33 Looming Uprising
Dennis suddenly placed his left hand on another part of Decker's leg and flung him in the opposite direction.
Fwwwhii~
Decker's body travelled a couple of feet across the air and slammed into the ground, but he quickly jumped to his feet immediately afterwards.
Dennis lunged forward with intensity, surprising Decker, and everyone else in the vicinity.
The moment he was only a single foot away, Dennis leapt five feet upwards and spun clockwise while sweeping out his right leg with immense speed and intensity towards Decker's face.
Fortunately, Decker was quick enough to raise his right arm to guard his face.
However, at this same moment, Dennis suddenly lowered his leg while he was in mid-air.
The kick had been a feint...
Before Decker could understand what was going on, Dennis's elbow was descending towards his head.
Bang!
Thiinnghhhhhh~
The moment contact was made, Decker staggered backwards with his vision distorted. His head rang intensely as blood shot out of his nostrils.
Dennis landed on his feet and made use of the opportunity to drive a fist into Decker's chin.
Bang!
Dennis's sudden uppercut sent Decker spiralling across the air.
He travelled up to two meters above surface level before slamming onto the ground and sliding across it a little.
~Silence~
The entire surroundings turned so silent that only the sound of a nearby stream flowing was audible.
Almost every MC in the vicinity had their jaws on the ground as they peered at the centre.
Decker had been knocked unconscious by the last person anyone would ever expect... Dennis.
"Oh, I might have used too much strength..." Dennis mumbled in slight distraught as he stared at the unconscious Decker who had blood smeared across his face.
Some of the MCs quickly strutted forward upon coming back to reality and realising that Decker needed medical attention.
They swooped his unconscious body up and took him to the training facility's med bay. Dennis stood in place for a bit before the place turned noisy again.
"This is unbelievable!"
"Noodle Kneecaps just won against Decker,"
"How did he do that?"
"When did he become this strong?"
"Is this still the same Dennis we know?"
While the chattering and looks of disbelief were being shot at Dennis, Lara stepped forward.
"You did it... you defeated him," She was just as astonished as every other person who had witnessed the battle.
"Hmm, and you're next," Dennis stated while turning around.
"Hehe... that's a bad joke," Lara chuckled wryly while strutting after him.
"That's because it's not a joke," Dennis's response caused Lara to pause.
"Did the hits to your head from Decker make you lose your mind?" Lara questioned while watching Dennis walk through the crowd up ahead.
"Be prepared if you don't wanna end up like him," Dennis waved from up ahead without turning around.
"You..." Lara wanted to keep talking, but Dennis was already gone.
She turned around, "Malik, are you not gonna talk some sense into him?"
Malik, who was busy grabbing a bunch of notes from a couple of MCs, didn't hear her.
"Come on. Pay up," He grinned happily.
"Ah, this sucks!"
"How did Decker even lose to someone like noodle kneecaps?"
They lamented while handing pieces of bills to Malik.
"Don't blame Decker... any of you would lose too," Malik chuckled after accepting all the notes and pocketing them.
"Gentlemen, we should do this again sometime,"
Malik couldn't contain his joy at that moment. After all, money you didn't work for was always sweeter than hard-earned money.
"Fuck you, man!"
"Damn it!"
"This is the worst day ever!"
The group of MCs lamented while walking away.
"See you next time," Malik laughed it off.
"Did you even hear a word I just said?" Lara approached from behind.
"I am one thousand two hundred and seventy dollars richer than I was yesterday... of course, I am not listening unless you're talking about more money," Malik brought out the bills and began counting them again.
"You do know that betting is not allowed, right? Maybe I should..." Lara did not get to finish her threat before Malik swiftly pocketed the money back.
"I'm listening," He coughed twice to clear his throat after stating.
"Dennis said I was next... He might have a few screws loose," Lara blurted out.
"You're considered the seventh strongest, right?" Malik inquired.
