Writer's Games Entries

Task 4: " 'Til Death Do Us Fight "

"I think this is where the scores from the private session counts..." Skylar suddenly mentioned as Alina and Zephyr looked at him. "What do you mean you think the scores count?" Zephyr asked nervously as Skylar once more looked around him and saw even clearer that there was a mix of tributes here, which meant the same would be the case on the other side. "There's a mix of stronger and weaker tributes here...my bet is that the same is the case on the other side. I'm guessing high-scores against low-scores..." Skylar let as Zephyr shook his head. "Oh no...I didn't do well...I didn't do well!"

The silence among them arose again as the sound of metal hitting metal once more became the only sound between them until a man, rather big and plump in size called all the tributes...slaves. "Choose your weapon and armor, slaves! Your battles are about to begin! My advice you have something useful when you step on this platform or else you're as good as dead!" He practically roared at them as many of the tributes practically ran to the table to get something good. Skylar on the other hand took his time.

He knew what he was after – mobility. That's why it was important for him to pick the right armor so that he could move however he wanted to when he swung his sword or swords. The armors in front of him carried different designs, obviously with different intentions. There was one armor he found appealing to his desires. It had a golden roaring lion. It carried no protection on the arms, which gave Skylar the mobility he wanted. He removed his jacket and put the armor on before he went for a helmet with spikes.

The final piece to the puzzle was of course the weapon. He picked up one of the swords, testing the weight and balance of it before he was satisfied. He was back and forth on whether he wanted a shield or a second sword. Carrying protection would be wise he thought, but at the same time, it would do him no good if he lost it. At the same time, it could prevent his mobility that he was so insistent on having. He decided to go with the second sword to the surprise of his two allies, who had both chosen a shield next to their weapon.

"You're not gonna take a shield with you?" Zephyr asked. Skylar shook his head as he adjusted his helmet so that it sat perfectly on top of his head. "Why? Carrying some protection wouldn't be a bad thing, you know?" Alina said rather cocky about it as Skylar smiled at her. "I care for mobility and speed...if I carry a shield, I gain none of that." Skylar started as he remembered a quote from his uncle. "Besides...the best defense is a good offense..."

Before Skylar could say anything else, the man started calling names. "Gladiator Specks, move toward the platform now!" "Hope that you don't get that psycho...I mean, sure you could handle her, but, you know..." Zephyr said, suddenly realizing what he was inclining. Skylar caught the tone. Zephyr really didn't know when to just keep his mouth shut. "I'll be seeing you two in top eleven." Skylar said as he made his way towards the platform.

As the platform started to rise and he lost sight of the rest of the people in the underground room, he started swinging around with his swords, practicing his movements, warming his shoulder-blades for the movements he would need to win against whatever opponent he would face up there. As he stopped, his head was barely peaking above the ground as the light hit his eyes like knives and he had to take a minute to adjust to it.

After that, he heard the crowd roaring and cheering as they saw the first two combatants. He raised his sword at the crowd, embracing this proud tradition that he had only read stories about before he eventually got to have a look at the arena, because it wasn't just dirt and sand in front of him. His platform, with a radius of five meters, was about twenty meters away from his opponent, but it was elevated. The only thing connecting the two platforms was a bridge that Skylar immediately saw was unstable. The wind alone was enough to cause instability.

Skylar walked to the edge of the platform and saw hatchets open on the ground below. Five or six tigers ran up the ramps and roared as loud as they could. They were jumping by the platform, trying to get to Skylar, but he noticed the tiger was about one meter away each time. If Skylar was to slip at some point however, the tigers could easily grab a bite of him and he'd be as good as dead.

As he looked towards the platform, he got his first look on his opponent – Mango. He had previously taken notice to the boy's exceeding skills with the sword, but he noticed the low of a score in the private session. How that was possible was a mystery to Skylar, but that was in the past. He was now an obstacle that Skylar had to get past. However, to do that, they both had to meet halfway on the unstable bridge. Skylar took the first step out and noticed how unsteady it was. The other boy, Mango, was more careful as he too noticed that he had to work for the balance.

This wasn't much of a surprise to Skylar. Tigers below them and an unsteady bridge. They were counting on one of them to be clumsy and die before the opponent even touched the person. The tigers below were probably very hungry as well, which only added to the entertainment of the crowd around them. They both managed to find some sort of balance as they started making their way towards each other, one step at the time with a million of different impulses hitting them at once. Mango was almost about to lose his balance, but saved it just before the first clash of their swords.

Skylar felt like he was soaring with the mobility from carrying two swords. As Mango opted for a sword and shield, he had nowhere near the same speed and mobility as Skylar. But, what Mango lacked in speed and mobility, he made up for in terms of technique with the sword and the protection of the shield against Skylar's other sword. The bridge was wobbly and swinging from side to side because of the wind. Their added weight to it didn't make the situation any better as they also had to focus on defense and attack against their opponent.

Beneath them, the tigers were roaring, jumping to get their paws on them, but they always seemed one meter short. That didn't do much to comfort Mango as Skylar noticed the boy was uneasy with so many things going on at once. At one point, Skylar managed to break off an exchange of swords. He could see that Mango was worn out by the constant noise around him. "You seem a little overwhelmed, Mango..." Skylar let out confidently as he wiped some sweat off his forehead with his arm. The crowd was cheering for them and the tigers roaring underneath them. Skylar knew Mango was at a disadvantage.

Skylar went on the offensive, but for once he didn't pay attention to the unstable bridge as he almost lost balance and was down on one knee. He dropped the sword down below as the tigers were hoping to get a bite of him. Skylar looked up towards Mango just in time to place his sword in a defensive manner to stop Mango from causing serious damage. He got back up on his feet and managed to swing his sword so hard on Mango's shield that Mango dropped it and was forced to retreat towards his own platform. Skylar was on the offensive and he wasn't going to be stopped.

However, Mango turned out to be a tougher target than Skylar had initially thought. He was almost on the same level as Skylar. His only disadvantage was the fact that he was so easily distracted and that gave Skylar the opportunity he needed to knock the sword out of his hand. Mango wasn't going to go down with a fight and ran towards him before Skylar could get a blow with the sword. Instead, he hit the boy in the face with the handle of the sword, immediately causing the boy to lose consciousness. "Fool, thinking you can get me that easily..."

Skylar stood above Mango, waiting for the signal to kill him. As the Caesar pointed his thumb down, Skylar was about to plunge his sword through the boy's abdomen. Just as the sword was going down, he heard the watch go active again. As the tip of his sword was about to hit Mango, he suddenly disappeared...

A/N: The task sent our tributes to Rome and the Colosseum. Our opponents in the fight was based on the scores from the first task. Strongest vs. weakest and so on. My opponent in this task didn't hand in, and had his third strike so I moved on. On the scoring board, Skylar is in the lead by one point to two or three others...