Max Arena Read online

  ‘And who did you see?’ Elsa asked.

  Kris flicked her gaze sideways and almost whispered, ‘Abdullah.’

  Elsa nodded. ‘That’s right because he hardly left your side the whole time. Sure, Max and I and Joseph came in and sat with you a fair bit, but Abdullah, he hardly left your room since he got to the estate the morning after you crashed.’

  Kris dipped her head and turned to look out over the lawn to find Max doing standing military presses with a barbell. Elsa continued.

  ‘The moment he landed,’ Elsa added, ‘he came straight up and in the three nights and two days you were down, he left your side maybe a couple of times to freshen up and eat, although most of the time he ate out on the balcony.’

  ‘Yeah, I think it was the smell of his pancakes that actually woke me up,’ Kris said smiling.

  ‘Maybe it was the pancakes at the end, but if that light you saw in the storm really was hope, that hope had a name. Abdullah. He sat here with his prayer beads day and night and at night, he didn’t sleep. He sat in that chair and he prayed and he prayed and he prayed. You hear stories about people doing things like that, but he actually did it. I swear he has not slept a wink in the three nights that have passed and then during the day, he did no work. He’s left everything up to Joe while he sat here with you. The man is a saint or whatever the equivalent is in Islam, so if you’re looking for someone to hug, it’s him. It’s absolutely Abdullah. He’s been lost without you too.’

  Kris stayed silent, listening to Elsa’s deposition and feeling the depth of her words as they touched her deep inside. She could still see that light inside her mind, but now it had taken on a new dimension. The light now had a feeling associated with it, an emotion more powerful than any other, but Kris couldn’t bring herself to openly admit it. Instead she kept her feelings hidden despite the discomfort it gave her. The end of the world was not the time to get all soppy. She had a role to play here and her own personal desires had to come second.

  Looking up, Kris found Max standing down on the grass looking directly up at her. Her mind was made up. She needed to focus. Sacrifices needed to be made and Kris would sacrifice her feelings for Abdullah because that was the right thing to do.

  10pm, 5th August (later that night). Faith

  Max watched Elsa leave the dining room, on her way to check in on Kris before going to bed.

  ‘Your wife has a strong and kind heart,’ Abdullah said from across the table.

  Max turned to face him. ‘Yes, she does,’ he replied. ‘In most ways she’s stronger than me.’

  ‘I think you are as strong as each other,’ Abdullah said in return, ‘and I do not consider it a coincidence that you have found each other.’

  Max smirked. ‘You think it was God?’

  ‘Let’s just say you deserve each other.’

  Max nodded, his smile widening.

  ‘Why do you smile, my friend?’ Abdullah asked, his head slightly tilted.

  ‘Because I can’t help, but smile when I talk to you.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Let me put it this way. I don’t know what you hear when you listen to yourself, but for everyone else, it’s pure therapy. You have this natural ability to put people at ease and make them feel safe. Take all of us for example. You’ve come into all of our lives and in just a little over a month with the end of the world staring us down, you’ve counselled us, settled us down and to be fair, saved us from a world going bad. Fair enough, Joe has played a big role too, but it’s been you Abdullah, it’s been you who has quietly pulled all the strings in the background and got us this far and that takes skills and patience the likes of which I can’t fathom. That’s why I’m smiling. You make me want to smile.’

  Abdullah looked down at his folded hands resting in his lap. ‘I have my faith to help me,’ he said. ‘God is the bedrock on which I stand and labour and that is all the support I need, but let me say this,’ and Abdullah raised his head again to look across the table at Max. ‘While you, Max choose not to recognise Allah’s divine influence and that is your fair and just choice, you do still follow a life of faith.’

  ‘And what faith would that be?’ Max asked, genuinely curious.

  ‘Faith in yourself. The burden you carry now is perhaps greater than any other burden in the history of mankind and yet you carry it as strongly as you carry your weights. That is because of your unbreakable faith in yourself,’ Abdullah said.

