The Slave's Gladiator

Chapter 6: Captured

Hadriana staggered out of her shack. What? What is it? As the last of her sleepiness faded away, she turned to the field. A bright red glowed across the horizon. Is the sun up already? As more screams filled the air, her eyes widened. Wait, that's not the sun!

Flames leaped up into the night sky, releasing sparks and glowing ashe into the air. Smoke filled her lungs along with burning plants and human flesh. A figure shifted in her peripheral vision. Instincts snapped her head down; the closeness of her attacker's weapon brushed against her ear. Turning, she grabbed an arm and slammed her forehead against his.

"Augh, you wrecked-" As they staggered back, Hadriana yanked the weapon free and swung it down. A sickly crack filled the silence, before she brought the club down again for the final time.

Chest heaving, Hadriana staggered back. The screams echoed around her, slaves yelling, crying, screaming when the fire reached them. Those that were chained were lost to the flames, their pains threatening to haunt her.

Her gaze snapped toward the burning estate. If I can get the key...She took off toward the building. Before she could dive inside, a figure emerged from the shadows. Hadriana stumbled as a hand latched onto her arm."Let me go!" Her hand slammed against the grip weakly. "I said let me go."

As she struggled, a hand grabbed a fistful of tunic. "Knock it off, Valeria." Venom dripped from his lips. "Unless you want this to get ugly."

Hadriana squirmed and thrashed. "Let me go!" She slammed her head forward, hitting air instead of skin. A flash of silver. Hot, searing pain rippled through her shoulder. She screamed.

"I told you to stop." He twisted the dagger in deeper. Each second felt like the flames scorching her skin, eating her from the inside out. "You're lucky I have to keep you alive." His bloodied blade trailed along her neck, leaving a dark red mark to her collarbone. "There's nothing I would love more than to see your blood spill."

A sob ripped through Hadriana's lips. "What do you want from me?"

He grabbed her chin. "Oh, I don't want you." His smile twisted. "I want a certain person to see you suffer." His nails digging into her skin. "I want to hear his begs to spare you and see him on his knees."

A cold, calculated chuckle left his lips. "And I'll make sure to end your life-" Leaning forward, warm air brushed against her ears." -right in front of him." He hummed. "Maybe I can even give him your heart."

With that, pain burst across the back of her head before everything went black.

****

Hadriana's fingers twitched. The ground jostled. W-what? Her eyes flickered open. She fought a groan at the bright light.

"Seems like someone is awake." A shadow fell over her. Varinius' smile widened. "Good. I was wondering if you were just that weak." Trying to move, Hadriana quickly found her hands tied. Another jostle brought a wave of pain through her shoulder.

"Ah, I wouldn't move if I were you. Don't want your shoulder to be ripped open again now do we?" As they hit another bump, her tongue scraped against splintered lips. Her breaths wheezed as she closed her eyes, listening to the jostle of the cart. The sun beamed down on her, its rays blasting down on her skin.

The unbearable heat pulled her back into unconsciousness.

Hadriana wasn't sure how much time had passed when hands grabbed her. Pain burst through her body as she was slammed against the ground. A whimper left her lips. Footsteps faded away from her.

"Get a fire started! I want all eyes on her at all times!" Hadriana raised her head, watching the men set up camp wearily. The smell of food soon filled the air and her stomach rumbled. "Water," she wheezes. "Please," she begged.

Footsteps drew near. Her eyes flickered to Varinius as he drew closer. His smile widened. "You want water?" Before she could speak, the cool liquid splashed against her face. She struggled, crying out as it filled her mouth and nose. She couldn't breathe.

Just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Gasped left her lips as Varinius dropped the empty water pouch beside her. As their laughter echoed through the camp, Hadriana closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

Movement snapped her gaze open. Her eyes widened as a shadow fell over her. Hadriana watched the falcon land into a tree. Its feathers rustled as its eyes landed on the water pouch. A plan, a small very risky plan, hatched in her head. With a glance back at the camp, she was relieved to see two out of the three asleeped.

The one watching her was starting to drift off as well. His eyes flickered closed for a second before they opened to see her tied up. Of course, he didn't see the water pouch in her fists. If this was like any other pouch, then it was made with an animal's bladder which meant....

As the man's eyes closed again, they stayed shut longer. Holding the bladder up, she watched the hawk's head tilt. That's right. Come get the bladder. Adjusting herself, Hadriana bit back a yell as its claws dug into her arm. She watched as its head tilted, staring at her with curious eyes. Her gaze flickered to her bound wrists.

Slipping the bladder into her ropes using the ground, she bit back a cry of relief when it pecked at her bounds. Yes! Keep going! Keep going!

As the rope snapped, Hadriana froze. Her eyes flickered to the slumping captors. None of them stirred. Pushing herself up, she made her way toward their horses. With little difficulty she untied them.

Chirp!

Her gaze snapped to the falcon. His wings spread as he landed near her. "Shh!" She hissed, before searching for a treat. With a quick toss of meat to the falcon, she slipped onto the saddle. With a cry that would surely startle the other horses away, she rode off the frantic awakening and screaming of her kidnappers.

Hadriana wasn't sure how far she rode. The sun rose along the horizon as buildings appeared like a mirage in the desert. They danced across her vision, while each jostle of the horse turned her gut. Figures blurred beyond her vision.

Where am I? She shivered, leaning against the horse. Why is it so cold? Her teeth chattered before a cough force itself from her lungs. Her hand clenched her chest. The ground started to tilt.

"Valeria?" Her gaze snapped up. There standing in his tunic was Agustin. Her eyes widened as her lover took a step toward her. "Valeria, what are you doing here?"

"Agustin." Her eyes scanned his skinny frame. "Agustin." Confusion flickered across his gaze. A hand grabbed the reins, stopping her horse. The world tilted.

"Valeria!"

Agustin rushed toward her. As he got closer, his body grew larger and larger before she was weightless. Instead of the cold hard ground, arms that were soft and warm wrapped around her. Closing her eyes, her head spinned. "Agustin." She croaked.

"I got you." His voice murmured. "It's going to be ok." Each breath felt like a knife to her chest. "It's going to be alright." As her body trembled again, Valeria closed her eyes and slipped into the luring sleep.