The Champion

Blink. Light. Sound. A feel of… sand? Beneath me.  Open eyes.  Bright light hurts. Cold. I look down. Yep, sand. Also, naked? I look around.  Walls in every direction. Round. No roof. No sun, but bright everywhere. One door. Big door.  Sound again, a loud banging. From the door.  

Door begins to open.

Worry.  

Blinking again, I try to stand.  My muscles are weak, it takes too long.  I sway as I get to my feet.  And shiver.

The door opens wide. Darkness. Then, a creature!

A massive creature.  It has four legs, each with three segments ending in a two pointed claw.  The body, covered in a spiny carapace, rests bulkily atop the spindly bendy legs.  Two large appendages jut from under its shoulders, tipped with double claws, which snap alternately as it steps into the light.  It raises its flat, smooth head and swivels it about. Two oblong ears move independently of each other and its long snout opens to reveal a long, slender tongue which flicks out and tastes the air.

It notices me! The tongue flicks out repeatedly in my direction as it skitters toward me.  I back up quickly but run into the smooth high walls almost immediately.  The thing wastes no time. Picking up speed, it spreads its arms out and opens all four of its claws, staring straight at me with its one wide almond shaped eye.

Terror! I scream, and try to run to one side, but it alters its approach and catches me.  One arm goes low and snags my leg, the other catches an arm.  The pain comes instantly.  Blood gouts from where it tears flesh off my calf, and my arm is severed completely.  I instinctively grab it with my other arm, but it is already tearing at that one with a third claw.  Stumbling, I fall face down, and it steps on my back. I feel blood pooling under me, and I gasp as its leg pushes down under its weight and penetrates my abdomen from behind, thrusting out the front of my stomach and pinning me to the ground.  

I try to scream, but only blood comes out of my mouth. Its claws snip away at me, gouging chunks of flesh off my body. The one that gripped my leg continues exerting force until I hear a loud crack and feel my bone breaking.  With another snip, the leg is removed.  Then I feel a claw encircle my neck, pushing my face into the blood soaked sand.  Then I feel nothing.

Blink.  Light.  Sound.  Warmer.  Still sand, but something covers me. Open eyes.  Clothed.  Metal? Bracers on each arm.  Chainmail shirt, chainmail leggings. Chaucers? My brain registers a word from distant memory as I glance around.  Same arena.  Same door.  And a bloody mess torn to pieces opposite it.

Door begins to open.

Terror!

I have no weapon. I look around frantically. Nothing but sand and my old corpse, or what is left of it, and high smooth walls. I stand somewhat easier this time.  My muscles seem more… muscly?

The door opens wide. Darkness. Then the creature.

Same actions.  Exact same? Seems like it.  I don’t have time to remember as it is flicking its tongue and noticing me.  Again.  I back up, and run into the wall.  I step into goo and realize I am slipping in my own former entrails.  I shake bits of gore off my bare foot and turn to face the monster.  

It is halfway across the arena and coming quickly.  

I look down and see my severed femur. Better than nothing.  I pick up the jagged bone and turn to face the thing just as it is snapping at my leg.  This time, I dodge, and its claws close around nothing.  I roll out of the way and bring the pointy bone up toward its underbelly.  

Success! I have managed to poke it!  

My joy is short-lived.  It adjusted to my roll, stepped back, and grabbed me by the arm again.  It is trying to sever it, but the bracers have stopped it.  I still have my arm, but it isn’t letting go.  With reduced movement I am unable to dodge the next grab and it now has both my arms.  For a few moments it strains to cut through them, but is unsuccessful.  I strain to pull out of its grip and am even less successful.  It cocks its head at me. I smell a fruity scent on its warm breath. Sickly sweet, I turn my head and cough.  

It begins to pull. Oh no. I fight back, but it is stronger. I feel my shoulder pop, first one, then the other.  The left one gives first, the arm ripping free from the socket.  I open my mouth to scream and in that moment it flings my arm aside and grabs my neck once again with its free claw.  I feel a metallic clink as it grabs on to some armor that encircles my neck. A gorget.  It can’t snip my head off this time. 

