"Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist: it reduces him to his fighting weight." ~ Josh Billings
Chapter 2
I groaned as I woke up once again in my cell, although this time I knew why I was here. I was trying to contemplate the words the yautja told me before I had been knocked out. I felt an odd sensation at the base of my skull and I brought my right hand up and felt it. There was nothing there and I could have sworn that there was something there. The door to my cage opened and Thei-de'thwei walked in. I stood up and he just stood at the door entrance.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Do not address me as such, slave," the yautja said in a deep gravely voice that sounded nothing like what I had heard the last time. I thought more on that and realized that I had heard a computer talking to me the other times. "You will address me as master, got that?"
"Yes, master," I growled.
"Watch the tone, ooman," Thei-de'thwei growled back.
"Of course, master," I said sarcastically.
"Better," Thei-de'thwei said with a nod. Apparently yautja didn't understand sarcasm. "Follow me, slave, so we can begin your training."
"For what?" I asked. The yautja growled and I added, "Master," reluctantly.
"To fight."
"Why am I fighting, master?" I asked. This master thing was getting really old.
"For honor."
"Mine or yours?"
"Both," my new master said. "Now get up lazy ooman and follow me."
I stood up and waited for him to bring out a collar, but none came. I narrowed my eyes and followed the alien as it exited the cage. We walked through the swirling mist in the hallways once again and into a room that looked like a training room. It had weapons lined up along the walls and in the middle of the room was a matt that was a circle in shape and forty feet in diameter. "What is this place, sir?" I asked.
"What is sir?"
"Term of respect from where I come from, it's easier than calling you master all the damn time," I answered.
"I will accept you calling me sir or master," the predator said. I refused to think of this thing with a name.
"Am I really supposed to fight you in my boxers, sir?" I asked.
"H'ko," the predator said shaking its head. "You will fight in awu'asa."
"What?"
"Awu'asa, armor," the predator clarified.
"Will it look like yours?" I asked.
"H'ko, it will resemble that of your culture," the predator answered.
I frowned at this and said, "We don't have any armor except Kevlar."
"Then something that of culture's past?" the predator asked hitting a couple of buttons on his wrist computer. A new segment in the wall opened up as the weapons split apart to reveal a new door way. "After you, slave."
I ground my teeth at the "slave" mention and headed into the room. I saw that the room actually held armor that looked like samurai, Roman, Greek, Viking, and medieval knights. I felt drawn immediately towards the samurai armor, it was red and looked like the samurai armor set that Tom Cruise wore in the movie "The Last Samurai," and I personally loved that movie. "These fights," I asked cautiously. "Are they like gladiatorial battles?"
"That is exactly what they are, ooman," the predator acknowledged.
"Will I be fighting other humans?" I asked.
"H'ko, you will be fighting etas of my race and of other races," the predator answered. He stopped for a second and then said, "And possibly some other oomans, depends if other hunters have caught any."
"All I am is a living trophy, aren't I?" I asked.
"Sei-i," the yautja said with a slight nod. "You will fight well."
"Until I die, or what?" I asked turning to face the massive being.
"Win thirty matches, and then you will have freedom," the predator said. "Or death."
"Wait, if I win thirty I either die or get my freedom?" I asked.
"H'ko," the predator said, "you either die or earn freedom."
"Gotch ya," I said.
"That the awu'asa you chose?"
"Yes."
"Good, we will have a set made for you with your specifications in mind."
"There is one altercation that I would like to make," I said.
"What would that be?"
"I would like that," I said pointing towards a helm that looked like it came from the "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" where Peter is in battle. It was a full-face helm that could have the face guard pushed up.
"Consider it done, any specific color?" the yautja trilled.
"Black," I answered.
"Let us begin your training."
We exited the armory, if that's what I could call that and back into the arena like thing. The predator removed all of his armor, with the exception of his mask, and set it aside. I was still in boxers and here was a seven and a half foot being standing before me in a loincloth and a mask. The predator settled into a crouch and beckoned me to attack it with its fingers. I settled into the only martial arts stance I knew, Muay Thai, and slowly crept forward until a few feet separated us. Deep down inside of me, I knew that I had no chance of winning this fight, yet a part of me was thrilled that I was getting a chance to prove myself.
