In his attempts at defiance and courage, James kept his eyes on the stranger. The familiar dread and hopelessness began to reap along his nerves and into his everything. "Then I'll fight you...you're no better than the ghosts here..."

Okay, now that was in poor sense and decency, he'd later think but it's with this same drive that he tries to land a punch on the man. Even though he has even less experience in melee.