Post by Grisha on Nov 10, 2020 20:05:53 GMT -8
He should have eaten. It was Grisha’s second regret. The first was having worn so much arctic gear. The robes Shujae and Qawiuna had given him were holding up against the heat and his sweat. The cloth was drenched, but as it cooled in the air, it cooled Grisha off so he didn’t overheat. It was the constant growls and hunger pangs that he found unbearable. No amount of water could have subsided them. His alien metabolism wanted food, and if it couldn’t get it, it was going to eat him!
Grisha dropped to one knee. He hung his head as sweat dripped from the blades of his hair. His mouth was wide as he panted out of desperation. He was at his wit’s end. He wanted to eat. Anything…or anyone. Whatever unfortunate creature crossed his path in the scorching waste. He raised his head a little and cast his grey eyes across the bright, yellow rippling scape. He didn’t see anything. Not even a mirage. He eyes slowly started to shrink in a panic as he felt his sanity stretching like a band prepared to snap. His mind had already given up and filled his head with the usual negatives. Fainting was perhaps a mercy than having to stay conscious and endure the desert’s torture.
Who was he fooling? He could barely survive the desert. Why had he agreed to search for a girl? Grisha slammed his fists into the dirt and growled. Why was life so hard? He wanted to go back. He should have never left. But if he returned now, would Lena even talk to him? He knew that she must have been furious with him. Everything just sucked!
“Grrragh!” Grisha growled. He wanted to scream and before he could do so, he smelled something. His nostrils immediately started wiggling as he took in the smell of charcoal, smoke, and…meat. Drool tumbled from Grisha’s mouth, and the giant immediately stood. He gazed across the desert, wide-eyes sweeping the horizon. He couldn’t see any smoke stacks and the scent was faint.
With rejuvenated strength, the giant took off in the scent’s direction. His legs were a blur and his arms were locked back by the g-force. Cacti, shrubs, and rocks raced passed him as though he were in a vehicle. He saw the smoke stack. There was a fire and there were skewers surrounding it with lizards on them. The main dish was a bird. It could have been one of the ostrich chickens that had escaped. Grisha didn’t care who the food belonged to. He was going to be selfish and greedy with no regrets. If he didn’t eat, he was going to go insane.
The Saiyan slid to a halt. Sheets of sand splashed some of the lizards and hissed in the flames. Grisha crouched next to the fire, grasped each skewer, and fed the crunchy lizards into his mouth. He didn’t mind the ones covered in dust or their strange taste (for he had never had lizard before). It was food. Their bones and crispy flesh crunched between his teeth. He discarded the wooden skewers into the fire and grasped three more between his fingers.
Nearby the fire was a group of tents. A plump warrior wearing a white, oil-stained tank and ripped jeans crawled out from his tent and gasped when he saw a hooded thief eating their food. He pointed at the thief and alerted the other tents, “HEY! THIS GUY’S EATIN’ OUR FOOD!”
WHAT!?
KILL’IM!
Several denim, leather, and spiked gang members started to pour from the tents. They charged toward the fire only sliding to a stop when Grisha cautiously stood. The plump bandit threw out his arms as he leaned back against the mob behind him. They were stunned by how large the thief had been.
“Holy smokes!”
“He’s huge!”
“There’s more of us and only one of him!”
Grisha grasped the spit the bird was skewered on and removed it from the flames.
“That’s our food you dirty thief!”
“You think you can steal from the Sand Dragons and live to talk about it?”
Grisha cracked an insensitive grin at the group before he sank his teeth into bird’s breast. He tore a chunk of the white meat free and held out his other hand, beckoning the gang to attack.
“Why you! Get’im!”
