Archive-name: Amazon/pit2.txt

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Archive-title: Pit Fighters - 2





Tanya had been co-proprietor of the fighting pit in Gwychaver

for several months.  Trask, her partner, was honest in dealing

with her (as well he might be, considering her enormous

strength) and she was living well.  The business at the pit was

booming thanks to her prowess and curiosity of people at

watching her fight men in the pit.  Tanya took on all comers,

with any weapon the challengers wished to use, and she had not

been injured in over seventy matches.  Wagering was brisk, and

there were seldom less than six matches a night.



Tanya limited herself to one match a night, and seldom more than

five a week.  She knew that the life of a pit fighter was short,

and she had no wish to end her career prematurely.



Tanya walked down the street to the building housing the pit

slowly and proudly, aware of the many eyes watching and the

people whispering.  Her red cloak concealed an imposing

physique, but could not hide her height of six feet three

inches.  Her long auburn hair was brushed straight back and tied

at the back of her head, then fell in a ponytail to the small of

her back.  As the wind lifted the cloak it revealed her

massively muscled arms.  The people in the street all gave her a

wide berth as she passed.



Tanya entered the building containing the pit and walked over to

Trask, whom she towered over by a head.  "How does it look for

tonight?" she asked.



"Six bouts, if you accept the challenge of this one," he

answered.  He pointed at a name on the paper.  "His owner says

he wants to show everyone that a man can always beat a woman."



Tanya chuckled and said, "Really?  I guess we'll have to tell

that to the men I've done for."  She took a look at the name. 

"Fergus.  Irish?"  Trask nodded.  "How big is he?"



"About six foot six, maybe two hundred and forty pounds.  Says

he wants to beat you with his bare hands."



Tanya snorted.  "Fine with me.  It always humiliates the owners

more when their fighters lose to a woman without weapons."



Tanya went to her room in the back of the building to wait until

her time.



The first five matches lasted almost two hours.  The action was

lively and the fighting fierce.  The crowd was in a raucous mood

when Trask stepped out to announce the last fight of the night.



"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the sixth and last match of the

evening's entertainment.  This will be a match without weapons. 

Entering first, the challenger, six feet five and one half

inches tall and weighing two hundred and forty-two pounds,

Fergus!"  Fergus was led to the pit by his owner, a tall, skinny

man.  Fergus wore only a breechcloth of black leather.  He was

powerfully built, with no fat and rippling muscles.  There was a

scattering of boos from the spectators.  Tanya was a popular

champion.



"And now entering the pit, the champion.  She stands six feet

three inches tall and weighs two hundred and seven pounds.  Here

is Tanya!"



The big redhead entered the pit to the cheers of the crowd, to

which she took no notice.  As she removed her red cloak to

reveal her bronzed, brawny body, the onlookers gasped.  Although

they had seen her many times before, the sight of her powerful

form always brought on this reaction.  The sweat from the

exercises Tanya had been doing in preparation for the fight

glistened on her body, highlighting her muscularity.  Her long

auburn hair was carefully braided and wrapped in a tight bun on

the top of her head.  Tanya smiled, gratified by the crowd's

response.  She hung her cloak carefully on the wall of the pit

and turned to face Fergus.



The crowd was busy placing wagers on the match.  Most of the

bettors favored Tanya, though the bookmakers were giving good

odds on Fergus.  Some people in the throng had arrived with

Fergus and his owner, and placed several bets on him.



Tanya studied Fergus carefully.  He appeared young, perhaps

twenty summers, and had few of the scars which were usual with

pit fighters.  She thought that he might be inexperienced and

planned her assault accordingly.



At last the wagers had all been placed and Trask rang the gong

as a signal to begin.  Tanya and Fergus began circling each

other, looking for a weakness, in what was known as the circle

of death.  Each feinted several times, trying to draw the other

warrior into a mistake.  Tanya began to change her evaluation of

the younger man in the pit with her.  Though he lacked the scars

of an experienced fighter, the scars she bore proudly, he seemed

to know what he was doing.  Fergus appeared confident as he

circled to his right.



"Hmmm, probably right-handed," thought Tanya.  She had trained

with both hands equally and was proficient with either.  Slowly

the distance between them closed until little more than an arm

span separated the two warriors.



