Chapter 9

                                    

                                          


                          
The huge man gave my weapons a funny look before he walked over to his side of the cell, the floor vibrating slightly with each step. He had to be at least eight feet tall, and was built like he could toss a car with ease. I knew I would lose this fight. Not because of his size or his very obvious strength. It was because of his skin. The fluorescent lights above reflected off of him just like they reflected off of my katana. He was covered in pure steel. 
                          
            "You set this up, didn't you?" I accused Stasis. He shrugged at me, the same bored stare never leaving his face. 
                          
"Carter Simmons. Henry Daniels. The rules for this match . . ."
                          
I tuned him out, taking the time to eye my opponent. My weapons were useless against a man made of metal, especially considering how thick his body was. There didn't seem to be a single point of weakness on him. Even his eyes had the telltale silvery sheen of being covered. 
                          
            Stasis stepped back into his place and I realized that the match had officially started. I tensed as the man lumbered toward me, but he stopped in the center of the cell.
                          
            "This sucks for you," he rumbled. 
                          
            "Tell me about it." A faint buzzing filled my head and I felt a brief surge of confidence, but then it was gone and I was once again face to face with a monster. He looked over my pitiful looking weapons again and snorted. 
                          
            "This won't be any fun." He crossed his arms and tilted his head at me, the metal of his neck creaking at the movement. "You want me to give you a chance?"
                          
            "Huh. Well since you're offering, yeah." The fact that I wasn't on the ground with multiple broken bones right now was already an improvement from what I was expecting. 
                          
            He planted his feet shoulder width apart and put his hands behind his back. "You can have three free hits. After that I'm going to break limbs until you submit. Sound good?"
                          
            "Maybe we can negotiate on the whole limb thing?"
                          
            He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Three hits. Don't take too long, little girl." 
                          
            I glanced over at Stasis, but he didn't so much as acknowledge me. Guess there's no rule against it. Three hits . . . I slowly circled the giant, looking for anything that I could use to my advantage. Any body parts that may be weaker than others, a patch of non-metallic skin, anything. Five laps around him showed nothing. 
                          
            "I am getting bored. At least try something," he said, his deep voice grating against my ears. 
                          
            "All right, sorry," I muttered. If I'd been more prideful, I would have been offended by the treatment, but instead I was grateful for an opportunity presenting itself. I drew my katana and walked around to his front side, studying his form for a second. With a grunt of effort, I swung upwards at his neck with as much power as I could muster. There was a horrible screech of metal on metal, and a painful shock went up my forearms and into my shoulders. The jolt caused me to drop the sword and grimace in pain. 
                          
            "Two attacks left," he calmly stated. There wasn't even a scratch on his neck where the sword had hit. I reached down to pick up the katana, and froze. The weapon that had gotten me through so many fights and been a more reliable comrade than most people was now badly damaged. The edge was gouged and slightly distorted where I'd struck him. If I swung with it again, it would be nothing more than scrap metal. 
                          
            "You piece of shit," I growled. The buzzing in my head came back and began to spread down my right arm. I quickly pulled the hammer out from my belt and swung it up between his legs. This time it sounded like a bell had been hit, but the result was the same. Dropped weapon, hurt arms, and no damage.