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A shiver of unease pricked down my spine as I took in the fresh blood canvasing the vinyl flooring, and Greyson, who was still lying in a pool of blood, immobile.
“I’ve seen worse,” I grumbled uneasily. “But yeah, I’m fine. How do you think Greyson did?”
Two people dressed in baggy jeans and regular t-shirts—other Ravagers, most likely—slid inside the ring to help escort Greyson up and out.
“Well, Darren obviously passed, but Greyson did hold his own and wasn’t KO’d until the final round. Ithinkhe did good enough to move on to the finals, but then again, we both know that decision isn’t up to any of us. Final call rests upon nobody but the big man himself.”
I ground my teeth at that despicable truth.
“Speaking of which,” she whispered, turning to me. “Are you okay? Ha-have you talked to him?”
“No,” I replied, shaking my head, my brows pinched. “I haven’t.”
“Fuck, girl.” Kinsley’s face fell. “I can’t imagine how hard this must be for—”
“KINSLEY SINCLAIR,” Sharkey, tonight’s announcer bellowed into the microphone as he stepped inside the ring, the spotlight following his movements until he halted center stage, all eyes rooted to him. He was dressed for success in a black suit, white button-down, and expensive leather shoes. “Come on up. Your opponent tonight will be Janice Hawthorne.”
Kinsley’s mouth dropped as the crowd went ballistic with chaotic roars and deafening cheers, her skin paling as she looked to her left, where Janice was first in line. With her head down, Janice moved first and walked up the steps, entering the ring. Instead of rushing to follow behind, Kinsley bent down and grabbed the container of Vaseline beside her feet. She caked more of it on her face and didn’t move until everything was fully rubbed in and her skin was glossier than a newborn’s ass.
“Good luck,” I called out to her.
She gave me a thumbs up and when she was inside the ring, she began bouncing back and forth on her bare feet, shaking out her arms and hands.
Janice—now this was something I frankly didn’t expect to see out of her. She got in position with her fists raised, eyeing Kinsley like some untamed animal stalking its prey.
The rules were simple, similar to basic UFC standards, minus the gloves and all that good shit. We had to undergo three, five-minute rounds where each candidate had to battle each other hand-to-hand, with our performance judged by Xavier Michaelson. Anything goes. The winner will automatically move on to the third trial. The loser’s fate will be determined by their overall performance. What made it worse was that there were so many people crammed inside this place, it was literally impossible for me to identify Ravager from civilians.
Except for Phantom, Isaac, and Rhett, of course. They were sitting in the stands across from me. Phantom and Isaac were huddled together in deep conversation while Rhett was on the phone. His finger was plugged in his ear and there was a troubled expression plastered on his face.
He got up, straying far out of eyesight.
Huh…
I wonder what the hell that’s about.
“Kinsley,” Sharkey’s voice blared through the mic. “Are you ready?”
I cut my eyes back over to Kinsley, who nodded.
“Janice?”
“Ready,” she fiercely declared.
Sharkey nodded then dashed towards the ropes, grinning big as he yelled, “FIGHT!” with a fist pump to the air.
Janice charged first and threw the first punch, gasping as Kinsley dodged it and landed a right hook to her side. Janice stumbled back a few steps to put some distance between them. Itdidn’t do any good because Kinsley launched into a full run and tackled Janice like she was a human spear.
The crowd roared even louder when Janice hit the floor and Kinsley climbed on top, striking Janice multiple times with her right fist. Somehow, Janice managed to shift her weight and roll over on top of Kinsley. She landed two…maybe three successful jabs to Kinsley’s jaw before she lunged in a backwards somersault and crawled to the furthest corner, desperate to catch her breath.
Kinsley laid there for a moment, her breath coming in sharp pants. I shouted her name, demanding her to get up, but it was no use. She couldn’t hear me.
“GET UP!” I shouted again just for the hell of it. “GET THE FUCK UP, KINSLEY! NOW!”
She squeezed her eyes closed, exhaling again, then slowly, very slowly, got to her feet, exercising her jaw up and down. The mob wailed their approbation as the two contestants ruthlessly eyed each other across the ring.
I peeked a glance over at Isaac and Phantom and then back to the match, just to do a double take when I saw an oddly familiar woman had them entranced in what looked like a deep, urgent conversation. Fear wrapped around me like an itchy blanket when they all but dove out their seats and beelined across the building. My heart dropped like a stone in my stomach when I lost sight of them completely.
What the…
