Liar Liar

61

Stars studded her vision, as the fight went out of her. Charlie had struggled for all she was worth, but he was too strong, too determined to crush the life out of her. The lack of oxygen was having an effect now, waves of darkness washing over her – she knew she was close to losing consciousness for good. She could smell the smoke on his hands, could feel flecks of his spit landing on her face, as he shouted and screamed at her. Was this it then? Would his livid face be the last thing she saw?

As her eyes slowly closed, his grip seemed to loosen slightly and suddenly Charlie rolled hard to the right. Where this resistance had come from she couldn’t say. One last instinctive attempt to save herself perhaps, some innate desire to live. Surprised, Ford tried to steady himself, but now off balance toppled over, landing heavily on the floor. Rolling in the dirt, he was on his feet quickly, charging back towards her. He almost left the floor as he virtually leapt at her. Charlie could only hope to defend herself now – her throat raged and she couldn’t breathe properly – so she raised her knee and braced herself for impact. The point of her knee now connected sharply with Ford’s groin, bucking him off balance once more. He half fell, half stumbled to the ground, his chin connecting savagely with the wooden floor, tearing the skin. He tried to rise and couldn’t – he appeared to be gagging – and suddenly Charlie found herself crawling towards him fast.

Now she was on top of him. He flung an arm back at her, but she had been expecting that and grasped it gratefully, twisting it hard and fast all the way up his back. He screamed in agony, but Charlie didn’t hesitate, drawing her cuffs from her belt and binding both his hands together. Ford writhed underneath her, trying to throw her off, but pressing her knees into the small of his back, she pinned him down, determined to deny him any purchase. After a few moments, the struggle went out of him.

Charlie now became aware of someone else in the room – it was Helen calling to her, approaching fast – but there was no need of reinforcements now. Against all the odds, and somewhat to her surprise, Charlie had carried the day.