The Arena: Ch. 4

Chapter 4: Tony vs Elcair
Rain beat down hard on my head. The giant, green leaves hung over me in the trees, giving me enough shade to stay hidden in the shadows. I was hidden behind a giant bamboo plant, its long stalks shrouding me from Eclair's vision. I knew she had to be close, I could here the crunching of dirt and bark under her feet as she moved closer...

"HYA!" There was a whistle through the air and I could here a tree close to me fall hard to the ground. She was close. I had to act or I would be the next one to get cut down. As her foot steps grew closer, my heart beat faster. I could feel the cold sweat pouring down my chin. My hands were wrapped tightly around my katana.

Don't fail me now, OB, I thought to my sword.

I twirled around, letting a battle cry escape my lips as I did so. "RAHHHHHH!" The bamboo fell like a dead body under my blade's sharp side. Eclair whipped around- I had missed her by only half an inch.

As she pivoted on her foot, a smirk grew on her face. She jabbed forward towards my stomach with her sword, The Killer. I dodged, the blade zipping only inches past my mid-torso.

"DIE!" she screamed as she flailed wildly with her sword. I dodged and ducked, but soon she was bound to land a lucky slice- then it was all over. Dead in the first round. How embarrasing...and deadly...

I back flipped out of her sight and the soles of my boots hit the hard surface of a Hibiscus tree. I launched off of the tree over Eclair's head. Surprisingly, she didn't try to murder me as I did that. I turned my fall into a barrel roll, and I tumbled into a sprint. Running the Eclair's opposite direction, I zigg-zagged in and out of the tall rain forest trees. I could hear the hacking and slashing of the trees behind me. I looked back for a split second and...big mistake.

I tripped over a root. But it was weird. It was like the root had uprooted just as my foot had touched it; as if the root tripped me on purpose.

Suddenley Eclair was above me. "I will not loose to you, peasent!" she growled. She brought her sword up in an arch and brought it down. I swung my sword over my body and deflected the blow. As sparks flew from the blade's collison, I launched my foot into her stomach.

"OOF!" she breathed, flying backwards. I flipped backwards, launching myself into the branches above. Using my cat like reflexes- which I had just discovered- I hopped from one branch to the other. Surprisingly, I broke no branches. I was lighter than a feather.

But so was Eclair. I looked down to see her climbing after me, as fast as a squirrel. "I will murder you!"

She reached in her pocket and flicked her wrist. Without warning, a shuriken launched itself into my shoulder. Blood began to spurt wildly from the wound, but I kept climbing to the foliage above.

Eclair would have none of this however. She reached in her breast pocket and pulled out three kunai knives. "Fall to your death, boy!" she flicked the kunai knives at me and they grazed my cheek and arms. I hollared in pain and dropped to the floor below. Falling and falling and falling, I felt the wind leave me as I grew closer to the dirt floor.

I closed my eyes as I was about to hit the floor, and then I stopped falling. I opened my eyes to find myself floating on a whispy, black bed of smoke. Was it magic? Had I created this floating carpet of black air? It dissolved beneath me and I hit the ground softly.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I flipped over. Eclair was jumping from above, sword pointed straight at my face.

"NO!" I shouted, raising my hands and bracing for death. But there was just a loud oomf!

I opened my eyes. Eclair was on the ground, sword wedged into a tree far from her. She stood as I stood. I raised my hands to see them shrouded in a smoky, glove-like, encasing. I whipped out my hand and the smoke sharpened into a whispy, blade shilouette.

"No, no, no! Please don't!" she screamed.

I ran forward and slashed wildly. In a flashy barrage of misty blades, her head was off her neck in two seaconds. It rolled to the ground along with her body. There was a large horn sound that boomed through out The Arena. The jungle scenery dissapeared. I found myself standing in the middle of the dirt floor Arena. The crowd was standing around me, some cheering some booing.

The big guard in the agent suit and The Caller walked out into The Arena.The Caller looked down at Eclair's body, gulped down her obvious spit up, and said, "Torrin Wood is the winner of the first round!"

The crowd cheered and whooted loudly. However, I couldn't believe what I'd just done. I'd just killed someone...I'd just take a living thing's life.

"Mr. War," The Caller said to the agent-suit dude. "Please take dispose of...this mess."

Mr. War nodded and picked up the body and decapitated body. He walked off The Arena like it was nothing.

The Caller turned to me. "Now, Mr. Wood. You will fight again tommorrow night."

"What?! Tommorrow night? But what about the other contestants?"

"Well..um...the Olympians have taken a certain...liking to you. They want to see you battle again. Your opponent's name will be posted on the builleten later tonight. You may return to the Bunking Quarters when you please."

I turned around to see the entire Arena was empty.

"Where did everyone-" I turned. The Caller was gone. I twirled around twice.

There I was, alone, blood on my shoes, a bloody sword on my side, and the shame of death on my mind...

Next Chapter: Chapter 5: Torrin vs Soy