Creative Writing: The CompetitorsAs thousands of people poured into the rectangular shaped stadium for what wasbeing called, “the event of the century” , the participants readied themselvesfor the hardships they would surely suffer from the games. After a longgrueling season of intense bodily torture this would by the final chapter ofconfrontations. Out of the 275 original members of the DFS leagues infant year,only 20 remained. These men and women were not only hardened on the outside,but on the inside as well for they had long since learned the weaknesses thatemotions bring.
Everyone one present in the cubical that was called a dressingroom knew that as soon as the capacity crowd of 300,000 had settled, they wouldno longer be comrades brought together by the common bond that friendship makesbut enemies of the battle field each one jockeying for the upper hand. As the referee announced there was half an hour left before game time, a fewplayers huddled together to say a quick prayer while others gathered around thehead coach for a final word of advice. One of the competitors listening tothis advice was Matt Williams or “The Destroyer”, as he was known by the crowd. He was a powerfully built young man who was in the possession of deep opalineeyes, nightmarish black hair, and a ruddy complexion. Feared by all for hisruthless behavior, Matt had joined the DFS league after being courtmarshaled bythe army for striking the commanding officer of his platoon.
Why he was evennear the coach was a mystery to him because most of the coaches words fell onunhearing ears. Matt guessed he was just nervous. Who wouldn’t be. Looking up,Matt saw that the coach had left and it was time to enter the field. Strappingon his helmet and the rest of his gear, he took a deep breath, focused histhoughts, and ran out onto the field joining the rest of the players. The roarof the crowd sounded as if a tsunami was breaking on the beach and the groundfelt as if it were pulsating with a life of its own.
He never remembered thesefeelings before but he simply shrugged off the thought as he faintly heard thesound of the referee’s whistle. Suddenly, the sound of the crowd was replacedby e reverberating silence that was deafening in Matt’s ears. Going into a defensive crouch, Matt circled the nearest foe to him. Jumpingwith raised spear, he warded off the first blow positioning his spear into acounter-attack position. Throwing it with deadly precision Matt was rewarded bythe sickening thud of a lifeless body hitting the ground. As he hurried toretrieve his spear, Matt remembered a phrase the coach had said just before heleft.
“This will be a fight to the finish so be prepared!”. Since this was theyear 2071, that was no lie because last year, hyperbole’s went out of styleand gladiators came back in.
