Daniel awoke in a lot of pain. He had over two full days chained to the pole, and all of his muscles were aching. Thankfully, two armed men came in a short while later and unchained him. They let him stretch and walk around the old underground club for a bit.

Daniel was surprised to see that the room was quite a bit larger than he had initially thought. There was one large main exit tunnel, but there were actually four stripper poles, one of which had an old skeleton chained to it. There was a bar along the far wall with a big, cracked mirror behind it. All the booze was long gone. Too bad, he could really use a drink about now.  

On the far-left side of the room were two black curtains hanging over doorways. More exits? He thought about jumping these two men and trying to make a break for it. He decided against the impractical plan, because he was very stiff and sore, and he had no idea where he was. He could be quite deep in the tunnels for all he knew.

While Daniel stood there, Big Jim came in with the same two females in tow. With a scowl, the muscular man said, “We couldn’t find your three friends. You know what we did find?”

“No idea,” Dat answered.

“Two of my people hanging from light posts with their throats slit. There was a note stuck in one’s chest with a butcher knife,” the black man revealed in his heavily accented voice, waving the note in Daniel’s face before handing it to the haggish white woman. “Here, read this to him.”

“Give us the pretty boy and we will leave. If not, I’m not going to leave here until I have decorated the entire city with your clan members’ bodies. It’s signed Stan the Man,” the white-haired woman said in a raspy tone that sounded like it had been dancing with cigarettes for decades.

“Seems like Stan wants to repay you for your betrayal. Lucky for you, I do not take orders from bounty hunter scumbags,” Big Jim stated, then punched Daniel in the stomach.

The blow was so hard that it dropped the smaller man to his knees.

“That was for Harvey,” Jim said, then kicked Daniel in the face, which sent him sprawling and nearly knocked him out. “That one was for Carrie. Each time your friends kill one of mine, I’m going to take it out on you. So, I think that it’s in your best interest to tell me everywhere that you camped since you came into my area.”

The big black man might not know how to read, but damn if he didn’t hit like a bull. Daniel hoped that he would never have to fight Big Jim. He told the man what he wanted to know, certain that his crew wouldn’t stay in the same places now that he had been captured.

Later that night, after being rechained to the pole, Olivia returned. She fed him a bowl of the pea soup and laughed when she told him that there was no meat in it. Once he had finished eating, she began to mess with him, getting him worked up. Daniel hadn’t planned on taking her advice to just enjoy the moment, but suddenly it didn’t seem like a bad plan at all. That was until his eyes caught some movement behind Olivia.

It was the old hag, wearing a nightgown, her white hair catching the lantern light. She smiled down at him, showing her two front teeth.

“No Olivia. What are you doing? She is too old to have children,” Daniel groaned.

“Junett is only forty-five, or so,” Olivia whispered in his ear, then the hag sat on his lap, cackling like an old witch.

Olivia faded into the background while the haggish looking lady had her way with him. Daniel was sure that she was at least sixty. He kept his eyes closed the entire time, but could still smell her. She smelled old, kinda like a mix of bologna and cigarettes. Once it was over, the women left Daniel alone.

He put his head back against the pole and let out a heavy sigh. He couldn’t believe the path that his life had taken since the invasion. First, he was a slave to the overseers. That was followed up by being a prisoner of the bikers, and now he was a sex slave to a bunch of wanna be cannibals. What the hell had happened to his world in such a short time?

For the next two days the clan members left him alone, minus the two hour stretch and restroom breaks. The second night, Olivia came to feed him, wearing her long flannel shirt. The soup was steaming hot, as hot as she could make it, just like he had requested of her earlier that morning.

“It’s too hot to eat now,” she said, and tried to lean in to kiss him.

“Not now. We need to talk,” he said, then requested, “Bring me the soup.”

“It’s going to burn your tongue,” she warned.

“I’m not eating it. Bring it over here and lift my shirt up,” he ordered.

“Damn, I thought that I was kinky, but you take the cake,” Olivia looked at him inquisitively.

“Just lift up my shirt and put the bowl under my arm,” he asked.

Olivia did as she was told, even lowering the bowl when he asked, until the hot steam licked his skin. He saw her curious look turn to surprise when the words and numbers began to appear. She pulled a small penlight from her shirt pocket and used it to read the information, only now the proximity of the hot soup had revealed more words. Daniel could now see USMC and CPL.

