Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2016 14:14:11 GMT -5
Austin was in Bartertown again. Taking a short reprieve he decided to get in the pit….there was nothing like a good brawl to make him sleep well. Not to mention he had made quite a name for himself here. He couldn’t very well let some little upstart take his title could he? Lucas always gave him a good run, but he hadn’t seen his ugly mug yet. So he would settle on whatever victim dare try him. He was viewed as a bit of a freak by the men here. But that had always been a constant in his life. Not being able to feel pain made him into quite a beast in a brawl. His body still had its limitations mind you, he wasn’t a hefty man. But he wouldn’t be held back just because something hurt.
Austin smirked as he walked down the last few steps into the dark dank area that housed the pit. Several men had gathered here, placing bets and yelling at the most recent contenders. One of the men was being pulled out of the pit beaten and bloodied while the winner was dancing around in victory. Daring anyone to challenge him. Bartertown had a constant influx of people. New faces every day. This man was one of them. Austin stepped closer to the small area, a friendly grin on his face. “Guess I could take a shot at it…just don’t kill me, ok?” He laughed nervously. It was all a ruse of course and several men in the audience were slipping in their bets on Austin.
The ‘winner’ turned to see the small unimposing man and laughed. “Maybe you should go back to your mommy son, before you get hurt. “ Austin grinned again and slipped out of his leather jacket before handing it to one of the many watchers. “Hold this for me? I won’t be long.” The winner started laughing again and pointed at Austin as he stepped into the ring. “The lad already knows he’s going to lose! Foolish boy.” Austin shrugged, his friendly smile still intact as he readiest his fists. “I guess you’ll have to teach me a lesson.” He said lightly but his tone took on darker undertones as he spoke.
And then the fight was on. The larger man swung towards his face and Austin quickly ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow. Sending a punch of his own into the man’s stomach. The man groaned but suddenly he sent a fist into Austin’s face, it was a hard enough blow to knock Austin on his back. The fight was over….or so the ‘winner’ thought. He gave Austin’s back a hard kick, but still Austin made no sound of pain…it was enough to confuse him into stopping his assault. ”What the hell?!” He exclaimed. The audience grew quiet, many of the newer watcher assuming that they had just witnessed a very quick death. But slowly a sound began to trickle from the arena. It grew in volume until it couldn’t be mistaken for anything else….Austin was laughing.
His competitor stared at Austin as if he were insane. Blood ran from Austin’s nose and down across the huge smile on his face. “Welcome to Bartertown.” Austin said amiably as he climbed to his feet and began his own assault on the confused man. There were whispers in the crowd that he must be ‘on something’. But they were wrong. The match ended when the man fell to his back and didn’t rise again. To make sure he was actually out Austin reached down and grabbed one of the man’s fingers and twisting it until it made a snapping sound. “So soon?” Austin smiled as he stood back up and was called the winner. He was bloodied, beaten, bruised. But he didn’t feel a damn thing. He walked out and grabbed what the man had bartered off the table near the door. It wasn’t a huge haul…but it was more of a perk that a goal he had aimed for anyway. He took his jacket from the guy in the crowd then lit up a cigarette. He headed up, stopping only when he could see the stars. Austin leaned against the railing and enjoyed his cigarette, despite his bloodied face and knuckles.
“Good to be back.”