It was twenty against one. It was also an opportunity for Grisha to show off some techniques Master Wan taught him. The bandits charged like an army, and the one leading the charge wished he hadn’t. Grisha’s right leg rose and bent at the knee defensively before his foot lashed out to collide with the bandit’s face. The fat bandit’s head snapped back so hard, he backflipped into the bandit immediately behind him. The second bandit grunted as the force of the fat bandit sent him falling backwards to be crushed beneath him (2). Two bandits dodged around the two fallen ones to approach Grisha. The bandit at Grisha’s left wildly swung a bat at him. Grisha skipped back, feeling the breeze of the bat’s swings as the bandit relentlessly pursued him. Using his raw strength, Grisha caught the end of the bat against his palm and whipped the bandit to his left to send him flying off and rolling across the sand. He then brought it across his body to his right to crack against the side of the fourth bandit’s head (4). The bandit went twirling to the ground in a daze. Grisha side-stepped to avoid him, and in a flash, a chain had whipped out to wrap around the spit. The chain user pulled the chain taut, trying to jerk the bird from Grisha’s grip, but the giant held onto it tightly.
Grisha growled like a beast not wanting its meal stolen. The chain user remained holding it, while two other bandits charged the Saiyan with knives. With his hold on the bird, Grisha wasn’t able to step back. No matter. The Saiyan quickly grasped the chain, causing the chain user’s eyes to swell with belated realization. The giant jerked the chain user toward him. The chain user screamed as he flew at Grisha. His face slammed into the Saiyan’s fist, sending blood, spittle, and teeth flying into the air. Grisha whipped the chain user into the knife user at his left, and then whipped him up and downward to drop onto the knife user at his right (7). The two laid motionless as Grisha unwrapped the chain from around his prize.
The remaining thirteen started to keep their distance. They began to surround the Saiyan in a circle. Some were muttering a strategy. Grisha took another bite from the chicken before he squatted low to the ground and planted his hands upon the sand. With the chicken clenched between his teeth, he watched the remaining thugs, waiting for them to attack.
“What should we do? He’s taken out seven of our guys.”
“They couldn’t lay a scratch on him.”
“Do you think they could even if they got close enough?”
“We need to call the boss.”
“Yeah. The boss will show’im! Keep an eye on him. I’ll go retrieve him!”
Grisha watched one of the bandits runaway. They appeared to be more interested in keeping their distance. Grisha took the time to finish his meal to their aggravation. He cupped the chicken in the palm of his hand and continued to rip and tear meat from its torso until only bones were left. His fingers clutched the carcass as he munched on them. His grey eyes continued to dart between those surrounding him, his tail swaying behind him.
“Boss!” one of his henchmen hailed.
There was a man resting on a reed mat with a young woman lying next to him. Shackles covered her wrists and a cloth gag was at her mouth. The man didn’t appear to be dressed as he continued to rest his head against his crossed arms. He cast his blue eyes in a glare at the one who disturbed him.
“You better have a good reason why my nap is being disturbed,” he threatened gruffly.
His subordinate trembled and dropped to his knees. “A thief has come and eaten all of our food. We tried to stop him but he’s pretty strong. He’s beaten seven of our guys so far.”
The eyes of the dark-skinned female at his side gleamed with hope. If she had a chance to meet with whoever it was beating the Sand Dragons, then maybe she could convince them to help her escape. The boss closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a sigh of exasperation. “One of those lizards was mine,” he grumbled. “What about the chicken?”
“All gone, Sir!”
He sat up then and growled, “Are you kidding me? All the lizards and the chicken? What am I dealing with a sumo wrestler?”
“U-uh! A giant Sir.”
“A giant? All the way out here? Shit. This whole situation is pissing me off. Get out. I’ll be out there in a second. Don’t let him escape!”
“Y-yes Sir!”
As the bandit ran away, the boss threw aside the blankets and stood. He walked over to his clothes and got dressed. “I know what you’re thinking…” he spoke to his prisoner without even looking at her.
She regarded him with hateful eyes.
