Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The Arena Part 1 (TAK)

Star Date: ... Systems malfunctioning... No service available...

Octavian's gaze lies drawn to the bloodied sands where he defeated his opponent. A look of sorrow fell upon his face. A strong feeling of remorse is overwhelming his weak heart. He stands at the top, among the seats in the arena; it is completely empty. The seats are dirtied with foul remains of their occupants. Grasping the cage within his flesh and metal hands, his head falls into the rings, sending the harsh scraping of the cage's rings rubbing one another throughout the room. He's sobbing. Crying.

He knew nothing of the acts that he had committed within the sands of the arena. All he could remember was the chanting of the crowd, being face to face with another monster, like he.

Behind him, a man wearing tattered and dirty rags descends towards the sobbing monster. He is missing a leg, his right leg to be precise. Only a metal bar was left in it's place to support the man. With a frail and ginger arm, he reaches out for Octavian's shoulder to comfort him.

Octavian wasn't the least startled by this. He was still drowning within the emotional wave that had overcame him.

The man stood and gazed into the pit as Octavian wept. For long he wept.

"Octavian." The man blurted out. "It's not your fault. It's they're fault. It always has been." Octavian's head pivots to the figure behind him. A further observation reveals a large, bushy beard and his face bears an ugly scar, stretching from the reaches of his forehead, across his eye and, into the depths of his chin.

It's his father.

Wiping the tears from Octavian's face, he continues in a hushed tone. "They made you what you are. I know. They almost did it to me too." Octavian seated himself onto a bench while his father spoke on. "You're what they called... A defender. When the cities were to fall, you were to have been one of the beasts to defend against the rogue and alien forces on earth. It is a horrible fate, but you have powers like no other breathing being. You have your own strengths that no man or beast can counter."

With a smile he said: "You have the heart of a beast and the mind of a man." Octavian grinned at this too. Shouting further up in the stands alarmed Octavian and his father. "I have to go now. I'll tell you all I can later, if I'm able to reach you."

"Thank you..." Octavian paused trying to find the word- "Father."

"Good luck to you in the sands, my son." His father said as he climbed the steps of the arena.

Octavian was alone again, in the arena.

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