Archive-name: Amazon/pit1.txt
Archive-author: 
Archive-title: Pit Fighters - 1


The benches around the pit were starting to fill up with men and
women eager to watch as two fighters battled it out to the
death.  Trask, the pit master, took the list of fighters for the
evening from his assistant and looked it over.  It contained
five names, not even enough for three bouts.

Trask shook his head sadly.  It was getting increasingly
difficult to find fighters for the pit.  The masters of slaves
who made up the bulk of the pit fighters were becoming less
willing to send their valuable property into the pit, knowing
that they stood a good chance of losing their investment.  It
was nearly unheard of for a Freeman to fight in the pits, since
the fights were always to the death.

He was considering a free-for-all, which meant a very short
program, when a tall figure wearing a red cloak walked up to
him.  Trask saw that it was a woman, and hoped that she was the
mistress of a slave who would fill out a three bout card.  "Can
I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, if you are the person who runs this fighting pit.  I want
to enter one of the bouts tonight.  Do you have an opening?"

"Yes, there is room for another fighter," replied Trask.  "Where
is the fighter you wish to enter?"

"You don't understand," said the woman.  "I am the one who will
fight."

"Impossible.  There are no other women on the program I could
match you against."

"That is just as well,"  she said with a smile.  "I never fight
women unless it is two or three against me."  She withdrew a
purse from under the cloak and tossed it to him.  "There is
sufficient cash there for my entry fee, with enough left over
for a wager.  I'll trust you to get the best odds you can for
me."

"Very well, if you insist on fighting.  I hate to take your
money, though."  Trask picked up his pen and asked, "What is
your name?"

"Tanya," she replied.  "When do I fight?"

"That depends.  What is your weapon of choice?  I'll try to
match you to someone favoring a similar weapon."

"I prefer no weapon," said Tanya.

"Then you will fight Auric, last on the card.  He is the only
other fighter who wishes to use no weapon."

Tanya nodded and walked to the preparation area.  Trask weighed
the purse and shook his head.  "Pity to wager this and lose," he
thought.  "Why should I bet this when Auric's certain to beat
her?"  Trask had seen Auric fight before.  He was a huge man
with many scars all over his body.  Trask thought of the woman
and didn't give her a chance. "I'll just keep the money.  She'll
never know the difference, since she'll be dead."  Trask slipped
the purse into a pocket in his cloak.

The first two matches didn't generate much enthusiasm from the
crowd, nor much wagering.  The first one featured a huge
northern barbarian named Olav.  Olav had long yellow hair
hanging in a braid down his back.  His opponent was a slim,
swarthy man named Paz.  They fought with knives.  Olav's size
was a disadvantage in a knife fight against a skilled opponent. 
Paz used his speed and artistry with a knife to continuously get
under Olav's guard and deliver damaging cuts to the big man's
body, weakening him.  Paz received a few slight slashes to his
arms, but they were not enough to slow him down.  Paz slipped
behind Olav and slashed his throat after just ten minutes or so.

In the second, a Teuton named Bjorn, armed with a mace and
shield, faced an Arab named Achmed, armed with ax and shield. 
The two were equally matched, and each delivered and received
numerous blows.  Finally Bjorn's mace shattered Achmed's shield,
and the Arab was helpless as the mace descended and crushed his
skull.  Bjorn had to be carried from the pit as well, though,
and Trask doubted whether he would live through the night.

Fresh sand was spread to absorb the blood.  Trask descended to
the pit to announce the next match.  "The final fight of the
night will be fought without weapons," he called.  There was a
scattering of boos from the patrons.  Weaponless fights were
often long and boring.  "Entering the pit first, standing six
feet four inches tall and weighing two hundred and fifty pounds,
Auric!"

The huge red-haired man slowly entered the ring.  He was a well
known fighter, and some of the people who had been leaving sat
back down.

"His opponent, now entering the pit, stands six feet three
inches tall and weighs two hundred and five pounds."  Trask
checked the paper again, surprised at Tanya's size.  She hadn't
seemed that large, but his assistant assured him that the
measurements were accurate.  "Tanya!"

Tanya entered the pit, her red cloak still covering her from
head to toe.  The bookmakers in the benches groaned as everyone
descended on them to wager on Auric.  Matches between men and
women were almost unheard of, and never without weapons.  No one
believed Auric would be defeated by a woman without any weapons,
and they hurried to put their money down.  Cries of "Twenty to
one odds on the woman" were heard, but the long odds didn't faze
the bettors.

The fighters waited patiently for the hubbub to die down.  While
waiting, Tanya watched her opponent.  Thick muscles covered
Auric's arms and legs.  He wore only a breechcloth, which sagged
under his large belly.  He appeared slow and somewhat
dull-witted.  Tanya smiled secretly to herself.  She decided
that her main problem would be preventing Auric from falling on
her.

Finally the spectators sat down on the benches again.  Tanya
removed her cloak  and a collective gasp went up from the
benches when they saw her body.

