Lasophia

Damnatio Ad Bestias

Hunter's P.O.V.

--------------------

His body violently bounced against the ground, jolting him awake from his unconscious state. Before he could even fully open his eyes, his ears were hit with the blaring cries of the animals that surrounded him. He had almost forgotten where he was, but the uproar made it quite unmistakable. 

What had happened? The last thing he remembered was being dragged into the chaos. After that, everything was a blur.

He didn't dare move a muscle in fear of setting off some sort of predatory instinct within the creatures. 

Did they think he was dead? Or were they waiting for him to wake up? 

Either way, he'd rather them continually screech at each other than rip his body apart, limb-by-limb. 

Without moving, Hunter carried his eyes around the gathering. He realized that an immaculate colosseum engulfed the entire assembly. Deteriorating, cream-colored stone pillars formed a wide circle around an arena, where he was strewn . Iron gates stood tall, creating a barrier between where he was and what seemed to be cages.

They were definitely cages. Various beasts were trapped within them. 

How did he get to the middle of the colosseum? ...Were those rope burns on his wrists? What had happened?

He glanced over to find a massive gorilla circling the amphitheater, banging on the bars of the cages.

"Venatio...?" Hunter whispered to himself. 

But how could that be? They were animals, well mostly animal anyway. 

Romans used to hold events where gladiators or the condemned fought animals in colosseums for sport. Everything he had seen so far made it seem as though that very same thing was occurring, but instead of the Romans being entertained by the violence, it was the animals...and he was the gambit.

Then, he heard more clanging coming from behind him. Another gorilla. He turned his head just enough to see behind him. There was indeed another ape. He saw something else–a log stuck into the ground. 

Wait. A log. Ropes. Beasts. He wasn't supposed to battle the animals; he was supposed to be massacred by them. This wasn't some venatio, it was an animalistic reincarnation of the damnatio ad bestias. The entire point of this gathering was for him to be destroyed. 

He watched as the apes provoked the animals within the cages, the very ones that could be released any minute to maul him. The closer they neared one another, the faster his heart pounded. Once they reached each other, they strutted back over to Hunter.

The sight brought back ghastly memories of Layla and her minions. This time, however, he wouldn't just be pushed into some mud and kicked in the balls... Suddenly, she didn't seem so bad and he found himself wishing it was her instead. 

His mind came back to reality. The apes had almost reached him.

What would they do if they discovered he was in fact still alive? What were they about to unleash upon him? More importantly, how the hell would he be able to calm himself enough to even focus on trying to avoid being ripped to shreds? He had no chance. No hope. Nothing could save him. And he hadn't a single ounce of courage left to spare. How was one supposed to prepare themselves for death? 

He quickly slammed his eyes shut. He didn't want them to know he was awake. 

Unfortunately, that would prove to be a mistake.