"And so, Allen Phoenix on the behalf of nations all over the world, I am proud to present to you the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. For not only achieving interstellar travel onboard a non-human craft but for also facilitating communication with an advanced extraterrestrial people. You have not only made your country proud, but your people as a race too." The spokesmen said passing the medal off to me.
I was so happy and full of glee I could just explode! My hands were so jittery from all the excitement that I almost dropped the medal immediately after he gave it to me. But the only thing running through my mind after everything that had happened was that it was finally worth it and made up for what happened. If only my grandfather could see me now.
I strolled down the red carpet meeting the gentle breeze and the roaring voices of many thousands of people. The air was so thick with confetti that I could barely see the afternoon sky, and loud music blared seemingly from nowhere. My stride quickened and there were several bounces in my step from joy! I saw a black limo awaiting me at the end of my crimson path and I hurried towards it. I thought it odd for a moment seeing the door open by itself but didn't pay it much thought as I flew into the vehicle.
Once inside and the door closed the world around me seemed mute. I could still see the excitement in the crowds beyond the tinted windows but could barely hear anything. That's when I heard an all too familiar clicking sound coming from within the car. My head shot forward as my eyes darted around, but I felt my heart sink in my chest as they quickly locked onto the hulking figure sitting across from me at the other end of the limo. I almost instantly recognized the bulky mask that belonged to the Yautja warrior, and he didn't seem too pleased.
The rapid clicking and tone changed, but it only served as a reminder that I knew not what the leader of my four friends was saying. I opened my mouth to tell him what he probably already knew, but I nearly yelped in surprise at feeling something soft and smooth against my neck. I slumped back far into the seat to view what was touching me and to my great surprise and confusion, there was a woman I hadn't noticed before sitting next to me. She was more than sending clear signals as she constantly tried to smother me with her lips. But I refused every advance, pushing her away and trying to figure out what was going on here.
Teah-loc's bark quickly caught my attention, and I saw his hand hovering over his wrist computer with a single digit looming over one button. I was confused to say the least, but it was only until he pressed it did things suddenly become clear. The woman's lips that once dragged across my neck suddenly and violently turned into this burning feeling I couldn't escape. My body jolted in response to the shock of the horrible device I had been collared with; I couldn't scream, breath, or focus on anything little more than the pain. I desperately dug my fingers into the side of my neck in an attempt to yank the collar off. But my efforts only intensified the torture I was under.
My vision strained because of the electricity, but I had all the confirmation I needed that the experience was only a dream when I saw my four captors starring down at me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything! Whatever would make their leader halt this waking nightmare! But it was all for not, as my vocal cords were spasming and the simple task of forming words felt insurmountable.
I struggled to reach out in an attempt to beg but instead witnessed the only one among them that was the closest thing I had to a friend, actually grabbed Teah-loc's wrist and pulled it away from the trigger. I sharply inhaled then hunched over and proceeded to vigorously cough my lungs out! I heard growling going on in the background while my breath continued to hitch between gasps. But I had an inkling that for once it was not directed towards me.
When I finally was able to normalize my breathing patterns I slumped back against the workbench and relaxed slightly. Everything felt numb, my hands, chest, even my feet for some reason. I wondered how many watts I had been blasted with when I felt light-headed. My eyes drifted upwards to meet the reflective visor of my captor, although at the moment I saw him more as my rescuer.
"..." I opened my mouth trying to form words but nothing. My neck felt nonexistent after the ordeal and I momentarily panicked in a fit of breathing heavily. I was stopped short however after my "hero" wrote down something quick and held it to my face.
"Fear not, your voice will return to you. Think of it as only a temporary side effect." I felt less tense after reading it and dug my hand into my pocket to retrieve my wrist computer.
"Why even shock me in the first place?" I entered. But the on-screen words simply couldn't carry enough of my displeasure with them. He began his reply, but it seemed to take him much longer for this particular message. I took the time to stand to my feet, leaning against the table for support from the pain. When he finally did show me what he had been typing, my jaw dropped.
