The Kingdom: Becoming The Enemy

Chapter Two: Life of A Gladiator

Green eyes shifted to the straw covered dirt on the ground as the guardian's foot came down on the green gladiator. "How can you watch this?" He said, looking up at his cellmate with fear in his eyes. The slow-motion images were played on the jumbo screen just in time for only one of them to seem it.

"Easy. You just point your head toward the action and keep your eyes open." The larger of the two men in the cell said simply.

The two gladiators, one more fearful than the other, wait for their turn to die on the red stained sand during their imprisonment. Having the images of your death burned into your mind before you die is not something many sane men can brag.

"You're sick." He said as he slid down the wall looking for something else to look at. "No, you look sick. You should probably have a bucket or something you look a little green yourself!" He barked a laugh. Fuck, I'm clever, he thought.

Staring at the floor he spoke quietly, "Who was he?" "He was a resistance fighter. That's all that matters about him right now. None of us should even have names anymore." The larger man's last few words trailing off as he thought about all the brothers and sisters in arms he's lost.

"We all die in the end anyway why would we want to be attached to each other by names?" Anger starting to spread in his voice. "This King needs to be stopped. He's going to ruin life for everyone. He already has for most of us." Anger now plagued his voice as he boomed. His white, turning yellow, T-shirt shook along with his long brown hair as he slammed his fist into the concrete windowsill. He grabbed and rattled the bars, his voice now silent, his blue eyes determined, wishing for escape.

Sitting silent for a few seconds, watching his cellmate try to rip through the concrete, he spoke, "What's your name?"

The man stopped, let out a long sigh, giving up on the words he spoke seconds ago, "My name is Patrious. And yours?" "Liken" He said quickly after realising how stupid he must have sounded for asking his name.

They sat in silence for a while, Liken still staring at the floor, and Patrious almost engaged in the battle himself as he watched.

Patrious grinned. He watched the red gladiator appear in the window of a concrete structure, though the window in his cell at the base of the field. A streak of light flashed toward Smasher and an explosion was heard.

A loud thud followed as the beast came crashing down. "What happened?" Liken said as he stood up and looked toward the cloud of dust and waited for a verdict.

"Show's over." said a deep voice said as a black helmet was looking through a rectangular hole in the door of their cell.

They looked past their bunk beds and then looked back to the cloud of dust, trying to confirm that Smasher really was dead. "Now!" The guard bellowed.

With a growl, "Come on, Mordecai, we just wanna see what happens." Patrious said. A clang was heard as the door unlocked, the heavy door swung open to reveal the, black combat gear covered, guard standing in the doorway. His combat gear looked like it actually might stop one of Smasher's bullets. Both of his shoulders had light blue cores glowing at the edges, showing that he was more than just a normal guard.

His head swivelled to each of the two guardbots standing by his side. They looked at his head that was completely covered in an egg shaped plastic helmet. Nothing seemed to look back at them through the blackened material as he turned toward his prisoners and nodded at them.

The guardbots each slid a black nightstick from their sides. Their light blue cores barely visible through their tightly fitting outer shell.

The guardbots' faces, emotionless, as their mouths were non-existent. Just metal plating where their mouths and nose should be. Their light blue eyes glowed slightly brighter as the first soon-to-be assailant advanced into the room. He was followed by his twin as he pushed Patrious back with a kick. Liken was no slouch as he grabbed a tin cup and brought it up to meet the first guardbot's jaw. The jagged rim of the cup cut into the guardbot's face and exposed the neat wiring within.

Liken immediately was hit in the side of the neck by the guardbot's nightstick. He crumbled and choked, dropping the cup. Still getting some air he desperately gasped for more as he was kicked in the stomach by the second guardbot and sent back into the wall.

Patrious' head connected with the guardbot's nightstick over and over as the relentless attack opened up his head and face. Blood tricked down his face and neck on all sides as fell back and sat against the cell wall, nearly unconsious.

"Stop." Said Mordecai, calmly. "You will learn to listen to me eventually, Patrious. And you, Liken isn't it?" Liken still choking and gasping for air as he was addressed. "You are new here and Patrious should have done you favour and told you how bad of an idea it is to attack the guardbots." He spoke through the guardbots as they parted to either side of the small cell.

Patrious looked at his new friend, his new friend that he knew was about to die. I Shouldn't have attacked them while I was with him. "Breathe Liken. Try to take long breaths." His weakened voice sputtered through his blood-filled mouth.

"It's alright." Liken squeezed out through the coughing, "I think I'm gonna be alright." His coughs starting to slow down now.

The two Gladiators were carried by the guardbots out of the cell. Liken's coughs echoing through the halls as he was dragged. Patrious struggled as one more guardbot arrived to assist with moving him to the interrogation room.

They were sat in two chairs and tied down. The chairs attached at the backs by black straps. The tin chairs, now spattered with Patrious' blood, creaked at every small stir of the prisoners' struggles. They had begun warming up before the questions even started. As was protocol.

"Gentlemen, can we start over?" Mordecai said with sympathy in his voice. "I need to ask Liken a few questions about why he is here" He paused, "and before you ask, Patrious, I want to see if you'll break today too. You're mostly just here so I can kick the shit out of you." The last few words growled out as he got closer to Patrious. "I think you're my favourite gladiator to interrogate." He said as he lifted Patrious' chin to look at him.

Mordecai's fist slammed into his cheekbone as it was held up by his other hand. The glove's knuckles had metal caps that cut into Patrious' face once again.Liken's head met his cellmate's as it was thrown by their interrogator's fist. They both winced at the pain.

This is gonna be a bad one. Patrious thought, as his head pounded with pain.

"Now, Liken, why were you found with rebel contraband?" "I'm not a rebel!" Liken yelled.

"Then why did we capture you with all manner of rebel equipment?" Mordecai walked around the chairs to Liken and shoved his fist into Liken's eye. The sudden shift and bending of his neck made him start coughing again. "Rebel made guns," another fist collided,"Rebel made armour," an open hand, this time, came across his cheek. "Drugs that only rebel scum use" A fist to Liken's gut forced stomach fluid out of his mouth.

Mordecai knowingly stood to the side as his fist collided. He smirked as the puke splattered in a line in front of his victim.

"You gotta flex, man. You don't puke when he hits your stomach that way." Patrious bravely helped Mordecai's prey.

Now angered at him, he went to the side and kicked Patrious in the head, pushing his foot forward, the force tipped both of the men over. Still in their chairs they groaned on the floor.

Mordecai asked Patrious no questions before his steel toe met the Gladiator's forehead. Like a short version of Newton's Cradle the force was transferred from Mordecai's boot, to Patrious' head, to the back of Liken's head and then back to Patrious' head as liken's head sprung back, too weak to control it now.

"Vitals signs in both prisoners at critical levels." A smoothly robotic female voice said. Ignoring the voice Mordecai whispered, "Where is the rebel base?" There was silence except for hushed coughing.

"Fine then, we'll talk again soon." Mordecai said, with desire in his voice, as he didn't want to risk killing them. "And next time you'll be spending more time with me. Those guardbots haven't been programmed with much restraint."

He pushed a button on the inside of his forearm, grinned, and grabbed the tin leg of Patrious' chair.

Electricity surged through both of them until they blacked out the moment Mordecai let go.