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“ I want you to hit me as hard as you can. ”
There he was, Ewron, in his god damn Ewronka attire, outside of the gay nightclub, with a Malboro cigarette in hand and a bottle of sickly smelling 5% beer from the brand LECH in the other; and, best of all— completely out of character. Previously, he had been working his ass off—not metaphorically—as his 'friendly cousin' persona which resulted in earning only two emeralds for the shift.
In the heat of the night, nothing about this sentence felt unusual. Nothing like this was unusual anyway.
However, upon hearing this, Nexe nearly slid off the bonnet of someone's Mitsubishi Eclipse (II'nd generation) parked near the exit door. The Malboro Gold cigarette almost spat out from his mouth, he could have sworn he had just witnessed seven minutes of his life flashing. “ What? ”
His body recovered in the last second, faster than his thought process could. The car alarm suprisingly didn't go off, but Ewron still busted out a laugh.
I am Krystian's built up astonishment.
“ Wow, you're already tripping. I just asked if we can fight. Don't act like you didn't hear me. ” Such a cocky attitude for this time of the night.
The music from the club still bloomed, enough to be heard weakly from the gloomy outside the two men were occupying.
Nexe, while still struggling to stay on the bonnet, asked. “ For what? You- you just want me to hit you? ”
“ Come on, do me this one favor. ”
The scene felt obscure on it's own. A guy (correction: whore) disguised as a stripper, asking an overworked and underpayed drunk office worker (aka; a KORPOSZCZUR) to hit him on an empty parking lot behind a gay club at midnight. “ Why? ”
“ Why? I don't know why. Never been in a fight, you? ”
“ No, but that's a good thing. ”
“ Bullshit, how much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight? ” He asked while taking both of their LECHS and putting them aside on the ground, aware that they might get smashed if the said fight were to happen now.
This whole conversation felt rushed. Super rushed to Nexe from the amount of percentages he had; He wasn't too far gone through. At least his kind of breed had an excellent night vision, since all these two men-like creatures had at the moment was a fucked up, barely working street lamp and a dream.
” I, I'm not sure– ”
The Malboro hanging from his mouth suddenly nowhere in sight; Ewron ironically pointed a finger at him. “ Exactly! ”
Not really what Nexe inteded to say. “ —If that's a good idea. You're drunk. ”
“ You're drunk. ” The panda hybrid rolled it's eyes. “ And, so what? ” Ewron started bouncing like a boxer in his direction. “ Let us feel alive for one bit! I don't wanna die without any scars. ”
“ I won't be seen hitting a girl, dude. ” Pun intended. Even a small, mocking curl at the end of Nexe's lips appeared.
Ewron stopped jumping and raised his hands in a shrug. “ So I should be naked then? ”
The leading position has come and gone, as disgust already painted Nexe's face. “ What? No, ew. ”
These sentences felt like a ping-pong match, and presumably, Ewron was winning.
“ Oh, come on. No one's watchin' anyway. A normal fight, like in FAME MMA, like Tromba and Dubiel, I'm telling you dude. Hit me before I lose my nerve. ”
Nexe had already stomped on his cigarette butt and said. “ I won't be giving into your sick fetishes. I'm leaving. ”
As he was turning to leave, Ewron (the certified master at persuasion) muttered. “ …Pizda. ” under his breath, enough to reach Nexe's senses. Such a shame that one word is enough to shatter a poor man's ego, at least egos of the ones in slavic countries.
This technique definitely worked, because Nexe walked back, uttely fed up, and threw his hand up. “ What is your endgoal, man? What are you seeking in this? Redemption? ” Harsh tone on the last word.
“ Oh, and what are you seeking? ” Ewron crossed his arms and spoke directly into Nexe's soul. That stopped the other in his tracks. “ A God? A Holy Father? Or a good night's rest since I've already promised you a place to stay? ”
Pure mockery… and he guessed correctly since Nexe wished he'd answered all three.
Ewron continued, with an annoyed tension in his facial expression. “ Because I'm seeking freedom. And so should you. ”
Wow, such a motivational speech for a fight behind a gay nightclub (in which Nexe didn't want to come to in the first place) with zero audience or income at that.
But indeed, Nexe wanted to get away from the cycle of the life he had. Endless insomnia paired with a mundane desk job, all for money to buy stuff he doesn't need.
I am Krystian's wasted life.
All over again, days smush up together and you don't get to remember the last time you actually felt alive. Memories fade, not in a dementia way, because with insomnia nothing's real. Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy.