"Well you see, it's not like we didn't try waking you with more peaceful methods. We tried speaking to you and when that failed Tilisieus-vae tried shaking you. But you were muttering something about, "no kissing" and that is when Teah'loc lost his patients." I couldn't believe what I had read. I lightly shook my head while face palming.
"So, are we at Earth?" I wrote back after the moment of embarrassment had subsided into an uncomfortable silence.
"Yes actually. We are cloaked in orbit over the continent where this ship sat for three years. We came to collect you to verify the location we would be landing."
I nodded and watched them filing into the hall on their way back to the bridge. I started to walk but stumbled my feet in pain, nearly colliding with the female Yautja when I grabbed onto the wall. Her mask shot towards me in one swift motion, almost as if she was giving me a death glare. I assumed she was probably Tilisieus-vae, and not too happy I had embarrassed her. Then just like that, she continued with the rest. I sighed a breath of relief I wasn't even aware I was holding and hobbled along behind.
At the bridge, I saw a holographic globe of Earth floating in the middle of the room with a red blip centered in Northern America. I recognized the region, but it was a little odd seeing exactly where my house was from space on a map for the first time. Then the globe suddenly was enhanced and started zooming in on the states where the blip was. Very soon, I saw an overview of the mountains where my grand fathers cabin was.
"That's my house, and there's where I took off." I groaned out before coughing. I pointed to the structure, then to the gap between the trees.
Teah-loc said something before turning to the console to manually bring the craft down to land. The central viewing area was closed during our decent, which was a real pity. I would have so loved to see the planet approaching and witnessed seeing the clouds parting to a familiar sight of the land I called home. I had the thought to request it, but I could neither do so nor wanted to for obvious reasons.
After he was done, we all turned and walked back to the cargo hold together. I was in front but once arriving I had the thought to open the hatch, although I didn't know if it was actually safe or not. The last thing I wanted was to depressurize the cabin and get sucked out. But after a moment, the one with the war-torn mask stepped up and did the honors. There was a loud hiss as the ramp lowered and a gust of wind hit me in the face. The feeling of taking that first breath of fresh cool mountain air was as pleasant as it was welcomed and the usual scent of pine trees put me at ease that I was finally home. The ramp lowered into the mud and the smells of newly soaked dirt greeted my nostrils, making me feel much less tense.
The fabled scene of seeing astronauts walking across a long blacktop came to mind while I was stepping down the ramp and into dusk's fading sunlight. Oh what people would have thought of me if they knew the truth. I began up the incline thinking it'd be tougher to manage since it was also wet, but something felt out of place. I didn't get much time to ponder it though as the sound of an electric clicking caught my attention instead. I spun on my heels only to bare witness that my four captors were dematerializing before my eyes. In their places were now four outlines of bodies that were see through. I had seen this done before, but I associated no good memories with it.
I turned knowing they'd be right behind me, somewhere, and continued up the hillside. The short trek to the cabin was weird to say the least. Each step felt so light, and maneuvering around large rocks felt so easy I might as well have vaulted right over them. I guessed the abnormal gravity was due to recently being in much harsher environments on other worlds. It wasn't what I was expecting, to say the least. I had heard stories of people coming back from space far more weaker and unable to stand most of the time. It kind of made me feel awesome being the opposite in this case.
I darted out of the brush on the far side of the house seeing the two-story plane light blue building. I ran around to the door and jumped up the steps. The tall dark brown door was still unlocked from however long ago I left. Though I didn't think I would have left to go anywhere. I entered and quickly jogged up the stairs and to my room to retrieve the keys to the shed. Once inside I strolled over to my desk that I kept most of the important things in. Filing through the assorted papers and notes which were all mostly texts on the translation process; I found the keys in a small holder and reached to get them. Turning around however was much more exciting.
"AH! Oh my god, what the hell man?!" I yelped out in terror at seeing one of the outlines of the four in my own room. It was difficult to make out which of the four it was from only seeing an outline as I stood there panting.
