Red Sky: Chapter 30

Hades was there. He was never at the elevators in the morning. He hadn’t marched out with us. He had been waiting in the morning heat hiding in the desert like a fat iguana.

I was happy to see his red-striped helmet. When it came to numbers the Lion still had the advantage. No matter how many newts were willing to fight with us, the Lion had more inmates. But the presence of Hades meant Goodwell had come up with another solution.

“21377, 22889.” Hades called out our numbers. I was in my usual spot in the middle of the second line. I leaned to my right to see above the head in front of me. The Lion was in the front of the third line like always. Bug Eyes took him off the laser chain and marched him to Hades. A guard I couldn’t recognize came over and released me from my line.

The Lion and I stood in front of Hades.

“We’ve been having trouble with the elevators,” Hades announced, even though we had been using the elevators every morning without any problem.

“These two volunteers will test elevator number one. When they return from the mine and we know the elevators are working properly, we will commence mining for the day.”

This was Goodwell’s way of eliminating me. The Lion would do his work for him.

Even a prison warden doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. That’s what I thought as I stood next to the Lion, neither of us looking at each other. Red clouds floated through Hades’ darkened visor. I watched those clouds as the rest of my senses focused on the Lion. I could smell him. He smelled of sweat and menace and death. My mind was already working on tactics. Would he attack me as soon as the elevator doors closed? The imbalance created by the drop would give me a chance to offset his advantage in strength.

“Click.” The tether went on to my belt locking us together.

We were guided into the tower. The Lion huffed and puffed as we stood under the blue lights not looking at each other. I could still feel him though. I could feel every one of his movements, the tiniest twitch of his body. He scratched his leg with his right hand. He impatiently shuffled his feet.  

The doors closed and I flinched, showing a nervousness I wanted to hide. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a smirk form across the Lion’s lips. He had been waiting for a moment like this. It’s what he lived for. No more subtle politics or mind games, just a battle to the death.

Despite my nerves, I was ready, too. I was ready because I knew something he didn’t. I knew a battle to the death has nothing to do with physical strength. I glanced at him again. He thought strength was all he needed. That’s all he ever thought mattered. He didn’t have any doubt about that. Those without doubt are the most dangerous people in the world. They’re capable of the most horrendous acts because of their certainty. But that lack of doubt would make him predictable, too. Confidence began to grow within me. I was ready for him. Was he ready for me?   

*

The Lion got off the elevator first and positioned himself in front of the tool shed.

“How badly do you want to live?” He asked.

“Why are you doing their work for them?”

His face lit up. “This isn’t for them. This is for me. I've wanted to put an axe in your skull for a long time.”

He grabbed a pickaxe. I was at the very end of the tether that connected us, my back against the jagged wall.

Clutching the tether with his left hand while holding the axe in his right, he tried pulling me towards him. Using the heel of my boot, I carved a ridge in the compacted dirt and planted my feet. His one hand wasn’t going to be strong enough to move me.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” he said.

I stayed silent, motionless. We continued our game of tug-of-war. He had the advantage if I moved first. If I made him come to me I might have a chance.

He took another pickaxe from the shed.

“Don’t you want this?”

He threw it to the ground halfway between us. I looked at the axe, my eyes dancing. It was an obvious attempt to lure me towards him, but it was still difficult to resist.

I forced myself to stay where I was. I wasn’t about to be outsmarted by the Lion. He may kill me, but I’ll be damned if he does it by outsmarting me.

“You’re going to have to come and get me.” I said.

He stomped the ground ready to charge. I looked around to see if there were any loose rocks I could use as a weapon. I grabbed at the wall behind me and came away with dust. The stomping increased. The Lion had gone feral. I braced myself for a charge.

But he didn’t charge.

Slowly, very slowly, he walked towards me. Maybe he was smarter than I thought.

I made sure to keep pulling in the loose tether so it remained taught. He was halfway to me standing over the axe on the ground.

“You had your chance for a fair fight.” He bent down and picked up the second pickaxe.

He now had an axe in each hand. He looked like a Viking ready to pillage a small town. I remained still, my wide eyes scanning.

He started again. I continued to keep the line taut reeling him in like a fish. But he was moving too slowly for my purposes. He waved the axes in the air.

“Which arm should I take first? Your right one? Your left one? Maybe I’ll start with your head.”

I got down in a crouch. The axes were still circling, almost within reach. He had to know I was going to run.     

My eyes darted left. His eyes followed.

I moved my shoulders to the left. The Lion leapt.

I swerved back to the right and with all my force yanked on the tether.

His momentum combined with the force of the pulling tether knocked him off balance. An axe was coming down on me.

I pulled even harder sidestepping further to my right.

An axe grazed my left arm. He crashed hard into the wall and fell to the ground, dazed.

He still had an axe in his left hand. The other one at his feet. I picked up the axe and swung as hard as I could.

It struck below the collar at the top of his spinal cord. The Lion let out a spasm and slumped to the ground. I removed the axe and held it above his prone body prepared to strike again. He looked like a flattened spider, folded over himself with his right arm tucked under his stomach and his legs going in two different directions. 

I kept waiting. One blow wasn’t enough to kill the Lion.

Except it was.

With one action I changed two lives. I wasn’t Com. When it was my life or the Lion's, I was determined to survive. I could feel the instinct kicking in on the ride down.

Standing over this lump, this former Lion, ruler of the red moon prison, I was trying to figure out what to do next. We were still attached by the tether. I didn’t want to be attached to a dead man. I wanted to separate myself and get out of that mine leaving his carcass for somebody else to clean up.

I lifted the pickaxe to sever the tether. Then I stopped.

*

The elevator opened and the entire prison was there to greet me: Hades and all of the guards, every inmate.

“There’s been an accident,” I said in my most sincere voice. “I think he’s injured.” The Lion was lying at my feet. The dirt poured over his wound wasn’t very convincing.

Hades approached me.

“He was crushed by a falling rock. I tried to save him, but couldn’t.” I stepped out of the elevator. The Lion stayed behind. I looked back at him with a worried look on my face.

“I’m afraid he might be dead.”

Bug Eyes unclipped the tether. Hades’ helmet stared at me, the red stripe turning darker red every second. I knew what was next, a long walk back to the prison with my own escort.


Next Chapter: Chapter 31
Previous Chapter: Chapter 29