The Weaker Sex

    In Tabitha’s mind, the word ‘few’ meant between 3 to 5, inclusively.  So when the 23rd of May came about, the day of her fifth fight from the time when Eric Lancer made that remark, Tabitha was confident that it would be the last one.
    Tabitha’s morning, or whatever time it was, began in the same way as her new routine dictated, exactly like the last six days.  The music played, awaking her to see all over inmates being taken away to their official work down in the Pit while Tabitha waited for her unofficial work down in the Pit to begin.
    There was something slightly different about this time, however.  All the other inmates left her alone, then a few minutes later Eric Lancer came to visit Tabitha’s cell, as usual.  Where the routine veered off track was when, instead of immediately escorting Tabitha back to the Arena for another fight, Eric told her that her fight was scheduled for much later so she was to wait until Lancer collected her.
    Apparently, this was meant to be some kind of big fight, with several Patrol Supervisors attending along with a high number of guards for the audience, providing a much larger crowd than any of Tabitha’s previous fights.
    As Tabitha waited, there was nothing available that would distract her from thinking about it.  She thought about her last four fights, none had been with anyone larger than her second fight, but some had been better fighters, and Tabitha had killed them all.
    Tabitha had never considered herself a good fighter, she hadn’t done it much and had always tried to avoid it if possible.  She didn’t know if it was this place she resided within shaping her or is she had an innate affinity for combat all her life, but was never placed in a situation where she could realise its presence.  Either way, it seems that Tabitha has a talent to fight and kill.
    The most surprising thing about Tabitha’s discovery was how effortless it all was.  She didn’t feel sorry for any of the people she’d killed and at any point did she think that she was not going to win.  This feeling was especially strong by now, after her many victories.  Her successful fights had given her such confidence in her abilities that as she sat on her bed, hugging her knees and chewing on her collar, she entertained the idea that maybe she should’ve become a soldier in the army of the Olympus Corporation.
    Tabitha would’ve been slightly too young to fight in the Corporate Wars but there were still plenty of conflicts going on all over the world even to this day, mostly with the remnant supporters of the Coalition, and she might’ve made a good soldier in these battles.  However, if she did join the Company, then she would’ve had to make sure that she didn’t get arrested because that could have hindered her employment.  Maybe serving in Olympus’ army would’ve prevented her from being sent to Jotnar in the first place.
    Several hours went past, Tabitha had no idea it would take this long.  She lay on her bed, constantly shifting in many failed attempts to get comfortable.  Tabitha had already eaten both bowls of broth that had been sent to her via the dumbwaiter.  Ever since Tabitha had begun her Arena career, Eric Lancer had ordered for her to have double food rations.  In fact, in this small amount of time that she waited for her next and hopefully final fight, Tabitha had exhausted all available facilities in her tiny cell and was now quite bored.
    Some drifty state in between lazily napping and forcing yourself to concentrate took hold of her for a while.  Tabitha heard a noise, maybe, she wasn’t quite sure.
    She heard wheels, small round squeaky wheels moving over a hard surface, and it was real.  Tabitha groggily got to her feet, it felt like something heavy was swishing around inside her head and she gradually regretted downing every drop of both bowels of broth she was given.  Tabitha hadn’t even been that hungry, she just ate them out of boredom and could now feel the after effects from her double helping of drug-laced prison soup.
    Tabitha flowed dizzily from the area by her bed to the bright red-bordered threshold by the edge of the entrance to her cell, she was thankful that it wasn’t a long trip.
    From the space to the right of Tabitha’s vision, in the direction of the staff lift, she saw guards appear.  They were pushing trolleys with unconscious prisoners draped over them and depositing them into empty cells.
    Tabitha saw their short hair and silently greeted the newest arrivals of Jotnar.  She particularly focussed on the woman being moved into the cell opposite hers, that which once belonged to an extremely unfriendly woman who got angry with Tabitha simply for using her as a lab rat to test the Sensitivity Field for her.  This woman was now dead, and her cell was recycled to be used by a brand new inmate.  Tabitha wondered what this new neighbour was like then realised she didn’t care.