“You’re hoping this little incident will work in your favor. Heh. It won’t. I’m gonna make whoever it is out there pay for messing with my gang. You’re mine understand?” He walked over and crouched in front of the girl. He grasped the chain connected to her shackles and jerked her close. “No one in your pathetic village is strong enough to defeat me and rescue you. And this situation will be no different. Get up!”
He jerked the girl to her feet and led her outside like a dog. She followed behind him, staggering along as he continued jerk at her chains. He walked her over to the ring of goons surrounding the intruder. His goons noticed his arrival and immediately made a small opening for him to pass through. He gazed upon the mysterious stranger who crouched before him licking what could only be remnants of their meal from his fingers.
The boss frowned. “Did you enjoy your last meal?”
Grisha curled his fingers into a tight fist. A familiar scent passed through his olfactories and his attention shifted to the girl in chains. His brows immediately rose and in what seemed like a blur, the Saiyan had immediately closed the distance between her.
“Jamira!” Grisha exclaimed.
The boss, surprised by Grisha’s sudden position change, stumbled backward and collapsed onto his bottom. “What the hell? Did anyone see him move?”
Jamilla’s eyes were large in shock. Had he just said her name (tried to)? Her golden eyes glistened with tears as she nodded frantically. Grisha grinned at her and assured, “Grisha take Jamira home. Family miss.”
Jamilla continued to frantically nod as tears tumbled down her eyes. The boss jerked her chains and growled, “You’re not taking her-”
Grisha snagged the chain, preventing Jamilla from being yanked over to the scum bag. The muscles in his hand creaked until the chain suddenly broke. The boss watched as it fell limply upon the ground. Grisha opened his hand to drop several broken links.
“Girl go with Grisha,” the giant told the boss. The Saiyan stood and stepped over to him as he timidly crept backward. There was a shadow obscuring the giant’s face adding to his intimidation. “Little man, stay. No follow or Grisha crush bones like Grisha crush chain.”
“You think just because you’re so tall that you can scare me?” the boss growled. He pointed his right hand at Grisha and suddenly his hand folded back against his forearm as a wide barrel extended from his wrist.
Grisha stared at the barrel blankly, while Jamilla emitted a muffled scream of warning.
“Die!”
A light appeared within the barrel and before it fired, Grisha’s leg swiftly kicked it back.
WC: 2,011
Grisha dropped to one knee. He hung his head as sweat dripped from the blades of his hair. His mouth was wide as he panted out of desperation. He was at his wit’s end. He wanted to eat. Anything…or anyone. Whatever unfortunate creature crossed his path in the scorching waste. He raised his head a little and cast his grey eyes across the bright, yellow rippling scape. He didn’t see anything. Not even a mirage. He eyes slowly started to shrink in a panic as he felt his sanity stretching like a band prepared to snap. His mind had already given up and filled his head with the usual negatives. Fainting was perhaps a mercy than having to stay conscious and endure the desert’s torture.
Who was he fooling? He could barely survive the desert. Why had he agreed to search for a girl? Grisha slammed his fists into the dirt and growled. Why was life so hard? He wanted to go back. He should have never left. But if he returned now, would Lena even talk to him? He knew that she must have been furious with him. Everything just sucked!
“Grrragh!” Grisha growled. He wanted to scream and before he could do so, he smelled something. His nostrils immediately started wiggling as he took in the smell of charcoal, smoke, and…meat. Drool tumbled from Grisha’s mouth, and the giant immediately stood. He gazed across the desert, wide-eyes sweeping the horizon. He couldn’t see any smoke stacks and the scent was faint.
With rejuvenated strength, the giant took off in the scent’s direction. His legs were a blur and his arms were locked back by the g-force. Cacti, shrubs, and rocks raced passed him as though he were in a vehicle. He saw the smoke stack. There was a fire and there were skewers surrounding it with lizards on them. The main dish was a bird. It could have been one of the ostrich chickens that had escaped. Grisha didn’t care who the food belonged to. He was going to be selfish and greedy with no regrets. If he didn’t eat, he was going to go insane.
