home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Tanya had been co-proprietor of the fighting pit in Gwychaver
- for several months. Trask, her partner, was honest in dealing
- with her (as well he might be, considering her enormous
- strength) and she was living well. The business at the pit was
- booming thanks to her prowess and curiosity of people at
- watching her fight men in the pit. Tanya took on all comers,
- with any weapon the challengers wished to use, and she had not
- been injured in over seventy matches. Wagering was brisk, and
- there were seldom less than six matches a night.
-
- Tanya limited herself to one match a night, and seldom more than
- five a week. She knew that the life of a pit fighter was short,
- and she had no wish to end her career prematurely.
-
- Tanya walked down the street to the building housing the pit
- slowly and proudly, aware of the many eyes watching and the
- people whispering. Her red cloak concealed an imposing
- physique, but could not hide her height of six feet three
- inches. Her long auburn hair was brushed straight back and tied
- at the back of her head, then fell in a ponytail to the small of
- her back. As the wind lifted the cloak it revealed her
- massively muscled arms. The people in the street all gave her a
- wide berth as she passed.
-
- Tanya entered the building containing the pit and walked over to
- Trask, whom she towered over by a head. "How does it look for
- tonight?" she asked.
-
- "Six bouts, if you accept the challenge of this one," he
- answered. He pointed at a name on the paper. "His owner says
- he wants to show everyone that a man can always beat a woman."
-
- Tanya chuckled and said, "Really? I guess we'll have to tell
- that to the men I've done for." She took a look at the name.
- "Fergus. Irish?" Trask nodded. "How big is he?"
-
- "About six foot six, maybe two hundred and forty pounds. Says
- he wants to beat you with his bare hands."
-
- Tanya snorted. "Fine with me. It always humiliates the owners
- more when their fighters lose to a woman without weapons."
-
- Tanya went to her room in the back of the building to wait until
- her time.
-
- The first five matches lasted almost two hours. The action was
- lively and the fighting fierce. The crowd was in a raucous mood
- when Trask stepped out to announce the last fight of the night.
-
- "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the sixth and last match of the
- evening's entertainment. This will be a match without weapons.
- Entering first, the challenger, six feet five and one half
- inches tall and weighing two hundred and forty-two pounds,
- Fergus!" Fergus was led to the pit by his owner, a tall, skinny
- man. Fergus wore only a breechcloth of black leather. He was
- powerfully built, with no fat and rippling muscles. There was a
- scattering of boos from the spectators. Tanya was a popular
- champion.
-
- "And now entering the pit, the champion. She stands six feet
- three inches tall and weighs two hundred and seven pounds. Here
- is Tanya!"
-
- The big redhead entered the pit to the cheers of the crowd, to
- which she took no notice. As she removed her red cloak to
- reveal her bronzed, brawny body, the onlookers gasped. Although
- they had seen her many times before, the sight of her powerful
- form always brought on this reaction. The sweat from the
- exercises Tanya had been doing in preparation for the fight
- glistened on her body, highlighting her muscularity. Her long
- auburn hair was carefully braided and wrapped in a tight bun on
- the top of her head. Tanya smiled, gratified by the crowd's
- response. She hung her cloak carefully on the wall of the pit
- and turned to face Fergus.
-
- The crowd was busy placing wagers on the match. Most of the
- bettors favored Tanya, though the bookmakers were giving good
- odds on Fergus. Some people in the throng had arrived with
- Fergus and his owner, and placed several bets on him.
-
- Tanya studied Fergus carefully. He appeared young, perhaps
- twenty summers, and had few of the scars which were usual with
- pit fighters. She thought that he might be inexperienced and
- planned her assault accordingly.
-
- At last the wagers had all been placed and Trask rang the gong
- as a signal to begin. Tanya and Fergus began circling each
- other, looking for a weakness, in what was known as the circle
- of death. Each feinted several times, trying to draw the other
- warrior into a mistake. Tanya began to change her evaluation of
- the younger man in the pit with her. Though he lacked the scars
- of an experienced fighter, the scars she bore proudly, he seemed
- to know what he was doing. Fergus appeared confident as he
- circled to his right.
-
- "Hmmm, probably right-handed," thought Tanya. She had trained
- with both hands equally and was proficient with either. Slowly
- the distance between them closed until little more than an arm
- span separated the two warriors.