    The guards placed the unconscious woman on her new bed, as with all the other new arrivals of Tau-Block.  Tabitha spent the next half-hour or so sitting cross-legged right by the threshold to her cell and stared at the sleeping woman.
    She wasn’t waiting for her to wake up, as she had done with that cell’s previous occupant.  Tabitha just liked to watch her sleep, she found it soothing and envied the peaceful ignorance of this person because she did not yet know where she was.
    Tabitha couldn’t help but have her mind wander off to think about her next fight.  She didn’t fret about the fight itself, she didn’t worry about who she might be fighting, Tabitha only cared if Jane was going to be there or not.
    Jane had made an appearance at all her other fights, but they had been at the same set time.  This was a special scheduling and she might not know that.  Tabitha couldn’t make up her mind whether she wanted to see Jane or not, her opinions were fickle and kept shifting from day to day.  Occasionally, she would need to see a friendly face to reassure her, but sometimes, she just wanted to be left alone.
    When Eric Lancer did eventually come to collect her, he found Tabitha sitting on the ground by the threshold and poking at the glowing red boundary with her left hand.  She didn’t look like she was testing it, Tabitha just seemed to be playing with it.
    “Tabitha?” Eric said.  She looked up at him but didn’t say anything.  “It’s time.”
    Now, the routine was back on track, Eric took Tabitha up through the guards quarters to save time and then down into the assembly hall.  From there, it was on to the Pit and the Arena.
    Before Tabitha even entered the tunnel to the Arena, she could hear the laughter of the waiting guards.  The narrow bright subterranean lamps of the Arena projected powerful beams of precise light horizontally across the chamber, creating long shadows of every person within so it seemed like the amount of spectators was double the true number.  Each human and their overlooking demon, watching the watchers.
    Tabitha looked at the empty corner, there was no Jane, there weren’t any other yellow jumpsuits in sight.  She sedately made her way ahead of Eric and towards the hole, which was situated at the exact centre of the Arena.  She slithered through the huge mass of guards surrounding the combat hole, some near the centre were still looking down at something in the hole but most had noticed her by this point and cleared the way for her with a look of eager anticipation upon their faces.
    Without even thinking a single numb thought, Tabitha was just about to hop into the deep hole in front of her when a hand grabbed at her hood, preventing her.
    She looked behind her and surprisingly found that it was Eric Lancer, he was staring furiously down at something below them.  Tabitha looked down to see another prisoner, he was at least seven feet tall, bald and a huge scar that passed through his right eye.  The damaged eye was white all over and the beast below her seemed to be frothing at the mouth.
    Upon seeing this man she was meant to fight, Tabitha’s only thoughts weren’t for her own safety, she was simply amazed that they’d managed to make a jumpsuit large enough for this person.  He was the largest human Tabitha had ever seen, his hairless head made it impossible to determine how long he’d been here but Tabitha guessed a while by the look of him.  He was almost as tall as the hole itself and was covered in so many bulging muscles that it looked like his human skeleton was having trouble supporting all of them properly.
    Eric Lancer pulled her back from the brink as the slobbering beast tried to grab at her feet and irately addressed his rival, the man who was providing the other fighter.
    “What’s going on here?” Eric yelled.  “This is the women’s league.”
    “There’s no women’s league left,” the man said.  “She’s defeated them all.  You told me to bring my best fighter, and I did just that.  Meet Lucas, he’s not as bad as he looks, he’s worse.”
    Eric looked down again to see ‘Lucas’ screaming as he punched and head butted the wall.  After a few hits, his forehead began to bleed but he didn’t seem to notice.
    “You can’t do this,” Eric said.  “It’s not fair.”
    “What’s not fair?” he feigned innocence.  “You claimed to have the best fighter, now’s the time to prove it.  I don’t think it’s fair not giving your fighter a chance just because she’s lacking a Y-chromosome.”