Fergus made the first attack, quickly somersaulting forward and

trying to grab Tanya in a bear hug.  The big woman backed

swiftly out of Fergus' reach, then leaped forward with a kick,

trying to catch Fergus before he had regained his feet.  Fergus

was upright and moving to his right before she could deliver the

blow, however, and her foot met nothing but air.  Tanya spun to

her right, turning completely around until she faced Fergus

again.  She smiled and nodded, acknowledging his skill.  Again

the two began the circle of death.



This time it was Tanya who made her move first.  Rolling to her

left, she regained her feet and drove a kick at Fergus' ribs. 

He was able to roll with the blow and the kick did no real

damage.  Before Tanya could regain her stance Fergus dove at her

legs.  His considerable weight crashed into Tanya's leg just

below the knees.  Tanya had seen the move coming and leaped over

it just as Fergus crashed into her.  She allowed her momentum to

carry into a forward roll, and she tumbled across the pit and

regained her feet with half the pit between herself and her

opponent.



"That was pretty agile for a big guy," she thought.  "I'd better

damage him a bit to slow him down."



The two combatants continued to circle each other.  The

onlookers were getting impatient for Tanya and Fergus to hook up

and fight, and a few catcalls were heard.  Both fighters ignored

them, each respecting the others' abilities.  Both Tanya and

Fergus knew that one mistake could cost them the fight, and

their lives.



Once again the distance between the two fighters closed.  Tanya

watched Fergus carefully, looking for any telltale movement that

indicated he was about to attack.  She noticed his eyes flick

quickly to his left, and was ready for him when he spun that way

and tried to deliver a kick.  She moved inside his swinging foot

and caught his brawny leg in her powerful arms.  Tanya kept a

tight grip on his leg and delivered her own kick to the inside

of Fergus' right knee.  A gasp escaped Fergus' lips as Tanya's

foot, impelled by her prodigious leg muscles, struck him with

the force of a sledgehammer.  His knee buckled outward, the

ligaments holding it together stretching until they snapped. 

With one leg in Tanya's mighty arms and the other unable to hold

his weight, Fergus crashed to the sandy floor of the pit.  Tanya

held on to his left leg as he hit the floor.  With amazing

speed, she stretched his captive leg out as far as it would go

above his head, then jumped in the air and dropped her knee into

the inside of his left knee, driving it into the unyielding

ground.



Fergus was in agony as his left knee was driven into the ground,

caught between the dirt and Tanya's two hundred seven pounds. 

Tanya released his leg and rolled free, as she knew that Fergus

could still do some damage with his powerful arms.  She knew

that Fergus' legs were damaged, but she wasn't certain how

badly.  She got to her feet facing Fergus, who lay on the ground

clutching at his knees.  The right knee was swollen badly, and

the left was already discoloring.  A cruel smile fleetingly

appeared on her lips when she realized that Fergus was nearly

immobile, and therefore helpless to escape her attack.



Fergus' owner, an emaciated, sallow faced man, screamed at him

to get up and defend himself.  Fergus tried to climb to his

feet.  When Tanya walked over to him slowly and deliberately

kicked him again in the right knee,  Fergus bellowed in pain and

collapsed again.  Tanya moved behind her big opponent and locked

her arms around his massive chest.  She picked the bigger man up

and held him tightly against her, then began to squeeze. 

Fergus' arms were pinned to his sides, and he tried to use them

to break her bear hug.  Tanya's huge arms swelled with the

effort of keeping Fergus captive.  Sweat ran down her face, and

as she tightened her grip even more Fergus found that he

couldn't breathe.  Tanya crushed Fergus, her prodigous arms and

massive chest forming a circle of pain that he couldn't

withstand.  He went limp in her deadly embrace.



Tanya felt all resistance leave Fergus' body.  She decided to

put on a demonstration of her power.  Releasing her grip, she

allowed Fergus' weakened form slip from between her arms and

slump to the ground.  She bent over him and lightly slapped his

face, trying to bring him around.  Smack!  Smack!  The sounds

echoed through the building.  As Fergus shook his head, she

stepped back and waited for him to return to semi-consciousness.