"I needed to get these, before I could help you." I told whoever it was jingling the keys in front of them. They didn't seem to respond, but just stood there watching. It was unnerving, to say the least. Clearing my throat and feeling some of my bodily senses returning to me, I made for the door seeing them remaining impassive. I walked back out down the short hallway, took a right down the flight of stairs and was out the door in no time. All the running around combined with feeling light on my feet was definitely helping me recover faster from the shock treatment.
I strolled around back to the small white toolshed just on the edge of the compact clearing around my house. All the while I looked around for the other outlines of my new "friends" but saw nothing. Although I knew they were watching me though. Unlocking the door, I opened it and grabbed a shovel near the front. My eyes, however, drifted to the back where an old Remington shotgun was hanging from the wall.
"... No, not this time." I muttered under my breath, slamming the door and relocking it. I waltz back out into the open trying to spot at least one outline but still, no such luck.
"Hey! You guys?! I need you to follow me now!" I yelled out as loud as I could muster. Then suddenly hearing electric clicking all around me, seeing them reveal themselves one by one. It was a real trip seeing them all so close, but not even being able to tell a moment ago.
"Not far from here there's an unmarked grave. That's where Denj-ah is." I told them. They all nodded in agreement at once, which I found... weird. Then wasted no more time in leading them out into the forest again. To an old enemy I hoped I'd never have to see again.
The surroundings were a little different from being out here four years ago, but I'd never forget where I buried the one nightmare that haunted me till today. We continued through thick brush, across a few small streams and came to an old large rock resting in front of a tall pine. I noticed that everything was quiet on the way out here. No chirping birds, nor other wildlife were out. I thought it strange but remembered I was in strange company.
"Alright, this is it. He's right under here." I said gripping the small boulder. Huffing a few times and throwing all my weight at it wasn't enough as it has not only rooted, but was difficult to budge in the mud. Right before I was about to request some help, Teah-loc crouched beside me holding the rock. Then sent it rolling out of the way and into another tree five feet away on his way back up to my surprise.
"Right... well then, I guessed I'll just start digging haha." I chuckled out nervously. I drove the head of the shovel hard into the ground, lifting out as much as possible at a time. It was made easier due to the recent rain while I was away. But as I started getting a tad bit farther down I found myself actually tiring from working. I guess I got a little carried away with feeling like superman from the gravity changes.
"Hey, would it be okay if, I went to get some water?" I panted out sitting on the tiny ledge I had dug out. I heard Teah'loc starting to say something in their language, but what however, I would never know. Although he did seem pretty annoyed while speaking, which is why what happened next caught me off guard the most. The one in the war-torn mask just straight up punched him across his face, and said nothing. Whoever he was, it was clear that HE was in command of their team. After that Teah'loc remained silent as the forest around us. I had no wish to piss anyone off further after that and quickly dove back down into the dirt as if I was a mole. On one of the hauls when I drove the head of the shovel down there was a loud clunk noise that resonated from the hole.
"Hey, I found him." I spoke looking out of the four and a half foot hole I was in, and seeing them all leaning over as if they expected me to be a liar. I lifted the dirt away and saw a piece of metal underneath. Continuing, I hastily uncovered the rest of the dirt from the surface of the lightly decomposed body, letting it be shown bare to the rest of my captors.
"As I've promised, the corpse of Denj-ah." I told them panting. Just then Mr. sleek mask and his girlfriend jumped down into the pit and I took it as a sign to get out and let them do their thing. I stepped away sticking the head of the spade into the ground and resting against the wooden pole for support. The whole ordeal of excavating the deceased body of a Yautja left me feeling a little more than exhausted. While I stood there I watched Teah-loc looking to and from the grave back to me. He slowly began walking towards me giving me a sense of sheer terror as I couldn't imagine him being very happy. I tried looking away and keeping my head down, but my eyes never halted from lingering in his direction.
