Kinged(62)

After a short struggle, Gunther managed to get leverage under Rex, and threw him over his hip. Rex hit the ground with a soft thud, and Gunther was on top of him in a flash. Immediately, Rex wrapped his arms and leg around Gunther’s body and held him there, not allowing Gunther the ability to strike him. They began to struggle again, their muscles straining, each man looking for a slight advantage in leverage and strength. It wasn’t flashy or exciting, but I could tell that their grappling was incredibly dangerous. Both one of them was capable of killing the other with the slightest opening, and they were both keenly aware of that. While the struggle may not have looked as exciting as the punching and kicking had, I could tell that it was much more dangerous.

I glanced at Michael, and his face was completely impassive. For a moment that could decide his entire life, he was taking it in like it was another television show or something. There was no expression at all, and he stared at the two men without blinking. Aside from me, Michael was the only one in the room not cheering and yelling. I noticed men moving through the crowd with money, taking small bets on the action, and I figured that the betting was the entire point of the fights. Plus, men seemed to like fights, especially men like them. Violence and betting mixed to create the most exciting atmosphere, at least in some places.

Rex rolled to his left as Gunther attempted to rear back away from him, which let Rex get free of Gunther’s weight. Gunther jumped at Rex but missed as he scrambled to his feet. Gunther met him head on and they traded blows again, one for one. The crowd went crazy again, happy that their slow struggle had broken up. Gunther took a step forward to attempt to grab Rex again, but Rex ducked him then kicked him hard in the gut. Gunther stumbled back, and Rex followed up with a hard right hand to his jaw. Gunther fell back into the crowd, but the men there caught him and pushed him back at Rex. Gunther came up swinging. He aimed huge, powerful blows at Rex’s face, but Rex was too fast. Each fist missed by inches as Rex dodged and weaved like a pro. Their hands were blurs as they came at each other again, both smoothly blocking then counterattacking.

Both men looked exhausted, panting and bleeding. Gunther’s brow was cracked open and Rex’s nose was freely pouring blood. They came at each other again, and ended up back in the same grappling position. I understood that I was watching a match between two extremely talented, deadly individuals, and that I was probably missing the finer points of the battle. All I could think about was my Rex, his body, and his freedom. Rex was marginally larger, but Gunther was fresh, and again Gunther gained advantage. This time, though, instead of throwing Rex, he slipped around behind him and wrapped his arms around Rex’s neck. He held him there, arms in a chokehold, and flexed.

Rex’s tongue nearly popped out of his mouth at the force of Gunther’s arms. The crowd went crazy, and a sharp thrill of fear ran through me. The people were screaming, going insane, as Gunther and Rex slowly sank down to the ground. Rex was weakly smacking at Gunther’s face, struggling to get out of the hold, but he wasn’t able to. Gunther dropped to his knees and Rex was down on his seat, slowly turning blue. I could see the end coming, Rex murdered before my eyes in the middle of a ring of murderous men. I could feel another scream begin to well itself up through my body. I couldn’t believe that Rex was going to lose, that he was going to die. I couldn’t believe that my end was coming, in a dingy bar basement.

Before I could release myself, Rex reached back with his right hand and pressed his thumb against Gunther’s eye. With every last ounce of energy he probably had left, Rex pressed his thumb into the eye. Gunther screamed, but didn’t let go immediately. Rex continued to press harder, and Gunther kept screaming, until blood began to run down Rex’s hand. Gunther let go and whipped himself backward, holding his eye and screaming, blood streaming between his fingers. Rex collapsed onto his stomach, coughing and choking but alive and breathing. The two men writhed separately, both dazed and in pain. The crowd went insane at the sight of more blood, and I felt sick, ready to throw up at any second.

Hope replaced the fear that had filled me as Rex slowly gained his feet. Gunther was still on his knees holding his bleeding eye. Before he noticed what was happening, Rex landed a violent kick to his nose, cracking Gunther’s head back and sending the man sprawling. Rex didn’t pause. He immediately jumped on Gunther and began pummeling him with his fists. The crowd went crazy, screaming and shouting, as Rex slowly stopped hitting Gunther. He stood up, panting and bleeding, but alive. Gunther lay on the ground, not moving.