The God Contest Regina

“Life is about how much you can take and keep fighting, how much you can suffer and keep moving forward.”

Anderson Silva, Brazilian Athlete

“Mom!” shouted the girl, Harmony, her face twisted in utter anguish. Brandon, her brother, grabbed her free hand and held it tight, silently urging his sister to keep running.

“Over here,” Bethany waved to draw their attention. “Hurry!”

The man in the cowboy hat, Elias, swore loudly as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the Spartans approaching. Bethany had a better view of the man she had first seen across the store. He wore his black cowboy hat naturally, as if it had long ago shaped itself to his head. His T-shirt and blue jeans were well worn with dirt and grass stains. He was handsome, with short-cropped brown hair and muscular arms, and a farmer’s tan that spoke of spending his days working outside. He was younger than she first guessed, around her age, but his emerald eyes reflected a man who carried a hefty responsibility, as if he’d had to grow up too fast.

He carried a rusted iron sword in a scabbard strapped across his back. His T-shirt had been stained with blood since she’d last seen him - the price to protect the children he led to safety.

The wolves dashed ahead of the Spartans, their venomous barks drowning out Harmony’s desperate pleas. Elias pushed the children out ahead of him so the wolves would target him first.

Harmony stumbled, and Elias hauled her up and pushed her onward. She was wearing a pink My Little Pony shirt and black pants printed with the outlines of farm animals. Her long, blond hair was contained in a single braid that bounced off her shoulders as she ran. Her rosy cheeks were wet with tears, but she was unable to wipe them away while her hands were clutched to Elias and Brandon. A pink glittered shoulder bag hung across her chest, stuffed full of delights she had picked off the shelves before the supermarket was thrust into hell.

Her brother Brandon wore a green ballcap with the Saskatchewan Roughriders logo, a plain blue T-shirt, and white shorts. He was his sister’s twin, though Brandon’s blond hair was cropped short. Astonishingly, Bethany saw the child had a prosthetic leg from the knee down, though he ran faster than his sister. There was a fresh cut across his left cheek, straight and clean, that dripped blood down his chest. The child winced in pain and his breath came in shallow gasps, but he was strong willed and forced himself to take each step.

Zee hurled a dagger towards the pursuing wolves, and hissed in pain as his half-healed injury tore open. The dagger clattered to the floor a foot short of its target. He leaned against the barricade for support and fumbled for another beneath his cloak.

Anjali threw her spear, which barely scratched a wolf before landing with an ineffective thump. The scratch wasn’t deep enough to draw blood, and the wolves did not slow.

Elias struggled to pull the children alongside him. His face was soaked with sweat as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. The wolves were quickly closing the gap.

“Be careful!” Bethany shouted as Elias and the children reached the shampoo and gel moat, but her warning came too late. Elias stumbled and fell, dragging the children down with him. He tried to scramble up, but his feet kept slipping.

They’re not going to make it!

Bethany vaulted over the barricade, calling forth her hammer of light. Emily and Anjali followed right behind her, headed for the helpless children.

The Spartans rushed to intercept the unexpected help, but twin spears thrown from Ben and Marvin forced the creatures to take cover behind Tupperware display stands.

“Shit,” Elias cursed. He pushed the children ahead of him, beyond the slippery moat and into the outstretched arms of the rescuers. Emily and Anjali scooped the children up and ran back to the barricade without hesitation.

“We’ve got you,” Emily soothed into Harmony’s ear as the girl cried and tried to reach for Elias.

As soon as he saw the children in their arms, Elias reached for the sword in the scabbard on his back and drew it with a clumsy effort, just as the wolves reached their prey. They leapt for Elias, claws and teeth outstretched to tear into his flesh.

Elias swung his sword in a wild arc that sliced into the first wolf’s shoulder and forced it to veer right with a yelp, then grimaced as he anticipated the second wolf’s teeth wrapping around his neck.

