Chapter 11 Fight With Me

Atar walked in the line, still feeling the pain from the kick in his abdomen. His blue eyes stared at the guard in the front, his gaze full of meaning. "Thud." He heard the sound of someone falling behind him. He turned around and saw the child who had just fallen forward onto the ground. Atar stopped in his tracks and was about to go back to help him. Tears welled up in the child's eyes. Instinctively, he grabbed the hand Atar reached out. After getting up, he saw clearly that it was the person from before and immediately took a fierce bite on that hand. The child's voice was tearful. "I hate you!" He didn't want to face the wild beasts! He didn't want to be killed by wild beasts! Then, it would be quicker to be stabbed to death by a sword! Atar silently covered his hand with the tooth mark, looking at the back of the running child. He thought to himself, "Don't be afraid, kid. You won't die." But his hand still hurt so much! In the dark and deep passage, not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate. The clanking of chains and the soft patter of footsteps echoed. Through the thin wall, one could even hear the deafening cheers and the low growls of wild beasts. Suddenly, there was a jolt, and bits of wall dust trickled down from the wall. The guard, seeing the slaves trembling at the sound of the beast's roar, couldn't help but laugh mockingly. He brushed the dust off his body. "You guys are in luck. That big fella has been really active lately." Seemingly recalling the past when a bear's paw tore through a human body, he let out a low, crazy laugh. "Alright, get in quickly." The guard, now seemingly in a much better mood, directly herded the people into another cell. The guard's footsteps gradually faded away. In the stone chamber, only the "drip-drop" sound of water could be heard, making it seem extremely desolate. Shapur buried his head between his knees. What he could see in his line of sight were the earthen bricks covered with moss. He was going to die, and be torn apart by wild beasts. Maybe he would watch as the beasts ate his lower body. He raised his head a little and looked at the other nine people in the stone chamber. Among these people, how many could survive? No, everyone would die. "Clank." The sound of chains clashing rang out in the stone chamber, followed by the sound of footsteps. Shapur instinctively followed the source of the sound. Was it that strange guy again? Atar's dark-golden hair was a bit long. He walked to the stone door and through the small window, he could see the dark and narrow passage. On both sides of the passage, he could also see numerous small windows neatly arranged. There was no one in the passage. After Atar noticed this, he stepped back. His hands were bound by thick shackles, which made his movements a bit slow. His right hand reached for his belt. Shapur blushed. What was that strange guy up to? Although he was really good-looking, but, but, he couldn't do that kind of thing here! They were all going to die... Wait, was he letting loose because they were going to die? "Thud." A heavy object fell onto the earthen bricks, raising a cloud of dust. Shapur's eyes instantly went blank. He shifted his gaze from Atar's face to the shackles on the ground, and then back to Atar. Atar seemed to sense Shapur's gaze. He waved the key in his right hand, which was now free from the iron lock. "What, do you want me to help you too?" In an instant, everyone in the stone chamber stared at Atar. Shapur was so startled that he sat back and pointed at Atar, unable to speak. "You... you, you, you!" How could he have the key to the handcuffs? Atar smiled. Standing by the door, in the blind spot of the view from the window and right in front of everyone, even though they were in the black underground where no sunlight reached, one could see flames burning brightly in his dark-blue eyes. "Do you all want to live?" The guard opened the door to the basement and walked down the steps leading underground. The large bunch of keys hanging from his waist jingled with his every step. He was dragging a big sack filled with steamed buns. The stench of alcohol on him was overpowering, and he kept yawning. Why was it his turn to deliver food today? He really wanted to go back and have a drink. The guard threw steamed buns into one window after another. Even if the buns landed on the ground and got covered in dust, it was none of his business. After all, those were just slaves, and they were slaves in the Colosseum. Sooner or later, they will die at the paws of wild beasts. Wait a minute. The guard's eyes cleared a bit. Something was wrong. Why was there no one in this cell? He rubbed his eyes tentatively, only to see several pairs of shackles lying on the ground, ignored. Could it be - they had escaped! The guard was so frightened by his own guess that he became completely sober. The sack he was pulling lost its tension. He immediately took out the large bunch of keys from his waist and quickly opened the door of the stone chamber. He rushed towards the pile of handcuffs in the middle, but - The next moment. "Thud." He was knocked down to the ground. The iron handcuffs pressed against his body due to the force of the fall. A cold iron chain tightly choked his neck, and a knee pressed hard against his back, pinning him to the ground. His mouth gaped wide open, eyes bulging. His hands flailed around. His hand had touched the hem of the person behind him, but was quickly held down by another hand. Atar crossed his hands, which made it easier for him to subdue the opponent. His right elbow was pressed against the side of the man's neck, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Die, their enemy. Slowly, the person beneath him stopped moving. After a while, Atar released his hands. The chain that had strangled the man fell into the dust along with the body. He stood up, slightly lowering his eyes, hiding all his complex emotions. When he opened them again, he nodded to Shapur who had helped him. "Sorry to trouble you." Shapur suddenly threw away the hand that was gradually turning cold. He took deep breaths, his voice panicked and uneven. "My god, my god! We actually killed, killed a soldier." His legs gave way, and he slumped to the ground. "We're done for, we're definitely going to die." Atar looked at him in silence, then glanced at the people huddled in the corner of the stone chamber, saying nothing. He walked over, knelt down in front of Shapur, and asked: "Weren't we already destined to die?" Looking up again, he swept his gaze over everyone. "What are you afraid of? Do you want to die in vain? Or do you want to live earnestly once before death and fight back?" "Let them see the power of us slaves." The youngest child, no longer bound by iron cuffs, knitted his brows, tilted his head to look at the person standing beside him without speaking. He pursed his lips, and finally, as if making up his mind, took a step forward. He was afraid of being killed by wild beasts and suffering the pain of being torn apart meaninglessly. But, but, if death was no longer meaningless, then the part of resistance finally weighed heavier on the balance in his heart. The child's voice was so childish. "How will we die?" Atar told the truth. "Maybe we'll be killed by wild beasts, or we might die by the soldiers' swords." Thinking of such a scene, everyone's expressions were filled with fear and horror. "But, we will die as real people." Atar said. "So, fight with me." Shapur sat on the ground blankly, looking at the young man kneeling in front of him. It seemed as if a miniature of a golden sun was rising on his body. It was light, the light that slaves could never reach. The child, with his feet making a slapping sound, pulled Atar's hand to make him stand up. Then, with the piety of serving a lord, he kissed Atar's hand, covering the previous tooth mark. "Please lead us to become real people." Even if it meant going to hell, as long as he could see the "sun" ahead, his heart would not waver. Shapur got up and also bowed his head to Atar. "Since we're all going to die anyway, it's not a bad idea to go crazy with you." First one person, then two, and finally everyone gathered around Atar. Like followers of the sun, they lowered their heads to him. Atar looked at the people clustered around him, his eyes glistening with tears. He placed his hand on his chest. "I swear by my heart, I will risk my life to break you free from the shackles of slavery." He took the keys from the dead guard and distributed them to everyone, asking them to open the other cells. Atar stood alone in the stone chamber. He locked the door again, covered the small window with extra fabric, and stood in the blind spot where he couldn't be seen from outside the door. He raised his right hand and stared at the sun mark on it.