“I don’t want to fight you!” she yelled. “I don’t want to hurt you!”
The crowd booed.
Sam walked out towards the center, closer and closer to her. But instead of dropping his weapons, as she’d hoped, he lowered his face mask with a definitive clang, and raised his sword and shield.
The crowd roared in approval. Even Kyle smiled down.
Caitlin’s heart pounded. She really didn’t want to hurt her little brother.
Before she could think, before she could decide what to do, she found herself being charged by Sam.
He swung his sword down at her with a ferocious speed, and Caitlin barely managed to duck out of the way.
The crowd roared.
“Sam!” she cried, desperate, and afraid. She was afraid he would hurt her—but even more, afraid she might be forced to hurt him. “Listen to me! Please!”
But he swung at her again, and she leaned back and barely missed the below. He was faster than she had thought, and extremely powerful.
As he came at her with a flurry of blows, she raised her shield. She blocked them, but she felt herself getting pushed back, further and further. She couldn’t bring herself to swing back. But his blows were so unexpected, so strong, they threw her completely off balance.
She stumbled and fell to the ground, and the crowd roared, on its feet, tasting blood.
“KILL HER!” the crowd roared, on its feet.
“Bring me the spear!” Sam yelled.
Caitlin was shocked at her little brother’s voice. It was so deep, so dark. It was the voice of a man.
Kyle, high up, nodded down to an attendant, and he came running out and handed Sam a huge, golden spear.
Caitlin used the time to scurry back to her feet, to backup, to consider all her options.
What could she possibly do? Kill her own brother?
No. She could not. She was tired of fighting. And if even her own brother wanted to kill her, then what was the point in living anymore?
She stared at him, hoping one last time that he would come to, that he would see it was his sister.
And then she dropped her sword. And her shield. And closed her eyes.
She stood there, defenseless, wide open, an easy target.
Sam faced her, and slowly lifted the heavy, golden spear.
“KILL HER! KILL HER!” chanted the crowd.
Caitlin opened her eyes.
In that moment, she felt the whole world in slow motion. She saw every last detail, heard every little sound, as the rest of the world was slowly muted out. She felt the breeze on her skin, noticed the brilliance of the sun. She felt strongly that this would be her last moment on Earth.
And she looked forward to it, to finally seeing her father. What a fitting way to see him, she thought. Sent by his own son’s hand.
Sam took a step forward, reached back, and suddenly, he hurled the spear.
As Caitlin opened her eyes, she was shocked by what she saw.
At the last second, Sam had turned on his heel, and hurled the spear not at her—but rather, had aimed it up, at the bleachers.
Directly at Kyle.
It all happened so fast, was so unexpected, that Kyle had no time to react.
Before he could get out of the way, the spear went through his arm, and kept going, through the judge’s heart. The two of them shrieked, stuck together.
The entire crowd jumped to its feet, in shock and outrage.
“Kill them!” Kyle screamed.
But before anyone could react, the sky suddenly turned black.
Flying over the Coliseum, there suddenly descended hundreds of vampires.
Caitlin didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
There, up in the sky, leading them, was Caleb. By his side was Samuel, Aiden, Polly, and hundreds of others.
Caleb wasted no time. He dove right for Kyle, grabbing him by the throat, wrestling him down to the bleachers.
The hundreds of other vampires descended, too, prepared for battle against the thousands. It was all-out war, hand to hand.
Sam came running over to Caitlin, tearing off his helmet.
“I hope you understand,” he said. “I had to trick them. To catch them off guard. I never meant to hurt you. It was the only way,” he said. “I’m here, I’m back in time, because I love you. And because I’m sorry.”
They embraced.
But they had no time to waste. Thousands of vampires were pouring out of the bleachers, charging for them.
Sam turned to her. “Can you still fly?”
She nodded, and they both took off into the air, flying, rising high above the din of vampires sprinting for them.
As they flew over the bleachers, they passed Kyle, wrestling with Caleb.
Caleb had the upper hand, but for a moment, he slipped; Kyle took advantage, grabbed his sword, and reached back to stab Caleb.