A Fight That Kills

Jia
Jia woke up when the sun had yet to light the sky. She'd never had an easy sleep, but it embarrassed her to admit that the reason for her early waking was nerves. Or rather that she dreaded it. Today was election day. She would be elected to a squad and trained to fight. And truth was, from the pick of squads she had, she didn't want any. She got up from the bed and the sensors lit a faint blue light in the ceiling. She put her sweatpants, sports training bra and trainers on and went out for a run, tying her long black and green hair up in a pony tail. She went down the twirling stairs and out the door into the dark lit outside. 

The moons illuminated the town with a faint red light. It made the town seem soaked in blood. She ran along the main street and out to the forest at the edge of the town. A forest nobody dared to enter. Jia had often wondered why that was, the forest was home to many creatures but if you ignored them, they did a splendid job at ignoring you back. The forest was the only thing Jia liked of Naia, her town, and it held many memories. She ran until the red moons came down and the bright sun came up. When it did Jia turned the way she'd come and ran back home. Home. She opened the door and went up to her bedroom. Her parents and a few of her siblings were already up, but like always they ignored her existence. Jia went to her bathroom and showered. She put her tribe clothes on, black and green. She put the long sleeved attire as was proper for outside ceremonies. The tight black pants with green patches in her knees, her black boots with silver buckles and the long sleeved shirt that had a hole for her thumbs and green striped at the sides to mark her figure. All matching her green eyes and black hair with a green streak that she tied up in a high ponytail. She looked at her watch, it was time. She left the house without being acknowledged and went for the bus meeting were all the boys and girls about her age were waiting. They looked at her with their usual disdain. She'd never been a friendly person, not that any person in Naia was, but she was also hated for her lack of interest in the Naiadi traditions. All her brothers and sisters were very popular, being of the Danhish family, the most powerful family in the Naiadi Tribe it was only normal. Except for Jia of course. 

Dun walked up to her, wearing the same clothes she was wearing but with slight variations that made it his own. Variations that included knife edge boots, a black coat with a green border and his Squad Leader pendant. He smiled at Jia with his vicious smile, his thick black eyebrows heavy over his eyes in his usual frown. His black hair fell long in various uneven strands and his multiple silver earrings stuck out from under it. He reached Jia.
- "Election day is here. I'm really hoping you'll join my squad, can't wait to have a taste." He said, and reached his hand with silver rings to Jia's cheek. Jia recoiled from him and Dun smiled a broader smile. He grabbed Jia's neck with his left hand and stroked her cheek with his right. He touched her left ear where she wore the earring's he'd given her. "You do remember what this means, don't you? You're mine." He hissed. Jia tensed her jaw.
- "Nuon was the one to equal you, I lost, I'm not yours any more." Jia hissed. Dun tensed his grip on her and put his face only inches away from hers. 
- "Why do you do this? Why do you want to be seen as weak? Is being with me such a nightmare that you'd rather be married off in a lowly rank?" He said with gritted teeth. Jia closed her eyes and said nothing. After a moment Dun let go of her and walked away to meet the other Naiadi Squad Leaders. Not all Squad Leaders were here, only the ones in charge of examination attended the Election Ceremony. Jia's father and mother were the top Squad Leaders of the Darks which meant they didn't bother in examining. Jia hoped she wouldn't be assigned to them, or to Dun's Squad. In fact she desperately wished she wouldn't be assigned to any Squad. But at the same time, she loved fighting and she didn't really want to give it up. The Bus arrived and all the kids got on, most parents had come to wish their children good luck. Jia waited for everyone else to get on the bus and then entered it, seating in one of the free seats next to a girl that had short hair half streaked green the other black. She looked at Jia with the usual disdain look, Jia ignored it. 

The Bus took them to Ruda, the neutral city. The only place where the Dark and the Light could coexist without murdering each other. The only reason they did coexist was because attacking in the Neutral city was punished with death. Jia got off the bus and followed the other kids inside the Rudan academy, where they would be going to school from now on. She followed the others to the Central Hall, where there was a long line of kids dressed in their respective Tribe clothing lining up for the exam that would determine what Squad they would now belong to, there were both Lights and Darks in the lines, and each looked at the other with disdain. Jia got the same looks from the Lights as she did from the Darks, so she ignored both and just looked forward numbly. Jia's anxiety grew as she waited in line, her patience had never been her strong suit. After an unbearable long time she reached the desk of entry, where a man in grey clothes grabbed her hand and pierced her thumb with a needle, Jia didn't even flinch, she was used to this type of pain. The man collected her blood sample in the little test tube and asked her to speak her name. "Jia Danhish." After speaking her name the tube lit and her name was embroidered in it, the man put the tube in a hole. And then gestured for Jia to go inside the door behind him. 