The yautja took a fake step forward and I took a defensive step back. The predator growled and barked out, "Dtai'k-de!"
"What?" I asked.
"Fight!"
"Shit!" I whispered. That was all I had time to say as the three hundred pound yautja was on me in an instant. He attacked and I reacted, blocking what I could and evading what I couldn't. The times that I miscalculated were the times I was rewarded with a painful jab, uppercut, haymaker, and any other type of punch that you can think of to my torso. I finally had enough and made a counterattack with a well-timed dodge of the predators swing towards my face and I used the hunter's own momentum against him and brought him to the ground. I backed up to let him get back up and once he did, I charged. I took a step and performed a tornado kick, one that was powerful, but one that was also easily blocked with the yautja's forearm. I landed in a crouch and the yautja charged me again. I sidestepped and the sidestep was matched. We continued sparring and I couldn't see how this was training. Maybe it had something with getting my body used to the hits from a being stronger than any human could ever hope to be, yet one that was still holding back. After a while, a punch got through my defenses and connected with my ribs and I felt them crack. I almost cried out in pain, but I didn't, some instinct told me not to. Another fist hit the same spot and then I felt the ribs break. I gasped in pain as my defenses completely fell. Hit after hit fell upon my torso with rapid succession. Finally, the yautja ended the fight with a roundhouse kick to my temple and I was out like a light.
I woke up with a groan and immediately closed my eyes to the harsh light that had greeted them. "Where am I?" I asked.
"You are in the medical bay," a new voice greeted my ears. It sounded female. "Of the Honorable Elder Thei-de'thwei."
"What happened?" I asked opening my eyes and squinting as I sat up. I saw another human sitting across from me and she was absolutely stunning. She had the most angelic face that I have ever seen, deep blue eyes, black hair, high cheekbones, and rosy red lips.
"Our master beat you up pretty well, what did you do to piss him off?" she asked.
"Nothing that I'm aware of," I said. "He was 'training' me or something like that."
"Oh my God," the girl gasped. "You're the gladiator!"
"Yes," I responded. "How do you know?"
"I was captured three years before you when I was fifteen by Bad Bloods," the girl answered. "Honorable Elder Thei-de'thwei killed them and took me as his own slave. Twenty cycles ago, he decides that he wants to try a new endeavor, capturing a human male to use in the gladiatorial games. He spotted you when we reached Earth five cycles ago and saw you train in your gym. He decided then that you were going to be his gladiator."
"He informs you of his plans?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yes, he does," the girl said flipping her long hair to the side. "Our master is very trusting once you get on his good side."
"I don't plan on getting on his good side, I plan on getting out of here as soon as I can!" I exclaimed.
The girl sighed and shook her head. "It isn't that simple."
"You think I don't know that?" I questioned. "I had my entire life planned out until that bastard stole it from me! You expect me not to harbor any resentment, well fuck that! Of course I'm going to be pissed! Here's some girl I don't even know telling me that I should embrace the fact that I'm practically dead and never going to see my mother and my father again!"
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but you can't keep going around and expect leeway from our master," the girl said.
"Your master, not mine," I said.
The girl sighed and shook her head sadly, "I was hoping that you would have more sense than this, but apparently I was wrong."
"Look, girl, I don't want to be here and I sure as hell don't want to be a fuckin' slave!"
"That isn't your choice to make."
"It damn well should be! It's my life that our" I spit the word "our" at the girl in anger, "master fuckin' ruined! You expect me to be okay with that?"
"No, gladiator, I don't," the girl said softly.
"Then why are you here?" I demanded.
At this the girl blushed and I briefly wondered at it. I pushed that thought aside and waited for my answer. "Becauseourmasterwantedmetocheckuponyou," the girl said quickly.
"What?"
The girl took a deep breath and said slower, "Because our master wanted me to check up on you."
I snorted and asked, "Then why did you blush?"
The girl blushed again and I took in what she was wearing. She was wearing a loincloth of sorts that covered her waist and her parts, and a type of covering that covered her breasts. "Because I hoped that as another human on board this vessel, I wouldn't be alone anymore," the girl said softly.
"Well, I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I may not be around much longer," I said. "After all, I am a gladiator."
"Don't call me that!"
"Call you what?"
