Chapter 14: Endless Evolution

Ferral kicked the lioness into a bulldozer. He rushed toward her and threw a punch at her face. She dodged it, his fist leaving a large dent in the side. The lioness elbowed Ferral in the ribs, then socked him across the face, sending him flying into a tall unfinished building. He stopped himself only to get gut-punched and smashed through the walls of the building until coming out the other side. He held my stomach, but the lioness didn’t let up. She continued her assault, Ferral only able to stay on the defensive. It felt like she had infinite stamina. If Ferral didn't stay on guard, he would easily lose this fight. He grit his teeth, grabbed both the lioness’s fists, and bashed his head against hers. She stumbled back, but quickly recovered and went for a kick.

He ducked, and the lioness then threw a flurry of more kicks. Ferral dodged each one, grabbing her left leg, and the two spun around. He tossed her across the construction site, the lioness’s body skating and tumbling across the gravel. Ferral took a moment to recover some breath but rushed toward her, throwing another punch. She blocked it with her right forearm, pushed his fist away, and went for her own punch. Ferral just narrowly blocked it, the two jumping back to take a breath. They panted heavily. Ferral held his ribs; even the slightest touch made him cringe in pain. But despite the pain and exhaustion, Ferral couldn’t help but smile.

“Boy, you’re way, way stronger than the other two.” He said through heaving breaths. The lioness humphed, “I’ll admit, for a failure, you’re a decent fight.” Ferral did a few stretches, jumping from foot to foot. The lioness cracked her knuckles and neck, spitting out some blood. After this brief rest, they went right back to their brawl.

The lioness socked Ferral across the face again. However, this time the blow didn’t hurt as much. She swiped several slashes at him; each one Ferral was able to dodge. To Ferral, her movements seemed to have slowed. He took an opening, ramming his foot into the lioness’s stomach and set her sliding back. She had the wind knocked out of her. The lioness gasped for air; confusion formed on her face. Only a few minutes ago, they were on relatively equal footing. If anything, she was the one with the edge. So how did Ferral’s strength and reaction time get better? He charged at her, the lioness crossing her arms to block the attack. She slid back on impact, bumping into a concrete wall. She retaliated with a kick, but Ferral blocked it. The lioness went for a punch, but he already knew what she was trying to do and instead socked her in the left cheek. Her head slammed through the wall. Ferral jumped back and shoulder-charged into the lioness through the wall. The unfinished building began swaying, crumbling as pieces started falling to the ground.

They kept on with their back-and-forth. But something was wrong, the lioness thought. She couldn’t land a single strike on Ferral anymore. Like he knew every move the lioness would make, even before she did. Every move she made, he could perfectly counter it. But why? How?! The lioness couldn’t wrap her mind around it; only a while ago, she had Ferral completely outclassed. That’s when it dawned on her.

He’s learning as he fights?! The idea isn’t far-fetched, but this felt different. Not only was he learning, but instantly adapting to counter her entire fighting style. Moreover, Ferral was slowly getting faster and stronger as the fight continued. How? Why?! The lioness snarled with wrath. It didn’t matter! She was far stronger than he could ever dream of being! Ferral dodged one of her punches and kicked her in the ribs. The lioness was sent to the side, bouncing against another wall. The unstable building began to fall completely apart.

The lioness, dazed, looked up and gasped as she saw a part of the roof collapsing toward her. She only had a second to react and quickly covered her face. Ferral saw the lioness being buried by the crumbling concrete and bolted outside. He tripped and fell to the floor; luckily, it was far enough that he wasn’t caught in the destruction. Ferral looked at the large dust cloud, his heart nearly exploding out of his chest. He lay back on the ground, wiping the dust from his face. It didn’t take him long to remember the lioness was still under the rubble, so he scrambled up and ran to help her.

He got closer, then slowly stopped when he started to see some of the rubble move. The lioness burst out from the top, her body bruised and bloody. Her right arm hung limp, blood running down from the shoulder and dripping off her fingers. Her clothes were torn and tattered, covered in dust and debris. The lioness puffed and wheezed, slowly limping down the rubble. Her right leg was dragging dead.

“This…means…nothing…” She hissed between shaky breaths. Ferral knew she was no longer in a condition to continue fighting. She needed medical help. “This fight is over.” He told the lioness. At first, her expression was confused, but contorted into anger.

A vein was popping atop her forehead. “No…No! This is far from over! Don’t treat me like I’m weak!” On her way down, the lioness tripped, tumbling down and face-planting in the dirt. Her body lay completely flat; only her head was able to move. “I’m…not…done…” She began to feel dizzy, and the world started becoming fuzzy. Ferral started walking over to help her, then suddenly a jolt of exhaustion shot through his body. His legs buckled, and he fell to his knees, hunching over and looking down at the lioness. He struggled to breathe, but forced his body to get back up.

Before she completely blacked out, the lioness could feel her body being picked up. Ferral slung her over his shoulder, jogging out of the construction site and back to Ms. Clare’s apartment.