She did as told and entered a spacious room with glass walls to the sides, at the far end of the room there was a desk where five people wearing grey uniforms sat down. The one in the middle was a woman with white hair and eyes. The seer, she was the one in charge of election, her word was final and indisputable. At the sides of the room there were men and women lined up, one Squad Leader from each Tribe, reaching a number of twenty in total, ten from each side. They were in charge of examination. Dun smiled when he saw Jia, he was at the far end of the left side, where all the Darks were with their black uniforms and different colour details. The Lights were at the right with the same respective coloured details. All of them wearing their pendants. 

- "Begin." The Seers voice said, and in a second one of the men from the Lights ran to Jia. She dodged him even though she was surprised by the abrupt start, by jumping a few feet back. When she landed the man kicked out and Jia ducked, sending her leg out in a kick and making the man trip. He was of the Jur Tribe, his white uniform wearing a diagonal red line, his eyes the same colour. Jia jumped over his body and punched the man's face, as soon as she did a woman came at her, she was of the Tukar Tribe, a maroon line went straight from the top of her shoulder to the bottom of her feet on her left side back and front, barely seeable against her black uniform. She had long and curvy blonde hair and was quite fast. But Jia was faster, the woman sent a punch to Jia's face but Jia grabbed the arm. 

A man had already left his rank on the Dark side, of the Laz Tribe, a purple cross on his chest, he had shoulder-length brown hair and was very broad-backed. Jia used the hold on the woman's arm to thrust her legs over her and kick the man in the face, by doing so she twisted the woman's arm, they both shrieked in pain. Jia landed on the floor crouched and put her hand on the floor for balance, she heard steps from both sides behind her and turned to see a man from the Roan Tribe and another from the Dutas Tribe running towards her, the first to reach was the Dutas one, a white and turquoise blur, he was quite fast to be of the lowly Tribes. He went for her neck and she let him reach it, grabbing his hands and pulling them forwards, laying back on his body and using it to jump back and kick the Roan one in the straight red line in the middle of his chest. The man staggered a few feet back. The Light one still had Jia grabbed by the shoulders, he picked her up to slam her in the floor but before he could push her down she thrust her feet up, forcing him to let go of her, she landed behind him and kicked his lower back. The man was thrown forward a few miles and landed on the Roan man, who pushed him off in anger and disgust. 

The Roan man was the strongest she'd fought yet, which didn't surprise her. The Roan Tribe was the fourth strongest Tribe in Fazhanu and this man was of the highest Squads as Jia could see from the lion on his pendant. The man came at her and Jia defended the blow with her arm, but the man was already throwing a punch with the other, she could only stop the blows for a while. She heard steps come from behind her and kicked the man that was running towards her in the chest. He was a man from the Dark's Ten Tribe and then turned to only barely stop another of the Roan man's blows. Three more people came at her as she was fighting the Roan man, two Darks and one Light, of the Tara, Liszt and Won Tribes. The three fairly weak, luckily. She handled the Tara woman by jumping back and elbowing her face, the Liszt man she handled by ducking and making him trip, but that cost her a graze of the Roan man's kick on her ribs. She barely managed to dodge it. She stopped a few more of his blows and then handled the Won woman when she came by using her as a shield and having the Roan man punch her. She dared a kick to the man's ribs but he stopped it and grabbed her foot, she managed to loose his grip by kicking up with her other foot, he stopped the foot but had to let go of the other and Jia fell to the floor, the man punched the floor and Jia barely managed to dodge the attack by jumping back. 

A few more people came at her but she took them down in a fairly easy way. They were of the Lowly Tribes, and even though fighting with the Roan man and the others at the same time made it harder, she could still handle them. Luckily non of the Higher Tribes were attacking yet, but the time was soon to come. One of the Volke Tribe came at her, a slim woman with a tight black uniform and an orange straight line on her shoulders. When Jia saw her she knew she had to finish the Roan off or she wouldn't be able to fight the remaining Higher Tribes. The Volke were of the Higher Tribes but considerably weaker than their Light counterparts. Jia fought them both by only stopping or dodging the attacks as she thought of a strategy. 

The rules stated that only two fighters could go against her at once so she knew she was safe as long as she endured fighting those two without suffering any attacks from the Higher Tribes. The slim woman was fast but weaker than the Roan man and she didn't look like she weighed much at all. She waited for her to kick and then grabbed her foot as she did so, lifting it up and then stopping one of the Roan man's punches with it, the woman shrieked and went to caress her foot, Jia elbowed her in the face and then turned to the Roan man, the man punched her in the face as she'd expected he would, she endured the pain and punched the man in the stomach twice and then kicked off. 

Blood was falling off her left eyebrow where the man had hit her but she ignored it, turning to the Lus and Ked Light's Tribe's men that were ready to attack her. She could feel her exhaustion and knew she was getting weaker. Jia tried to punch them but they dodged her easily. The Lus man grabbed her shoulders and the Ked man punched her stomach, he went to punch her face after but Jia dodged the punch, the mans fist landing in the Lus man instead. He weakened his grip on her and Jia kicked the Ked man in the crotch. She stood for a second, surprised by how easy it had been. 

