Gyaros Book One: The Mice Eat Iron (YA 17+ Sci Fi Adventure) (41 page)

“Hey, it says we need to write a last name, what’s your last name Lucy?”

“I-I’m sorry but I don’t know,” she looked dejected, anytime the fact that she’d lost her memory was brought into relief she was overcome with embarrassment and sadness.

“Just put down Stanton, Lucy Stanton
,” Miles said and Lucy’s spirits rose immeasurably. She tried her best not to let it show but hearing the name Lucy Stanton made her the happiest she’d been since getting her new arm.

They
quickly estimated their height and weight, and filled in the gender and age – putting eight for Lucy. For bio-mechanical constitution Maxen ticked human for Miles, augmented for himself and android for Lucy. Then came the fighting styles. Miles chose gunfighter, Maxen went with beam cannoneer and for Lucy they put super ninja at her stubborn insistence.

They then returned to the booth, popped the completed form in the box and made their way into the arena. As they followed the tunnel entrance
designed for contestants, the roar of the crowd grew louder. It felt as though they were walking upward, and the bright light sitting above them at the end of the arch confirmed their suspicions. The sound of the audience was deafening as they neared the exit, two hundred thousand screaming voices bounced and echoed off the walls of the tunnel, magnifying the commotion. When they reached the exit Miles shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight while his eyes adjusted to being outside again. As his vision returned to normal he scanned the awesome sight. Miles, Lucy and Maxen were standing roughly half way up the mighty stadium which looked much more impressive from inside. This was the most people Miles had ever seen in a single location in his life. An uncountable number of spectators stood, jumped, screamed and hollered down at the fighters below, creating an undulating and pulsating sea of humanity. Down on the field of play two teams had just taken to the pit and were warming up and taunting one another.

The three of them
were bungled into their seats by the ushers and they were handed a disposable cup of water each. ‘Such generosity,’ thought Miles to himself as he sipped away at the lukewarm water. The announcer’s voice began to boom out over the stadium from the huge loudspeakers suspended around the covering of the stadium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our seventh
contest of the day features one of the meanest, most ferocious teams on Gyaros!” The vast crowd roared wildly sending shivers down Miles’ spine and making the hair on his arms stand to attention.

“In the western corner we have the boys and girls f
rom The Bowl, Janice and her trusty chain!” The audience hooted and hollered enthusiastically as an exotic woman flailed a greasy motorcycle chain above her head, her rainbow Mohawk clashing spectacularly with her garish makeup and ripped leather clothing, creating a terrifying sight.

“Kevin th
e Kreep!” shouted the announcer introducing the next team member. Kevin nonchalantly flicked his black hair which covered his eyes and pulled two cleavers from their sheathes behind him, a sick grin spreading across his pale face. He wore a long black jacket that remained open, revealing his thin pale torso.

“Aaaaaaaaaand Roger
Gunn!” The crowd liked this guy a lot by the sound of them. A large and muscular man, who made Maxen look modest in comparison, beat his chest and boxed the air in front of him showing off his pugilistic skills. He was clad only in boxer’s shorts, his hands and feet were strapped tightly with supports.

“Scream your lungs out for
THE DUST BOWLERS!” The majority of the spectators rose to their feet, some of them waving flags and banners depicting caricatures of the combatants. ‘I’ve seen those guys before around The Dustbowl! Yeah, they even used to eat at Ransom’s Fresh Meat from time to time. They were part of a biker gang if I remember right,’ Miles thought to himself as he recognized the three figures down below. A giant circular screen that hung above the field of play was displaying photos of each fighter so Miles was able to make out the features of their face despite being quite a distance away.

“I heard they broadcast this to screens in New Fortune, it’s big money, and people watch it for entertainment
,” shouted Maxen pointing at the huge screen.

“Aaaaaaand in the eastern corner, hailing from somewhere in the Gyaros wastelands, it’s Eric!” The crowd booed and hissed, Eric did not look very happy to be there at all. He held a
sawed off shotgun in his shaking hands. From time to time he wiped the sweat from his bald head by lifting up his, no longer white vest, and soaking up the perspiration. ‘Aha, now I can see why the vest is yellow.’

