Epics of Noche 1, Anchor

EON CH 64

LAST CHANCE

1774, SEPTEMBER 27th TUESDAY 6:00pm.

Noche walked onto the fifty-foot by fifty-foot, three foot high, slab of concrete that acted as her arena and stood at the far end; her opponent had yet to enter the gymnasium. She turned to the bleachers where Varen had halted. Only Mary and Alice sat there, taking a photo together; Cherries was still missing. Noche's hands shook as she tapped her foot. Her ears pricked when Varen's footsteps led back the way they came.

"Somethings wrong," Varen muttered.

He took out his cellphone, raised it to his ear, and walked to the doors that led outside.

"Hey, sis! I need your know it all abilities," Varen's voice trailed off as he exited the room.

The doors to the main hall were flung open and Hectare all but danced inside. Noche's scowl deepened as Hectare's grin widened. There was a spring in his step as he jumped onto the stage.

"Last battle of round two! Hectare Abraham vs. Noche L. Grim, BEGIN!"

Noche closed her eyes, inhaled slowly, and held her breath. This was the fight that would determine if she joined Cross. She exhaled and opened her eyes to a metal javelin about to stab her in the left one. She dodged it just in time for it to scrape the side of her face.

"Careful girl," the Grave brothers shouted. "You might lose that eye someday."

Hectare rushed in and landed a punch on Noche's face. A black void full of stars filled her vision as her head was thrown back. Still recovering from the pain, she took a step back and pivoted out of the way of a second swing. A knee rose towards her chest and she managed to lurch away from it.

"I can't lose!" Noche thought. "But if I win, Cherries will..."

A barrage of punches came towards her, Noche dodged and weaved, but one connected and spun her sideways. Air rushed out of her lungs as her ribs throbbed; that was a punch she normally could have avoided.

"If I lose here, I fail the exam... Then I can't join Cross. I must win!" Her mind echoed as she caught one of Hectare's fist, balled up her right, and threw an uppercut. "Cherries will die!"

Noche's fist stopped dead in its tracks before Hectare's stomach. It trembled before his gut, and a chop to her arm sent needles dancing up her shoulder. The world spun from the backhand to her jaw.

"I have to save Cherries!" Her brain shouted.

From a mile away Hectare came in with the same move she did. It would have been easy to block, yet it hit, and yesterday's lunch threatened to spill out.

"I have to win this fight! No, I have to lose this fight!" Noche's thoughts made her head pound in beat with her ribs, as she wrapped her hands around Hectare's forearm. "I have to save Cherries! Sacrifice your friend!"

Hectare easily broke out of her fragile grip and kicked her; rock met back as Noche bounced. Stars burst into supernovas, and faded back into fluorescent ceiling lights as she rolled on the floor. Tinnitus rang in her ears as she coughed blood and struggled to stand. Her heart sank when her right foot slipped into open air; she nearly fell out of bounds.

"I have to abandon my dreams. No, abandon Cherries. NO!" The inner voices screamed as Noche's leg dangled over the arena's edge. "End it now, fall off the ring. No! I want to win! At the cost of Cherries life? What! No!"

Noche shook her head and barely avoided a kick to the skull. The sting of torn flesh, under her eye, made her squint. Another predictable attack she sloppily avoided.