Tanya's long auburn hair was braided and gathered tightly on top
of her head.  Long hair could be a liability in the pit, as an
opponent could use it as a weapon.  Tanya stood proudly, showing
off her broad shoulders and deep chest.  Her arms were heavily
muscled from shoulder to wrist, and her hands were enormous. 
Her thick shoulders and chest tapered to a narrow waist.  Hard
sinew showed clearly at her midsection, which then flared
quickly into hips and thick legs.  Tanya gave the appearance of
standing on two muscular tree trunks.

Trask gave the signal for the fight to begin.  Auric lumbered
across the pit toward Tanya.  His battle plan had always been to
quickly crush his opponents, ignoring any damage done to him. 
Tanya quickly sidestepped to her left and kicked him with the
full power of her right leg as he went past.  Her foot landed
just under his ribs.  Auric grunted as the kick smashed into his
side.  He stumbled to a halt and turned to face Tanya, holding
his side.  Tanya knew that she had done some damage to Auric,
perhaps breaking a rib, but it was difficult to tell through the
meat covering his bones.  Auric growled and charged again.

This time Tanya jumped high into the air, the muscles in her
powerful legs enabling her to vault over Auric's head.  She
tucked into a ball and somersaulted, landing on her feet behind
the confused man.  Auric skidded to a halt and turned to see
where Tanya had gone.  Tanya was ready for him, and punched
Auric in the belly with enough power to drive him back several
feet.  Auric looked extremely puzzled as he rubbed his stomach
in pain.  The spectators laughed at the expression on his face
as he regarded the burly woman before him.

Auric decided that he'd better be more careful, since this woman
had hit him hard twice without suffering a blow in return.  He
moved toward her slowly, waiting for the right time to attack
again.

Tanya decided not to wait for her slow moving adversary to
attack.  With astonishing speed for such a big woman she leaped
in and hit him hard in the belly again.  Before Auric could
respond to her attack she spun around him and drove an elbow
backwards into his kidneys.  Auric roared in pain and confusion,
turning around and grabbing at Tanya, but she was no longer
within his reach.  Auric stood there scratching his head in
bewilderment.

"What's wrong, you big clumsy ox?" taunted Tanya.  "Scared of a
girl?"  Auric bellowed in anger and rushed at her again.

Tanya dropped down and swept her powerful leg across Auric's
legs, tripping him.  The big man dropped to the sand and tumbled
across the ground until he crashed into the wall of the pit. 
Before he could rise, Tanya was on top of him, wrapping her
brawny arms around his chest, his head towards her.  In an
incredible demonstration of her raw power, Tanya heaved Auric
atop her broad shoulders, facing the ceiling, his legs to her
left and his head to her right.  Tanya took some pains to secure
her hold, setting her right arm behind his head and grasping his
chin with her hand.  Her left arm was between Auric's legs, and
his right leg was secured by her left hand.  Auric waved his
arms helplessly as Tanya bent him backwards across her
shoulders.  To the excited spectators, it looked like she was
going to break him in half.  To Auric, it felt that way, too.

Seemingly without effort, Tanya walked around the arena holding
him like a prize across her shoulders.  With each step he
bounced slightly, causing even more stress on his sore back.  A
moan of pain escaped his lips as she pulled down with even more
force.

"What's wrong, does it hurt?" asked Tanya with mock sympathy in
her voice.  "Well, I'll just put you down, then."  Her arms
swelled to unbelievable proportions as she hefted his bulk even
higher over her head and then threw him down to the sand.

Auric lay there groaning while Tanya strutted around him.  "Come
on, big man, you're not going to let a little girl beat you, are
you?"

Auric roared in frustration and lurched to his feet, then
lumbered toward Tanya again.  Tanya met him head on, ducking
inside his arms and driving her shoulder into his chest.  Before
he could close his arms around her, she smashed him in the belly
with several hard, fast punches.  Auric doubled over and
stumbled back as Tanya's rock hard fists ripped through the fat
covering his midsection.  Tanya followed him step for step,
until she had backed him against one wall of the pit.  She
changed her tactics slightly, now driving her big fists into his
face, opening cuts over both eyes and smashing his nose flat. 
Auric's eyes glazed over and he would have fallen but for the
wall at his back.  Tanya's relentless punches kept smashing into
his face as he stood there helplessly.  Finally she stepped back
and let him fall face first to the ground.

Tanya nudged him with her foot.  "Come on, big man," she
taunted, "I'm not through with you yet."  Auric growled and
slowly got to his hands and knees in front of her.  He looked up
at Tanya's magnificent body in fear, seeing the way her muscles
were enhanced by the sweat glistening on them.  Tanya decided to
let him all the way to his feet again, and stepped back a good
distance.

Auric was barely able to reach his feet.  His face was a mess,
with blood dripping into his eyes and from his broken nose down
his chin and onto his chest.  Tanya beckoned him, and he slowly
charged at her again.

Tanya spun to her right this time and drove her left foot into
the side of Auric's left knee as he staggered past.  Her foot
landed with the force of a cannonball, and the sound of Auric's
knee disintegrating could be heard all through the arena.  Auric
howled in pain as his knee bent in a direction it wasn't meant
to bend.  Tanya knew she had literally blown Auric's knee apart.
 The ligaments and sinews meant to hold it together had
completely separated.  Auric crashed to the floor of the pit as
his left knee could no longer support his considerable weight.

