End of the Suburbs

Chpt 11:Thunder

I don't have time to move the unconscious bodies out of the hall
I race off trying to keep out of sight.
Immediately I run directly into another group of guards.
Casper drops down in a fighting stance.
Blood is dripping from his teeth.
His tail is sticking straight up and all of his hair is on ends.
I decide not to fight.
I tell Casper to run and we both take off in the opposite direction.
We make it down the hall before running into another group of guards.
This wasn't expected.
I turn down a hall to avoid them.
The hall leads through a door onto the field of the arena.
I'm forced to use one of my swords to hold the door closed.
I race out climbing over the fence and onto the field.
In one corner of the field there a cage made of iron with bars twisted and warped.
There's people inside.
I instantly recognize one them.
A big guy. He's hard to miss.
It's Duffy.
Casper and I race towards the cage.
The Skulker guards begin to pour down from the stands and start to scale the fence to get to the field.
I run past.
None are fast enough to catch me.
They're weighed down by padding and armor.
I reach the iron cage.
It's held closed by a chain with a lock.
Duffy runs up to the bars.
"What are you doing here?" he asks.
"Sorry, I can leave if you're waiting on someone else to come save you." I say jokingly.
I swing my sword directly at the chains.
They shatter with a spark on impact.
The Skulkers reach us just as the cage flies open.
Inside are Duffy, along with the other scavengers, and 15 strong warriors.
The Skulkers rush us.
Duffy charges and delivers a kick sending 3 of them flying back at once.
One of the others charges and tackles one of the Skulkers taking his weapon.
We manage to fight them all off and take their weapons.
More are coming.
One of them had removed my sword from the door and let the others inside.
The four from the hall were hobbling out with the other ready to fight.
I could see the fear in their eyes when they saw me but they didn't back down.
The fight started.
All of their prisoners were well trained. They'd only managed to capture them by ambushing and outnumbering them.
We were winning.
The arena is in a fury with people fighting even in the stands.
**BOOM**
Suddenly there was a loud bang that echoed inside of the arena.
It sounded like and explosion but different.
Almost like thunder.
I'd never heard anything like it.
The yelling comes to a stop as a hush sweeps the area.
I look to the top of the stand.
There's a man.
He's one of the Skulkers.
No. He's different.
He's not ordinary.
He wears a coat with welded epaulettes.
His hair is shaved on the sides and colored bright blue.
He's wearing a belt with a human skull .
He's not just one of them, he's their leader.
The loud bang came from him.
He's holding a weapon.
It's a gun.
They were banned a century ago so I've never seen one but I know how dangerous they are.
"Maximo!" he yells.
His voice is amplified by speakers.
It thunders through the stadium.
"Get them back into their cage."he says.
Across the arena a man leaps over the fence in one bound.
If the blue haired man is the leader then Maximo seems to something of a general.
His entire body is adorned with leather and metal that's been welded.
His shoulder covered by spiked padding.
He's big. Muscular.
Whether or not he's a skilled fighter, he'll be a challenge to take down either way.
He wears a mask and a hood.
The mask is completely metal and even it looks angry.
He carries a relatively thin metal pipe.
I stare directly at him, Casper is by my side, I tighten my grip ready to fight.
Maximo approaches with the other Skulkers not far behind him.
We can take them
I feel a hand gently touch the back of my neck.
I turn and it's Duffy.
I look at him with intensity in my eyes.
His expression is fearful.
He shakes his head signaling to back down.
Behind him the others have already retreated back into the cage.
The only sensible choice is to back down.
I back away slowly into the cage.
Just as I start to walk the leader yells,
"WAIT!"
Maximo turns to acknowledge him.
"Bring me the dog."he says with the wave of his hand.
Maximo steps toward Casper.
Casper growls in defense, his tail is flared as he bares his teeth.
Maximo reaches for Casper but Casper evades his grasp and returns with a ferocious chomp causing Maximo to scream in pain from beneath the metal mask.
He winds back his other hand holding the metal pipe.
Just before he can make impact with Casper's skull I slide forward and draw my sword to block.
There's a loud clang that echoes in the arena.
He uses his force to try to push me down but I twist and shift his weight disarming him.
I hold my sword up to his neck adding just enough pressure to draw blood.
The arena is silent.
Suddenly there's another explosion.
BOOM
The leader fired his gun in the air.
I look to the top.
He's holding it as smoke rise from the tip.
I think about it for a second looking back at Duffy and the others.
I drop my sword and call Casper off.
I walk into the cage with the others as one of the Skulkers attaches a rope to Casper.
I signal him not to bite as he's led up the stairs to the leader.
I find a spot and sit.
Despite being trapped in a cage and outnumbered I knew I wasn't defeated. The fight isn't over.