Merciless

9: Holding Out

Erebus threw the first punch, aiming straight at Rayon's head. The larger man sidestepped it and retaliated with his own swing, which Erebus hopped away from. He dropped to the ground and kicked out at Rayon's legs. Rayon also kicked out and managed to hit Erebus in the stomach, sending him tumbling back before his kick could land. He caught himself and rushed Rayon as fast as he could, drawing his knife. He slashed out, forcing him to step back. When he swung the knife a second time, Rayon caught his wrist, but Erebus brought his knee up sharply into his leg. Rayon stumbled, letting go of his wrist. Erebus put the knife away and began throwing boxer punches at Rayon's stomach and face. He blocked most of them, but it only took him to miss one solid punch to his face and he was knocked back again. Erebus continued to punch at him with all his strength, determined to knock him out in record time.

" Not so tough now! I told you I had this, Nem!" Erebus shouted with a smug grin on his face as he kept landing hit after hit. Nemesis looked away from the fight to finish picking the lock on the toolbox. Finally it popped open, and she smiled.

" Oh shit!" She heard Erebus suddenly shout. That didn't sound good. She snapped her head up in time to see him flying backwards towards her. She ducked down and he went sailing over her, landing on the ground behind her with a terrible thud. She scurried over to him. He was groaning and hissing in pain, clutching his shoulder. She could only assume he had dislocated it with his ungraceful landing.

" Fuck sake! Stay here and call Metis. Find out how far away they are." She took out her phone and put it on his chest. He muttered something between his pained moans, but she didn't have any patience to ask what he said. She grabbed a monkey wrench from the toolbox she had just opened and glared at Rayon. He was grinning a boastful sneer as he watched her march towards him, clutching the wrench tight. All she had to do was postpone him, hold out long enough for the others to get there and he'd be vastly outnumbered. Though she and Erebus were the main fighters of the group, they could only do so much before back up was needed. Rayon was twice her size, and no doubt much stronger than her, but she had faced similar problems in the past and knew one thing. No one was as crafty as she was. She stopped a few feet in front of him, waiting for him to make the first move. He was staring at her, his eyes briefly dropping to the steel tool in her right hand.

" You think you can kill me with a wrench?" He laughed, smoothing his already flat hair. In response, she tapped the wrench against her leg, raising her head slightly.

" Wouldn't be the first man I've killed with one." She said. He raised his eyebrow.

" It's a shame you're royalty. I'd have loved to work with the best mercenaries in the system." He rolled his head, letting his neck crack loudly. Before she could say anything back to him, he lunged forward, fist raised and aimed at her face. She dived to the side to avoid it and swung the wrench at his back, hitting right in the middle with an off-putting 'clang'. His momentum and the force of the hit made him stumble slightly as he stopped himself and turned sharply to face her again. A moment of dead air passed between them before he barrelled towards her again. She stood her ground and waited until the last second before he was about to collide into her to swing the wrench up and smash his chin, making him stumble back again. His hand flew up to his mouth, a yell of pain escaping him as blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He spat out the blood and wiped his chin, glaring at her furiously.

She quickly became distracted by Erebus, who had sat up and was waving his arms about, pointing at her. It took her a second to realise he was mouthing the words 'behind you!', by which time she was too late to stop the sudden kick that was dealt to the back of her left knee. She jutted forward, landing on all fours. She used the momentum to drop her head and see a pair of boots standing behind her. The woman they hadn't killed earlier was there, and her shadow was stretched out behind her. Nemesis saw the shadow's arms raise with the solid shape of a baseball bat ready to crush her. She rolled to the side, narrowly missing the deadly blow, and threw the wrench full force at the woman's head. It made a bone-breaking crack as it made contact and the woman's body fell limp, collapsing in a heap. At the very least, the woman was out cold.