“And introducing Steiner and his pet giga rat, Quincy!” The crowd laughed and jeered at the thin man with long hair down past his shoulders holding the leash to one of the giant half wolf, half rat creatures that Miles and Maxen encountered in their first day on Gyaros.
Steiner too looked out of his depth. It was one thing to sign up for an arena fight in a bid for cash and glory, but it was quite another to be down in the pit facing off against arena veterans with two hundred thousand spectators baying for blood. Your blood.

“Please put your hands together for…
THE WASTELAND WARRIORS!” The audience reacted with a mixture of polite applause, some booing and plenty of indifference. It was easy to see who the favourites were.

“I guess pets count as a team member,” said Miles to Maxen referring to Quincy
, “I know who I’d put my money on. The Wasteland Warriors seem barely able to stand at this stage, let alone fight!”

“Yeah, I don’t like their chances man. Poor Eric’s just pissed himself
,” Maxen pointed to the circular screen again which was now displaying a close up of Eric’s crotch. His jeans were slowly turning a darker shade as liquid flowed down his trouser leg, much to the amusement of the psychotic crowd.

“Is everybody ready?!”
screamed the announcer amping up the spectators who replied with a resounding and deafening YES.

“I caaaaan’t heeeeaaaar youuuuuu!”
the announcer taunted and the audience pumped up the volume yet again.

“Alllllllllrighty then!
FIVE!”

The announcer began the countdown and the combatants to
ok up their positions.

“
FOUR!”

The crowd joined in with the countdown
which was displayed in large numbers on the screen as the two teams checked their weapons.

“
THREE!”

The Dustbowlers
placed their right hands on top of one another’s and raised them into the air as part of their pre-game ritual.

“
TWO!”

The Wasteland Warriors simpl
y looked at each other as though they knew it would be the last time they did so. Their sense of regret was etched into their facial expressions, there to be seen by everyone in the stadium.

“
ONE!”

The entire arena fell into complete silence, distant coughs could b
e heard, a baby somewhere cried out. ‘Who brings a baby to a place like this?!’

“
BEGIN THE BATTLE!” The crowd erupted once again as Kevin the Kreep dashed toward the challenging team. Miles, Lucy and Maxen leaned forward in their seats in anticipation. Steiner released Quincy from his leash and the ravenous mutated rat bolted to meet Kevin in the centre of the pit as the other team members cautiously strafed the outside of the bowl. Quincy let out a deafening squeal that could be heard even against the spectating masses and using his powerful hind legs, launched himself through the air toward Kevin, his razor sharp teeth gnashing and frothing. Kevin, cool as anything, took one step to his left at the last moment and Quincy went skidding across the blood-soaked, sandy arena floor. Kevin raised the cleaver in his left hand as Quincy rallied to strike again. Despite being a dumb animal Quincy seemed humiliated by Kevin’s dodge and charged at him once again, this time with even more enthusiasm. Kevin could be seen smirking beneath his shaggy fringe thanks to a close up on his face that was displayed in real time on the screen. He dug his feet into the sand and pulled the cleaver in his left hand back behind himself, winding up to release. Quincy again sprang into the air and Kevin fired the cleaver directly at the huge giga rat. The heavy knife span like a circular saw, cutting its way through the air before striking the leaping monster square on the nose and then slicing its way to the base of the creature’s neck, splitting Quincy’s head in two. The dead animal fell to the ground resulting in a large plume of dust and an even larger applause.

Miles covered Lucy’s
eyes instinctively as Quincy’s gory remains were displayed on the giant screen.

“Stop it, I wanna see,” said Lucy batting Mile’s hand away
, “Ewwwww, that’s gross!” Lucy scrunched up her face in disgust and covered her own eyes this time.

“And Quincy is
DOWN!” screamed the announcer, “that’s one for The Dustbowlers, and you know what that means!”

In unison the crowd shouted “
REINFORCEMENTS!”

