AncilI gulped.
“Follow me,” he said spinning around his cape showing the black backside of it. The inside of his cape was red while the outside was completely black. “If you try to run away I’ll have my pet find you and rip you to pieces, you hear?”
The Lagahoo, smaller now, growled at me. I didn’t argue, I just followed the Midnight Robber.
“I had a feeling this little imbecile had something to do with the forest fire,” General Dee Baba who was outside, said. Behind him a group of about four blue devils that stood with lanterns were holding on to Sara who was tied up around her hands and mouth. As I stared at her with concern, I noticed only until last minute that Rajiv was at the side of me, running towards me armed with a knife. I couldn’t react in time but the Midnight Robber held him back.
“If you going to kill your friend Jed we might as well make it interesting. Hmmm? Let we raise the stakes.” The Midnight Robber pulled the knife out of Rajiv’s hand and handed it to General Dee Baba. “You wanted to continue where you left off in Caura. Hand to hand combat. Fight to the death!!!” He kicked Rajiv closer to me. “The winner gets another day to live.”
“I already dead!” Rajiv said before quickly swinging at me.
His attempt was way too predictable. I just stepped back dodging his horrible attempt at a punch. I was looking around at gaps to be able to run but the sight of the Lagahoo watching over the fight made me change my mind. I was safer fighting Rajiv than I was trying to run away. I was utterly terrified of the Lagahoo.
Rajiv came at me while I was distracted but I was able to just lean away from his swing which slightly grazed my lips. There was blood.
“You haven’t learned to fight yet?” I quipped, watching Rajiv who was already panting. “The fight only just started and you’re already tired. Come on man. Better than that.” I glanced over at the Midnight Robber for a second just to make sure that my cockiness wasn’t inappropriate.
“Yes I’m tired. Tired of your unsightly visage!!” Rajiv said, running and swinging at me in the same extremely predictable way.
I just as easily evaded his newest attack. The fight was actually much easier than I expected. “Too easy.”
Every Time I spoke he got angrier springing at me with blinding rage. There was no strategy with him. He was attacking and draining his already dwindling energy. The more tired he got the easier it would for me to actually attack. I was simply playing the waiting game and dodging all his attacks in the process. I learnt this trick from a famous MMA fighter who spent the first few rounds blocking and evading, tiring his opponent. Then in the last rounds, when his opponent was tired, he sprung alive.
I ensured to maintain my distance while we circled, fiercely gazing into each other’s eyes in the light of the lanterns. Sara was quiet as she looked on. Well she had to be quiet, her mouth was tied shut. Her skin was getting paler and paler and there were more purple sores appearing. Her head was bobbing as if she was struggling to remain conscience. I had to end the fight quickly in hopes that the Midnight Robber would untie her. But Rajiv was much stronger than I was. His growth in muscles since the last time I fought him in Caura was evident. My only chance was to tire him out.
“I met jumbies that was harder to fight than you,” I provoked.
This time he didn’t senselessly run into me like I expected. He just kicked his shoes off showing off his pale white feet and long dirty brown toe nails. There was also a bloody and open purple sore at the tip of his toe. He must have caught on to my tricks. I needed to try harder. Or maybe not. When I least expected it he ran up to me with a punch. I leaned away but this time he was expecting it because shortly after he flung a kick at me connecting with my face sending me to the floor, his sharp toe nails grazing my cheeks causing a long bloody cut to appear.
I quickly got up. “Now I know why Megan don’t like you anymore. You hit like a girl. And you have no stamina either,” I said, wiping the blood from my face.