"Sweetheart!"
"Then what do I call you?"
"Julie, my name is Julie Harrison."
"Well, Julie Harrison, my name is Ben," I said bowing to her.
"That's all I get is a first name?" Julie grumbled. "I told you my last name!"
I smiled and said, "Fine, I'm Ben Gorslav."
Julie's eyes widened at my name and she took a couple of steps back. "You're that senator's kid!"
"I am," I acknowledged.
"You have two younger brothers!"
"Both whom I was very close to," I said. "I highly doubt that I'll see them again after all of this."
Julie opened her mouth to say something only to be stopped by the sound of the door opening. Standing in the doorway was the one I was loath to see, our master.
"Master," Julie said dropping her head submissively.
"Ju'lee" the yautja said with a purr. The yautja then turned his attention to me and asked, "How are you doing?"
"Peachy," I answered.
The yautja tilted his head to the side and Julie clarified, "It means that he's fine." She glared at me as if to tell me to knock off my sarcasm.
"Good," the predator said. "Training can resume."
"How long have I been in here?" I asked. "Master?"
"Two hours," the predator said. "You heal fast for an ooman."
"I'll take that as a complement," I said. "What will we be training with this time?"
"We will need to find you a weapon that suits your fighting style."
"My fighting style?" I asked.
"Sei-i, it is very similar to a yautjas, just not refined enough," the predator said.
I nodded and was once again led to the training area. The only difference was that the predator and I were not alone Julie had accompanied us. The predator led me to the wall with all of the weapons and I felt drawn to a double-edged sword that was three and a half feet in length and had a hand-and-a-half grip hilt. The hilt, cross guard, and scabbard were all black and next to that was a katana. "How many weapons can I receive?" I asked.
"A total number of twenty is the maximum," the predator replied.
"Twenty?" I muttered under my breath.
"That sword would fit well if you trained with it every day," the predator said.
"Which one?" I asked.
"Both," the yautja said motioning towards the double-edged sword and the katana.
"Alright, do you have a practice one so I don't end up killing myself with it?" I asked.
"Sei-i," the predator said.
"Kay, lets get started," I said.
The predator nodded and went over to another wall where there were blunted weapons that would still hurt or leave broken bones. He grabbed a spear looking thing for himself and then a katana and a sword for me. He tossed the two swords to me and I wondered which one to use. I settled on using the katana first and settled into a fighting stance. I had taken some kendo classes when I was ten until I had turned eighteen. I knew how to use a katana.
"Dtai'k-de!" the predator roared as he charged at me.
I was able to block and parry the attacks of the double-ended spear that the predator was wielding. He and I fought back and forth looking for some ground. I knew that I was still outmatched, but I didn't let that stop me. I felt the cold tickle of the spear touch my neck and I stopped what I was doing and the predator simply said, "Dead." and then backed away.
"Again, dtai'k-de!" the predator barked.
This time we charged each other and I was able to land a solid blow to the predator's thigh and then I felt the spear against the back of my neck. "Dead," the predator all but purred.
The predator let me stand back up and I settled into a good defensive stance and let the alien come to me. When he reached me, I rolled to my left and swept the katana at the same time, hoping to at least mimic hamstringing him. The predator jumped up and landed on top of the blade and I let go of it as the spear descended towards me. I rolled backwards as the spear was jabbed where I had been only seconds before. The predator dropped his spear and advanced towards me. I stood up and as soon as he was within reach, I performed a butterfly kick, which I was pleasantly surprised connected with the predators head. It must have shocked the predator too, because he stood there looking dumbfounded that I had actually landed a solid blow on him. I pressed my advantage and launched a barrage of quick attacks on his torso, only to be met with solid muscle. I didn't care; I continued my assault on my "master's" body. The yautja snapped out of whatever stupor he was in and roared at me. I didn't care until I felt a hard punch connect with my left collarbone. I felt that snap and then the right one snapped as another punch landed. Another swift punch to my chin and I was out once again.
Authors Note:
I would like to thank Guest and FireFox Vixen for the reviews. I would really like to thank FFV for the fav and the follow.
Guest: I hope that this wasn't as choppy as the first chapter was.
FFV: back at ya. I'm glad you found this story interesting.
Please R&R
