Think Fast

Rita Summers had always loved beautiful, bustling Thailand with its purring, lively streets. It was a place where she felt happy, safe and free. She had decided to take a trip to the Thai island of Koh Samui on a whim after the death of her beloved Siberian Husky, Luna. Luna had been there with Rita through the death of her father, her dropping out of Grad school, losing her full time job that she really enjoyed, etc. So in an attempt to free herself from the pain and grief of losing her beloved pet, Rita decided it couldn’t hurt to dip into a bit of her savings just for some alone time and mental clarity.

Rita enjoyed her lazy days, where she was free to take the ferry to Koh Tao, lay out in the sun, and relax. She often brought her favorite sketchpad with her on her beach days, doodling all of her woes, wishes, and hearts desires into that little black book. Today, she laid out on her belly on a towel, sunglasses resting atop of her head as she continued to sketch miniature portraits of the people she saw around her.

She turned slightly to the side, her deep green eyes dilating rapidly to adjust back to the intense brightness of the sand. A little bit from where she was laying, she could see what appeared to be a tiki themed bar. Maybe, she thought, I’ll get a hostel for tonight and have some drinks at the bar.

As day began to fall to night, Rita began packing up her belongings so she could get ready to head to the tiki bar. She purposely didn’t pack a lot for this trip, so she simply threw on a pretty red sundress, some peachy lipstick, and a bit of mascara and was on her way.

As she was walking up to the bar, she saw something in the distance, or rather someone. The unknown woman had a bruteish figure, though lean and muscular. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and on her eyes were black eyeliner wings. As if she could hear Rita’s curiosity, the woman spun around and locked eyes with her.

Rita gulped. The woman’s eyebrows furrowed and she placed down her drink, beginning to advance toward her.

As the muscular woman came closer, Rita could see a strange glint in her eye.

“Get ‘er, Leslie!” A man shouted from behind the woman, pumping his fist in the air.

"Look," growled the woman, Leslie, with an intense glare that reminded Rita of her mother. "I don’t know why you’re eyeballing me, but if you wanna fight just say that."

Rita, shocked, just blinked.

“Why would I wanna fight you?” Rita inquired incredulously, “I just came here for some drinks. Now please, Leslie? Stop causing drama for no reason. We’re all just here to have fun, right?”

Leslie stared at her for a few seconds. Then, her folded hand flew for Rita’s face. Quickly, and without thinking, Rita quickly grabbed her wrist to stop the attack. Leslie’s other hand shot out, and Rita intercepted it also, but not before it bonked her nose.

The men who accompanied Leslie went silent, and then began to shout.

“I’ll pay you 500 American dollars to beat her ass, Les!” One yelled.

“Make it $1000! Do it, Les, do it! Get her!”

Rita began to realize she may not be able to just back out and run away. These people seemed to have something against her for some reason, and had singled her out amongst a crowd of people. Others began to throw in their bets, and Rita realized she had to think fast.

She let go of Leslie’s wrists, who quickly grabbed Rita’s head and headbutted her. Rita staggered backwards, her palm to her forehead, and her head wobbling.

“Come on, Leslie! Get her! $2000 on the table!” A man hollered, which felt like lightning bolts to Rita’s pounding head. She shook off and stared at Leslie, hands out in front of her.

“Now hold on, what if I win, what then?” Rita tried, scanning the faces of the men placing bets. They stared at her, and suddenly bust out laughing.

“You know what? If you win, I’ll give you $20,000, darling!” And the men erupted into laughter again.

The stakes were much higher, now, and Leslie seemed ready to go for the knockout blow. She advanced towards Rita, and Rita quickly noticed that Leslie was wearing thin black stilettos. If she could lead her up the stone path a bit, she might be able to get her to fall onto a sewer grate.

Rita checked behind her quickly, and began to back away from the tiki bar. She backed up further and further up the path until she could feel the sewer under her feet. It was dark on the path to the bar, and Leslie couldn’t see the sewer.Then, just as Rita thought her plan had backfired, there was a yelp, and Leslie tumbled to the ground. Her high heels had fallen into the grate, twisting her ankles as she fell.

The men gasped and rushed to help her as she wailed in pain. Rita collected her money quickly and high-tailed it off Koh Tao, hoping to never have a run-in with those folks again. Especially after besting their beast.