Desires of Men ~SEQUEL TO THE LIFE I LIVE~

Defeat

"Blackout!"

In an instant, Shachi's vision went completely dark, even with his eyes wide open. The shock of not being able to see, and the thought that perhaps he'd been blinded permanently, caused him to stumble blindly backwards. He fell to the ground, crawling away on all fours with a whimper.

His drop to the ground is what saved his life. Nicki had been aiming her next attack at his throat, but when he stumbled back, her knife when straight over his head, and she stumbled forwards and over his body.

"Shit." She said, falling onto the floor in a heap of arms and legs. She knocked her head against the floor, and she sat there for a moment, dazed.

"Dammit!" Shachi called, dropping his gun in the scuffle. It slid a few feet away, but his vision was still black, and he scrambled around looking for it.

It was a race now; whether he could get to the gun and shoot her first, or if she recovered her confusion first. He wasn't going to take any chances, and so he patted the floor, sweeping his arms in wide arcs in search of his weapon. He could hear Nicki moaning in pain beside him.

"Don't think...you'll kill me. Urgh, shit!" She groaned, shifting in a rustle of clothing and scraping of shoes on the floor.

Shachi's fingers touched the handle of his gun, and he grabbed onto it greedily, holding it close to him. Now, he just had to find the woman before she got her bearings.

He tried to stand, wobbling with the unfamiliarity that the blindness caused him. He heard a metallic shing of her blade brushing against the floor. He sauntered forward, holding the gun out.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough.

He felt the air move, he tried sweeping left, and the next second her knife was protruding through his shoulder, angled in towards his heart. She gripped his body close, making him unable to escape her deadly blade.

"Ah!" He cried, grabbing onto her own neck and squeezing with everything he had.

"Just...die!" She ground out, her voice cut off by his grip. She retracted the knife and stabbed again, in the same place. He coughed out blood, probably onto the woman before him. Angrily, he brought the gun up between them, cocking it and pointing it directly under her chin. At least, he thought it was her chin. It was hard to tell without being able to see.

She started pulling away, but his grip was tight and unforgiving, and he grinned.

"Go to hell." And he pulled the trigger.

Bang! His face was splattered with a warm, sticky liquid and he closed his eyes tightly against the spray. Her body went limp and fell to the floor with a thud. Wiping at his face, Shachi opened one eye, seeing the room once again and feeling relief that he wasn't eternally blind. Shifting his attention to Nicki, she lay with her jaw almost completely shattered and bloody. A pool of blood began to widen underneath her head.

Shachi breathed heavily, gripping his shoulder in pain with a grimace. He hoped she hadn't hit anything especially major in his shoulder. If his fighting skill was affected by this fight, he'd be devastated.

~~~

"Round and round the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel!" Kat sang, running in wide circles around Penguin who nursed his chest. That blow to the ribs had done heavy damage. He only hoped he could continue standing long enough to fight.

Now, she was just toying with him. Staying far enough away that his sword didn't reach, but moving fast enough to be able to get a few cheap shots in when she wanted to. The multitude of injuries from her quick attacks were beginning to mount, and Penguin found himself tiring.