Experiment VII

Chapter Thirty: Borg

     A shaky breath escapes my lips as I tighten the fist wrap around my scaled hand. The pungent smell of sweat is evident is the stale air. Borg stands only a few feet away from me, his piercing gaze boring into my own. I tune out all the chatter and bustling to the back of my mind, only focusing on Borg. Two months of gruelling training has amounted to this, just me versus him. We matched each other in every test up until now. Sometimes a good old-fashioned brawl is the best way to solve anything.

     A not-so-gently tap on my shoulder tears my attention away from him.

"You got this," Ellie reassures. "At least, I hope you got this because I'm betting my jello on you, the good stuff too. Lime obviously, non of that old strawberry rubbish-" she continues rambling.

"Wait what?" I cut her off, raising my eyebrows. "Jello? You're seriously betting with...jello?"

"Uh, yeah. What else are we gonna use?" She retorts. "I've been saving my desserts for months, just for this." Ellie continues to explain.

"You what?" I question in disbelief.

"Yuh-huh. Half the compound is here to see the fight, and they're all betting...well, apart from Gemma, obviously, no surprise there. It's not like she's any fun anyway." she mumbles.

"Hey, I heard that" Gemma's voice suddenly erupts from somewhere in the crowd.

"Quiet!" Rychner bellows, stepping through the doors with Rilo close beside him.

     Silence immediately befalls the room.

"This fight is the final deciding factor on which one of you makes it into Delta Squad. Don't mess this up." Rychner instructs as he makes his way over to Borg.

     The blood begins to drain from my face as I examine the sheer size of my opponent while he steps onto the mat. I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what is to come. I notice Rilo approach me in my peripheral vision.

"You good?" he asks.

"...Yeah..." I reply, my uncertainty most definitely evident in my voice.

"Pull yourself together." the voice in my head suddenly demands.

"You got this," Rilo reassures.

"That's what everyone keeps saying." I sigh. "I sure hope they're right."

"They are," he confidently replies.

     I nod, stepping onto the matt as I do so. I cannot afford to lose to Borg again.

"That's right. You can't," the voice confirms.

     I clench my jaw as Borg growls in return. I ball my fists tightly, waiting for Rychner to the command to begin. My heart violently thumps on the inside of my chest as the tension intensifies with each passing second.

     My fingers curl into fists, blood slowly draining from them as they tighten.

"Fight!" Rychner barks.

     I cautiously step forward, holding my hands near my face defensively. Borg lunges towards me, his hands ready to strike. I step to the side, allowing the man to charge a step behind me. Not leaving any time for him to turn around I put my boot to his back, shoving him off the mat and into the crowd with my foot.

     Stepping back, I take a few big breaths, waiting for him to step back onto the mat. He fumbles a little before regaining his composure and turning around to face me once again.

"Somebody looks angry." The voice speculates as Borg growls and flares his nostrils in rage.

     He steps onto the mat charging in my direction for a second time. I duck under his fist, quickly aiming a punch of my own at his nose. Just as my hand makes contact with his face, he reaches his hand up, smacking me in the jaw.

     Pain explodes in my face as I hit the ground and I vaguely register Borg stumbling backwards.

     Pulling myself from the floor, I manage to find my feet just in time for my opponent to seize me by my shoulders and slam his head into mine. I break one my arms free enough to whack him in the head. His grip immediately loosens, allowing me to stumbles backwards.

     My vision begins to cloud, everything appearing in a blur.

     Blinking rapidly, I desperately try to focus on the man before me, but to no avail. I attempt to steady myself from swaying, but that too comes to no avail.

     The air is knocked out of my lungs as Borg comes crashing into me, my back slamming into the wall behind me. I shout out as Borg's fists pound into my torso mercilessly. My vision further distorts and the cheers and shouts of the crowd begin to fade away.

     Much to my relief, the pounding ceases for a moment, only for a pair of hands to grab onto both my sides. My eyes slowly widen as my feet leave the ground. The floor gets further and further away before getting closer and closer all too quickly before I crash into it.

     I let out a whimper as my entire body throbs.

     I manage to make out Rychner's voice as he speaks up, "Okay, that's enough-"

"NO!" I bellow with determination, not willing to accept defeat.

     Turning onto my back just in time to see the underside of Borg's boot, I quickly roll to the side, avoiding him by mere inches. Borg stumbles forward when his foot misses my head.

     My whole body screams out in pain as I scramble my way off of the floor. Borg spins around just in time to see my fist collide with his mouth. I ready myself to launch another, but a mighty blow to my chest soon puts an end to that. The force of the punch pushes me back a few steps. I almost instantly steady myself as Borg does the same.

     Borg steps to the side and swishes something around in his mouth. A bloodied tooth soon comes flying out from his mouth and onto the floor beside me. He shoots an unwavering glare my way as he snarls in an animalistic manner.

     I smear my thumb over the bottom of my lip, the warm liquid now coating my finger.

     I lunge forward, ducking under Borg's fist and sending a jab toward his abdomen. I swiftly direct a series of punches at him as he stumbles back. His hands rush to his stomach defensively. I hastily step behind him and stomp my boot into the back of his knee. His legs instantaneously buckle beneath him, bringing him to his knees. Lifting my leg, I smash the side of my foot into his head.

     My tightly clenched fist trembles as his body hits the mat with a thud. I pant as Borg lays limp before me.

     Glancing over the crowd, I blink a few times until their faces come into focus, now only minorly distorted. Taking in their expressions of astonishment and shock my eyes finally land on Rilo with a massive grin on his face.

"Axel...welcome to Delta Squad."

A/N:  Thank you for reading everyone and I hope you enjoyed this update! I can proudly say that this update was a joy to write, and I am glad it is actually on time! I appreciate your comments to please feel welcome to leave one! I made this chapter a little longer as a little way to thank everyone who has made it this far. Have an epic day, and God bless!

-ѕиιρєявαιт