"Yeah," Lara answered with a clueless expression.
"Then you are truly next," Malik shrugged his shoulders.
"Wait, what?" Lara still had an expression of confusion.
Malik only raised his index finger in response causing Lara's face to light up in realisation.
"He's challenging everyone? From lowest to highest?" She yelled with her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah that's why he started with me first," Malik answered.
"How could he be trying something so reckless?! What if..." Lara didn't get to complete her sentence before Malik butted in.
"But he won, didn't he? Twice at that," Malik pointed out.
"That means... he didn't win on a handicap...?" The realisation hit Lara like a bus.
Malik only shook his head in response, "I'll suggest you prepare if you don't wanna end up like Decker,"
Malik turned around to exit the vicinity after his last statement, leaving Lara to her thoughts as the other MCs also dispersed.
"I truly underestimated him..." She mumbled under her breath.
....
....
....
Within a building marred by broken windows and crumbling brickwork, a group of people, their clothing worn and threadbare, moved with a solemn purpose as they navigated the debris-strewn interior of the desecrated building.
Nearly faded Graffiti adorned the walls like sinister hieroglyphs as the group stood in a lined-up format across the place.
Before them was an obese man, seated on a pile of debris with clothes wrapped tightly around his left leg which seemed immobile.
"Dennis Slark, their proud experiment destroyed my right leg!"
A meeting seemed to be ongoing as more people were gathered around. As others trooped in, the numbers increased to nearly fifty.
-"How did such a thing happen?"
-"These Modified Combatants are becoming inhumane!"
-"How does the shelter government keep letting them run amok?"
-"But why would he do that? He saved the shelter?"
Different voices, some laced with disappointment and others confusion, could be heard in the background.
The obese man speaking to the gathered folks, raised his right hand. The place quietened afterwards.
"I am sure some of you must have mixed feelings since he just protected people within the shelter from a wild mutated beast but did you stop to think about how the mutated beast got into the shelter in the first place?" Elvis Preston continued speaking.
"From the Intel gathered, the dome surrounding the shelter was never breached. You all need to open your eyes and see the truth," He added.
-"Could it be staged?"
-"How could they do such a thing?"
"The government is just doing what is called a show of power while trying to also make it look like they are on our side.
In the future, after the Modified Combatant Program has been completed, we will be unable to stand up to the shelter government because they will have grown much more powerful with the power of the Modified Combatants!"
Chatter! Chatter! Chatter!
"We barely make ends meet. All the resources are being allocated to those quack scientists and their lab rats. Everyone under the shelter's government payroll and the government themselves are the only people who don't have to struggle for their daily meals... I ask you, people, do you want things to remain like this?"
-"No!" A loud chant rang out.
"Do you want your sons and daughters to keep starving?"
-"No!" Another thunderous response was heard from everyone in the surroundings.
"Do we want the untimely death of our loved ones?"
-"No!"
"This is why we have to strike before things get completely out of hand," Elvis Preston had a dark look on his face as he stated.
"We have to take over the governance of this shelter and rule fairly for ourselves so we don't starve to death," He added.
"But how do we do that?" Someone from the crowd inquired.
Everyone understood what he was getting at. There were powerful forces like the military to put them in place before they could successfully begin an uprising.
"I have set plans in motion... plans where every one of you gets to participate in bringing a desired change to this twisted regime," Elvis Preston spoke with a tone of certainty.
"Will you lots let me lead you?"
....
....
....
{Three Days Later}
"What is going on?" Dennis inquired as he stepped onto the plain field where the first daily drill would usually begin.
There were MCs gathered across the vicinity.
"I don't understand too but it looks like they're needed for something," Malik answered with a confused expression.
From what they could see, two MCs were singled out from the multitude of them by General Gustav and a bunch of military operatives.
General Gustav turned to stare in Dennis's direction and began walking towards them.
"The General is coming this way..." Dennis pointed out.