The Saiyan slid to a halt. Sheets of sand splashed some of the lizards and hissed in the flames. Grisha crouched next to the fire, grasped each skewer, and fed the crunchy lizards into his mouth. He didn’t mind the ones covered in dust or their strange taste (for he had never had lizard before). It was food. Their bones and crispy flesh crunched between his teeth. He discarded the wooden skewers into the fire and grasped three more between his fingers.
Nearby the fire was a group of tents. A plump warrior wearing a white, oil-stained tank and ripped jeans crawled out from his tent and gasped when he saw a hooded thief eating their food. He pointed at the thief and alerted the other tents, “HEY! THIS GUY’S EATIN’ OUR FOOD!”
WHAT!?
KILL’IM!
Several denim, leather, and spiked gang members started to pour from the tents. They charged toward the fire only sliding to a stop when Grisha cautiously stood. The plump bandit threw out his arms as he leaned back against the mob behind him. They were stunned by how large the thief had been.
“Holy smokes!”
“He’s huge!”
“There’s more of us and only one of him!”
Grisha grasped the spit the bird was skewered on and removed it from the flames.
“That’s our food you dirty thief!”
“You think you can steal from the Sand Dragons and live to talk about it?”
Grisha cracked an insensitive grin at the group before he sank his teeth into bird’s breast. He tore a chunk of the white meat free and held out his other hand, beckoning the gang to attack.
“Why you! Get’im!”
It was twenty against one. It was also an opportunity for Grisha to show off some techniques Master Wan taught him. The bandits charged like an army, and the one leading the charge wished he hadn’t. Grisha’s right leg rose and bent at the knee defensively before his foot lashed out to collide with the bandit’s face. The fat bandit’s head snapped back so hard, he backflipped into the bandit immediately behind him. The second bandit grunted as the force of the fat bandit sent him falling backwards to be crushed beneath him (2). Two bandits dodged around the two fallen ones to approach Grisha. The bandit at Grisha’s left wildly swung a bat at him. Grisha skipped back, feeling the breeze of the bat’s swings as the bandit relentlessly pursued him. Using his raw strength, Grisha caught the end of the bat against his palm and whipped the bandit to his left to send him flying off and rolling across the sand. He then brought it across his body to his right to crack against the side of the fourth bandit’s head (4). The bandit went twirling to the ground in a daze. Grisha side-stepped to avoid him, and in a flash, a chain had whipped out to wrap around the spit. The chain user pulled the chain taut, trying to jerk the bird from Grisha’s grip, but the giant held onto it tightly.
Grisha growled like a beast not wanting its meal stolen. The chain user remained holding it, while two other bandits charged the Saiyan with knives. With his hold on the bird, Grisha wasn’t able to step back. No matter. The Saiyan quickly grasped the chain, causing the chain user’s eyes to swell with belated realization. The giant jerked the chain user toward him. The chain user screamed as he flew at Grisha. His face slammed into the Saiyan’s fist, sending blood, spittle, and teeth flying into the air. Grisha whipped the chain user into the knife user at his left, and then whipped him up and downward to drop onto the knife user at his right (7). The two laid motionless as Grisha unwrapped the chain from around his prize.
The remaining thirteen started to keep their distance. They began to surround the Saiyan in a circle. Some were muttering a strategy. Grisha took another bite from the chicken before he squatted low to the ground and planted his hands upon the sand. With the chicken clenched between his teeth, he watched the remaining thugs, waiting for them to attack.
“What should we do? He’s taken out seven of our guys.”
“They couldn’t lay a scratch on him.”
“Do you think they could even if they got close enough?”
“We need to call the boss.”
“Yeah. The boss will show’im! Keep an eye on him. I’ll go retrieve him!”