“You have a meat tag! Why didn’t you tell me that you are a marine? What the hell Daniel?” the woman looked surprised.

“A marine who outranks you,” he replied.

“So what?” Olivia said. “The corps is gone. There is no command structure left.”

“So, I guess what I am asking you is how loyal you really are to the corps, or was that just tough talk the other night?” He stared hard at her.

“That’s hardly fair Daniel. That world is gone.” She frowned.

“I have the Sacramento Clan on board already. I plan to unite the clans and make a stand,” he revealed.

“Big Jim will never go for that. You would have to challenge him for leadership. It didn’t go too well for the only three men who have tried it,” she said, backing away from him. “Nobody goes against Big Jim anymore.”

“I guess that it’s time for you to decide where your loyalties lie, Devil Dog.” He continued staring her in the eyes, unflinching.

“Nobody goes against Big Jim and lives,” she whispered, shaking her head. The distraught young woman turned and disappeared down the entry tunnel.

Another two days passed, without much activity, and with no Olivia. It seemed that she had abandoned him. The middle-aged black lady, with the cornrows, had started to feed him at night. He found out that her name was Rae and that she was Big Jim’s woman. She spoke very little and seemed to have a displeasing disposition. She smelled of cheap whiskey.

“I hope that you taste as delicious as you look, whiteboy.” He could hear her laughter all the way down the hallway when she left.

The rattling of chains woke him. His chains. Then they were off, falling to the floor around him.

“Lance Corporal Olivia Reyes, reporting for duty,” the young woman said, coming out from behind him. He noticed that she had a dark purple bruise around her left eye.

“Is that my fault?” Daniel questioned.

“A gift from Big Jim, for arguing for your life.” She shrugged.

“Is that what led to your change of heart?” he asked her.

She stared into his eyes for several heartbeats, before answering, “No, he hits everyone. Let’s just say that you have given me something to believe in and I haven’t believed in anything for a very long time. Besides, men aren’t my thing, so how am I supposed to eat one?”

They both burst out laughing, having to quickly control themselves so as not to draw unwanted attention.

“Big Jim is coming in here to kill you tomorrow. Since they failed to find the other bounty hunters, he thinks that it’s time to move the clan. He wants to turn you into food before that happens, so it’s now or never. You’ll need to challenge him the moment that you see him, in front of others. Don’t give him time to kill you.”

“Alright. Wrap the chains back around me. He is less likely to kill me immediately if he thinks that I am chained up,” Daniel said.

“Big Jim is tough. Do you really think that you can take him?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, but I’m going to give it everything that I got.” He shrugged.

“You better. I’m taking a big chance here Corporal Taylor. Don’t let me down,” Olivia whispered and then leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. With that, she was gone.

The following morning, Big Jim wasted no time in making his intentions known. He came to the strip club first thing, carrying two very wicked looking butcher knives, that he kept banging together. As usual, he was followed into the room by Rae and Junett.

“We’re going to be eating good tonight!” Big Jim smiled, seeming excited about his decision to dine on human flesh. “If you stay still, I promise to make it quick. If not, then I will cut as slowly as possible.”

“I have a much better idea,” Dat replied.

“And what idea is that bounty hunter?” Big Jim smirked.

“I challenge you for leadership of the clan,” Daniel stated, tossing off the chains while rising to his feet.

Big Jim let out a long, loud belly laugh, saying, “So you’ve chosen to die much more slowly!”    

“The challenge is made,” Daniel said.

Big Jim stopped laughing and growled out, “Same results. I’m going to beat you to death. Then my people will still eat you. It’s a matter of survival. At noon we will settle this. Two of my people will be just down the hall, armed in case you try to escape.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Daniel told him. “I came here for your clan.”

“At noon you die,” Big Jim assured him, and left the room with his two female companions.

Olivia came in a short time later and began rubbing Daniel’s shoulders and back, loosening him up for the upcoming fight. They even sparred around a bit, shadow boxing to warm him up. Daniel realized that he really liked the spunky Hispanic woman.

When four armed men showed up to escort him to the place where they would be fighting, Olivia pulled out a small flask and offered it to him. She told him that it would take the edge off and calm him down. After taking a deep swallow, he was surprised to discover that it was fairly decent whiskey. Yeah, if he survived this, the two of them were going to be good friends.

While they walked down a long underground tunnel, one of his escorts whispered to Daniel, “Any chance that you’ll beat Big Jim?”

