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CHAPTER 30 Eagle of Freedom

Exhausted after their fight, both Retcans had little to think of. Somehow they made it through what could've been their deaths. They still didn't understand what was going on, but the attitude of the guards that escorted them to a different sector of the complex, gave them a hint that the leader of that place didn't want them killed just yet.

This sector looked different. The illumination was electrical instead of rustic torches. The guards kept on reminding them to keep their eyes to the ground, but somehow they sounded more respectful.

Soon they arrived at a strange room, not before going through a series of twisty corridors and junctions.

"Walk to the far back of the room, please." One of the guards said, being less offensive or aggressive. He even used the word Please.

The room was heavily illuminated and the floor had many drainages. The characteristic smell of humidity could be sensed.

"Strip off your garments." One of the guards said. Two other guards remained sanding at each side, carrying their rifles.

Zonda and Alpha obeyed and slowly they stripped of what was left of the PX undergarment of their armor.

The guard walked towards them and took their garments, putting them in a bucket that had yellowish water in it.

The Retcans didn't mind being naked, but they couldn't help to feel not only uncomfortable, but vulnerable.

"Wait here. Firm against the wall, and don't move." The guard said as he left the room. The other guards stayed there and kept on watching both Retcans. One of them started laughing, which made the Retcans even more uncomfortable.

Soon after, the other guard returned with a large hose which he connected to a thick faucet. Both Retcans knew what they would do.

"Well... we haven't had a bath in days." Zonda whispered.

"Silence!" The guard firmly ordered. He then opened the faucet's valve and immediately water under pressure sprouted from the hose. The guard shot the pressurized stream of water on the Retcans. The force or the hose was so strong that it even made them loose their balance. But it wasn't the force what bothered them the most; it was the extreme coldness of it.

After a minute or so, the guard closed the valve and immediately threw a corroded bottle to the Retcans.

"Lather yourselves with that." He ordered.

The same strange liquid that their clothes were submerged on was now on their fur. It was some sort of strong detergent. It smelled horrible, but at least, the parasites that started to invade their bodies back at Feastu's house were now crawling out of their coats and dropping dead on the floor.

After a while, the guard shot them with the cold stream of water again to rinse them. The poor Retcans were shaking from the cold, but at least they were clean. The guard left again for a while and returned with a bucket of clear water in which he dipped their clothes in. After a quick rinse, he threw the soaked clothes to the Retcans.

"Get dressed," he ordered them.

"Are we supposed to put these on soaked?" Alpha confronted the guard.

"I said, get dressed!" He raised his voice.

Both Retcans had no choice. With their fur and their clothes soaked, they exited the room, escorted once again by the guards. Walking dripping wet through the tunnels and feeling the chilling breeze that ran through them made it almost a torture. They begged for it to end. But they weren't even sure of where they were being taken to.

Soon they walked through a quieter zone.

"Wait here." The guard ordered the trembling Retcans. They were apparently in a cell area again, but these cells looked different. They were larger and somehow they looked more comfortable.

The guard opened the cell and got in. Both Retcans could hear him talking with someone.

"Why are you putting a bed here? Are you serious? Are you bringing someone in this cell with me?!" A feminine voice yelled.

"Give it up, Morrison. These are orders from the boss."

"Screw Turann! He promised me a cell for myself."

"I don't care. I just comply with his orders. Besides, tomorrow could be yours and your new cellmate's last day."

"Cellmates? You are putting more than one in here?!"

"Deal with it, Morrison!" The guard said as he exited the cell.

"Screw you, asshole..." Could be heard form inside the cell; words that were impossible to interpret for the Retcans, but somehow felt offensive.

The guard ordered the two Retcans to enter the cell. That would be their new home for at least that night. Zonda and Alpha weren't too pleased with the situation, but at least they knew that they would be able to rest for a while.

As they both walked in, they noticed a large, clean and well maintained cell. It almost passed as a room. In one corner, there was someone laying in a bed. They deducted that it was the female voice that discussed with the guard. At the other side there was a small mattress for them.

"This is your new cell. Make yourselves comfortable, Gladiators. There is still nine hours before sunrise. You will be awakened for breakfast, exercising and an orientation for tomorrow's tournament. I suggest that you have some rest." The guard told Zonda and Alpha while locking the cell door behind them. He soon disappeared with the other two.

Both Retcans sat silently on their bed, still shaking from the cold.

"Take these off, Alpha. We need to dry them."

"Don't you even think of getting naked in my cell! While you are here, you'll respect my space." The mysterious human said. She was not facing the Retcans since she had hidden under her sheets.

"We do not intend to invade your personal space. Do not worry. But we need to take these off. We are wet and so is our fur." Zonda explained to her in a very educate tone.