The wolf did not get a chance. As it leapt, Bethany arrived at Elias’ side. Her hammer of light slammed into the second wolf’s mouth, her blow shattering its teeth. The creature yelped but managed to twist its body enough to avoid the brunt of her strike. It fixed a hate-filled glare on Bethany from a distance, its mouth dripping blood.

Elias glanced at Bethany and flashed her a quick, grateful smile. His eyes flickered in the light of her hammer, reflecting the fear contained within. In unison, Bethany and Elias started to back away from the stalking beasts. They moved slowly, shuffling their feet along the tile, their gel-covered shoes making a fast retreat impossible until the soles of their shoes were cleared of the slick substance.

The wolves kept pace with them, splitting up to encircle their exhausted prey. Behind them, the Spartans moved between displays for cover as they studied their new opponents.

“Elias,” Elias said causally as they inched backwards, his intense eyes never leaving the beasts and their masters.

“Bethany,” she replied.

“We’re in a lot of trouble here, Bethany,” Elias said, gasping for breath.

Bethany simply nodded. Her hammer of light flickered, and she knew the magic inside her fueling the powerful weapon was nearly depleted.

If we survive this, I’m putting my next silver coin into my magic.

Bethany scraped her shoes to remove the last of the gel. The barricade was only a dozen paces away.

We have to run. We can make it.

The Spartans abruptly rushed out from their cover, headed straight for them. They were out of time.

“Run!” yellowed Bethany as she grabbed Elias’s hand. They dashed for the barricade, turning their backs on both wolves and Spartans.

Bethany realized her mistake before they had taken their second step. The wolves struck the moment they turned their backs. They closed the distance with a single, sudden pounce.

Elias dodged his wolf with a frantic dive to the side. The beast landed behind him and prepared for a second attempt. It didn’t get the chance. Exposed, the wolf was peppered with spears and daggers thrown from Zee, Marvin, Ben, and Abigail. It yelped in surprised anguish, and fell to the floor, dead.

From the corner of her eye, Bethany saw Elias dive away from his wolf and she pivoted to counter the one leaping for her – the one with the fractured teeth. She swung her hammer, but her light flickered away mid-swing before it hit the wolf, the last of her magic reserves emptied.

The wolf passed through the space where her light had been, unharmed, and clamped its jaws around Bethany’s ankle. Pain rippled up Bethany’s leg as the wolf’s fractured teeth pierced into her.

Bethany screamed. She fell to the floor, and the wolf snapped its head furiously side to side, trying to tear her leg off.

“Shit! Come on, come on,” she swore, desperately trying to block out the pain as she willed her light to return.

She felt a spark of energy within her. The hammer flared to life, but a sudden exhaustion overtook her as it did. With her depleted magic reserves, the hammer instead drew upon her own vitality – her own strength – for its creation. It was a weaker form of the hammer, and every moment that passed siphoned away more of her own energy. A cost that would inevitably kill her if used too much.

Bethany thrust her hammer into the beast’s face. Its remaining teeth shattered from the impact and dislocated its jaw. The wolf released her ankle. Its fractured teeth, including its four canines, remained stuck in Bethany’s leg, and blood soaked the floor beneath Bethany.

The wolf turned to flee, but Elias arrived and guillotined the wolf with a wild swing of his sword. Its head was severed, and Elias’ blade bit deep into the tile floor.

Elias left the sword stuck in the floor. With an indelicate motion, he hauled Bethany to her feet and placed his arm around her waist for support. Together, they limped to the barricade. Elias helped her over the barrier, and she fell into Emily and Rocky’s arms. As they climbed over, the other defenders hurled spears and daggers to slow the Spartan advance.

“Anjali, get the kids behind the pharmacy counter,” Rocky ordered, his hands pressed firmly against Bethany’s ankle as he drew on his healing magic.

His shirt was soaked with sweat as his own magic was nearly depleted. He breathed slowly as he struggled to keep his eyes open, and his healing light flickered erratically.