  Max silently held Abdullah in his gaze for a few moments and then said, ‘What I say to you now, I know you won’t interpret as arrogant because it’s not. This burden you mention, it’s easy for me to carry because for a long time now I’ve known what I have to do. I’ve come to grips with it.’

  ‘That is true, but you do not place expectations on yourself either. If you win, you win. If you fall, you fall, but it would not be because you did not give it everything you have.’

  ‘That’s right. It’s the only way I know how to do this.’

  ‘However,’ Abdullah said, then paused, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table in front, ‘despite your outward strength, you are afraid, aren’t you?’

  Max hesitated, then nodded slightly. ‘Yes, but not about dying.’

  ‘No. Your fear is not for yourself is it? It is not for losing your own life?’

  ‘No, it’s not.’

  ‘You fear is what will happen to your family if you fall in the arena and you are not alive to protect them from whatever happens next. Is that not so?’

  Max nodded again. Abdullah continued.

  ‘You say I have counselled each of us with words of comfort and guidance,’ he said, ‘but in this matter, my friend, I have no words that can allay your fears and I am sorry for it. You may well fall in the arena and the fate of your family and indeed all of us will lie beyond our mortal control and rest in the hands of God alone, so I will not shower you with false hope. If you do fall in the arena, your family may suffer in the aftermath. However, if you will permit my belief to intrude...?’

  ‘Please, speak your mind,’ Max replied.

  ‘...even if you do not have faith in God, I believe he will reward you with what is fitting.’

  ‘And what would be fitting?’

  ‘Death finds us all, Max. I do not have to tell you that. When and how it finds us is a mystery, but there is no mystery about what happens after we pass.’

  ‘You mean Heaven?’

  ‘Yes and for a good man like you and good people like your family, Heaven indeed awaits. That is the only consolation I can give you.’

  Max held his new friend’s eye, not searching for anything, but rather trying to imprint the moment in his mind. Max had never chosen to be close to anyone other than Elsa and their children, but right now, right at this moment, he felt compelled to know this man. It felt right. It felt as though he and Abdullah were completely like minded, maybe even kindred. Then Max spoke.

  ‘You speak of mysteries, Abdullah’ he said. ‘Well, your faith is a mystery to me and yes, you’re right. I do have faith in myself and yes, it is unbreakable, but I can only believe in what I can see and what I can feel. My hands, my legs and my heart. These are the instruments of my faith and I know they are powerful. I know I can move mountains if I choose to. That’s not hubris. It’s just the truth, but even though I don’t understand your faith and God Himself, I have to say, I admire your faith all the same. It’s as unbreakable as my faith is in myself and I have nothing, but respect for that.’

  Sheikh Abdullah did not say a word. Instead he nodded, his eyes slightly softening and a tiny curl forming at the corners of his mouth. Max continued.

  ‘You don’t just wear your faith, Abdullah, you’re immersed in it and you’re not only comfortable in that place, but it absolutely suits you and there’s something else I have to tell you now.’

  Sheikh Abdullah’s gaze remained locked on Max’s. Max resumed.

  ‘I might be the one in the arena saving the wo
rld, but you, your Highness, are the one that is going to keep the world safe after I’m done. The world needs me only right now, but it needs you forever more. You’re a man separate from other men and for what you have done already for my family, all I can say is thank you. Thank you for being here and more than anything, thank you for being you.’

  Abdullah did not smile. He did not even move. A deep silence suffused the room as both men held in place, looking wordlessly across the table at each other.

  Then Abdullah smoothly rose to his feet. Turning, he glided around the table to where Max sat. Max also rose and the two men stood before each other for a moment before warmly embracing and for those few moments, despite all the trouble in their worlds, doom slipped away and two new friends set their paths and fates together in stone.

  8am, 7th August (2 days later). Unveiled

  ‘Do your make-up this morning?’ Kris asked.

  ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ Max replied as he walked across the grass towards her with Jason perched on his shoulders and Elsa and Millie walking along side. ‘Even got some product in my hair.’

  Suddenly, Millie broke out of her mother’s hand hold and sprinted towards Kris, who held her arms out wide.

  ‘Come here, you,’ Kris called out as the little girl charged into her embrace. Sweeping Millie off her feet, Kris spun around, Millie’s legs swinging outwards in unison as she giggled.

  Max lifted Jason off his shoulders and plonked him down on the grass, letting him run over and wrap his arms around Kris’ legs as well. Elsa smiled and slipped an arm around Max’s waist. A few moments later, the sound of approaching aircraft made them all turn and look towards the west.

  ‘Here they come,’ Elsa said just as three helicopter silhouettes appeared over the tree tops, heading right for the estate.

  ‘Show time,’ Kris said as she put Millie back down on the ground.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ sounded a voice behind them.

  Everyone turned to find Joseph and Abdullah walking up behind them, also looking up at the incoming craft.

  ‘I pray this works,’ Abdullah said.

  ‘No fear, Your Highness,’ Kris said, still holding Millie’s hand. ‘One look at what Max is just about to do and I guarantee the whole world will sit up and watch.’

  * * *

  On the edge of Kris’ training area on the southern lawn of the estate, Prime Minister Joseph Tollsen stood in front of the assembled media and waited for them all to fix their attention on him. All up, about twenty press professionals stood restlessly in the warm winter’s sun, cordoned together and clearly eager to get their first look at this mysterious champion of theirs’.

  After disgorging from the helicopters, the men and women of the media gallery had been herded into this particular space and instructed to set up their cameras, which they all did quickly and without question. Several individuals had also attempted to snatch a few shots of the generous scattering of military security across the broad lawn, but were quickly and forthrightly told to be patient, or else. Joe cleared his throat and all eyes fixed on him.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he began, ‘firstly, thank you for accepting our invitation to be here with us for the next few days. We will show you to your lodgings in a short while and endeavour to make your stay both comfortable and rewarding.’

  A few heads turned and looked around, mostly to remind themselves of just how much security surrounded them. Some looked up to the constantly circling Black Hawk high overhead, but most held their stance, eyes in front and fingers cocked on the trigger buttons of their digital cameras hanging around their necks.

  Joe continued. ‘Secondly, this is no holiday retreat you’ve been invited to. We need your help, sincerely. As you know, mankind and indeed all the world, has been threatened by an alien menace that seeks to destroy us for reasons we do not know. We will continue to try and establish the reason for this threat, but also as you all know, this menace has indicated one means of averting and nullifying this threat and that is through the actions of one man. A chosen man. A man who from the six billion people on this planet, has been selected to enter a life and death arena to fight for the survival of all that we know and hold dear. If this man is victorious against whatever foes are pitted against him, we all will be spared this threat and live on unchallenged and unharmed.’

  The contingent of reporters and photographers stood transfixed to Joe’s monologue . He had them in his sway and he knew it. Joe kept on.

  ‘However, despite this glimmer of optimism for peace, our way of life has begun to erode due to the uncertainty of our future. Doom gathers over us like storm clouds and fear has taken root in our society, across all the world. The very fabric of our civilisation is in jeopardy, even before this alien menace has set foot on our planet. If we are to survive beyond the arena, then we as a species must bond together to first make it to the arena. We are beginning to falter as we let our fears grow unchecked and unchallenged. We are beginning to die before we have even tried to fight back. We are in fact killing ourselves. So, what we bring to you today and in turn ask you to send across the world, is hope. We have a weapon with which to combat our fears in this gathering darkness. We have a torch that will shine a light on all our faces and lead us forward. We have a champion, the likes of which none of us have ever seen and have only ever imagined or read about in the wilds of mythology and legend. We have a man, just one man and why he was chosen, we don’t know, but thank God it was him because he is worthy of legend and today, you will see him for the first time and the help we ask of you is to tell the world about him. Take your message to every corner of the globe. Show your pictures and vision to all who can see. Shout his name and his might across the world for all who can hear. It is time to beat the drums and bring ourselves together and remind ourselves that we are human and we are powerful and in the face of this spectre that seeks to bring us down, we are one. We are one.’

