Excerpt from the voice of the waves chapter 1

“That was weak, are you sure you served in the great war? maybe you were delusional and served in the okay war instead!” I sneered as i stumbled back from being shoved by some brute i was trading barbs with, a childish insult for sure but good enough for my inebriated state.

I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me in a less than friendly hug, my brain one second behind as i realized i forgot about the man’s drinking buddy, the brute snickering as i had undoubtedly fallen into his expertly laid trap.

The Brute, a grizzled man with a few scars on his exposed skin took a moment to compose himself, the sounds of Sophie Tucker’s “Some of these days” wafting through the small bar, merriment slowing as more people started to notice the scene.  

“I know your type, you’re one of those sailors, thinking you’re all high and mighty for serving your country” the Brute retorted as i struggled against the man holding me, looking up at him and giving him a good natured smile, which he replied to with a small grimace as the Brute got into my face.“I served on the front! I bet you didn’t even hear the cannons go off on that glorified tin can you wimp.” he continued, punctuating by punching me in the stomach.

The bar like many other bars across the world in was offering one free drink in celebration and it was clear that the Brute wasn’t as wealthy as when he came in.

He leaned in close “A lady would be foolish to consider you to be her lover!” He finished, clearly proud of what he considered to be a verbal beatdown, i responded by smashing his face with my forehead, leaving him with a bloody nose and me seeing stars and we both took a second to recover before i replied.

“Oh really, have your friend let me go and i’ll show you a true man’s moves,” I retorted, holding my forearms up like i was boxing, “like any lady would respect someone as smashed as you.” The self proclaimed gentleman laughed, wiping the blood from his nose and squaring up.

“I’ll make you eat your words! after i’m through with you you’ll know someone from the front when you see them!” he responded angrily, clearly i had struck a nerve.

The Brute signaled for his friend to let me go and they complied stepping away from the rapidly forming ring as soldiers and sailors alike shouted their support for their side in the metaphorical battle of who was better.

As the burly man exited he muttered a few words while he paid for his drink, the barkeep nodding defeatedly and signaling towards the back for one of the serving girls to come over, but one insightful lass ran past saying she was already on it. Seeing his work done the burly fellow took his hat and coat from the stand at the door and quietly slipped away into the night.

We started circling as most fights do, each of us sizing up our opponent and what our advantages were, i was favored heavily as he was drunk and i was at most tipsy, so it was easy to see his feet were unsteady and i could easily sweep them out from under him and if i could pin him while he was down it would allow me to win easily.

I suddenly changed direction, moving towards him to fake him out while counting on his slower reaction speed to allow me to get in range to knock him down, the plan working so well that he didn’t even notice the low sweep heading for his legs, mostly because he was preoccupied with charging right at me and when I knocked his feet out from under him he crashed into me, sending us both tumbling to the floor.

The fall had not injured me in any way so i recovered quickly, rolling out from under the Brute before he could pin me to the ground and getting to my knees so he couldn’t pin me to the ground instead, my movements were aided by my sobriety and i was able to get my footing back quicker than my opponent as he stumbled back onto his knees. I dove at him, trying to down him for the count but realizing too late that his stumble had been on purpose as he moved with unexpected speed to punch me in the gut.

I took the hit full force unable to dodge as my momentum carried me into his fist, The blow winding me and pushing me back. Fortunately i kept my footing as the Brute used this time to gain his, continuing his assault by charging towards me and leaving me little time to recuperate, a look of fire in his eyes that told me we were going till one of us dropped.

The ring around us exploded as the soldiers cheered and threw insults at us sailors while my compatriots hurled just as many back, the spectators getting more and more invested in the fight. In the back of my head i guessed that whether or not the Brute won this would still erupt into a brawl. I dismissed this thought and focused on the fight, trying to turn it around and be a good show for us sailors.

I leaned backwards just in time to dodge the powerful jab he had thrown, his arm whooshing by my chest and leaving him wide open, still elated from dodging his attack i hastily threw everything i had recovered into a punch of my own but the attack was as weak as i was and the Brute didn’t even flinch.

He looked me dead in the eyes as the crowd went silent, a huge grin spreading across his face and before i had time to back away he grabbed my shoulders, leaning back slowly in preparation for a massive headbutt.

I stomped on his foot, struggling against his vice-like grip and doing everything in my power to wriggle free in the precious few moments before my impending doom but i was unable to shake his grip as his head started swinging towards me. I had just enough time to swear before the tremendous impact shook me to my very core, thankfully it had dazed him as well and he finally released me. I stumbled backwards, determined to stay on my feet and hoping that the Brute’s plan had backfired and he had taken more damage from that attack than i.

I felt a presence behind me as a strong pair of arms caught me, i tried to mumble a thank you since i was about ready to drop to the floor but everything was still hazy and there were stars in my eyes so i just kinda gurgled indistinctly instead. Held up by strong arms i cleared my head and looked around, the ring mysteriously gone and the atmosphere having become somber.

It was then i realized someone had called the police and i was about to be arrested.