Colosseum

Prologue
It was 324 AD. Constantine looked at the empire, his empire now. How should I rule? he wondered. Should I split Rome into two empires? Should I convert to Christianity? Or should I follow Diocletian? If I follow his ideas, maybe Rome will recover. Yes, that’s what he’d do. After making this decision, he witnessed Rome grow back into a prospering empire. He wondered what would have happened if he chose the other choice, the day he became emperor. Would Rome have fallen? He’d never know. Maybe a different Constantine would have done that. Maybe that’s what would have happened on a different planet, maybe on one called Earth...

5000 years later...
I rose from my bed and saw that my friend Favian was already awake in his own bed across the room. We were under the Colosseum.

“Hey Vespasian,” Favian said as we got out of bed.

“Hey,” I replied. We walked down the hallway to the dining room and sat down.

“Good luck,” Favian said. I was going into the arena today to fight an ostrich.

“Thanks,” I replied.

I had only been in a battle four times in my life. All battles were for entertainment and the Colosseum workers didn’t think watching children who die quickly against animals were entertaining. Most gladiators don’t start doing actual battles until they’re seventeen, and most don’t fight other humans until they’re twenty.

“We could do it,” Favian said. “Run away. We won’t have to fight again.”

We always talked about this before one of us had to go into the arena, but we were never serious about it. It was riskier running away than occasionally fighting.

“We couldn’t do it without getting caught,” I replied.

I tried to imagine leaving. I had spent whole life as a gladiator. My parents were gladiators too. So was my whole family. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else in my life.

“You should go get your weapons,” Favian said. It was almost time for my battle. We walked to the armory. I would be allowed to bring two things with me. I grabbed a net and a sword like I usually do.

We waited for the announcers to say the battle was starting. When he did, I walked to the entrance.

The announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Colosseum! Today’s battle will be sixteen-year-old gladiator Vespasian against a combat ostrich! Ready...Set...Go!”

I sprang out and leaped at the ostrich. It charged at me, and I threw the net at it. It moved out of the way, but I grabbed the net and threw it again. This time, the ostrich was caught, and I walked towards it with my sword. The crowd cheered, and I stabbed it. The trumpets sounded, and I was announced victor. I left the arena and went back to my room with Favian.

“I was thinking,” Favian said suddenly. “We could escape. The guards would allow any spectators who accidentally wandered down here go. If we pretended to be one of them, we could leave. I remember someone mentioning that the only place Rome didn’t control was a place called Alaska, and there was a boat that would sail there that would constantly dock near here. We could get on board and leave before they’ve even noticed we’re gone.”

I stared at him. “You were serious about escaping?”

“Why not?” he said. “I’m not gonna spend my whole life fighting to the death for people’s amusement.”

“Maybe,” I replied, although I actually wanted to say no.

We walked to lunch in silence. As I ate, I thought about Favian’s plan. Escaping...It could work. But then what would we do? And even if we tried to escape, we would probably get caught. I dismissed the thought. It was too risky.

For the next two weeks, we kept living like we usually did. Favian didn’t mention escaping again. April came. Favian’s birthday was March 31st, so he was seventeen now, which meant he’d start getting the more frequent and more difficult battles. All the gladiators stood at the board, where all the battles for the next month would be posted. I wasn’t expecting my name to be there, but it would be better to check. Vespasian...I scanned the board. No, I wasn’t there. But I spotted Favian’s name around a week into the month. He’d have a battle against…

Favian gasped. I read it over and over again, trying to believe it. The hydra, scientifically enhanced to be just like the one in Greek Mythology, no one could beat it. It wasn’t possible. Favian would die.

I left the room. I couldn’t look at Favian anymore, knowing he’d die next week. He didn’t look at me either. But we just continued on with our day, doing what we usually did. We lived normally for the next week. Mentioning it wouldn’t help our situation. Gladiators would die anyway. I just didn’t think it would be so soon...

When the day came, we walked to breakfast like we usually did. I expected to have our normal conversation about escaping, but Favian said nothing.

We went to the armory. After Favian picked his weapons, he turned to me and said, “Look, I’m gonna die today. And I’ve been thinking of a way for you to escape. You can tell the guards something to persuade them. They might not notice you. Then go to the ship. As long as you’re on the ship before it’s night, they can’t stop you.”

“You’re not gonna die,” I said, knowing it wasn’t true.

“Yes, I am. And it’ll be easier for you to escape if it’s just one person. Do you have an idea of what to say to the guards?”

“Yeah. I can tell them that I took a wrong turn and ended out here.”

“Yeah, that’ll work” Favian looked relieved that I had thought about the plan, but I still wasn’t sure I wanted to do it.

“Let’s go,” I said, as the announcer’s voice boomed throughout the Colosseum. We walked to the gate.

Favian hesitated for a moment like he wanted to say something, but he all he said was, “Just think about it.” Then the battle began.

Favian swung his sword at one of the hydra’s heads, but of course, two more just replaced it. Favian kept trying, but it was useless. Eventually, it sank its fangs into Favian’s arms and he fell over. The announcer announced the victor. It was over.

I went to bed myself that night, for the first time since I was three when both I and Favian’s parents had died, and we had moved to the same room. And now he was dead.

I thought about his last words. Just think about it. Think about escaping. And I did. But Favian’s death had filled me with anger, and for the first time, I saw how terrible the Colosseum really was. I knew I had to get free. I had to do it. I made a plan. I would use what I and Favian had talked about to leave after tomorrow’s fight.

Just think about it. It echoed throughout my dreams. The next day, I sat at the usual table, trying not to think about how different it would be if Favian was here. I stood next to the exit of the Colosseum until I heard the announcer. I waited around five minutes, then I walked to the exit.

“Where are you going?” one of the guards asked.

I took a deep breath. “I just have to get out of here. I accidentally wandered in here after the battle, and one of the gladiators told me to come here.”

“The doors to get here are locked,” another guard said.

“Really?” I said, trying to sound surprised. “They weren’t when I was here. They must have forgotten to lock it.”

The third guard still looked suspicious, but the other two looked convinced.

“Fine then,” the third guard said. “And I’ll go tell Julian to make sure he locks the door.”

“Thank you!” I said. I walked out and ran for the ship. Favian was right. The ship was right next to the Colosseum. I had to hurry. In just a few minutes, they’ll find out that the doors were locked, and go searching for me.

I walked up to the owner of the ship. He looked at me and said,” Where are you going?”

“Can I get on your ship?” I asked. “Is it going to Alaska?”

“Yeah,” the shipowner said. “But you need money.”

I hesitated, not sure what to do. “I don’t have any,” I said.

The shipowner looked at me. Pity flashed in his eyes. “Fine, you can come for free, but I need a cook. Can you be one?”

I didn’t know how to cook, but I could learn. I nodded, and he let me on board. That night, the ship sailed. I saw guards looking for me, but they hadn’t started looking near the ship before it sailed.

I was free now. My life in the Colosseum was over I could start over in Alaska. I did it Favian, I thought. I escaped. And then, with one last look at the Colosseum, I went below deck to start my new life.

Quick word
So I wrote this for a school contest. It could have been better, but the word limit was 1500 and I was too lazy to edit it. I did write a series in this, so if you liked it, I'll post the whole series.