HELLCAT

by Michael W. Huard

  Today she wore black under eye face paint, just because she felt like it. It made her feel hidden, unknown, and mysterious to any eyes gazing upon her.

  The audience was now getting pretty excited and loud. She knelt in the center of the arena and leaned on her sword, her call to the sky followed, then she got up and readied herself for action.

  The two competitors met in the center.

  Shaggy man pointed his sword forward at her and the fight began. Mahira rose up on her back foot, lifting her sword in the air. He came at her and she hopped to her left, dropping low and slicing his right leg. He cried out and turned back to face her. He was already sweating badly, nervous and over anxious. Mahira thought, He probably did something against the Corporation or those connected with the world leader. She felt this every time an average guy or girl was sent in to fight her. I have to do what I have to do, a wrong here leads to a greater right, and we need the money. She took two quick breaths. I have to stop thinking, focus, focus, she thought.

  The criminal raised his sword high up to attack her, leaving his center area unprotected. This time as he came forward, she cut diagonally and the slice went down his right shoulder all the way to his left hip. He was now badly wounded, staggering back in pain and bleeding heavily. He spoke to his opponent, “I don’t want to fight. I stole from fatso up there, but I stole for my family, that’s all I did. They torture me, bully me, and threaten my clan. Please help me.”

  Mahira really had no choice here, this was no time for a rebellion. She came at him, “I will ease your pain now, mister," she said. With a quick parry of his halfhearted and desperate sword cut at her, she sliced his head off. The audience howled with delight, they were having fun and loving the carnage.

  Mahira just stood in the arena and stared at the headless body. She paused and felt lost in a sea of blood. “It had to be done,” she told herself. “It had to be done.” The crowd yelled for her to take a bow, encouraging her to scream and dance about in victory. She did nothing of the sort.

  Back in her stable area, she sat and rested until her next match.

  Chapter 6

  Tyne Gem sat beside her sister and the two of them shared silence once again. Tyne finally broke the ice, “You can’t fight forever you know.”

  Mahira only looked at her and shook her head. “I'm not sure what forever is these days,” Mahira replied. “That guy was someone who probably agrees with what we stand for, one who hated the Y-Wood Corporation just as much as we do. My step father, Wraith, always taught me as a young girl to never give up, to stand back up after every fall, but you know what, Tyne, I am not really sure what I am fighting for at times.”

  Tyne put her hand on Mahira’s shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me that. I don’t know either. But, as Raegan and the others have told us, we’re running out of time. A resistance is only as good as its progress shows, and we can’t stop until we free everyone from this tyranny.”

  “Yup,” added Mahira. "I hear ya. Freedom it is, it’s all we've got to hope for," she added, rolling her neck. "Who am I fighting tonight?”

  Tyne Gem stood up and mimicked a fighter’s low crouched pose. "He’s a wrestler, a Polish man, pretty rugged, no hair, and bad scar across his forehead. He took his first match by tossing his opponent down, beating him up, and choking the guy out with an arm and neck squeeze.”

  Mahira raised an eyebrow, “Oh, that’s just great. Time to get dirty!” She then found a secluded corner to sit down and relax in peace.

  “I need a quick nap. Watch over me, okay?” Her sister nodded that she would, and Mahira closed her eyes for a short rest, leaning up against the wall in the corner of a hallway, unseen by most of the others who were roaming about.

  Tyne scanned her mind online, trying to locate any sister who was also browsing and able to talk. Envy, the sisterhood’s red-headed spy connected with her. Tyne could text right from thought and updated Envy on where they were and about everything that had happened over the last week.

  “I am sorry,” Envy relayed back regarding the bomb attack.

  “They just wanna fight from the air now, and it’s not making it easy to stop them. But, we are just about ready for the big event next weekend,” Tyne messaged back.

