse than Durgan had. It was almost an art form the way he killed him. I’m relatively sure his competitor never felt a thing. His foe had thrust his spear at Kirkland’s torso, but he quickly evaded the attack. He put one foot behind the man’s leg and tripped him, a mere fraction of a second later the heel of Kirkland’s boot was smashing through the bridge of the poor man’s nose. Pieces of cartilage into the brain cavity did the rest of the work. Unfortunately, Kirkland saw no reason to be quite so merciful to his gift. The woman shrieked in terror as he approached. Obviously, she knew something I didn’t. What I watched so sickened me I vowed I would kill him just for that single act. With the woman still tied up, hands over her head, he delivered a hard karate blow to her arm. The elbow gave way and bent the opposite way from which God had intended it to. With a sudden fury Kirkland kicked in both of her knees. Her legs bent backwards like an ostrich’s. The audible crunching of the bones could even be heard over her shrieks. The woman just kept screaming and Kirkland just stood there, hands on his hips looking at her as if he was admiring his work. And then he just walked away. I was yelling at the screen at the top of my lungs.
“Damn you. Finish her, you bastard!” I spat. This man was far crueler than Durgan, if that was even possible. He just left her hanging there with a broken elbow and two broken knees. I think it was shock that finally killed her, the sobbing stopped after twenty minutes but her tears went the distance. Forty-five minutes later when her death throes were over I was shaking uncontrollably. I had cried so much, the front of my shirt was damp. What was even worse was the aliens with all their advanced medical technology just left her there to die. I once again vowed revenge for all the souls who had lost their lives here, but especially for Kate Hellsboro, the girl they left to die. They would pay with blood or whatever flowed through their crocodile- veins. The first plan of action was to figure out a way to eliminate Adam Kirkland. I went back to my room to think.
Sometime later Deb came in and asked a question, breaking me out of my contemplation. “Mike, can I talk to you?” Her voice sounded distant, almost as if spoken through an intercom system. I don’t know how many hours I had been sitting there in the dark but I still felt no relief from the pain I had experienced earlier. Debbie repeated herself before I was really even sure somebody was talking to me.
“What is it, Deb?” I replied slowly and with a hint of an edge.
“Are you alright?” she asked tentatively.
“What do you mean, Deb?” I snapped, “Do you mean in the physical sense? Because yeah, I’ve got muscles in places I didn’t even know existed. Or do you mean my mental state? Yeah, I’m as sharp as a razor. I can think of more ways to kill a man than you can imagine. Or do you mean spiritually? Because I’m sure God just loves the work I’m doing here. And you know what, Deb? I’m starting to like it. I feel more alive when I kill somebody than at any other time. Even more so than when we’re together!” That seemed to sting her, she winced. “I’d rather snap someone’s neck! Don’t you see what I’ve become? I’ve seen more death and torture and destruction of the human soul in the past couple of months than most people ever see. And we’re doing this for the enjoyment of a civilization that couldn’t give two craps about us. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I just went into the arena and fell on a sword.” If Debbie’s facial expressions could have been capable of making noise I would have heard her face drop.
“Stop that, don’t talk like that!” she implored. “We have got to survive. We just have to!” She seemed to be speaking more to herself than to me.
“Please leave,” I motioned. “I just want to be alone for a while.”
A while turned into two weeks. I didn’t so much as say hi to any of the women the entire time. The aliens came and I went with them without uttering a word, and not surprisingly no words were offered in return.
Well, one thing I couldn’t count on anymore was the help of a woman. Since my last fiasco, all women captives were kept up in the stands until completion of the battle at hand. For the first time since I got on this ship, I saw Beth. I guess I was early because she was just being led to her ‘Guest of Honor’ seat. I know she saw me too because she paused for a moment and almost made to wave but then thought better of that idea. My heart had somehow made its way into my throat. Sweat leaked out of every pore and I hadn’t even moved yet. I had almost forgotten the deep feelings I felt for her. No time for reflection, though, Kirkland was already being led into his side of the pit. When I had entered my side the crowd hushed into complete silence. While I had my chance I yelled at the top of my lungs so all could hear, even though the message was for one only. “I love you!” And barely audibly, so no one heard but I knew, Beth repeated those same words. And so the saga continued. I picked up a spear. I hoped Kirkland hadn’t developed any new moves in the last two weeks. The terrain this tim
e out was only a small grassy hill in the middle of the arena flattened out on the top. But it effectively hid my competitor from view and vice versa. I knew from watching him he would be approaching at a steady pace up the slope and he would be unarmed. I checked my homemade knife hidden in the belt loop of my trousers. I hoped it wasn’t noticeable. The laws of the games strictly prohibited the use of two weapons. I hoped this rule didn’t apply to homemade ones. I’m not sure how favorable the alien board would look upon another infraction from me. It had taken me nearly a week to sharpen the strip of metal I had taken off the fridge. And still I wasn’t sure if I would be able to deliver a killing blow with it. I was fairly confident it would cause injury but it had to be enough to slow this monster down. I first grabbed a spear and then walked toward the hill with a pace that would make a turtle happy; I was in no rush for this showdown. Kirkland was, though; the crowd began its incessant buzzing. I was certain these croc-aliens were capable of smelling death. Well, let them, one of these days it would be their own deaths they smelled.
Kirkland was coming fast. And he was smiling. I think it was the sight of the spear. I’m pretty sure he thought I was going to be as easy as his last prey. That was fine with me, the more confident he was, the better I felt. He would be less wary in his over confidence and eagerness to finish the job.
“That’s right,” I mumbled. “Stick with your normal routine, and you’ll be dead in another twenty seconds.”
And so we squared off. I felt as if I was performing an instant replay for the NFL but this time the ending would have a different outcome. I slowly jogged toward him, spear in hand. I jabbed at him with the spear; he feinted right and dodged left. My heart jumped; he was doing exactly the same thing he had on the monitor. With his left foot out his left hand grabbed the spear, with his right hand in the small of my back he used my momentum against me to force me to the ground. As he pushed and gravity took over, I began to twist my body. When I hit the ground I was already in motion; my hand found the hidden knife. I pulled it out from behind me as I began turning my body away from his kick. His right foot missed my face by no more than a shoe’s width. He seemed to hesitate with the change in the game plan. But that was something I thought about later, I was acting purely on instinct at the moment. With one deft motion I drew the sharp blade across his Achilles heel. The tendon snapped like a broken rubber band and he fell fast. His face was twisted in agony. I still had no follies about going in for the kill just yet. He may have been down but he was far from out. The lethality of his hands hadn’t been diminished in the least with the crippling of his leg. Extreme caution was now the order of the day. I wasn’t going to give up the advantage I had fought so hard for. The crocs were silent, must have been a bunch of them who lost a load of drakka on that last move. They looked stunned. They didn’t like the unexpected, by all their accounts, I should have been dead by now, but much to their future chagrin I still had a few more battles left in me. I don’t know what I was thinking but it definitely wasn’t about the task at hand. I began to drift off; I started to think about my first encounter with Beth and how I knew there was something special there just from the way her skin felt on mine. I hoped beyond hope we would once again be able to unite but I wasn’t sure if she would or even could love me after witnessing my destruction of human life. She had always been an advocate for peace and a vegetarian to boot. Could she handle a soul mate who violated her most fundamental principles? I hoped so, the thought of going on without her hurt more than the broken rib I had just sustained.
