"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
A guttural roar from a massive crowd of alien spectators vibrated through the air, piercing the silence of the immense, circular arena. In the center, a huge, empty dirt circle served as the battlefield.
Six individuals stood in the arena, a desperate mix of different races and species, all marked as prisoners.
Among them was a human, a man whose face held a mix of exhaustion and stubborn defiance.
"H#@5&9Y$?R!"
A towering alien, more a warlord than a creature, roared from his command post above.
His bellow silenced the multitude. He pointed a clawed finger down at the prisoners, then gestured with a sweeping backward motion, a clear command to unleash hell.
"H#@5&9Y$?R-H#@5&9Y$?R!"
the warlord bellowed, his voice an alien rumble.
The human, Eric, took a step forward, completely fed up with the spectacle.
"Look, I honestly don't understand a word you're saying, and I bloody don't give a damn," he said, his voice ringing with a surprising calm.
"But if you don't mind, I'd like to request a drink. Got any booze?"
A stunned silence fell over the massive crowd. The aliens stared at him, baffled.
The warlord's gaze narrowed.
"You... what name?"he growled, the words a rough but understandable version of English.
"Oh, so you do speak English. Fantastic. Now, about that booz—"
His words were cut short as a spear whizzed past his head, missing by inches. It embedded itself in the dirt with a loud thunk.
"Name!!!" the warlord thundered, hot vapor steaming from his flared nostrils.
"Alright, fine! The name's Eric. Eric Blackmoor," he said, a touch of arrogance in his tone.
"You must have heard of me. I'm pretty famous." He watched the blank faces in the crowd and on the warlord's command post, and a dull look of disappointment crossed his face. He rolled his eyes.
"You fight Kondor. Kondor fight back. Winner free," the warlord stated, pointing at the prisoners and then at a huge gate in the arena wall. The crowd roared in excitement.
"And who the bloody hell is Kondor?" Eric grumbled.
The gate rolled upward with a grinding scrape of metal on stone. Deep inside the darkness of the cave, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared.
The ground began to tremble with each heavy step the creature took. Finally, it emerged.
It was a monstrosity of muscle and raw power, a massive feline-like beast with three spiky, whip-like tails and bony protrusions jutting from its spine. It was a predator designed for pure terror.
The crowd's cheers intensified, their voices chanting a single name over and over.
"Kondor! Kondor! Kondor!".
The warlord stretched his arm forward, giving the sign to begin. The rhythmic thud of a massive drum echoed through the arena.
"Roarrrrrrrr!"
The deafening roar of the beast sent a shockwave through the prisoners. It charged forward, a blur of muscle and claw, its prey scattering in every direction.
One of the non-human prisoners, a lithe creature, was in a full sprint, but it was no match. Kondor caught up in an instant, and with a sickening crunch, tore the prisoner to pieces.
The crowd's cheers grew louder, a bloodthirsty wave of approval.
Eric found himself cornered with another alien prisoner.
"Look lad, we have to work together to get out of this. Do you understand?"
"H#@5&9Y$?R!" the alien whimpered, cowering in fear.
"What?" Eric replied, confused.
Another cheer from the crowd signaled another victim.
Eric knelt, trying to communicate with frantic gestures. "Me... you... together... away!"
But the alien just stared, paralyzed by fear. The crowd cheered again.
"Shit!" Eric yelled, his frustration boiling over. "If we don't work together, we're all going to die!"
The crowd cheered a fourth time.
Seeing no hope in his terrified companion, Eric stood up. "Screw this," he muttered, turning to find a way out for himself.
He hadn't walked more than a few steps when the shrieks of the prisoner he left behind filled the air, followed by a wet, tearing sound.
The impact of the creature's attack sent a shockwave through the ground, knocking Eric off his feet.
"Uraaaaaaaaaaahh!"
The crowd's roar was a deafening symphony of triumph, trumpets blared, drums pounded, and fists slammed in approval.
The creature now turned its attention to Eric. It walked slowly, a low growl rumbling in its chest. Its eyes, now glowing with a fresh kill's bloodlust, fixed on him.
"Hey, easy there, big fella. Trust me, you don't wanna be taking a bite out of me," Eric said, slowly crawling backward, trying to create distance between them.
The creature's snarling mouth stretched into something that might have been a grin. "Why not?" it asked, its voice a deep, guttural growl.
"My blood's plentiful, sure, but it's foul as hell. Tastes like bad decisions and worse hangovers," Eric replied, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
"It's due to a rare metabolic condition known as ferrolysis hyperoxidativa."
"I'll manage," The creature replied, its muscles bunching as it prepared to pounce.
"Wait!" Eric screamed as the beast launched itself at him.
In that instant, a blinding beam of light erupted from the sky, striking the ground and enveloping Eric.
The force of the blast sent the creature flying backward with a massive impact, blowing a cloud of dust and debris across the arena.
The crowd, caught by surprise, covered their eyes and turned away from the wave of dirt.
When the light faded and the dust began to settle, Eric was gone.
Standing on his feet, the enraged warlord saw the empty spot where his prize prisoner had been.
He roared in vexation and in a fit of rage, slit the throat of a nearby guard.
"I don't care what it takes! Find me this Eric Blackmoor!" the warlord bellowed in his own language. The command was a death sentence. The crowd scattered as multiple spacecraft lifted off, soaring into the clouds in a frantic search.
Meanwhile, Eric screamed as he was pulled through the beam of light, traveling at an unimaginable speed. His body, against all odds, remained intact.
Seconds later, he landed hard on a metal platform, the back of his head hitting the unforgiving surface with a crack. The world went black, and he passed out.