One Word Prompts

Sling - Dava and Goliath

She stumbled into the arena to the cheers of hundreds of bloodthirsty spectators. They looked down on her from the stadium seats above, forming a sea of faceless bloodlust.

On the other side of the arena, a gate rose with the rattling of chains and the screeching of metal on stone. From the dark corridor beyond, a large figure lumbered forward. Prodded out by handlers with spears, the giant stepped out into the stadium's field. The crowd went wild at the sight of the creature, bets flying as to how long she would last against the thing.

Twelve feet tall, covered in blood-matted hair, it was a monster to behold. In one hand, it held a club of stone, the end dragging in the dirt behind it.

One of the handlers jabbed it from behind again, perhaps trying to get it to clear the gates a little faster.

The beast howled in rage, rocking the coliseum, and leaving her ears ringing. It spun on the handlers, swinging its club effortlessly through them and sending the two of them flying back. They hit the wall behind them with a splatter of blood, like bugs squished on stone.

The crowd rose to match the creature's energy, the furry of their bets increasing as her average survival time dropped.

The gates dropped closed, both the one she'd come through behind her and the one the beast guarded. She was trapped.

The giant, still angry, lumbered forward. Each step shook the ground and sent tremors through her spine.

She couldn't possibly survive this. They had sent her in here to die for their entertainment. In their eyes, she was no more human than the monster before her. She was less even, where the monster was the main attraction, she was just the fodder for its rampage.

It caught sight of her, winding back with its club to strike her down.

She could stand here and take it. It would hurt a lot, but it would be fast. It would be over before it started. She'd be just another bug on the wall, a bloodstain in the dirt.

The club swung in on her, and she leapt forward, under its massive arm.

She wasn't ready to die.

Perhaps it was a foolish attempt. Even if she somehow survived this, all it would get her is another opponent tomorrow, with an even greater challenge.

Even if she could survive today, how could she hope to escape?

But she wasn't ready to die.

The club whooshed over her head as she slid behind it. If nothing else, she could not let herself be hit. It would be a one-hit knockout if she did.

The giant turned, grabbing at her with its empty hand.

She dodged. But she knew dodging wouldn't be enough. She would tire long before this giant did. And as soon as she did, that was the end.

She sprinted away from the beast, trying to buy herself time if nothing else, counting on her speed being greater than the lumbering creature behind her.

Her back against the far wall, she watched it stomp toward her. She ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom of the rags they had dressed her in, creating a loop of fabric. She knelt down, running her hands over the dusty ground, picking up a couple of stones. She put a stone in the loop and took a step forward.

The beast was already almost on her, just barely outside the range of his club. She couldn't wait any longer.

She twirled the sling, a prayer under her breath, and let the stone fly.

It flew directly into its eye, hitting with a plume of blood.

The giant screamed, dropping the club and clutching its face.

She ran past it, to the gate it had come out from.

It turned on her, both eyes red, one with blood, one with rage. Snarling, it charged her.

She reached through the gate, her fingertips barely touching the fallen spear of the dead handler.

If only...

she could...

just...

reach it! Her hand wrapped around the handle's end, and she pulled it through.

The giant was again almost on her. Spear in hand, she ducked beneath its grabbing hands, sprinting again for the coliseum wall.

It slammed into the gate with a growl, turning to face her again.

Even with the weapon, in her weak hands, she shouldn't have any chance. But she had to try.

The giant charged her again.

She braced the spear against the wall behind her, praying for the best.

The giant did not slow, at full speed it reached forward to grab her. Filled with rage, it saw only her tiny body, and not the spear in her hands.

It slammed into her spear, impaling itself on the weapon. The weapon buckled against the wall on the impact, driving the blade deep into the beast's body before snapping in two.

An enormous hand clamped down on her torso, pulling her down beneath the falling beast.

With a thud, they both collapsed to the arena floor.

The beast inhaled shallow breaths, frantically trying to breathe through tattered lungs. Its blood oozed over her as she tried to wriggle her way out. Its weight crushed her, its grip on her body not letting up.

It took one last gasping breath, before falling still. Lubricated by the beast's blood, no longer held by its hand, she squeezed her way to freedom, the broken shaft of the spear still in her hand.

She looked to the sky and held up her broken weapon, releasing a warrior's cry.

They would not kill her. She would survive.