Torment and Terror by Craig Halloran

The berserker looked familiar. His size was unusual for a human, but that didn’t give the ogre pause. He’d break the human’s bones like all the others that had fallen to him before. Stoneskin crashed into the wild and unsuspecting man’s backside and drove him to the ground.
    The huge blond man let out a roar. “Raaaaaawr!”
    On top of the man’s back, Gondoon punched him in the ribs with his stony fists. Powerful, devastating blows.
    The big man twisted around and cracked Gondoon in the nose with his forehead. Blood spewed.
    Gondoon tasted his own blood in his mouth and let out his own roar. “Aaaaaghhhh!” Blocking wild haymaker swings with the meat of his forearms, he launched his own cranial assault. He busted the berserker right between the eyes.
    Crack!
    Faces bleeding, back and forth the titans battled. They punched, kicked, and clawed like wild animals. Thunderous blows smacked into bone and flesh. Howls of anger and pain filled the dusty valley.
    Gondoon had never encountered anything like this before. This human could fight! Every punch was a mule kick that jarred his ogre bones. He countered with horse punches of his own. Quick. Powerful. He’d killed men with single punches before but not this man. This man was different. Packed with muscle and hard bone, like an ogre. Or a giant.
    Whack! Whack! Pop! Smack!
    After a while, Gondoon’s arms became heavy. His breath labored. Still, he punched on and on.
    The human popped him back again and again. The berserker showed no signs of slowing. His eyes were burning stars. His energy was endless.
    Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
    Gondoon dropped to a knee and covered up his face, figuring punishment for all of his evil deeds was being delivered.
    Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!
    The last blow knocked Gondoon flat on his back. His limbs were noodles. Everything inside his skin throbbed and ached. Eyes swollen, all he could see was the berserk titan with the burning suns resting on his shoulders. Both of the man’s fists went up and started to come down. Gondoon squeezed his eyes shut.
    ***
    Panting for breath, Brak found himself on his knees staring blankly at the sky. Someone stirred on the ground in front of him. It was the massive frame of Gondoon Stoneskin.
    The ogre lowered his hairy arms that covered his face and eyed him.
    What happened?
    Brak looked at his hands and arms. They were coated in drying blood. The jangle of armor caught his ear, and he turned his thick neck.
    The brigands had him surrounded. Their eyes darted among each other. There was fear in them. Uncertainty.
    Ah. I must have gone berserk.
    He eyed Gondoon.
    But not for long enough to kill him.
    An icy shiver went up and down his back. He recalled the sound of his spine cracking.
    Never again, Brak. Never!
    Gondoon lifted his hand up. It was a huge hand. He could envelop an entire person’s skull with it. “Hold.”
    The brigands eased back.
    Reaching inside his mouth, Gondoon removed an ugly yellow tooth and flicked it away. He pointed at Brak. “You. I know you. I broke your back, berserker.” He pushed up onto his fist and rose back to his towering height. “And I’ll break it again now that your fire is out.”
    “No.” Brak set his jaw and pushed up into a standing position. His body felt as though it weighed a ton. Still panting, he closed his fists. “No, you won’t.”
    Gondoon the ogre cracked his bullish neck from side to side. His brawny shoulders stooped a little. He was bare chested, his skin ruddy but a little grey, and his coarse black hair was braided and tangled. He was packed with muscle underneath his thick hide. Big-faced and ugly. Five hundred pounds of unforgettable ugliness.
    Brak hadn’t forgotten. Giving his best effort, he made a bead for the ogre.
    Gondoon looked down at him and spat blood then extended his oversized fist. “To the death, berserker.”
    Brak bumped it with his own fist. “To the death.”
    Whack!
    Gondoon caught Brak in the side of the jaw.
    He