Four men appeared around the top of the field of play, each of them holding a cage that looked to contain some kind of
wild animal. One of the men opened his cage toward the pit and a fifteen foot snake shot itself into the arena with the fighters.

“Holy shit,” said Maxen
, “it ain’t just the other team you gotta worry about!”

The brown and yellow snake slithered around the field menacingly, observing the fighters and keeping its distance, for now. Kevin meanwhile made his way back to his team mates and Janice took centre stage running toward the two remaining Warriors
who looked terrified. It appeared that Quincy was their ace player but now he was lying dead in the sand, strikingly large ants and flies buzzing and picking at his still warm remains. Janice screamed chillingly and began to spin her chain above her head like a rotor blade. She had her sights set on Steiner who fumbled for a pistol in the back of his pants. Eric cocked his shotgun and fired a shot at Janice who dove and gracefully dodged the volley. Eric had one more shell, he took aim and prepared to fire. Steiner finally managed to pull his pistol out and was taking aimless pot shots at Janice, his trembling hand making it impossible for him to hit his mark. Janice, now within range, sent her chain out in front of her and wrapped its tip around Steiner’s neck like a rope. Steiner dropped his weapon and clawed desperately at the chain that was choking him in an attempt to loosen its grip as his consciousness faded. Now that Janice had stopped, Eric took the opportunity to aim and fire his final round. But Janice, ever wary and battle hardened would not be beaten so easily. She tugged hard on the chain pulling Steiner toward her as Eric’s shotgun blast rang out across the stadium. The spray of birdshot made heavy contact with flesh, emanating a sickening thud. Steiner bled profusely as he continued to choke, Janice’s human shield working perfectly, leaving her without a scratch. As Steiner’s eyes rolled back into his skull Janice dropped his heavy corpse to the ground with a flop and the crowd went wild.

“That’s two Wast
eland Warriors down! I sure wouldn’t like to be Eric right about now!” the announcer jeered cruelly. ‘My God this is really quite horrifying,’ thought Miles to himself. He didn’t know what he thought arena fighting would be like, but he didn’t expect this. His skin crawled as a cold sweat ran down his back. He was suddenly regretting his decision to take part in the arena. ‘What the fuck have I gotten myself into here! What have I gotten Lucy into?!’ But there was no backing out now. Miles was smart enough to know that he wouldn’t simply be allowed to leave, and there were muscular guards at every exit. ‘Is Maxen even good enough to fight in this kind of situation? I just hope we get someone easier than The Dustbowlers.’

As Miles continued to sweat and worry
, Eric down in the pit was being taunted by Roger Gunn. Another creature had been dropped into the field, a two headed alligator this time, which Roger was carrying under his arm and chasing Eric with. It was a pathetic sight, Eric, slightly overweight and thoroughly terrified was being pursued by a cackling giant of a man wielding two sets of snapping green, prehistoric jaws as the audience laughed hysterically at the poor man’s plight.

“He
y Miles,” Maxen shouted over Lucy’s head, “looks like they throw in another critter after every death.” Miles nodded stiffly in agreement. While he was busy freaking out, Maxen was taking notes.

The audience
chuckled and jeered, The Dustbowlers really knew how to put on a show. But then the crowd grew impatient and began to chant.

“KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM…”
and, ever the showman, it didn’t take long for Roger to oblige them. Taking the hissing snake in his free hand and using all his might, he launched both the mutated alligator and the giant snake toward Eric who was thoroughly exhausted. The two savage creatures attacked Eric mercilessly, the snake wrapping itself around his torso and sinking its poisonous fangs into his right thigh while the alligator heads mauled his face into an unrecognisable mess. Eric’s blood curdling screams blasted out of every speaker for the benefit of the crowd who wholeheartedly lapped up each gory second. But Lucy didn’t seem to be enjoying the show, she turned away every time someone was killed and who could blame her. ‘How on Carthage is she going to survive a battle if she can’t even watch one?’ Miles looked increasingly worried as he placed his arm around Lucy to comfort her.