Panicked

Natalya POV :

No… no… I panicked immediately I saw the blood stains that came out from my mouth. It was really thick. Still in shock, the boy was busy stretching himself and changing position on how he would take me out.

I hastily kept my hand on the floor to support myself when I was standing, but my hand was weak. It slipped off, and I slumped to the floor unintentionally.

“Ahhh,” my whole body was a mess. Really, this shit was painful, no jokes. I rolled to the other end of the floor and placed my knee on the ring floor for support, and to my surprise, I stood, but I was practically bent slightly because the hit on my stomach was so painful that I didn’t want to stand up straight.

When the boy was sure that I was standing, he didn’t attack immediately, like he was waiting for me to recover a little so he could finish me off, or maybe he was surprised because I survived the blow on my stomach.

I have this feeling that he knows I’ve been hit thrice on my stomach, and a next hit would draw out blood, which it did.

Since he was just staring at me, not taking action, I decided to go first. I hate wasting my time over something that I know I can’t win, so I took a few steps closer to him, but nahhhh, I didn’t clinch my hands into a fist this time.

I just stood and stared back at him. I’m not too dumb to know that he wants me to take the first action, and I’m not trying that shit. We were still staring when the coach blew his whistle.

Now this is the second time this dumbass is blowing the whistle just when I’m starting to enjoy the game.

“Yo, what are both of you doing there, huh? We don’t have all the time, and you hawk, finish this piece of shit up. C’mon, let’s wrap it real quick, yeah,” he said and motioned on us to resume the fight.

And just as I was diverting my view to the ring… “Ouch.”

One of my eyes went dark, combined with the pain that accompanied it. Wait, bro, take it slow on me, yeah. This bro literally threw a blow to my eye. I better start kicking before he kills me.

I charged myself up. I wasn’t feeling that hungry now. I was just feeling the pain that I let this bro beat me into, and I haven’t even touched him yet since the game.

He swung his leg sideways, planning to hit my back, and I drifted aside, grabbed his leg, used my elbow, and gave him a hit right at his knee spot, and his bone cracked.

I knew I might have broken his bone because I could see veins creeping out of his neck, clearly stating that he wanted to shout but was holding it in. He rolled to the edge of the ring for support, just like I did when he hit my stomach.

Yeah, right. So he now knew how it felt to get hit, though his case was different. I just broke his bone. Well, that’s the rule. I smiled to myself. He might think I’m weird, but I just love it when I break bones. It’s my second favorite. My first could wait for later.

I wanted to rush him and finish this fight up, but he seemed to find it hard to stand, so I left him and just enjoyed the view of him struggling.

When he got enough energy and stood up, I stared at his knee. It was really no good because he was limping but trying his possible best to look normal. I love that. Maybe one more hit there wouldn’t hurt.

He took a step right in front of me and grabbed me by the waist. I would give it to him, he was really good at grabbing. He could lift anything, anytime, but nah, I have hit the ground enough. I’m not doing that shit again.

When he grabbed me by my stomach and lifted me up, ready to throw me, I released my weight on him by pressing myself down really hard. He saw that he didn’t stand a chance, so he immediately raised the same leg I hit him on to snap on my neck.

“Oh jeez, this guy really is dumb for real.” I mean, you can’t practically fight with a wounded knee because at that point, that’s your weakness, and your opponent will only target it. And I can’t just miss the fun.

When he swung his leg ready to take me out, I grabbed him by the knee. This time, I didn’t hit his knee. I brought his leg over my shoulder real quick and drifted to the floor, making the leg crack more. Hmmm, I like the sound of that.

He immediately grabbed his leg and winced in pain. I really wanted to go easy on him earlier, but his hit wasn’t helping, so now I had to retaliate in a very hard way. I went closer to him, bent over, and whispered to him.

“Bruh, just tap out or something. I don’t wanna kill you, but breaking a few bones here and there can do that.”

The statement made him look me in the eye. He wanted to say something, but the pain was obviously holding him back. I tapped him and said,

“Nah, save that for later. Now get your ass up, let’s finish it up.”

Before I could turn to the other end, I heard him mutter something.

“Fuck off, psycho.”

I hated it whenever I’m called a psycho. Just when I thought I was helping him, he still had the guts to call me a psycho.

“Oh God, this piece of stuff is really pissing me off.”

I immediately walked back toward him, sat on top of him, and gave him blows that totally ruined his face till he passed out. Yeah, he didn’t die, he just passed out.

