The Fall of the Society

Chapter 48: Bloodletting

     The man continued to laugh until the woman reached over and tapped him on the arm. Her expression was one of warning, as if to say to take the situation seriously, but holding true to her silence. She then motioned her head toward Sid to say to start the fight. "Fine, fine," the man said annoyed. "Shazie here is bossy, but she is in charge, so it is time to get this started." He cracked his knuckles and began to move steadily forward until he was about five feet in front of Sid. Surprisingly, he did a small bow, not lowering his eyes.

     Sid smiled and returned the gesture with a tilt of his head. Without warning the man swung a powerful uppercut toward Sid's jaw, but he leaned harmlessly out of the way. The man continued his forward assault, swinging powerful strikes that were extremely well placed and would have been immensely effective on any other opponent. Sid slid his feet backward one by one, dodging this way and that, causing every attack to miss easily.

     Jumping backward, the man spit on the ground, anger in his eyes. "Pretty fast aren't you," the man said grumpily. "That's fine, eventually I will land, and it will all be over then."

     "That is the flaw with your strategy, you must hit me in order enact your abilities, but you will never hit me," Sid told the man flatly. His words held confidence but were void of arrogance. "You have signed a death warrant for yourself with your pride."

     The man growled and lunged forward, dirt flying from around his feet as the force spread outward from his action. Pulling back his right arm, he swung with all his might toward Sid's face. Sid grasped the man's wrist with his right-hand and spun, pulling him forward faster than his momentum was carrying him. Sid continued his movement in a full circle and planted his left elbow into the bridge of the man's nose. His head jerked back, and his feet flew out from under him, causing him to slam hard onto his back and slide past. The man laid quite still as blood flowed from his shattered nose.

     Soft clapping broke the silence as Shazie strode forward, her hands held in front of her applauding Sid's efficiency. Still without speaking she took up a fighting stance and bowed her head to Sid, who willingly returned the gesture once more. A flash and her fist connected with the side of Sid's face and threw him violently into a tree behind him, splintering the bark and wood. Another flash and she buried her foot deep into his abdomen, sending him flying upward, smashing through the branches of the now collapsing tree. Latching his hand onto one of the branches, Sid righted himself in time for the woman to flash in front of him again and land another punch to his jaw that sent him slamming into the ground below. She then landed back where she had been standing previously and waited for Sid to return to his feet.

      Laughing, Sid obliged and returned the applause to Shazie. "Very good! You are incredibly fast and strong, I take it you two never fought each other before, because I very much doubt he would still be able to say he had never lost." Shazie shook her head slightly, her eyes remained steadily  fixed on Sid. "Is he aware of how much better you are at fighting?" She shook her head once more and motioned for a few guards to come and collect the downed man's body.

      Sid stepped into the way of the guards and they retreated quickly. "This man's life is forfeit, it was part of the agreement," his voice was final and firm. For the first time the woman's eyes changed, fury quickly filled them. Motioning the guards forward, her anger radiated from her and the guards were not sure who to fear more. On one had this woman had just been easily beating on Sid, but on the other he was still standing without so much as a mark. "The death agreement was just for him, you can still walk away," Sid told the woman, but she clenched her jaw and glared at him. Realization spread across Sid's face, "Oh, I get it. You love him, don't you?" Her glare did not change, she simply bored holes into him with her eyes. "How committed to the Society are you?"

      She lowered her head and shot forward in a flash, swinging an elbow directly at Sid's jaw once more, but right before it connected, Sid's hand clamped down like a vice on her forearm and stopped her in her tracks. Her anger fleeted for just a moment as her shock showed through, but she quickly regained her footing and disengaged. Another flash and Sid caught her wrist as she reached for the downed man, and he spun and threw her back toward where she had been standing.

      As if nothing had happened, Sid addressed Shazie. "If you denounce the Society and help me recover my man, dead or alive, I will allow you and this man to walk away." Her gaze did not fail, she glared and looked as though she wanted nothing more than to kill him. "If you walk away you have nothing to fear from me, if you stand in my way you will die. I intend to destroy the Society. Consider it a bloodletting, a cleansing of the disease that the Society has become."

     Shazie roared and shot forward, pulling back her right fist and swinging hard. Sid blocked the punch, before dodging a follow up kick. She continued her assault to no avail as Sid easily dodged and blocked every attack she threw at him. The fury of her assault was so fierce that the guards on the wall had to take cover to keep from being blown from their positions. Her roar continued as she tried to land a meaningful blow, but it never came, and she had to abandon her attempt as she began to tire. Retaking her position in front of the gate, breathing hard.

     Sid watched the woman carefully, hoping she would reconsider her position. "Last chance," he told her firmly. Her glare remained and, in a flash, she engaged again, but it was futile as Sid caught her wrist in his left hand and seized the shoulder of her suit and slammed her backwards into the wall, which crumbled around her. A domino effect started and the wall around the area collapsed, sending the guards tumbling into the debris.

      Out of nowhere a hand grabbed onto Sid's shoulder and pulled him back, throwing him into the air. Sid spun and landed softly, looking at the man that was standing warily between him and Shazie. Blood was still pouring from the man's face, his arrogance had diminished, but his anger was still present. "I am going to kill you!" he shouted. Lunging forward, he swung hard. Sid met his attack with a mirror attack and slammed his hand directly into the man's fist. A loud crack and a spray of blood was met by a shriek of pain.

     The man stumbled backward, clutching his elbow, the bones in his arm exposed. He gasped in shock and pain as he looked between his arm and the now approaching Sid, unsure of what to do. Realization of his mistake was all over his face as Sid stopped just in front of him. Desperation showed through as he swung with his left hand, but Sid blocked it easily, before spinning and kicking the man with all his might in the chest. A spray of red mist, and the sound of flesh colliding with cement split the air as the man disappeared into a different part of the now demolished wall.

     Walking back across the opening, Sid recovered his armor and replaced his blades into their sheaths. Turning around, Sid saw Shazie standing defiantly in front of him. The look on her face told him that she not going to stand down, she was not going to step aside and let him pass. She stumbled forward, distain and hate on her once pretty face. In a swift and silent movement, Sid shot forward and buried his blade into her heart, grabbing the back of her head and lowering her to the ground. The anger faded from her eyes as her blood soaked the ground around her, replaced by an almost peaceful relief. He withdrew his blade and ran his hand over her face, closing her eyes.

     Sid flicked the blood from his blade and walked forward, through the debris of the once heavily fortified compound. Bodies of the guards that had standing on the wall littered the ground, broken. His resolution was still set, even with the pointless blood loss that laid all around him. He would push forward and destroy everything that stands in his way.