Conquest

[WP] In the far future, a gladiator stadium finds its gladiators by time traveling the greatest warriors of all time into a single arena. You cannot believe you were chosen.

*****

“I’m a zookeeper! Trust me, I’m not a warrior, not by any means. I’ll be a disgrace out there.” That much was definitely true, though I was disgrace anywhere. Wow dropping to my knees had hurt. What a stupid thought to have right now.

The strange humanoid robot stared at me through the glass wall of my cell, its eyes obscured behind a jet-black visor. “You have been chosen for your bravery, 2022-5692. You tame great, ancient beasts, yes? You pet lions and feed bears. Creatures obviously so much… mightier than yourself.” It’s voice was amazingly human. And wait, was that sarcasm?

“No! I just take care of them, I don’t—“

It turned and walked away. I slammed on the glass, shouted for it to come back, but soon enough it rounded the corner and was gone. My strength gave out. My hands slid down the glass and my body curled itself into a fetal position.

For a long while all I could do was watch as other prisoners were walked past my cell. I imagined the big and burly ones were Vikings, the lithe and stealthy ones ninjas, the scrappy ones pirates. But mostly I imagined how each of them could easily kill me.

Eventually, a new pair of boots stopped right in front of my cell again. I scrambled away, the door slide open, and someone else was thrust in.

Our eyes met. His head was shaved completely bald, like mine, and he had blood smeared all over his face, but still he looked familiar. “Well hello there,” he said winningly, with a thick Australian accent. A wide, white grin flashed though the drying blood, ”you’re a scared newbie, ain’t cha?”

I’d know that voice anywhere. It was the king of Animal Planet himself, my childhood idol. ”You’re hurt,” was all I could manage. What does one say to a bloody, time-traveled Steve freakin’ Irwin?

He touched his face and looked at his hand, somewhat amused. “Oh it ain’t mine.” And added, after seeing the look on my face, “it’s nobody’s, don’t cha worry. It’s fake, it’s show.”

Fake? “What is this place? They said something about me fighting other legendary warriors, but is it just a show?”

“Not exactly, no, but you do gotta give ‘em a show if you wanna survive out there. Yeah, that it’s. That’s the name of the game: survive and give ‘em a show.” He glanced back down the hallway, “crickey, I think they’re coming for ya. Just remember what I told ya.”

A few seconds later and, sure enough, two guards were at the glass. “2022-5692, 2006-372, you have been chosen.”

”I was just in there!” Steve protested to no avail. They marched us down long hallways, past countless other prisoners, until we finally approached a huge, metal door. It slid open, they pushed us in, and it slammed shut.

Darkness. At first, all I could hear was my own ragged breaths. Then, huge, earth shaking thuds and a rumbling, like a distant thunder washing over us. No… not thunder. Applause.

“Are we going to fight?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. I mean, not each other anyway. They’ve been matching me up with some real big fellers, and now we’ve got you too. Just remember what I told ya.”

Suddenly, the metal door slid up and light blasted into our steel cell. I tried to shirk back, but Steve grabbed me by the collar and dragged me out. “Remember, what I told ya!” He shouts, but it’s barely audible over the roaring of the crowds.

The stadium is so huge I can barely even see all the way to the other side. There are small buildings and rock formations scattered throughout the huge arena. It’s impossible to make out individuals in the crowds; they’re waves of chaos and excitement.

Though one things is discernible: and huge black mass charging towards us. It was bigger than an elephant, but running like a bear. Every stride pounded the earth with incredible force.

Fear. But a familiar fear, like when I’d first fed a lion, or handled a snake, or washed an elephant. There was something comforting in the way the beast moved, the way I recognized it for what it was: another animal. A genetically modified monstrosity of an animal, probably, but an animal nonetheless.

“Go that way!” Steve shouts, pointing in one direction as he sprints away in the other, flailing his arms wildly, whooping and hollering.

The giant bear takes the bait and chooses to go after him. There’s a small structure to might right, something kind of like a playground, but without all the colors. I rush towards it.

Once I reach it, I see Steve found a big rock formation on the other side. He scrambled up the boulders just barely high enough to be out of reach. The bear roars and tries to climb the rocks, but keeps slipping. It won’t last long, though. The beast begins ramming it’s side into the formation, each time sending huge cracks into the rocks. There’s nowhere for Steve to go.

I’m safe, for now, but that wasn’t enough. “Hey!” I shouted, as I chucked a rock at the beast. It didn’t hear me, and the rock didn’t even clear half the distance. I was going to have to get a lot closer.

I’d survived. Now it was time to give ‘em a show.

*****

THE END