-
- Fergus made the first attack, quickly somersaulting forward and
- trying to grab Tanya in a bear hug. The big woman backed
- swiftly out of Fergus' reach, then leaped forward with a kick,
- trying to catch Fergus before he had regained his feet. Fergus
- was upright and moving to his right before she could deliver the
- blow, however, and her foot met nothing but air. Tanya spun to
- her right, turning completely around until she faced Fergus
- again. She smiled and nodded, acknowledging his skill. Again
- the two began the circle of death.
-
- This time it was Tanya who made her move first. Rolling to her
- left, she regained her feet and drove a kick at Fergus' ribs.
- He was able to roll with the blow and the kick did no real
- damage. Before Tanya could regain her stance Fergus dove at her
- legs. His considerable weight crashed into Tanya's leg just
- below the knees. Tanya had seen the move coming and leaped over
- it just as Fergus crashed into her. She allowed her momentum to
- carry into a forward roll, and she tumbled across the pit and
- regained her feet with half the pit between herself and her
- opponent.
-
- "That was pretty agile for a big guy," she thought. "I'd better
- damage him a bit to slow him down."
-
- The two combatants continued to circle each other. The
- onlookers were getting impatient for Tanya and Fergus to hook up
- and fight, and a few catcalls were heard. Both fighters ignored
- them, each respecting the others' abilities. Both Tanya and
- Fergus knew that one mistake could cost them the fight, and
- their lives.
-
- Once again the distance between the two fighters closed. Tanya
- watched Fergus carefully, looking for any telltale movement that
- indicated he was about to attack. She noticed his eyes flick
- quickly to his left, and was ready for him when he spun that way
- and tried to deliver a kick. She moved inside his swinging foot
- and caught his brawny leg in her powerful arms. Tanya kept a
- tight grip on his leg and delivered her own kick to the inside
- of Fergus' right knee. A gasp escaped Fergus' lips as Tanya's
- foot, impelled by her prodigious leg muscles, struck him with
- the force of a sledgehammer. His knee buckled outward, the
- ligaments holding it together stretching until they snapped.
- With one leg in Tanya's mighty arms and the other unable to hold
- his weight, Fergus crashed to the sandy floor of the pit. Tanya
- held on to his left leg as he hit the floor. With amazing
- speed, she stretched his captive leg out as far as it would go
- above his head, then jumped in the air and dropped her knee into
- the inside of his left knee, driving it into the unyielding
- ground.
-
- Fergus was in agony as his left knee was driven into the ground,
- caught between the dirt and Tanya's two hundred seven pounds.
- Tanya released his leg and rolled free, as she knew that Fergus
- could still do some damage with his powerful arms. She knew
- that Fergus' legs were damaged, but she wasn't certain how
- badly. She got to her feet facing Fergus, who lay on the ground
- clutching at his knees. The right knee was swollen badly, and
- the left was already discoloring. A cruel smile fleetingly
- appeared on her lips when she realized that Fergus was nearly
- immobile, and therefore helpless to escape her attack.
-
- Fergus' owner, an emaciated, sallow faced man, screamed at him
- to get up and defend himself. Fergus tried to climb to his
- feet. When Tanya walked over to him slowly and deliberately
- kicked him again in the right knee, Fergus bellowed in pain and
- collapsed again. Tanya moved behind her big opponent and locked
- her arms around his massive chest. She picked the bigger man up
- and held him tightly against her, then began to squeeze.
- Fergus' arms were pinned to his sides, and he tried to use them
- to break her bear hug. Tanya's huge arms swelled with the
- effort of keeping Fergus captive. Sweat ran down her face, and
- as she tightened her grip even more Fergus found that he
- couldn't breathe. Tanya crushed Fergus, her prodigous arms and
- massive chest forming a circle of pain that he couldn't
- withstand. He went limp in her deadly embrace.
-
- Tanya felt all resistance leave Fergus' body. She decided to
- put on a demonstration of her power. Releasing her grip, she
- allowed Fergus' weakened form slip from between her arms and
- slump to the ground. She bent over him and lightly slapped his
- face, trying to bring him around. Smack! Smack! The sounds
- echoed through the building. As Fergus shook his head, she
- stepped back and waited for him to return to semi-consciousness.
-
- Fergus became dimly aware that he was laying on the floor of the
- pit. His knees hurt fiercely, and his chest ached. His vision
- was still fuzzy, but he could see Tanya standing before him, her
- arms akimbo. Sweat ran down her face and dripped onto her
- chest, running down the channel between her small breasts. It
- glistened on her body, highlighting her powerful muscles. Tanya
- smiled cruelly and gestured at Fergus to get up. He tried, but
- his legs could not hold his weight. Tanya walked over to him
- and offered him her hand. Without thinking, Fergus took it.