  Jaws dropped. Eyes grew wide and the world became still behind Joe’s passion. Goose bumps rose and tingled over skin. Even those in military dress standing within earshot felt that same tingle. Joe held the pause just long enough for his words to escalate the emotion he needed his audience to feel. Searching the eyes of the gallery, he found his message ingrained. His first job was done. Joe then raised his left arm to the green expanse adjacent and said firmly, ‘I give you Max.’

  All heads flicked around to the circuit course laid out on the grass and the group scrambled to their cameras, jostling as they moved. Joe slipped quietly away and started to make his way towards a marquee that had been set up at the end of the circuit closest the house. Under the shade sat Abdullah, his gaze hooded behind his sunglasses, but Joe knew he was scanning the scene in front; the grassed circuit, the media gallery and across the other side of the circuit, the Pain Train, it’s orange bulk and massive “X” the perfect backdrop.

  Joe sat in the vacant chair next to Abdullah and also cast his gaze across the scene in front. Then, lifting his hand, Abdullah rested it on Joe’s forearm next to him and without turning spoke quietly.

  ‘Thank you, Joseph. Your words reflect your soul. You are indeed the right man to lead us.’

  Joe nodded and felt goose bumps rise on his own skin. Even he was looking forward to this.

  Then the door of the Pain Train began to lower, the ramp slowly opening until it closed onto the rich green turf. A few moments later, Max strode out of the trailer and directly into the public eye, the world collectively holding its breath.

  9pm, 7th August (later that night). The World Sees

  ‘Well, it’s official,’ Kris said as she walked into the sitting room after dinner to join Max, Elsa, Joe and Abdullah. ‘Max, you’re the most famous human on the planet right now. This morning’s training footage just went to the all time top on YouTube, knocking Gangnam Style off the top spot with over three million hits and that was just today.’

  Max who was standing at the wide open threshold leading out onto the immense stone balco
ny simply turned and raised his bottle of electrolytes to her, nodding as he did.

  ‘That’s my man,’ Elsa said, smooching over and snaking an arm around her husband’s waist and pulling in close. From his seat on the couch, Abdullah cast a quick glance over the rim of his cup of tea to Joe who nodded back from his own seat on the opposite side of the coffee table.

  ‘So, I think this deserves a celebration,’ Kris continued. ‘Someone mentioned something about a wine cellar downstairs and if whoever owns this place is as rich as I think they are, then that cellar must have some pretty flash champers in it. Who’s up for a glass?’

  ‘I’m in!’ Elsa called back.

  ‘Great! Who else?’ Kris asked. ‘Max, as your trainer, you can have one glass. Maybe two if you promise to give me double burpees tomorrow.’

  ‘Gee. You know how to charm a bloke,’ Max replied, turning back in to face the rest of the group. ‘Guess I’m in then.’

  ‘It would be my pleasure to join you,’ Prime Minister Joseph Tollsen said.

  ‘Your Highness?’ Kris asked, turning to face Abdullah.

  ‘Thank you, but no,’ Abdullah said, bowing in his seat and lowering his cup of tea to his lap.

  ‘Oh,’ Kris said suddenly, raising a hand to her mouth. ‘Sorry. Sorry. Religion right?’

  Abdullah smiled and nodded. Kris then held both her hands out in front, a blush colouring her cheeks.

  ‘Please, do not be concerned,’ Abdullah said, his smile widening. ‘My indulgence is watching you all enjoy the fruits of the cellar. Toast away.’

  Kris smiled now too as she and Abdullah looked at each other a little longer than intended. Elsa nudged Max in the ribs with an elbow. Max nudged her back.