Rise of a Rebel Part 1

"The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach."- Laurens Van du Post

Part 1

The stars against the sky let me make out man-sized shapes against the darkness of the ground.  Amongst them struggled other shapes, invaders had come to my home!

My teeth bared, why would they come here?  Why now?  We had been free for so long.  I was screaming internally, pushing my body's reaction, hoping there was still time.

I ran forward, cool air blasted over my clammy skin, hurling me towards the men.  NO, they were not men, they were scum, SLAVERS!  Anger warped my mind, clouded my vision.  I reached down, wrapping my hand around the hilt of my cold knife, freeing it as I moved.  The deadly weight of it pressing into my palm.

There was a sudden quiet of purpose in my mind , a far cry from the choas that raged in it just moments before.  My body became distant, as if acting without my input. . .

Only a few meters away now, my body tensed.  I calculated the remaning distance between us indifferently, my anger still in control.  My growl reached my ears, it sounded strange, disconnected from me and inhuman.  The man turned towards the sound, but he was slow, too slow!  The glee filled me as I lept into the air, bearing down on him.  I thought his fate sealed.

Starlight bounced off his glasses, or goggles?  I was comitted in the air, anyone else would have realized my folly.  He was free to move.  With trained, practiced speed, his body propelled his arm up and out, his forarm striking at my wrist.  The pain of his blow shot up and down my arm, my hand spasming around the the knife.  Stars glinted off the deadly curve of the knife as it spun uselessly away over his shoulder.  His arm slid as it struck, hand twisting, strong fingers sliding down my arm, allowing him to circle slightly, using my forward momentum to twist me in the air.

The ground raced under my eyes as he flipped me.  I landed hard on my shoulders and back, legs snapping over my head for a brief second.  The force of my body landed on my shoulders forced the air from my lungs, blackness closing in on my vision.  The weight of my body briefly threatening to crush my neck, only to be suddenly released as my back and legs followed my fall, landing me painfully flat on the ground.  How had he moved so quickly, so effortlessly.  Fear consumed me, tears welling in my eyes.

I was caught exposed, attempting to protect myself.  I twisted on the ground, arms pulling up to cover my face in defense, while trying to catch another sight of the man. My ears warned me first, his footsteps echoing in my ears, spelling my fate.  I could tell he was moving quickly around to my unprotected sides.  I tucked, trying to curl into a ball on the ground to protect my ribs, but I was too slow again.  The force of his kick drove the remaining air from my lungs as if popping a baloon.  I heard something crunch with the impact and pain flooded my body.

I half rolled and was half tossed to my hands and knee's.  I attempted to gain my feet once again, struggling with my balance, the tang of blood filling my mouth.  My lungs screamed for air, pulling it in over the blood welling from the back of my throat, the pain of my ribs stealing each gasp.  The wait was mercifully short.  I was trying to see the next attack, unprepared I turned my head...  The tip of his shoe filled my vision...