Dat just looked at the man and shrugged, while a second guard leaned in and said, “I hope you kill that big bastard.”

They came into a large room, lit by several barrel fires and wall lamps. The smoke was creeping up to the ceiling and exiting through several dark grates. In the center of the room was a large boxing ring, complete with corner bumpers and ropes. Daniel couldn’t help but notice that the ring’s mat was covered in old blood stains.

“This used to be an underground fight club,” Olivia told him, then said, “Listen. There are no rules. He’ll fight dirty and will try to kill you fast. He’s very strong, so don’t get wrapped up. There will be no breaks in the fighting unless you both agree.”

“Do you have any real advice?” Daniel gave her a fake smile.

“Yeah, don’t get killed.” She fake smiled back.

There were at least a couple of hundred people sitting around on wooden benches, all of whom launched into a serious of loud boos and hisses when Daniel entered the room. He was led to the boxing ring, where he made his way over the ropes and into the center.

Next came Big Jim. He entered the room from a side tunnel to much cheering and whistling. The huge black man looked bigger wearing just his khaki shorts. He looked like one giant rippling muscle of death. Big Jim climbed into the ring and worked the crowd, flexing his large biceps.

After the display, Rae climbed over the ropes and shouted, “This’ll be a bare-knuckled, everything goes, fight until only one man is still breathing. That man will rule the Oakland Clan!”

This brought the crowd into a frenzy. Big Jim walked over and held his closed left fist out for a fist bump from Daniel, in what appeared to be a good sportsmanship gesture. When Daniel reached in to bump fists, the big man slugged the smaller man in the side of the face with his right fist with a speed that a man that size shouldn’t have. The blow sent Daniel to the mat.

Big Jim followed up with a kick to Daniel’s ribs that sent him rolling to the roped edge. Daniel managed to rise to his feet while the huge man strutted around facing the crowd to enjoy his accolades. Daniel took the opportunity to rush in and punch the huge man in the ribs a couple of times.

Big Jim let out a belly laugh, and grabbing a fist full of his attacker’s hair, delivered a devastating blow to Daniel’s face. Once again, he was sent to the mat, this time with blood running from his freshly broken nose.

“Now you die foolish bounty hunter,” Big Jim laughed out, coming in fast.

Daniel threw an uppercut straight into the black man’s groin, as hard as he could. That must have got Jim’s attention, because he staggered backwards. Daniel jumped up quickly, delivering a hard snap kick to the same region.

Big Jim let out a groan and backed away, requesting, “Brief rest?”

“Yes. Yes,” Dat answered thru bloody lips, his eyes watering badly.

Both men went to opposite corners. Daniel looked over and saw that Big Jim was leaning over with his hands on his knees, trying to recuperate from the repeated ball blasts that Daniel had just delivered. Rae and Junett were tending to the clan leader.

Olivia came over to Daniel’s corner and offered him some water, saying, “Stop using your face to block his punches. You are not going to win that way.”

“Oh, now you think that I am going to win?” Daniel tried to joke through the pain.

“I’ve seen Big Jim fight and kill three men in this ring. None of them got him to request a break, so I think that you’re doing just fine,” she lied, trying to clean the blood from around his nose.

A short time later, the two men met back in the center of the ring. Big Jim threw a haymaker, which Daniel side stepped to his right. The blow missed, followed by another miss when Daniel again stepped to the right. A flood of realization flowed over Daniel when he realized that Big Jim was blind in his wandering left eye. He could use that against the big man.

A blow to Daniel’s chin and another to his stomach shook him from the strategy session that was going on inside of his head. Daniel fell back against the ropes from the punches, and barely dodged the huge man trying to grab him.

The pair exchanged a couple of mid-section punches, with Big Jim’s blows nearly putting Daniel down, while his own strikes barely fazed the black man. Then Big Jim had ahold of him. He had come in fast and grabbed Daniel. The monstrous man let out a loud roar and picked the lighter man up over his head, spinning him about, then he slammed Daniel onto the floor, hard. Daniel was sure that he had heard some of his bones crack.

Once again, the smaller man was able to get back onto his feet while Big Jim played to the crowd. Daniel rushed forward, feeling pain from some possibly broken ribs, and jumped on Big Jim’s back. He punched the hard-to-hold, sweaty man in the back of the head twice, then bit him deep on the shoulder.