He got pretty close like he was eying me top to bottom. But I saw that behind him the one with the war mask was still watching. I only hopped this meant I was partly safe. Then, I heard a cutting sound coming from the grave. He didn't even turn to see what was happening so I leaned in a little to see the head of Denj-ah now being held high in the air. I gulped before hearing them give short barks to one another and the sleek mask stepped towards me with his wrist computer out.
"Thank you for leading us to the body of one of our greatest rivals. We are to return with his head, and you, to Yatress." I read out with a raised eyebrow at the end.
"Wait hold on, I understand giving you a ride back and all. But I'm not staying there am I?" I questioned aloud with a slight hint of desperation in my voice.
"We are to take you and the head back to out grand-master. He will be seeking answers as to how this happened, and then pass judgment."
"And by judgment, you mean simply thanking me after he has his proof right?"
"That is for him to decide." Reading made me feel more uncomfortable not knowing what to expect out of this. They all turned as a group and started off for the ship again, although I was momentarily lost in thought from his last message. A jolt ran through my system again from the collar and I looked up to see Teah-loc seeming very impatient. I plucked the shovel from the ground and ran to catch up with them almost tripping in the process. We came straight back to the ship but as the ramp was lowering I felt as though I still had some unfinished business.
"Wait," I said getting their attention. "I'm not quite ready to leave yet." I saw Teah-loc holding his wrist as to threaten me onto the ship.
"Please, can I just... can I just pay my respects to my dead grandfather before we go?" I asked holding my hand out in a stopping motion. The war mask looked to the sleek and nodded, then sleek walked towards me again.
"Five minutes." He told me. I smiled thanking him before jogging off for the house again. I came out through the clearing in the backyard looking to my right to see the white tool shed. Running around it my grandfather's grave was on the other side a few feet away.
"Hey! I've got big news! Although, you probably already know that by now." I said to the headstone while kneeling at the foot of the grave. "You remember that night when everything changed? Well, remember how I said that one day I'd make sense of it all? I feel like now, things might finally be coming to a close. Or, that I'll know more of why it happened. ...I still remember what you told me, before..." I trailed off beginning to sob. I looked up at my grandpa's headstone with teary eyes.
"Thank you for never losing hope in me. I promise, I'll settle things when I get back." I said touching the stone where it said, Darren Trent. The tears finally ran down my cheek and I wiped them away before rising to my feet. I sighed smiling knowing that everything would work itself out now. The sleek mask walked up beside me catching me unaware until I was about to turn around.
"Were they dear to you?" He showed me when I read what was on the screen.
"Yeah, he was." I answered. "I never did get your name?" I said looking up to him.
"Traditionally, we only officially declare names once we acknowledge the others as equals. But I think you've earned the right to know me by daez-ayah." I read. Then he pulled the computer from his wrist and I watched him push a few buttons on it before handing it over to me. I had no idea what he was doing until he pointed to a button on it with his finger. I pointed to it as well questioningly and he nodded. I pushed it then he began speaking something in his language, although I didn't understand the purpose of this little charade. I looked back to the computer which was now displaying words across the screen that hadn't been there a second ago.
"Whoa, you mean you don't have to type anymore?" He laughed at that then spoke something else, which I almost forgot to push the button to translate.
"If you are to speak to the grand-master then it'd be best if the conversation didn't keep pausing." He told me. I smiled and thanked him for the new mode of conversation then we both walked off for the ship.
The ride back to Yatress was a little uneventful. Instead of joining the rest of them on the bridge I opted for the safety of the cargo hold. Being on the other end of the ship from Teah-loc felt like the best thing to do. I was sitting next to the workbench for what felt like an hour maybe before I saw all four of them standing near the hallway. I jumped and marveled at how easy it was for them to simply be unheard even though how big they are. Then I heard Tilisieus-vae say something to the rest.
"-ot waking him up again." Was all I managed to get after holding the button. I did a piss poor job of holding my laughter in at reading it.
