Fateful Mistake

…Matty POV…

It seems that I am finding myself part of what will be Harrison's squad. Now I know that Clayton has the utmost respect for him, so I know that I am in safe hands.

My mom nearly killed me when I told her about my intentions to join the Marines. Now she is truly not happy about my choice, but as with Clayton, she supports me. As for my father, well, the man is just happy that I don't sit around and faff around on a laptop the whole day anymore. I am not quite sure if he is happy about my choice, though, for I think he still has his mind set on one of his boys to become a damn Doctor.

But needless to say, my mom was beyond devastated as her last son left home. But as for my father, he cannot be more happier, though he does believe that I am going to fail. But failure is not an option for me; I will show him that I can make something of my life as well. So it took me nearly a whole week to get the guts to enlist and then break the news to my mother. And from there, well, it has been the best decision I have made in my life.

To say that I am not beyond fucking excited about doing this would be a lie. I have never felt more purpose in my life than this. Yes, it took myself a lot of convincing, in which the old man had no part. But here, I find myself doing something that I know is going to matter.

And let us not forget that this will show Clayton how much I look up to him as a big brother. If it was not for his determination and his will to succeed, I do not think that I would have found that purpose in myself.

What I would have liked is that we could have served in the same platoon. Guess the man has something else to prove. At least we are doing this together in some sort of way. But yes, as I said, I am so fucking excited.

I cannot wait to be deployed, but that will still be in a while; at least I am here, and I am doing it; that is all that matters. Being between so many other men that feel the same determination does give you that pride in your heart. I know now why this means so much to Clayton; I understand what it means to be a Marine. I am counting the days when I am finally in those blues.

Now today, Harrison wants us, before he puts a gun in any of our hands, for us to be able to fight off the enemy with only but our hands. So, my dear opponent is a man that I have grown not to like at all. He is an arrogant asshole that thinks his shit smells like roses; well, I am about to show him how to give a damn good beating.

So I rip off my shirt and toss it over to the side. Perhaps, Harrison did not mean for us to go half-naked, but hey, what is a fight if you do not fight it like a real man.

Zack, my arrogant opponent, does the very same. At least there is one thing that I can admire about him; he almost has a six-pack like mine…let me rephrase…almost.

Taking my stance, I look at him with only but a smirk on my face. Something tells me that this man is going to play dirty. But yet, "Are you ready to get your ass kicked?"

So I watch as he stands in the center of the circle, with hands by his side; I hear as he has the most hideous laughter coming from his mouth. "I think the only one whose ass is getting kicked is yours, Jackson."

Then...

He is the first to make a move. He rapidly approaches me. His eyes seem wild with fire; there is a fury and determination. He is going to ram me, and god, he is going to ram hard.

So I ground my feet and wait for the impact. As he reaches to grab me, I hold him by his arms and try to wrestle him to the ground.

But...

He frees from my grip and smashes his palms into my chest. I fly backward into the wall that Harrison's body provides.

He bursts out in laughter, "See, you are already on your ass."

I jump onto my feet and move towards him; I fly through the air and crush my fists into his chest. He moans and stumbles back.

Then...

He charges like a bull straight towards me; I slide to the side and push him back into the wall. I hear something crack as I drive his body deeper into it.

But...

He kicks as he squirms his way away from me.

Then...

I pull him back as my hand tangles in his hair.

Though...

He spins loose and smashes square into my body, driving me back to the center again. Then he crashes me into a table, cracking it right through.

I watch as he slowly comes walking over; I am not on my feet yet; the crash has knocked my breath away.

Then he comes and stands over my body, "I see you are on your ass again."

I find myself being dragged from the floor.

But I get loose from his grip and spin back onto my feet. With my feet grounded, I stare at him with eyes that are now starting to fill with anger, "You might as well give up because I am going to drop your ass."

By now, I would think that this man shall stop and realize his foolish mistake, but I am somewhat sadly mistaken. He only but advances for me again; this time, though, he is moving rather slow, ominous, he is taunting me.

As he comes charging at me, I only but laugh at him, "You are making a fateful mistake."

"The only one making a mistake is you."

With his words not yet from his lips, he shifts his feet at an incredible pace towards mine and reached his fist for my face. With one snap of his arm, he smashes it into my cheek. He retracts his arm to launch at me once again, but I grab it in midair. I twist it behind his back; I step closer.

"You are going to regret that."

My grip goes firmer, and I push him off from his feet; he slides across the length of the circle.

I make my way to where he finds himself and yank him up by the shoulder and toss his body to the other side of the circle.

He rises to his feet and reaches me in less than an inch of the second; as he looks to the side for a brief second, he fools me to do as well. Then he slams his hands around my shoulders and tosses me.

As I rise to my feet again, I slam a fist into his stomach. I am driving him with utmost force. Then I retract my arm and launch it back and land it square in his face. I hear a crack as my knuckles make the impact, then there is pitter-patter as blood comes streaming from his nose, then he drops to the floor.

But the man is a fool; he rises to his feet again.

I push forward and scrum my entire body into his. He drops to the floor, and I immediately get on top of him, pinning his arms to the floor.

Then...

He manages to free himself loose; he grabs me by my throat and starts squeezing firm.

Then...

I claw into his shoulders; he cries out in pain and slips from my grip.

But...

He comes for me again. He is starting to play dirty, yet Harrison allows us to continue.

Then he drops my body to the floor...

I fall to my knees. I launch to my feet; he slams my body into a stack of chairs...

They crack...

Then...

A loud cry...

My body goes limp…

Then it goes dark…