Grisha watched one of the bandits runaway. They appeared to be more interested in keeping their distance. Grisha took the time to finish his meal to their aggravation. He cupped the chicken in the palm of his hand and continued to rip and tear meat from its torso until only bones were left. His fingers clutched the carcass as he munched on them. His grey eyes continued to dart between those surrounding him, his tail swaying behind him.
“Boss!” one of his henchmen hailed.
There was a man resting on a reed mat with a young woman lying next to him. Shackles covered her wrists and a cloth gag was at her mouth. The man didn’t appear to be dressed as he continued to rest his head against his crossed arms. He cast his blue eyes in a glare at the one who disturbed him.
“You better have a good reason why my nap is being disturbed,” he threatened gruffly.
His subordinate trembled and dropped to his knees. “A thief has come and eaten all of our food. We tried to stop him but he’s pretty strong. He’s beaten seven of our guys so far.”
The eyes of the dark-skinned female at his side gleamed with hope. If she had a chance to meet with whoever it was beating the Sand Dragons, then maybe she could convince them to help her escape. The boss closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a sigh of exasperation. “One of those lizards was mine,” he grumbled. “What about the chicken?”
“All gone, Sir!”
He sat up then and growled, “Are you kidding me? All the lizards and the chicken? What am I dealing with a sumo wrestler?”
“U-uh! A giant Sir.”
“A giant? All the way out here? Shit. This whole situation is pissing me off. Get out. I’ll be out there in a second. Don’t let him escape!”
“Y-yes Sir!”
As the bandit ran away, the boss threw aside the blankets and stood. He walked over to his clothes and got dressed. “I know what you’re thinking…” he spoke to his prisoner without even looking at her.
She regarded him with hateful eyes.
“You’re hoping this little incident will work in your favor. Heh. It won’t. I’m gonna make whoever it is out there pay for messing with my gang. You’re mine understand?” He walked over and crouched in front of the girl. He grasped the chain connected to her shackles and jerked her close. “No one in your pathetic village is strong enough to defeat me and rescue you. And this situation will be no different. Get up!”
He jerked the girl to her feet and led her outside like a dog. She followed behind him, staggering along as he continued jerk at her chains. He walked her over to the ring of goons surrounding the intruder. His goons noticed his arrival and immediately made a small opening for him to pass through. He gazed upon the mysterious stranger who crouched before him licking what could only be remnants of their meal from his fingers.
The boss frowned. “Did you enjoy your last meal?”
Grisha curled his fingers into a tight fist. A familiar scent passed through his olfactories and his attention shifted to the girl in chains. His brows immediately rose and in what seemed like a blur, the Saiyan had immediately closed the distance between her.
“Jamira!” Grisha exclaimed.
The boss, surprised by Grisha’s sudden position change, stumbled backward and collapsed onto his bottom. “What the hell? Did anyone see him move?”
Jamilla’s eyes were large in shock. Had he just said her name (tried to)? Her golden eyes glistened with tears as she nodded frantically. Grisha grinned at her and assured, “Grisha take Jamira home. Family miss.”
Jamilla continued to frantically nod as tears tumbled down her eyes. The boss jerked her chains and growled, “You’re not taking her-”
Grisha snagged the chain, preventing Jamilla from being yanked over to the scum bag. The muscles in his hand creaked until the chain suddenly broke. The boss watched as it fell limply upon the ground. Grisha opened his hand to drop several broken links.
“Girl go with Grisha,” the giant told the boss. The Saiyan stood and stepped over to him as he timidly crept backward. There was a shadow obscuring the giant’s face adding to his intimidation. “Little man, stay. No follow or Grisha crush bones like Grisha crush chain.”
“You think just because you’re so tall that you can scare me?” the boss growled. He pointed his right hand at Grisha and suddenly his hand folded back against his forearm as a wide barrel extended from his wrist.
Grisha stared at the barrel blankly, while Jamilla emitted a muffled scream of warning.
“Die!”
A light appeared within the barrel and before it fired, Grisha’s leg swiftly kicked it back.
WC: 2,011