Second Wind

Chapter 3: Angel on My Shoulder

AN: Multimedia is Angel!

I raised my fists over my face in the standard boxing defence position. I didn't know her fighting style, so I wasn't sure which fighting stance to take. I knew I could adapt based on how she attacked me, but starting off strong was everything in a fight.

The girl was small, smaller than me by a long shot. She danced around me lightly, her head bobbing up and down like a snake. I made sure that I had a strong stance, reading to launch a punch when she came at me.

She feigned to my right, her left had flashing towards my ribs. I brought my right arm down, causing my elbow to knock her fist out of the way. My left arm, the stronger of the two, darted forward and knocked her straight in the nose.

The girl's head flew back as I surged forward. I landed a swift one-two to her stomach. As I was backing up to look for weaknesses, her foot hooked around my ankle, and suddenly we were on the floor. She was on top of me, hammering away at my torso and face. It hurt like hell, but years of fighting, though informal, had taught me to think through the pain.

I got my arms out from under her knees and grabbed her by the throat. That gained me some leverage and enabled me to flip over so that I was on top. I used my left hand to hold her throat, and my right to rain punches on her face.

The girl's hands were free. She grabbed me by the shirt and, with some effort, slung me over her and onto the floor. Before she could get on top of me again, I scrambled away until I was standing on the opposite side of the arena. I felt blood drip from the cut on my lip. I wiped the back of my hand across my nose and it came away bloody.

My opponent was up on her feet as well. Her nose was bleeding out of both nostrils and there was a cut across her right eyebrow. We were both panting.

"Go Angel! Give that marauder an ass kickin'!" a random person shouted. Newly dubbed Angel smirked, her eyes glinting with aggression. I bared my teeth in determination. I was going to win this.

I came at her first this time, using my greater size to my advantage. As this girl was only about five foot one, I found it quiet easy to scoop her up in a headlock. With my left forearm wrapped snugly around her neck, we fell to the ground once more.

My legs, which were about as long as a giraffe's, wrapped around hers from behind to lock her firmly in place. I used my right hand to punch Angel in the ribs, and for good measure I was jostling my left arm to give her a hard time breathing.

Her left hand, the one that wasn't blocked by my knee, came up and clawed desperately for my face. My head was out of reach. However, Angel grabbed my forearm and raked her nails across it.

It was mildly painful, but it surprised me. I let go and kicked her several times as I tried to get free. I titled my left arm to survey the wound in the mere seconds I had before I was back in the brawl.

Four livid red claw marks, leaking blood, marred my arm. "DAMN!" I hissed, glaring at her. I now knew that we were allowed to play dirty. She flipped me off before I crashed into her again.

This time I knew what I was doing. I slammed into her, throwing all my weight to surprise her. Angel was falling to the ground, but I grabbed and handful of her hair and held her upright again. I slung her around and slammed her head into one of the brick columns.

I did it three more times before I let her drop to the ground. There was blood where her face had been smashed and it was running down the furrows in the brick.

"You bitch," Angel snarled, blood dripping down her face.

She came at me kicking, punching, and clawing. It was surprising considering her small size.

She managed to get me pinned on my stomach, which was a big no-no in the fighting world. Once you were on your stomach you had just climbed into your grave. There was no getting out of that unless you were good... really good.

Angel bashed my head countless times against the hard tile floor countless times, filling my vision with flashing black. It hurt like a bitch, but I was thankful that it didn't knock me out. That would surely count as a loss.

I bucked like a bull trying to get her off, but to no avail. Angel held fast and kept me under her control. I knew that I couldn't get out of this and my mind worked frantically trying to find an alternative.

Tap-outs.

It took three taps to officially end a fight...

I freed my hand and slammed it down as hard as I could on the ground, making a flat ringing that sounded like I had heard before I started fighting. Immediately the crowd's cheering died down, waiting to see what would happen.

It had the desired effect. Angel's grip on me immediately loosened in response to my "defeat". As soon as it did, I heaved upward, throwing her off me in an explosive display of power. She went flying away from me.

I fell upon my opponent as she lay stunned on the floor some ways away. I kicked her right in the ribs several time, and one time in the face for good measure. I placed my foot on the side of her cheek and pressed down. The other side of the girl's face was mushed against the floor.

Her eyes glinted angrily up at me, but she was too weak to do anything about it. I pressed her face harder.

"Tap out, bitch," I growled. Angel was silent. Blood dripped down our wounds, spattering on the floor. The music had been turned dow, and you could have heard a pen drop it was so quiet in the room.

Three distinct smacks were heard throughout.

The crowd erupted in sudden cheers. I stepped back and off of her, feeling the painful but somehow satisfying sensations my wounds gave me. I had won my first fight in Deadlock. I had made myself known as a capable opponent. Now all I needed to do was make friends.

The crowd let me through as I exited the Arena. I got some slaps on the back and several people congratulated me on my win. I had gotten to one of the less main hallways when I heard a voice call my name.

"Hey Vyper!"

I turned around. It was the girl I had just defeated; In her hands she had my backpack. I stopped and waited for her to catch up with me. When she did, Angel tossed me the bag. Bruises were livid on her face and she looked like she'd seen better days, but she looked like she would get over it.

"Nice fighting back there. I wouldn't have guess that you were that good," she said.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, "Thanks. You too."

Angel looked me up and down as we walked further down the hallway. "You're new here, right? I heard people callin' you marauder," she asked. I nodded. "Well you're never gonna thrive in here without a bunk mate," she told me matter-of-factly.

"Bunk mate?"

"Yeah. There are barracks up in the upper story of Deadlock. If you don't have a two people to a bunk you'll be sure to be hazed your first night," explained Angel, gesturing upwards.

I nodded, "So you want me to be your bunk mate? I just beat the shit out of you not five minutes before."

Angel shrugged. "It happens. Snakebite choses who fights who every day, so it's not like we can help it. Besides, you seem cool and I'd rather have you as a friend than an enemy," she said.

That seemed pretty reasonable. "Alright," I said. "Lead me to the barracks."

Angel smirked, pulling me to an immediate right. There was a flight of stairs that led up to the second floor. "Thanks. I'd rather not be hazed by these people," I muttered as we ascended the stairs.

"Don't mention it. You have an Angel on your shoulder, after all!"