Firefly ✔️

Cruel

Callox fights exactly as I expected. No sooner had the command left Captain Hebi's mouth than his first punch was rapidly approaching my head. Expecting this, I dodge to my right and skip around to the other side. Callox spins, glaring at me. "Light on your feet, huh, Little Mouse? Too bad you can't win a fight just by dodging around the ring."

He lunges at me again, but I duck under his punch, feeling it graze the top of my head, and I spin out the other side. "Yes, Soul!" Takka yells.

Callox turns once again and his eyes narrow. "Cute."

This is going surprisingly well.

This time, his lunge is sloppy and as I duck to the side, I throw my hand out, grazing his throat with the back of my hand. He turns quickly this time, and his punch barely makes an impact on my shoulder. I land a low-power punch to his ribs, and I stumble away from him, my shoulder thumping in pain. I manage to dodge the next one as well, slapping my open palm against his head. I'm just trying to land anything at this point. I need to break him down so I can beat him.

Suddenly, he's in front of me. I dodge, but my foot catches on something. Did he really just trip me? I land hard on my back and he's on top of me immediately, his hands holding my wrists down on the mat. At least this way he can't punch me. I wrap my legs around his waist to prevent him from being able to kick or knee me.

A disgusting smile appears on his face and his left hand releases my right, replacing it on my hip. He presses me toward himself and slams his hips forward. My face drops in disgust. Did he just... hump me?

"You like that, Little Mouse?" He does it again and I hear an angry shout from the bystanders. Anger rolls through me like a wave, all coming to a head in my free right fist. I slam my fist forward and make an impact on the front of his face, feeling his nose buckle. The blood comes immediately, dripping onto my shirt as the big man lets out a strangled roar of pain.

I shove him off of me and stand up, looking down to find him rolling in agony. I turn away, feeling violated and disgusted as I stomp down the stairs. "Soul!" I hear the alarmed cry, and spin around to find Callox up again, rage in his bloody face, leaping into the air. I have no time to dodge, throwing my hands up in a desperate attempt to ward off the coming blow. My feet tangle, and I fall backward, hitting the floor hard and squeezing my eyes shut.

The pain doesn't come, and I open my eyes a second later to see Thatcher holding Callox by the throat, throwing him back onto the mat. I look up at him, my head resting between his feet. How did he get here so quickly?

He looks down, the worry in his eyes not showing on the rest of his face. He helps me up.

Suddenly, a red faced Captain Hebi appears next to us. "And what exactly was that, Sgt?"

Thatcher pushes me quickly behind him, facing the angry man. "It's your rule that there is no fighting outside the circle, is it not, Sir? I was merely enforcing that."

The captain's eyes narrow.

"Youngblood won, Sir. She's done fighting."

Anger once again flicks across the Captain's face. "She'll be done when I say she's done. Get back onto the mat, Girl." he turns his anger back to Thatcher. "And you go back to that corner where you belong."

Thatcher clenches his fist by his side, anger radiating off of him. "Yes, Sir." He says through clenched teeth.

My heart sinks and Thatcher doesn't look at me as he walks away. Captain Hebi turns to me, looming over my frozen body. "Get back in the ring, Private."

I look up to where Callox stands, blood drying on his face, and terror runs through me. "I-I can't."

His hand is suddenly on me and he squeezes so hard I think he may break my arm. I cry out and my knees buckle. He steps forward, hurling me up onto the mat. I open my eyes in time to see him nod, and a searing pain shoots up my side, then another impact. Kicks. Callox is kicking me. He wails on my ribs.

I wrap my arms around my torso and pull my legs close, tucking my head and closing my eyes. Blow after blow comes, wailing down on my arms, my legs, my head. The coppery taste of blood is in my mouth, bitter and unwelcoming. I pry my eyes open to see Thatcher yelling at his watch. "No, now! He's going to kill her!"

A foot comes for my face. I throw my hands up, and squeeze my eyes shut, catching it and sending pain shooting up my arms. Everyone is yelling, but no one will help me. Why won't anyone help me? My hair sticks to my face, trying to suffocate me. My heartbeat thuds in my ears and under my skin, much faster than it should be going, deafening out almost everything else in the room.

Am I going to die here?

A hard kick lands on my thighs. He's near my feet. I have to do something; no one else will.

I pry my eyes open. Darkness threatens to consume me. I can't. I can't let it end here.

I have something now. I have... a shot. A single shot at the future is all I need to continue living. One shot.

I let out a strangled battle cry and kick out as hard as I can at him. Miraculously, I feel an impact.

Now. I have to stand up now.

I wobble to my feet, my right eye swollen shut. Callox, who I managed to kick off the mat, appears in front of me once again. My vision blurs. I'm off balance. I stumble back, but don't fall.

Callox's hand wraps around my throat, lifting me into the air. My right arm is dead, tingling when I try to move it. I claw at his hand with my left, but I'm weak and my middle finger seems to be broken.

Tears well up in my eyes. Stop. Don't cry. Not in front of him.

My ears pop and my bloody, matted hair still clings to my face. I gasp for air. I'm suffocating. Please.

My hand drops away as my vision clouds, and finally everything goes completely silent.

"Stop!" Captain Gordon's voice booms. The iron grasp around my throat loosens and disappears completely.

I manage to land on my feet, sucking in air, stumbling backwards. Air. I look up, my vision still blurry, to see Captain Gordon standing in the doorway. Thatcher is running toward me but my knees are already collapsing. Takka's blurry face appears at the bottom of the stairs, arms outstretched toward me, just as the darkness closes in.