  “That sounds good,” Envy added. “We have had all the pass key alterations done, and we can override all scans. Zaey and myself are in for the meetings prior, and as it looks like Sinaye will be making an appearance too. President shit-head won’t know what's hit him when we storm his pad like a wrecking ball.” She added a big smiley face to her text. She then sent one more note, “Stay strong out there, you two. Keep making the big money, we got lots of favors to pay off! Love you both, get back soon, peace out!”

  Tyne looked to Mahira who was now sleeping upright. A cyborg like her needed very little sleep, if any at all. However, she was still in need of more repairs as her circuits kept flashing, and she suspected her thinking process was off, but she kept those issues to herself for now.

  That evening Mahira entered the fighting area once more. Missile weapons and guns were banned in these fights because it lessened the crowd’s fun. Mahira's most regular weapon was her sword, but sometimes she would break out a big double-bladed axe. Today she stayed with her sword.

  The wrestler called Corbindee warmed up at the far end of the playing field. He jumped around, dropping low to one knee and springing back up to his feet again. He jumped high in the air like a monkey and landed, slapping his face in anticipation of the fight. He wore little for protection, just tan cotton pants and a wolf skin shirt.

  The brown-haired man now walked forward as Mahira was announced. He had a mustache that curled over his lips and almost started to rise up to his nose. His adrenaline was at a high, and as a Polish grappler, he knew what had to be done.

  Mahira strode in and the crowd let out a loud roar. Very few women could hold their own and live to tell the tale in the wild and deadly world of death matches. But they all knew this one. She was so sexy looking and built to love. Many dreamed of having her for themselves. She knelt down and rested on her sword, looked to the sky and then rose to fight.

  Having a weapon when her Polish opponent did not was a great advantage, one that Mahira would try to make the most of. Corbindee lowered his level and waited for the woman before him to make the first move. In her unique red, white, and blue outfit, Mahira moved about but did not rush in.

  As a Mystical Slayer, Mahira had trained in sword fighting since a very young age. She waited until he was close enough to strike out and cut his wrist, which caused him to yelp in pain and jump back. She smiled at him, something wicked was running through her veins.

  “You’re not going to get me down,” she barked at him.

  “Ha!" her opponent rumbled. “I am going to grab you, young lady, and then I am going to crush you!” He then faked shooting at her from his hip. Mahira jumped back, taking three steps away from him to create even more space between them.

  Corbindee banged his palms on his shoulders, doing some sort of war dance while waiting for more fighting to go down. “Don’t be afraid, woman. Come, let us do it, fight me,” he yelled to her as the crowd got wired up waiting for something to happen. Mahira planned a stab; she knew he would come at her sooner or later. He would dive right in at her and she would punish him with the end of her sword.

  The solid Polish fighter did come in low as predicted, but he'd likewise expected her to try to cut him when he did. So, just as he shot in, he leaned way back and twisted left, skillfully grasping her right leg. Mahira missed her piercing stab attempt and was knocked on her back as he held her leg, driving her over with his sheer power.

  He got to her side and bashed her sword hand with his meaty fist, forcing her to release it. The audience was in an uproar, what a move! The pretty blond was down for the count, bets were placed on the spot, and everyone looked to what would happen next.

  The Polish man began to rein punch
es down on Mahira. Anyone not trained in jiu-jitsu would have been knocked out by his onslaught, but she knew what to do. She quickly shuffled her butt away from the tough man's strikes and created enough space to get both her feet in his way. He could no longer reach to hit her. She had taken minimal blows and only suffered from a bruised and bleeding lip.

  With her feet now on his hips, it was time to get serious. She scooted back some and upward kicked him in the face, but he was determined and did not back off. She wanted to choke him around his neck with her legs, but she realized the problem was that he didn't have much of a neck to choke; it was too thick. Instead, just as he leaned back in to hit her, she deflected his right punch across her body and slid left, and before he could recover, she got around his back and latched on with both of her feet around his thighs. She was trying to reach up to choke him, but he grabbed her arm and hoisted her over his shoulder. She could not keep her grip on him and went flying away from him, crashing hard to the dirt.

