Gladiators of Rome:Short Stories

VII

VII

With the late afternoon sun on their backs Eoghan's forces took up their final fighting place on the field in front of the Roman garrison. Their numbers littered the entire length of the field resembling one, long human wall of open rebellion and three men deep. Eoghan was stood at the centre of this man made wall and could feel the trepidation washing over his body.
He knew he had to settle his men, to build their courage in these moments before some of them made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, but no words he could think of seemed sufficient.
Gripping his sword hilt in his hand he turned to face his men; a mixture of old and young faces looked back at him, waiting on him to speak but when he opened his mouth to do so nothing came out.
A strange lump had formed in his throat causing his mouth to become dry and his heart to speed up. He tried to again but the only thing to come out was an overused call for ferocity and no surrender. It was nothing invigorating and he could feel their eyes on him, judging him. Eoghan's skin grew tight as a heavy weight seemed to press down on his shoulders, threatening to push him through the soft ground that rested beneath his boots. 
Turning away from them suddenly, Eoghan focused on the garrison in the distance that had just opened its gates and uniformed lines of soldiers began to flood out into the open field. 

His men would have to do without any encouraging words today, Eoghan thought as he watched the Roman numbers grow in front of them, obliterating the field. 

* * * 

She was inside the belly of the beast, and it was a frustrating maze of corridors and walkways. They'd turn down one corridor only to come to a dead end or up a set of stairs and find themselves at the beginning, and now they came to the end of another hallway she was about to let out a cry of frustration. 

"Which way?" Frieda asked looking left and right, both directions mirroring each other and every other walkway they had taken since they entered the garrison. Frieda could feel herself beginning to panic that they were running out of time. Eoghan's army and the Romans must have engaged by now, Frieda could hear the barking of orders and clashing of swords in the distance. Soon the battle would come inside the garrison and swallow them up with it. 

"Right," Diomed told her, his voice filled with a certainty that calmed her nerves for the moment, "Hurry." He added, which put her back on tenterhooks. 

Holding her sword close to her side, Frieda turned right and checked inside all the rooms they passed but to no avail. They were halfway down the dimly lit corridor when a doorway swung open less than an inch from her face. Her heart hitched a little as she waited to see who was behind the door - was it Alena? - when a group of soldiers came clambering out of the room, almost falling over each other in their haste to get out. Frieda and Diomed looked at each other, wondering what would happen and how they should proceed. Someone still inside the room was shouting, telling the soldiers to make haste even as some were still trying to pull on their armour and fasten their belts as they went, when one of them knocked into Frieda, pushing her against the wall. 

"Hurry! To the gates! Defend the garrison!" The voice carried on shouting as it followed them down the corridor, "Defend Rome!"

As quickly as it started the flurry of movement was over as the last man passed them and the group of soldiers turned down the corridor Frieda and Diomed had just come from. They barely took note of Frieda and Diomed being there. They looked at each other in surprise for a moment before a rush of confidence flooded their bodies at their newfound invisibility. Hurrying through the garrison taking less precautions, they no longer paused to look around a corner, they just went, knowing that time was of the essence if they did not wish to be caught in the middle of a battle. And with the way they were dressed, with Diomed as a guard and Frieda a rebel, any one of the men on the battlefield would not pause to kill them.