War Machines

14

     I waited, crouched, behind the door to the Terra Omega quarters. When it opened, I let Zeke take a few steps inside before I pounced. I was strong and fast. I had the surprised creeper face-down on the floor with his arms twisted up behind him and my knee in the small of his back before he could do more than squeak in surprise. But the bastard cheated, lashing out with his damned wings and using their leverage to jerk his arms out of my grasp and throw me off. With a snarl, I was back up and on him again.

     Zeke had been in the process of getting up, whirling to face his attacker. I sent him sprawling back down to the floor on his face, my knees on his back and my hands grabbing and twisting his wings. He yelped and went down with a satisfying thud. I heaved back on his wings, forcing him to arch his back. He spat something in his own language, twisting his head back to blink at me in surprise. "J Alpha? Why are you attacking me?"

     "You son of a bitch!" I heaved again and rolled back. I knew from experience that his wings were sensitive. They also provided a convenient way to throw him, as they were very near to his center of gravity. But mostly, I was just trying to hurt him. He went backward with another satisfying cry of pain as I once again brutally jerked on his wings. Then, still on the floor, I planted my feet in his ass and kicked hard.

     Ezekiel the Pilgrim learned a whole new way to fly, sailing upside-down in a tangle of wings, limbs, and clothing to crash into one of the beds. But by now, the shock of my initial attack had worn off. He recovered fast, whipping his body up and over the bed to land on his feet on the other side and regard me with wide, blazing eyes. "Stop this!"

     "Fuck you!" I was up and after him before he'd even landed. Now I dove over the bed and went at him. He caught my swinging fist as it went for his face but grunted when my knee impacted his gut. Then he was falling backward, driven by my forward momentum. He barely got his wings out of the way before he was flat on his back on the floor, my knee slamming into his diaphragm and driving most of the air out of his body.

     Zeke, I learned then, really was a tough son of a bitch. Even ambushed, winded, and on his ass, he still managed to somehow flip me over onto another bunk. I rolled rapidly across it just as he'd done and was on my feet, expecting him to come after me. But he didn't. He remained as he was, crouched on the other side of the bed in a ready stance with his wings slightly out for balance. He was still gasping for breath as he watched me through narrowed eyes.

     Fine. I charged back over the bed and dove into him again. But this time, he was ready for me. Once again, I went flying, this time landing on the bed behind him. I quickly rolled off. He simply stayed as he was, waiting for my next attack. I paused, considering my options. Then I calmly walked around the bed toward him. My boots crunched through the broken bits of machinery our fight had created on the floor.

     Zeke had just managed to get his breath back. "Good," he called. "Thank you for not attacking me again. Now if you could please explain to me exactly why you..."

     My uppercut closed his mouth with a sharp click of his fangs. My jab sent him staggering to his left. Then I swept his legs out from under him.

     The bastard didn't go down. Nimble as a dancer, he somehow managed to twist around, doing a neat flip over my legs. He ducked my next swing. Then he darted forward, caught me round the middle, and threw me to the side, slamming me down on the closest bunk. "Stop!" he yelled. "Enough of this!"

     I responded by shoving my thumb into one of his eyes. He cursed and jumped on top of me. We struggled and fought, rolling off of the bunk and crashing into the monitor station attached to it before falling to the floor. Sparks flew from the broken equipment. I got several good hits in along the way to the floor, but he was just too damned strong. He soon had me pinned, straddling my hips with my wrists held across my chest as I cursed and squirmed. "Tell me what is wrong," he demanded.