A FRIENDLY BEATING
I sat on the park bench across from the kid's swing set. The kids looked so peaceful when they were on those swings. I wish I could go back to that time. A time, way back when, that my parents and Soft were alive and well.
My father used to work all the time. He worked two full-time jobs. From seven to three, he was an electrician, and from six until midnight, he was a carpenter in a factory. But, even with that incredibly busy schedule, he managed to always take my brother and I, to this very same park every day. He would push us on the swings and we would always have a great time. These were probably my happiest memories from my childhood. But, that isn't really important right now. Dwelling on the past only hurts the present moment.
At this moment, One and Conflict were approaching the bench I was sitting on. I turned around and saw No sitting in the car watching the developments. One stepped in front of Conflict. I looked at her and then at One, and then I looked back at her. She mouthed the words, "I'm sorry", and she looked it.
One told me that I knew the rules and I had broken them. One took off his leather coat and gave it to Conflict. I took of my sweatshirt and placed it on the bench. I still had the gun tucked in my pants. I took it out, clicked the safety on, and put it on top of the sweatshirt. One had been walking towards me, but, when he saw the gun, he stopped in his tracks. He asked, "What's the deal with the gun?"
I said that it had nothing to do with him and he didn't need to worry about it. He seemed reassured as he moved in for the conflict over Conflict.
The moment One stood within arm length, I unleashed a punch as quick as I could. I fired my fists with a decent right- left combination. I hoped that the element of surprise could greatly aid me in this fight. There was no way I would win this fight if we squared off.
The punches I threw landed, but the effect was minimal. One smiled at me, spit a little blood from his mouth, and attacked. He swung with a haymaker that was bent on facial destruction, but I ducked and only caught a little bit of the punch on my ear. It stung like hell and left my head ringing. One Punch had definitely earned his nickname.
When One ran at me again, I gave a right foot roundhouse kick that caught him on the jaw line. It knocked him to the ground, but only for a second. Maybe if I had stayed in karate with No, the kick might have ended the fight. But, I quit and the kick only seemed to aggravate him.
One stood up and threw a straight jab that caught me in the stomach. The punch knocked me off my feet and I felt the air rush out of my lungs. I toppled over the bench and landed hard on the soft grass.
I tried to stand, but One was standing over me. He hammered me to the ground with the hardest punch I'd ever felt. The world became a little fuzzy and I knew that the fight was over. At least, I was done fighting.
I rolled over to face the man who was throwing me a beating, but he wasn't there. Slowly, I sat up and still I couldn't find One. I glanced towards my car, and No was gone. I started to understand what was happening.
I climbed to my feet and saw No standing over One. One was unconscious and No was rubbing his right hand. His knuckles were a little bloody and swollen. I guess the fight was over.
I walked over to Conflict and saw that she was crying. I told her that I felt bad about the way things had turned out. She said, " Me too. I wish it had been better". Then she added, " It was good sex, so it was worth it".
I rolled my eyes and wiped blood away from my face. I said, " I'm glad it was worth it". I got into the car, with a little help from No and wiped the rest of the blood off my face. I had some swelling under my right eye that would probably turn into a pretty ugly shiner. I knew I would soon feel the repercussions from my friendly beating.
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