Savage Crown II

39. Thirty- Nine

Callum

Another day had passed and I woke up dizzy and tired after another brutal night of fighting against a Russian they called Zeus. Tonight would mark my third fight. The only good thing was that this time was that I didn't wake up hanging from a meat hook and was now placed in a different holding area. This one was more of a jail cell with rusty crusted metal bars that would give anyone tetanus just by lightly brushing against them. My hands were still cuffed but chain was long and clasped to the floor which gave me some space to walk . Declan walked up to the rusty metal bars of the cell carrying a beaten and tattered metallic tray that they serve prison food on. " You made me so much money last night" he cheerfully smiled, " this is your last meal" he said as he threw it on the floor through a small opening in the bars big enough for the tray. The grey slop that was on the tray splashed everywhere on the floor. " after tonight's fight I'm pretty sure you will die" Declan said with a smirk.

"What makes you so confident that I will" I grinned.

"look at you Callum you're all beaten and bruised, and those stab wounds will soon become infected if they aren't already. I told you you'd die slowly and painfully."

"Yeah well we'll see about that" I responded. Declan had made the mistake in not killing me. He was to arrogant and too much of a coward to do it. Not to mention all the slip ups that were created when they knocked me out back at their hide out during the fire. Yesterday after my match I spent my entire day on the cold concrete floor thinking and retracing all my steps and realized that things were looking more brightly for me.

All my family had to confirm that I had died in the fire was some teeth that were knocked out by Saul the night I was taken. Saul tried to remove my wedding ring but with the alterations I had done to it, removing it was damn near impossible. Saul panicked when they heard the Leon brothers were approaching the blazing property and decided to take his own band off and tossed it into the roaring flames.

Saul's decision to leave his ring at the crime scene was a fatal mistake. No one but me and my wife knew that our bands were engraved and altered to not be removed. What was left behind by Saul as evidence to prove that I was dead was now a key indication that it wasn't my body down in the basement. I hoped that Natalia would find it and realize that it was not my wedding band. She knew every detail of the ring I wore for years, and that the one left behind was different in material, and structure. If she looked closely, she would see that it had no inscriptions. This was not a random mistake, but a deliberate message that the gods blessed me with in being left behind. Saul's mistake would show Natalia that I was alive and I trusted her to connect the dots and follow my trail. She was the only one who could help me now and knowing her it would be just a matter of time before she did.

I had been captive for a little more than a week now and had been placed in fighting matches like a rabid dog for two nights. I longed for my wife and daughter every day that I was here. I knew that if I wanted to survive this ordeal, I had to fight like hell to stay alive, or at least until Natalia could find me. In the mean time though I'd take all the punches I could to scope the place out and layout.

Declan unlocked the cell a few hours later, followed by Saul. "Are you ready for your final match?" he asked me with a nasty grin on his face. I was exhausted, but I knew I had to be prepared and had to hold on. But for now I had to look as miserable as possible to not let Declan catch onto anything.

Saul attempted to knock me out again with a blow to the back of my head except my body was to numb to feel anything. His punch did nothing but I took it as an opportunity to scope the place out as of I pretended to be knocked out while he dragged me out.

When Saul 'woke me up' with cold water to my face I rose to stand at the center of the ring, my body aching from the previous night of fighting. Across from me stood my opponent for tonight Titan, the biggest and toughest opponent I had faced yet. As the buzzer rang and the clock began it's countdown Titan and I began to circle each other, each looking for an opening. I could feel my body beginning to drag already, and I knew that I couldn't keep up this pace for much longer with both my legs having open wounds.

As the match wore on, I could feel my body beginning to give out. Each breath I'd take felt heavy on my chest like a pile of bricks. But every time I remembered the rage and determination, I felt a surge of energy. I knew that I had to stay alive.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I saw my opening. I launched myself at Titan landing a final blow that sent him crashing to the mat. Titan fell to the ground and the refereee came by to check on him quickly. "He's still alive" he announced to the crowd. Titan rose to his feet and charged at me with rage, and began landing blow after blow on my face and chest. I had to pull back and recover. It was a narrow escape, but I managed to pull back. I could see that Titan was dragging much more than me. Both of us bloodied and breathing heavily. I knew that I had to take advantage of the situation if I wanted to have a chance at winning this fight.

As he stepped towards me, I pulled away, dodging his punches with ease. I could see the frustration on his face, and I knew that I was getting to him. With only a minute left, despair began creeping in for both of us. One of us had to die. I launched myself at him, delivering a blow that sent him reeling. The fight intensified, both of us throwing punches with everything we had.

I summoned all the strength I had and gave it my all in the last round of punches aimed right at his head. With only ten seconds remaining, I secured my victory. My opponent surrendered unable to fight as he passed away almost instantaneously from the trauma to his head and I was declared the winner. My knuckles were completely destoryed and bloodied and my face continued to drip with a mixutre of sweat and blood. The stabs wounds throbbed and my chest burned as the salt from my own sweat penetrated the burns across my chest. I fell to the floor with exhuastion and hunger right after I was declared the winner.

The crowd was cheering from behind the steel cage as I looked around at them all clapping one of them stood out standing at the front row from the ring's floor. There behind the steel cage stood a famiar tall figure in a black leather jacket and a jester's mask with green and gold bells at it's tips. The parts of his hands and face that were not hidden by the mask or the jacket he wore were sun tanned. He wasn't sporting a pale look here like the rest of these people. He was a foreigner. As I rose to my feet and continued to look, my suspicions were confirmed as he discreetly nodded his head in approval. He had the same black bottomless pit eyes as a Leon brother has. They didn't glisten from from afar because the darkness in them consumed all the light. I could easily make out that was Angel De Leon. A taller figure patted Angel on his back signaling it was time for him to exit the place but not before Angel lowered his hands to his sides and flashed his right hand three times. Fifiteen I said in my head. I had fifteen minutes until showtime.

My attention quickly focused on Declan and Saul as they came in with the chains again ready to chain me up again. This time I knew that they would die here tonight. I had spent the past couple days studying these guards and the layout of this place. I'd be home soon.