But it can bite my face.  And it does. It opens its mouth wider than you would expect it could, revealing two rows of narrow serrated fangs.  Lunging forward it latches them on to me, and I feel them sever one of my ears on one side, lodging in my skull, while shattering my teeth and jaw on the other, as I choke on chunks of my cheeks.  The skull holds briefly, but the creature's mandible strength seems to be made for crushing bone.  My head pops as the skull gives way.

Blink. Light. Sound. Less light. I open my eyes and am looking through a visor.  My head is fully helmeted. I can see well enough, and feel something in my hand.  I look down. Same armor as before.  A sword! Much better than a femur bone. Looking around, nothing new to report, except the new corpse, right next to the other one, minus one head, and with a severed arm halfway across the sand.

Door begins to open.

Terror!

I can almost feel its teeth in my face again and shudder. I don’t bother backing up, but hold the sword in both hands and stand waiting for it.  It slows as it approaches, seems cautious, then suddenly lunges for my leg with one of its claws and my head with the other.  I sidestep and swing the blade down, catching its outstretched arm with the edge of the sword, and soon one of its claw pairs is flopping uselessly in the sand, a yellow runny liquid spraying from the severed limb.

This time the creature screams and backs up, as I grunt with the exertion of swinging the heavy weapon around.  It doesn’t pause for long.  Rearing back on its rear two legs it lashes out with its front legs, kicking me hard and sending me sprawling backwards. My clumsy attempt to parry comes far too slowly.  The force of the landing knocks the sword from my hand and I scramble to grab for it, but I am too slow.  The creature pins me with its leg again, though this time, it can’t penetrate through the chain mail.  It can, however, bite my head again.  It gets a mouthful of helmet and I hear the clanging of its teeth as it tries to chew its way through.  It doesn’t work.

What does work, though, is grabbing my arm again and pulling it off.  Its weight holds me down as it yanks the limb loose with its remaining claw.

Now I am the one screaming.  It makes a loud crowing noise. Triumphant!  Holding my head down with its mouth, it rolls me on to my side and stabs repeatedly into the hole in my armor where my arm used to be with its pointy foot claws.  I feel a lung puncture and spit up blood again, flailing uselessly about on the ground under its weight.  Then it gets to my heart, and a huge fountain of blood washes over it.  It releases my head to drink as the light fades.

Blink. Light. Sound. Weight. I open my eyes, peering through the visor to see a large round shield laying on top of me.  I have my sword back, and… is that bicep rippling? Yes. I appear to be significantly heftier. Glancing around, I see the same arena, of course, a new, very bloody corpse, and a severed claw lying on the sand next to me. Oooh, I begin to hope.

Door begins to open.

Terror! 

But also, confidence. I stand quickly, swinging the sword in a figure eight in front of me, and crouching down behind the shield.  Sadly, it wields all its claws again.  I guess I shouldn’t have had too much hope that it would remain damaged. I don’t have time to think as it rushes up to me. It attempts the same opening move, and once again, I remove one of its claw pairs with a quick slice.  I recover the blade quicker, flexing almost gratuitously and ready myself for its next move.  As it rears up this time, I set myself firmly and take the kicks against the shield.  It rings out and jars my shoulder, but I am still on my feet.

It stops attacking and warily begins to circle me, flicking its tongue and clacking its remaining two claws together.  It only takes a few moments to come to a decision and lunges at me.  I swing the blade but it is a feint!  It pulls its claws back before I can take those off too, and sweeps out with one of its legs, knocking me to the ground again.  It is on top of me in an instant.

Not a good place to be. It tries to grab my arm again, but it is well protected behind the shield.  It screams in frustration.  I am pinned under its weight, but so far it hasn’t figured out how to get through my shell. I don’t have much maneuverability and can’t bring the sword around as I am using all my focus to just keep it from getting a grip on my arm.  Stalemate! I grin.  Then, frown.