  He was up and beating his chest with a new-found energy. Mahira was breathing heavy and surprised at this guy’s massive strength. But then she spotted her sword beside her. As he came with another attempt to pummel her, she grabbed the sword and rolled right into his path with it, slicing his midsection out and releasing his intestines onto the area’s dirt floor. A chorus of, “Ewwwwwwwwwww!” echoed simultaneously through the crowd.

  It was a hard-earned victory for the little hellcat. The crowd still loved it, what a fight! They screamed, danced, and made more bets for the coming matches with great enthusiasm. The winners were happy, the losers were desperate to make the next match their bread earner.

  In the highest section of the stair seats, the events promoter, the fat and overzealous man, was truly hoping his esteemed guests were enjoying the show. The crowd was certainly fully into this crazy event. But this was nothing new to General Purcell, nor his super bot, Galax, who was sitting beside him. The military man was more interested in watching his own robot than anything going on in the fighting pit below.

  Galax, a robot like no other, was a sight to behold. He looked to his commander, “Everything is in order, sir. There is nothing and no one of suspicion in the vicinity, all guards are in place, and no trouble has been spotted.”

  Purcell nodded his contentment and looked to his oversized host. “What did you say?” Joe Paul tried to reply to Galax.

  “I have seen enough and will not be staying overnight," said the general before Galax could respond. "My sky ship is ready to depart.” He stood, as did Galax, and the pair exited through the back as the event went on.

  More matches and more blood followed. The big Indian man, Jerebko, was also undefeated and easily won his second match, that being a victory by hatchet to the shoulder, followed by lifting his opponent up over his head and dropping her on his knee to snap her back in two. The final was set between him and Mahira.

  Mahira and Tyne spent the rest of the evening talking about what was to come. If the sisterhood did everything right, the grand ball and Y-Wood Corporation’s annual party weekend would be the perfect opportunity to infiltrate their operational home base. Many of them would get inside and strike at the heart of the world leader's domain. Tyne could not go to the ball as she was not considered legal. The same rules applied to any other non-Corporation robotic person. But she would still be at the fights below the main arena to help her friend.

  The following morning, Tyne explained the big Indian’s tactics noted from previous matches. “Here’s what we know. Jerebko has two robotic arms, which make him super powerful in both power and grip. He will be wearing all sorts of feathers and totem necklaces, as well as yellow, orange, and red war paint as if to intimidate you. He will let his long black hair down in front of his face to hide his eyes from you as well. He uses two hatchets for starter weapons, and lastly, he has the reach on you,” she explained with a big teasing smile. Mahira just looked at Tyne with her head leaning to one side with an expression of 'Really?' Tyne looked back at her. “Are you not going to say anything?”

  Mahira brushed her long hair from her face, “I think you about said it all, and it looks like we have our work cut out for us.”

  Tyne countered, “Listen, he’s slower than you. He’s all muscle, but that's not skill. He will gas out if the fight lasts any decent length of time.” Tyne then motioned with two fists before her, “Kick his ass and don’t look back!”

  Mahira was at least happy to hear that part. “I’m ready, let’s do it.”

  The final match was at hand, and as Mahira entered the walkway to the fighting pit, Tyne drifted her thoughts back to Xaltus. How is it that something like that had to happen to me? she kept asking herself. Her high intelligence asked a question she did not know the answer to, and it was driving her nuts. Will this world ever live in harmony with both human and robot? She then scratched her head of wavy, artificial hair, Can there, or will there be a time when both are as one? Or will man always try to have the upper hand?

  The sound of the crazy-ass crowd brought her attention back to the upcoming battle. It was the final fight and everyone had their money riding on who they thought would be the champion. This brought them all to the edge of nervousness, and for some it would surely lead to eternal madness as an increasing tension filled the air.

