Entry for 13th of November
Owen blinked into the sunlight as they came out of the dusky hallway. He stayed down when he was thrown to earth and one of the guards put a foot on his back between his shoulder blades. He heard that there were a lot of people around and wondered a bit at where they were. There was the whirr of an industrial winch and the clang of heavy metal hitting more heavy metal. The foot was taken off his back and instead it nudged him roughly at hip height.
“Up on your feet,” the guard growled at him. Owen scrambled to his feet and looked around. He was in a kind of cage attached to a bigger domed cage. With him were several guards. Around the domed cage were several sections with spectators. Cole was nowhere to be seen.
Above him outside the cage he was in, he could see a broad girth hanging from a beam. He identified a locked hatch in the domed cage directly underneath the girth and looked down to the ground inside the domed cage. Cole sat there, looking stunned by the brightness and confused about what was happening. There was a rumble as a barred gate on the other side of the dome was opened and Cole was on his feet in one movement.
Owen’s breath caught as he first just saw something big moving in the dark of the wide hallway. He did a step back when he saw the big creature for what it was. It had a scaly oversized lizard body, wings, four legs armed with claws, a tail and was dark red. It was a dragon.
Owen slammed his tied hands against the bars of the domed cage.
„No!“ he shouted. „Get away from that beast! Get yourself a weapon! Cole!“
Cole turned his head to look up to him and then stared towards the section of the wall with the weapons, frowning. He seemed to shrug and turned towards the dragon.
Owen looked around frantically. He spotted the minister for racial inner affairs at about two o’clock on the ranks for important guests. People sitting there could watch the fights inside the arena through hardened glass that could withstand anything a dragon could throw at it.
„Sir! Minister Tillyr!“ he shouted over. „Please! Get him out of there! He does not harm anyone - never has! Please!“
One of the guards cuffed Owen over the back of his head, hard. Owen fell against the bars.
„The likes of you simply do not talk to the minister - ever,“ the guard snarled at him. „There is only one exception and that is unlikely: if he wants to talk to you, you reply. Reply. Nothing else. Understood?“
To amplify his meaning he hit Owen’s back several times with his cudgel. The captive did not react to the hits but stared down into the arena. He watched in horror how Cole simply walked towards the dragon. The dragon looked down on him doubtful but did not move.
„Please,“ Owen begged the guards. „You have to get him out of there before it is too late. He is a peaceful guy, would not hurt a fly. He is not dangerous.“
Cole leaned against the dragon and embraced him. His head lay against the broad chest. Some of the watchers muttered and whispered among themselves. The guards chuckled and one of them pulled Owen back towards him by the scruff of his neck.
„He gets more than a freak like you and him normally can hope for,“ he told the captive, baring his teeth to a mean grin. „He got the chance to defend his own life in a glorious fight.“
„It is nothing but a masked death sentence!“ Owen growled and got thrown against the bars again but he continued. „It is death by dragon to entertain politicians and other shammers!“
Again the cudgel hit his back, but he ignored it.
„Cole! Get away from there!“ he shouted and rattled the bars of the hatch. His lanky companion straightened up a bit and looked around and up towards him. At the same time the dragon lifted his head and looked up to him, too. Owen pulled at the bars, tried to bend them apart and threw himself against them - all to no avail.
The dragon looked down on the man in front of him who finally looked up to the mighty head as well.
„No! That is not the way, Cole!“ Owen screamed. „Do not even consider this for another moment! Get away from there!“
As if in slow motion the dragon lowered its head, turned it sideways and opened its jaws. Owen roared and threw himself against the bars once more. Cole stood very still while the dragon closed its mouth around his midsection. Owen was petrified in horror and could do nothing but stare down at what was happening. Most of Cole’s leg and from his chest upwards were outside of the dragon’s mouth when the dragon lifted him off his feet and turned the head into the normal position. As if he was only becoming aware of his fate now, Cole jerked and twisted, pushing with his one free arm against the snout of the dragon in a feeble attempt to get free. Then the dragon bit down. The lanky man twitched a few more times. A shudder ran through his arm and legs, then he was still. His limbs and head hung limp from the dragon’s mouth. Owen saw a trickle of blood running down his bare arm, dripping from the fingers.
„Cole! No!“ he wailed, beating against the bars. The dragon looked up to him, making Cole’s lifeless legs swing backwards. Owen fell to his knees sobbing. His hands gripped the bars. The dragon turned back towards the gate, head with the dangling limbs held high triumphantly. The roar of anger and loss got stuck in Owen’s throat and he collapsed in helpless sobs against the cage.
He did not react when the guards prodded his back. Even when they kicked him repeatedly, he just kept lying there. Finally they grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away.
Copyright by M. Huchzermeyer 2013