1 The Dream Rider (21 page)

Taurus returned to his cell but stopped just outside for a
moment. “What is this all about?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. But I think the emperor has something
special planned just for me.”
 

The guards carelessly shoved me out of the elevator and
into the suite. There’d been no announcement about who was fighting, when it
would begin, or how many bouts there would be that evening. The people in
charge had left it completely in the dark for everyone in the prison. Before
the armed escort had even arrived I knew they were coming for me, despite the
apparent desire to keep things hushed. My display in the arena a few days
before had ensured I was on the emperor’s naughty list. He wanted me dead, of
that I was certain, especially since I had turned down his offer.

I stumbled forward, catching myself on the corner of the
wall leading into the living room. Sam appeared in the center of the chamber,
wearing the same holographic-vinyl outfit as always.

“What’s going on, Sam?” I asked as I stood up straight.
“Know anything about this special event Mallock is throwing?”
 

She tilted her head and waited for a moment. “I have
accessed the mainframe for all the communications in the city. It seems
everyone is talking about tonight’s games. Though, no one seems to have a clue
what is going on.”
 

I dispensed with the pleasantries. “Can you hack into the
game master’s system?”
 
I didn’t
know much about computers, but I had seen enough movies and television shows to
think maybe an advanced artificial intelligence might be able to pull it off. I
wanted to know as much as I could about whatever Mallock had planned.

She seemed puzzled by my request. After a moment of
deliberation, she touched one side of her head and paused again. Several
seconds passed before she lowered her hand. “I was able to find out who you
will be fighting tonight.”
 

“Well?” I raised my eyebrows.

“It doesn’t make any sense. The game master has never done
anything like this before. Not to my knowledge.”
 

“Anything like what?” I pushed.

“They will have two undercard fights before your match.
The other two will feature fighters from other groups pitted against one
another. Your fight seems to be different, though. It looks as if there are to
be three of you on the floor at once fighting on the same side.”
 

“Ok,” I said with reservation. I wondered which two
members of the group would be fighting with me. Even if the enemy teamed up on
me I would be able to fight them off. If that was the best Mallock could do
then I wasn’t too worried about it. “Who are they? I’ll fight them all.”

Sam shook her head. “You don’t understand, Finn. There
will be three of you fighting against nine of Mallock’s personal guard.”
 
That was a little more disconcerting.
But I could tell she had more to say. “It seems you aren’t fighting other
prisoners this time. Your opponents are the elite guard of the imperial
army.”
 

So that was his ruse. He was going to use his best
personal guards to fight against me. I thought about the bald man from the
dreams that had brought me here. He was one of Mallock’s personal assassins.
Now there were going to be nine of them coming after me. There was something
else that was on my mind other than the nine imperial warriors. I began to
consider who the other two prisoners would be on my side. I felt like Sam was
holding back for some reason. The possible explanation as to why she was
keeping information from me caused my stomach to turn.

“Sam,” I said persistently. “Who are the other two
fighters?”
 

She hesitated for a moment before answering. “Jonas and
Nela will be fighting with you tonight.”
 

The words punched me in the gut. I lowered my head,
distraught by what she’d said.
Nela and Jonas. Why would Mallock want that? It didn’t make sense.
Surely he would know that I could protect them both.
The last thought
caused me to wonder. Sam stared at me expectantly. Part of me wondered if
Mallock or his lackey would notice someone had been searching through the
database, but I decided to keep going.

“You said that the three of us would be fighting against
the other nine, right?”
 

“Yes. That is correct,” she nodded.

At
least we would be together.

“There is a catch, though,” she cut off my momentary
relief. “It seems they have made some adjustments to the arena floor.”
 

“Adjustments?”
 
I didn’t like the sound of that. “What kind of adjustments?”
 
I was anxious now, worried at what I
was about to hear.

A holographic image popped into the air right in front of
me. It was a display of the arena floor and its new modifications. The setup
was divided into three platforms, one for each warrior. All of the levels were
at a different height and designated by the fighter’s name. My name hovered
over the top in an electronic tab. Jonas was at the bottom and Nela in the
middle section, each staggered in such a way that they wrapped around the
stadium’s inner wall.

“What is this supposed to be?” I pointed at the gaps
between the areas.

“It is a wall of translucent plasma,” she answered
bluntly. “And your platform will be surrounded by it.”
 

“What?”
 
I was
befuddled.

“It is a superheated wall of semi-transparent particles.
You don’t want to touch that stuff. It vaporizes whatever comes into contact
with it. So, keep a safe distance.”
 

“Understood,” I nodded. “But why are we on three different
levels?”
 

“It seems that the emperor wants to test you. He has
placed the other two fighters on the areas below. When you defeat your
opponents on the first level, the plasma screen will be lowered and you must jump
down to the next platform. There you will fight three more men. The sequence
finishes when you kill the last man on the bottom level.”
 

I
was liking
the sound of this
whole thing less and less. “When do they release the imperial guard on the
lower levels? When I defeat the first three?”
 
I hoped.

She shook her head slowly. “They are all released
simultaneously.”
 
That’s what I’d
been afraid of. Mallock was going to force Jonas to fight for the first time.
And Nela, while I assumed she could hold her own in the ring, I wasn’t sure
about taking on three of the emperor’s best.

