Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 18

Xun dropped his bag on the bench, and stepped into the ring. He had taken two steps when a loud bang had him spinning to see the source of the noise.

Willow, Hayden and a half dozen other people swarmed through the doors out of breath. Max looked at Trudy and she smiled.

“Can’t have a trial of combat without spectators. You know how word spreads.”

“Especially when you use the criers!” exclaimed Willow happily.

Max rolled his eyes and Trudy wore a smug grin as everyone turned back to the ring.

With his adrenaline now flowing, Xun didn’t think he would have a problem. The three guards she had grabbed were all very big and muscular, but he could tell that none of them were very fast. He wondered if they had any stamina, either.

“Go!” called out Trudy.

Xun watched the guy charge at him, no doubt planning to end this quickly, but he waited till the last second and dodged, rolling to the side. The guy spun around and charged again. Xun danced just out of his reach, allowing the guy to get him closer and closer to the edge of the arena. His attention was completely focused on the guy as he watched his breathing become labored and his steps not as quick.

Planting himself at the edge, he feigned a look of surprise and horror as he glanced behind him, and the guy took the bait, charging even faster with his arms outstretched to keep Xun from dodging to either side. Waiting till the last second, he dodged down and to the side, leaving his leg out to trip him.

“Don’t worry, Trudy, I have this!” called the other guy. He jumped into the ring and strutted to the middle. Xun took a moment, pretending to be a little tired. He wasn’t having any problems at all, but if he went into the fight with his opponent thinking he was tired, he could probably trick him into more.

As he slowly made his way to the middle, he thought about the last obstacle, where all of them would have to race up the structure for the flag at the top. If he didn’t tire out his last opponent, Joe, then Joe would be at an advantage climbing faster then everyone else. Taking his place, he shook his head. It was a gamble, but he would have to lose this fight.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be quick!” said the guy with a grin.

Xun smiled back and waited for him to charge. This guy was big, just like the last one, and he knew that if this guy laid even a finger on him, he would lose. But he couldn’t use the same tactics, this guy probably wouldn’t fall for them, or would he? He lowered his center of gravity by bending his knees.

“Go!” shouted Trudy.

The guy charged, trying to grab him right at the beginning. Xun leaned one way, like he was going to dodge that way, and then threw himself the opposite direction when the guy started to head that way to catch him. When he went to autocorrect for the change in direction, he tripped and tumbled several feet before catching himself.

Xun had rolled once, landing back on his feet, facing the guy quickly, because of the low center of gravity. The veins on the guy’s face bulged as several people in the crowd laughed. He obviously didn’t appreciate the humiliation. Xun took note of that, keeping his face neutral as the guy focused on him. His pounding feet thundered across the ring and he tried to kick Xun.

Grabbing his foot, he jerked it to the side, using the guys momentum to throw him to the ground again. He could have hurt him at that time if he wanted to, but he held back.

The move had been perfected at the second compound he had lived in after his dad had died. There had been several boys who were intent on picking on him, even going so far as to wait until he was alone to beat him up. One of the hunters had found him, showed him how to bandage the broken ribs, and then taught him how to fight someone bigger than himself. Two of the boys never walked again after that, and the others finally left him alone. It had been an awful experience, but he was glad now, that he had learned it.

As the man charged at him, intent on actually doing harm, Xun began to dance just outside of his reach, drawing him closer and closer to the edge of the ring, just as he had done with his first opponent. Then at the very end, he made to make a last stand, just like before, but this time, he accidently stepped a little too far, slipping and falling outside of the ring as the guy barreled at him.

The crowd was so caught up in the fight, they honestly thought Xun was going to win. Only he knew the slip wasn’t accidental. The guy was confused at first, then laughed loudly at his win. His ċhėst pumped out and he strutted across the stage for the crowd. As Xun climbed back to his feet, he made sure to shake his head like he couldn’t believe he had lost.

“That was so cool! I don’t know how you moved like that!” exclaimed one of the people watching.

Several others agreed, throwing encouraging words his way and wishing him luck. Now that he had a moment to catch his breath before the next fight with Joe, Xun was surprised to see so many people watching. There could easily be over a hundred people squeezed around the arena.

“Thanks,” he replied humbly, but as he turned, he spied Max.