he following 7 seconds take place in between breaths
Second 1: I look to my uncle and his eyes are sad but determined and angry
Second 2: He unbuckles me quickly
Second 3: He puts an envelop in Char's mouth
Second 4: He pushes me out of the moving vehicle
Second 5: I tumble backwards into the woods,
Second 6: The car speeds up and clears a bit more distance
Second 7: All the windows are blown out in a single blast, showering shards of glass large and small, causing the car to speed off into a tree a few feet in front of it
I stand up and start to run and immediately collapse. I assume I sprained it when I was shoved out of the car. I start crawling toward my uncle's burning car, terrified as to what I'll find when a voice begins shouting behind me.
"Shame the old man had to go. He should've just turned over the guns. But the old Fuck had to be difficult. Hopefully you won't do the same. Now," Hozier pulls out a pokeball as he comes closer "Do you know where the guns are?"
My blood is boiling at the point and Char is in the same boat, so angry he isn't even communicating with me, making nothing but guttural throaty growls
I struggle to my feet and crack my neck
"Ohh look at the brat getting all ballsy. Was that a challenge? If so then..."
He throws out his pokeball and out comes... What the fuck? I've never seen it before. It's a Leopard but it's purple with gold triangles along its fur. I've never seen anything like that in this region and I don't much care
"You and whatever the hell that thing is are going down!" Char comes in front of me and readies himself for battle
"Liepard, Fury Swipes" he shouts as the leopard jumps toward us at incredible speed. However, Char is ready with an ember. An ember that the Liepard gets through seemingly unaffected and swipes toward Char notice a patch of smoldering fur on his face. That ember had managed to burn him! He attempts to hit Char who remains directly in front of me until the last moment where he dodges a swipe aimed directly for his jugular and tumbles out of the way. He chirps in satisfaction and I look at the rather imposing leopard as it turns its sights from Char almost immediately and swipes towards me, catching me across my chest and knocking me back. I groan as I sit up and the Liepard draws nearer. That wasn't just a simple miss, he was targeting me! That swipe would've been stronger if he hadn't been weakened by the burn but it still did some serious damage. I feel the night air stinging the four slashes across my chest and wince. As I feel my blood start to run from the scars, the Liepard draws closer. Watching it licking its snarling maw, and I realize if I don't get outta here soon, I'm gonna be dinner. Char launches himself onto the leopard, tackling him off of me and into the underbrush. They tussle while I take a moment and try to establish a battle plan. I look and assess the situation accordingly.
Hozier isn't armed, luckily, but it's evident he's no run-of-the-mill thug. He's got a rare pokemon whose type I don't know. Not only that, but I'm not battling, I'm fighting for my life with Char's help. And odds are, I'm not getting out of here without taking him and his pokemon down. Liepard and Char are rolling around to my left and Hozier is...
Nowhere to be found
I climb up on my hands and knees and start to struggle to my feet when a hard kick to my ribs knocks me back to the ground.
Hozier squats in front of me while I cough profusely and attempt to collect myself
"Ya good there, HotShot? Ya don't look it." He stands and starts backing away slowly and teasingly. "You must not know who we are. So let me make explain something in no uncertain terms." He tears the fabric from the bottom of his shirt and starts to wrap his hands like an MMA fighter. "The group I run with? See we always get what we want. We do what we have to to make things happen. By whatever means. So if you're gonna fight back," He finishes wrapping his hands and gets in a fighting stance, "then you're gonna have to learn why it's a bad choice to get in my way"
"You just made an enemy that you reeeeeally shouldn't have. You killed my uncle, and now you're threatening me? If you wanna kill me then try but I guarantee you I won't go down without a fight."
He steps forward and starts to circle me while I raise my fists to block.
I note how quickly he moves as he circles me while we move. His fighting style, however, remains a mystery. If I could figure it out then I could defeat him so much more easily. Uncle Billy taught me that...
"Ethan. You've never had a fight before, have you?" Uncle Billy asked 12 year old me
"No... I mean-errh..Yeah?" I say, attempting to sound tough while i dread fighting this Machop
"A true fight is when the brains behind two people's brawn is put to the test. Fighting s just as much mental as it is physical. And whether you become a trainer or not, with the way the world is nowadays, you need to know how to defend yourself. But rather than talking about it, you'll learn more for experience, try fighting my Machop for yourself."
He stepped back and shouted begin to the two of us from on his patio and with that, The fight began.
Machop threw the first punch. He everso apparently pulled his punch however it still hurt like hell. I wince and double over, clutching my stomach in pain.
"The first step in a fight of any kind is knowing your enemy" says my uncle, pointing out my lack of intel on Machop
"You always want to figure out the way the opponent fights and thinks. What's in his heart and on his mind. The extents he'll go to for victory."
I push my reminiscing aside as it isn't yet time to deal with his death. One second of hesitation is all an opponent needs to defeat you. Hozier notices me falter slightly and attempts to capitalize on it, moving in quickly and hitting me with a line of blows that make the claw marks sting then attempting to put me in a headlock. I swing out his arm and sock him in his chest, making him stumble backward and putting more distance between us deliberately.