"I'm sorry about that, by the way." I said out loud to her. Although they didn't seem as amused as I was. I shrugged before getting to my feet brushing myself off.
"Umm, did something happen?" I asked.
"We've notified the grand-master we're on our way back, he'll meet us while when we disembark at the port." Sleek told me.
"Oh cool, how far out are we?"
"ten minutes, we came to check on you." he replied.
"Well, thanks! But uh, I could do without the collar though. And besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere." I said fiddling with it before it awarded me with a light shock.
"Sorry, but the collar remains until after the grand-master has spoken with you." Teah-loc said surprisingly calm. I nodded in response then barely felt the ship shift as it slowed. I was a little curious as to the sudden time gap.
"I thought you said ten minutes?" I asked.
"This ship has always been a little fast." Daez-ayah said. I noticed Teah-loc was slightly gazing down at that comment as if he was off in thought about something before snapping back.
"Well now that you've made a friend, how about we go dock and get this over with." He said to Daez-ayah before fast walking off down the hall. Tilisieus and the war torn guy stayed behind with me however. Since we were about to be back on their home planet and I couldn't think of a better time than now I decided to be brave and ask a question. I waltz over and cleared my throat getting their attention but when both masks looked straight at me I felt like shrinking away as if I was insane.
"Umm... So, why has Teah-loc been so angry?" Tilisieus unfurled her arms from being crossed at the mention of his name and I felt like I was about to get my ass beat. Then the Yautja baring the war-torn mask spoke, his voice sounding deep and the clicking was almost as if it was from a motor without a roaring engine.
"You stole his bounty, that is why he harbors resentment towards you." He told me. I felt kind of bad, but at the same time it wasn't like I knew. I also made a mental note not to use any names until they officially told me them.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. What happened exactly?"
"It is not my place to say, but I can tell you that out of all of us, HE hated Denj-ah the most." He said firmly. Tilisieus said something before I could hold the button to listen, and held the computer up with my finger over the button motioning her to repeat herself while I weakly smiled.
"I said, it'd be best if you don't use our names." She told me in such a way that I only practically see her eyes roll behind her mask.
"Yeah, I kinda got the message on that one." I sighed out feeling relieved she wasn't going to skin me alive.
"I tell you this for your own safety. It would not be wise for an outsider to do such things within our clans own home. Not only that, but you are also Human." I had to raise an eyebrow at the last comment she made when warning me.
"And what have your people got against my kind?" I asked politely.
"Nothing... just that some only view you as just another type of prey and little more." She said. I felt uneasy reading the text and guessing just how many this "some" was. The thought of a Yautja just randomly trying to kill me didn't exactly sit well with me so I knew I would have to stay extra close to my captors. Just then the two others came back down the hallway to inform us that we had arrived. Tilisieus went to pop the hatch while I started preparing myself for the immense gravity change.
The hissing of the ramp was quickly followed by a hot gale of wind blew into the cargo hold. The warmth was kind of relaxing in a funny way, but feeling myself nearly being thrown to the ground by the planet wasn't. The first few steps were the hardest, transitioning from ship to the surface. But I made it by and even managed to keep my head high enough to see the grand-master approaching from their clans home in the distance with a few other Yautja behind him toting spear-like weapons. We had begun walking out across the dusty desert land they used as a shipyard to meet them. While we journeyed across this space the ironic thought of seeing the astronaut walk came to mind again but this time it felt a little more accurate.
We got within ten feet of one another when the four kneeled down and this time I followed them without hesitation. I tried keeping the button held as much as possible to catch everything that was going on here.
"Have you found proof?" Their master inquired.
"Yes, he did not lie about Denj-ah like we suspected." The war masked Yautja retorted.
"Then please, let us see it with our own eyes." He told them. At that moment, we all rose to our feet again and Teah-loc passed the bag containing his head off to their leader. I watched from the back as he yanked it out from the cloth and studied it. The mask itself was filthy, covered in dirt and muck, and the face beneath it couldn't have been better off I'd imagine. Then after he was done he passed it off to a guard behind him and stepped forwards passed the four and straight at me. I felt almost as if I could have broken a finger against the button with how hard I was holding it. I was going to make sure I caught everything he said. He stopped right in front of me three feet away, looking me in the eye.