It has given up on my arm and grabbed my leg instead. It kneels on my throat, pinning me to the ground while it grasps my unarmored ankle and removes my foot.  Then it takes off my other foot.  I scream and flail with my sword arm, abandoning defense to score a slice along its carapace. I am rewarded with a spray of yellow salty liquid soaking my helmet.  It kneels on my sword arm, and begins to eat my calves. I can feel it chewing through the bone.  By the time it gets above the knee my voice is hoarse from screaming.  Luckily with the femoral artery opened up, I begin to bleed out quickly and start feeling faint.  I only wish it had been quicker as the last thing I feel are its teeth chewing further up, between my legs.  

Blink. Light. Sound. Something new in my hand.  I open my eyes and see a long shaft, tipped with a grievous blade. A polearm.  Looking down I see less chainmail armor and more full metal plate armor.  Boots even! Bits and pieces of my former selves lie on the ground around me. I grimace as I look at the crotch of the most recent victim.  

Door begins to open.

Some fear, but mostly anger.  

My new armor is all heavy, but I manage to stand up with the help of the polearm and don’t wait for the thing to notice me.  As it steps out, and before it even opens its mouth to taste the air, I lower the long weapon, rest it on top of my shield and charge.

It hears me coming, but doesn’t react in time.  The blade cleaves through its carapace and I ram it into the door behind it, trapping the writhing monstrosity against it. I keep the shield, using it to block a grasping claw, but drop the shaft of my weapon, turning to run back to my most recent corpse, still gripping the long sword, and pry the blade free from my cold dead fingers.

The creature has broken the shaft of the polearm sticking out of its chest, but it is still pinned. It can’t quite reach behind it to free itself.  Not wasting any time, I jog back toward and immediately begin butchering.  I use the shield to block its feeble attempts to snap at me, while I cut first one, then another, then another, and another of its legs off.  Legless, its full weight comes down on the weapon and it tears free from the door, but it is too late for the beast to do anything about it.  I dance around it, stepping in to remove first one then the other double clawed arms.  It moans and thrashes, spraying yellow ichor everywhere.  

I wait for my moment. 

As it screams in frustration, I behead it. The gnashing jaws snap together one last time as the head rolls back through the door.  A few pumps of whatever it calls a heart later, and the yellow fluid spray begins to slow.  I watch for a few moments and soon there is no movement, nothing but a slumped over carapace surrounded by its own severed limbs as its life blood soaks the sands around it.  

I turn around to retrieve my first sword, and strap it to my back.  Doesn’t hurt to be prepared.  As fully armed as I can be with what I have been given, I pass the thing’s corpse, and walk into the darkness of the open door behind it.  

“We did it!”

“Cheers!”

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Champagne all around. Bubbly froth spilling onto the lab floor.  A woman in a long white coat smiles at two other scientists.

“That was a mean one,” she said, glancing back into the microscope. “I can’t believe how many tries it took.”

“When was the last time it took four retrofits to defeat something?” one of her companions asked the room.

“Gosh I can’t even remember.  We usually get it in two,” the other one said.

“We should have had it in three this time.  We left too many vulnerabilities in there.” They nod in agreement.

“Ah well, we got it in the end.” She carefully extracted something from under the microscope and inserted it into a vial. “Here, send this little champion down to the floor. Have them make a couple thousand more like it and store them away in case those beasties ever get out into the general populace,” she said to a man by the door.

“Yes ma’am,” he said, taking it gingerly in gloved hands. As he turned to go, she stopped him.

“We have some more time today, what’s next?” she asked him.

“Ah, the field research team has something they discovered in bats that they think could be even rougher than that,” he nodded toward the microscope.

“Oh yeah? What is it called?”

“Sarscovto I believe. A really nasty one. Good luck.”