The Interstellar Slave

Chapter 13: No Choice

Bituin quickly pitched the rocks she held one at a time, aiming at her opponents’ faces. One was hit in the eye, but the other caught it with one hand and lobbed it back to her speedily.

Oh, darn it!

The stone wheezed past her ear by a mere few millimeters. If she hadn’t dodged right in time, she would’ve suffered a broken or crashed cheekbone. That throw was too powerful as felt the wind graze her cheek. She lost her balance after that though, slipping from the uneven floor that had scattered pebbles and stones.

Luckily, before she fell and hurt herself, one of the two guys grabbed her arm and punched her in the face—if she hadn’t caught his big fist with her hand. Bituin was fast to move her legs up, seizing his head and slamming him to the floor. She rolled fast and away from him when the other guy attempted to stomp her in the back of the head. She kicked his knee hard, hearing the breaking of the bone. The second man groaned as he fell, kneeling with his good knee. He gave her a death stare, picking up stones to hurl at her. The muscles in his jaw jerked as he tried to contain the pain he felt.

Bituin was hit in the body a couple times, suffering from the pain of it and the falling stones above head. It continued to rain down these annoying elements as they fought against each other.

The first guy was already on his feet to pounce at her. But she moved to the wall, climbing it fast. She thought it would save her from the falling stones compared to her staying down there where the mass and velocity of the stones were more painful whenever these hit her. Her head felt bruised and wet, as blood dripped from the wounds.

The first of the duo climbed after her. She caught a couple of stones and chucked them to the guy’s face, as he looked up at her. He winced and grunted when the stones hit him in the face and forehead. Although Bituin felt guilty whenever she hit these guys, she could not do anything. She had no choice but to survive this.

The man did not stop pursuing her. She kicked his hands and forearms multiple times until he dropped to the floor with a loud thud. The cage vibrated because of his body weight. The stones slightly jumped while he groaned.

In the corner of her eye, she noticed Shanice, in the left cage, being beaten by the two guys. And yet, she stood up and fought back, screaming. She was able to grab one of the men in the collar and his belt and threw him against the wall. On the other hand, Chao managed to knock down one of his two enemies with a powerful combination of punches and kick in the face.

Back to her cage, the second man appeared to have recuperated and climbed up to get her. Bituin reached the ceiling and used it like a monkey bar as she tried to get away. And yet, not halfway across it, she got stunned by her necklace. Her body shook violently that she lost her grip, and she fell hard to the uneven floor filled with pebbles and stones. Her breathing was ragged. She felt the intense pain and tingling. Then her body went numb, and her vision was dark. She could not hear anything well, and she felt weak.

The duo now rushed to her to take advantage of her misfortune—or punishment. They kicked and stomped her everywhere that was accessible to them. All the while, she tried her best to protect her back to not break her spinal column again. She gritted her teeth, catching one of them in the leg and pushed him away. He staggered back and hit his head against the metal bar. Then, she rolled sideward to face the second one, trying to endure the pain as she panted.

Her ribs were apparently bruised or maybe even fractured as it was great effort to breathe. It ached with every breath she took. Her limbs were still a bit shaky. She wondered if the nanites were still fine inside her due to the electrocution.

But I won’t go down. I have to survive this. I have to!

There was only one way to know anyway. If she stopped healing fast, that was it. She was on her own.

The stones and pebbles unceasingly shot them from above. She was hit on the head again, so were the guys. But they seemed oblivious to it. She noticed their neckbands were like the woman she fought with earlier and were a little different from hers. There were no buttons like hers.

Are they another set of slave fighters? Another level or something? she surmised.

She felt her strength returning. While kneeling, she defended herself by the guys’ kicks and punches, alternately. She was hit now and then, but she was able to persist. Maybe the nanites inside her was stronger than she expected. They might be so advanced that they were not affected by the electrocution, which did not happen only once.

Well, lucky she.

Her eyes were merely narrow slits, lips pursed. She hit the first guy in the groin twice, knocking him down. The other one protected his before she could punch it, catching her fist. She stood up from the kneeling position and kicked him in the temple. He swayed sideward. With all the strength that she possessed, she sprang from the floor and delivered a spinning kick, hitting him in the face. Hard.

She watched the man close his eyes as he fell down the floor sideways. When her feet touched the ground again, she was relieved when he hadn’t moved and suddenly disappeared from the cage. The remaining one though jumped into the air to give her a double kick in the chest. She was hit in the shoulder as she fell short in dodging it due to the stones beneath her feet. She cursed as she felt the heat of the kick that remained in her shoulder. It was a powerful. Had she not dodged, she would’ve perhaps broken her ribs and fell to the floor and be in a disadvantageous position.

She raised her arm to protect her head and elbowed the man, followed by back kick. The man retaliated with back fists while his back was on her. He moved fast. She ducked and stepped in front of him. A palm heel sent his head backward. She chopped his throat, cutting off his air and breaking his windpipe.

The man’s eyes fluttered before they closed. He dropped backward with a loud thud. A second later, he disappeared as well.

Her eyes swept the audience, who seemed excited on what happened. Their jaws hung, seemingly astounded by what she had done.

What now? she pondered for a second.