"Fur?" The human asked herself. She immediately got of bed and faced the Retcans for the first time.

She was perplexed at the appearance of her two cellmates. She didn't expect that at all. Zonda and Alpha were also surprised by the appearance of this female human. Her skin was somewhat pale and soft looking, she didn't exhibit any appendage like horns or scales, and instead her head had very short black hair on it. Her eyes weren't empty and had the same blue color of Silver's eyes. This human was definitely not from that planet.

"How did you..." she mumbled. "Who... what are creatures like you doing here?" She asked. Strangely, she sounded friendlier now, but very confused.

"Many unfortunate events have gone through our lives in the past hours. We don't even know how we ended here." Zonda explained.

"Wow... I mean, it's the first time I ever see creatures like you in the Gladiator grid. You look so small and fragile. How did you qualify?" She asked them softly. The Retcans couldn't feel any aggression towards them. It was almost like her aggressiveness of a second ago, now turned into empathy.

"We didn't even know about that qualifying that you speak of. We were forced to fight one of the gladiators and we managed to subdue him. Kiire I think his name was."

"Kiire? You defeated Kiire! Do you know what you just did?"

"We were forced to."

"No, what I'm saying is that he's one of the most important Gladiators in Turann's list." This made the Retcans feel somewhat accomplished. Maybe, and just maybe, they could have a chance of surviving that place until they could find a way to escape.

"We are small, but we know how to defend ourselves." Alpha added.

Both Retcans chatted for a while with this strange human female. They didn't feel confident at all, but her attitude towards them made them feel at ease.

"Here," The human said as she threw her sheet to the Retcans. "I don't have a towel, but you can dry yourselves with this."

"You are kind, thank you." Zonda replied. But he never took his eyes from hers. Trusting a human led them to serious and life-threatening situations in their past. Trusting a human is what led them to that place after all. But they didn't have a choice but to at least form some sort of partnership if they were to share the same cell.

The Retcans finally could take their soaked garments off and dry themselves with the sheets. The human stood up and went to a vet hole, activating it.

"Bring your clothes here. This is the heating vent, so it should dry them fairly quick. It's going to get a bit hot in here, but at least you won't be trembling like wet dog puppies." Those last words resonated in the Retcans mind.

Dog? Zonda thought. Isn't that...?

They both stood and walked to the vent, hanging their PX suits in a way that the hot air hit them directly. They would be dry in no time.

"Do you have names?" the human asked. Zonda and Alpha looked at each other, doubting for a second.

"Zonda. This is my brother, Alpha." The older Retcan replied.

"Interesting names." The human though. "You're twins, right? You look almost identical."

"We are not blood related. Our families were very close to each other, and we were technically raised together." Zonda continued.

"Morrison..." The human said. "Mayra Morrison." She finally introduced herself.

The name seemed different than what they have heard of so far. That, added to her appearance, made the Retcans suspect that she wasn't from that planet.

A couple of hours passed as the Retcans told her how they ended up there. They never spoke of what happened before they crash landed in the planet, though. It wasn't a surprise for Morrison. Many of the ones that end up in the arena were outsiders that were either tricked by Feastus, or by other deceivers that also worked for Turann. This was the way that this planet worked.

"I led a flight formation. We were testing new models for an exploration vessel when my team of four rookie pilots got caught in a strange vortex." She explained. "I don't know if it was a magnetic storm that created a rip in time-space, or if it was a wormhole. I should've known better than to approach a no-flight zone."

"Where are they?" Zonda asked.

"Killed by Turann and his men. Our story isn't that different from yours. We trusted the wrong people."

"I think that the mistake was entering this city in the first place." Alpha added. He was now curled up in the sheets, trying to have a rest from the horrible experience of a couple of hours ago.

"It was not like we had another option. There isn't anything else in this planet for what I know." Morrison replied. As far as the Retcans could confirm, she was right. There was nothing but scorching sand in this dreaded planet.

"You have heard about the so-called 'Slaughter Events' right?" She asked. "That's how my crew got killed. You see, if you're brought in here, there are two ways things can end for you. First you go through a qualifying session, and if you're not strong enough, you are reserved for the Slaughter Events. Once you are classified as 'meat' as the call it, your life is over. The other one is qualifying as a gladiator. You basically extend your life for as long as you are able to fight."

"But what is that exactly? The slaughter events," Zonda dared to ask.

"You don't really want to know, but I'll tell you anyway. Slaughter events are basically just that. There are two modes for it. The first one, they basically tie the meat at the center of the arena. The public who pay generous amount of money can come down to the arena and torture the meat for fifteen minutes with whatever weapon or tool they choose from as the rest of the crowd just watches. At the end, the collar is activated."

