Slave

A Short Story

James Cox












Lights were pulsing to the rhythm of the music, which was reverberating throughout the
arena. It wasn't so much as music as it was an electronic battle cry, meant to make the
audience scream with excitement. The arena itself was a magnificent work of futuristic art.
Lights inside of every object in the arena made the arena glow with brilliant blues and greens
and every other neon color known to man. There were obstacles set around to make the fighting
more interesting instead of just a short bloodbath. Of course people payed good money to see
these fights so anyway possible to make the fighting last longer was a definite plus.
I Started to study my opponents. I didn't know their personal backgrounds and didn't
really care. Maybe some of them were here for the same reason I was, but more likely they
were here for the fame and glory of the most corrupt society known to man. There were 15
contestants in total. Each with a specific weapon that they chose to train with and use
throughout their entire journey to make it to the top. My weapon of choice was the Electrostaff. It
was a long metal staff and on either end of it was electric conducting coils. Just like every
weapon used in the tournament, it use electricity as a means of killing your opponent. and
conveniently glowed neon blue to match the theme of the arena.
Focus Carsen, focus. I had to keep on bringing myself to the present and focus on
winning this thing for Lana. The Chief Justice had taken his seat which meant it was about time
to begin. A hologram appeared right in the center of the contestant that started counting down
from ten. I looked over at Lemni who was standing just to the right of me. He mouthed the words
good luck, and he sincerely meant it. I hope it didn't come down to me having to kill him.
BONG, BONG! the countdown had stopped. the contestants advanced on one another.
The crowd went wild. I felt sick.
* * *