“Oh, we aren’t the only ones who are hungry around here!” Big Jim merely let out another mighty belly laugh, and grabbing Daniel by the hair with both hands, ripped him off his back and threw him across the ring like a rag doll.

Daniel knew that he was getting up slower each time. The big guy hadn’t lied when he said that he was going to beat him to death. Daniel slowly approached the man and waited for him to swing.

This time Daniel managed to grab the big left fist as he stepped to the right, and wrenched the large meaty paw open. Daniel grasped Big Jim’s pinky and ring finger and twisted back, breaking both. This brought about cheers from the crowd, only this time they were for Daniel. These people really had a strong hatred for their leader.

Big Jim roared out in pain and anger, counter-punching Daniel in the face three times, dropping the smaller man back to the mat.

Big Jim stood staring at Daniel, breathing heavily and sweating, holding his damaged left hand in his right. “Break?” Daniel asked.

“If you need it,” Big Jim answered, turning to his corner. Daniel crawled over to his own corner and slumped against the ropes.

“How bad are you hurt?” Olivia questioned with a worried look in her eyes, while Daniel watched Rae taping Big Jim’s fingers together on his left hand.  

“Broken nose. Broken ribs. Think I lost a tooth and bit my tongue. Other than that, it’s been a good day,” he said sarcastically.

 “Listen up. You remember hand-to-hand training in bootcamp? The death punch?” she asked.

“You talking about the palm strike? It’s not like we were allowed to practice that on real targets,” he said, shaking his head. “They just showed it to us. I’m not even sure that it would work.”

“It works.” She dismissed him, explaining, “Remember that corporal that I told you about? The one that I had escaped Camp Lejeune with? A few weeks after we escaped, I had to use it on him when tried to rape me. He was much bigger than me, so I tried the palm strike, and I killed him where he stood. Just make sure that you’re in a solid stance before you take your shot. You have to hit straight up, or you’ll just flatten his nose.”

“I don’t know.” Daniel hesitated.

“What other choice do you have?” She shrugged, adding, “He’s killing you. You aren’t going to last much longer.”

“Thanks coach. That’s one motivating speech to get me back into this thing,” Daniel said sarcastically, wincing in pain while he rose to his feet because Big Jim was coming.

Daniel side stepped the first two swings, into Big Jim’s blind side, but the second two sent him bouncing off the ropes. He tried to kick the big man, who only caught his leg and threw him to the ground. Daniel was running out of time and options. Ah, screw it, he thought.

Daniel stood facing the huge man, his feet spread shoulder length apart. He balled up his left hand and placed his right palm against it, flat handed. If this didn’t work, he was going to die right now.

Big Jim stared at Daniel’s stance and cocked his head, saying, “You must be getting desperate if you’re going to try that Bruce Lee crap on me.”

Then Big Jim was coming in fast. Daniel launched his right hand straight forward and up, as hard as he could. His open hand hit right where he was aiming for, striking Big Jim on the underside of his nose with the heel of his palm.

Daniel immediately felt the giant man’s nose break, and something more. The nose cartilage slid straight back, assisted by Daniel’s palm, into the man’s head. Big Jim just stared at Daniel with a blank look on his face. At first, Daniel didn’t think that it had worked, but then the Oakland Clan leader fell straight backwards, dead. His huge body shook the ring when it hit the mat.

Daniel couldn’t believe that the technique actually worked. In theory, the palm strike was supposed to shove the target’s broken nose cartilage into his brain and kill him. In reality, Daniel had never even seen it done before, so hadn’t been sure how feasible it was. Then he heard a scream!

It was Olivia, who had jumped from the ropes onto the back of Rae, sending a six-inch blade into her neck. The black woman had been approaching Daniel from behind with a .38 revolver to finish him off for killing her man. Next came Junett from in front of him, screaming like a lunatic as she charged at him with a butcher’s knife. Daniel dropped her with one punch to the face.

“I am Dat!” he shouted to the crowd, who responded with loud cheers. “As your new clan leader, you need to understand one thing. We are no longer hiding. We are no longer running. We are fighting! The resistance begins now!”

Olivia helped Daniel out of the ring and through the cheering people, while he whispered in her ear, “By ’now’, I meant after I rest up and heal a bit.”

“I thought so, tough guy.” Olivia laughed, happy to be free of Big Jim the tyrant. This man Daniel was making her feel things that she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Hope.