Free Web NovelChapter 4: The Pit
Chapter 4: The Pits
Alex barely slept a wink after his ordeal the previous night.
His head was ringing, and he swore he could hear the system giggling at the back of his skull.
He could still smell the sharp stench of piss and shit, but he’d gotten used to it.
He tried to stand up from the stone floor where he lay, but the pains in his ribs wouldn’t let him. He just lay there staring at the ceiling while cursing internally at the system that put him in this misery.
"Rise and shine, boys!" A deep, husky voice bellowed along the dungeon hallway, followed by clanging sounds – like a blunt object hitting metal.
"It’s time to move all your asses!" A tall, dark‑skinned man with a scar‑riddled body walked into Alex’s view.
He held a black leather whip in his hand and used its hilt to hit the bars of the cellars he passed. Two guards tailed him, opening every cellar the man walked past.
When he got to Alex’s cellar, he stopped. "Oh, if it isn’t the giant slayer." He chuckled. "And he’s even got a whole cellar to himself." Mockery dripped from his deep African accent. "Talk about comfy."
He added, as guards came and unlocked the locks to Alex’s cellar.
"Get up, and stand in front of your cellar," a guard instructed.
"Where are you taking us?" Alex asked, gritting his teeth against the pain as he stood.
"The ludus, of course," the man answered with knitted brows. "Or were you expecting to be taken to a brothel, to suckle on the tits of a whore as a pat on the back for slaying one giant?" This gave rise to chuckles from the inmates.
"N‑No! I‑I just thought we’d be given breakfast first." Alex stuttered, his face flushed.
"Forgive me, your highness," the tall, dark‑skinned man said, amused. "Let me fix that." He gestured to the two guards. They grabbed Alex by the arms from behind as the man instructed: "Take him to the pit. Our giant slayer is hungry."
The rest of the inmates continued to laugh as Alex was dragged away.
---
Alex was dragged to a part of the Colosseum he wasn’t sure anyone was meant to see.
The air around was thick with the heaviest smell of shit and piss. It made the stench in the dungeon area smell like roses in comparison. Alex wanted to hurl his already empty stomach out.
He’d been trying to talk his way out of the situation on the way there.
"I’m telling you, I didn’t really mean I was hungry. I was just currio‑"
A fist cracked into his chin, cutting his sentence short. He could taste blood seeping into his mouth from the cut. He spat out a mouthful as they reached the mouth of a deep pit.
The stench coming from it was so bad it made his eyes water.
Alex looked inside, and at a depth he saw a pool of black sludge that looked and smelled like shit – it was shit.
He saw someone already half‑submerged, looking up at them.
"You can’t be seriou‑" Before Alex could complete his sentence, he was thrown into the pit.
He landed with a splat, sending waves and splashes of shit everywhere. He was expecting to feel the pain of the impact, until he heard – ’Ping! +3 vitality’ – and the warm sensation that followed. ’You really are a mystery,’ he thought, staring at the system UI.
The system could absorb the impact of the fall, but not the stench. It smelled worse than rotten eggs. And it looked even worse.
He immediately struggled to get up, so as not to be fully swallowed by the sludge.
As he finally managed to find his footing, he looked up and saw the dark‑skinned man standing by the mouth of the pit. He had followed them.
"Breakfast." The man smirked. "I hope you enjoy." Then he left.
"Hope I’m not on the menu," a figure spoke from the shadows of the pit. It was the guy Alex had seen looking up at him and the guards.
Alex tried to laugh, but the awful smell of the pit was gruesomely choking. He gagged.
"You’ll get used to it," the young man said with a chuckle.
"You’re taking this all too well," Alex managed.
"I’ve been in here since the crack of dawn," the youth said, making his way closer, his movement sluggish from the thick, sticky pool of human waste. "The smell stops being unbearable at some point."
He got close enough for Alex to make out his features beneath all the shit.
The figure Alex was staring at was a tall, suntanned young lad about his age. He had short brown hair and ashen eyes. His nose was sharp and pointy, overlooking his thin lips. He had a stub mustache, sharp facial features, and a slightly toned physique. In all, he was quite good‑looking.