Fergus became dimly aware that he was laying on the floor of the

pit.  His knees hurt fiercely, and his chest ached.  His vision

was still fuzzy, but he could see Tanya standing before him, her

arms akimbo.  Sweat ran down her face and dripped onto her

chest, running down the channel between her small breasts.  It

glistened on her body, highlighting her powerful muscles.  Tanya

smiled cruelly and gestured at Fergus to get up.  He tried, but

his legs could not hold his weight.  Tanya walked over to him

and offered him her hand.  Without thinking, Fergus took it. 

Tanya gave a mighty heave and pulled Fergus up and lifted him on

her shoulders.  She used him as a weight, doing deep squats

easily.



Fergus was too hurt, dazed, and terrified to try to fight any

more.  Tanya began to spin, turning in a tight circle.  Fergus

got dizzier and dizzier, almost losing consciousness again. 

"Ready to fly, big man?" asked Tanya.  Without waiting for an

answer she stopped spinning and threw Fergus across the pit.  He

hit the floor hard and rolled until he crashed into one of the

walls.  Tanya slowly walked over to confront the Irishman again,

the torchlight gleaming on her sinewy body.  She wrapped one

huge hand in his long hair and pulled him to his feet, then

released him.  Fergus almost fell, despite using the wall for

support.  Tanya began to use his body as a punching bag, driving

powerful punches into his unprotected belly.  His belly on fire,

Fergus slumped to the ground again.



Tanya bent down and grabbed him under his arms.  "Upsy-daisy,"

she said as she heaved him back upright.  Bending her knees

slightly, Tanya's used her powerful arms to encircle Fergus'

body just beneath the ribs, once again locking his arms to his

sides.  When she straightened up Fergus was lifted off his feet.

 The air left Fergus' lungs in a rush when Tanya constricted her

grip even more.  Her mighty muscles stood out as if carved from

granite as she again crushed Fergus' once proud body.  Fergus

felt as if his body was being cut in half, pressed between the

iron jaws of her arms and her rock like chest.  One of his ribs

broke with an audible snap, and blood flecked his lips from a

punctured lung.  Tanya knew that Fergus was finished, but she

wanted to leave the crowd with something to talk about.  She

carried him around the arena, letting all the spectators get a

good look.  Tanya carried fergus around as if he were a baby,

not a man outweighing here by over thirty pounds.



Tanya finally released Fergus body, which crumbled bonelessly to

the floor.  She turned to the crowd and posed, flaunting her

powerful body for all to see.  As she flexed her arms, her

biceps grew until they looked boulders, both in size and

hardness.  When she was satisified with their awestruck

reaction, she turned back to the limp form of her opponent. 

Lifting his head and upper body up, she sat on the floor of the

pit behind him, with her treetrunk-like legs loosely encircling

his torso.  Some of the fans in the building started up the

chant, "Deathgrip!  Deathgrip!  DEATHGRIP!  DEATHGRIP!

DEATHGRIP!"  They knew that this was her finishing move. 

Warriors who had escaped from her bear hug and body scissors had

been unable to get out of this hold, even if they had not been

badly hurt.  Tanya locked her right arm under Fergus' chin,

fitting the chin into the crook of her elbow.  Tightening her

legs to hold him firmly, she brought her right hand up to lock

on her left bicep.  Tanya then placed her left hand behind his

head.  She slowly twisted Fergus' head to the left, at the same

time straightening her back to stretch his spine taut.  When she

felt his neck stretch slightly, she suddenly twisted his head

the other way while she heaved up and back with her right arm.



With a Snap! Pop! Fergus' neck broke.  Tanya kept his body

locked in her deathgrip for several seconds longer, then

released him and got to her feet in one agile motion.  Raising

her hands over her head, she turned to the crowd to accept their

adulation.  Suddenly she was aware of Fergus' owner leaping into

the pit, a knife in his hand and murder in his eyes.  Tanya

quickly assessed the threat he offered and knew she could easily

take him if not for the knife.  The knife made it a kill or die

situation.  She turned fluidly, offering him a target on her

right side.  As he thrust with the knife, she knocked the knife

hand aside with her right arm.  Moving quickly, she caught his

head with her left hand and drove her right hand into his jaw,

which shattered with the impact.  Before he could move, she

drove her forehead into his nose, then crushed his throat with a

slashing  blow from the edge of her hand.



Blood erupted from the man's mouth, and he collapsed to the

ground, a stupid look on his face.  Tanya bent down and wiped

her hands on his tunic, then picked up her cloak and left the

pit to the approving roar of the crowd.





continued ..........