Tanya circled Auric warily.  She knew he could still do some
damage, and she wanted to be absolutely sure before moving in
for the kill.  Besides, she wasn't satisfied yet with the
punishment he had suffered.  Auric tried to stand, but his left
knee collapsed again and he fell face down in the sand.  As he
pushed himself back to a sitting position, Tanya attacked like
lightning.  She delivered a piston like kick to his jaw with her
right foot.  Auric dropped to the floor again with the taste of
blood in his mouth.  Tanya reached down with one hand and caught
Auric by the hair, forcing him to his feet.  She then grabbed
him with one arm over his shoulders and the other between his
legs and hoisted back him into the air.  The muscles in Tanya's
enormous arms swelled as she brought him up over her head and
then threw him halfway across the pit.

Auric hit the floor hard.  All the breath left his body.  He
moaned in pain as Tanya came over and kicked him lightly in the
left knee.  Tanya drove her foot repeatedly into his side,
punishing him with powerful kicks and bruising him badly.  She
then settled herself on her knees, legs bestriding his body. 
Auric chortled in triumph as he quickly grabbed her by the
throat and squeezed.

Tanya realized that Auric could tolerate more pain than she had
thought.  She had been ready to finish him off, but his choke
hold had surprised her.  Tanya expanded her neck muscles in an
effort to keep her throat open so she could breathe.  She then
reached up and caught Auric's wrists.  The sinews in her huge
forearms expanded as she used all the strength in her hands to
crush Auric's wrists.

Auric couldn't believe what was happening.  Not only was the
woman not collapsing, she was forcing his hands to open.  Tanya
forced Auric's hands slowly away from her throat and down to the
floor.  She stretched his arms up over his head.  Auric tried to
force her off his chest, but couldn't dislodge her.  His frantic
bridging allowed Tanya to slip her sinewy legs under his body
and lock her ankles together.  Using her legs, Tanya began to
crush the life from Auric's body.

Auric felt Tanya's legs tighten like a vise around his chest,
and felt one of his ribs crack.  He was unable to draw air into
his lungs.  Incredibly, Tanya increased the pressure and he felt
another rib crack.  Blood appeared on his lips as the rib
pierced his lung.  Tanya increased the pressure of her Herculean
thighs.  Auric's face turned blue and he began to lose
consciousness.  Auric's arms lay limply on the sand, and Tanya
released her hold on his wrists so she could lean back slightly
and concentrate all her power in her thighs.  Auric's eyes
rolled back in his head and he lay there senseless.

Tanya released his arms and then unlocked her ankles.  She knew
that the fight wasn't over until Auric was dead.  She sat beside
him and rolled him over so that she was positioned behind him
with  her legs encircling his torso.  Tanya wrapped one beefy
arm around his head, positioned so that her right elbow was just
under his chin.  Slowly she pulled up and back with that arm
while she twisted his head in the other direction with her left
arm.  Tanya's legs constricted again and she straightened her
back, stretching Auric's spine.  When she felt that Auric's neck
would stretch no further, she quickly twisted his head back and
up.  Auric's neck snapped with a crack that everyone could hear.
 Tanya released her death grip and pushed Auric's limp body
away.  She got to her feet in one quick motion and stood over
Auric.  Sweat clung to her body, gleaming in the light of the
torches and highlighting her swelling muscles.  Tanya raised
both arms over head and roared her triumph to the heavens.

Quickly Tanya walked to where her cloak hung and put it on, then
crossed the floor to Trask.  "Where's my money?"  she asked.

Trask swallowed hard.  "Um, well, here's the winner's purse."

Tanya's eyes narrowed.  "Fine, but where are the winnings for
the wagers you placed for me?  I heard that the bookmakers were
giving odds of twenty to one.  I should have quite a bit of
money coming."  She stepped closer and doubled her big fist
under Trask's nose.  "Where the hell is it?"

"Um, er, I never wagered the money."  Trask took a step back as
Tanya's eyes turned even colder.  "I figured you didn't stand a
chance, so why throw the money away?"

Before Trask could get away Tanya had caught him by the shirt
and lifted him off the floor.  Her face was only inches from
his, and he saw his death in her eyes.  "You owe me twenty times
what was in my purse, little man," she growled.  "I'd like to
collect.  If I don't get the money I'll take it out of your
hide, you miserable worm."

"I don't have that kind of money," Trask squeaked.

"Then what do you have that has any value?"

"I'll give you every cent I own."

"That's not good enough, scum.  I want what I have coming."

"All I own is this pit," he mumbled.

Tanya scowled and lifted him a bit higher.  "Very well, I want
half interest in this pit.  We'll be partners."  Her expression
turned even colder.  "And I expect to make money.  I'll even
fight once in a while.  If I ever lose, you'll get to keep it
all.  The novelty of a woman fighting men should draw in the
customers pretty well."

continued ............

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