    “This is ridiculous,” Eric announced.  “The fight’s off.”
    Eric grabbed Tabitha and began to leave when the other Patrol Supervisor called out.  “Wait!” he cried.  “I’ll double your odds.”  Eric continued leaving.  “If you win, you’ll officially have the best fighter in Jotnar.  Come on Lancer, she’s killed all the best fighters already, what do you really have to lose?”
    Eric stopped and thought about this, he had no idea why he was walking away, so he didn’t do it.  He turned around and brought Tabitha back to the hole, all the time keeping a tight grip on her hood.  She didn’t mind, she wasn’t really sure what was happening right now.
    “OK,” Eric said.  “I don’t care that you’ve cheated, mine will still win.  Let’s go!”
    As Eric shouted, he shoved Tabitha into the hole and the massive crowd that watched this cheered with delight.  Tabitha landed solidly on her feet and thought that she should act first if she was to win.  She charged at Lucas only to find that he had thought the same thing and was currently bearing down on her.
    Tabitha’s nerve was broken as she looked up at this gigantic man who wanted nothing more than to kill her at this moment.  It wasn’t long before she felt the combined force of his two huge hands wrapped around her throat, followed by her feet leaving the ground as the enormous man threw her around the hole with ease.
    Lucas would throw her into an opposite corner and then charge again, Tabitha eventually managed to squirm out of reach from one of these barrages.  What her tactics were now was a mixture of dodging and blatant outright fleeing, which was a difficult thing to achieve within the confines of the hole.
    This hulking beast kept making high swings and Tabitha would just duck under them, she still hadn’t even attempted at fighting back.  Tabitha could tell just from the sight of her most recent opponent that it would have virtually no effect.
    Tabitha hastily looked around for a weapon, quickly scanning the barren rock all around her and expectantly found nothing to use.  This should have been obvious but her mind wasn’t exactly functioning rationally for the moment.
    As she turned back, Tabitha saw the massive fist of this massive man coming towards her, only a fraction of a second passed between her seeing that she was going to be hit, and the blow landing.  It couldn’t have struck her harder and more precise.  The resulting after force from being punched directly in the face flung her back against the rock wall, which collided with her head, sending a shock of pain shoot through her brain as the back of her skull tenderly bounced off the unyielding surface.
    A new series of blows were delivered to Tabitha’s body and face, but fortunately, the drugs from her food were still in her system and these attacks were only half-felt.  Tabitha realised why Lancer was giving her extra food as the large vicious man took hold of her collar and threw her down to the ground.
    Lucas pressed down her face with his wide right hand and lifted his left fist in preparation for crushing her skull against the hard ground.  Tabitha calmly looked up at his face.
    She thought that she was about to die, but the meds in her food meant that it didn’t bother her, or at least she hoped that it was because of the drugs.  Tabitha examined his face and was captivated by his milky blind right eye, the scar that passed through it and down most of his face looked incredibly deep and she wouldn’t have been surprised to learn if it was self-inflicted, just from looking at his expression right now.
    Tabitha herself could only see through her right eye because her left was being covered by the man’s heavy hand as it kept her firmly in place.  She wasn’t looking at the fist about to severely damage her face and/or face, Tabitha was now focussing on his good eye.
    Not exactly slowly, but definitely steadily, Tabitha casually reached up with her right hand and took hold of his face.  He didn’t seem to notice, but he most certainly did when Tabitha began to drive her thumb right through Lucas’ good eye, suddenly at first but then slowly, as she encountered more resistance.
    Lucas screamed in pain, she couldn’t picture him ever doing that before in his life.  Tabitha twisted and screwed, anything to get her thumb in further and reach his brain.
    A thick jet of blood squirted down onto Tabitha’s face, she started to find what she was doing actually quite repulsive as she felt her mind clear.  Lucas’ reactions were painfully slow and it took him longer than the average person to figure out what to do to stop the discomfort.  He grabbed Tabitha’s arm and threw in back at her as he lurched back and covered his bleeding eye with his large hands.
