“Okay, man. Will do.”
They walked into the arena and found seats high above the ground. Theo had no interest in being close to Tiberius. He settled into his seat and looked down at the arena floor. Something was odd. There was no stage and no podium. The bare concrete expanse was strangely foreboding.
“Do you guys see this?” he whispered. “There’s nothing set up at all.”
“Well,” said Kylee, “There are those.” She pointed at the ceiling from which hung giant banners with the Atlantic Island flag.
“Nice,” said Bill. “Still think they could have sprung for some balloons.”
The audience was still entering the arena, but Theo could tell that he and his friends were not the only ones noticing the lack of staging for the night’s event. The crowd chattered in low tones, nervously anticipating the arrival of the Supreme Leader.
A voice boomed over the loudspeaker, startling Theo. It was not the same voice heard in previous gatherings. They fired the announcer? He thought. Seriously?
“People of Atlantic Island,” echoed the deep voice. “Rise and give thanks to your Supreme Leader, Paul Tiberius!”
The people rose as one. Theo, reluctantly moving to his feet, scanned the crowd. It was easy to see in the faces around him a division between those who legitimately supported the new regime and those who only played along out of fear. A spotlight turned on, aiming at the crowd on the opposite side of the arena from Theo and his friends. There, on some kind of a balcony, stood Tiberius, dressed in black robes and surrounded by four members of his Security Force, in black uniforms and dark metal helmets.
“Do you see that?” whispered Bill. “Could they be any more obvious about trying to scare the crap out of people?”
“Atlantic Island,” said Tiberius, “You have made me proud in these weeks and months as we recovered from the tragic loss of Sam Lucas.”
Theo bit into his lip to refrain from yelling out.
“With our new systems and laws in place, we have seen an impressive drop in all manner of crime. Those who still chose to defy our laws have been dealt with appropriately. Our country is strong and growing stronger. Our farms are flourishing, fresh water is flowing, and our weather remains beautiful as ever. Life on Atlantic Island, I’m sure you will agree, is glorious.”
Theo waited for those who did not agree with that sentiment to interrupt. Nobody stirred. Tiberius with his false, cruel smile controlled this mass of people through utter fear. The days of Mayor Lucas allowing for all opinions to be heard were gone now.
“We have accomplished much,” said Tiberius, “but our country is not without its challenges. Though it seems astonishing after the great losses we have experienced, our population exceeds that which we can properly support. There are those among us, I’m afraid, who are not getting enough to eat.”
Mutters of agreement from the crowd. Theo shifted uncomfortably in the plastic arena seat. Something wasn’t right. Where the hell was this going?
“I assure all of you that my advisors and I thought long and hard about what to do. As Supreme Leader it falls to me to make the final decisions, no matter how difficult they may be.” Tiberius stood aside as a woman pushed a small cart to his right. On the cart was a laptop computer. Tiberius turned to the computer, tapped a few keys and read from the screen. “Howard Coates and Ravi Singh step out to the arena floor.”
Slowly two men emerged from different sides of the arena. Both were thin and looked exhausted. Howard had many flecks of grey in his black hair, making him appear significantly older than Ravi, though Theo wasn’t sure that was actually the case.
The men walked to the center of the empty floor and turned to look up at Tiberius.
“Now,” said Tiberius, “You two men of Atlantic Island, chosen at random, have been granted a great honor. You will fight for the other man’s rations and belongings. If you win you may keep the winnings for yourself or assign and distribute them to others, family members, friends, even strangers, as you see fit. The loser, I assure you, may have the greatest honor of all, for though he shall perish his name shall be remembered as a sacrifice for the greater good of the island.”
People screamed. Theo looked at his friends. Their jaws trembled and fists clenched with fear and rage. He turned back to the two men on the concrete floor. They were standing perfectly still, continuing to look up at Tiberius. The shock of the order had rendered them incapable of movement.
“Perhaps you need some encouragement,” said Tiberius. “Mr. Singh, I want you to punch Mr. Coates in the face.”
Ravi paused, seeming to consider his options. “I am sorry,” he yelled up to Tiberius’s balcony. His voice carried in the terrible silence. “I simply cannot do such a thing.”
Tiberius frowned. Nobody said a word. Tiberius turned and spoke to one of the masked guards next to him. The guard spoke into a radio on his wrist. From behind the two men on the floor came another masked guard brandishing a large rifle.
“I command you again, Mr. Singh. Punch Mr. Coates in the face. Now.”
Ravi shook his head. “I am sorry, sir. I cannot.”
Tiberius raised his hand out, flicked his thumb up, and flipped his hand upside down. The guard behind Ravi and Howard fired. Ravi’s head disintegrated and he fell to the ground. More shrieking and crying erupted from the crowd, but many people stayed perfectly still, not wanting to raise the ire of the Supreme Leader.
Tiberius turned back to his computer and typed again. “Glen Charlotte. Walk to the floor.”
Another man made his way to the floor. He looked utterly petrified. Theo wondered how the man was moving when he was that scared. Then he saw the guards with guns at the man’s back, prodding him along. How had they known where to find them? Theo wondered if the computer was all part of the show. Maybe all of this was thought out in advance.
“Let’s try this again,” said Tiberius. “Mr. Coates? If you would be so kind.”
Again there was a period of silence. Theo wondered if Howard would sacrifice himself to make a point. Suddenly, Howard let out a primal scream of rage and attacked Glen Charlotte. He tackled Glen to the ground and unleashed wild swings at his face. He continued screaming like something not quite human as he mounted Glen and took the poor man’s head in his hands. Howard bashed Glen’s head into the concrete over, and over and over. Theo wanted more than anything to look away, but he couldn’t. He had to see this, had to know that what seemed to be happening was real. Finally, the guard who had shot Ravi ran over and pulled Howard off Glen’s mangled corpse.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Tiberius said with so much pride in his voice that it made Theo nauseous, “your winner is Howard Coates. Mr. Coates, you have the appreciation of your nation and your Supreme Leader.”
Theo looked at Howard. The man didn’t look like he felt appreciated. He was practically foaming at the mouth while being restrained by the Security Force. As they forcibly moved him toward the entrance to the arena floor, Howard shook loose, looked up at the crowd and shouted. “Yaaaaaaaaaah!”
Amazingly, many in the crowd began to cheer and applaud.
“I’m going to be sick,” said Kylee.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” said Bill.
“I’m not sure we can,” said Ryan, disgusted. “We haven’t been dismissed.”
“Citizens of Atlantic Island,” said Tiberius, “I regret that we have to engage in this barbarism, but this is something we must do for the good of the island. No one person among you is more important than the group. The nation must survive. Tonight we will have two more battles, and we will meet every month for three additional battles until the population is at a reasonable level. Also… citizens are forbidden to conceive children until we have developed a system to handle births in a controlled, sustainable way. Now then…” he turned to his laptop again.