2 months before.....
Carson! Carson, I'm gonna be late for Education Center! where is my backpack? Lana
raced down the small hallway and into the cramped living room. The living quarters was really
only enough room for one or two people, but ever since the recession of the classes the
apartments usually have to fit an entire family. I have even seen places where there have been
sixteen people crammed into one. It makes me feel grateful for the place that me, my sister and
grandmother share together.
Here it is lana, stop freaking out, k. Love you and have a good day learning. I always
hated having her leave by herself onto the streets where anyone could snatch her up. She
would bring in a large pay day for the HH.
I watched her go off to be picked up by the Education Transit. She is a big girl
Carson, she can take care of herself. Grandma plopped herself into our ancient, creaky rocking
chair.
Yes I know. But the HH has been more outgoing and daring lately. They can't keep on
being allowed to take citizens without being formally stopped by the Enforcers. The HH is a
gang that takes citizens and sells them as pets to the rich on the black market. they've been
allowed to go on for sometime because the High Officials use these pets as personal slaves,
bodyguards, or for their own personal desires. everyone knows the truth but the citizens aren't
allowed to start a riot or else they will be cut down. literally.
Well she is still a strong headed girl Carson, she can handle herself. But you've got to
get going if you want to catch the ship to City 13245.
Yeah I know. I left you some leftovers in the cooling unit. I Grabbed my backpack full of
clothes cause i would be gone for about a week looking for work in the city. The backpack was
fairly empty, mostly because we didn't have much and I didn't want the thugs to be able to steal
most of my possessions.
I kissed Grandma goodbye, told her to be safe, and headed for the hover craft port.
* * *
I hated the city. It was disgusting and even more so than the living district back where
are living unit is. The living district is cramped and full of broken sewage pipes and muddy
streets filled with sour and rotting odors and people who can't bathe themselves because they
are too afraid of using too much water and being charged a hefty fee for it. One that they can't
afford to pay.
Well the city was about ten times worse than the living districts. hundreds of thousands
of people living in the streets hoping for work at the factories that polluted the city. City 13245
was a factory and shipping city and is used for making and shipping products and goods to the
larger cities where the higher class lives. cities that still have names such as New York, and
California City.
I came to the city to find work to be able to still feed Grandma and Lana and hopefully
keep on paying for her education. which may be the only means of her ever escaping the living
districts. I also came to the city because I felt like I could hold my own in a sea of people. My
dad taught me how to fight when i was growing up. He used to be an Enforcer until an accident
caused him to lose his leg. We couldn't afford to pay for his medication or for him to stay in the
hospital, so they decided to harvest him for his good organs and send it to the cities that still
have names. Insane with grief, my mother killed herself shortly after leaving me and Lana to
care for Grandmother.
I would start looking for work at the Aero space port where ships would come from space
and bring food grown in the Bio domes orbiting earth. Bio domes are the only means of
producing edible plant matter because it has access to the sun and isn't polluted by earths
atmosphere.
The work manager at the dock has employed me for the last couple of years and seems
to like me so it seems like the logical place to start. except when my hologram started to vibrate,
meaning i had a message.
I quickly searched for it in my pack and turned the holo on.
Carson!
Grandma, what's wrong? My pulse started to quicken as I looked at grandmas frantic
expression in the hologram.
Its horrible Carson, she started to cry, and stutter out the sentence that would change
our lives. L.. Lanas been taken.
* * *
A million thoughts went through my mind as I was running back to the platform to board
a hovercraft to return home.
Think Carson, Think. You can probably sell yourself in return. But then no one would be
able to take care of grandma or Lana if you weren't there. You could try to break her out, but
there are too many of the thugs. You would be dead in an instant as soon as they figured out
what you were trying to do.
I thought of every scenario. but the only logical one was the tournaments. Fight to the
top and hope you dont lose. A Battle of the Champions. If I could Win the championship I
could use the money to buy her back. What was I thinking, of course I wouldn't win. People train
their entire lives for these championships. I have a little bit of a background in self defense but
thats it. But its Lana. There is no other choice.
So, as soon as I got back to the living district, I kissed Grandma goodbye again and
went to the tournament center in City 7698. And for the next 2 months I would train and fight for
Lana.
* * *
I was given a thin mattress to sleep on in the Tournament Headquarters. I started
off slow, in small matches making my way up to the top. In the lower matches it was just
between about five people in total and we weren't supposed to kill. Only in the top matches
were the contestants supposed to kill their opponents. I met Lemni, a skilled electroarcher and
he became my best friend. we decided to become partners for the lower matches and would
have to eventually split the partnership in the higher tournaments. He had lost his entire family
and decided to take his skills of hunting into the arena.
I really hope you do win carson. Lemni plopped down on his thin squeaky mattress. It
would be one more hour till the final tournament would begin, and we would have to break off
our partnership for good.
And why is that? You deserve to win just as much as I do.
But you have something that you can actually fight for, I have nothing left.
It was hard to say that we wouldn't be friends anymore and more likely we both wouldn't
make it out of the arena.
We were called into the arena. the timer went to zero and we were off. Lemni shot off
two electric arrows toward a larger contestant with an electric axe. A older women in her thirties
came screaming towards me as she was whirling around to small short electric swords. I
blocked her attack and took her out with two swift blows to her head and abdomen which, with
the electricity, would stop her heart. I still felt horrible for the deaths i caused but I had to keep
on thinking about Lana. Lemni was still alive and had taken out two contestants with his precise
shot. He actually scared me. The rest of the tournament was a blurr. I had taken out two more
contestants. Then I realized it was just me and Lemni. I can't say I was surprised. He made sure
we were the last two and I soon came to realize why. He looked at me, really looked deep into
me.
Win Lana back, alright? Lemni pulled the string back on his bow, flipped it upside down
towards his head and let go.
NO! I screamed, but it was too late. His lifeless body dropped to the ground. The crowd
went insane with excitement. never had this happen before. The bong went off signaling the end
of the tournament.
I was escorted out of the arena and given my winnings. That look Lemni gave me would
be forever burned into my memory. I eventually found the dealer who had Lana and bought her
back. She had been drugged for most of her time in the slave dealers hand but she would soon
recover.
I hate the world. I hate the society that I am forced to live in and have no escape from.
Except, Lana is my escape. Taking care of her and loving her is me reason to live. Its good to
have a reason to live...

I think?
the end