The Gladiator

If the price of his friends' lives was his own, then so be it.

An i

'Fuck Ajax,' Cato muttered to himself through clenched teeth.

The decurion who was walking his horse beside him glanced at Cato. 'Sir?'

'What?' Cato glared at him.

'I thought you said something. An order, like.'

'No. It was nothing. Nothing.' Cato moved round to the side of the horse.' Mount up!'

The horses' flanks were still heaving like bellows and the decurion looked at Cato ready to protest, then bit his lip. The rest of the squadron wearily pulled themselves back into the saddle and took up their reins.

'Get a move on!' Cato barked at the slowest of them. 'If we're too late, then the gods help you.'

'Sir,' the decurion edged his mount closer to Cato and lowered his voice, 'the lads are exhausted.'

'I don't bloody care. We have to reach Gortyna as soon as possible.

D'you hear?'

'Sir, it will not make any difference how quickly we reach Gortyna.' He gestured to his men. 'There's only thirty of us. If the slaves are there, then we're not going to be able to do anything. If they've already dealt with the city, then...' He shrugged. 'We won't be able to change what has happened.'

'I don't give a damn,' Cato growled. 'I'm in command, and if we have to ride the horses into the ground to reach Gortyna before dark, we'll do it. Understand?'

The decurion took a deep breath and nodded.

'Then let's go.' Cato thrust his arm in the air, and swept it forwards as he spurred his horse into a trot. 'Advance!'

He increased the pace into a gallop and they pounded on down the road. Late in the afternoon, as the shadows were lengthe ning, the milestones indicated that the city was close. The crops on either side had been harvested, and the trees in the orchards and olive groves that they passed were stripped bare, as if a host of locusts had swept through the land. There were bodies too, sprawled beside carts and wagons that had been unable to outrun the slaves. Cato felt his guts knot in agony as he saw the evidence that Ajax and his army had gone before him. He was being driven to the edge of sanity by the dread of the sight that would greet them when they finally reached the city.

Then they passed the last milestone, as the road climbed over a slight rise, and the city was there before them. Cato reined in.

'Halt!'

As the horses snorted and the riders breathed heavily, Cato squinted as he sca

'Ours or theirs?' muttered the decurion.

'Only one way to find out,' Cato replied, tightening his grip on the reins.

The decurion looked sharply at him. 'If they are slaves, then our mounts are too far gone to make much of an escape.'

'Then you had better pray that those are our men.' Cato waved the column on and urged his horse into a trot. They made their way across the plain towards the city. At their approach there was a thin blast from a horn and those outside the city hurriedly made their way back towards the nearest gates and sally ports. Cato slowed the pace as they came within quarter of a mile of the city's west gate and ordered the squadron's standard bearer to raise his staff so. that the pe

The decurion gestured towards the men on the gate. 'They're clearly ours, sir.'

'Too early to say,' Cato replied.' The rebels have been helping themselves to the kit they took off our men. Keep your eyes peeled.'

As Cato walked his horse towards the closed gate, a figure stepped up behind the ramparts and raised a hand. 'Halt! You at the front, advance and be recognised.'

Cato clicked his tongue and edged forward. 'Tribune Cato!

Returning from Alexandria with the reinforcement column. Open the gate!'

'Yes, sir!' the optio on watch replied, with evident relief.

Moments later the doors swung inwards and Cato spurred his horse into the city, followed by the rest of the squadron. As soon as he was through the arched gateway he slipped off the back of the horse and strode over to the optio, jerking his thumb towards the plain.

'Seems you had company whilst I was gone.'

'Yes, sir. Thousands of 'em.'

'Did they give you any trouble?'

'They made one attack the day they arrived, and paid a heavy price. After that they settled in to starve us out.'

'So where are they?'

The optio shook his head.' No idea, sir. They were gone this morning. Must have marched off during the night and left the fires burning so we wouldn't catch on until first light. The governor's sent patrols off to search for them and see where they're headed.'

'The governor?' Cato frowned. 'Where's the prefect? Macro?'

'Macro's gone, sir.'

'Gone?' Cato stepped up to the optio and grabbed his harness.

'What do you mean, gone?'

'Captured, sir.'

'Macro taken prisoner? I don't believe it. How is that possible? You said the attack was beaten off.'

'It didn't happen then, sir. It was afterwards, while he was trying to get the governor's daughter to safety, away from the city.'

Cato swallowed and stared into the optio's eyes, unblinking. He lowered his voice.' The governor's daughter, was she also captured?'

'Yes, sir.'

'How do you know this?'

'The leader of the rebels, that gladiator, had them brought forward in a cage when he tried to talk the governor into surrendering.'

Cato felt a flush of hope lighten his heart. 'So they're alive.'

'Yes, sir. Or at least they were when the gladiator showed them to the governor. That was several days ago though, sir. Last anyone has seen of them.'

Dread flooded back into Cato's heart. He looked down and saw his knuckles were white where he was holding the optio's harness so tightly. He forced himself to let go and step back, and gestured to the cavalrymen. 'Have these men taken to the stables at the governor's palace. Make sure horses and men get fed and find them a place to rest.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Does the governor still have his headquarters up on the acropolis?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Very well.' Cato breathed deeply to ease the tension in his chest.

'Carry on, Optio.'

Leaving his horse in the care of the decurion, Cato made his way through the streets towards the road leading up to the entrance of the acropolis. The townspeople forced to live in the ruins he passed spared him no more than a glance as they prepared for the evening meal. The weary resignation of their spirits was clear in almost every face. Only the children showed any signs of life and contentment as they heedlessly played amid piles of rubble between the surviving buildings.