The sound of clanging of swords barely penetrated the cheering of the crowd. Two boys, teenagers, were fighting in a ring. Tod knew that he had little chance for survival. His opponent was just too strong for him. Why did they have to vote him to fight me?!
Tod put his sword in the air to counter his enemy's sword. The announcer's voice blared through the arena. "Tod is barely keeping afloat against the all-out assault of the 'Double-Dandy Daddy'!"
Still a weird name…
Tod managed to parry another shot from the sword, only to be taken aback from the sheer power from the blow. I can't do this much longer…
Tod swung his sword, hoping that his sword would hit his target. The clattering of steel told him otherwise. Tod's blow was parried, and Tod was sent flying down to the ground. A foot was placed on his neck. The announcer's voice came back. "Now, decision time! Will the 'Double-Dandy Daddy' allow Tod to live, or will he kill him in cold blood. Looking at the stats, Tod has a fifty-fifty chance of survival!"
Tod looked up into the cold eyes of the man on top of him. He knew begging was worthless. It would just be a sign of weakenss.
The man looked down at Tod, before a grin spread across his face. The man changed the position of his sword, and thrust down. Tod flinched, then lay still, his blood soaking the ground around him."
"And that's the fight! The 'Double-Dandy Daddy' has increased his undefeated streak, while killing off a rival!"
A man was watching from the balcony of the building. "Another fighter dead…that's the third one this week."
"Don't worry sir, we'll just kidnap another person to take his place."
"I know…but we can't keep on kidnapping forever. Our moles in the police won't be able to keep us a secret forever."
"Where do you want us to go?"
"Just go drive around the city and take the first person you think is suitable to fight…or be bait."
"Will do."
Phillip Clueman was walking his dog, shivering in the chilly November air. "Why did you decide you had to go on a walk now?!"
His dog ignored him and kept walking forward. Phillip sighed and kept pace. Soon, his dog decided it needed to relieve itself and walked towards a pole.
Phillip looked around while his dog was doing its business. He spotted a white van parked on the corner of the street. Thinking nothing of it, he continued to walk on. After several minutes, his dog started panting. "Alright, we'll head home now." Phillip turned around and started walking back when he spotted the van again. "Wasn't that the van that was parked on the corner? Why is it there now?" Phillip looked to the right and saw that there was a path he could take instead. Turning to the right, he walked through the path, relieved that he didn't have to worry about that van any longer. Several minutes passed, and Phillip made his way home. "I'm home!"
Phillip's dog dashed inside the house. Phillip's mom was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV. "Before you take you shoes off, can you go get the mail for me?"
"Sure thing!"
Phillip took the mail key from the counter and went outside once more. He walked to the mailbox and put the key inside. While he was looking at the mail, he heard the humming of an engine to his left. Looking over, he saw the white van, lights on, staring directly at him. Phillip closed the mailbox and locked it, before sprinting toward his house. The van's wheels started squealing and closed in on him. Before Phillip could reach his yard, the van caught up and two men jumped out of the van. Grabbing Phillip, the men started dragging Phillip into the vehicle, before Phillip threw a punch.
The man on the right staggered backwards. Phillip tried running to his house again when the man on the left tackled him. Phillip tried to get up, but both of the men landed on top of him. Phillip felt the needle of a syringe penetrate his skin, followed by a woozy feeling. The world started to spin, then went black.
Phillip awoke on a bed in a dilapidated room. "W—where am I?"
Phillip's mind went back to the countless horror movies he watched the month before. Whenever the victim asked himself this, a voice would always answer. This wasn't the case. Sitting up, Phillip walked off the bed and went to the door. Turning the knob, Phillip realized that it was locked. Who wouldn't lock the door holding a kidnap victim…
Phillip remembered that he left his phone in his pocket when he was attacked and reached into his pocket, to grasp onto some lint.
"They must have swiped it…"
Phillip walked around the room, observing his surroundings. Maybe there's a way to escape…
Looking up, he saw a vent in the corner of the room. That vent has got to lead somewhere!
Looking around, Phillip saw the only thing he could use to bolster himself was to use the bed. Phillip moved to the side of the bed and pushed, moving the bed under the vent. He was about to take off the vent cover when the door unlocked and opened. The two men who kidnapped him stepped inside, along with another man. "Trying to make an escape attempt I see."
Phillip took the vent cover off and tried to jump into it, but the two men grabbed his legs and yanked him backwards. Phillip hit his head on the ground hard. Ow!
Phillip struggled to get up. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering where you are and why you're here."
"That's quite obvious!"
"Someone's got a temper…but we need people like that."
"Not joining."
"You are mistaken. You aren't joining our organization. You're joining our…our…entertainment."
"Do I look like some sort of court jester to you? I don't sing. I don't play any instruments, and I don't juggle!"
"That form of entertainment died in the medieval era. We're now onto more…exciting forms of entertainment. I'm sure you've watched some boxing or wrestling on TV."
"So you want me to be a boxer…"
"Not at all. We're blending the two time eras together. Think of it as a boxing match. Two people fight, while being officiated. The first person to fall loses, but there's a twist. Instead of the match being over, the victor has a choice to kill his opponent or spare him."
"What kind of boxing match is this?"
"It's not boxing, it's a swordfight."
"A…a…swordfight!? Sorry dude, but I'm not a sword master!"
"You'll have two weeks of training from an experienced master to practice with until your first match. You are allowed to choose one of three weapon forms. You can go with just a sword, a sword and a shield, or you can be dual bladed and take two swords with you into battle. Each one has its advantages. The one sword allows you to focus attacks and defense quickly. The sword and shield gives you a balance of defense and offense, at the lack of speed . The dual blades gives you tremendous offensive power and great speed, but lacks defense."
"So now it's a chess game…"
"Precisely. We'll take you to the room now to choose your weapon types."
The two men grabbed Phillip's arm. "Ow! You don't need to grab so tightly!"
ns 15.158.61.20da2
