Live & Learn (ONC 2020)

The past burns me up.

"The duel begins in three..."

"...two..."

"...one..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leo tensed. A complete silence had fallen. The only sounds came from the leaves rustling in the wind, and the whistling of the few birds still up at this late hour. He started at Ellingford, trying to predict what the blonde man would do. What was his strength? What would he do first?

"...now!"

At the start signal, Ellingford's hand went up and made a small pulling movement. Immediately Leo looked behind him, and ducked aside just in time to avoid getting hit full in the face by a rock. It still scratched him. He reached up, softly touching the cut on his cheek. Then he noticed more rocks and other things appear behind the smiling man ten yards away from him.

Ignoring the nagging pain from the cut on his, Leo focused on the air in front of him, and tried to call up a shield when the rocks started coming his way. He managed to create a minor force field to at least keep the rocks away from his face, and he started running.

He had to get closer so he could hand out a few blows. At a distance Ellingford had a big advantage, because he could hurt Leo in many ways, whilst Leo could only shoot him. Even that wasn't likely to be of much help, because Ellingford could stop the bullets. Just starting to shoot Ellingford in the hope that one of the bullets would make it past his opponents force fields wasn't going to work. He had to think on his feet, and take Ellingford by surprise. Then he might feel the gratification of making the sly bastard regret his actions.

While running, rocks started to hit Leo. It weren't big rocks, but when one of them hit him in the stomach it knocked to the breath right out of him. He cringed when a few of the round stony things when for his face, but luckily the force field held up. Leo even managed to let a few of the bigger rocks slid past him just before they would hit him to avoid breaking any bones.

Suddenly the rain of rocks stopped and Leo saw Ellingford standing only few feet away from him. Without wasting another second he jumped and hit the smiling bastard in the face with one oh the flying stones he had plucked out of the air. Unfortunately Ellingford managed to block the blow just before the stone would hit his nose, not allowing Leo the satisfaction of hearing the sound of breaking bones.

Leo pulled back his hand and went for another blow, then another with his left hand, and another. These punches got blocked too, but at the last one Leo hooked his foot behind his opponents leg and pulled Ellingford to the ground.

He felt a slight feeling of triumph and satisfaction come over him at this minor victory. Maybe he was not able to do magic, but he wasn't a weakling!

Immediately after Ellingford hit the ground Leo brought his arm with the pistol down to turn Ellingford into a living colander, but when the bullet was supposed to make a peephole in his opponents stomach it only hit the ground, causing a dirt explosio. Ellingford had telleported.

Leo instantly circled around, trying to find out where the blonde guy had gone. He nervously licked his lips. The feeling of triumph after he tackled his opponent was long gone. Ellingford was nowhere to be seen. Where could he have gone? There wasn't any place where he could be hiding behind, and they weren't allowed to leave the lawn. The only moving space they had was twenty by fifteen yards of grass.

Then it hit Leo. No one had said anything about a height limit.

Leo was just about to look up, when a heavy something landed on his shoulders and his legs collapsed underneath him. He grunted when he hit the ground, and let out a surprised gasp. Ellingford jumped away and thus avoided being pulled to the ground with Leo. He now prepared to attack Leo again.