    Tabitha took the opportunity to crawl away in the direction of the wall furthest away from the now completely blind Lucas.  She stared in a combination of revulsion and fascination at this hulking figure, lumbering around the hole as general sounds of disgust echoed down from above, but the guards didn’t look away.
    Lucas’ hands moved away from his face and he started to charge at random sections of the wall as he searched for Tabitha.  His eye looked as though it was weeping red tears.  She tried to crawl away but he found her and Tabitha felt a meaty handclasp around her ankle.  He pulled her towards him, ready to tear her apart when she landed a kick in the side of his equally large nose.
    Tabitha darted under the desperate high swings of Lucas and seized the opportunity.  She hadn’t killed him by attacking his eye socket, she didn’t manage to go deep enough so now it was time to target the second most vulnerable area for killing someone.  Tabitha crouched low and lunged at Lucas.
    She caught him in a bear hug, clinging on with both arms and legs as she sunk her teeth as deep as she dared into the muscular throat.  The drugs were starting to wear off and being replaced by pure rage, Tabitha bit hard and ripped, severing a blood vessel of apparent importance.  Her face was drenched in the stuff as it sprayed forth, splattering much of the rock floor with a slippery dark red viscous liquid.
    Lucas squealed and fell flat on his black as he felt all his blood rapidly leaving him, his last words in life being little more than a bubbly gurgling sound.
    Eric Lancer, along with the very few number of guards who had betted on Tabitha, cheered exuberantly when they saw this, barely believing themselves that she had won.  Eric was about to start gloating to his opponent when he noticed his horrified expression.  It wasn’t the face of disappointment, it had too much fear contained within.  Eric shifted his gaze to what he was staring at, the rival Patrol Supervisor seemed to be still looking at the fight.
    Eric looked down to see Tabitha was still fighting, even though Lucas was clearly dead.  She was biting again and again at his neck, opening up more and more wounds.  Occasionally she would wrench her head back, revealing her blood covered face with some of Lucas’ flesh in her mouth.  Eric watched with a horror of his own as he was sure he observed Tabitha chew the human meat and swallow it, followed by diving back in for some more food.
    Lancer knew neither what was happening nor the reason behind it.  It was true that Tabitha hadn’t eaten solid food in a while but everyone at Jotnar was going through that without resorting to cannibalism, and for much longer too.
    Maybe Tabitha was different than the rest, really different.  Maybe she just really liked solid food, no matter what, or maybe Eric had given her too much mind suppressing drugs and had generated an extremely opposite effect.  Eric didn’t like the third possible explanation for what he was seeing and so didn’t address it.
    “Sir?” a guard next to Eric whispered to him.  “Shouldn’t we do something?”
    He was right, but what kind of ‘something’?  Eric raised his shotgun up to aim it at Tabitha, but that was all he could manage.  After seconds of hesitation, Eric gave up and handed his shotgun to the guard by his side, choosing to draw his mirror-like silver tranquilliser pistol instead.  As he aimed it, the coloured laser guided sight created a small intense spot of deep blue light on Tabitha.
    Eric pulled the trigger and a silver dart with orange plumage was propelled out of the barrel, it collided with Tabitha and that’s where it stayed.
    The dart was filled with a concentrated dose of Hypnotropin.  Normally, this drug only had to be absorbed through the skin to create a coma-like state but this dose was directly administered to the blood stream hypodermically.
    The crowds still stared in awe as Tabitha continued to devour Lucas, she had finished with his throat and had moved on to consuming chunks of his face.
    Eric hastily loaded another dart into his pistol and shot it once more.  Tabitha, now with two orange darts sticking out of her, began to slow down.  She sat up, on top of what little remained of Lucas, with blood smeared all over her face.
    Tabitha gazed up at the blurry faces of guards watching what she was about to do next.  She tried to stand up but fell over almost immediately, Tabitha Roth’s last sights were those of a wavy darkness all around her as Jotnar disappeared.