Vertigo: Hydra's Greatest Weapon

Chapter 5

"Freaks" by Timmy Trumpet blasts through the speakers of my favorite underground fight club, Dead Ringers. I've been fighting matches here since the beginning of my career. A few months ago, I finally became their number-one champion fighter.

I'm sitting on the bottom of one of the small bleachers watching two men go at it in the ring. Like always, the bigger guy is absolutely destroying the smaller one. Out of all the undergrounds I fight at, Dead Ringers is the one legal club. But because it's legal, there's a strict no-killing rule. But there have been people to die from fighting here, they just didn't die in the ring. That's what made it within the guidelines.

Finally, the big man uppercuts his opponent, knocking him out. I think I even see a tooth fly out of his mouth but I'm not sure. The big-ish crowd around the room claps and cheers. I half-ass some clapping because I'm not a supporter of either of them.

"What's up, big shot?" A familiar voice from next to me makes me turn my head.

"Oh hey, Ry," I greet a friend, and the owner of this club, Ryder Edison.

I met Ryder two years ago when I first started fighting. Of course, Cam had a connection to him so I was hooked up easily. I'm very grateful for Ryder. Aside from Cam, Ryder has given me amazing opportunities to grow my career.

"You fightin' tonight?" he asks, taking a seat next to me on the bleachers.

"Nah."

"Do you want to?"

"Didn't think you had room for anyone else."

"I'm the owner. I can make room," he chuckles.

"Right." A new fight being called to action turns my attention back toward the ring.

"So do you want to fight?"

"Fine. One round. And don't get me killed. I'm tired today."

"You got it."

A smile tugs at my lips as he walks away. I watch the rest of the current fight between another two men. The match doesn't last long though. One of the men gets thrown over the other's shoulders and when he hits the ground, he immediately goes unconscious. I assume he hit his head too hard.

"Callie Atwood," the announcer calls.

I didn't stretch or exercise before this since I came here not expecting to fight but when I see my opponent, I'm not worried about it anymore. A man just slightly larger than me steps into the ring. Now, I would never cheat or ask Ryder to pick and choose who I fight but I'm a bit glad he handed me an easy opponent.

We're given 20 seconds of prep time so I do very brief arm and leg stretches.

"Begin!"

Right off the bat, my opponent makes the first move, kicking at my head. I block his foot off to the side, pushing it out of the way and making him lose balance. He trips but recovers quickly, coming back with a punch to my face. He makes hard contact with my jaw. He attempts to swing again with his other hand but I duck and roll behind him. I gain balance but stay low. I swiftly use my right leg between his legs, wrapping my leg around his left then I spin and twist. He falls to the ground with a grunt. As he's lifting himself up with his arms, I stand before him and kick his stomach repeatedly. At this point, I'm just letting out all the stress I've been holding in all day. And it's been a long day.

My opponent finally gets too tired to fight back so I roll him to his back and kneel on his chest with one knee. I get close to his face to do my signature.

"You lose," I tiredly breathe then swing my final punch.

I step off the ring and back to my rightful spot on the bleachers.