I stood up and tapped the ring, notifying that my opponent possibly passed. The manager came closer, examined his pulse, and said that he was dead.

“Um… seems like I literally killed him.”

At least that would make my next three opponents, maybe by tomorrow, take note of their future possibilities. I don’t kid around in the ring, but I do give chances of survival.

I left the ring and walked up to the commander. He seemed too shocked to tell me anything. He just waved me off and left the fighting ground. My next three opponents might undergo strict training if they don’t want to die.

“Hey, Natalya, over here,” Tasi called out, and I turned immediately and waved at her. I wasn’t ready for a conversation or possibly to talk to her friends. I just wanted to sleep. I was really tired, so I walked back to our base immediately.

I swung the door open, walked to the bed, and slumped on it.

“Urrrh, this feels so good. After a long day, I get to have a stress-free nap.”

I hugged the bed tight and slept off.

I woke up the next day. Yeah, I really slept that long. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder.

“Hey, Natalya, let’s go for morning jog. I don’t wanna be late today, please,” Tasi was practically begging.

It was the rule here. It states that you don’t show up to any activity alone unless you don’t have a roomie, but if you do have one, then a very honorable punishment awaits both of you.

I jerked up immediately, took a quick shower, wore shorts and a sleeveless top, and followed Tasi to the field. We took a few laps, discussing personal stuff while waiting for others to join. Not less than two minutes after we got there, the commander showed up.

“Oh no!” Tasi screamed when she saw him, same with everyone around me. They seemed tense.

“Hey, what’s up? Why are y’all screaming for nothing?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Commander never comes to the field, and if he does, we suffer a lot. Today’s spot might be boxing,” Tasi said.

“Yeah, I mean, I love boxing. No big deal there.”

“Yeah, wait till you’re really hit on your body with that boxing stuff. It’s really painful,” Tasi said and drifted off to where her friends were standing.

I just stood at my own spot since I’m not the type that walks to people and starts a conversation. I’m kind of an introvert.

I was still taking in the view of the field when I heard a voice beside me talk.

“Natalya, you love the view, huh?”

I turned my back and faced the person fully, dashed him a smile, and drifted off to the end of the field. I’m not ready to have a conversation. I just want to have a peaceful morning without breaking bones.

Not long after, the commander came and we started off the training. We were taught cool fighting skills, though I already knew most of them because I went to Base One before I came here.

Then it was time for boxing.

“Aha, why did it take them so long to get here? I have been waiting long.”

The commander gave out the rules, specifically stressing the part about not killing your inmate, that it was just a game and not a life-or-death situation. I knew he was specifically talking to me with the way he was staring at me, but I didn’t care. I don’t go by the rules. If you try to slaughter me, game or no game, I’m definitely killing you.

The game kicked off when it was Tasi’s turn. I watched how she took off her opponent. She was really tougher than she looks. Damn. Her opponent tried to hit her face, she held her two hands at the sides of her face to prevent blows, then she struck him one time on the cheeks and he fell to the ground.

I gasped in shock. How the hell did she take a huge guy down with just one strike? Now I know why she’s called the Nightingale. She really doesn’t waste time on the battlefield. That is a skill I want to learn.

We went row by row till it got to my turn. I stood and ventured to the ring. My opponent was just normal-sized like me. Now I’m a little bit grateful they, for once since I came here, gave me someone my size.

Our fight kicked off when the commander himself blew the whistle. He wanted to keep a close eye on me so I don’t kill my opponent. I placed my two hands beside me to prevent future blows since I wanted to go easy on this little one. Yeah, now I’m calling my size the little one.

I threw a punch on him and dodged it, hopping from one angle to the other. I gave him a playful punch, and he staggered back. I mean, it was just a playful punch, why the hell is he staggering?

“Hey, Natalya, take it easy with the punch. You drew smoke outta his ear just now. I said knock him out, not make him deaf. Do you get me?” the commander asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said before diverting my attention back to the fighting ground.

I didn’t give out another punch. I wanted him to show me what he had got so I could level how I throw a punch at him. He came closer to me and was watching my movement to know how he would strike, but I just gave him a free pass and he hit me just as hard as I hit him. It wasn’t that strong, but it was a little painful.

Then I wanted to take him out this time, so I leveled my hand and threw a punch hard enough to take even a ghost out on his face, and he fell to the ground without shaking or even groaning.

Maybe he really was strong, but I paused my movement when blood started filling the floor. I screamed, “B… blood.”

The commander checked the boy’s pulse and shook his head.

“Oh shit, he’s dead!”