"Art"

The gate opens and someone from above stabs me with a spear.  I run out into a ring away from the man and see three men around the perimeter, I’m trapped.  I run at one man but he jumps between a crack in the wood… too small for me to fit.  I see another man and try to get to him but he disappears as well.  From the corner of my eye, I see the gate open again but this time more men are coming out.  Two this time on tall horses.  The horses wear a thick padding over their body, hiding their legs and vulnerable belly.  Their eyes are blindfolded, probably because the sight of me would frighten them.  The men on the horses carry large sticks and position themselves around the ring, waiting for me to come.  Everyone else is gone now except for the two horses so I charge at one.  I attack it with my horns and try to puncture the thick padding but it doesn’t work.  I try to tip the horse to attack the man on top but the horse is too heavy.  A spear jabs through my back.  I bleed.  Another stab.  Cheers from the crowd above cut through the air.  I run away in pain.  The horses walk out through the gate and I see the three men again. 

            A fourth man comes into the ring now with two large sticks in his hand.  He is unprotected from his cape so I charge at him.  He charges at me.  He jumps at the last second and stabs the sticks into my back.  He runs away before I can get him.  I bleed some more. 

            He runs at me again. He hooks the spears into my back again.  Thick hooks pull at my muscles and tear at my skin.  He does it again as more and more blood pour out of my wounds.  The men disappear from the stadium and the crowd goes silent.  A man comes out now with a red cape.  He stands there in his skin tight suit and throws his hat on the ground.  His shirt sparkles in the sunlight as he looks at his cheering audience.  I charge at him and he waves his cape at me.  I try to gore it, but he pulls it away too fast.  His body disappears and all I can see is the movement of the cape.  I charge and I miss, I charge and I miss.  I get tired.

            Music plays in the distance.  Horns screech in the air with the pounding of the drums and crashing of syllables.  I continue trying to attach and continue missing. I tire out so much that I just stop.  The music stops as well.  The cape moves closer and closer but I have no energy left.  I see the man take out a sword and point it at me.  He runs and stabs me through the back. 

            It pierces my skin and tears through my muscle and my organs.  I run at him but the movement cuts my innards and tears my muscles beyond repair.  I paralyze myself as my insides get torn apart by the sword stuck inside of me.  I fall to the ground and look up at the man.  He comes closer with a dagger.  He stabs at my neck until I bleed some more.  He stabs again and again as I twitch and kick. Stabs again and I’m dead.  The crowd cheers as they wave white handkerchiefs and look down at my dead body.  The man cuts off my ear as the crowd shouts “OTRA OTRA OTRA!!” He turns over my heavy head and cuts off the other one.  He holds them up for the crowd and they cheer even louder.  A standing ovation. He throws them into the crowd and walks away to people throwing hats and flowers and wine at his feet as two men attach chains to my lifeless body and three horses charge away dragging my bloody corpse against the dirt, out of the ring to be disposed of…The next five bulls suffer the same fate.