by Morgan Rice
The snake hits the ground and darts at me in a flash. I’m so shocked, I don’t even know how to react. The snake doesn’t hesitate, though. It retracts its fangs and sinks them into my calf.
The pain is excruciating. I drop to one knee as the three-inch fangs sink into my flesh. It feels like my skin is on fire, as if it is going to burn off in pain.
My reflexes take over, and without thinking, I reach over, grab the snake by its head, yank it off, and hold it out in front of me. It hisses back as I hold it, and I pull back my arm and throw it across the ring. It slams into the metal cage and drops to the ground. The crowd cheers.
The snake immediately darts across the floor, coming right back at me. Now my calf is on fire, hurting so bad that it makes me forget the pain in my shoulder. Making matters worse, Shira is beginning to get up again.
Suddenly, something falls through the air. I hear a clang, and look down to see another weapon has been dropped: this time, it’s a spear.
I run over and grab it. And as the snake slithers back towards me, I hurl the spear down at it. I miss.
The snake lunges at me, and I sidestep just in time. But the snake slithers around, coming back. I raise the spear again, spin around, and bring it down. This time, it’s a perfect strike.
The spear lodges right into the snake’s head, pinning it into the ground. It goes limp.
The crowd roars.
Just when I think I can relax, suddenly, I feel myself slammed from behind, feel an elbow hit me hard, right on my spine. I go flying forward, head smashing into the metal railing, barely missing a protruding spike. My head spins from the pain.
I turn around and see Shira charging, her face contorted with fury. She jumps high in the air, feet flying forward, to kick me in the chest. I notice that her toes have sharpened metal blades protruding from them: if she kicks me, it will be fatal.
I spin away at the last second, and she kicks the gate instead, bouncing off it and falling hard on her back. The crowd roars.
I try to run across the ring, to go for the spear, but as I run past her, she reaches out and grabs my foot with her hand, tripping me. I land hard, face first, on the ground. A second later, I feel her on top of me, bear hugging me from behind, wrapping her arms and legs around my body. The crowd roars.
I roll over, and now she is on her back on the floor, grabbing me from behind. She wraps her muscular legs around mine, and then reaches up with her forearm, which is solid muscle, and wraps it over my throat. She is going to choke me to death. I have no leverage to maneuver. Once again, I’m losing.
With my free hand, I try to reach back over my shoulder. Just a foot behind me, out of reach, is the spear, still lodged in the snake. I stretch as much as I can, reaching with my fingertips, and they just graze the spear shaft. I am so close. But I am losing air.
I bend my leg, still in excruciating pain from the snake bite, dig my heel into the floor and push, sliding us both back. I manage to move us an inch. Just enough to grab hold of the spear.
Finally, I have it. But the world is getting dizzy, and I am seeing stars as I am losing oxygen fast. I know I only have a few seconds left to live.
With one last, supreme effort, I lift the spear and bring it down towards me, and at the last second dodge my head out of the way. I bring it down hard, with both hands.
The spear barely misses my face and instead lodges into Shira’s throat. I pull down harder and harder, hearing the awful sound of metal penetrating flesh, until finally, her grip around my throat loosens.
I feel her go limp beneath me, feel her hands and legs slowly letting go. I feel her hot blood pouring out of her neck, onto my own. Finally, I am able to break free, and I roll away and jump to my feet.
I stand over her and look down, rubbing my throat, gasping for breath. Her eyes are open wide, staring off to the side.
After a moment of stunned silence, the crowd again jumps to its feet, roaring with approval, even more thunderous than before. Now, they love me.