A kick from the brutal Nigerian sent me sprawling to the ground. I quickly got to my feet and avoided Musa's knife as it slashed through the air in front of me, aided by his right hand. He thrust the blade at my body. This I avoided by jumping away backwards and regaining my distance. He gave me no breathing space and charged to strike me again with the knife. I avoided it again and leaped away on his right, holding my knife in front of me. I did this not because of fear, but because of a cunning attitude which Max installed in me before he died.
     " So you're a chicken?", yelled the tyrannt, angry that he hadn't knifed me yet," Fight like a man Joe!".
     He rushed at me and swung his right feet at me. I avoided it again and leaped away as before. He then stretched forward the knife to my face. This was where my cunning behaviour was rewarded. I moved my head to the right and stabbed his arm with my knife. He yelled out in pain as the metal pierced his skin and dropped his kinfe. I quickly flipped him over so that he would land back first to the ground, grabbed his knife, leaped away and resume the cunning behaviour of the past. He stood up with a bold and angry face and removed the knife from his arm. He made no noise while doing this, but a smile across his face could be seen.
     " I've gotta admit Joe", began Musa, eyes staring at the bloodstained knife," You really surprised me by that trick you played. However, I'll make sure I'll carve your face out with this knife".
     " We'll see about that", I replied and spat on the floor.
     He looked at me for a split second, then charged again. He came very close and swung the blade at me. I missed the attack and pushed him back. Then he did a double sweep, which caught my left leg first and then the other leg. He spranged like a wolf over me, but I rolled out of his way and jumped back to my feet again. Again I leaped away, not with the cunning act, but with a sudden wave of fear. I may not be a good fighter, but I was the best observer to many people. I noticed a sudden change in Musa. No longer did he show any sign of anger. Instead his lips was curving into a devilish laugh, and I felt he was laughing silently. It was the curve of a metallic laugh, voiceless because the owner chose to make no sound. He walked slowly towards me, the bloodstained knife still in his possession. I backed away as he advanced, not sure whether to attack or defend against him. Then suddenly came he, rushing up to me with the knife. Another swinging of the knife cut through the air, followed by another miss. A kick however shoved me to a corner. I looked up to see him dropping the knife and rushing to lay his hands on me. I quickly stood up to attack him and got the shock of my life.
     I raised the knife high and tried to stab him on the chest. He caught the knife by the blade with his left hand, bent his hand and broke the blade off the handle. He grabbed me by the neck with his right hand, raised me up and flung me to the centre of the room. Struggling to recovered from the grip, I stood up and received a blow on the stomach, which made me cough out blood. I landed on my knees and elbows and coughed out more blood. He kick me on my left side. I flew and crashed against the wall, which cracked a bit. Even though I received a powerful blow and kick from him, I still managed to get back to my feet.
     Then I heard the metallic laugh, echoing throughout the room. I looked at Musa as he laughed and noticed that he was strangely twice his original size. Then the laughter ceased and the big man looked straight into my eyes.
     " Death has arrived Joe", he said in a mockery tone," How best do you want it?".
     I sighed, spat out some blood, faced the rotten bastard and said," Did you know what Max said about people like you?".
     " What did he say?".
     " ' If you just can't let go of the past, go fuck yourself' ", I said with a smile as I quoted Max's words word for word.
     Now I finally saw the anger burning in him. He charged at me like a raging bull and crounched his right hand into a fist. I dodged the attack by springing to the floor on my left, rolling and jumping to my feet again. I had the breaking of rocks and saw that Musa had punched through, my last shock which confirmed that he was indeed infected. Then I noticed a part of his sleves torn, revealing a stratch mark on his arm with dried blood on it. A maneater's work, I concluded. He must have been attacked by a maneater and got away with a stratch. Yet that stratch alone was enough to infect him.
     He removed his hand through the hole he had made and charged at me again. I dodged his attack again, but a hit from his right arm hauled me at the entrance of the room. Then his mutation started, corrupting his mind, driving him insane, increasing his size and strength to that of a monster. He tore of his shirt and roared like a beast. His trousers were half torn from the leggings. He held his head and struggled with the virus. And admist all these, I looked away from him and sighted my revolver some feets away, my last weapon of defense, even though it would serve me with just one bullet.