"How?" He said simply.
"So... do you want the whole story, or just how he died?" I counted his question.
"Everything." His short replies left me wondering if his attention span for me was just as small.
"Well, it happened one night on my planet when me and my grandfather were taking a walk through the forest back to our home. Then, whoever Denj-ah was, came out of nowhere from behind us. I didn't even know what was happening when I saw my grandpa being lifted into the air by nothing, then violently ripped apart in front of my own eyes. I... I ran for my life. I was terrified and going to get help when I sprinted back to our house. I slammed the door behind me locking it thinking I was momentarily safe, but I was wrong. I quickly ran into the kitchen where the closest phone was to call for help, but the line was dead. Then I heard a noise from behind, knowing that it was the same thing that got my grandpa. I could just about feel him breathing down my neck. I saw the knife holder to my left and in one final desperate act to fight back I grabbed one and spun around as fast as I possibly could slashing through the air. I got lucky, slicing clear across his throat as I just stood there in shock at seeing him materialize before my eyes revealing himself to me. Although he doubled over gripping the counter for support trying to breath, he could do nothing. The... blood from his wound wasn't too hard to clean up. Although I had no idea what to do, so I hid the body.
When I was able to get the proper authorities on my planet involved they had no idea what to make of my poor grandpa's death, and I didn't exactly want to tell them that some hulking monster came out of nowhere and attacked us. The closest thing they could tell was simply animal mauling, but I knew the truth. A short time after that not knowing exactly what had happened in the first place I got extremely paranoid and started going around the land looking for any unusual track marks. Then one day I just walked into an invisible wall. Now, letting my curiosity get the better of me I eventually found a way to open it, and learned the truth about the monster who attacked us. That they weren't of our world. Then the rest was just me deciphering and translating the text form of your language, and accidentally getting sent to one of your other worlds where I met the four of them." I finally finished pointing to my captors.
Their master was silent for a long time after I finished telling him the last four years of my life. I wondered if he was impressed, or even caring of how I survived the ordeal. Then as if he was curious himself, he started walking in circles around me again. This time I watched him as he went around, taking in every detail of me. He stopped in front of me before folding his hands behind his back.
"I would say that you have done well for yourself, but you were never meant to know of our existence. I am sorry for your lose." He said in a very weird way of speaking english. I was flabbergasted to say the least, and my jaw was literally hanging open in shock. He just talked! Well of course he talked but it was in english! I had no idea that was even possible for them! I thought their vocal system wouldn't allow them to form words like how I knew them.
He started walking away back towards the others while saying something, but I was still too dazed by the fact I had heard english for the first time from one of them to think of pressing the button. I was in luck however when I noticed that I was already holding the button anyway, thinking he would have replied in his own language. But upon reading the on-screen text, my heart began pumping ice through my veins.
"Execute him, then we will return him where he belongs." It read. At seeing the words, I looked up in time to see Teah-loc's wrist blades jut out.
"No... n-no." I repeated taking a step back. How could this happen? And why?!
He grabbed me by the throat again and held his left hand in striking position. It was as if time itself had slowed, and the only real thoughts going through my mind was why? Then, a new one came to me somewhere in the back of my head. Survival. This wasn't like how it was on Emodis, now I knew he had been ordered to have me killed.
In one swift motion, I kicked my foot out into his throat and held it there choking him right back. If I was to die today, I would at least give it my all into trying to escape. I brought my other foot forward and placed it in his neck as well, holding his wrist to keep him from dropping me. I pulled as hard as I could making him gag then he took an off-balanced swipe at me cutting me behind my right shoulder. I cried out in pain and let go falling hard against the sandy ground, I picked myself up as best I could a second later feeling a stream of blood running down my arm. I looked down holding my shoulder in pain and watched the blood trickling into the sand, staining it. But could still move my hand around just fine, and the pressure from balling a fist felt normal.
