Gladiator In Training (Last Part)
They can't have fed these felines for a while. They were hungry. They were angry. They were mean. One leapt at me whilst the other viewed me from a safer distance. I rolled out ot the way and aimed a slice at its front paws but missed by a mile. l was too nervous, my heart pumping and my eyes all over the place. Focus. Breathe. That same cat came at me again seriously pissed ott at my maneuver. I'm sure I won't get away with that again. The other just kept its distance eyeing up the proceedings, like it's getting the measure of me. That one's gonna be trouble I think to myself, whilst the other lunges. I deflect most of the blow with my shield but didn't hold steady enough. I misjudged the strength of the beast and it's claws caught my thigh as they bounced off. But by instinct, as the pain hit me my sword arm came round and caught it in the side. A lucky strike. Enough that blood and guts, the offal of my opposition spewed out over my feet. I hadn't even recognized how close I was to death. And it stank. It was warm and sticky and my toes squelched in my sandals.
I mustn't have been paying attention. or as I moved off a little way to keep from the infuriated tiger the other side from me, I lost my footing As I went down I saw a blur in my peripheral vision. It came at mc with untold speed and ferociousness. A claw ripped through my leather jerkin and scored deep down my back. That's gonna leave a nasty scar. rolled and kept rolling The thing was treating mc like a ball of wool. It scored me again down my left leg and clipped my sandal's strap. It fell off as I rose and got my shield up to face it. Let me tell you. Don t ever try to act as a counterweight to a tiger. The thing was super heavy and all tangs and brute force. It crushed me like I was a tin can. I went down again.
As the giant beast tried to mawl my head off I batted it repeatedly with the shield protecting me. So busy was it in trying to devour my head in one huge bite, it forgot about my tree arm. The sword plunged into it's right flank deep and sound. The tiger went wild and pulled away so quickly the sword remained buried in its side. It kept its eye on me though. This one had wits enough to know you never turn your back on the enemy. Now I was weaponless save for my shield. Luckily I'd been in many a Scrape where I'd had to practise the use of that as my primary tool for destruction. So mad was the cat that it came straight at mc. I hobbled to the side to deflect it's body, not keen to meet again the full force of it's weight. We were both bleeding out, and that's when it hit me. I actually noticed the crowd again. The cheers, the adoration. I'm not sure it it's for me, the tiger or the scent of death they all smelled. But I let it fill me, give me strength, give me power. And With that l took all my reserves and put them into this one final effort. I raised my Shield in both hands, leapt into the air, and brought the edge down hard on the tiger's spine as it passed me. I heard the crack, saw the back legs drop like stone and cleared from the front end which roared in pain and anguish. The crowd stood and clapped. The beast howled and even I, unlike these Romans, felt pity. I took my sword still buried in the flank, and jammed it straight to where I assumed its heart would be. I must have guessed right. The head stilled. A giant tongue lolled from the side of it's bloody mouth. Nothing moved. I'd won.
Cheers erupted widely now. I didn't even have time to enjoy it. Their praise wasn't tor me, it was tor the true gladiators already entering the ring Slaves ran on to rid the tigers and spread more sawdust. That's it, my efforts were already a thing of the past. "Hey kid, get off. You've had your moment of glory now sod off and let the professionals show you how" So says one of the hulking brutes in all his finery dragging a net and holding a Trident. He jeers at me through the window of his shiny helmet. I start to leave the arena in haste and see the same slave as before. He's straining under the weight of one of the tigers. The vein in the front of his head is about to pop and sweat covers his brow. He smiles and winks at me, "Good job." "Thanks,"I smile back, " guess I ought to rest and get stitched up and recover." "You won't have much time tor that," he sniggers," you're on again after this act!". "Oh Hell!". Welcome to the lite of a gladiator.
The end.
