Michael shifted uneasily, the hard metal floor cold even through his trousers. They had lost their white colour and were now spotted with mud, grass stains and blood. He was sitting on the ground, back leaning against the wall. He watched Brekt who was standing in the middle of the room examining the barrier than kept them sealed in. A faint blue field, not dissimilar to the one generated by Aileena’s grenade kept them sealed in the cell.
“You got a lot of guts gentleman,” said the alien who had pulled them from the casino floor, bundling them into their small prison. “Cheating is frowned on here. Very frowned on.” He turned to the alien next to him, identical in all but colour. “You could say cheating is stealing can’t you, Verk?”
Verk took in a sharp intake of breath, the air whistling as it passed over his red lips. “Oh, you don’t want to steal here. Especially from Greddog.”
“No sir you don’t,” said the third alien, shaking his purple head. “He doesn’t take kindly to that at all.”
“For the last time we weren’t cheating,” Michael said, crossing his arms in protest. He hardly looked like he was capable of anything, squeezed into the corner like he was.
“Oh yeah? And you just happened to get every bet right how?” the orange alien asked.
“Now, now, Zerk, maybe he was just lucky?” said the one called Verk.
“True, true. What are the odds on that, Yerk?” replied the orange alien turning to the purple alien.
“Oh, with the number of bets you made? Well, let’s say the odds were fifty-fifty. Which as this is a casino they obviously aren’t, but it’s to make the maths simple. You did oh, one hundred and twenty games in a row, which is…” Yerk thought for a moment, “one in one point three two nine and then thirty-six zeroes after that.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Michael said.
“Basically, means it’s impossible, eh?” Brekt said. “Your boy is a bit of a maths whizz there, hey? How come you’re being Greddog’s bruisers?”
“Pays better,” said Zerk, grinning wide. “Plus, we just like beating up idiots like you.”
“Oh, come on,” Michael said, groaning as he did. “We gave the money back! Can we just not walk out of here and forgot it ever happened?”
“Not on your life. Not until we know how you did it? Hacked the machines? Probability manipulator? Got an inside man?”
“Luck! It’s just pure dumb luck. Nothing else.” Michael jumped to his feet, moving forward as he did. He slammed his hands on the forcefield in frustration, the blue field tingling his skin where it touched him.
“Well, no, you do have that knower thing,” Brekt said.
“Jesus Brekt just blurt out that crap why don’t you? Now we’re going to sound even crazier. We can’t just go around spouting Mellok’s bullshit about me being some kind of messiah.”
“Why not? It was worth a shot. You boys aren’t in the market for a messiah, are you?”
The trio of aliens burst out laughing together. “Oh, that’s a good one,” Zerk said wiping a tear from his eye. “Never heard that one before. We got the knower of truths here boys! So, knower what are the secrets of the universe? What’s the meaning of life?”
“Well… I don’t know.”
“Oh, we have just the thing for you little pink one. Just you wait.”
Aileena took her seat. They had followed Greddog deeper into his facility, walking through a second teleporter and emerging on a large upper balcony overlooking a huge chamber. Around the walls were stands rammed tight with people, a cheering braying crowd. Mellok sat next to her, the Council officers sitting on the other side of Greddog as directed. He waved at the crowd, and it erupted into even more fevered screaming.
“Ah, my people. I do so love their adoration. Is this not fun, Aileena?” Greddog was revelling in the attention. He twisted his arms as he spoke, causing the roar of the crowd to ripple around the chamber.
“If you say so.” Aileena stared down at the ground below them, a large open hexagon covered in a thick layer of sand. Splattered across it were gouts of dried blood.
“Now, I propose a little game, to spice things up somewhat. You against the Council lackies. I want you to place bets, on the outcome of our evening’s entertainment.” Greddog clapped his hands and retainers leant forward carrying platters laden with chips. “If you end the night with the most chips, then I will allow you to go free, and hold these humans here until you are long gone.”
“And if we win?” Commander Orson asked
“Well, then we turn Aileena and the rest of her miscreants over to you when we find them. Seem fair?”
“I don’t see how we have much choice,” Orson said, taking the plate of chips.
“Excellent, let us begin the games.” Greddog nodded at a retainer who disappeared through the teleport gate behind them.
A few moments later a voice boomed through the arena. On the far wall, a video screen sprang to life, two commentators taking their positions behind the desks. One was pale blue and scaled, webbed fingers gripping the microphone tightly. The other was a kind of hairy ape, thick auburn hair covering every part of him.
“Gooood, afternoon sports fans, I’m Halik Godsburn and welcome to tonight’s games, brought to you by Lord Greddog and the good people at Hizarks Ragnar Steaks. Hizarks! So fresh it might still be alive! We have a good-looking line up here tonight don’t we, Kallock?” The hairy commentator turned to his colleague, who simply replied with a long drawn out gurgle. “Ha-ha, on top form as always, Kallock,” Halik said. “Well, why don’t we get right on with the first game. Our contestants come to us today from the holding cells of casino security, we have a pair of real-life thieves on our hands.” The crowd burst into a loud series of boos. “Get this folks, one of the contestants is making a rather crazy claim.” At the far side of the area, a door began to slide open. “We give you, Brekt and The knower of truths!”
Chapter Eleven
The light poured over Michael as the doors opened, the gleaming lights beyond overpowering his eyes, forcing him to shield his face. Beneath his feet he could feel coarse sand, a loud crunch somehow audible over even the roar of the crowd. Michael staggered forward, his eyes adjusting the harsh floodlights. He found himself in a massive arena, one uncomfortably like the digital one in the video game that had landed him in this trouble.
Michael and Brekt had been ferried from their cell, with only a mild roughing up. Their triplet guards had thrown them through what had looked like a doorway, though there where the door would be was a faint blue shimmer. They had stumbled through to find themselves within a chamber, only one massive exit looming before them. Then the doors had opened and made the exact nature of their predicament clear.
“That’s right folks,” came a loud voice, booming from a video screen. “These pair were caught cheating at the tables. For the supposed knower of truths, you would think they would know not to steal from the glorious Lord Greddog!” The speaker let out a long hearty laugh. “Those are our first contestants’ folks, next up their opponents!”
“Oh god, I always knew I was going to die, but I didn’t expect it to be in some Star Trek style deathmatch,” Michael said, his shoulders slumping, his jacket hanging limp.
“Now, it might not be that bad?” Brekt said, his words calm.
“I present to you Meggok the destroyer and Kestok the annihilator!” said Halik, his excitement palpable through the video screen. His aquatic colleague let out a series of short gurgles. “That’s right Kallock, this man-mangling team have been undefeated in the past fifty matches. Never before has a more deadly duo been seen in the history of the sport.”