Renegade

Renegade - By Fiona Mackenzie

The year is 2086…

A field three times the size of a superbowl stadium. Packed with screaming fans.

Onto the field charge two teams of 6, superhuman sized athletes, dressed in Red and Black, all of whom wear total body armor, helmets and headshields. Once on the field, these Warrior Athletes “raise” their helmets to the screaming fans, saluting them…acknowledging them.

The leader of the Blacks is Ethan, age 24, handsome, extremely tense.

Each Athlete then Presses a tiny monitor on their chest on the left side of their chests, and a virtual, heart-shaped locket appears inside. The locket slides open to reveal a photograph. These images of family, friends and loved ones, both male, female, and varying ages, appear on a giant stadium wall, displayed inside a giant “heart shaped” screen. The fans turn to look in AWE as they each now see who each gladiator is fighting to SAVE and DEFEND. Some photos are of wives, older parents, same sex partners, younger siblings or very small children. All of these people are trapped by the Ruling Elite and in some cases, as evidenced by their photos, actually imprisoned for some real or fabricated transgression. When Ethan taps his monitor inside the locket we see Alex, his younger brother, age 13, lying in a hospital bed. Alex is covered in bruises, with tubes in his throat, his eyes semi closed. An armed Guard stands at the door of the hospital room. On the field Ethan, glances up at Alex’s image displayed on the stadium wall. He then “crosses” himself, praying for victory, and taps his chest monitor and the locket disappears.

A Game Announcer appears on the stadium wall screens, amping up the crowd and players even more. The entire stadium goes crazy, screaming for their favorite players. As the game kicks off, people start massively betting, both on line and from their seats. The wager for the game rapidly shoots up to a hefty $ 100,300,267 dollars.

In a Skybox, several well-fed team owners and VIPs nod appreciatively, pointing at the screens. This is gonna be a Big Payday.

The game starts, and the athletes start chasing the ball down the field, passing it, kicking it, and hurling it if they can, towards an end zone, blocked by two huge Goalies. Ethan is running, passing, scoring. With each point he earns, he Taps his monitor and the locket appears. We can see that Alex’s health is improving, as Ethan’s points go up. Alex’s eyes are now open. His bruises fading. His breathing more regular. This image is shown up on the stadium wall, along with the heart shaped monitor images of several other players who have either scored, blocked or tackled an opponent, winning successive points.

Tanya, a lithe, super fast female player for the REDs, moves rapidly down the field, scoring a complex “triple point”. The crowd goes wild. Tanya “taps” her monitor and her heart shaped locket opens. A picture of an Elderly Man, her Grandfather, late 80’s appears on her “heart” and also on the stadium wall. He has a sweet face, and stares at the crowd with profound sadness. When he raises both his hands, we see they are bound with heavy metal shackles. Behind him on the wall is a clock, showing only 8 minutes, 36 seconds left. What he did, or how long he has been there imprisoned, we will never know. All we see is the sadness in his eyes, and the fire in Tanya’s as she tries to save him within 8 minutes...She flies down the field and collides with Ethan, in a hard core, mid-air strike. As she and Ethan lock eyes, she mouths “I’m sorry” and goes on to score again, hitting 21 points on her personal tally. Her body armor now projects the number “21” on her back. The crowd goes berserk. She is now free to leave the game!

At that point, Tanya SLAMS her chest monitor, and her locket appears and “opens”. She turns and Screams to the stadium and the universe, “Release Him!” On the giant screen above the stadium walls, her Grandfather’s shackles open up. The Guard helps lift him, and walk him carefully out of his cell, to freedom. The crowd roars its support as Tanya exits the field. She is the first player to stay alive, exit the game, and save their human.

As Tanya passes Ethan, he catches eyes with her and nods. She mouths, “Good Luck” as they pass on the field. Ethan nods again, with respect. They both understand the rules of the deadly game.

The Announcer screams, “Second quarter! Time for a headcount!” Up on the stadium wall, inside the giant heart shaped monitors, we see which Player has how many points, who is injured/out and who is still playing, which of their “humans” is still alive and can still be saved.

Ethan’s body armor illuminates the number “19”. He is two points away from 21 and saving his brother’s life.

And as the human images inside the stadium’s locket shaped monitors fade and then disappear, the remaining Players on the field shrug it off, and dive back in. Ethan taps the heart shaped locket inside his monitor, and says to Alex, “Don’t worry. I got this.” In his hospital room, Alex, eyes now open, nods. In the huddle, Ethan yells to his teammates, “To Victory and Freedom! Release Them!” As they break the huddle, he races towards the end zone, hoping to score 21, and save young Alex once and for all….

THE END