GENESIS - THE BEGINNING. Book 1

CHAPTER 16 ... Adelia

It was a town of chaos. Bloody, broken bodies lay where they fell or crawled off to die. Limbs lay scattered about. Contenders ran between the parked flitters and buildings as they hunted and chased their opponents down. The din of battle was deafening The slight breeze turned and Megan gagged as the smell of loosened bowls and unwashed bodies wafted towards them.

"What do we do?" asked Adelia in a soft voice.

"Do? That's easy," Wyatt said. "Stay here and watch. Wait for the fighting to die down and then take care of the rest. This may only be possible if we are not noticed and I don't believe we will be for much longer. On the other hand we could move off as a group and join in the fun." His voice was grim but his eyes registered fear. "I cannot protect you lady. I must stand to one side and watch."

She smiled timidly at him. "I am not without my claws." Brave words but he saw the awe and fear in her eyes.

"There is another option," said Katya thoughtfully.

They all turned to her. "I've been wondering why everybody is coming here? Remember the gathering points at the beginning of The Month of Reckoning? Well that was a planned massacre by the Polrobs. Hundreds, thousands died there because they were caught by surprise and had gathered in one place. Could this be another planned massacre to thin out the ranks? There are only about four days left as it is. I may be wrong, but I seriously believe this was all planned ahead of time. I have been thinking things through for a long time now because it seemed to me that dispatching a million plus would-be Emperors in one month is not possible unless they are somehow encouraged along. "Did any of you read the fine print of your contracts? Well, I skimmed over mine and now some things are making sense." She shook her head in disgust. "This was a setup from the beginning. Set up in such a way that all Contenders would be at a disadvantage. Our every movement is recorded and available to any that request it. Food and clothing is for free if we so choose. Just how many Contenders do you think had fluid funds for this?

"On the one hand we are handed a way out –for free, they say. And on the other hand your position is traded away to any that are looking for you because with funds you could hide from your enemies. No weapons are allowed except knives and swords and a bow and arrow. I know, I checked. They carefully neglected to mention that fact too many times in case Contenders came in their hundreds with other weapons.

"There is no fun in seeing people die from a distance. Mom and dad at home want to see all the gory action close up thank you very much," she said bitterly. "We were hamstrung from the beginning. How many out there have thought of using a bow? As a long distance silent weapon there is nothing to beat it. Take shields. Have any of you seen any shields other than ours? No? I'll tell you why. Because the fine print says that shields are illegal until the last week of the contest. The last week? You couldn't carry one with you until the last week. Where the hell are people supposed to find shields in the first place? And when they could the things were so expensive nobody could afford them. With the one hand they give and with the other they take." She kicked the ground and watched as a small stone went flying. "We could by-pass this trap and make our way to Signature," she finished.

"No!"

Everyone turned in surprise. Adelia fingered her sword. Her left arm shoved through the carrying straps. "Let's go down there and get this over with. Why prolong the ending?" she ignored their questioning gazes and watched as hell continued to descend on the small town.

Groups of swordsmen collided. Swords clashing. Hoarse shouts. Screams and curses. Then, as if by some agreement, the two groups withdrew, leaving their wounded and dead. Moments later they stormed towards each other and the hacking and slashing began again.