- Tanya gave a mighty heave and pulled Fergus up and lifted him on
- her shoulders. She used him as a weight, doing deep squats
- easily.
-
- Fergus was too hurt, dazed, and terrified to try to fight any
- more. Tanya began to spin, turning in a tight circle. Fergus
- got dizzier and dizzier, almost losing consciousness again.
- "Ready to fly, big man?" asked Tanya. Without waiting for an
- answer she stopped spinning and threw Fergus across the pit. He
- hit the floor hard and rolled until he crashed into one of the
- walls. Tanya slowly walked over to confront the Irishman again,
- the torchlight gleaming on her sinewy body. She wrapped one
- huge hand in his long hair and pulled him to his feet, then
- released him. Fergus almost fell, despite using the wall for
- support. Tanya began to use his body as a punching bag, driving
- powerful punches into his unprotected belly. His belly on fire,
- Fergus slumped to the ground again.
-
- Tanya bent down and grabbed him under his arms. "Upsy-daisy,"
- she said as she heaved him back upright. Bending her knees
- slightly, Tanya's used her powerful arms to encircle Fergus'
- body just beneath the ribs, once again locking his arms to his
- sides. When she straightened up Fergus was lifted off his feet.
- The air left Fergus' lungs in a rush when Tanya constricted her
- grip even more. Her mighty muscles stood out as if carved from
- granite as she again crushed Fergus' once proud body. Fergus
- felt as if his body was being cut in half, pressed between the
- iron jaws of her arms and her rock like chest. One of his ribs
- broke with an audible snap, and blood flecked his lips from a
- punctured lung. Tanya knew that Fergus was finished, but she
- wanted to leave the crowd with something to talk about. She
- carried him around the arena, letting all the spectators get a
- good look. Tanya carried fergus around as if he were a baby,
- not a man outweighing here by over thirty pounds.
-
- Tanya finally released Fergus body, which crumbled bonelessly to
- the floor. She turned to the crowd and posed, flaunting her
- powerful body for all to see. As she flexed her arms, her
- biceps grew until they looked boulders, both in size and
- hardness. When she was satisified with their awestruck
- reaction, she turned back to the limp form of her opponent.
- Lifting his head and upper body up, she sat on the floor of the
- pit behind him, with her treetrunk-like legs loosely encircling
- his torso. Some of the fans in the building started up the
- chant, "Deathgrip! Deathgrip! DEATHGRIP! DEATHGRIP!
- DEATHGRIP!" They knew that this was her finishing move.
- Warriors who had escaped from her bear hug and body scissors had
- been unable to get out of this hold, even if they had not been
- badly hurt. Tanya locked her right arm under Fergus' chin,
- fitting the chin into the crook of her elbow. Tightening her
- legs to hold him firmly, she brought her right hand up to lock
- on her left bicep. Tanya then placed her left hand behind his
- head. She slowly twisted Fergus' head to the left, at the same
- time straightening her back to stretch his spine taut. When she
- felt his neck stretch slightly, she suddenly twisted his head
- the other way while she heaved up and back with her right arm.
-
- With a Snap! Pop! Fergus' neck broke. Tanya kept his body
- locked in her deathgrip for several seconds longer, then
- released him and got to her feet in one agile motion. Raising
- her hands over her head, she turned to the crowd to accept their
- adulation. Suddenly she was aware of Fergus' owner leaping into
- the pit, a knife in his hand and murder in his eyes. Tanya
- quickly assessed the threat he offered and knew she could easily
- take him if not for the knife. The knife made it a kill or die
- situation. She turned fluidly, offering him a target on her
- right side. As he thrust with the knife, she knocked the knife
- hand aside with her right arm. Moving quickly, she caught his
- head with her left hand and drove her right hand into his jaw,
- which shattered with the impact. Before he could move, she
- drove her forehead into his nose, then crushed his throat with a
- slashing blow from the edge of her hand.
-
- Blood erupted from the man's mouth, and he collapsed to the
- ground, a stupid look on his face. Tanya bent down and wiped
- her hands on his tunic, then picked up her cloak and left the
- pit to the approving roar of the crowd.
-
-
- continued ..........
-