Zion's well-sculpted body was silhouetted into the back drop of the full, reddened moon. Every breath seemed to swell his muscles even more, just as if he had gotten a good "pump" during a weight work out. His hands hung at his sides, fingers wiggling to stay loose.
He couldn't believe this was actually happening. These three guys had mentored him for seven years at this station, and they had always been close friends; always doing things together off-duty. Zion had tried to be a good example, encouraging them to follow the path that led to the Lord. All three had grown up in the church, but had turned to their own ways and rejected the ways of God. Now they circled him like a pack of dogs, with faces of evil Zion had never seen before, and he knew he would have to fight for his life. But for some reason the physical confrontation was delayed, for it seemed they had a sermon in store for him first."All these years you've been cramming this religion down our throats.", one of them started. "even when you're no better than us. You don't have any idea how it is when your wife doesn't put out. I can't help myself! I got my needs too, you know.""Yeah, and I'm tired of you always hammering us for even looking at chicks.", another chimed in. "I say you can look as long as you don't touch - too much anyway. No harm in playing the field a little bit, you know.""So what with the magazines and tapes I got at the house.", the third one added. "I'm a man, aren't I? That's what we do. I just clean up a bit when my girlfriend decides to stay over for the night. She's just looking for a good lay anyway. I tell her I love her because that's what she wants to hear. In the end, we're both happy. It gives me a way to test the waters, so to speak, on our compatibility before we make any long term commitments, if you know what I mean." Zion couldn't help but feel sorry for them, but the fury inside grew even more. "I can't believe what I'm hearing here. I oughtta go get pacifiers and kleenex for you cry babies. You make excuses for these vices. You choose weakness instead of strength. You justify your actions as if you were victims without choices. You just have these "problems" like everyone else, but don't have to deal with them, when in reality you mock God. He commands you to repent of these sins you call "problems" and live for Him instead of your own pleasures. He calls you to be tough, not a bunch of pussies. You aren't men at all!"At that, one attacker lunged at him with a yell, intending to tackle him in the mid-section. Zion side-stepped him and exploded a front kick to his left thigh, making the guy loose his balance and fall clumsily. Before Zion could turn back, he felt his right ear go deaf and then scream with pain as another pounded him with a strong right. Wincing, he somehow ducked the third guy's lazy right cross, and came up with a booming gut punch that penetrated deeply. The second pursuer grabbed his arms from behind, momentarily holding Zion while the first assailant had gotten to his feet and took a swing at his groin. Zion scissor-kicked and planted his right foot squarely on the nose, instantly breaking it into several shards which narrowly missed the paralyzing part of the brain, but still rendering him unconscious. The man holding his arms, now seemed to respect Zion's fervor, and moved to a quick choke hold on him. Zion desperately clawed at the guy's hand and finally found a pinky and ring finger. With a death grip he wrenched the two appendages back, feeling them both snap under the pressure. Screaming in response, the man let go of the sleeper hold. Stepping away from Zion, he lashed out a sweeping leg kick, taking Zion's legs out from under him. Zion saw a kick coming from the other gang member, and tried to brace himself for it. The guy's foot came in higher than it should have, and glanced off Zion's rib cage. The miss threw him off balance, bringing his other leg up close to Zion's face. Zion quickly grabbed it at the ankle, and bracing the leg against his shoulder, he exploded upward with his own legs, twisting the leg in his grasp at the same time. The opponent's knee blew out with a monstrous pop as he found himself flying four feet in the air and landing on his back with no air left in his lungs. Zion felt nauseated as his kidney took a beating from behind. He recovered barely in time to see a flurry of jabs finding their mark all over his face. His vision blurring now, he tried to protect his head, because if the guy found many more hits on his chin he may fall out. But instead, the attacker chose to go down to Zion's stomach; a big mistake in thinking he would penetrate his well-developed abs. This gave Zion an opening at the guy's head and he took it. A couple of jabs struck his nose, watering his eyes and throwing him off balance. Zion pursued and finished him off with a huge uppercut to the chin, and watched his eyes roll back in his head as he fell.As the last man hit the ground, the earth shook like never before under Zion's feet. The whole parking lot heaved up and then dropped below where it was originally, leaving gaping, smoking fissures throughout. Zion looked around him and saw the unconscious bodies bouncing on the dirt surface like vibrating jack hammers. The buildings surrounding them struggled to withstand, but weakened and gave in, reducing their mason walls to rubble. All of what Zion's legs counted on to be solid ground now quivered like jello as the earth sent forth its waves of destruction.