The Arena

By the skin of his teeth, Adrian had escaped his doomed fate. No longer was he bound to trip over all of the shit his father swept beneath the rug. A breeze of freedom powered his strides along the coast; the sand permeated the spaces between his toes as the salty air filled his lungs. He’d never run this fast, not even for track meets in high school, but he knew his life depended on it. He could not and would not let himself fall victim to his bastard father.

Adrian swiftly unveiled his eyes to the dark world he had seemingly dreamed out of existence.

Sirens alerted the tribe it was time to gather. Out of the bushes, three disheveled men bounded from hands to feet, maintaining an animalistic fashion, as they travelled towards The Arena. The scars and blood that marked their bodies were no less akin to that of a scathed lion.

Adrian sat up and brushed the soil from his face. As he gazed down at his emaciated figure, a dozen beetles crawled across his legs. He was apathetic to the insects. Absorbed with his timely arrival to the ceremony, Adrian rose from the earth and moved as fast as his atrophied muscles would allow.

Adrian needed to be strong. Being trapped in the dystopian virtual reality his father devised was bad enough, but he could not and would not lose this game. He needed to find a way out.

Anxiously approaching the group, Adrian ambled his way over to join six others.

The daily ritual took place at six o’clock where the tribe formed a circle. As soon as a fierce older woman named Tigra ignited the fire pit that laid before them, the pungent aroma of burning flesh filled The Arena. The bodies were composed of The Fallen, those who had lost the game, and ceased to exist.

Chills overpowered the core of Adrian’s being. Before he could allow the wrenching sadness to crawl from the depths of his heart, the timer began. Five minutes was allotted to find weapons, hide, or flee. The fire raged and seemed to lick the skyline, leaving ashes as a reminder of everyone’s impermanence, particularly those who would fall into an everlasting, dreamless sleep.

Thus far, Adrian's tactic had worked. He was thin enough to slide in between two slabs of limestone in the back of a cave that almost no one dared to enter. For one, no light infiltrated the hollow which made it very profoundly perilous for a potential attacker. Furthermore, many tribe members preferred to put their lives on the line and let the best man win. What Adrian lacked in stature, he made up in wits.

As the five minute mark drew to a close, Adrian frantically checked his surroundings before entering the cave. He knew he would have to get comfortable for the next hour, before the ritual finally drew to a close. Though he had his method down to a science, the waiting never got easier. Adrenaline would flood his body and force his heart to beat out of his chest for the duration of the hour.

About thirty minutes into waiting, Adrian heard commotion coming from outside of the cave. His palms moistened and each breath seemed to chase the next. He was so damn close to that hour mark. “You can't hide forever kid” echoed Tigra’s raspy voice. Adrian quietly began to slither his body deeper and deeper into the space he lurked, hoping that if he shifted deep enough, he would just evaporate.

Adrian grabbed hold of a jutting piece of rock and began to pull himself further into the back of the cave. As he continued to pull, the unsteady rock broke off and Adrian fell, creating a booming reverberation in the cave. Fast-paced footsteps followed the source of the noise, and Adrian shuffled his feet, attempting to push himself as far back as he could. “It’s over now!” Tigra exclaimed. Just as Adrian closed his eyes, anticipating the bullet that would be shot through his chest, he felt light around him.

He opened his eyes to… nothing. Was this a glitch in the system his father so carefully crafted? Space time ceased to exist and whiteness fully enveloped Adrian’s surroundings, until he glanced down to find a small, black notebook. Before even opening it, Adrian could feel the power overflowing from the carefully sewn binding. As he grabbed the sleek journal, he timidly peeled back the cover to view the first page. It read as follows:

Hello. You have won the game. You have two options: set all the tribe members free or claim $20,000 and free only yourself. You have 30 seconds to decide.

Your choice, your consequences. Accept your fate.

Adrian felt his heart drop. He could not bear to see another person killed, but if he wasn’t there, he wouldn’t have to suffer. Out of sight, out of mind, right? He quietly spoke out loud, “I... I want to be free.” Within the time it took him to blink his eyes, there Adrian was, running at top speed on the beach with a check for $20,000 in his pocket. He stopped to look around. So this is what freedom feels like, he thought. Adrian sat down to peacefully watch the waves crash into the rocks. He was so relaxed he fell asleep, and then, he woke up to the sound of sirens...