He’s at his limit, just like me. If he keeps pushing it, he’ll end up healing me at the expense of himself.

“Rocky, save your strength,” Bethany said weakly, but Rocky ignored her. He dug deep within himself and channeled as much healing into Bethany’s ankle as he could before the Spartans attacked.

Bethany watched as the blue healing light danced along the tears in her leg and dipped inside the holes left by the wolf's teeth. She felt tiny pricks under her skin, as if her leg had fallen asleep. The bleeding stopped and a pale scab formed over each of the puncture wounds.

Suddenly, the dancing light vanished, and Rocky collapsed against the barricade. He had drawn too much and passed out from exhaustion.

“Rocky!” shouted Emily as he slumped over. She wanted to rush to his side, but Zee’s cry drew her back.

“Incoming!” shouted Zee. He reached down for another spear and his hands came up empty.

Bethany clawed herself up the barricade to her feet, her weight on her uninjured ankle, and lay her chest against its surface for support. The Spartans had darted from their cover and were charging straight for them.

Bethany drew upon her own strength and formed her hammer again. She almost vomited from the effort as it drained away her essence.

But what choice do I have?

Elias moved to her side, a stoic expression on his face. “Stay brave,” he whispered to her. “Better to die on our feet.”

“Die?” Zee shouted with bravado. Holding a dagger in his healthy hand, he pointed towards the oncoming Spartans. “If anyone dies, it’s going to be them. I’ve got better things to do today then die.”

He gave Bethany an exaggerated wink, just as the Spartans struck their barricade.

The first Spartan went left and leapt over the makeshift wall where the barricade and pharmacy counter met. It landed between Marvin, Ben, and Abigail, the latter of whom swung at the creature in an angry frenzy with a sword nearly as tall as she was.

The second struck right, towards Anjali and Emily. The women raised their weapons in defense, and the creature mocked their efforts with a callous sneer.

The final Spartan simply rammed into the barricade with its shoulder, pouring its strength and speed into the charge. The unexpected jolt knocked the injured Bethany and Zee to the floor. Bethany hissed in pain as she landed on her torn ankle and the wound reopened.

Elias remained standing, but he was unarmed. Death flashed in the Spartan’s eyes. It leaned across the barrier, drawing back its sword to strike for Elias’ heart.

Elias punched the Spartan square between the eyes with his fist. He yelped in pain and clutched his hand to his chest, his fingers broken, but it gave them a moment – an opportunity – as the Spartan reeled back in utter surprise.

Zee threw a dagger from where he lay. It whirled through the air but struck the creature hilt first. It clattered uselessly off the Spartan’s taut muscles and came to rest atop the barricade. The Spartan’s eyes flashed with amusement.

“Shit,” Zee swore, hands scrambling beneath his cloak for another dagger.

Bethany pushed herself to her feet with her healthy leg, unable to contain her hiss of agony at the motion and brought her hammer down hard as the Spartan started to climb over the barricade. She struck side of the Spartan’s face, and this time it was the monster’s bones that shattered.

Her ankle gave way, and Bethany fell to the floor. She grasped her ankle as tears flowed and anguish became her world.

The Spartan reeled from the blow that collapsed the side of its face.

Elias reached for Zee’s dagger that was still resting atop the barricade and jammed it into the Spartan’s throat. The Spartan grasped blindly to pull the weapon out as it collapsed to the floor, its life extinguished.

Elias reached over the barricade and grabbed the creature’s sword from where it had fallen.

“Stay here, I’ll help the others,” he said. Zee gave him a weak thumbs up as he propped himself against the barricade.

Elias turned around to face the closest Spartan, only to see its sword slice clean through Marvin’s neck. The old man’s body crumpled, spear still clutched in wrinkled hands. His head rolled along the floor until it came to rest at Gabriel’s feet.

Gabriel, still seated in a stupor as he stared his brother’s body, kicked it away with a terrified shriek.

And the Spartan silently laughed.