The Downfall of Man by J. J. Marshall

Author:J. J. Marshall [Marshall, J. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-26T22:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

Orian

Orian’s muscles ached terribly, as he pushed himself off the dingy gymnasium floor. He had never hurt so bad in his entire existence…until now, anyways. Panting, his lungs yearned for air as he wiped beads of sweat away from his eyes. His shaggy blond hair clung to his forehead, soaked.

Everything sucked.

Fuck this! Orian thought as he covered his bruised ribs from another beating. He winced from the stabbing pain that emanated from his side. Black edges threatened his vision and for a brief moment, Orian wished to pass out. He sucked in a deep breath and straightened, listening for the whistle of the staff to hit him again. This time he would dodge. This time would be different. But as thin whistle struck the air. Orian looked up and realized it was already too late. The crack of the thorn-wrapped staff hit him for what seemed like the hundredth time, ripping at his flesh as it left his body. Blood spattered the ground around him and Orian fell to the floor once more. Tears pricked at his eyes, and Orian fought the urge to spill them. The pain was unbearable. Hot liquid painted his white tee shirt red as the darkness approached. He was going to pass out. And the relief for that was welcomed in that second.

Just let me die, he groaned silently. Just let me lie here and die.

“Get your head in the game, Vanderwall!” his trainer, Jake, called out. Jake was tall and built like a machine, ready for anything that was thrown his way. His head was clean shaven and his piercing gaze burned into Orian’s back as he laid sprawled out on the floor, he was growing quite weary of Jake the more time he spent in the training center.

“Get up, you pussy, and fight! Fight like your life depends on it! Fight like a man!” Jake hollered. “Or I’ll beat the shit out of you as you wallow there on the ground!” Jake squared up again as he brought his modified weapon through the whistling air, crackling as it made impact with the side of Orian’s head. Pain seared through his skull as he lost all hope of getting up. Black clouds tunneled his vision as Orian gripped the side of his head; his hair now soaking red. He was a mess, a bloodied, horrifying mess.

“You’re going to die in the field if you can’t dodge a simple attack!” Jake yelled once more.

You’re going to die if you keep hitting me with that fucking stick! Orian sucked in a deep breath as he righted himself. Blinding pain scored his body like that of a thousand knives as he took his fighting stance once more. He wanted to double over and vomit, as bile burned its way up his throat, but he fought against it. He curled his fingers inward, until he formed two hard, stable fists, the familiar prick of white electricity swallowed his hands as Orian waited for his assault. Jake reeled back as Orian waited for the whistling of the air to cue.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.