Alain was a gentle giant and I had no doubts it was the others egging him on that finally made him agree to wrestle Josh. After this bout, I couldn’t see how the fights could continue, at least not for Josh. If he won, he'd be at the top of the heap, and if he lost, well, no one would be surprised to find Alain was the King.
When Alain finally decided to join in the fun and challenge Josh to a grapple, you would have thought Muhammad Ali was in town! Everyone was abuzz. Josh had won every fight through a mixture of strength and skill, but this time the odds were so far against him that I think every guard who wasn't on duty came in to watch this fight, and those that were working did their best to swap shifts with someone else! It would have looked suspicious to have all these off duty guards showing up unannounced, so they lined up the fight for a night when my folks would be out at the opera.
Alain entered the ring grinning sheepishly. Stripped to the waist, I was surprised to see he was lightly furry wtih a tattoo on his pec. I'd always associated bodybuilders with smooth chests, whether natural or waxed. It was a pleasant surprised to be proven wrong!
"It's fine," I assured him. "Just don't kill Josh, for God's sake!"
"Thanks for the faith!" Josh said, coming up behind me and slapping me playfully across the back of the head.
Alain pulled up the ropes to let Josh in and they shook hands. The crowd was already calling out their enthusiasm and the two fighters walked to the centre of the ring. They eyed each other up and down and then Alain flexed, his muscle the size of a boulder rising under the skin. My eyes widened and the two dozen other men in the room howled in sympathy for Josh.
The duo grinned at each other and Josh flexed his arm. It was a beautiful sight watching his bicep rise proudly and in any other circumstance it would have been impressive but as Alain leaned his arm in to compare sizes, Josh's bicep stood as proud as a pebble at the base of Mount Rushmore. Even I winced at the size difference.
"Oh, man!", and "You are so done!", "I'll come to your funeral!" came the comments from the crowd.
"Ding ding!" I called, wanting it to be over for Josh's sake now. There was no fantasy in this fight for me, despite the two good looking guys before me. All I saw was an annihilation.
Alain grabbed Josh's ankles and lifted him off the floor. Clutching the ropes for support, I could see the look of surprise in Josh's face as Alain lifted him up and over, completely flipping in out of the ring. If not for his grip on the ropes, Josh would be on the outside floor. Instead he hung off the ropes and Alain quickly grabbed his arms and twisted them into the second rope. Josh was tied to the ring! His feet scrabbled to find a footing on the edge of the ring.
Alain arched Josh all the way back over the ropes and stepped over his face, locking Josh's head between his massive thighs. Alain punched playfully at Josh's exposed stomach, gradually increases the force until he heard Josh grunt.
"Anytime you want to give, just say the word," Alain said.
I saw Josh shake his head, what little he could. Alain reached over and grabbed Josh's thighs, forcing his legs apart. Josh cried out as they were splayed out tight, Alain now pulling on them to keep them apart.
I watched Josh struggling blindly to free his hands from the ropes, wincing the whole time. At least with his ears covered by Alain's legs, he couldn't hear the laughter and cries of sympathy echoing around the room from the onlookers.
Josh freed an arm from the ropes and he reached up immediately, hitting Alain's forearm with the palm of his hand, knocking it off his leg. His other arm came free just as Alain let go of his other leg and grabbed Josh's hands, crossing them over his chest and dragging him fully into the ring. Alain separated his legs and let Josh fall to the mat.
"You alright?" Alain checked, extending a hand. Josh took the help hand and hauled himself to his feet assuring Alain he was fine. "Good!" Alain said and pulled Josh into him, lifting him off the ground in a bear hug.
Even I cried out this time as Alain's powerful arms began crushing the life out of Josh. Josh struggled, collapsing over Alain's shoulder as the pressure squeezed the air out of this lungs. He pounded Alain's back but the behemoth didn’t' even seem to notice.
Josh forced himself to arch back, face wracked with pain as he did so, but he got his hands over Alain's face, coving Alain's mouth and nose. Realising what he was doing, Alain released Josh, letting him stumble and fall. As Josh gasped for breath, Alain lifted him off the ground and raised him horizontally high into the air.
A roar went up from the watching crowd, then suddenly they fell silent as Alain circled inside the ring, letting everyone take in the sight of him hold Josh so high. It was an impressive site, even I had to admit that, seeing Alain's sculptured chest puffed out and his body stretched and straining. Josh suddenly looked the size of a child against him as he hung precariously in Alain's grip.
We held our breath, waiting to see what Alain would do. Would he throw Josh out of the ring? Drop him to the mat? Or keep him balanced in the air like that until Josh gave in? I couldn't bare to look, but couldn't drag my eyes away from Josh's final destruction. Whatever happened, it was bound to hurt.
Then Alain decided what to do and as he changed his grip on Josh, his move proved worse than expected…
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