A sudden thud behind me breaks my focus.
Turning, I cant help but feel surprised.
John lays on the floor, his small and scrawny opponent straddled on top of him, his fists hammering down wildly, striking both John's face and body. The slum rat didn't seem to be doing much damage, yet the fact he managed to take John down was extremely disturbing.
I didn't have have time to process it.
Quick movements catch my eye. The senator's son is back on his feet.
He quickly swings at me, catching me off guard. Unable to respond in time, I find myself staggering backwards as his fist collides with my chin.
He follows up with a jab, the impact jolting me back into reality.
Baffled, I cover my face, as I attempt to regain my bearings.
He begins getting cocky, winding up a huge right hook. I lean back just in time, narrowly dodging the swing.
Countering, I thrust my leg forward, my foot slamming into his stomach sending him staggering backwards
We circle each other again, our earlier arrogance gone.
We no longer underestimated each other.
I waited for him to make the first move, slowly edging in and out of his range, attempting to bait out some sort of attack.
It never comes.
I stare into his eyes, attempting to read the man. He keeps his distance and remains cautious. He no longer seems to be going for take downs. was he intimidated by my grappling?
I enter his range again, tip toeing ever closer to him. He watches my hands, not my stance, nor my eyes. Seeing this, I cant help but take advantage. I shift my hips, and plant my left leg.
Thrusting off of it, my right foot swings up in a brutal arc, my heel crashing into the man's face.
The impact is devastating. I watch as he loses his balance, falling backwards.
I jump at the opportunity, mounting the man, and gripping his long brown hair.
I proceed to use it as a handle, pulling him over and smashing his face against the concrete floor.
The crowd roars.
I don't know if they're cheering for me or for the fight itself. The ship's crew seems to really enjoy the violence. They remind me of space pirates. Perhaps in some ways, they actually are pirates.
Interrupting my thoughts, I feel something tighten around my neck.
I look down, only to see a pair of arms wrapping around my neck.
They tighten their hold, squeezing and cutting off my air. My grip on the senator's son slips as I begin to claw at the hands choking me.
I try to get out of it, but I'm too late. He already has a strong hold.
I dig my fingernails into his arms, desperate to create some space.
My lungs begin to burn.
I start to panic as he uses his other arm to wrench my neck down even further, cutting off even more air.
Realizing i've got to do something, I plant my feet once again and thrust up, somehow managing to stand.
I hear the slum rat's disgusting, dry, and raspy laugh in my ear as his legs wrap around my waist, hanging onto my back like some sort of parasite.
I twist and turn, attempting to throw his body off of me, yet it doesn't work. Nothing shakes him off.
He holds on, his chokehold getting progressively tighter.
Feeling my strength leaving me, I realize that I must do something desperate. The weight of the slum rat makes me feel unbalanced and it gives me an idea.
Using all my remaining power, I bend my knees and jump up, using all my weight to fall backwards onto the slum rat.
A sickening crack blesses my ears as his small body gets crushed between the momentum, my weight, and the hard concrete below.
I hear the slum rat scream in pain as his grip begins to loosen.
I cant help but feel relieved as I break out of his tight hold.
Taking deep and heavy breathes, I roll away from him, putting some distance between us. I was tired, and breathless. My body ached, and my head throbbed.
I lay on my back, watching as the slum rat rises up from the floor.
How could he still move? Was he not tired? Was he not hurt?
"Im not gonna die here." He mutters, walking toward me like a corpse too stubborn to die.
He drops onto me straddling my waist, smashing his fists against my face.
I barely feel the pain. My face is numb, yet I feel the hot blood dripping down as his knuckles continue to cut open new wounds.
My vision begins to blur, and darken.
Was I really gonna die to a slum rat? Was I really going to die to someone who was inferior to me in almost every way?
Then I hear it. A loud and sudden clap. It struck like thunder.
John's flying knee slams into side of the slum rat's head.
I feel the weight on top of me disappearing as the rat topples over. He was unconscious.
Yet John isn't finished. He doesn't stop at just a knockout.
He mounts the rat's unconscious body, his fists rising and falling in a relentless assault.
Blood spatters across the concrete. The sound of flesh hitting flesh rattles my ears. I don't stop him, nor do I move.
Instead, I turn my head, wishing to avoid watching the man perish, yet i'm only met with the vacant gaze of the senator's son.
His neck was twisted at an extremely unnatural angle, his dead eyes locking into mine.
John had already dealt with him.
A shudder runs through me. He was dead.
His body looked so lifeless, and his distorted face seemed so... ugly.
Did I really do this to him? Did I really kill him?
I feel sick.
No.
I am not the one responsible for this.
I did what I had to do.
I wasn't even the one who them.
Hell, they even tried to kill me!
It's not my fault, its theirs!
They are criminals, the worst of the worst.
If anything, I did the universe a favor by helping get rid of them.