"You can't beat me brat. We're just too different. His fighting style is up close and personal. Not like a normal street gang, more... professional. I still can't place it but it feels almost familiar. I sucker him in for a few more blow so I can attempt to guess his style when He finally lands his hold, locking my neck and cutting off my air. The world goes hazy and eventually the only light I can see is my uncle's burning car and Char in a similar bind to my own. He is pinned beneath the large leopard-like pokemon, struggling to escape its hold before it can land a blow to his jugular. I wince as I watch my friend get nearly eaten alive
"You just don't have it in you to win. Wanna know the Major difference between us?" He tightens his grip in the hold and leans into my ear "AfterShock is willing to kill to win" AfterShock... they were the ones that had been following my uncle... The ones who'd killed him and were about to kill me!
As the last of the light begins to leave my eyes, I see Char spit a flurry of embers into and past the gaping maw of the Liepard as it attempts to clamp on his throat. A stray ember strikes the brush in front of me and starts a brush fire and I come to a realization.
AfterShock is a military force. Military and Special Forces specialize in a certain CQC known as Krav Maga. That's Hozier's style! And that means that I'm not dead yet. I drive my elbow into his ribs as hard and as fast as possible with the last of my strength before passing out, feeling a satisfying crack and the immediate release of my hostage neck. The tide has officially turned
"The next step is figuring out how to counter his style" My uncle tells me during this, my 7th fight with Machop
"You know his style is hardcore martial arts with flurry blows and distinct heavy hits. Know figure out a way to counteract it"
I Observe Machop for a bit longer and take a few more blows from him before I finally recognize his fatal flaw. He throws with authority but his movements are slow. Calculated. I can see exactly when he's gonna throw a punch. I dodge it and kick him once in the back of the knee and throw him to the ground. He rolls off of it and gets back up. He's not going down too easily
I counter Hozier's attempted shoulder throw and let loose a combo heading up from his chest to his jaw, knocking him back
"Somebody catch a second wind? I'm a AfterShock Officer, I won't be beaten easily. That second wind just means it'll be a little more difficult to put you out of your misery."
"Well if you're gonna do it," I launch myself forward and knock back my shoulder, preparing to rocket into his nose with all my force "then hop to it and leave the shit talk for after" I push off with my uninjured leg and start toward him, who moves at the last moment as I launch my arm and redirects my momentum, attempting to throw me into the burning bush ignited in Char and Liepard's struggle. I tumble and catch myself just before i hit the bush. I attempt to rush him a few more times on my bad ankle to test my theory. It affirmed by the fact he moves out of the way *just* as I would make contact. I hatch an idea immediately. But it takes Char out of his fight with Liepard. If it doesn't workout then it will cost me my life and surely Char his own as well. However, if it does succeed, I'll be able to deal with Hozier and Liepard in the same breath. But it has to be done right. Hozier picks up one of the pieces of Uncle Billy's window and juggles it between his hands, ready to gut me with its shard end
"CHAR!" I call from across the forest. He tumbles away from Liepard and I nod towards him, instructing him in Poken. He is silent for a moment then nods. I hope you know what you're doing he replies, and proceeds to burrow underground.
"You're getting cocky. Liepard pounce on him now!" Hozier shouts. Not a moment sooner does Liepard Jump toward me with its claws extended, ready to kill. The world slows and my plan begins to come together. Liepard is met with a backspin kick to the face and I recover just in time to turn and see Hozier rushing at me, brandishing the shard of glass. I start to run towards him and shout "NOW!" signaling Char to spring into action. He pops up from directly underneath Hozier and wraps his tail around Hozier's legs with an iron grip, stopping him dead in his tracks and making him nearly fall. His arms shoot out in front of him and the shard of glass flies from his grip, coming toward me. While charging toward him, I grab it from the air, aware of what extent he'll go to win. Aware that it's the only way I'll win.
"You alright there? Taking quite the beating." my uncle says, refereeing this fight between Machop and I.
"What's the lesson here, Unc? I'm tired of fighting, getting my ass handed to me stopped being fun after the first 20 times we fought. What do I gotta learn to win this fight?" I say, out of breath from this long winded spar.
"How should I know? I'm not your opponent" He says, cryptically
"The hell's that supposed to mean?" I ask between dodging blows
"To win a battle, you must know how far your opponent is willing to go to win. Then beat him to it." he says, watching intently over our fight
I sigh. I close my eyes and speak to Machop in Poken
How far will you go to defeat me? I ask
He replies, slightly shocked, and tells me I'll never lose to an enemy who isn't giving their all
I wipe the sweat from my forehead and Look at Machop with a challenging glare
"Well in that case," I recklessly charge back towards Machop with a war whoop
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA-
AAAARRGGGHHHH!"
Hozier's eyes are full of shock.
"I didn't expect... you to actually do it..." He chokes up blood and falls toward me. Char releases his legs and his bleeding body falls against me.
"I guess you... did... have it in you..." he says as I feel his last breath against my neck. I pull the now bloodied shard of glass from his chest and back away, allowing him to fall to the ground.
He falls and I collapse and stare blankly at the burning bush in front of me.
I just killed a man.
A/N: Ethan has officially killed a man
Unfortunately for our forlorn hero, this is the first of many times
Hozier, the nameless AfterShock officer, has been defeated. He won't be terrorizing anyone anymore.
The next Chapter is very telling of who Ethan is. You won't want to miss it.
In the meantime, Enjoy, Vote, Tell your Friends, Add to your Reading List, REVIEW!
Until Next Time!