"The second mode is that the weakest meat is thrown into the arena." Morrison continued. "The strongest of the gladiators is brought in so he can slowly but brutally kill him for amusement of the public." She explained. Retcans were shocked. They didn't even know how to respond to that.

"Call yourselves lucky, Zonda and Alpha. As gladiators, you will have privileges. Of course, that won't hide the fact that you are still prisoners; for ever."

"We won't stay here for long. I can assure you that." Zonda responded assertively.

"The hopes of escaping..." Morrison sighed. "That's normal for newbie's like you two. Soon you will learn that there is no way of escaping this place. Accept you fate as I did seven years ago." She said while she laid back in her bed.

"No, human. I will think of something."

"You better not! If they catch you planning something, they will kill you. You have no idea how many have tried it and failed. Resign yourselves to this place until the day of your deaths!" Morrison was very rude after Zonda suggested a plan for escaping. She didn't talk to them for the rest of the night. Thinking about their situation, Zonda and Alpha finally vanished away, falling asleep without even knowing...

A loud bang woke the Retcans up. It was a guard hitting the cell bars with his rifle.

"Wake up!" He yelled. "Breakfast!"

Both Retcans got of their mattress and walked to the cell door. Morrison was already awake, doing pull ups in a bar that crossed the cell's ceiling. Her incredibly defined back and strong arms were very evident from the light that came from above her, as she already counted to forty.

"Eat." The guard ordered after being given three plates with unidentified contents by other two guards that brought them. They soon walked away.

"Morrison, your food is here." Zonda approached her cautiously and respectfully.

Morrison dropped down and took the plate from the Retcan's hand-paws.

She ate in silence as both Retcans tried to find a way to start conversation and forget about the small altercate of last night.

"You look strong. It seems that you are an experienced warrior." Zonda told Morrison, trying to flatter her, although risking another altercate.

"I am soldier. Lieutenant Mayra Morrison, from the 125th division of the Eagle of Freedom Space Colony Defense Army. I used to be a high rank female official in charge of a group of meat heads that I used to call my squad. I have to be in shape to impose authority. Or had, that is."

"I don't see how gender could make a difference." Zonda questioned her.

"Your race probably doesn't exhibit sexual dimorphism, as well as your society doesn't have established customs when it comes to gender. Am I right?" She confronted him seriously. She spoke fast and with a rigid tone.

"Huh?" Zonda replied confused.

"If I'm correct after seeing you yesterday with nothing on, your bodies probably work the same way as ours. So there must be females in your race. And if I'm correct, females probably look the same way as you do, other than your sexual organs of course, and thus, there isn't really a social difference between both genders. I've seen it before so I know what I'm talking about. It doesn't work that way with us humans." She explained seriously.

"I guess I get your point. And you are right." Zonda replied a little embarrassed after such awkward explanation.

After sitting down next to his brother, Zonda inspected the contents of the plate. A strange piece of oily bread of some kind, and an extremely unappetizing grey pulp were all that they were given. The meal didn't have a defined smell.

"Eat it. This is pure protein and it will keep you satisfied for hours." Morrison told them.

Not sure about it, the Retcans decided to eat it anyway. Both things didn't really have a taste. They were neither salty nor sweet. It was just a contrast of strange textures.

"You'll get used to it." The human confessed. "If you manage to go through the tournament alive, then we'll be part of a banquet as a gift. But make sure to end up in the first three places."

"So it's not necessarily a fight to the death?" Zonda dared to ask while eating the sandy textured, greasy square of 'bread.'

"All fights are to the death. But it all depends on your opponents, and if Turann decides to end the match before someone dies. Some gladiators are really famous here, so he likes to make sure to keep them alive for the public."

"Let me make this clear." Morrison continued. "You better toughen up. You two will eventually be put against each other. If Turann gives the order for it to be a fight to death, you'll have to be ready to ki..."

"NO!" Alpha yelled, interrupting the human.

"Don't even dare to say that." Zonda jumped out of the mattress. "We would rather be killed by these collars before we lay a finger in each other."

"So be it, then." Morrison said. She continued to eat casually as if nothing ever happened. "But you better have it clear. This is no vacationing place. You are not here to make friends. If one of you is put against me, I won't hesitate to take your lives." She affirmed harshly. Somehow her eyes flinched for a second, making her statement doubtful. But even if she didn't really mean it, there wasn't any guarantee that she wouldn't do it.

That was surely going to be a long day for the Retcans. They were unsure of how this tournament would end for them. Morrison could prove a valuable ally, but after she confirmed that she didn't have any intention to plan an escape, this left the Retcans with a bigger sense of hopelessness.