Conflicted (Buddie) ENGLISH VERSION

Ice Trap

The fists were flying all over the place and although each of the two fighters was both very nimble, the smaller one quickly gained the upper hand. His technique was not precise, but it was efficient and fast. One thing however was noticed quite easily, he was at the end of his strength. He hit very little but tried to attack violently. Deep down in his being, he hoped he could win in one fell swoop and be done with it, but that was without relying on his opponent's training.

And of the one who came after.

The tickets were exchanged, given, and cashed. When one won, knocking the other out, everyone who had bet a few dollars on the loser would panic and threaten to go after the winner. Every five minutes, a guy got fired and kicked out. Buck looked at his watch. It was almost two o'clock, he had been waiting for a good twenty minutes to understand, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do it.

How did Eddie end up here? How could he have forgotten his son, his friends, his job, and lost himself so much in the fight, that he was already barely starting again after having knocked out his last opponent?

He fought three of them before exiting the cage and Buck chose this moment to extricate himself from the crowd and with his shoulders he tried to force his way towards the entrance of the arena. Arriving in front of the door, he had to face the two hunky men blocking the path and even if he had the motivation, he could never put them both out of harm's way. Anyway, Eddie was no longer inside.

He spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of his friend, and saw him walk towards a door, removing his gloves and rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand. Once again, he disappeared into the locker room. He rushed after him, calling him, and slipped into the room before the door closed behind his back. It was odd, the locker rooms looked like two drops of water like anything you'd see in American movies set in universities. There were rows of gray lockers between which one we could find benches. In one corner there were showers with tiled walls and all throughout the room filthy sinks and half-broken mirrors. The ground was in a terrible state and it smelled of sweat, damp and rotten.
Buck stepped into one of the first rows and leaned forward. He ran to the back and pulled the shoulder he saw leaning towards one of those sinks.

-Eddie!

The fireman turned, ready to slam a fist at his attacker but his whole body relaxed before tensing again as his face twisted into a grimace of surprise and incomprehension.

-Buck? What the hell are you doing here? He rebelled, pushing him towards the exit. You have nothing to do here!

-What am I doing here? He indignantly released himself from his grip. What the hell are you doing here ?! What the fuck is this, since when do you fight in the chain like a madman?

-You must not stay here, he replied off-topic, if they see you, we're in trouble, you must clear, now and never come back!

The firefighter let himself be pushed around before giving a shoulder and pulling away again.

-Dammit Eddie! What are you doing to us here ?! Your son is waiting for you in the car, it's been six hours since you should have joined him! What the hell is going on?

Eddie looked around, almost panicked. It looked like he was somewhere else, trapped in a disturbing hallucination.

-You must not stay here, I cannot explain it to you, go away now!

-No damn! I won't go until you explain to me what kind of bullshit you are doing!

Eddie grabbed his face and forced him to look at him, gritting his teeth.

-I can't explain Buck! You have to get out of here right now or they will kill you!

-Who will fucking kill me? What are you talking about?Eddie ran to the locker room door and stuck his head through the doorway before looking left and right. He quickly returned to his colleague and looked at him gravely.