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Chapter Eleven

F inally the day for Benet’s event in the Games arrived.

He stood on the appointed spot on the turf, outlined by a white circle and waited for the starter’s signal.

All the practices and training had come down to this.

He and four other men waited at evenly spaced intervals around the metal maze and at the signal would sprint toward the entry point they’d received by random assignment and begin their torturous climb into, through and out of the insane creation.

A child’s game elevated to an ordeal of mind and body and nerve.

Benet had practiced doing the climb from each of the five possible entry points, thanks to Nichevsky’s elaborate and expensive mockup.

He’d been told the other major sponsors had similar setups.

He wondered briefly how any of the competitors from less affluent teams were going to manage this and make any kind of good time.

They’d only had the prescribed number of trial runs here at the venue.

He raised his eyes to the sky and offered a quick prayer to the Lords of Space and then to the Badari goddess.

The crowds were huge and robo drones flew overhead and zipped close to the contestants constantly as millions in Outlier watched the events on trideo broadcasts.

Benet was an old hand at tuning out the crowd.

You had to do that in the arena where distractions would get you killed.

He was loose, he was ready, mentally and physically.

The Nichevsky team coaches and trainers stood behind the barricade a few yards away, shouting encouragement.

He tuned them out too. He hadn’t worked with them at all and barely knew who they were, He fingered the red and gold Nichevsky emblem on his shirt and grimaced internally.

Yeah, he wasn’t doing this for their glory.

He was doing this to get it the hell over with and go home.

Dmitri wasn’t allowed on the field now the real Games had begun, since he was part of the Imperial Household but they had their telepathic Badari link, even if both of them were clumsy at sending mental messages.

Benet didn’t plan to talk to Dmitri at all during the event unless there was an emergency. No distractions was his motto today.

The first warning tone sounded. Benet hunkered down, ready to sprint.

The second tone went off and then the starting gun.

He was off the mark and at the entrance to the maze in a heartbeat, using his new Badari speed.

The top twenty finishers at this part of the event would comprise the field of men who entered the combat trials later in the day.

He wasn’t worried about qualifying but he wouldn’t let himself get cocky either.

He’d practiced this route any number of times.

There was a tricky turn about a third of the way in, with an inviting passage which became a dead end.

He’d been caught in it enough times to easily avoid it today.

Having the Badari gift of virtually instant healing was a boon, as the sharpened edges and surfaces inside the maze were hard to avoid.

Another new element to the ordeal was the fact with five men climbing through at the same time the framework vibrated and shook and it was possible to get knocked off his feet or slammed into one of the knifelike edges as a result.

The tiny robos which crawled inside the maze were a nuisance for sure and a fiendish enhancement to the whole thing.

There were ways to disable them but that took time.

Dmitri had said he usually smashed them with his claws and moved on.

Not having talons, Benet punched them with a closed fist, stunning their workings into a stall.

He still got zapped by one or two, a small electrical charge that stung and burned through his nerve endings.

Shaking the effect off, he could see the exit ahead but there were several more twists and turns to maneuver through before he could breathe freely.

Then he was out, vaguely aware of the crowd’s roar and annoyed by the zooming drones, racing toward the start of the obstacle course.

He was first as far as he could tell. He accelerated and made a Badari leap to the top of the first wall, disdaining the rope which was meant to aid climbing.

Next he had to traverse an oiled pipe over a pit of upthrust knives, followed by a climb on a simulated rock wall, using fingertips and toes.

On the other side was the acid pit, fumes rising and making him cough.

No time to hesitate. He heard the roar of the crowd and knew he had at least one competitor on his tail in the obstacle course.

Carefully he let himself down to the wooden dowel which crossed the acid pit, got his balance and began edging across.

There were giant swinging pendulum-like devices at intervals which he had to avoid at all costs, or be knocked into the acid.

Sure the referees were poised to drag any person unlucky enough to take the plunge out, but not before the athlete had been terribly injured.

The third pendulum swung on an intermittent schedule, which was a new wrinkle and Benet had to pause to figure it out.

The acrid air above the pit was making him dizzy and maintaining his balance was getting to be more of a challenge.

He saw his opportunity and rushed through the space, nearly losing his balance in the process but leaping to the ground beyond safely.

No time to hesitate—the enclosure with poisonous snakes was next.

His Badari friends told him he could probably sustain several bites and be okay as his new immune system would work frantically to neutralize the venom but he wanted to avoid getting bitten altogether.

It was a definite advantage to be first because the reptiles were sluggish right now.

Benet picked his way carefully through the cage, watching every step and also having to avoid any serpents on branches above him.

He shoved his way through the revolving door at the end with a sigh of relief.

He’d suffered a small sting on his heel about two thirds of the way through, but ignored the burning sensation and it was already fading.

Benet’s luck failed him halfway through the next challenge, which was swimming through a vat of tentacled sea creatures.

The athletes were supposed to smear themselves with a repellant from a dispenser next to the door, which he did but as he stroked across the murky water a long thick tentacle came up from the depths of the pool and dragged him under.

He managed to tear the suckers away from his leg, leaving open sores behind, surfaced with a gasp and redoubled his speed.

Again referees were standing by to rescue anyone the beasts ensnared who couldn’t escape in a set time limit but Benet bet most people would have drowned by the time the buzzer went off.

He crawled from the pool and got to his feet, hoping his new immune system could keep up with so many challenges.

Taking a quick look at his lower leg was reassuring as the pits were closing and clean new skin was spreading to cover the injured spots.

He shook the water from his hair and moved on to the next and final obstacle, a rope swing over a rock-filled ditch, which seemed almost mild compared to the challenges he’d already faced, and sticking the landing on a tiny platform high above the ground.

From there he had to jump and catch the edge of a cushioned wall with his fingertips and crawl over it to slide to the ground on the other side.

It was a quick sprint from there to the finish line.

He raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the line and now he played to the crowd as he would have at home in the arena, jogging down the track, shaking his fists above his head, smiling, pointing at people in the crowd, while flowers, stuffed animals and other gifts rained onto the arena area.

Young boys and girls specially chosen for the honor scrambled onto the track to gather up his collection of swag from the crowd.

Benet picked one pretty bouquet which caught his eye and a small stuffed animal representing the avatar for the Games and strode to the edge of the track nearest the nobility’s boxes.

He found Marushka in her family’s box with her father, and Kyden and the other Badari, and waved the gifts at her, mouthing “For you,” as he did so.

The crowd roared its approval. A Nichevsky retainer came to the fence to take the items and carry them to Marushka.

He trotted to the finish line to congratulate the next athlete who staggered over the line, after which he was interviewed by a number of sports trideo casters.

He’d had experience with that at home as well, being one of the top gladiators and a fan favorite.

He was well aware how to play to the cameras and give good soundbites.

You did well , Kyden said in his head as he headed toward the athletes’ training room where the showers were.

Five men have died so far — two in the snake pit, one drowned, one fell into the acid and the last fell off the aerial platform and broke his neck.

I’m glad no one in the Five Systems ever wanted to promote this macabre ‘sport’.

Yeah, me too, Benet replied carefully. How is Klorizenko doing? Dmitri and I expected him to be my opponent in the final round.

His time was impressive and he stands at second right now. Nowhere close to your time of course. Kyden sounded pleased.

I’ve got to shower now and then wait until the rank order is determined. We fight in the finals tonight. Give my love to Marushka, would you?

Of course. She appreciated the flowers and the stuffed animal, her father not so much.