I looked up to see him still hunched over coughing and charged forwards clasping both hands together over my head, and then bringing them down hard on the back of his. Although I guessed it had little effect though seeing as how he only slightly budged from the blow, so I kneed him directly in the face as an uppercut. He stumbled backwards now upright and was about to seriously mess me up before one of them barked something to him. I didn't even care who said it or whatever "it" was, my eyes didn't leave him.
I leaped at the momentary distraction and put as much force and weight into a right hay maker as I could possibly muster and jabbed him clear across the mask. The blow however probably hurt me more than him, as I felt the deep cut behind my should feel like it was tearing and striking his mask left cuts on my knuckles. The pain also snapped my senses back to reality feeling how heavy and tired I was getting from giving him my all. I shook my hand from the hit and looked to see him calmly removing his mask. He had two tiny blood trails on the side of his face that I guessed were from me attacking his mask. Then letting it fall out of his hand he looked me right in the eye and retracted his wrist blades. I had no idea why nor did I really care at this point, then he let out a blood-curdling roar which sent a shiver up my spine and dropped into a battle stance.
I saw behind him that the ships hatch was still open if I could somehow trick him into rotating I could try blocking until I got back far enough to escape. Panting, I tried to ignore the extremely intimidating presence he posed and rushed him throwing a punch right into his gut. I clenched my teeth and I swear I heard my knuckles crunch when I made contact. It was like I had just punched solid brick. I looked up in time to see a fist in my face and the next thing I knew I was literally spinning on my feet from whatever hit me. I stopped and caught my balance for a second holding the side of my face. The adrenaline helped, but DAMN! The whole left-hand side of my face was numb!
My vision was partly in two, but I saw him walking straight at me. I didn't have enough time to orientate myself and because of it I took a full on kick straight to my chest that launched me off my feet backwards. I hit the ground rolling over once onto my back and holding my chest. The only thing I could think of was why I wasn't able to breath. I laid there squirming around trying desperately to take in the oxygen all around me. My eyes rested on Teah-loc as he stood directly over me looking down, his foot raised to finish me off. But right at that exact moment it was like feeling life returning to me and I gasped and rolled out of the way of the falling hammer, and a good thing I did. Because I felt the sandy ground lightly shake from the force of the kick.
I got to my knees slowly making my way up while he just stood there waiting. I re-assessed my situation, a bleeding shoulder and wounded arm, a whole side of my face I couldn't feel, and probably a few broken ribs to boot. Things were not going well, but now? Now the ship was behind me, and all I'd have to do was give ground to him. It wouldn't be easy as the pain made it hard to move.
And right on cue he roared forward sending blow after blow my way. Only a few of them I could actually avoid just barely, the rest I tried evading but my body was slowly down and giving out due to my wounds. Each step away it felt like I was getting hit by car after car. I thought to look back but didn't want to let on what I was really doing by just constantly retreating. I mean, it wasn't like I could REALLY do much anyway. Even if I broke away and tried to run I was way too injured to really get anywhere and he would most likely just catch me with my back turned to him.
Then just out of nowhere... he stopped. My steps continued though for a few moments not knowing what was happening now. I eyed him up and down as he just stood there motionless. I snuck a glance behind me and still saw the ship off in the distance a short ways. I groaned feeling like I could barely stand, let alone go another minute with him. Then centering my focus back on Teah-loc, I saw the grandmaster now standing beside us. He held out the wrist computer for me to take and I did so while falling to my knees, not out of a sign of respect, but sheer exhaustion and pain.
I fell backward on my ass while holding the button feeling like I was about to pass out. He started in with his speech about something or another I'm sure, but I waited until the very end to even glance at the screen.
"This fight, is over. I am going to reprimand my previous judgment that I passed on you." I read out panting.
"Great... so, what happens now then?"