The arena was packed full
If people had to pay before entrance, I’m sure the organizers would be grinning wildly like “cheshire cats” at the huge profits they would realize from this, but that was no the case. There were no chants, stomping of feet or songs that usually accompanied events in this place, instead there was a sound like waterfall, as a result of the murmuring of the crowd, each wondering the cause for the impromptu gathering. The next meeting was still 5days away, but apparently this was an emergency so they had to leave their stores and their businesses to witness it.
I remained huddled in the with the rest of my people, trying to stay warm even as our necks, hands and feet had been chained together, not for once looking defeated, but with looks of defiance in varying degrees mirrored in one another’s faces. Someone coughed behind me and I turned round to see my sister, her once shiny black hair that I loved running my hands through as she brushed it now roughly woven and brown, her ever smiling dimpled face now pale with sunken cheeks. She tried in vain to give me a hopeful smile but I reached out for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, I couldn’t help but remember this same gesture between our parents as they gave up their lives for ours a while back. They thought we would be safe, and that we would live to “ripe old age” (whatever that means…..) but I guess they would be disappointed, seeing as we had no plan so f living any longer than they did. Immediately they ceased to exist in our lives, we swore solemnly to ourselves to either avenge their deaths or die trying, we were about to do both.
A hush fell over the gathering as the ruling members of the “Elite” filed in from the secret chambers they held their meetings, having decided on our fate and the fate of the rest of the members of the “Sect” locked up with us. The “Elite” and The “Sect” had been at each other’s necks since the beginning of time, one thrived at the expense of the other, we were taught to despise any association with the “elite” or their numerous followers; they were not to be trusted and I suppose they must have said the same to their followers as regards members of the “Sect”.
Though I must say, my life was pretty boring and uneventful till the day I was summoned to witness the “phony trial” of my parents, there and then I became a fanatic. My parents were gruesomely executed in an act of betrayal by the “Elite”, the same “Elite” that would soon have us killed in like manner, the “Elite” in guise of a truce called the ruling members of the “Sect” to a meeting with them to end all differences on supposed neutral territory, but it turned out to be a trap. They abducted them and made a flagrant display of their execution all over the federation, with numerous networks broadcasting live, visual images to millions of viewers all over the federation, now they are about to witness the first of many attacks against the “Elite”, perhaps the greatest.
The crowd suddenly started a rumble which gradually evolved into a chant, signifying the arrival of the leader of the ruling members of the “Elite”, The-One-Who-Is-The-One they call him. I couldn’t hide the smile on my face and I looked around to see it being mirrored on the faces of my people, this is the proverbial “Icing on the Cake”. “The-One-Who-Is-The-One” only made an appearance when the ruling council of the “Elite” didn’t have a unanimous vote on the fate of the “Condemned”, it was indeed a rare sight to see him in the arena, clothed in a flowing cloak of ash, with a little clack hat right in the middle of his head.
This was one blow I was sure the “Elite” would never recover from, at least not until they have another leader as fearless as “The-One-Who-Is-The-One”, the “Sect” would regain full dominion over the federation and our parent’s death would be rightly avenged.
As “The-One-Who-Is-The-One” raised his hand, the crowd kept quiet and the only sounds were from our ragged uneven breaths, and the jangling of the chains as we moved our malnourished bodies towards the center of the arena. I gave my sister a look of hope and satisfaction that we would soon be with our parents in the great beyond, while I silently depressed the button that had been disguised in the recess of my mouth as a false tooth.
I held on tightly to her as the first waves signaling the beginning of the implosion passed through the arena, knocking us all down on our faces, upsetting everyone in the stands, while the members of the ruling council held on to the pillars of the arena for support, they apparently forgot the architect of the arena was a member of the “Sect”
But I’m getting way ahead of myself, this is supposed to be just an introduction not the details of “Our Execution”, so let’s back up a bit………………..
(To be continued…………………..)
toluoke 