x****g
发帖数: 342 | 1 The Show down
Darkness engulfs me. My body tenses up and I tell myself to relax. The shaft
of my spear is wet with the sweat of anticipation and fear coming down my
stiff hands. I take a deep breath and think about the peaceful times I have
had with my beautiful and elegant partner in the forest meadow and stream
just relaxing and forgetting about what we actually have become...
The speech of a senator comes indistinctly through the trap door that
separates me and the bloody arena. It is probably my sponsor Jabouwan. He
promised me that we wouldn't have to fight exotic animals or any tough
opponents this time. I hope he keeps his word, I don't want us to get hurt
this time. Our... never mind, I’ll get to that later. Jabouwan is usually
kind to me and he deems those fights as necessary for Rome. I am glad he is
my sponsor; otherwise my doom would have probably come to me much earlier.
The senator stops for a pause and only one word follows. I don’t quite
catch that word but I realize what it is when thousands of spectators cheer
and shout in unison. Let the battle begin.. I guess...
I check my gear for the last time. A spear in my right hand, and a firm grip
on my light shield in my left hand. A sturdy sword is shoved through my
belt resting in its sheath. I always like to keep myself light, but
protection is probably more important than my weapons. So I have always
stuck with studded leather armor on my whole body other than my head and
hands. Why bother wearing a helmet when a blow there would equal death
anyways, right? | x****g
发帖数: 342 | 2 The last weapon is a hidden double edged knife in my boot which I haven’t
had many chances to use. Suddenly my foot tingles as if my knife shocked me,
as if the knife realizes I am thinking about it, and it is communicating
with me. How strange...The feeling worries me, however I toss it out of my
mind as sunlight starts to seep through the trapdoor above me. I have long
lost my pre-battle nervousness, but my stomach still clenches tight as I
enter the ring. As soon as the trap door is raised I step into the arena,
and I immediately scan the field for my partner. It takes a few seconds for
my eyes to fully adjust, and then I see about a dozen slender figures in
dark armor spread across the arena, I ignore them for the moment and keep
looking for her. I am nothing without her, what worries me the most about
the fights is her safety and her safety only, my life would be empty if her
laughter ceased to dance in my ears. In this world of greed and desire,
there is nothing for me to fight for other than passion for her. Luckily,
she is very smart and agile.
Since we both have relatively slender bodies, the only way for us to win is
to out maneuver or outsmart the opponent. For that sole ability, we have
survived this long. It is incredible for anyone to last this long in the
arena, especially since she is only a little girl; of course, she would tell
you otherwise. No less than a miracle, our sturdy bodies have managed
somehow, and if nothing goes wrong, we will receive a wooden sword of
freedom from the emperor very soon. We have waited for this so long! | x****g
发帖数: 342 | 3 As my eyes fully adjust to the afternoon sun, I finally find her at the
other side of the arena. I start to jog to her around the edge of the arena
so I won’t be surrounded as easily. My gaze returns to my opponents. They
are almost as thinly built as we are which is rarely the case. They all wear
similar armor and all wear helmets that cover half of their faces and their
heads, so I can’t identify them unless I move closer. Then I notice the
bulge in their chest armor.
They’re gladiatrices; female gladiators. Gladiatrices are rarities among
the arena just like my partner, but they are always highly trained and
usually smarter than their male counterparts. How else could they survive?
Now I have to face a dozen or so gladiatrices. Is this a joke to the
senators and the emperor? Those Lousy nobles, they must have arranged this
to spite her. By all things holy, they have a terrible sense of humor. Then
the gladiatrices start to yell at one another in a language unfamiliar to me
. They all turn towards my partner who has also backed against the wall,
racing toward me. They’re going to attack her first. As soon as I realize
their plan, my legs immediately pick up the pace. Almost panicking, I hope
to intercept my enemies in time. with the gladiatrices charging full speed,
she look to be very confident. She nocks an arrow in a fluid motion, and
releases it quickly after (briefly)steadying herself. There is absolutely no
time to waste with your enemy quickly approaching. She is able to nock
another arrow to her bow before the first one finds its target. With a faint
pop, the arrow buries itself deep in the skull of the gladiatrix closest to
her. She will always find her mark between your armor if you are not
careful, and she doesn't seem to have any problem doing so to women either.
I always despised the killing of women, especially innocent women. In fact,
I was never the direct cause of a woman's death. I always try to be merciful
in the Arena, turning killing blows to a simple stun whenever possible.
However, I have no choice but to do what is only necessary to survive.
The second arrow flies from her bow and streaks through the air marking the
death of a nearby gladiatrix as she raises her buckler. She is lucky; her
buckler diverts the arrow from penetrating her chest armor and piercing her
heart. The diverted arrow instead lodged firmly into her left shoulder. Even
though the hit isn’t deadly, she stops her run and starts screaming in
agony at the top of her lungs as she slowly kneels down to the arena floor.
I can almost feel the excitement radiating from the crowd. Most spectators
cheer at the action while some moan in pity of the painful wound. The only
meaning of these wounds that is important to us is the body count: two down
and ten more to go.
It is not that I am ruthless, I would much rather run off with her to become
a simple peaceful farmer if I had the slightest thread of a chance. If I
have learned one thing during these battles it is that the only way to be
merciful to yourself in the arena is to be merciless to your enemy. In a war
, you can draw, but here it is only win or lose, and losing almost certainly
means death. | x****g
发帖数: 342 | 4 Seeing the accuracy of her arrows the gladiatrices slow their advance to
careful steps. They all have their shields raised or at least ready to use.
Good. The slowing of their advance gives me valuable time to get in position
to protect her. I quickly sneak up on a pair of unaware gladiatrices who
are distracted by the deadly arrows. I drive my spear deep into her
unprotected back and she tenses up unnaturally as if shocked by a lighting
strike. I quickly yank my spear free and a fountain of blood spurts out of
her delicate skin as the barbs of my spear rip apart her tissue and veins.
She has no chance of fighting back with how much blood she is going to lose.
I quickly step towards the next gladiatrix hoping to catch her off guard
too. With clumps of bloody flesh still clinging to the spear head, I flick
it behind me, then swing it across my head I whip the spear down towards the
second gladiatrix's naked neck.
Just then, the dying gladiatrix suddenly yelps in pain. The second
gladiatrix realizing the surprise attack twirls her body and shield around
and blocks my death blow in the nick of time. A sharp metallic smack
resonates through the whole arena as my spear collides with the edge of the
gladiatrix's shield and bounces back harmlessly, but not before the droplets
of thick blood are flung across her face and shield. She stumbles back with
disgust trying to wipe her face clean. With a clear "thud", another arrow
finds its mark. The arrow digs within her back then bursts out of her chest
armor across her body. The gleaming red arrow tip protruding beneath her
shocking eyes signifies another death as the crowd again roars in excitement
. Four down, eight to go. | x****g
发帖数: 342 | 5 版权所有，转摘请注明出处。谢谢！
以后还会有续篇。 | x****g
发帖数: 342 | | x****g
发帖数: 342 | | s*****j
发帖数: 6435 | 8 写个中文摘要吧. 谁有闲工夫看那么长的英文.
【在 x****g 的大作中提到】
: 以前这里有人要看我写的英文的东西，现在人呢？
| y****i
发帖数: 12114 | 9 i guess most novels use past tense but not present tense.
i did not read sentence by sentence but i did noticed the sentence below.
"The last weapon is a hidden double edged knife in my boot which I haven’t
had many chances to use. "
do you think you used the word "which" properly?
anyway,good luck with your writing and hope you have a frame. |
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