Fight!

A gust of wind scatters the dust from the street. Though it bothers my eyes, I strain to see another fall to his death. I knew him from around the district as a bully, but now, he is dead. Two minutes cage but only seconds before a single kick snaps his neck. The sound of bone cracking echoes between the cities streets. Only to be followed by the roar of the audience as the now contorted body falls to the canvas, eyes focused to the back of his skull and blood streaming from his parched lips.

From the dusty loud speaker hanging from the side of a building, I hear the announcer shouts my name.

My heart sinks but I know there is nowhere to run, no way to hide – rattling the chains of my arms and feet as if to make certain this inescapable fact. The noise of the latch to my confinement can be heard loosened as the doors are thrust open. Armed escorts haul me through the streets making way to the arena. The crowd is aroused but their overlapping shouts are inaudibly but clearly the loud outcry overflows with a thirst for violence. I arrive at my judgment and my escorts detach my restraints. Gradually they fall to the ground as I make my way to into the ring - feeling the cold bars of the cage door between my fingers I can only think “Oh my God, I am next”. As I enter the ring the now blood soaked body is dragged from the floor, trails of blood are left, seemingly as a memorandum to the crowd as they hungrily scream “We want more!”

To the opposite corner of the ring, my opponent waits eagerly. A gripping blank stare is aimed to my direction. Repeatedly his knuckles are clenched then released as if adding tension to his already robust arms. A tattooed beast with multiple animal parts covers most of his upper body and could presumptuously be the reason he has been given the nickname “Beast” but we both know the truth. He is no novice to these games – with a reputation for winning and a craving for killing. No matter now, am here, he’s here, nothing to say. I sink my toes into the canvas as I spread my weight beneath my feet. He realizes I have accepted my fate and a sinister grin creeps over his face. Over his shoulder he spits out saliva and in turn plants his right leg forward, positioning himself into a crouched position.

The announcer’s voice blares over the loudspeaker declaring, “All bets are closed”, inciting the already fired up crowd. The cage now rattles as they all know what was to follow. Lashing teeth with ravenous eyes begging for more violence but no amount of bloodshed could satiate. Women and men alike scream profanity engrossed commands and comments as if executing me without trial while the final dreaded words echo through the walls, “FIGHT!”

Just then my adversary as he would be an untamed animal leaps from his stance, eclipsing the overhead light fixtures. Amidst a vision of him sailing through the air with fists clenched my mind reconnects to the beginning.