The Zombie Colosseum

Alive another day.

Evelynn opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the tiny sliver of bright light that stole through the only crack in the room. The floor she was on was damp, slimy, and disgusting.

She sat up quickly, running her hands against the worn jeans she was wearing for--what? --longer than she could say. She looked around the enclosure, her anxiety rising like a tide. The one light bulb in the cage clicked and clacked, the light slowly losing hope and fading.

She rubbed her temples, trying to recall how she had gotten here. With a blur, all she could remember was her name being called out joyfully after winning the lottery. She had won! Her name was called after someone else's, a person's name she was not familiar with.

She stood up shakily as she heard the far door leading into the room creak open and then shortly afterward slam shot. The weak footsteps of boots grew stronger as they approached her.

The blonde woman, who maybe could have been considered beautiful in her youth, stared at her with faded blue eyes.

"It's time," she croaked, her voice losing its tenor.

The cage door swung open effortlessly. Evelynn felt the cold handcuffs slither around her wrists as soon as she stepped

forth.

The blonde woman gently pushed her forward, her calloused and hard hands against the small of the younger woman's back.

Evelynn breathed in and out slowly, remembering her beloved yoga techniques before the world had ended. Before the apocalypse and the ensuing blood bath. When life was normal.

How did I survive? she allowed herself to think. She had escaped with some others towards a friendly country but had been corralled back. She was a citizen, after all. She needed to pay for her crimes.

When the door opened, she could hear the mournful wailing of the other prisoners. One cage caught her eye as they continued walking. Although empty, she knew who it held, and the cold grip of fear once again clutched at her heart.

They finally reached the door leading outside; as it opened the sunburned her eyes, causing them to water. She stopped short of stepping foot outside, but the blonde woman gave her an encouraging nudge.

Crowds of onlookers cheered, jeered, and spat. She took note of their clothes, untorn and unblemished. At the far side of the stadium, she caught the vacant stare of Rebecca. Her mouth formed the shape of an O but before she could shout anything both women had been shoved towards the center of the place, their backs against each other.

Rebecca scoffed. "That fucking lottery."

A booming, invisible voice echoed joyfully through speakers placed all around.

"It is that time of year again ladies and gents! Our lovely lottery winners have been chosen for this annually anticipated event! I hear they are quite the scrappy bunch!"

The audience laughed and cheered, some throwing scraps of leftover foods and fruits at their feet.

Evelyn could hear the hungry tones from behind the closed steel doors on either side.

"But! Only one can survive! Isn't this just wonderful?"

Another explosion of cheers, rattling the walls.

"Let's give them their weapons, shall we?"

Two rusted swords cranked at their feet. Evelyn picked hers up in unison with Rebecca. They both nodded to each other, both ready for the slaughter, both ready for their own deaths.

The voices drowned out. Silence. The doors slowly inched open.

Evelynn and Rebecca watched as the zombies inched forward, their noses twitching as they got their scent. Her hands trembled, but she pleaded for them to stop. Please, stop. She needed to live. Evelynn looked at Rebecca, who was squarely focused on the horde of zombies directly in front of her.

The two women rushed forward and hacked away at the blood-thirsty creatures. The quicker ones dodged their attacks, sending gleeful oohs and ahs through the expectant crowd. As Evelynn slashed through, she could hear the painful wail of the other woman. She quickly turned towards her and watched as the woman's eyes filled with tears, a female zombie wrestling to get a tasty morsel of skin. What was left of the zombie’s hair resembled Rebecca’s, and Evelynn’s stomach tied in knots. She remembered when her own mother was in this same position, having won the lottery, getting massacred by the zombies as she watched in horror from the stands.

"No, mom..." Rebecca wailed. She sliced the sword through the zombie, her tears mixing with the blood. The zombies were becoming bolder now, having gained a renewed sense of bloodthirst.

"These bloodthirsty creatures are in for the fight of their lives! And the zombies certainly aren't backing down either!"

The crowd guffawed at the comment, jeering and shouting bloodthirsty taunts.

The two women continued to slice and dice, but the weight of the swords tired their arms. Rebecca, through tears, continued to fight against the horde of zombies. She glared at Evelynn.

"I need to win!"

She ignored the zombies and quickly dashed towards Evelynn, who, despite warding off zombies, was able to dodge the pointed end of the sword. Evelynn did not recognize her own strength, baffled at how she could continue to hold on.

"Wow! This contest is getting spicy! What do you think, folks?!"

The crowd chanted Evelynn's name--she was a favorite. This seemed to infuriate Rebecca, who slashed and hacked the zombies, all the while keeping her eyes on Evelynn.

The zombies quickly corralled the two women and lunged at them, meeting their end with the swords.

Rebecca gasped. Evelynn breathed deeply as she watched her sword plunged into the other woman's stomach, going through, and puncturing the zombie who had taken a chunk off her neck behind her.

Blood splattered from Rebecca's mouth, landing squarely on Evelynn's mouth.

Rebecca sputtered, looking up at Evelynn weakly. The zombies surrounding them continued to attack, amidst the gloating cheers of the crowd. Evelynn continued to attack the zombies; she had been familiar with what happens when one of the contestants falls or dies. She would need to survive until she was saved.

"Looks like this is it, folks!"

A squadron of cars sped through the arena, making sure to round up the zombies for another 20 years. Evelynn breathed heavily and dropped the sword with a clang. The cheers of the crowd drowned out as her own mind’s talk came into sharp focus.

You get to live another day. Evelynn smiled.

Another day.