He was in the cattle pen, all alone. Vallum's mind had been thrown back to the only moment in his life to cause him nightmares. He was five years old, and he had woken up even before his father. His dad's birthday was that day, so he wanted to feed the cattle so his dad wouldn't have too. He started by carrying the big water bucket back and forth between the well and the water bucket. Then he went to the shed and prepared the barrel of feed. When he finished getting the barrel ready, he started rolling it toward the trough inside the pasture. He had tried to carry it, like his dad did, but he wasn't big enough yet. He made it halfway to the trough when the cows went crazy and started to stampede toward him. He looked over and saw that a rabid wolf on the back of one of the cows. It clawed and tore at the skin of the poor beast.
"Vallum!" His father tore out of the house, running toward the field after the commotion.
Vallum started to run toward his father, but he tripped before he could make it. He fell to the ground, still in the path of the stampeding cows that were getting closer. He turned over on his back and stared at the huge animals rushing toward him. The fear and speed of the animals approaching him froze him in place. The creatures got closer and closer until...
Oof.
Vallum was tackled and his face was shoved into the ground. He could feel the iron muscles of his father wrapped around his body as the stampede reached them. The thundering of hooves all around them was deafening and they were thrown around in the maelstrom. When the cows had passed on, Vallum's father stood up. His clothes were torn to shreds and his body was marked with cuts and bruises. Vallum could remember looking up at the mess his father was in and sobbing. His father looked down at him to make sure that he was okay and then took off towards the wolf that had downed a cow were the stampede originated. His father raced toward the beast that was foaming at the mouth. When the wolf saw him, it sprang off the cow and launched itself at the approaching farmer. Vallum still had tears streaming down his face as he saw his father cock his arm back and launch his fist into a brutal downward strike on the airborne wolf's skull. Blood flew everywhere from the impact and the wolf was throw to the ground, not moving.
The memory stopped. Vallum was brought back into the moment. Shaking with fear, Vallum used both legs to kick up into the jaw of the bull that was now over him. Its head was thrown upward, and it charged over Vallum. Thanks to the size of the bull, there was room for Vallum to fit under is as it charged without being trampled. Looking for a way to end this confrontation, Vallum ran after the bull before it could turn around and he launched a kick into the joint of its hind leg. The back leg of the bull buckled, and it dropped down for a moment, allowing Vallum to scramble onto its back. The crowd cheered at his maneuver, and for the first time since the beginning of the fight, he remembered that the crowd was there. The bull started bucking and Vallum clutched onto it with both hands and his legs. He held on until the bull stopped bucking for a sliver of time, then he slid up the bulls back and started pummeling the creature's head with his fists. The bucking started again, and without a good grip, Vallum was thrown to the ground. He hit the ground hard, but he could tell that the bull was slowing down from his punches. His heart pounded in his chest as the beast stared him down and charged him one more time. He quickly stood up and went to jump out of the way, but his foot slipped on a rock. He fell to one knee right in front of the bull's hoof, and it ran right through him. The hoof connected with his head, bringing a resounding CRACK! He slumped to the ground unconscious.
***
When Vallum woke up, he was back in the room with just the bed roll and chamber pot. His head was bloody and roughly bandaged and the rest of his body was sore. He crawled over and downed the contents of the little cup that had been left inside the door. Once he crawled back to the bed, he fell asleep until his door was thrown open again. Two armed men walked in the room.
"Time for round two." One of the men said.
"I just got down being pummeled by that Gheji bull of yours," Vallum resisted, " And I haven't eaten in over a day."
"Two matches a day. One in the morning and one in the evening." The other guard said, "You get food whenever you win."
"How many times am I going to have to fight that bull?" Vallum's heart was already racing at the thought of getting back in the arena with the bull.
"Ah, don't worry about that. Big Bruce is like that mascot around here. He is everyone's first fight. It's like a tradition. Most of your matches won't have something as tough as Big Bruce. Watching the old bull when every time would get boring fast. People would stop placing bets." The man said.
Vallum regained some control over his body, but his heart was still going faster than usual. He knew that once he stepped back into the arena with an opponent that he could conquer then his confidence would return. Until then, he had to fight the fear that was dug up from deep inside of him.
The rest of the way to the arena was walked in silence, and they came to the end of the corridor. Then Vallum took a deep breath and stepped out into the arena.