Limitless

12|

Chapter 12 - Harmony

I'm not worried about losing this fight.

I'm more worried about accidentally killing my opponent.

But if I run now, I'm a dead girl.

I silently scold myself, what a game to involve myself in. When I first saw the crowd I'd wanted nothing to do with it. Not a good place to get caught by the street police and sent to the police station for questioning. But I though I could find a bit of information on Hope. Someone must know about him. And if anyone personally knows Hope, where else to search for them than in a crowd who watches illegal Griz Fights.

But I should not have said anything about the skinny girl who got chosen. I must have let her to,fend her for herself.

It's too late now.

I observe her. Her stance is ready, but still it's not perfect. I can't expect more from a poor girl with no training. She's wearing loose shorts and a grey tank top. Most people here seem to wear dark colors. Her curly black hair is tied up in a loose braid.

Justice smiles at me. I take a deep breath. Already she has started to circle me, stalking me like prey. I study her stance. She steps forward with her right foot. She's left-handed. Usually this would work to her advantage and throw off her opponents, but I've trained for this. I shift the way I walk.

I let her strike first. She lunges at me at full speed to punch but I notice her preparing to kick me. I sidestep. Her kick whooshes past me and I use her momentum to strike her when her back faces me. She loses her balance and nearly falls. The crowd cheers.

She whirls towards me. This time her smile is gone; I've succeeded in angering her. She punches again and I block the first two ones. But the third punch hits me hard across the jaw and the world spins around me.

Every muscle in my body wants to finish it right now. But I know I can't, my fighting style is too precise for a street beggar and the crowd might figure out who I am.

I let her hit me one last time. She smiles, her confidence returning back to her. I wait till she charges at me. I dart forward and duck down to trip her. She doesn't expect it and falls hard, face first.

Justice forces herself to stand up again. Most Griz Fights would have called this the end of the match, but not this one. Before she can even catch her breath, she lunges at me. I should have seen the silver glint on her hand. She punches hard at my side and I feel a terrible pain. She winks and starts circling me again. I clutch my waist in pain. That's when I feel something warm and wet. I look down.

A stab wound. Weapons are not allowed in Griz Fights, but this certainly isn't a crowd that is keen on following the rules.

The pain makes me light-headed and angry. No rules? So be it.

When she darts at me again, I grip her hand and in one fluent motion I shatter it. She creams in pain and tries to pull away but I hold on tight, twisting her hand behind her back. A knife falls from the bottom of her tank top.

She taps frantically with her other hand and I release her. She falls to her knees and her good arm. The crowd goes nuts. I see money exchanging hands, and two people pull Justice out. She glares at me with a look of hatred.

I don't know if it's the pain or the anger that makes me push through the crowd and walk away. They try to stop me but before they realize what's going on I'm back on the streets. I look behind to see half a dozen people following me. These are the gamblers, the ones that really care about the fight. I ignore them and continue walking.

'Hey! Stop!' They shout. ' You can't just walk away like that.'

I break into a run but they follow me. I reach a building and see a garbage bin. If I can climb high enough, I'll be able to catch onto the second floor windowsill and they probably won't be able to get me anymore.

But my wound slows me down. Someone grabs my leg and I fall hard, my head scraping against the wall. The world spins. Then they're on me, dragging me to my feet and bringing me back to the screaming crowd. I fight to release their grip. Spots explode across my vision. I try to click the microphone on with my tongue but there's too much sand in my mouth. Alec, I whisper, but it comes out as Raiden. I blindly reach out a hand to my brother, and then I remember that he's no longer there to take it.

Suddenly I hear a pop and a few shrieks and the guys leave me. I fall back to the ground. I try scrambling back on my feet, but stumble and fall once again. Where did all this dust come from? I try to squint through it. I can still hear the noise and chaos of the crowd. Someone must've set off a dust bomb.

Then there's a voice coming out from my right telling me to get up. I see a boy reaching out a hand toward me. He has bright blue eyes and dust all over his face, with a beaten up old cap on his head. And in this moment, he is the most beautiful boy I've seen.

'Come on,' he urges. I take his hand.

Among the dust and chaos, we run away from the crowd.