It took time but they turned and finally came to what looked like a large prison cell. It was open to the front and three thick walls. They all stepped into the cell and Cato closed the door and locked it.
“I shall come to retrieve you in the morning. Rest and heal,” he said and turned without another word. Thad looked at his friends and then around at the large cell. There were numerous blankets folded on the dirt floor. He saw two pots and figured they were for bathroom use, along with a bucket and the stick sponge. They were to sleep in their chains and they were given no clothing. Thad went over and collected several blankets and made a pallet. Then he took another blanket and made a pillow and sat down. He watched as his friends did the same. They were all looking worse for wear, a bone deep weariness made them move slow.
“I’m so damned tired, I could sleep a million years,” Greg said tiredly.
“Me too, I don’t think I’ve been this tired since boot camp,” Dean agreed.
“At least they fed us,” Marco said tiredly and moved his blankets around and sat with his back against the wall. It was quiet around them and they heard the murmur of voices. The soft song of birds filtered in and somewhere a goat complained. If he closed his eyes, he could shut out the nightmare. Thad didn’t understand some of the voices and figured their speakers were talking in their native language, like he and his friends. He looked out between the bars though all he could see was the passageway and the fluted columns that held up the second story. The massive arena took up the center of the large compound.
They sat silently for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Slaves passed by their cell, as did gladiators. All looked in with a kind of curiosity, though the slaves didn’t look directly at them. Thad was sure the whole Ludus knew of their arrival. He was sure that in this environment, new faces were cause for interest. How could they not? It was like having a new rival come to live and how would you face them and fight them? As the men walked past, Thad wondered which he would eventually face. He also wondered if he would have to fight his friends. He hoped not for he would not kill them, even if that meant his own death.
He was okay with that. He knew that they were all on borrowed time and that each would die in some shitty and horrible way, but he would not be the one to kill his friend. He would fight them and he would fight as hard as he could. But he would not strike a killing blow. That would be a line he would not cross and he knew he would die in the keeping of that vow.
His eyes began to grow heavy as the shadows lengthened and he shifted painfully and laid on the hard ground. He shifted to his side and watched as slaves walked past with torches. His friends were also shifting and settling down. He put the time at roughly seven or eight. At least they would hear if anyone came to get them. Though the Ludus Magnus was relatively new, the gates seemed to creak and squeak with age.
He wiped at his eyes, now able to let the tears come. He felt the overwhelming tide of grief hit him and it nearly suffocated him. In another day or two an alarm and a search would begin for he and his friends. Within a week, his parents would be notified of his disappearance and then their grief would begin. They would never know what had happened to their son. Was that what happened sometimes? When people went missing without a trace? Did they end up in some kind of place like this, to be swallowed up by time and circumstance? He wouldn’t have thought so before, but he was now living breathing proof that it was so.
He wondered if there were others here who had fallen into the gap in time? He was pretty sure that he and his friends weren’t the only ones tempted to go down into the tunnels under the old Colosseum. Would they have come back two thousand years? Was there a specific number of years that you got thrown back? It was all crazy speculation and it really didn’t matter. Whatever the case, he and his friends were here and here is where they would stay.
“You think we’ll go to hell for killing those people?” Greg asked suddenly.
“No. We’re already in hell,” Marco said.
Θ
Zaza had seen the new arrivals today. She had glimpsed their faces and saw the confusion and fear stamped on them. She understood that very well. She had been at the Ludus for a while now, how long, she didn’t know. She felt great sympathy for new arrivals. It was a difficult adjustment. She smoothed her long dark hair back. She’d had a good day today, she and Etta put on a good show and neither were injured.
She thought about one of the new men, he wasn’t as tall as the rest, but she thought he was beautiful. He had light colored hair. Many of the women had someone, the gladiators looked at them with lust and hope. Etta had lost her gladiator last year and still grieved. Some of the women sought comfort with each other. It was a hard life to be alone.