  Tyne Gem had one other small thought come to her suddenly, What if one day robots decided to claim the upper hand?

  First to take center stage was the young female, the hellcat of a fighter, the traveling feature attraction. Somebody was about to make a whole lot of money if they'd bet on the right person. The audience was set up a little differently for the final match. Anyone betting on the local hero, the big Indian champion, would sit in a certain section and wave red flags, while those betting on the young woman known for her fighting prowess, and practically undefeated as of late, would sit in another section and wave black flags.

  An additional rule for the final match, to add a little fun, was that the person who made the most money in the red section or black section would have to fight the person in the black or red section that lost the most and vice versa. So the final match was not really the final match until the spectators all got involved too, and that’s what made this whole thing so crazy.

  Mahira played up to the crowd a little. She walked over to her supporters in the black section and waved to the hundreds of spectators who were cheering her on.

  The sisterhood needed the funding. They needed the money to use against the giant Corporation, and she just had to win this last fight to cash in.

  The Starigen 6280 drug ran steadily through the blond gladiator's bloodstream. As a result, Mahira was simply more enhanced than the average woman who would ever dare to fight in this kind of death match.

  The big Indian came out of the gateway and immediately went over to the red flag section. He screamed and yelled to the crowd, proclaiming he was the best and that he would destroy the young woman that was out there to fight him. As promised by Tyne, he was covered in war paint, and his hair was falling down all over his face.

  He carried two large hand axes, one in each hand, and his nose was pierced with a giant bone through the middle. He raised both of his axes high in the air and readied himself for the challenge.

  The horns blasted and the fight began. The two circled each other, waiting for the other to perhaps make an early mistake. The big guy struck first after a brief feeling out process. He swung one axe at Mahira’s pretty face, but she parried it aside with her sword and swiped down at his leg, which he knocked aside with his other axe. Again they moved about one another.

  It was Mahira moving forward that put him on the defensive. She came at him with various strikes and first cut low, then went high, and she quickly cut upwards in a diagonal swipe, trying to rise up a sneaky swing to his lower jaw.

  He deflected most of her attempts, the last of which he double blocked with both his axes in a cross shape in front of his body. />
  Mahira’s sword got caught between his crossed weapons and he suddenly knocked her sword hard to the side. She just about managed to hang onto it, but then he kicked her with a monster-sized foot, sending the small girl crashing to the ground. He raised an axe in sheer fury and leaped down at her.

  The feisty woman was too quick for him, she rolled to the left and his blow missed. Just as he turned to strike again she was back to her feet. She knocked his axe aside with her sword and dove to the right, sliced his right thigh and rolled to get away.

  Tyne was peering out over a wall to watch the fight, as were many other trainers. With her special eye sight, she then saw something strange going down.

  The war-painted Indian man reached for something. It looked like a sachet of some sort from inside his belt line. The fighters again moved in at one another, and Tyne watched as he threw the powdery contents of the sachet into her sister’s face. The powder was barely visible to the naked human eye, but to the cyborg, it could be seen quite clearly.

  Tyne wanted to run out and help as her sister reeled back from the foreign substance. It was obvious her sight had been impaired. This was illegal in the Corporation law or any other law across the countryside. Common folk wanted good fights, not ones where cheating was involved. But she knew better than to bolt out to assist as anyone charging into a Corporation funded event would be shot down by the waiting drones above.

  The two went at it again, striking sword against axe. Mahira fought on, and one of the axes she hit broke in half and left Jerebko to fight with only one weapon. She could not see well, but all the sisters had trained in blind fighting, so she kept going. He kicked out again, this time faking with his axe high and rounding a leg-busting shot to the backside of her thigh.

  She lost her balance, and he used his other foot to kick directly into the side of her head, knocking her down to the ground once again. Luckily, she had learned how to take a shot and went with the kick, otherwise she would have been out cold by now.