I shuffled slowly over to the edge of the white couch and
slumped down. I stared at the dark marble floor for a minute before lifting my
eyes. Outside, the sun was getting lower in the distance. Sam stood nearby. She
was pretty brilliant for a piece of artificial intelligence. But I doubted she
understood my concerns at present.

“Any chance I could get a look at the nine?” I took a shot
in the dark.

“Of course,” she said happily.

A display of all the men appeared over the coffee table.
Each one of them looked menacing. They were all muscular like Darwinius, but
something told me they would be much more skilled than he had been.

“These men are the most highly trained in this sector of
the galaxy,” Sam confirmed my suspicions. “They are clones, incapable of
bending to emotions. They do not feel pain or sympathy. There will be no
assigned weapons tonight since every one of them are trained on a specific
weapon.”

“I’ll stick to the sword. It’s worked out for me so far.
And everyone feels pain, Sam.
Even these guys.
If you
hit them in the right spot, they’ll go down just like anyone else, in
agony.”
 

“Very well,” she bowed to my opinion. “These men are fast,
too. This will not be easy.”
 

“It never is, Sam.”
 
I stood up and walked over to the oversized window at the edge of the
living room. “How much time do I have before the guards return?”
 

“Two hours,” she answered promptly.

That was a lot less time than I’d been given previously. I
supposed they were changing up the rules in a lot of ways.

“Is there any way you can relay this message to Nela and
Jonas?”
 

She seemed to ponder the question. “I don’t understand.”

“There is a proxy in each room, right?”

“That is correct.”
 

“Is there a way that you can get into their rooms to warn
them?”
 
I repeated.

“I would have to override their assigned proxy,” she said,
thoughtful. “I may be able to do it if…” She disappeared in mid-sentence.

My eyes went back and forth from one end of the suite to
the other. “Sam? Are you there?”
 

A dark image flickered onto the wall across from me.
A shadowy figure.
One I’d seen before. It was Mallock. “So,”
his deep voice resonated off the hard walls and floor, “you think you can help
your friends by warning them. Rest assured, boy, nothing you can do will save
them now. My guards will make short work of them, and you, most likely. Don’t
worry, though. They will see to it that the king and his princess die slowly.
Just because the battle is short doesn’t mean their deaths will be quick.”
 
He finished his statement and
disappeared laughing.

“Mallock!” I jumped up and yelled at the blank wall,
pounding my fist against it desperately.

I noticed a faint glow emanating off the wall. “I’m sorry,
Finn. He saw what I was trying to do and took over the sequencing. I think they
were monitoring our conversation.”
 
Sam’s voice sounded honest. I doubted a piece an artificial intelligence
knew how to
lie
.

“It’s okay, Sam. It’s not your fault. I don’t know if it
would have even helped them,” I resigned with my face in my hands.

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. The room
filled with silence. There were no noises of any kind.
Just
an eerie, deathly silence.
It was oppressive. Sam finally rescued me
from it.

“There is another way we may be able to help your
friends.”
 

I turned towards her. “
I
’m
all ears
.”
 

She pulled up the images of the arena again. They floated
in front of me as glowing three-dimensional blueprints. “The plasma walls are
controlled by a computer system, a proxy not unlike myself. If I could get into
the system and take control of the walls, even for a few seconds, you would be
able to make your jump to the next platform and help out your friends much
sooner, provided you can get away from your opponents.”
 

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” I responded, considering the
idea. “But how will I know when you’re going to cut power to the plasma wall?
You said I only have a few seconds.”
 

“With this,” a drawer opened from a cabinet a few feet
away.

I stepped over to it and looked inside. There was a tiny,
flesh-colored earpiece sitting by itself in the drawer. “I will be able to
communicate with you directly, using that device. It also contains a microphone
so I can hear you as well.”

“How did you get this thing in here?” I picked up the
little unit and gave it a quick inspection.

“I have access to production and delivery robots. The
guards probably didn’t even notice. There are lots of service bots roaming the
halls at any given time,” she answered. “I will activate the device when you’re
ready. Try it out.”
 

I obeyed and stuck the thing into my right ear. It fit
perfectly. I turned to a nearby mirror and tried to see if it was obviously
noticeable. It was actually difficult to see. “Ok,” I said. “What do I do?”

“That’s it,” I could hear her voice like it was inside my
head. “Now I will be able to let you know when I shut down the plasma walls. It
is important to note that I can only keep them down for a few seconds. Once the
system sees what I’ve done, it will override me. So, you will have to make the
jump to Nela’s platform quickly. Fight off the imperial guards on that level
and the wall will automatically shut off for your descent to down to Jonas.”

“I hope that will be enough time,” I thought out loud.
Something else popped into my mind but I kept it to myself.
How did Sam know
I was going to need an earpiece?
She must have seen the arena plans prior.
Part of me wondered if it was some kind of trap.
After all, she was a piece of software
created by Mallock. Or was she?

The lights in the room came back on and I noticed a cart
full of food near the kitchenette. I was surprised that Mallock had let me
spend any time in the game suite again. I figured he would keep me in a
solitary cell until it was time to enter the arena. The more I thought about
it, the more I realized he was probably just taunting me. Maybe he was trying
to make a statement:
 
the
benevolent emperor treating the rogue earthling with dignity and respect.
Whatever his game was, I was tired of playing it.