"What are you staring at me like that for?" the lad asked, covering his body with his arms.
"O‑oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to," Alex said in a panic.
"Are you..." the lad lingered.
"Oh, no! No, no, no, I’m not gay!" Alex defended.
"Gay?" the lad asked, confused. "What’s that?"
"I meant – I’m not into men," Alex corrected, as they both sat there in awkward silence, for what felt like an eternity to Alex. But it really was just a few seconds.
"You’re a strange one," the lad commented, finally breaking the silence.
Alex chuckled nervously. Confused.
"But not boring." The lad sighed. "Thank the gods you’re not boring." He said in a laugh.
Alex joined in on the laugh, not knowing if that was a threat or a compliment. The smell of the shit and rot in the pit didn’t seem to bother him that much anymore.
He’s unlike everyone I’ve met so far. He hasn’t threatened to kill me, since I got here.
Maybe it won’t hurt trying to get some info-
"What’s your name?" the lad asked out of the blue, cutting Alex’s train of thought.
A pause "Alex, that’s my name" Alex answered. "And you?"
"Spartacus," the lad replied, stretching out his shit‑drenched arm.
Alex’s mind went blank for a moment, before snapping back. "N‑Nice to meet you," he stuttered, extending his own arm.
---
---
The air within the courtyards of the ludus smelled of dry blood and broken dreams. The grey, thick, high concrete walls were a great contrast to the bright colored marbles of other buildings within the city. It was like a grim, nagging reminder that no one fighting in the Colosseum was a free man.
Soon enough, the seemingly peaceful dust of the courtyards was disturbed by clamorings and rattlings. And next came large bar cage carts being dragged into the courtyard by horses. Soldiers with armor glistening under the mid‑morning sun marched along by the sides.
There were six of them. Six barred boxes with humans, reduced to nothing but animals. Each of them smelled like sweat and piss, with a hint of despair.
"Get your shit‑stained asses down and into position. Training starts immediately," Akosa yelled, flexing the whip in his hand. This gave rise to a few grunts and grumbles.
The barred cages were opened soon after, and the occupants let out.
The sounds of chains clattering, hinges creaking, and the rhythmic thuds of mass hitting the sand reverberated throughout the courtyard.
Soon after, the carriages and escorts left, leaving the men to their fates.
The men stood in neat rows of fours as their chains and shackles were removed by the remaining guards.
Akosa stood there, whip in hand, inspecting them. He could see all their faces, the look in their eyes: fear, despair, sorrow. And in some, he saw rage, determination, and hunger. He let out a brief smirk.
He began to walk closer to them, his eyes scrutinizing. Then he stopped – his gaze landing on one man.
The man was leaning against a stick tucked under his armpit. He was missing a leg. It was the same man Gaius had amputated the day before.
Akosa turned to the guards. "Take him," he instructed, continuing his strides. "The arena has no more use for him."
The guards acted swiftly, locking their arms beneath the man’s. "W‑Wait! I can still be useful! I can still fight!" He tried to resist, but it was all for nothing.
"Now that the hindrance has been taken care of..." Akosa said with a twisted grin, "how about we start with the palus."
At that, the men all moved to the table full of practice swords by the side of the courtyard and made their picks. After they all had practice swords in hand, they made their way to a part of the courtyard that had wooden stakes planted in the ground.
Soon enough, the sounds of wood hitting wood resonated within the ludus.
In that moment, Ignatius stepped out onto the balcony on the second floor of one of the buildings surrounding the courtyard. It overlooked the training ground and had a partial view of the city.
Ignatius leaned forward on the railing, inspecting the ongoing training down below. Or to be exact, he was looking for someone. And when he couldn’t find them –
"Akosa!" he called.
"Lanista!" The dark‑skinned man came running.
"Where is he? The white one," Ignatius asked.
"You mean the ’giant slayer’?" Akosa asked, half amused.
"Yes!" Ignatius affirmed. "I don’t see him. Where is he?"
"In the shit pit, back at the Colosseum... Dominus," Akosa answered.
Ignatius sighed, pinching the space between his eyes as he shook his head. "Go fetch him," he ordered coldly. "Now."
