Her Gentle Sword
Author
Alan Stroe
Author Bio
I wish to keep my identity private in order to be free to write whatever I like. Thanks for respecting my wish.
Description
In a world dominated by women, young men must duel each other to impress potential lovers.
Against his will, Dario is selected to fight in front of the girl he loves. Embarrassing himself by losing or refusing to fight might forever ruin his chances of winning her heart.
A stand-alone dystopian sci-fi novella by Alan Stroe.
Book excerpt
As they approached the referee, Dario looked in Murray’s eyes and he realized without a doubt that his former friend would fight him. But he had given his word, so he still had to ask again. That was very hard for him to do presently, since he was in apparent disadvantage, and he didn’t want it to be mistaken for cowardice.
“Take guard!” Maureen, the Sergeant-at-arms—the competition’s referee—ordered. They both took a fighting stance.
“Ready?” she asked. “Fight!”
Just as she shouted ‘fight!’ Dario shouted to Murray in order to be heard over the crowd:
“My offer still stands, Murray! Will you take it?”
Murray hesitated a moment then said:
“That’s how you want this to go down, old sport? Okay, but you tell them.” He lowered his guard.
It was Dario’s turn to hesitate. He hadn’t expected this. As if against his will, he lowered his guard too, and realized he had to switch his mindset to a whole different situation, a whole different battle maybe. He turned towards the referee to explain:
“Miss Maureen…” with the corner of his eye he saw sudden movement—Murray had rushed at him with his sword raised to deliver a downward slash. Out of sheer instinct he moved his upper body backwards and his right hand slashed diagonally to parry Murray’s descending blade. The blades met violently, unleashing a disconcerting shower of sparks before the electrodes disengaged immediately after. Murray’s sword became a lever with the fulcrum on the edge of Murray’s palm and so it was sent flying spectacularly. Murray’s momentum sent him crashing into Dario’s already precariously balanced body, sending the latter into the sand, sprawling.
It took both of them a second to comprehend what had happened. When he realized he was disarmed, Murray hesitated, then rushed for his sword disregarding his enemy. Pushed up by a seething rage, Dario gave chase, with poison in his veins. Just as Murray was about to duck for his sword, Dario’s caught up with his midsection.
The electrodes engaged making Dario feel as if the sword had gripped or hooked into Murray. He would have probably continued to hit him again and again were it not for that unfamiliar, motion-stopping sensation. The electrodes disengaged after a few seconds, quicker than he expected. But it was enough to get an inhuman cry out of Murray and to turn his body into a quivering mess.
Disgusted by the spectacle of pain, Dario dropped his sword, turned his back, and walked away while the crowd was going insane.
Author Website
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NNZRGBU
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