Chewing Rocks by Alan Black Read Free Book Online

with his face. A cracking noise was heard all the way across the noisy room.
    The man was off balance from his own movement . The force of her blow sent him spinning rapidly into Shorty to her far left. Both men collapsed into a heap, no one in the place expected either man to get up. Shorty looked content to pass out under Fatty’s bulk. Fatty began to scream in pain, holding his face in both hands. From the cracking sound of Sno’s kick, no one doubted something had broken and everyone knew it wasn’t Sno’s foot.
    Everyone in the place knew the fight was lost. That was everyone except Bad Breath and Baldy. The two men finally untangled themselves from overturned chairs and table legs. Their curses gave way to bellows as they threw the offending chairs out of the way. Both men launched themselves at Sno, their arms outstretched, planning on encircling her and using their momentum to scoop her up and push her up against the bar.
    It appeared to be such a coordinated move, Sno felt sure they had been in other fights together. It also appeared they had still not accounted for the gravity, or rather the significant lack thereof.
    Sno pushed against the floor and shot quickly to the ceiling. Both men sailed underneath her. She flexed her arms and recoiled off the ceiling to drop back to the floor behind Bad Breath. She grabbed him by the shoulders as he bounced off the bar. A quick twist sent him spinning in place. Sno managed to slap a foot to the floor, correcting her own spin, twisting the opposite direction of Bad Breath. She let an elbow fly, catching the man in the nose, with a jarring crunch that stopped both their momentum.
    Baldy recoiled off the bar and twisted just enough to face Sno. He braced his legs wide apart to counter any spin or horizontal movement. He reached out , with just enough length to grab a handful of her t-shirt.
    Sno snap -kicked forward; driving her shin into Baldy’s crotch with enough force it lifted his body off the floor in a horizontal trajectory. When his body was stretched out parallel to the floor, she peeled his hand off her shirt. He did not resist her effort; his facial contortions easily showed he was well and truly out of the fight.
    Bad Breath was bellowing with rage. He was on his knees with one hand braced on the floor. He was holding his nose with his other hand, blood seeping out between his fingers.
    Sno stepped up to the man. She was close enough to the bar she hooked her left foot under the brass railing. She stomped her right foot, bringing her heel down across the man’s hand as it braced on the floor. She felt bones give way as Bad Breath’s raging bellow turned to little girl screams. Sno drew back her right foot, preparing to lash out at the side of his head.
    Mario shouted, “En ough, Whyte! They’re done. You knocked one of them unconscious, one of them is screaming like a little girl, one looks like he isn’t going to breed anytime soon, and the other one is so drunk that he wouldn’t have given Norm any trouble.”
    Sno smiled as Norm shouted back in protest.
    “I guess you’re right. Sorry about the mess,” she said.
    Mario shrugged, “Had to happen sometime. They have been itching for trouble every time they came in. Besides, they’re paying for damages, plus beers and subs for everybody in the place. We just have to get their pay cards from them and I am going to have the best night this place has done in a month. Oh, and I already called for the paramedics and the police.”
    Sno laughed, “So what? I still haven’t had my first beer and they started it. Right?”
    A dozen heads nodded in agreement around the bar.
    Mario said, “I agree. However, I think the Sheriff’s Department still wants to ask you about the little issue at the dock just before you left last time.” He held up a warning hand to stop her reply. “I know Randy and Jim started it, they got what they deserved, they had it coming, et cetera, and so forth. I am not disagreeing. I