The crowd was throwing money and objects. Marco put his foot down on Philo’s neck and pointed the sharp blade at the man’s gut. Philo froze, knowing he was done or dead. Philo lifted two fingers and both men looked up to the arbitrator, who stood. The man held out the flat of his hand but it was a long moment before he did anything. As much as Marco disliked Philo, he didn’t want to kill the man. He didn’t want to kill anyone, except the emperor. He held him personally responsible for Greg’s death along with all the other people who had the misfortunes to step onto the sands of the Colosseum.
His eyes flitted down to Philo and the man’s eyes held fear. He too knew this was taking too long. Then, he let his breath out as the fat man’s fingers curled up and Marco removed his booted foot. He turned then to the crowd and lifted his sword and shield and they screamed their approval and threw more coins. He saw his sponsor and saw the smile on the man’s face. He was a merchant and sat in the rich seats, on the lowest level. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and turned in a circle before walking off the sand. He passed Thad, who was up next.
“That took a minute for the fat bastard to decide,” Thad said as Marco passed him.
“Yeah, no shit. I thought Philo might shit himself,” Marco snorted.
“Good job brother,” Thad said and smacked Marco on his back.
“Thanks. Good luck out there and I’ll see you back at the barracks.”
Thad watched his friend head below and disappear. Philo was coming and his helmet was off and his face was blood red. Sweat was bathed on his face and his eyes slid sideways to Thad, who ignored him. Thad watched as a flurry of activity moved out on the sand as the slaves quickly gathered up offerings. The music was floating down his way. It wasn’t any kind of music so much as it was noise. Horns blaring and drums beating. The sound of it vibrated through his body. He had seen how the crowd had reacted to Marco’s antics. They had eaten it up. It reminded him of the WWE on TV when fans lost their shit.
This was a combination of WWE and MMA only the stakes were higher here. He remembered what doctore told them long ago, make them cheer for you and you can buy your way out of here. This was his very first official bout and here is where the money would come. He would have to make it count. He scanned the first tier and saw Senator Marius Pansa and behind him was Tullia. His heart did a triple beat. She was beautiful and he realized that she was down there and not in the nosebleed section where the women and the poorest of the poor sat. Perhaps because her father was a senator, she stayed with him.
He would give her a good performance. He just hoped he didn’t have to kill his opponent. He was fighting against Manius, who was a Hoplomachus. He was glad it wasn’t Septimus, there was no way he could win against him unless he kicked the big man’s legs out from under him. Manius was palus secundus. If Thad could win the next few bouts, he would be moved from palus tertius to palus secundus. He had fought Manius once before and had lost. It had been in the small arena and today, he would have to do better. He needed to win and he needed the coins that would be flung down to him.
He heard the music shift and then the gate was opened and he looked over to Manius, who nodded. Both men went out onto the sand and the crowd roared.
Nearly thirty minutes later, Thad and Manius were still hammering away at each other. He could hear Manius breathing heavily; the man carried about twenty extra pounds on him and was an inch taller than Thad. Thad had taken to running and working out to extend his endurance. It was paying off and Manius hammered at Thad and was knocking him back. Manius had a hell of an arm and strength behind it. Thad was also beginning to tire and he was afraid that it might come to a draw. He really needed a win, this was important, especially because this was his first game. Here and now was where he would establish his name and rank.
He thought about the sumo matches he watched while he lived in Japan. It seemed so far away, instead of just a few years. He had his favorites and with each tournament, each match, the sumo wrestlers went up or down in rank. He could only keep going up in rank and popularity if he wanted to get out of here. He didn’t know where he would go, but if he got out, he’d see about getting the rest of his friends out as well. Coins were being tossed into the ring and the crowd was at a near frenzy. Thad then saw his chance and gave a quick elbow to the giant’s solar plexus. He missed, but it was enough to stagger him and then Thad hammered away with a jolt of energy.
Manius staggered and then went down on one knee. Thad brought the hilt of his sword down on the man’s helmet and the big man toppled over. Screams and shouts shimmered over the combatants like a thick cloud. Thad stepped forward and placed his foot on Manius’ shoulder. The man was panting for air, his chest heaving and rising rapidly. The man in the first tier stood and Thad’s eyes darted to the senator and his daughter. Tullia was clutching her father’s arm, a large