A man from the Faln Tribe and a woman from the Ston Tribe, both Darks, came at her. They were agile, strong and fast. It was hard to keep up with them, but Jia managed to dodge or stop them, even if she didn't manage to punch them at all. She fought them both for a long time, increasingly aware of her growing exhaustion. 

And then Dun came at her, he aimed to punch her in the face but she dodged it, jumping back. Why were three attacking at once? Dun smiled. Jia knew for a fact that she couldn't beat Dun. And she was starting to doubt she could beat any of the fighters that were left. They were all from the Highest Tribes and they seemed to be from the Highest Squads in their Tribes, but Jia was stressed out enough to start thinking on what squads were strong in each tribe. On top of that, they were fighting three against one, which Jia was fairly sure was against the examination rules. What all that meant was that she had only a few minutes left in the exam, and she was going to make her best at it. Because even if Jia didn't want the honour of belonging to the Highest Tribes she liked fighting and she hated going easy. 

She ran towards them and threw herself on the Faln man, he was surprised by it and she took her chance. She elbowed the man's face and then kicked up with both her feet, landing them on the Ston woman's chest. Dun didn't hesitate to punch down and he hit Jia's back, she spit out blood on the floor next to the Faln man and, before Dun could punch again, she jumped back. Dun smiled his terrible smile and darted towards her, getting to her in a flash. He kicked her stomach and she grabbed onto his shoulders, thrusting her head to his. Dun staggered a few feet back and, before he was ready, the two remaining fighters were in front of Jia. A man and a woman with their dashing white uniforms. The man was of the Den Tribe, a blue line outlined his short-sleeved white t-shirt, his blue eyes fierce and deadly and his dirty blonde hair falling to his shoulders. The woman was of the Lenas Tribe, the Naiadi Light counterpart. Her green eyes looking at Jia with more hate than the rest, she had brown wavy hair that reached her waist and had a very sexy, curvy silhouette that only heightened her overall dazzling beauty.

Jia was a little dizzy and had a hard time following the images of the man and woman as they darted towards her. She crouched down, her hand on the floor to stabilise herself and closed her eyes completely, letting her breath grow calm and concentrated on her hearing. She breathed in and out and concentrated on the running footsteps towards her. Behind the two running Lights she could hear Dun. And she knew what she had to do. 

She jumped up in the air as high as she could when she heard the footsteps near and jumped towards Dun. She landed a few steps in front of him, the two Lights were already turning and running towards her, about to reach her. If they had all been on one side the strategy was easy. All Dun had to do was pin her while the others hit her. But they weren't on the same side. Because no matter what, a Dark will always hate a Light. They will never fight together. 

When the two Lights reached her, Jia jumped in the air again, and Dun's ready punch hit the Light man in the face. He was thrown a few feet in the air and hit the floor hard. He stood up and angrily looked at Dun. Jia laughed when she landed on the floor, the two fighters came towards her in no time and they both punched at the same time. Clumsy. Jia dodged them to one side and they both hit the air, but the woman was very fast, she took the strength of the punch to spin around and grabbed Jia while she was dodging by the foot. She pulled Jia towards her, put her arm around Jia's neck and pressed hard, ready for Jia to give up. Jia's face boiled and she could feel the increasing pressure on her skull. She grabbed one of the woman's arms with both hands hard and then leaned her head forward, biting the woman's arm hard until it bled. The woman shrieked and loosened her grip a little. 

Jia managed to barely escape, staggering a few feet and trying to see through her blurry vision. She managed to stop moving, only to be caught by Dun's punch. He punched her stomach twice. Jia stopped two other punches with her elbows but then received another blow to her face. She staggered a few feet back and spit blood. She looked at Dun furiously and he looked at her with a ruthless smile. Jia ran forward and spread her leg, ready to kick Dun in the knee where she knew he'd suffered an injury a year ago that hadn't quite healed, but for some reason she didn't quite understand, she hesitated. Dun frowned harder and grabbed her foot, throwing Jia to the ground. Jia's back slammed to the floor, making her spit more blood. Her entire body aching in pain. Dun got on top of her and pinned her legs with his. And then he started punching. Jia dodged the first few but couldn't keep on doing so. She felt the punches in her face, at first with an agonising, throbbing pain, but soon her face went numb. Dun kept punching her face and Jia's vision filled with red dots only to later turn black.

Reviews

[Created to Write]

Wow, great fight scene!

The 'pricks her finger without flinching' reminds me of Hunger Games.

I did see one thing though. When Dun is going to hit her in the back, you say 'she is.' Not 'he is.'

Overall, awesome.

[Evey]

Thank you for all your reviews! I'll change the mistake now!