So with a final (still irritated) sigh, Nexe asked.“ So like- I should hit in the face? ”
Ewron almost looked happy when he realized he had won this conversation over. His half-lidded eyes looking straight into Nexe's squinted ones. “ Surprise me. ”
Without a quick thought, Nexe went in for the kill. Right hand knuckles accidentally missed the exact part of the face he was going to punch. He saw how Ewron was quick to clench his hand onto the side of his head.
“ Mother— fucker-! You hit me in the fucking ear! ”
“ Well, I'm sorry! ” He stood there akwardly, unsure of what to do. “ Shit.. I fucked it up. ”
“ No, that was perfect. ”
Well, should have seen it coming, as Ewron was so determined to hit him back. A new form of pain created when Nexe felt his liver twist. “ Fuck, I'm gonna throw up. ” He whined without a breath all of the sudden. He gave himself a second to recover, body's almost hunched over, before continuing the fight.
I am Krystian's new emotion.
Incredible what a man's hand can do.
Harm and love share a thin line in today's world. Who'd expect these were the same hands that held their mother's fingers while learning to ride a bike? Or attending the first day of kindergarten like a scaredy cat?
I am Krystian's relentless pursuit of perfection.
Adrenaline, or rather called epinephrine, kicks into your brain, senses danger, and keeps you on guard. It creates a chain reaction in your system. Increased heart rate causes faster bloodflow that goes straight into your muscles and the airways open up themselves to deliver your body more oxygen. You'll also feel faster and precise in every way.
In other words: It's to 'survive no matter the circumstances'.
All of this is an ideal example of a positive domino effect.
Perfect mechanism. Like a mechanical reel rolling a film tape at the cinema. Like a hamster wheel pumping energy.
All is structured and perfected to one bit.
I am Krystian's late reactions.
Hormones in the body anatomy are astounding. Yet human beings (or our look-alikes) weren't made to be just as hardworking as their own system.
I am Krystian's
wonder of how he
got here in the first place.
I am Krystian's twisted guts.
…and ringing ears.
Oh, Ewron,
resque me.
Deliver me.
Deliver me from perpetual stacks of paper.
Deliver me from all the KORPO propagandas.
Deliver me from cheap Circle K's Demi coffees and everyday's life.
Numb it all
down.
I have
understood
'freedom'.
May I never be complete,
May I never be content,
May I never be perfect.
I am Krystian's cold
sweat against God's
palms.
I want you to hit me as
hard as you can.
I am.
I am.
I
…
After a long moment, Nexe hit the concrete ground, and leaned his back on that Mitsubishi's licence plate. Pure silver in fact. He had just noticed how wrinkled his work uniform got from the previous scene; or the fact that he hated ironing clothes. The fight seemed like a blur to him anyway.
He looked up at the man standing a few steps away. Such a weird feeling—having yourself beat up by a guy in a skirt shorter than someone's post-college dreams after graduation.
Ewron ended up with a black eye that hasn't fully developed yet, a lot of scratches/claw marks and bleeding knuckles. If we're counting the details: his stage makeup smudged. Meanwhile Nexe was more battered; fucked up nose, cut up lips, blood running from a wound on his cheek, already brushed hands; and he swore the back of his head was smashed from the impact. How come Ewron wasn't developing bruises as fast as Nexe? Could have been distinguished vitamin doses.
“ Favor accomplished. ” Sounding pleased and just catching his breath properly, Ewron came up to him, still holding that cigarette he had placed on a rock before the fight—which Nexe realized just now. Damn, wasn't the flame supposed to fade away in seconds? Unbelievable coincidence from the laws of physics.
Not important. Next moment, Ewron knelt down and pulled his blood stained shirt to expose Nexe's neck.. just to stub the tip of the cigarette on it. Attatched with; “ Thanks a lot, mutt. ”
“ Ff- DUDE! The fuck—?! ”
Nexe's eyes shut and widened in a second. He agressively jerked from the cigarette burn. He didn't fight it, no, it sizzled as if 1999s New Years fireworks were setting off on his flesh.
Sweat and Ewron's expensive cologne lingered. The air felt heavy on it's own already.
Before standing up, Ewron drew a rough, red streak across Nexe's face with his thumb. It was the blood from his lips. Weirdly erotic, perhaps it was to match Ewron's smudged lipstick.
But that left Nexe wide-eyed, it's like his lungs stopped working for a few seconds.
“ Come on, you'll wash up at my place. Get up before someone calls you a fucking menel. ” Not a request, but a demand. Ewron turned to collect the half empty bottles.
I am Krystian's unexpected sense
of satisfaction.
…and a strange issue with the
term 'body count'.